The Fireman Finds His Flame

by Heather Horrocks

  Step. Pause. Step.

  When they reached Ty’s side, Walter squeezed her hand and went to stand beside Ty, along with Quade, the other groomsman.

  A large man, a werewolf, stood before them dressed in clerical robes and beaming at her.

  Emily and Audrey took their places beside Mara.

  Ty took her hand and looked at her as though he didn’t ever want to look away.

  And she suspected she was looking at him somewhat the same way, despite what she’d told herself.

  “Marali Swanson and Tyberius Thrakos. Friends and family. We are gathered together to bind these two people in holy matrimony — as well as mate-trimony.”

  She lost track of the pastor’s words until he came to the promise portion of the ceremony.

  “Tyberius Thrakos, do you take this woman by the hand and promise to love, honor, and protect her for the rest of your life and beyond?”

  Ty nodded and said, clearly and loudly, “I do.”

  The crowd chuckled and Mara smiled. No hesitation whatsoever. It touched her heart.

  Then the pastor turned to her. “Marali Swanson, do you take this man by the hand and promise to love, honor, and protect him for the rest of your life and beyond?”

  An unexpected lump in her throat made her response softer than Ty’s, but still distinctive. “I do.”

  “Then by the power vested in me by the State of Utah and by Section 1239 of the Supernatural Constitutional Code of the Supernatural Oversight Council, I now pronounce you man and wife, husband and wife, Dragon and Swan Maiden, together forevermore.”

  There must not be any humans in the group, or she doubted he’d be saying all this. And all of this sounded quite permanent, so why wasn’t she panicking?

  “You may now kiss the bride.”

  Ty leaned forward and kissed her lips softly, lingering there until the audience began to laugh. Then he pulled back, and she clung to his hand. Wow.

  He put an arm around her and squeezed. “Hello, Mrs. Thrakos.”

  “Hello, Mr. Thrakos.”

  “I believe there is also a ring ceremony planned?” the pastor asked.

  Rings. They’d forgotten rings.

  But Ty smiled and held out a hand. Quade held out a jewelry box and opened it to show a man’s band. He held it out to Mara, who took the large ring, and slipped it on Ty’s finger. “Now you’re mine,” she said, and found she meant it.

  Walter held out a second opened jewelry box and Mara gasped.

  The ring he’d chosen for her was a swan and a dragon intertwined around the band, and a beautiful diamond set in what looked like a feather. She looked up at him, her eyes misty. “It’s beautiful!”

  She held out her hand, and he slid it on. It fit perfectly.

  She was now married, officially Mrs. Mara Thrakos. She glanced at the ring that proved it.

  Why did she not feel trapped at all?

  Instead she felt as though her soul had just taken wing.

  She hadn’t expected that.

  Quade called out, “The party’s starting in the other room, folks. Come get some food and then dance with us. We’d like to thank Fire Chief Kealoha Pueo and his family for arranging this splendid luau on such short notice. You’ve made this day much more special for us.”

  Ty took her hand and gave her another kiss, then led her down the aisle, through another set of doors, and upstairs to a large ballroom-type room with a wall of French doors with window panels, all opening out onto a huge balcony. Below, she could see the unicorns.

  Her wedding was as beautiful as she could have ever hoped it would be.

  To Accommodate a Dragon’s Derrière

  TY KEPT HIS EYE ON his bride as she circled the room with Audrey and Emily, who were introducing her to the women in the crowd.

  He stood with Kea, Quade, and Walter.

  Kea punched his arm.

  “Ow. Dude!”

  “Love tap!” Kea laughed.

  Ty shook his head. “You’re lucky we’re at my reception, otherwise I’d have to pound you.”

  “You could try, lizard boy.”

  “Yeah, bird brain.”

  They both laughed.

  Kea said, “Did you hear? My nephew just signed a Letter of Intent with BYU to play football. He’s had coaches visiting him, trying to entice him to play for them. Like in the movie The Blind Side.”

