Dragon Marked

by Amelia Jade

  “What do you mean? What did I do wrong?” He was sitting up now, a few feet between them.

  “Well, first off, we’ve been friends for what, nine and a half years now?” She waited for him to nod before continuing. “I was supposed to be getting married. Right about now I’d probably be listening to speeches or toasts, or having dinner. Or just drunkenly dancing.”

  Hel’s eyes closed, cursing himself silently. What a buffoon! He’d gotten so wrapped up in his desire to kiss Megyn, that he’d totally forgotten that today was supposed to be hers. A day all about her. And now he’d irrevocably tainted that in multiple ways, like a stumbling moron. No wonder everyone thought he was insane! Who else would do such a thing, and to a long-time friend as well!

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, putting his hands on the ground to get up.

  “Hel.” Megyn reached out for him, putting an arm on his bare shoulder. This allowed the blanket to slide, revealing much of her own shoulder, arm, and upper chest, to his dismay. “It’s okay.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not. I betrayed your confidence.”

  “Hel.” Her voice was sharper this time. His head turned to look at her. “I’m sober. I know what I did. I made my own decision there. I just…things are really confusing right now, okay? Please, don’t hate me.”

  Hanging his head, he exhaled heavily. “Megyn,” he said, lifting his chin to look at her in the eyes. “I could never hate you. Ever.”

  The room was silent. She stared at him, and he looked right back into her beautiful hazel eyes. Big, round, loving, compassionate, friendly. There were a million words to describe them, and they all applied.

  So tell her that.

  But he couldn’t. The words still failed him, blowing away like dust as he breathed out again and got to his feet, leaving things once again unspoken between the two of them. The press of her eyes on his back as he fled into the kitchen was unbearable. There was no denying it either; he fled the situation. Ran away from it like a coward.

  Which is exactly what he was.

  “Is dinner ready yet?” came her teasing call a minute later.

  Chapter Seven

  Megyn

  “Hel, I need to tell you something.”

  His left eye twitched, but otherwise he had a mean poker face. They were sitting across from one another at the kitchen table, eating some beer-battered fish that was quite delicious. That is to say, it would have been, if this wasn’t her sixth timing eating it out of the past nine meals. Only breakfast was different, and that was plain oatmeal.

  “You can tell me anything.”

  “Good, because I don’t want you to think I’m being rude or ungrateful.”

  “You? Never,” he teased, before sobering. “Sorry, it sounded like you were trying to be serious.”

  “Hel, I can’t eat any more fish,” she pronounced, pushing the plate back with the half-eaten serving on it. “I’m sorry. I just can’t. Between it and oatmeal, I’m tapping out. Can we please go into town and get something else? Anything almost at this point.”

  He nodded. “Yes, of course.”

  She sighed. “It’s not that this isn’t good, you understand. It’s delicious. I’m just…I need something different, it’s too much.”

  “No, don’t apologize, I understand. We should have gone into town already.”

  Megyn just shrugged. Things had fallen into a bit of a rhythm at the cabin. In the mornings she would sleep in. Hel got up early and went outside, chopping wood. There was a built-in heating system, but he preferred to use that to get it to a base level, then use the wood-burning fireplace built into most rooms to keep it warm.

  It seemed like an excessive amount of work to her, but it seemed to keep him happy, and gave him something to do instead of waking her up, so she didn’t object too strongly. The sleep was proving to be a godsend. The bed in her room was a king, outfitted with a heated blanket and the fluffiest, comfiest sheets and comforter possible. Sinful luxury was the best way she could describe it.

  “We’ll clean up after lunch and then go for a drive? It’s about forty-five minutes away. Just so you know, it’s also not a full grocery store. Herman’s is just a general store that sells some of everything.”

  “Will he sell pasta?”

  Hel frowned. “Probably.”

