Dana

by Kathi S. Barton

  I didn’t want this to be done this way, Danburn. We’re getting to know each other, having fun with what we want to get ready for the house. He told him he was sorry. If you could explain to me about the men, I’d be very happy about one thing. What the fuck were they? Minions. A small part of Melville that can be duplicated over and over. When confronted with information or even a little question that they weren’t given the answer to, as you noticed, they get confused. They are of one body and mind but can block a person into a corner so that they cannot get out. Thusly killing them. Why he thought it would work on you, I have no idea. Melville isn’t a dragon, but one that plays in the dark arts. A man that can do one bit of magic and nothing more. He’s shown his hand in this. He can’t do a lot of tricks, for which I’m grateful. All he can do is make many of himself, but that is dangerous enough. Dana asked him how old he was. That could be a reason to be fearful of him, if he was terribly old and powerful to go with it. Not too much older than a hundred or so, I think. I never cared for the man, and I didn’t check on him as I should have. So, he’s nothing more than a blow hard that makes himself seem bigger than he really is. Danburn agreed with him. If I remember correctly, a man such as him was one that would empty the barn of dung from the horses on an estate. Or chamber pots of the queen of the castle. Danburn said that was right. So, he’s nothing more than a shit man. Pretty much. But he is no less dangerous for what he can do. Remember, he can duplicate himself. So, he could be in many places at once. Your home, mine—well, not mine, but he could be anywhere. Take care that he doesn’t catch the women. If he does, then there is no telling what would happen to Lady Earth. Dana said he would be careful with all the women at his home. See that you do. I don’t want to lose anyone, and not my dear friends. Especially to a fool.

  Chapter 4

  Sapphire wasn’t sure what to do. Be sexy? There was no point in it, she thought. He’d have to take her, today if she was to be safe. Looking at the flowers on her vanity in the bathroom, she wondered if anyone in the world would know that they were her family. Beatrice had turned each of them into a bauble. An everlasting one, she called them. Her sisters were now in an opal vase with a blue and red rose, seemingly made of glass. The green of their stems was of the finest emerald, their heads, the most picture-perfect roses, were of old dark ruby and a blue sapphire. A bit of her own body had been added to complement the disguise should it be seen in the room. They sat in a vase made of opal; her sister had never looked finer in all her glory. Touching her fingers to them, she knew that they were as safe as they could make them. The magic that held them to the vanity prevented them from being broken or stolen. She loved Dana for thinking of something so clever and safe. And even though no one thought it would work, it had, and they were going to owe him such a gift when this was all said and done. “Hello. Are you all right?” She turned and smiled at Dana, her robe suddenly feeling too big. “I’m sorry about this. I had meant to take our time, to get to know each other better. But you do know that this is the only way that we can do this, don’t you?” “I know. I had no idea that he could do that either. I mean, I guess I did know that we could be captured, but not that he had to—” Sapphire grinned at him. “I’m babbling again. I do that when I’m nervous.” “You’re very lovely when you babble.” She walked toward him and noticed that he was fully dressed. Asking him about it didn’t help her nerves. “I’m going to seduce you first. Then make love to you as I’ve wanted to since I first met you. Just because we have to be rushed doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy this, correct? I’m not a ‘wham, bam, thank you, ma’am’ sort of man, as you’ll find out.” “I’m afraid. Not of you, but all this. I had no idea when Em was hurt that it would bring such troubles down on your head. I’m not regretting meeting you. I have fallen in love with you and everything about you.” He told her it was all of them now, not just her and her sisters. “I don’t want any of you hurt. I wish that we’d.... No, I’m glad that we met, as I said. Had we not, then none of us would have been safe, and Em would have surely died. I already owe so much to this family and you. I’m not sure I can ever begin to repay you.” “You don’t have to, but I have an idea how you can make me very happy. And I wanted to tell you how very much I love you.” He bent on one knee and pulled her hand to his mouth. When he kissed her, she watched as he pulled a small black velvet bag from his pocket. Whatever was inside, it was heavy, and she felt her belly clench up just a little. “You don’t have to do this, Dana.” He told her that he most assuredly did need to do this. “I’m in love with you now—marrying you isn’t necessary.”

