by Amelia Jade
“You’re sharing the bacon?” she asked at last, her voice small.
“Yes, I’m sharing the bacon. And the eggs. The toast too. There’s even some orange juice in the fridge if you would like a glass.”
“Thank you,” she said after a very long pause, speaking so softly that he could barely hear her. Slowly she took two pieces of bacon from the pile.
Corde frowned. That just wouldn’t do. Moving swiftly, he snatched up the tongs the instant she removed her fingers, grabbed a generous helping of bacon and added it to her plate. “There,” he said, admiring his handiwork. “Much better.”
“Are you sure?”
He expelled some air from his nose in distaste. “Yes, I’m sure, Carla. I’m not that gluttonous that I wouldn’t share more than two strips with you. This is bacon we’re talking about. Don’t act like you don’t want more.”
She blushed and nodded, walking through the kitchen to sit down at the oversized island. He joined her a moment later after pouring both of them glasses of orange juice. The bar stools were made of thick reinforced steel, and they didn’t budge under his body as he sat.
The two of them dug in, not speaking as they inhaled the tasty meal.
“This is good,” she remarked around a mouthful of bacon. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He silently thanked the internet for giving him the first positive interaction with Carla since the bar.
What should he say now though? The opening was there, he could sense it. Now was the time to speak plainly and honestly. Without hatred and anger from either side. He’d extended the olive branch, and she’d taken it. They were even sitting next to one another, and she hadn’t made any attempt to move away, or given him a questioning glance over it.
“Listen,” he said, regretfully putting down the piece of bacon he’d been about to eat. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for this whole thing.”
Carla looked up, the last piece of a strip of bacon disappearing into her mouth just a moment too late. He forced himself not to smile at that, lest it embarrass her and ruin the mood.
“I never thought it would go this far. It wasn’t my intent to make you miss the general inspection with your unit. I’m not actually a callous asshole.” He stopped. This wasn’t supposed to become about him. “I didn’t think Colonel Mara would ever take it this far.”
“Neither did I.” Carla spoke up, surprising him slightly with that admittance. He’d expected it to take a bit longer before the two of them could speak openly and honestly with each other like this. So much bad blood had built up over the past two days, it had seemed insurmountable at first.
“Can I ask why you went along with it?” Thorne was generally curious. What had possessed her to agree to it all?
To his surprise she looked away, intently studying her food while she answered, unwilling to meet his gaze.
“I thought it would be funny. Worth a gag. Hell, maybe I’d get to kiss you out of the deal, and then everyone would laugh and that would be that.” She shook her head. “I never expected Colonel Mara to not only buy it, but do so to the extent of sending us here together.”
Thorne couldn’t contain a little laugh this time.
“What?”
“Well, you did manage to get a kiss out of the deal,” he joked.
Carla shot him a glare, but it died almost as quickly as it came.
“What was that for?” he asked innocently. “Was it that bad? I realize I’ve been asleep for hundreds of years, but in real time for me it hasn’t been that long since I’ve kissed a beautiful dame.”
The words came out and he winced. “Shit, that’s not how I meant it, I’m sorry.”
“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked.
Thorne paused. That was not the reaction he’d expected at all. Carla was feisty and independent. He’d expected her to be livid over being called a dame, not surprised that he thought she was gorgeous.
He eyed her now. Tall, broad of shoulder, and blessed with muscle. Her frame was what he would call generous, with the muscle covered by an extra layer. It was probably necessary. To drive the battlesuit, she would need a certain amount of bulk. To his eye it suited her well, and though she had an ample chest and thick legs, he could see why she was surprised.
Enough of his time had been spent on the internet that he’d gotten a general appreciation for what was considered “beautiful” for this time, and he couldn’t disagree more. It might be for some, but it just wasn’t for him. He was a dragon, after all, and he liked his women comfortable.
“Yes,” he said, resisting the temptation to reach out and tuck a few loose strands of her ultra-short hair behind an ear.
What the hell was going on with him that he was suddenly possessed of the urge to get romantic with her? Clearing his mind, he returned to the conversation.
“Oh.” Carla licked her lips. “Well anyway, the plan all backfired on both of us. Neither of us thought we’d end up here, and I don’t even remember the kiss enough to know if it was good or not, if you must know. So, nobody won.”
“That’s true.” Thorne pondered that point. “However, that means that Colonel Mara also hasn’t won.”
Carla finally looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“She expects us to fall apart, hate each other, the whole deal. This was just a joke, and she’s trying to drive home the point that a dragon finding his mate is not something they take as a joke, I guess.”
“I’m with you so far, but I don’t see where you’re going with this.”
“Let’s not let her get the best of us. I’m going to talk to her again Monday—sorry, I already tried; they won’t give me her cell phone and she won’t be back in the office until Monday—and I’ll try to get things sorted out. Until then though, let’s try and just be normal, friendly people to one another.”
Carla considered that, taking a long time to answer.