  “Great. And there’s got to be a butcher around somewhere. It’s the country, there’s always a butcher around.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “So some steaks or chicken. Pasta. Maybe he has some veggies or something. I don’t need fancy eating. My mom was a horrible cook, but she did make a variety of things, which is what I’m craving now. Variety.”

  Hel laughed. “Point made. Yes, I’m sure Herman will have enough stuff for us to make a few new meals for your picky stomach.”

  She glared at him. “Hurry up and finish your meal already.” She poked at hers and took another bite, but it was too fishy. “I might never eat fish again,” she said with a shudder as he speared her portion and wolfed it down.

  Hel winked at her, but his gaze lingered after that as he got up. His eyes tracked left and right, making Megyn acutely aware of the fact he was staring at her face, watching it, reading it. Ever since she’d let him kiss her when they’d arrived, nearly seventy-two hours earlier now, the way he’d looked at her had changed.

  Open desire was now writ on his face almost as often as not, though he’d been very good at keeping his distance and never making openly sexual comments. They’d flirted, but both parties had been careful never to say anything that might open up the moment to something more intimate between them. It was mostly just good-natured joking.

  All of which combined to make everything between the two of them even more confusing, instead of sorting things out. Perhaps that was what Megyn needed just then. Everything in her life was changing, and she really wasn’t sure how to sort any of it out. Ian was gone. She’d made that decision shortly after the wedding.

  Even if I’d been unsure of it, his text messages would have sealed the deal, that’s for sure.

  She hadn’t shared any of that with Hel, and likely never would. He didn’t need to know everything about her past relationship. Besides, those messages had infuriated her. She didn’t want to know what Hel would do. So she just deleted them as they came in now, and each one seemed to become more furious and more derogatory toward her. This morning she’d turned off her phone, and intended to keep it that way for some time. She’d told her mom where she was. That was enough.

  It hurt knowing that deep down Ian had only ever seen her as a possession, a thing to conquer, and that he hadn’t truly loved her in any significant way. That was a painful blow that would take time to overcome. Time and…caring from elsewhere, to help rebuild her self-esteem and self-worth.

  Hel was abruptly back from the kitchen, where she realized he’d disappeared to do dishes, once again taking care of everything without allowing her to pitch in.

  “Hel, I thought we talked about that.”

  “Talked about what?”

  “You letting me help.” She stood up, giving him a firm look, letting him know she wasn’t just teasing.

  “Nonsense, you’re a guest. I can do dishes.”

  Marching up to him, she placed her index finger on his chest. “It has nothing to do with that, Hel. It has everything to do with you accepting that I’m not some helpless female who needs to have the world catered to her.” She snorted. “Not to mention that, though your fish is good, I’m probably a better cook overall. I’ve done a lot of it, and I know how to do dishes. I’m not useless.” The last word came out with a slight hiccup to it, much to her embarrassment.

  Hel blinked. “I’m sorry, Megyn,” he said softly, taking her more seriously now than he had at any time before. “I just want to spoil you,” he said.

  Megyn grinned as he finally admitted the truth. “I know you do. I know. Giving me all this,” she said,
waving her hands around the cabin, “is spoiling me. Trust me. I appreciate it more than you know, since I’m technically supposed to be on my honeymoon now too. This is a great way to work toward forgetting that.”

  “I’ll let you do some stuff from now on,” he caved. “If you really want, I think the bathrooms need cleaning.”

  She punched him in the chest. “Ow! That’s not what I meant!” Shaking her fist, she glared at him. “I forgot how much it hurts to hit you. Man of steel over there.”

  Despite her jokes, she was keenly aware of him now. His size, his strength, and the layers of muscle. Hel had always been incredibly good-looking, but now things were changing. Now she was starting to realize he was hot.

  Megyn backed away before her brain could take that thought to its inevitable conclusion. Now was not the time for anymore thoughts like that.

  “Are you ready?” he asked as the space widened.

  “Lead on.”

