Derek dug out his black Royal Haven credit card, but Claire waved it away.
“No charge,” she said. “The dragons will provide everything you need, including snacks or whatever.”
He shrugged, gathering the assorted plastic bags in one hand and grabbed a couple more items on the way out of the store. He looked forward to introducing Leah, to the joy of sweets.
He followed Leah to their table and watched her grab a small suitcase and carry bag.
“Hold up,” Derek said, dropping his assorted bags on the round surface.
She didn’t stop; she turned on her heel, ready to leave.
He grasped the tail of her braid as she swept past him, pulling her to a stop. "Wait a second."
"No, I'm headed toward the cabin. I'm so ready to get out of this sun," she said with a glare.
He grinned and gently tugged the end of her braid until she returned to the table. “The sooner you get sunscreen on, the better off you’ll be. Who knows how far our cabin is.”
She grumbled, but finally agreed to his insistent tugging.
She smeared the sunscreen across her legs and arms. Quickly capping the bottle, she dropped it into her bag.
Derek reached in her big beach-like bag and snatched it back out.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. The tips of her small fangs peeked out and her eyes narrowed in warning.
He chuckled at her threatening glare. A surprising thought hit him like a two-by-four. He realized how totally besotted he was with her when a glaring vampire looked adorable.
“You missed a few spots.” He ignored her protests. Getting up, he rubbed sunscreen on the satiny smooth skin along the backside of her arms, relishing in the pearl-like quality of its healthy glow. He swept his large hands in an arc, twitching her braid out of the way continuing his gentle ministrations along the edge of her hairline, caressing the gentle curve of her neck.
He tugged her around, carefully smoothing the creamy liquid on her ears and face.
“Would you stop already? I'm not a child. You don’t need to do this,” she said. “I can take care of myself.”
It took every inch of his will-power not to kiss her bare neck as he heard the quiver of desire lacing through her voice. But she said stop and he'd never do anything against her will. He slowly pulled his hands away, letting them linger across the shell of her ear.
She shivered.
To his complete delight, when he started to pull away she moved forward, seeking his touch.
“Your face and ears are already pink.” He sighed in pleasure and continued his gentle ministrations, keeping his touch light enough that she could easily pull backward and out of his reach.
“I was trying to hurry,” she said breathlessly, keeping still for a few more strokes, before sitting backward. She blinked, appearing stunned that she was half-out of her chair and leaning toward his body. “That’s more than enough.”
“In a minute,” he said. He reached down and quickly grabbed her ankles, putting her feet on his lap. He stifled a grin at her howl of outrage.
“You’re wearing sandals and the tops of your feet are already pink." To emphasize his point, he pushed a finger against her soft skin; the rose colored skin turned white under the gently applied pressure, the same way her shoulder had in the commissary.
“You’re doing this to irritate me,” she snapped.
“I’d do the same for Beth or Brianna,” Derek said with a shrug, keeping his voice light and teasing, massaging the lotion into the tops of her feet as he spoke. “Have you considered I might be doing this for my benefit? Maybe, I want to protect my ears, because if you're in any more sun, by tonight you’ll be constantly whining about how much you hurt.”
“I never whine,” Leah argued.
“You get any more sun and really start blistering, you will whine.”
Derek finished and rattled ice in his empty cup. “I’m going to grab a refill before we leave. You want one?” At her nod, he grabbed her empty cup and left for the cafeteria.
~ ~ ~
A black dragon quietly approached the edge of the deck, catching Leah's attention.
It sat, and watched people, not speaking to anyone.
She blinked several times, trying to un-focus and focus her eyes at the same time. Her aura sight slipped into place, showing her a colorful picture.
His aura was a blessing to her way of thinking. Just the sight of it made her weak with relief. Hopefully, her biggest problem would soon be over. If she didn't find a trustworthy dragon before her eighteenth birthday – and her possible first shift – she might as well send-out invitations to her funeral.