“All I’m asking is that you spend the rest of the day with me. Just do stuff where we’re not at each other’s throats the entire time, angry about the situation we’re in. Give me the day, and then I’ll see what I can get fixed tomorrow, okay?”
After another period of silence, Carla shrugged. “Okay, why the hell not? What else am I going to do, right?”
Thorne’s lips compressed into a flat line as he nodded. It wasn’t quite the answer he’d wanted, but it still achieved his aim, and for that he was thankful. He made a mental note to himself: Bacon is an excellent peace offering.
Now all he had to do was spend the rest of the day with her, and hope she didn’t end up hating him even more by the time it was over.
Chapter Six
Carla
“So where are we going again?”
“It’s called Circle Park,” he said, “and it should be just around this corner.”
They were walking next to each other along the sidewalk, and she had to admit it was quite the experience. At nearly five foot eleven herself, she was far taller than the vast majority of women, and even a good amount of men. Carla was more than used to her fair share of looks, but today they’d taken on a whole different aspect.
No longer was she the center of attention. It wasn’t Thorne either. In an odd twist of fate, everyone that moved out of their way was fixated upon them. Their size meant that everyone just automatically assumed they were a couple, and though she wouldn’t have believed it before, the looks were not ones of “Oh my goodness, she’s huge.” Instead they tended to remind her more of an expression someone would wear when saying “Awww, that’s so cute, they’re both so tall together!”
It was…not what she’d expected.
“You’re taking me out to walk in circles?”
Thorne gave her a skyward shake of his head. “Oh yes. Then we can walk just like our conversations.”
“Oooo, someone is feeling witty today,” she shot back. “I’ll have you know, our conversations are constantly evolving.”
“Yet they somehow al
ways come back to me being in trouble for calling you over at the bar.”
“Damn straight,” she said as they rounded the corner of the big office building. “You should have known what effect your looks would have on poor lonely me.”
Thorne laughed loudly, startling several passersby with his outburst. “Oh yes. Because you absolutely reek of poor helpless woman. Right. Says the badass battlesuit pilot who has probably had to fend off countless advances from men.”
Carla fumbled the tart reply she had ready for him, the jealousy evident in his voice coming out of nowhere and throwing her mind for a loop. What the hell did he care that she was hit on?
“I’m a female in a mostly male military, and on top of that, I’m one of two females in a nearly all-male unit of the most testosterone-filled units there is. Of course I get hit on all the time. But it’s not because they care about me. It’s just what I have between my legs they care about.”
She tried to soothe her anger at the subject. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t understand what things would be like for her, trying to survive on her own, unwilling to depend on anyone for anything lest they try and get sex out of her as a “reward.” Her squad was fine, but even then, she didn’t let herself need help very often. Carla took care of herself.
“I never thought of it that way,” Thorne replied.
“Nobody ever does.” She waved it off. “It’s not your fault though, even though you preyed on that weakness by appearing to want anything but sex from me at the bar.”
Thorne frowned, thunderclouds building in his eyes. “I would never presume to think that you should just want to have sex with me simply because I am attractive. I wished for good conversation and stories. You seemed ready for the same. I thought we could have an excellent afternoon of regaling each other with tales that we have exaggerated beyond belief, simply to impress those around us. Is that not still a common exercise?”
Carla started laughing. “Oh, absolutely. You should hear some of the gems that get told to me, thinking it will impress me into ripping my clothes off for them.”
Their conversation died as they finally came into view of Circle Park. Carla looked left and right, but the gently curving perimeter stretched out as far as she could see.
“It’s huge,” she said, overawed at the size of the place.
Barton City wasn’t overly big as far as urban centers went, boasting little over half a million people at best. Yet they clearly were quite proud of Circle Park. The entire area was surrounded by a stone wall that rose above knee height, and was topped with a wrought-iron fence. Regular openings dotted the fence, with gates that slid out of sight, allowing the park to be closed off as necessary.
“How big did you say it was?”
“I didn’t. But the map said it was about a mile and a half in diameter. I honestly figured that to be a massive exaggeration, but now I doubt it.”
They crossed the street and entered the park through the nearest entrance, both looking around at the picturesque beauty of the place. Trees covered the outer perimeter in a thickness that, as they walked deeper into its midst, sheltered them more and more from the noise of the city beyond. Much of the path meandered underneath the canopy until they emerged inside the park itself.
Slow rolling hills covered in long yellow grasses and wildflowers were dotted with various places of greenery. In the very center of the park, families and couples and individuals were sprawled out across the landscape, playing catch, sitting on a bench reading, or just lounging on a blanket while they talked to one another. Laughter and shrieks reached her ears as a group of kids ran back and forth, playing tag as they enjoyed the last of their weekend before returning to school the next day.
Around the outer edges small streams flowed, stone bridges arching out and over them at various places. Water bubbled and rushed through them, moving at a surprising clip. It took her a moment to realize they were probably artificial, but the sound was so akin to white noise it helped drown out the rush of cars from outside, providing a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere to all those inside.
“This is really beautiful,” she said, accidentally bumping into Thorne as she looked around.
