“Are you,” he murmured. I nodded and felt as if I had plunged off a cliff. Sometimes David looked sad or just grim and more often he looked lighter; amused or content. Right now I couldn’t read him at all. It was if he had short-circuited somewhere in his mind. I didn’t know what to think.
“Help me out here,” I said, laughing nervously. I hadn’t had alcohol in a while now, but I wished I had a drink. “Don’t leave me hanging, David. If you don’t feel like I do-”
“You’re the sun,” David said simply. “You’re the sun and air. All that light I would dream about when I was locked up… You’re...walking through a field, feeling the grass between my toes, the smell of wildflowers, the way a new piece of gold feels in your hand, you’re...everything. Dana.”
“Oh…” I opened and closed my mouth, utterly overcome by him and he stopped me with a kiss and whispered my name against my lips and we stayed out there under the maple for a long, long time.
Chapter Eleven: David
My love, my mate, my darling…
Every hour spent in Dana’s company was another hour of bliss. I had not forgotten about the threat of Darien. In fact, his very existence plagued my mind. My own captor was long dead. There was no more vengeance I could take on him. But my love’s enemy was still out there and he was probably hatching a plan.
Jessie had only told me that Darien had so far been almost impossible to investigate. All Jessie had found was that such a man existed and now lived in New England. Dana told me that he’d lived in Maine but Jessie found nothing there and we had to assume he’d moved since Dana had run off. Other than that, he appeared to be completely off the grid. That a shifter was off the grid was not a surprise at all. It was quite common, but with very wealthy shifters, heavily assimilated into the world, it was a true feat to have accomplished it. I wondered if he had everything in gold and cash. If he was some kind of criminal and all his wealth was ill-got, perhaps that helped. He might be part of the shifter underbelly that plagued our population.
But other then that, I was in the beautiful bubble of falling in love. Dana spent every evening in my bed and woke up in my arms. I want it that way always. Now that we understood each other, I couldn’t doubt that sense of one-ness between us. She was my mate. I felt it in my bones. It made me want to protect both her and our child with my life.
There was also the matter of the baby, the actual dragon child that would eventually be born. We had to prepare for it. I hadn’t told Dana yet, but I did have Miles clear out the small guest room across from Dana’s one afternoon while she was working. I was thinking of turning it into a nursery. I knew things could hardly be called permanent yet but it was better to be prepared. If Dana did decide to stay here with me and let me be a father to her child and take her as my mate, I wanted everything in perfect readiness.
I returned to patrolling on some nights, when I wasn’t too tempted to hold Dana all night long. I’d make love to her and go off, my dragon sated but still riled up enough to fight. I was better than ever, or at least I thought so. There wasn’t a terrible amount of shifter-related crimes but I stopped a wolf pack from murdering a lion and I saved a baby bear and brought him back to his mother on the other side of town (which took some doing) and I broke up a fight between two young dragons fighting over a gold watch. The dragons had been so young too. They’d reminded me of me.
I had the boys from the club over a few times too and they met Dana. She fit right in so well, my heart swelled with affection. This was how it could always be, I thought. My best friends and my mate and the closest thing I had to a living relative in Miles, and the child who would soon be born. It was a rich life. It was so much more than anything I’d ever thought I would have or deserve.
“Let’s go out tonight.”
It was only three in the afternoon but I’d stolen Dana away from the library, hardly able to focus on work because I couldn’t stop thinking about the feel of her body against mine. We’d made love twice on my big bed. She’d wrapped a gold chain around my hard cock and licked and sucked it until I’d come (too fast for my liking but Dana’s mouth was a magical thing) in her mouth and on her lips and a bit on her breasts. Now we were naked, after I’d made her come twice until she’d insisted she wanted to save something for later. I’d been about to tell her that there was no need to save anything, I was always at the ready for the most part being a dragon shifter. But I’d thought perhaps she wanted to rest.
Now we were both naked in the sheets and I lay on my side, idly drawing circles around her pebbled little nipple, oddly fascinated by it.
“Where shall we go?” Dana said, smiling lazily at me.
I’d offered to take Dana out on the town a dozen times. We had yet to go on a proper shopping spree and she’d hemmed and hawed deciding whether she wanted to go to a Broadway show or to the ballet or an opera or just an absurdly fancy restaurant… She seemed nervous about it, perhaps intimidated by that sort of society. I was starting to think I needed to choose for her. Take her out and show her it wasn’t scary. I just wanted to show her off, to show the world she was mine; my gold, my sun…
“Swan Lake is at The Met,” I said, leaning over to kiss the swell of her breast. “And I could get reservations for The Circe any time. Let me spoil you.”
“The ballet?” Dana said. The way she said it, I knew I had happened to guess her first choice and that pleased me. “That would be nice.”
“If you don’t feel safe going out,” I said firmly, “you don’t have to.”
“I always feel safe with you,” she whispered, and I had to take her in my arms again.
Miles, at my request, had bought a couple of more formal dresses for Dana just in case I managed to get her out of the house for something fancy. Now I had my chance. I just prayed to the heavens that Miles was as good at eyeballing a woman’s dress size as he’d said he was. There was no time for tailoring tonight.