  “Hush. I’ve been working on this for you. I had to use the supplies that I had on hand to keep you from knowing what I was about. But it’s something that I wanted to give to you soon. I just had to hurry it up a little bit more.” He opened the bag and all she could see of it was that it was a wide band. When he slipped the ring on her finger, her breath caught. “I love you, Sapphire. I have for a very long time, I think. Since I saw my first untouched sapphire, I knew that you’d have a heart of gold and a beautiful outlook on life that I would love to be around. You are my heart, Sapphire. My love, my everything. And if you would consent to marry me, I’ve permission from the king, because of what you are, to marry you post haste. Will you, will you marry me, my queen?” “Yes.” She laughed when he kissed the ring then let her see it. “Oh Dana, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.” The band was wide, but he had made it that way to hold the gems that were on it. And the dragons. There were two of them. One of them was a brilliant blue, like hers was when she had an occasion to shift. Her body was beautiful, his too. The two of them wrapped together to hold the diamond in the middle of them, their claws holding the gem. When he stood up, he kissed her. She loved the way he took his time, the way he tasted to her. His hands moved over her body, touching parts of her that she did every day. But he made her feel special, like she was important and that she mattered. Not just to him, but to every living thing there was. Lifting his head from her, she knew that she would love this man forever, that he’d make her safe and secure, but most of all, he’d love her. Unlike anyone ever would. “I love you, Sapphire. Everything about you.” He kissed her again, before she had time to say anything back to him. “You are the heart and soul of my life. The reason that I get up in the morning, the reason that my heart beats. My breath comes in and out of my lungs.” She tried to think, to process what he was saying, but all that she could do was feel. Him, his hands, the words that seemed to spread over her body. And when he kissed her again, taking every bit of her air out of her lungs and replacing it with his own, all Sapphire could think about was that she loved him. That he loved her. The bed touched her back. How she got there, she had no idea. Just knowing that he was going to join her, to make love to her, threw all other thoughts out of her mind. When the bed moved, he was there. Rolling into his embrace was like coming home to her. “I love the way you respond to me. The way that your eyes darken with passion. Your lips seem to beg me to kiss them.” She looked into his eyes, seeing his dragon there as she was sure that he could see hers. “She’s right there. I can see her. She’s as beautiful as you are.” “I see yours as well. And his love for me.” Dana kissed her again, his mouth moving down her throat to her pounding pulse. When he nipped at the skin there, she knew that he’d drawn blood. The small and unfulfilling climax made her want more, need more. When he licked her throat, she moaned loudly so he could hear what he was doing to her. “You’re driving me over the edge.” “Oh, honey, we’ve only come to the edge. I have so much more to drive you there and over. We’ll go together.” She knew he was naked now; his thick hard cock brushed against her belly and then her leg as he moved down her body. “I’m going to drink from you until I’m satisfied. Then I’m going to take us to such heights that your dragon will be jealous.” “She already is.” There was no more air for conversation after that. He ate her like a man starved. Like a meal that he was goi
ng to savor forever. Every time she came, he told her more, and his tongue entered her so deeply that she knew that part of it was his dragon. And when she begged him to stop, he seemed to double his efforts. Sapphire was sure that he was going to kill her, right then and there. And while she found that she didn’t care, she did need to feel him inside of her. When he moved up her body she was exhausted, sure that she couldn’t come again. But every inch that he moved his mouth over her body, he brought her again and again. Kissing her this time, his mouth tasting her, his touch was slightly rough in its search for more of her, and she moaned. His cock was so thick that she was sure that he’d never be able to fit inside of her. Then he was there. Her scream wasn’t from pain but pleasure. The most incredible pleasure that she’d ever felt. And when he moved, his body giving and taking, she hung onto his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his, sure she was going to be tossed away when she came again. His body was so like hers in so many ways, yet very different. The taste of his nipples sent her into a frenzy of need. The feel of his muscles in her hands was like holding onto a supple tree branch, its strength there for her to take should she want it. His chest was hairless, his skin was flawless, and there wasn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on his entire body. “Look at me.” She had no choice in the matter, opening her eyes that she’d not even realized that she’d closed. “My dragon needs to take his part of you. A part that will make us whole.” Dana’s voice was rough, harsh even. The dragon was doing that—she knew that he was just on the surface of Dana. And when his body, his mouth too, shifted, she felt the tear of his teeth, much smaller than the full dragon, as he tore into her tender flesh over her heart. The bite was painful but wonderfully erotic. When he cried out that he was coming, telling her not just with his mouth that he was but his body as well, she let herself go, tumbling over the edge that he promised her, and simply slipped away on a wonderment of pleasure and happiness. ~~~ Dana rolled to his back, taking Sapphire with him. He’d never had sex like that before. His dragon had never been the sort to take him over when they were with a woman. And when he spoke to him, his dragon speaking to him for the first time in all of his life, Dana wasn’t surprised at all. He’d come to think of him as a different being than himself anyway. You are a good man. Dana laughed a little, the words surprising when he knew that he was not. You are. A man with principles and morals. It is a great honor to be your other half. Thank you for finding our mate, and then allowing me to bond with her as well. She too is a good person, a perfect match to one such as you. I didn’t know that you could talk to me as if we were in the same room. I know that Danburn has always been able to speak to his dragon, but I guess I just figured that because he was king, he could do that. Dragon said that he could do many things now that he’d taken a mate. I see. Our mate, she’s something else, is she not? And we’re paired too, gem to gem. I never thought to find one so beautiful and so loving. Hell, I never expected to find her at all. I knew that she was out there; there is one for us all. Sometimes they are taken from us, but we have a mate. Finding her is the problem. You are so busy—all people are, I think. Sapphire. What a beautiful name as well. And her sisters, they are...I wish to call them a hoot, but its more than that. I have heard them when they bicker. I think they do that to have fun. He laughed when his dragon did. Dana hadn’t many friends in his life. Very few that he could count on. Danburn and the other men here, they were all he had. But looking at Sapphire, he knew that he could change that for her. Become more of a people person, as she seemed to be. Loving the world and everything in it. I think you might be right about the sisters. But I love them as well, you know. They’re wonderfully colorful, and so honest that it makes a man not want to ask their opinion on things. Dana rolled to his side, laying his bride on the bed next to him. Then he covered her with the sheet that had been tangled around them. She is perhaps the most beautiful creature in the world. Even in her sleep I have come to love the way she looks. I think I’m turning into a sap. Nay, my lord. Just a man who is in love for the first time in his life. But her dragon will be magnificent too. I cannot wait to see her. He couldn’t either. We shall soar the skies, the four of us. No one will ever be a more gorgeous pairing, because of her. You’re a little in love with her, I take it. He laughed a little. I never thought to take a bride. She is more than I could have hoped for. But after so long, I thought me to be alone in my golden years. I think that we all did. And it only took Danburn to call us here, to our second home, for us to realize our fates. I wonder if the others will have their mates as well. If they’re on their way here. They cannot be as beautiful as our Sapphire. What are golden years? Dana explained it to him. I don’t think that you will ever need a card when you’re old. For I think us old now. And there will never be enough discounts for someone as old as us. If you were to tell them of your age, I think most would have you put into a sanatorium. Dana laughed again, feeling wonderful. There is a man coming for the sisters. And our mate. We must be ever diligent to keep them safe. None of them are as safe as we’d hope. But they will be on their best behavior, I think, when it comes to making sure that they’re safe. Don’t you think? He said that he did, and thought that if anyone could keep them safe, it would be all the dragons here. I agree with you on that, and know you will watch them as well as myself. It’s when she’s not with me that I worry about.