Thick hands wrapped around her shoulders as she stumbled, holding her upright.
“Careful,” Thorne rumbled in her ear.
“I’m good,” she said just a bit too quickly as she caught her balance.
His hands stayed on her shoulders for just a moment longer than they needed to before disappearing. Carla caught her breath, not realizing she’d been holding it, and quickly looked off to the side, studiously looking into the distance as she recovered.
“Thanks,” she muttered after a moment, reminded that she hadn’t thanked him.
“Don’t mention it,” came the soft reply.
Okay, she wouldn’t. The moment had been far too intimate for her comfort. It was, she believed, the first time they’d touched, and she was far more shaken by it than she had any right to be. What the hell was wrong with her? He’d simply caught her as she stumbled into him. There was nothing intimate or romantic about that. Was there?
Mind working furiously as she analyzed, reanalyzed, and overanalyzed what had happened, Carla stopped looking at the beauty of the park, too focused on her own thoughts.
“Carla!”
She stopped and looked around to see who had called her name. Eventually she located Thorne, nearly a dozen paces behind her. He was looking at her funny.
“What?”
“Are you okay? I called your name like half a dozen times.”
Had he really? Shit. “Yeah, I’m okay,” she said, putting the incident aside. “What’s up?”
“Let’s take this path. It looks like it wanders around the entire park.”
“Sure,” she agreed, following his outstretched hand indicating the stone pathway.
They walked around the perimeter of the park, the thick forest of trees on their left, the interior on their right. It was busy, and they passed or were passed by numerous other groups. The sheer size of it all and the constant slopes and bushes and rock formations that dotted the park broke it all up, making it feel far less crowded than it likely actually was. All in all, it was a masterful job of landscaping.
“It’s peaceful in here,” he remarked at one point.
Carla was forced to agree. She hadn’t thought about it until just a few minutes ago, but she was really, truly enjoying herself. It had been what felt like an eternity since she’d had enough down time to do something like this.
The past few years had been so full of training, day after day as they went through iteration after iteration of the battlesuits. They were up to something like eight now, with rumors of more on the way, all with more and more advanced designs and complicated controls. Although she was excited to be on the forefront of technology, it had sucked up a massive amount of her life.
She just hadn’t had the chance to live. Now, thanks to Thorne she was. Today was a day she would treasure for some time. With the day of the inevitable Outsider invasion drawing inexorably nearer, she doubted that many more times like this would be afforded to her. So she tried to take advantage of it while she could. Relaxing and letting down her guard a bit, she started to talk to Thorne.
It was just snippets at first, pointing out pretty trees or the architecture of an old bridge that they crossed over as they walked. The park seemed to stretch on forever, the pathway always bringing them to somewhere new.
“I bet this looks stunning come fall,” she remarked as their path curved in among the trees as it avoided a particularly large rock jutting up from the earth, the jagged edges long since worn down and covered in moss and other greenery. A fence surrounded the rocks, preventing anyone from climbing on it. “All the changing of the colors and leaves on the ground.”
She turned as she spoke, taking it all in. Her spin brought Thorne into view, and to her surprise she found him looking at her, his thick pouty lips curved upward in a deli
ghted smile.
“What are you grinning about?” she challenged, moving closer to give him a gentle shove.
He stepped sideways, as if Carla truly was strong enough to move him, the smile growing wider. “Just enjoying watching you finally relax,” he admitted. “You’ve been so tense, even from the moment you walked in the bar. It’s good to see you just enjoy yourself for once.”
Carla fell in step next to him, their arms swinging in time. “I don’t know. Life has been hectic lately. There hasn’t been much time for me.”
The dragon shifter looked down at her, brown eyes clear and reflecting some of the dying sunlight back at her as the afternoon went on. “You should take a bit more time. Striking more of a balance is key. It will help recharge you and give you more focus toward your mission, which will enable you to become better at anything you try.”
“Really? And what do you suggest I do to strike that balance then, Mister Dragon Man?”
An oncoming jogger gave them a weird look at her method of addressing Thorne, but she wasn’t worried. In fact, it was kind of fun to mess with them. Just like they were messing with Colonel Mara. Except in this case, it can’t backfire on me so spectacularly. I hope.
“I don’t know,” he said, chuckling. “But humor is a good start.”
“Oh, I have plenty of humor in my life. My unit is a fucking riot, let me tell you. Hilarious guys. We have all sorts of laughs. On that front, I’m set.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.”
The genuine happiness in his voice took her by surprise. “You’re an odd character, Thorne. And not just because of your…your…abilities,” she decided on at last, miming wings flapping with her arms.
“Takes one to know one.”
Jaw hanging open in surprise, she fumbled for a recovery, but it didn’t come. “Cheap shot,” she said, dropping her shoulder into his side.
To her surprise Thorne leaned with it, and she fell into him again. Yelping at the lack of expected resistance, she fell right into his waiting arms. Her head, angled up so she didn’t smash her nose into his rock-hard chest, stared at him, leveling an accusation without speaking.