At five o’clock, I waited in the foyer in my suit, feeling a little edgy. I was happy to be taking Dana out. Having her on my arm would be everything. I wanted to give her everything.
“It’s fits like a glove,” Dana’s sweet voice said from the stairs.
I looked up and my heart leapt in my chest. I suppose it always leapt, and it was true that I thought Dana was breath-taking in any state but perhaps most especially when I woke up next to her in the morning. But it was something alright to see her come down the stairs in a strapless velvety midnight blue gown with a silvery shimmer to it that formed a heart of a neckline. Her hair sat in a curly little pile atop her head with soft tendrils coming down and framing her face. She was so beautiful, I could hardly speak.
“I’ve never worn sapphires,” she said, blushing as she fingered the deep blue and twinkling studs in her ears and the necklace she wore.
I had been out to fix something with one of my brokers and I’d been thinking of Dana when I’d just happened to find myself in front of Tiffany’s. I had a feeling that would be happening a lot. But to see her face when I’d given the shiny trinkets to her had all been worth it.
“You should always wear sapphires,” I said in her ear as she came to meet me. “Unless you’re wearing gold.”
“Don’t get me going,” she said, looking up at me with the fire of her dragon in her eyes. “We’ll never make it to the ballet.”
She was perfection. I kissed her softly, careful not to ruin her make-up as much as I wanted to throw her down on the marble floor and have my way with her. This was the time to take her out for some fun.
On the drive to The Met, Dana sat nestled up against me, holding my hand as she made observations about people going by on the street or about whatever Netflix documentary she had just watched. We talked and laughed and I kissed her hair. My heart felt almost painful in my chest lately. I suppose there was simply no getting around it. I had a heart condition now and her name was Dana.
We ate dinner first at The Circe near The Met. The reservation had taken some attempts
and stern words but somehow it had worked. The cuisine was French fusion. I’d been there once with Justin and thought it was fantastic but not the sort of place I needed to go very often as it was both hard to get into and absurdly expensive (not that I didn’t have the cash).
Dana was adorable at dinner. I couldn’t help watching her every little move. I didn’t want to be patronizing about it but I loved watching her ask the waiter what she should eat, her eyes alight as she tried to decide. Then there were her hums of pleasure as she dipped bread in herbs and oil and covered her mouth as if embarrassed.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” I said, smiling. “No one cares. And I’m glad you like it.”
“I feel a little out of place,” she said, her expression far too serious. “Like everyone can tell where I came from...and where I’ve been.”
“You belong here as much as I do,” I said, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “Anyone who sees you here just thinks, there is the most beautiful woman in New York.”
Dana went a little googly-eyed and grinned brilliantly at me, squeezing my hand back. “You are so romantic,” she said, shaking her head. “I never would have guessed it.”
“Oh, I dunno,” I mumbled. I felt a little called out now as if I’d revealed too much and yet I wanted to be romantic for her. I was apparently doing it without even meaning too. It was as if once I’d opened my heart to her, I had no ability to lock it back up again. Everything had to come out now.
We ate our French food and went to the ballet and if it hadn’t been special enough, Dana told me she’d never been to the ballet before, or to a restaurant that was much fancier than McDonald’s or to an opera...or the movies. I had done those things before I’d been kidnapped and then not for eleven years. But that Dana had been so sheltered made me want to not just be back out into the world but to drag her with me. She had so much to discover and explore. I felt like it would be such a journey for the both of us and for the child yet to be born.
“It was so beautiful,” Dana whispered in my ear after the final curtain. “I can’t believe how beautiful it was! I didn’t know people could move like that. I mean I’ve seen dancing on TV, sure, but it’s different in real life.”
“I’m so glad you liked it,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“I loved it.”
We were on cloud nine. The anxiety over Darien and our own insecurities just now a distant memory as we strolled down Fifth Avenue among the other New Yorkers in their designer coats and jewels. I wrapped my arm around Dana’s shoulder and we walked with no real plan. I never did this. I hadn’t done it since I was a kid. I had thought The Collector had beaten out of me the ability to be this relaxed but now all I could think about was the smell of Dana’s hair and the way the leaves of the trees in the park looked under streetlights.
“Oh…” Dana coughed and waved her hand, scowling back at an old woman just passing by with her hair wrapped in a scarf. The woman was gone in two seconds, lost in the hubbub of the crowd but Dana was shaking her head, squinting.
“Are you alright?” I said, stopping us on the sidewalk. I tugged the collar of her new coat around her. It had been chillier than usual for this time of year when we’d left the mansion. I was grateful that Miles had thought to buy Dana an overcoat even in spring.
“Yes,” Dana said, blinking and sniffing. I caught a pungent floral scent in the air and grimaced. “That lady sprayed her perfume right in my face. I guess she didn’t like how I smelled.” She laughed at that and I scowled down the street. It seemed unforgivably rude to me. What if Dana had been allergic to the perfume? I looked over her face again but her eyes weren’t red and her cheeks were only a little rosy from the chill but she wasn’t flushed and nothing looked swollen. No allergic reaction then. But still.