  I think that I should worry more for the man who would try and take her from you. He is only a human, correct? Dana told him that he thought him to be part dragon. Nay, I don’t think he is. Otherwise he could not have been changed by the sapphire that touched him. Had she touched a dragon as such, he would not have been harmed by it. He is no more a dragon than the little girl I’ve come to cherish as well. Carmine, I think her name would be. Danburn told me once that he had some power, but not enough to take on a dragon. But that was a long time ago—perhaps things have changed for the man. I wonder what he’s about? I wouldn’t think that Danburn would make such a mistake. Maybe there is more to his magic than we first thought. Frowning, he got up, dressed in soft clothing, and went to the window to think. I’m sure that he is nothing compared to us. Danburn has enough magic that most dragons would only dream of it. Perhaps that’s what makes Melville so hard to pin down. The fact, too, that he came into my house as he did. Duplicating himself over and over to intimidate me. Mayhap it is because I am a dragon all the time that I could tell what he has not the magic that he thinks he does. I’m not sure why Danburn hasn’t realized that as yet, but this man, Melville, he is only human. Partial human, because I can smell the black magic of him. If you could touch him, I could tell you more. He said that he would, the next time he was near him. But asked him how, if he’d not touched him, could he tell. I smell no black magic on him. But Danburn has touched him, my lord, as his human self. If I were to touch him, I’d more than likely crush him, but I could tell where the magic came from. Perhaps the witch or warlock that helped him had given him power once, and that is what Danburn had felt, and never thought to check him again. Now that I think about it, he’s never touched any of us. Other than Sapphire, and all she did was touch him with her magic. The dragon said that wouldn’t have happened had he been dragon. What would have happened had he been a dragon then? He would have been solid. Like the sister was when you were angered at her. But when you released her, she was dizzy for a time, correct? He said that he didn’t know, he’d released her from a distance. It is the way of all creatures that you encase. They are solid from head to toe, as was the sister. But with a human, you will only encase what you touch. A human would not be able to breathe if solidly encased. I think that is the reason that the magic of a dragon affects them thusly. He wanted to find a human right now and figure this out. The only one that he knew of was the gardener. Running down the stairs, careful even then to be quiet and not to wake Sapphire, he found the man in the kitchen. After explaining to him what he wanted to do, the man asked him several times if he’d be hurt. Dragon told Dana that he’d not be, but to give
the man diamonds for his payment. When he put out his hand, it was trembling, so Dana was very careful to only touch his finger. It worked just the way Dragon said it would. Only his finger was frozen in diamonds. Careful to peel off several of the smaller stones, he took the magic off and handed the man his payment. He stared at them for several moments before he shook his head. “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.” The man said that he’d not. That it had been his honor to help him. “Then you should take the diamonds.”