“Hello?” Leah tentatively asked, calling a mental greeting to the black dragon.
“Didn’t your parents teach you it’s rude to mentally speak to someone without being properly introduced?” A conceited male voice lectured in her head. His irritation hampered her joy at finally finding a dragon with an aura shimmering with honor, trustworthiness, and strength of principle. The bold colors had a ton of smoky gray indicating smug arrogance streaked through him
She sighed. Slightly rubbing her head, she shifted her eyes away from the dragon as she spoke. Staring at him would be a small, yet tell-tell sign she was mentally speaking to him. “Yes, my mom, a DeLeigh Dragon, taught me that.”
She forced herself to remain silent, knowing he’d – sooner or later – demand an explanation to her cryptic remark. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Explain.” His curt, one-word demand, echoed in her head.
Bowing her head in her hands, she furtively watched his aura for any flicker of dishonesty. Steeling her resolve, she made her own demand, “First, tell me if you belong to the Khr’Vurr?”
According to the rumors flying in Dhark Valley, the Khr'Vurr was a fanatical group of dragons who labeled themselves as freedom fighters. As far as Leah was concerned, they sounded like terrorists.
His rolling snarl echoed across the deck. Movement stopped and every eye jerked to stare at him. His open jaws revealed a deadly set of sharp teeth. Snapping his snout shut with the crashing sound of a guillotine, he glared at the assembled teenagers. His gaze flitted to one teenager then the next, pausing as they slid across her face, catching her eyes for a brief moment. A curl of smoke trickled from his nostrils as he settled into the grass, ignoring the gathered throng of goggling teenagers.
“Best watch my aura well, Child of a DeLeigh Dragon, because I will block your voice from my mind if you ever question my honor again.” He snapped his jaws, growling at what appeared to be nothing more than a few blades of grass. “I would never join the Khr’Vurr. Now, you will tell me how a vampire - who claims dragon blood as her own - knows of the treacherous band of dragons that call themselves Freedom Fighters in the old tongue."
She shook her head, waving at an imaginary fly. “What's your name?"
Her mom spoke of many dragons, so Leah held her breath and hoped this black scaled dragon, with head and back-ridges of silver, was someone she knew of.
“I am Alexander, son of Marinna and Richard of the DeLeigh Clan.”
For the first time in over a week, she felt excitement streak through her. The intense emotion pounded through her head fighting for dominance against the relief his words caused. She couldn’t believe her luck, but she needed to make sure. Caution had kept her alive this long, she wasn't going to screw up now.
Growing up, Leah's mom told stories about her childhood in Dragon Valley. She had more than enough information to double check his identity without offending him. “You mean Alessandro the Great Dragon of the sunken city of Atlantis?”
“Sweet Jesus!” His head shot up and a fat curl of smoke leaked out of flared nostrils. “Only Lizzie played that game with me. Tell me she's alive!"
Leah chuckled happily in his head, “Yes, mom’s alive, but I think she’d be peeved at the name Lizzie. She said no one dared call her that after she shoved mud down your ‘rotten black snout.'”
“I’ll call her anything she wants if she'll only come home. Where is she?” He questioned with an excited voice, in a softer tone than his earlier demands had been.
Sunscreen
Several large bags crashed on the table.
Startled, Leah jerked her head up with a gasp.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I stopped by the commissary and picked up a few more candy bars and stuff,” Derek said.
"A few?" Leah asked, her eyebrows reached for her hairline as one of the bags tipped over and every kind of candy bar imaginable slid across the table.
"I, uh, well I wasn't sure what kind you might like. So I grabbed a couple of empty bags and filled them," he said with a sheepish grin on his face. "Then I realized you might not like chocolate, so I filled another sack with caramels, hard candy, and gum."
She rubbed the center of her chest as it tightened with emotion; no one had ever given her anything.
His smile slipped as her silence grew; he surveyed the mound of bags and grimaced.