“People are the worst,” I said lightly .
Soon enough, the incident was forgotten. We walked along a little more and then stopped for a glass of wine and a Shirley Temple for Dana before I called the car over to pick us up. In the car, Dana cuddled up against me and when her hand wandered down to tease my crotch when we kissed, I moaned into her mouth, eager for what was yet to come.
I had thought Dana was tired from our big night out but when we got home, she was all riled up. We made love in varied positions. My beloved was insatiable and the more she asked of me the more I wanted to ask of her until I had her on all fours on the bed, my hips snapping as I thrusted into her tight heat. By then we were slicked with sweat. We had each come a couple of times already but I felt that buzzing thread between us as Dana crouched down, her round and luscious ass in the air as I snapped again and she yelped.
“Is...is that too hard?” I said, panting and shaking as I tried to hold off coming.
“No,” she said, looking back at me with her fiery eyes. “Harder.”
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered, and I pounded her until she was screaming into her pillow, tears sliding down her face, her swollen red lips gaping open even as she pushed her ass back to meet me with each thrust.
“I can’t get enough of you,” Dana said later as she wrapped around me like an octopus atop the sheets.
“Same here, my love,” I told her, and the two of us once again fell asleep in each other’s arms.
“Good morning, David. It’s time to get up, sir. Good morning, David. It’s time to get up, sir…”
In the morning, I reached out for Dana but she had already gone from the bed. I frowned, mildly disappointed. Dana didn’t usually get up earlier than I did and I had become used to her pliant, warm body next to mine. But I didn’t think much of it as I stretched and muttered at the AI that I was getting up and padded to the bathroom.
I found myself smiling in the shower. I found myself often smiling when I didn’t even intend to. It was a strange, new feeling to find myself contented so often. There would still be problems, I knew. Certainly, Darien needed to be dealt with and I still had my own demons that I needed to contend with. More than ever, I wanted to become a healthier person for myself as well as Dana and for the child who would be born soon.
Still, for now, I found myself humming happily in the shower and remembering the night of lovemaking that still had me sore in the oddest places. I dressed more casually than usual for the day in a soft sweater and jeans. Miles would tease me. I usually dressed as if I were going to an office even though I worked from home. I suppose this was a part of breaking out of my habits. Besides which, Dana had told me once that I looked great in jeans and should wear them more often.
I practically skipped down the stairs on my way to breakfast and found Miles eating croissants alone with a frown on his face.
“Where’s Dana?” I said, sighing as I sat down at the breakfast table and grabbed a croissant and some fruit.
“She took a croissant and wandered off,” Miles said, looking vaguely put out. “Seemed a bit out of sorts. I asked her what was the matter and she wouldn’t say. She said she wanted to take breakfast in the library by herself.”
“Really?” I felt a little buzz of anxiety, only because I couldn’t imagine why Dana would be in a bad mood after such a lovely night. We’d admitted our feelings to each other… Could she have changed her mind? But no, I thought. I doubted myself so much but when I had looked into Dana’s eyes last night I had seen only love. We belonged to each other. She was my mate. I had never been more convinced of anything.
I mulled over this as I ate and finally came to a satisfactory conclusion. “She probably just wants a little alone time,” I said. “We are around her a lot. Sometimes a person just wants to be alone.”
“Could be a hormonal issue too, sir,” Miles said, smiling knowingly. “At the risk of speaking too presumptuously as a man, I believe shifter pregnancies can occasionally wreak havoc on a person’s moods. I wouldn’t think too much on it.”
“You’re probably right,” I said, nodding.
Satisfied, I ate my breakfast and skimmed the news on my iPad. If this was going
to work at all, I needed to trust in Dana and not going to her over every little thing. I would give her some space today and she would come to me when she felt like it.
After breakfast, I went to my office and worked steadily into lunch. Lately, Dana had made a habit of bothering me once or twice between breakfast and lunch and sometimes we couldn’t contain ourselves, occasionally slipping a quickie in there as well. But she didn’t bother me this morning. I tried not to worry about it, reminding myself that giving some space meant giving some space. But when I went down to grab some lunch, Miles look even more bothered this time.
“I think something’s wrong,” Miles said, squinting. He was puttering around the kitchen, preparing some aioli and I sipped an iced tea and leaned on the counter. I had just been feeling some nervous energy as I came down to see Dana not at the table eating a sandwich. I had been thinking I should work out. I needed to anyway. “You should check on her,” Miles said. “You would know better than I.”
“You don’t think it’s hormones now?” I pushed back my hair, my eyes roving around the room as my nerves built up.
An evil little voice in my head was telling me that I should have known better than to think I could have such happiness. I should have braced myself for everything to fall apart, I should have…
“You’re my pet,” The Collector whispered in my ear before jabbing me with his cattle prod. “You’ll do as I say.”
“I don’t know.” Miles sighed and tossed me a nod. “You should just check on her.
I forgot all about breakfast and made my way to the library. I tried to stay quiet. It was sneaky of me perhaps, but I wanted to see what Dana was doing before she sensed me. The door was open and I peered in from afar and saw her sitting in a chair before the laptop that sat on a table.
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