  “I am but a poor man, Lord Blankenship. Very poor. My children have moved away, ‘tis only my lady wife and myself. But if I come home with a handful of diamonds she’s going to have my head. Then yours. I shall only take the one, if it pleases you.” Dana was touched by the man’s honesty and his words. “My wife is a good woman, and will make good use of the money we can get for it. But she’ll wonder, you see, and I cannot have her thinking I’ve robbed myself a jail sentence.” “Nay, I can see that.” Dana reached for his wallet and pulled out all the cash there. “This is a bonus for you, Mr. Crocket. For making the garden out back a splendid place for my wife.” Denny Crocket smiled and took the cash, thumbed through it, and kept only seventy-five dollars. Then he did the most incredible thing—he handed him back all the rest. Dana asked him why he’d only take that much. “My wife wishes for a new stove. So far she’s only managed to pinch herself enough off of each check that I bring her to pay for about half. As I said, we are poor as mice in a church.” Dana nodded, unsure what to do. Then Betty, their cook, cleared her throat. “I was wondering if he should move to the property, sir?” He smiled at her, knowing that she had already refused the butler’s cottage; she and her husband had preferred to live in their own home. “It would be nice, should there be a trouble in the middle of the night, to have a man so close by to you. And it’ll be good to have the house lived in too. Don’t you think?” “Oh no, I cannot live there, sir. It’d not be right for a man such as myself to live on a fine estate like this.” Dana asked Mr. Crocket why not. “Well, it’s a lovely home. I’ve nothing to.... Sir, it’s not right for a gardener to live like that.” “Then it’s settled.” Laughing, he looked at Sapphire when she spoke, entering the room like the queen he thought her to be. “You and your lovely wife will move into the cottage. And when there is a storm and Dana is away, I’ll know that there is someone close by that can help me with the power should it go off.” “My lady, I—” Sapphire cut him off. “You will, Mr. Crocket, simply because I wish it. You don’t wish to disappoint me, do you? And I have a small job for the lady wife too, should she wish it. There are going to be many herbs, thanks to you, and when the drying room is finished, perhaps she’ll be able to help me with that? Not to mention there will be times when she can come help Betty when she needs it.” Betty nodded and smiled at him with a wink. “Mildred, she might like that, I think. You’d be well to use her items, my lady. She can make oils, lotions, and liniments too. There’s not much call for homemade anymore, I guess, but she enjoys making them for gifts. If you’ve a mind to try them, you won’t regret it. I’ve been using them on my hands since we were first wed.” Sapphire touched her hand to his and she looked surprised. “See? Very soft, and me working like I do.” “I tell you what—you have your wife come and talk to me, and perhaps she and I can come to some kind of agreement about things.” He said that he would. “Good. You are a joy, Mr. Crocket, and you will be moving into the cottage.”