by Meg Ripley
“That’s a familiar feeling,” Holden replied with a grin. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Well, all the dating guides I’ve read have suggested things like bringing flowers and chocolates. I guess giving a gift is a way of apologizing.”
“So, then you don’t have to actually say you’re sorry?” Holden rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I might have to remember that.”
Xander shook his head. “I’m not sure it’s all that effective. Humans don’t seem to have hard and fast rules like we dragons do. Roses might work on one woman, but another woman might prefer daisies. I guess that’s one of the questions I should have asked her as part of getting to know her, instead of just jumping up and thinking I could protect her from that vile woman.”
Holden laughed. “She really got under your skin, didn’t she?”
“I thought at first that she was just being nasty and calling Summer names, but then I realized that Summer really is a witch. I think you might have mentioned it to me, and then it clicked when she talked about the new age shop.”
“Does it bother you? Her being a witch?”
Xander felt a lopsided grin tightening his cheek. “Honestly, I think it might even be a little bit sexy. I like the idea that she’s not just some regular woman. I could find one of those anywhere. But a witch, well, that’s different. Still, that other woman—Joanna whoever—has no right to belittle her like that.” He curled his fist on the armrest, angry all over again. Joanna hadn’t done Summer any physical harm, but the look in her eye said she wished she could have.
“Easy now, Knight in Shining Armor. I don’t think Summer was too pleased with the way you stepped in. Maybe she’s not looking for someone to be Prince Valiant.”
“Who?”
“Something Leah showed me, an old comic strip. Anyway, that’s not the point. Just tell me what you’re going to do to win Summer’s favor. I was purely lucky with Leah, but I don’t think that’s going to work for you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Xander snorted. “I think I’ll just have to show up, apologize, and ask her if we can start fresh. I don’t know what I’ll do if she rejects me again, though. I can’t exactly kidnap her and fly off to a cave until she submits to my will.” There were a few dragons back on Charok who had done similar deeds when they believed they had found their destined mates, but it wasn’t a widely accepted practice. The females of the species were highly respected, which the dragons considered a mark of their high civilization. Xander had yet to determine just how well the human females were treated in comparison; the results seemed to be all over the board.
“I think you’ll come up with something. Just be patient. Or introduce her to Nora and let her do all the work. She’s better-looking than you, anyway.”
Xander gave Holden a playful punch on the arm and began formulating his plan.
Xander took a deep breath as he walked up to Summer’s door. It was a quaint little cottage, and not the sort of place that most humans lived in. Instead of apartments stacked on top of each other or houses crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, this place was practically in the middle of nowhere. He stood for a moment and just listened, taking in the sounds of the wind through the trees and the birds singing. He made a mental note to learn more about the different types of housing humans preferred and why, although he thought he understood already why someone would live there.
He cleared his throat as he knocked on the door, wanting to be prepared to speak. He had rehearsed in his head a thousand times what he would say, and he knew the words by heart.
But when Summer opened the door and looked at him with those big green eyes, everything changed. He still knew exactly what to say, but they were no longer the words that he had carefully prepared. They came from somewhere else inside him, and they demanded to come out. “Summer, I’m so sorry that I offended you earlier today at the park. It’s not what I intended. I thought I was doing what was best, but I didn’t take into consideration the way you felt about things. I hadn’t even had the chance to know how you felt, and I never should have assumed.” He held out the bouquet of flowers he had specially picked for her, a mix of wildflowers in numerous colors. “I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Summer blinked at him and glanced down at the flowers. “Xander, I…I don’t quite know what to say. I never expected you to show up here.” She paused a moment, tipping her head. “How did you know where I live, anyway?”
His face flushed, and he could feel the burning in his cheeks. “I asked Leah. She said it would be alright if I were to stop by.”
She squinted one eye in a playful look of suspicion before finally nodding. “Well, I guess if she says it’s alright, then it is. Come in.” She opened the door further and stood back.
As soon as he stepped inside, Xander realized that he would have known it was her home even if he hadn’t already known she’d lived there. There was such a sense of her about the place, and even though he didn’t know her all that well, he could tell that she had made it very much her own. The furniture was a random collection of old pieces that had been reupholstered or repainted. Bright colors adorned the walls, from the paint to the light curtains that draped alongside the large windows. These were all open, letting a cool breeze flow though the place. A swath of beaded fabric set the living room off from the kitchen. It looked like the inside of a gypsy caravan if someone had taken off the wheels and parked it in the middle of the woods. “You have a beautiful place.”
“Thank you,” she said graciously, reaching down into a cabinet for a vase. Summer was wearing a long dress made of thin, purple fabric that showed off the gentle opalescence of the skin on her shoulders, and it draped gracefully around her body as she moved. She disappeared behind the curtain for a moment, and Xander could hear the sound of water as she filled the vase. When Summer returned, she set it on the coffee table and took the flowers from him. “You didn’t have to do this, you know. I’ve already figured out what’s going on between us.”