  ***

  The drive was beautiful, which certainly helped to pass the time. It also provided a welcome distraction any time she felt herself looking at Hel for too long. He’d thrown on a pair of sunglasses and a black ball cap, which just increased his burgeoning sex appeal in her eyes, much to Megyn’s irritation.

  I went nine years without wanting to jump him. What the hell has changed?

  Technically a lot had changed. She’d canceled a wedding, spent two-and-a-half days alone with him in a beautiful cabin in the mountains, and on top of all that, they’d shared a kiss that had rocked her world more than a lot of her sexual experiences in recent memory.

  Okay, so that’s what’s changed. Still, I need to show that I have some restraint. Which means take your eyes off his crotch while he’s driving, woman. Look forward. No, don’t peek at his fingers on the steering wheel and wonder what they’d feel like on your inner thigh. I said don’t! Stop it! Okay, look out the side window. Hey, that’s his head in the reflection. What a nice jawline—

  She gave up and let her mind wander as long as her head was looking the other direction.

  “We need to get a few more things too,” Hel said abruptly, shattering the silence and her carefully constructed sexual fantasy.

  Grateful for the mundane interruption, she went along with it. Maybe he wasn’t the only one suffering excessive thoughts about each other.

  “Yeah? What else do we need besides food?”

  “Fuel, for starters. I thought I’d filled the generator, but I guess I was mistaken. So I need to place an order with Herman to have the local guys come top off the tank. Some other odds and ends too, but that’s the important one not to forget while we’re here.”

  She nodded just as they crested a hill and descended into a tiny cluster of houses. “This must be it.”

  “Sure is. Welcome to Hermanville.”

  “Like the store.”

  “Janus Herman is the great-great-grandson of Mel Herman, who was a big-time landowner and stuff from back in the day. He eventually sold off most of the area around here back when a mining company came through and the population boomed for a time. The vein was short-lived though, and eventually fizzled out, leaving this tiny remnant left.”

  Megyn listened intently. She loved learning little history lessons like that. It was always neat to know about the past.

  They pulled up to a building that could easily have passed for an old barn in its construction style. Siding and windows had been added, but the shape was unmistakable. A sign over the front door read Herman’s General Goods. Hel continued around to the side, away from the front door, where he parked in a spot that didn’t quite look like it was supposed to be for visitor parking.

  Inside she followed him up and down several aisles, pointing out items in the food section that she wanted to grab. They all went into the basket he carried, without hesitation. Megyn could tell she was smiling the entire time. It was such a mundane everyday thing they were doing, but it felt fine to do it together. It felt normal.

  With Ian, she’d been expected to handle the daily chores herself. That wasn’t such a big deal to her at the time, because he was the main breadwinner, and he spoiled her with it. She could handle grocery shopping and keeping the house clean. This though, doing things like this with someone? That was a novel experience, and one she was already enjoying.

  So lost in the normalcy and her excitement to finally have new food to eat, she missed the changing of attitude in Hel. There was no souring of his mood. He still smiled and put whatever she suggested in the basket. No anger radiated from him, annoyed at spending so long picking out food.

  When he reached out an arm to stop her from picking up a jar of pasta sauce, however, Megyn looked around and suddenly clued in that something was different. She went to ask him what was wrong, but a finger magically appeared over her lips, and the face he’d kept in place disappeared, replaced by one of concern and worry. He tapped an ear gently.

  Listen, he mouthed at her. Then he grabbed a jar of spices from a nearby shelf and cracked it as quietly as possible.

  Megyn was busy trying to listen, but now he got her attention again and mouthed the words “Trust me” to her. She frowned, but nodded. He splashed spice on him, then some on her. After that he took a pinch and flung it both back down the aisle and ahead of them. Then up and over the top.

  All at once she suddenly heard voices from the front of the store.

  “Hi, Janus.”

  She stiffened. The voice belonged to Danny, one of Ian’s groomsmen.

  “Daniel.”

