“Is it a bad thing that she has found you?” I asked.
“It could be. She is very protective of me for some reason and tries to be like my parents and control my life,” she answered.
“I could get you out of here without her seeing you, but it would let you in on my secret and I am not sure you are ready for that yet,” I said.
June looked at me with a pleading look and I knew I needed to get her out of there despite my fear of what she would think of me. Before I could react and shift, her sister broke through the brush at the end of the trail and spotted us. I mouthed “I’m sorry” to June as she turned to face her sister’s ire.
“June! What the hell are you doing out here? You were just in an accident three days ago you do not need to be out and about just yet. Who is this?” Her sister asked jerking her head in my direction.
I watched as June stammered over her words trying to find the right ones to describe who I was, and she was failing miserably. I decided I needed to turn on my royal charm and smooth over the situation.
“Hello, my name is Mishal. I happened to be here at the volcano the other day when your sister fell, and I helped get her out and get her to the hospital. She was just thanking me for my kindness when you arrived,” I said as I reached my hand out for hers.
Samantha took my hand and I gently kissed the back of her hand as I watched her face turn red. Apparently, she had never had her hand kissed before. I knew I was going to have to do some research and find out what I had missed over the last hundred years or so. I hoped that she would back off and go back to the place they were staying so I could have more time with June. I needed to know everything about her and the more time I spent with her the more I learned. I knew I was going to have to tell her about me, but for now I wanted to learn all I could about her.
“Thank you so much for helping my sister, you have no idea how much it means to me that you risked your life to save hers,” Samantha said.
I smiled and nodded dismissing her declaration of heroism with a wave of my hand. If she had only known the truth, she would think something totally different of me, I was sure of it. Samantha had turned from me and was once again berating June and I could feel the anger welling up inside me. I knew I had to control it, or they would both be finding out about my secret and that was not something that I wanted. I wanted to tell June first and see how she reacted to it before telling anyone else.
“June, you are going to come with me now and get your things so I can take you home. You have finished what you came for have you not? If so then it is time we leave and go back home,” Samantha spouted as she waved her hands around frantically.
“Samantha, I am not going with you right now. There are still things I want to see and do while I’m here,” June replied, stomping her foot as she did so. I could not help but notice her eyes traveled to me as she said what she said.
I stifled a smirk as the two continued to go back and forth like children in a yelling match. I could see what June had talked about earlier. The influence of their parents was heavy with Samantha and it showed. I wondered if this was what it was like for her while she lived with her sister while in school. I could not understand why she would allow anyone to speak to her in the manner that Samantha was speaking to her and the anger I felt was almost too much for me to handle. I almost stepped in and told June to stand up for herself, but I knew it was not my place to say anything, so I stayed quiet.
I felt my dragon stretch against me trying to break free, but I knew I could not let that happen. Shifting in anger was never a good thing although that was when it happened the most. I was tempted to step in and say something, but I knew it was not my place to interfere in sibling quarrels. I hoped it would be resolved soon as I had so much, I wanted to talk about with June.
As I waited for her to finish the discussion with her sister, Kyal approached me carefully.
“Your Majesty, the others and I need a word with you if you would not mind,” he whispered.
I nodded and turned my attention back to the still quarreling young women.
“Ladies, if you will excuse me, I need to take care of something,” I said as I backed away toward where Kyal stood.
I watched for a moment to see if either of them noticed I had left, but they were too busy screaming at each other to care. I turned around and headed behind Kyal. I hoped that nothing was wrong, that was the last thing we needed.
I followed Kyal as he led me to the other men high up in the treehouse. The others were sitting at a makeshift table and the head chair was left empty. I took my place at the head of the table and waited for them to speak. They looked to each other and seemed to have a conversation with each other without saying a word. Finally, Kyal was the first to speak.
“Sire, the men and I are worried about your fascination with the human girl. We do not know how humans react to us today and it could cause a problem,” he said carefully.
Kyal was always careful with his words as we had been friends for most of our lives and he knew the way to get his opinions through to me in a way that did not anger me.
“I understand your concerns gentlemen; I really do but this woman is something special. I felt it the moment I laid eyes on her. That woman has a fire within her that would be a good match for the King of Fire. The thing we should be concentrating on is finding out if the kingdom is still intact or if the war destroyed it all,” I said as I stood from the table.
As I started to walk toward the door, Danol, another of the guardians, grabbed my arm.
“Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect when I say this, but you are not the reigning king. There is no need for you to be picking out a contender for queen just yet. As for the kingdom, we three can go and investigate for you,” he said.
“Danol, I value you as a guardian and if you want to keep your position as such, you will remove your hand from my arm this instant. I do realize that I am not the reigning king and I may never be, but that woman will be my queen regardless and I appreciate your offer to see about the kingdom,” I declared as I stepped back.