  “Which nephew?” Ty asked. “Ali’iloa or Haleakala?”

  “Haleakala. He got a full-ride scholarship.”

  Quade said, “That’s because he’s built like a tank and it takes five guys to tackle him to the ground.”

  Walter said, “He’s also very smart.”

  Kea laughed and nodded. “Your bride is sure pretty, Haole.”

  “She is.” Ty’s heart swelled. Luckily not the fire swelling, just pride and ... love?

  Did he love her in this short amount of time?

  Yes. He did. He loved his new wife. His HeartFire. His Flame.

  Mara twirled in her dress and several of the women touched the feathers and cooed over them.

  A hand touched his arm. “Hi, Ty. Congratulations. I didn’t even know you were dating anyone,” said a sad voice.

  He turned to see Felicity there, looking like someone just kicked her puppy.

  “It was kind of sudden,” Ty said, uncomfortable.

  Walter stepped up. “Felicity, it’s so good to see you.”

  “It is?” she asked, breathlessly, letting loose of Ty’s arm.

  Ty would be forever grateful, and took his opportunity to walk across the room and rejoin the woman he couldn’t bear to have away from him for long.

  Behind him, he heard Walter say, “Yes. I’ve been meaning to ask you about your grandfather. Isn’t that his statue out at the old mill?”

  Ty walked up to the crowd of women who were standing with Mara, After the requisite hellos, each smiled and slipped away, giving the newlyweds some privacy.

  Mara smiled up at him. “Ty.”

  He took her hand and studied the ring. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it! How were you able to get it so quickly?”

  He shrugged, pleased. “I know a guy.”

  “You certainly do.” She looked around, beaming. “This party is wonderful. These folks really love you.”

  He chuckled. “I suppose they do. It’s mostly Kea’s family.”

  “No, it’s not. There are lots of other people here.”

  “I’ve lived here a lot of years.”

  “And this place is beautiful. Can we go outside and watch the unicorns for a few minutes before it gets too dark to see them?”

  “Their manes glow in the dark,” he said.

  “Ohhh,” she breathed out and dragged him toward the balcony doors.

  He laughed and followed.

  Out on the balcony, in the cool of the night, they watched the unicorns prance and play.

  Several of them looked up at them and whinnied.

  She waved. “Hi, unicorns. I love you.”

  One of them reared up and pawed the air.

  “Wow.” She leaned into Ty. “How do they keep these hidden from the tourists? Do the witches put a spell on them so only supernatural people can see the horns and colorful manes?”

  “No. Actually, they spell them so the tourists think a horn has been added on by a harness and the manes have been dyed. Some of the literature in the gift shop says that’s how they do it. It’s so convincing that once there was a group of protestors complaining about the use of harnesses and false horns on the horses. The witches did cast a spell on the protestors.”

  “So they can just be unicorns, free and happy.”

  “Yeah. Until there’s a game of ring toss.”

  She looked up at him, surprised. “Do the unicorns allow that? That doesn’t give them much dignity.”

  He laughed and tightened his arms around her. “No one’s ever dared try. That would be the most dangerous ring toss game ever.”

&n
bsp; “I bet.”

  He breathed in the scent of her hair. “If we were having a different kind of marriage, I’d take you to the Wildwood Hotel tonight, and then fly you off to Europe or someplace exotic.”

  She stilled in his arms, and he rushed to reassure her. “But, instead, I’ll take you to my house and set you up in the bedroom next to mine. I want you to know that you can trust me.”

  Mara wrapped her jacket around herself more tightly.

  Ty immediately reached out and turned up the Dodge Charger’s heater. “Cold?”

  “A little,” she admitted, though she was pretty sure it was nerves more than anything.

  She’d just gotten married to this amazingly handsome man. A dragon shifter. The last dragon in the entire world.

  And he was taking her home. To his house. Where they’d be totally alone.