  Hel grinned at the dismissive way Janus the store owner replied to Danny, who was an extreme asshole. Megyn joined in, even if she was still trying to figure out how they knew where to find her.

  “We know that Hel and a woman are out here somewhere. We tracked them to this vicinity. Where are they?”

  She shot Hel a worried glance. Danny had the worst temper of the lot, and he was prone to violence if he didn’t get his way. This Janus didn’t deserve that. To her surprise Hel was grinning widely though, and waved away her fear. He mimed pleading to the sky, then threw a punch at the air and put his palms together once more.

  You want them to fight? she mouthed, confused.

  Hel nodded. He pointed toward the source of the voices and his mouth formed Janus’s name. Then he pointed at himself. Then Danny, and he mimed stepping on him, and then wiped his hand across his forehead. She got it. Janus would win without breaking a sweat.

  And Danny would get his ass kicked for the second time in a week.

  “Daniel, you should know better than to come in my store and threaten me. Even if I did know where Hel was, I’m not going to tell you.” Janus’s voice carried easily over the aisles to where the pair stood. She didn’t detect an ounce of fear in him.

  “Listen, Janus. If I smell them in here, it’s not going to end well for you. I’m not here alone.”

  “I know. You and the rest of your mongrels outside, just waiting for your signal to come in here and try to beat me up. Which isn’t going to work, you should know that. So do you want to do this already or what?”

  Danny’s growl was followed by the little bell chiming as the front door opened. She saw Hel glance in that direction, then he quickly pulled her down to the far end of their aisle and around to the end, where they couldn’t be seen by anyone passing by.

  Hel was still carrying the basket as he peered slowly around the corner, and then motioned for her to scurry across the aisle with him to the next endcap, where they once again hid.

  The store only had six aisles, but it took them nearly five minutes to safely cross to the last one.

  Now what? She felt like they were more trapped here, in the back corner of the store, than anywhere else. The wall behind them and to the side hummed, the chilled units working hard to keep everything inside cool.

  Hel winked, and pulled open the door to one of the units. With a quick push of his hand, the entire rack of she
lving slowly moved backward. He motioned for her to follow. Bracing herself for the chill, she stepped inside the refrigerated section. Hel reached over her head to make sure the door shut gently, then he pushed the shelf back into place.

  “Now what?’ she whispered, confident they wouldn’t be heard.

  Hel pointed to the door. “Now we get the hell out of here.”

  She followed, understanding why he’d parked the truck where he had now. Hel made her wait to get in, checking to be sure that all the others were gone, she guessed.

  “Okay it’s safe, let’s go. No, you’re driving.”

  “What?” she tried to protest, but he snatched the basket back from her hands and pushed her into the driver’s seat. The food got tossed in the back of the cab.

  “Don’t start until I tell you to,” he said. “Just put it in neutral.”

  Understanding followed. With the truck in neutral Hel grabbed the front and started pushing. The vehicle rolled backward, picking up speed. Megyn stared over her shoulder, guiding them down the road, and then making a sharp left without being told, until they were out of sight of the store, hidden behind a house.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as Hel came back inside and motioned her to climb over into the passenger seat. “You’re not even breathing hard from that,” she complained. “My pulse is hammering simply from the adrenaline. This is not fair.”

  Hel didn’t say anything, just fired up the truck and guided them out of town.

  “That was too close,” he said a minute later, finally speaking. “They shouldn’t have had any idea where to find us. How could they have known?”

  Megyn could only shake her head. She’d been thinking the same thing the entire time. “Unless people know you have this cabin? Have you told anyone?”

  “No one,” he said calmly. “I bought it through a proxy as well. My name shouldn’t be tied to any records with it. No, something else must have tipped them off.”

  She reached out and squeezed his upper arm. “It’s okay. They didn’t catch us.” Glancing out the mirror to ensure they weren’t being followed, she squeezed again. “We’re safe now.”