I knew as I said those words, I meant them. June would be my queen no matter what, even if I never ruled a kingdom again. She would be the queen of my heart and whatever castle I built for her. I imagined her swollen with child and I knew that June would be the perfect mother. I would make sure she a life fit for a queen if only she would have me.
The arguing of the men brought me from my reverie, and I turned my attention to them. I knew that plans for a trip to the kingdom had to be made, so I made my way back to the table and sat down.
I sat with them and made the plans for their journey to the kingdom which had been nestled on a hidden island in the middle of the Atlantic. I hoped beyond all hope that the kingdom was still secure and that I would one day take my place a rightful king with June by my side.
Once the plans were made and they flew off, I made my way back to where June and her sister were locked in sibling battle. I knew that the fire inside of June would be good for ruling the kingdom and I hoped that one day she would allow me to make her my queen. My dragon lurched at the thought of her and I knew that he had also picked her to be my mate and there would be no other.
It was her or no one and I would not be able to bear it if she denied me. I had to find a way to make her mine. The next few days alone would be the test to see if she was made of fire or if she burned out quickly. My money was on the fire.
5
June
I stood in the same spot I had been standing in for what seemed like hours listening to Samantha lecture me as mother would have and I was fuming. I wanted so badly to say what I was feeling, but I was biting my tongue to hold it back. I knew my anger would get in the way and I would say something that I would deeply regret. I did not want to say anything that would ruin the relationship with the only member of my family that I felt connected to.
I had heard Mishal say he needed to be excused and I noticed he had not come back.
I wondered to myself if he had run off to avoid the sibling squabble, but something told me he was not that kind of person. I hoped that he would come back and save me from my sister somehow. At that moment I realized I did not need anyone to save me, I could save myself from her. I waited until she stopped to take a breath and butted in.
“Samantha, you are my sister and I love you, but do realize how much you sound like mom and dad right now? Yes, I had an accident, yes, I got a bit banged up, but I am still alive, and I am damn well capable of taking care of myself. I do not need you following me spying on me and trying to take care of me. I am fine, now go home and get back to your life and let me live mine,” I told her.
I watched as her facial expressions went through several different emotions and I was a bit afraid at what might come out of her mouth next. I noticed that Mishal had come back and was listening to what I said intently. Samantha stood in front of me for several minutes without saying a word and I wondered what mom lecture was going to come from her next. To my surprise she only nodded her head.
“You know what June, you are right. I do sound like mom but that is only because I love you just as she does. You will never know what you did to them when you left and came with me, or what you are doing to them now by not having any contact with them. You are their child and they love you. Think about that while you are on all your adventures. I know that you are an adult and can take care of yourself, June and from now on I’ll let you,” she said as she turned to go back down the trail.
She took a few steps down the trail and stopped. I watched curiously as she turned and came back to where I stood.
“Before I go and let you have your fun, I need you to know the reason why I don’t do volcanoes anymore and why I did not want to come with you on the trip. I hope that once I tell you this you will understand,” she said.
“Okay Sam, I’m listening,” I replied.
“June listen,” she whispered with a tear in her eye. “I went to Hawaii with a business associate of mine. He was a fellow professor at the University, and my fiancé. We were examining the volcano one day…”
I felt like I knew where she was going with her story.
“Sam, you don’t have to,” I said.
“Yes, I do, now shut up and listen. Thomas was a great man, we had dated for six months, and then he asked me to marry him.”
“I remember Thomas,” I said.
“Yeah, well he was fantastic, but on the last day that we were going to be there, he and I went out looking at some sedimentary deposits that were forming rather quickly near the mouth of the volcano. Well, when we were down there, there was a small eruption, no bigger than a tiny trickle, but it was just enough to envelope Thomas in seconds…he died June, right in front of my eyes,” she sobbed.
“Sam, I’m so very sorry,” I breathed. Without another word, she turned and headed back down the trail.
I knew that if I didn’t say what I needed to now, then I would never get the chance again. So, I stopped her.
“No Samantha!” I bellowed. “You do not get to have your say and then just walk away from me like that, it does not work that way. You know as well as I do that mom and dad have never cared about me as much as they do you. You are their golden child. The perfect one that did everything they wanted you to while I rebelled and did whatever the fuck I wanted to, and they hate me for that. I bet I could have died the other day and they would not have been bothered by it one bit, especially since I was their one big accident. How dare you say they love me when you know damn well, they do not! You can stop defending them and making excuses for them now. Their love is something that I do not care if I ever get as your love is enough. I know you love me; Sam and I love you too. I promise I will do what I can to stay safe and I will come home as soon as I get everything I need here. I really am sorry about Thomas, but that didn’t happen to me and this trip would have been more fun with you. When I get back, we can watch more old movies,” I said as tears formed in my eyes.
“Yeah, sure thing. Just make sure you come home,” she said as she turned to head back down the trail, tears trailing down her cheeks. Ming and Lu followed behind her.
“Well that was embarrassing,” I said.