Honestly, she didn't know what to say to him. At this point, anything would make her burst into tears. She swallowed the lump in her throat, fighting an urge she couldn't even name. She blinked a couple of times before answering, but it didn't help the husky tone of her voice. "Thanks, thanks a lot. It was really thoughtful of you."
He frowned and dropped into a crouch beside her chair. "Hey, what's wrong? I'm sure those can't be tears, not from my rough and tough vampire cabin mate." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'll let you in on a secret, she's really scary."
She chuckled, thankful for his teasing voice; she totally ignored the true concern she heard laced through his words. She opened her mouth, revealing lengthened fangs and gave a half-hearted hiss, which was rather hard to do with a smile curling her lips. His next words nearly had her lunging at his throat.
He leaned closer and she smelled his hot and spicy aroma mingling with the sweet scent of the candy. "If you need a bite, I'm more than willing to volunteer," he said seriously, angling his jugular within inches of her watering mouth.
The beat of her heart throbbed in tempo with his pulsing vein. The hot liquid gushing through his body called to her as blood never had in the past. Her fangs ached with the desire to plunge into his neck, drinking his blood, savoring every pull of life giving fluid.
She eased forward and she heard his heart race. She distantly wondered if it was in dread or anticipation. She shivered as her vampire instincts tried to smash her common sense into the ground. She inched closer to his neck and watched as goose bumps popped up across his tanned skin.
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to pull her crumbling ethics back to together. She didn't bite people, not ever. What was wrong with her? She'd never fought such a desire to drink from someone. It was like Derek punched buttons she didn't know she had.
He seemed to sense her internal fight. "You've never actually bitten anyone have you?"
She gulped and shook her head. "No, but I'm considering it." She turned her face away as she blushed with shame. Biting was what vampires of the dhark valleys did. And even though she lived in a dhark valley, she didn't consider herself one of them.
He pulled back and she sighed with relief.
His lips twitched and she knew he was laughing at her relieved expression.
"For someone who just gave a heart-felt sigh of relief, you sure look frustrated. Not to mention your eyes are glued to my neck and not my face," he said, tapping the side of his neck.
She blushed, a deep crimson, knowing he was absolutely correct. Her desire to drink from him was riding her hard and heavy.
His chuckle strengthened into a full laugh as it rumbled from his chest. With a wave of his hand he got her off the hook as he motioned toward the trees. “Ready to find our cabin?”
"Yes," she quickly agreed. It was only then that she remembered the dragon.
She casually glanced around the deck as Derek grabbed all of the plastic bags from the commissary, insisting on carrying them all.
Alexander was gone. It amazed her that someone, as big as a small jet, could move without a lot of noise. Surely, he would eventually look for her. She prayed he did. She really needed to speak with him. Her eighteenth birthday was less than a week away; she was getting seriously concerned. It didn't help that her mom disappeared after warning her about the – possible – change her body would go through.
Derek grinned and pulled a wide, floppy brimmed straw hat out of a bag. With a single step, he hovered over her with ill-contained glee.
Leah grimaced and shook her head. “No way, I won't do it.” She ducked as he tried to drop it on her head. “I’m not wearing that thing. It’s horrid. It looks like an old human granny hat.”
“It’ll shield you from the sun,” he said, cornering her, he smashed it onto her head.
She growled and started to snatch it off her head, but she made the mistake of looking up.
His golden eyes twinkled and his firm lips curled into an adorable crooked grin, which made her knees melt in response. A dimple winked at her from his cheek, and she vaguely wondered if there was anything physically – not – perfect about him.
Under his cross-armed supervision, she wiggled the hat around a bit. Sighing, she gave in to the inevitable. She hated admitting he was right. His ego was already large enough for ten people, but having a hat on, especially with such a huge brim, would shield her face from the sun; it might have been a good idea after all.
“Thanks,” she said, heading down the steps. “I wonder how far away the cabin is? I really need to walk. I’m still miserable from lunch.”
“I guess tempting you with chocolate needs to wait a while then,” he said and grinned when she moaned.