“You have?” Xander couldn’t hide the relief from his voice. If Summer already understood that they were meant to be together, then there was a big load off his shoulders in explaining it to her. It wasn’t every day that he had to face the prospect of telling a witch that she belonged to him. “I’m glad to hear it.”
She shook her head. “I’m ashamed of myself, really, that I didn’t figure it out sooner. I’m a firm believer that people come into each other’s lives for certain reasons. Although I never could have guessed just how important Leah would have been in my life back when we met in college, I know now that I couldn’t have learned as much about myself as I did without her. She’s been a vital part in my life.”
“And us?” Xander watched as Summer arranged the flowers neatly in the vase. Her hands seem to move on their own, arranging and fluffing until the bouquet stood full and grand from the glass vase. She only had to breathe on them to make them bend to her will, and he wondered if there was some sort of magic at play. He didn’t care. She could work all the magic she wanted, as long as he had the privilege of just standing there and watching her.
She turned to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes bright and sharp. “I wasn’t sure at first. I think I was misreading the signs the universe sent to me, and maybe that was because I let Joanna get me frazzled. I haven’t done that in a very long time.” Summer straightened, moving across the room to sit in an overstuffed chair, upholstered in a thick fabric with tiny pink flowers. She gestured for him to have a seat as well.
Xander sat, barely resting on the edge of sofa’s blue cushions. “It’s interesting, isn’t it, that we can feel so uncomfortable when we’re near someone who’s going to make such a difference? You would think it would be the opposite.” He had never felt so strange in his life as he had that first moment he’d met Summer. There was a similar feeling taking over him in that moment, but it was different. His wings still throbbed, urging him to let them free, but it was a pleasant feeling. It w
as like being on the verge of orgasm, and yet being content to wait for it. He wondered if this was because it was just the two of them, and there was no one else around to be a potential competitor. He’d have to check with Holden and see what he knew later.
Summer nodded at his observation. She leaned against the back of the chair, her long hair tumbling down over her shoulders and gracing the curves of her breasts. Everything in the room seemed to compliment her, from the way the dark fabric in her dress brought out the boldness of her eyes to the delicate lilac scent that wafted through the air. “I agree, and I want you to know that I’m happy to help you.”
“You…you are?” He wasn’t disappointed to hear it, but it seemed like such an odd way to phrase things. Xander wanted Summer to desire him as much as he desired her, but she made it sound like she was just doing him a favor.
“Of course. People come to me all the time for such things,” she replied with a gentle and knowing smile.
“They do?” Xander had a hard time imagining that random men approached her all the time asking her to be their mates. That didn’t seem like the sort of thing most human women would like.
“Well, I do have a pretty good reputation around town. People don’t always want to admit it, because they’re embarrassed or ashamed. But it’s what I do, isn’t it? There’s no reason to be afraid to ask for help every now and then.”
Xander cleared his throat, doing his best to stay composed. His body was reacting more violently now, perhaps in reaction to his discomfort at what she was saying. It was time to just come clean about it all. “Summer, I’m not sure you and I are on the same page.”
“Sure we are.” She leaned forward in her seat, staring him straight in the eyes. He could see the tiny flecks of gold that danced around in the green seas of her irises. “You need a spell of some sort. You’re looking for a talisman or an enchantment. You don’t have to feel strange about it, Xander. Just tell me what kind of energies you’re wanting to draw to yourself—or keep away, for that matter—and I’ll be happy to make it happen.”
Xander opened his mouth to reply, and then shut it again. This definitely wasn’t what he wanted from her, not unless there was some sort of spell that would make her understand just how he felt. “I’m afraid that’s not it at all.”
She stared at him for a long moment, and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly. “Then I’m more out of touch with the universe than I imagined.”
“Look, I’ll save us both some time and just be direct about it. I think you know that I’m a dragon.”
“Yes.”
“And that my dragon brethren and I have come to Earth to find safe homes for the children of our queen, whom we rescued before they could be killed by the wizards and ogres.”
“That’s the gist of what I understand, yes.”
He made sure to keep his gaze steadily on her. Based on what he’d read, humans often gave small signs when they were lying, like looking away from the other person. He didn’t want Summer to have any reason to doubt him. “It’s also our duty to make sure that these children have mothers, to make sure that they get all the care and nurturing that they need.”
“If you’re asking me for a love potion, that sort of thing is purely fictional—”
“No.” He leaned forward, daring to take her hand. It was soft and delicate against his, her skin as smooth as silk. He never wanted to let it go. “I need you.”
The shaking of Summer’s head started out very subtly, almost invisible, but it gradually increased as she spoke. “That’s not the kind of help I can give to you, Xander. I don’t even know why you would ask me. I don’t know much about children.” Summer stood, moving across the room and standing near a buffet table covered in candles and stones. “It’s all very flattering, but you can’t just ask a random woman to be a mother to your child.”