  And they needed to remain platonic.

  She glanced at him again, and away.

  He’d driven her from the unicorn ranch and through town. “It’s not too much farther now.”

  She recognized where they were from the day they’d gone sledding, though he hadn’t taken her inside that day.

  The butterflies in her stomach didn’t mind if the ride took longer. She didn’t answer.

  A moment later, he glanced over at her. “Are you warm enough?”

  “Yes. Thank you.” She was far from cold. She found being around Tyberius Thrakos warmed her insides until she was quite toasty. Toasty and warm, like being around a blazing fire in a fireplace — except a fireplace blaze was contained. This one was wild and threatened to consume her.

  Get a grip, she admonished herself.

  He turned up a driveway and she stared at the large home.

  As they approached, the garage door rose and he drove inside. As the door lowered, he said, “Wait for me to get your door.”

  She waited, admiring the ring he’d put on her finger, until he opened her door. He put out a hand and she took it, pulling herself up.

  They stared into each other’s eyes.

  He gave himself a little shake and pulled his hand away. “Are you hungry?”

  “I had plenty at the reception. Kea’s Teriyaki Chicken was delicious. And the pineapple. And the purple rolls. I won’t eat for two days!”

  “That’s too bad, since he gave us a big bag of leftovers,” he chuckled.

  “Okay, I won’t eat until morning.”

  He opened the door to the house and let her enter. This door was larger than normal, taller and wider. The room she stepped into was large, with high ceilings, even though it was a laundry room. This was much too large even for Ty, so he must have had it built to accommodate his dragon self.

  She was standing in a dragon’s lair. She looked up at him and smiled. “Where’s your room full of dragon treasure?”

  He quirked his lips. “I’ll show you sometime, but not tonight.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  He motioned toward another door, and she stepped into a beautiful, spacious great room. Kitchen, dining room, family room. There was room to dance around in large swooping circles.

  But what she liked most was the shimmering pool she could see through the French doors. “You have a pool,” she whispered reverently.

  “It’s heated with solar panels.”

  “Not dragon breath?”

  He smiled wryly. “I didn’t have dragon flame until I met you, so I settled for solar panels.”

  “Oh.” He really had just gotten his flame when he’d first met her? That was kind of sweet.

  As he carried the large bag of leftovers to the counter and put the containers into the oversized fridge, she tried to get her treacherous heart under control.

  He was her husband, but he wasn’t her mate. At least not her true mate. Her one and only.

  She needed to have her coat back to know if he was her mate. And if she had her coat back, she would fly away. If he let her go, then she could decide if he was truly her mate.

  She was grateful to him for keeping her safe, though. And, if she wasn’t a swan, she would want to settle down with someone like this dragon.

  But she was a swan, even if just half of one.

  He turned around and motioned with his head. “I’ll give you a tour of the house tomorrow. Now I’ll show you to your room.”

  She nodded, afraid to trust her voice.

  He led the way down a large hallway, probably five feet wide, and motioned to the first door on the left. “This will be your bathroom. There’s a door from your bedroom into it. I’ll use the bath in the master suite so you don’t have to worry about running into me.”

  She peeked inside the spacious room. It would be like having a spa experience.

  He opened the next door on the left while she took a quick glance into the room on the right, clearly his master suite. Seeing the large bed there made her swallow hard.

  He didn’t enter her bedroom, but stood by the door. “Here you go. I hope it’s acceptable. My housekeeper was supposed to make it all nice and neat for you.”

  She stepped closer to him — and stopped. He had an almost magnetic effect on her. “Thank you. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”

  She was only a foot away from him. She could feel the warmth of his body, radiating out, inviting her in to bask. She could feel herself leaning forward toward the fire.

  His eyes widened, and he took a step forward. His gaze was locked on her mouth and he cupped her cheek in his hands — and kissed her lips.