“Not now. Anyway, I’ve heard it’s addictive,” Leah said, in a questioning tone of voice, while taking in her surroundings. The camp was located in a truly beautiful mountain area. Glancing down the hard-packed trail, she frowned. Mint plants crowded along both sides of the path and throughout the forest floor.
“Delicious and addictive,” Derek said, tilting his head in question at her frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Mint, tons of the stuff,” she said disgustedly. “I just noticed it.”
“Yeah, I wondered when I saw it. The whole campground is planted in the smelly stuff.”
Leah growled softly. “The only reason to have this much mint is for protection against some pretty nasty Sídhí creatures.”
“Yeah,” Derek agreed, flipping his hand toward a cluster of plants. “I asked one of the dragons about that. He said it was a precautionary measure as there are a dozen or more ‘Nature Preserves’ near the campground, but for us not to worry as the preserves are quarantined.”
“Oh, gee, that makes me feel ever so much better,” Leah said in grumble, silently thinking the camp must be in KìvHart Clan territory. The KìvHart dragons were fanatical Sídhí activists, sheltering every kind of Sídhí creature, whether it was a werewolf or a river serpent or a basilisk.
~ ~ ~
Derek's tension eased when they approached a rather large cabin with a blue sparkling lake immediately behind it. Walking along the path, they stayed shaded; the mountain area was thick with huge trees, but he didn’t know if the brightness of daylight, even under the shade, hurt Leah or not. And he wasn't about to ask her and risk getting into any kind of argument. At the moment, they seemed to be getting along.
They walked in the door and a young man greeted them.
"Hello you two," the man said from the kitchen, which was at the back of the cabin, beyond the long common room. The young man smiled, but his eyes lingered on Leah as he motioned to his right then his left. “Girls are on that side of the living room and guys are on the other side. I’m Jacob and I’ll be your dorm parent for the next few months.”
“Thanks,” Derek said automatically. A low growl rumbled from his chest and his eyes narrowed in anger as Jacob continued eyeing Leah’s shap
ely figure. “Where is everyone?”
“Your group went on a hike. They left several days ago, heading toward the largest of our nature preserves. After they finished touring the preserve, they planned to spend a few days in the paint ball sector,” Jacob said, waving toward the forest. “It’ll be hard for you to catch up with the main group, but at least you should be able to catch the other three boys that left an hour or so ago.”
“We’ll wait here for the main group. Leah needs to stay out of the sun,” Derek said, trying to ignore her gasp of outrage.
“I can make up my own mind,” she huffed at his high-handed attitude. "Thank you very much."
“Unfortunately,” Jacob said, grinning at Leah's snarly remark. “Staying here is against one of the primary camp rules. The kids in each cabin must stay together and play together. Majority vote decides each activity and the entire group must participate, whether it’s swimming, hiking, or watching movies all day.”
“That’s nonsense,” Derek said, his voice growing harsh. “She’s already getting a burn. Another hour and she’ll be blistered.”
“I’m fine,” Leah said in exasperation.
“The hike should be perfect,” Jacob said. “The mountain trails are heavily shaded and it’ll take at least four days to reach the preserve. They planned to stay there for a couple of days then another two or three at the upper gun range then ride the rafts back to camp. I’ll get a couple of packs together with food and stuff. Don’t forget to pack swimsuits and pick-out a paint gun before you leave.”
In under an hour, they set out armed with a map and a last minute warning from Jacob. “The nature preserves are quarantined areas. Don’t leave the approved trail and always sleep at an approved campsite.” At their grimaces he added, “Camp rules are there for your protection. Most preserves contain some pretty deadly Sídhí creatures. The trails and campsites are in secure areas.”
Once on the trail, Leah looked up at Derek and grimaced. “That was a great send off. I thought I left all the dangerous creatures behind in the Dhark Valley.”
A Dragon's Dream of Love (Song of the Sídhí Series #2) Page 5