Somehow, her resistance made him even more determined to make her understand. He stood as well and stepped around the coffee table. He approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her off, but he didn’t even want to let the distance of the room separate them. Not now that he had finally found her. “You’re not random, Summer. Not at all. You and I are…meant to be together.”
She stared up at him, looking curious and terrified simultaneously. “And how do you know that?”
“As a witch, do you believe in destiny? Fate?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then could you also believe that for dragons, we have a special instinct that tells us when we meet the woman we’re meant to be with? Summer, when I’m near you, I almost can’t control myself.” He had only ever shared his feelings about what it was like to be a dragon with the other men, but he would tell Summer anything and everything she wanted to hear if only it would make her understand. “My body can’t decide if it wants to be human or dragon. There are primal parts of my brain that threaten to take over my consciousness, and I’m willing to do anything to be with you.”
Her lower lip trembled slightly as she asked, “Should I be scared by that?”
“No,” he assured her quickly, reaching out to delicately touch her arm with his fingertips. It wasn’t enough, and he would never be able to touch her enough, but the sheer sensation of having his molecules touch hers was pure bliss, nevertheless. “Just know that I need you in my life. You’re the only woman who has ever made me feel this way.” He wanted to lean forward, bend his head and press his lips to hers. If his words couldn’t get through to her, then maybe there was another way.
But she pressed a hand against his chest. It was small, but it was firm. “Xander, this is all very sweet. In fact, it’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, but you can’t really think I would just accept it?”
His breath heaved in his chest with the urge to have her. She had to accept it. “Tell me what I need to do. I’ll do it. Anything.”
Summer moved around him, slipping out of his reach to stand near the door. “How do I know any of this is true? I don’t mean to call you a liar, but you’re saying that the universe is telling you we’re meant to be together. So why isn’t it telling me?”
This was something he hadn’t thought about before. He’d never needed to, basing his future only on his reaction to her presence. Xander licked his lip. “I don’t really know the answer to that. But I do know that Holden felt this same way when he met Leah, and I don’t think either one of us can deny that the two of them are meant to be together.”
“They’re perfect together,” Summer affirmed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Leah so happy. But what’s right for her isn’t necessarily what’s right for me. I think you’re a good person, Xander, but I’m not ready to be in a long-term relationship. I still have so much that I want to do; things I need to do on my own. How can I just let someone step in on that?”
“Maybe I can make your work easier,” he suggested. Xander didn’t know if it was true or not, but he knew that he would try.
“You don’t even know me,” Summer countered. “How could we possibly be destined for each other?”
She was slipping away from him. He was going to lose her, and then what would he do? Spend the rest of his life wishing to relive the sensation of having her near? “You’re right,” he admitted. “I don’t know you. But I want to. Couldn’t we at least spend some time together, even just as friends? Give me time to understand who you are, and let yourself understand who I am. Not just as a dragon and not just as a man, and definitely not just as some crazy guy who insists that he’s supposed to be with you.” They both laughed a little at that, and it released some of the tension in Xander’s chest. “I’m just asking for a chance.”
Summer glanced at the flowers on the table and at the floor. She closed her eyes, her chest expanding as she took in a deep breath. Xander couldn’t stop looking at her pink lips as she slowly let the air pass through them, and he felt the intensity of her stare when she opened her eyes once again. “There’s nothing wrong with getting to know
each other.”
“Thank you.” Not wanting to press his luck, Xander said goodbye and left. Beads of sweat stood out on his brow as he got back into his car, even though the hardest part of it was over now. He had told her. No, wait; that wasn’t the hardest part at all. He had yet to convince her. Somehow, it almost seemed wrong to have to persuade a woman to see that she was his destiny, but it was the only option he had at the moment. He would have to take it and run with it. Xander pulled slowly out of the long, twisting driveway that led up to Summer’s house, but he pressed the pedal to the floorboard once he was out on the highway.
6
On Monday morning, Summer dragged herself out of bed. There wasn’t time for her morning walk, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to go. She snagged a pair of leggings and an oversized tank top from her closet, made a quick cup of coffee, and headed for town.
She showed up at the store early to unlock the door and turn on the lights, needing something to do besides sit around at home and think about what Xander had told her. While destiny was something she did wholeheartedly believe in, she wasn’t sure that it extended to romantic relationships. Lots of people thought they were supposed to be together, only to wind up divorced later on down the road. Maybe people just didn’t know what it really meant to be fated for each other.
But that didn’t mean dragons didn’t know.
Shaking off the notion, she picked up the phone and dialed Autumn’s number. She had received a text from Autumn letting her know that she had landed safely, but she hadn’t talked to her sister otherwise since Saturday morning. That was a long time to be without a twin, and she needed to hear Autumn’s voice.
“Good morning,” Summer chirped into the phone when her sister answered sleepily. “Don’t tell me you’re wasting your vacation in bed.”
“What time is it?” Autumn asked grumpily. Some banging and clashing came through the phone.