  His hand was warm and so were his lips. Everything about this dragon was warmth and home. She wanted to bask in him forever. She leaned closer until he wrapped his arms around her.

  Her head spun with sensation, her body reacted to him with equal warmth, her soul reached for him.

  He pulled back and looked at her — and she knew she didn’t want a platonic marriage with the dragon. But she couldn’t have a real one.

  Using every ounce of determination she owned, she placed a hand onto his chest — his solid, muscular, warm chest — and he put his hand over it.

  To give him credit, he nodded and pulled away. With a slight smile, he said, “Good night, Mrs. Thrakos. You are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

  Her heart melted. If he hadn’t stepped back, she would have kissed him again, and that would have been disastrous. “Good night, Mr. Thrakos.” She lifted her trembling hand. “The ring really is beautiful. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”

  He smiled broadly then. “I like it, too. The symbolism of the dragon and the swan, together.”

  “The day has truly been magical.” She smiled and took a step into the room, putting more distance between her and temptation. “I never imagined getting married on a unicorn ranch. Wait until I tell my parents.”

  “Unicorns are good luck for marriages.”

  “Really?”

  “I’m sure they are.” He took another step back from her. “I’ll go to my room now. See you in the morning.”

  She watched him walk to his room, just across the hall, wave to her, and disappear inside, shutting the door.

  She went into her own room and closed the door, leaning against it, breathing out heavily.

  That had been a close call. Only a few hours since their marriage began and already she’d been tempted to take it above and beyond the platonic level it needed to stay on.

  Because swans mated for life. Only she couldn’t be mated until she was whole again.

  The next morning, things were awkward between them. Disappointed, Ty hoped he could do something to break the ice.

  He’d arisen early, set the breakfast table, and gotten everything ready to make breakfast, but she hadn’t come down until nearly nine.

  She hadn’t slept that late. He’d heard her showering and moving about. And he’d tried to stay patient.

  Her reluctance was because of the kiss last night, he was sure. That scorching kiss that had nearly made him lose his resolve to keep his promis
e to her.

  Determined to keep his hands — and his lips — to himself this morning, he tried to keep things light as he cooked some bacon and an omelet with green peppers, mushrooms, and lots of cheese. When she entered the room, he tried to smile as he looked up at her. “You slept well, I hope.”

  “Very well. Thank you.” Mara stood stiffly on the other side of the kitchen counter.

  After a moment of silence, she asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “The table is set and the omelets are nearly done. Maybe pour us some OJ from the fridge.”

  “I can do that. Point me to the glasses.”

  “On the table.” He chuckled.

  She turned and then laughed. “Oh, yes. Okay.” And then she took the OJ from the fridge and poured some into the glasses.

  He studied her until she turned back around, at which time he looked back down at the frying pan. He flipped the large omelet and moved it to the second plate. His even larger omelet was already plated. He added strips of crisp bacon, along with muffins his housekeeper had brought over yesterday, turned off the burner, and carried the plates to the table.

  Mara was already sitting there, looking angelic. Well, angelic if you counted someone with lips that begged to be kissed and hair that was made to be touched as angelic.

  Yes. Angelic. Beautiful. Sweet. Pure.

  He set the plates down and took his seat at the head of the table, with her at his right. “Eat up, Princess.”

  She looked startled. “I’m not a princess.”

  “You are to me.” He smiled.

  She smiled back, and he sucked in a deep breath of relief.

  She took a bite of the omelet. “This is better than Walter’s.”

  He laughed then. “Everything about me is better than Walter.”

  “Humble much?”

  “Dragons are very humble.”

  “I can tell.”

  He began eating then, and they ate in silence — but there were lots of glances back and forth, smiles. The bacon was thick — but the awareness of each other was thicker. He could tell by her sweet blushes and his own fast heartbeat.

  “What are we doing today?” she asked, looking a little worried.

  She probably didn’t want to spend the day here at home with him. After those scorching kisses last night.