I was finally alone with the man whose name I had just found out was Mishal. I wondered what he thought of me now that he had gotten a glimpse of what my life was like but was too afraid to ask.
“Do not be embarrassed my dear, we all have that one family member we cringe at,” he said with a laugh.
His laugh made my heart skip a beat and I silently scolded myself for letting him get to me the way he was. It had been a long time since I had let any man affect me the way he was affecting me, and I knew I should not be letting him get to me this way. I had only known him for a few days, and I did not even really know him. Heat pooled between my legs as I looked at the gorgeous man in front of me and I wanted nothing more than to have him inside of me. I shook those thoughts from my head and responded to his statement.
“I love her more than anything else in the world, but I cannot stand how much like our mother she is. Our mother and father both are quite toxic, but Sam cannot seem to see that. She has really tried to take over mom’s role the past few years and I had never said anything until today,” I told him.
I stared in his eyes as the breeze blew his hair around his face and once again had the urge to reach out and touch it. I knew I should not give in to it, but my body took over and I reached my hand out and pulled a strand of hair back from his face, my fingers grazing the stubble on his cheek.
“Your hair is beautiful,” I said as I pulled my hand away.
He grabbed my hand and put it against his face, closing his eyes as if to remember the feeling.
“It has been such a long time since I have experienced the touch of a woman. I am glad it is you that I am experiencing this with,” he said softly.
Without thinking, I moved closer to him and quickly pressed my lips to his. I knew in my mind that I should not be kissing him, but the attraction was just too strong. His lips were still at first, but then began to match mine until the kiss was deep and full of passion. He grabbed me and twirled me around so that my back was against the tree as his hands began to roam my body. My body started to react, and my clit started to swell, so I decided to break the kiss before it went too far. I pulled back from him and tried to catch my breath as I watched his face.
His face was expressionless and for a moment I thought I had done something wrong. I backed away from him a bit and his brows furrowed with a confused look.
“June? What is wrong? Was it something I did?” he asked, worry in his voice.
“No! Of course not, I thought I had done something wrong when I saw your face is all,” I said.
“You did nothing wrong, June. It is just that I know now that I need to tell you about my past, but I’m still afraid,” he replied.
I could see the fear in his eyes, and I knew I did not need to push him to talk to me about his past, I needed to let him open to me when he was ready.
“You do not have to tell me anything that you are not ready to say, Mishal. I am not going to push you into anything you don’t want to do,” I assured him.
“You must think I am a weak man who fears things and is not a strong protector,” he grumbled.
I giggled at the tone of his voice and placed a hand on his arm, creating an electric sensation throughout my body.
“I think no such thing. In my opinion it takes more of a man to show his emotions and what he feels than it does to hide it inside. Talking about your past and who you are is scary to you for whatever reason and when you are ready to talk about it, I’lll listen,” I offered.
“I feel a strong connection with you, June and I would like to kiss you again if I may,” he said.
I smiled and nodded as he leaned in slowly pressing his soft lips to mine. The kiss was soft and careful as he traced my bottom lip with his tongue before begging entrance into my
mouth. I parted my lips as he snaked his tongue inside, deepening the kiss. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him and I leaned against his hard, muscular body. I felt heat pool at the apex of my thighs and moisture drip into my panties. I moaned softly as he pressed his hardness against me and the desire to feel him inside me heightened. I knew that if I did not stop what was happening it would get far out of control and that was not something that needed to happen. It had been a long time since I had a good fuck, but I barely knew him, and fucking strangers was not something that I did.
“We need to stop now,” I mumbled against his lips as I pulled back panting.
“If that is what you wish, my dear,” he replied. “I would like to show you something if I may.
I nodded and took his outstretched hand, allowing him to lead me where he wanted to go. We walked a short distance past the volcano and headed up a wooden staircase. It wound higher and higher up the tree until it came to a plateau stopping at the top. At the top of the staircase a beautiful tree house with modern and antique furnishings sprinkled throughout it was revealed. It was rather large with several rooms and I was amazed at the detail that had been put into it.
“This is amazing! Did you do this yourself?” I asked him.
He laughed and waved his hand as if to dismiss my question.
“Heavens no! I could not have done this all myself. I have people travelling with me that helped to build this. They are away right now, but I will be happy to have you meet them when they return,” he said. “I am sure they will like you.
“I hope so,” I replied. “How did you manage to get all the furniture up here?”
I wondered to myself why I cared whether his friends approved of me or not. It was really his opinion that mattered most, and I did not even understand why that mattered to me either. I shook my head as I scolded myself inwardly for letting myself get carried away over a man a barely knew. I knew deep down I could not let him kiss me again or all sense of self control would be gone, and I would be putty in his hands. While he had strong, capable hands, I knew it was far too soon to be doing the things that I had been thinking or the things that had already happened. I shook those thoughts from my mind as I scrambled to find something to talk about.
The King 0f Fire: Dragon Shifter Romance Page 4