Chapter Six – Deepening Feelings
Days passed.
Willow never talked about the disastrous ransom again. For his part, Asa did his best to put it from his mind. Every time he thought about those people abandoning their daughter, treating her as though she was nothing, his fires leaped and roared to the point where he wanted to burn down the whole village. He might have, too, if he had thought that it would help. But he knew that it would only make Willow blame herself, and he didn’t want to cause her any more grief than she had already been through.
Asa relaxed in the hot springs, enjoying the scent of the mineral water. His knotted muscles eased in the hot water and his eyes were just starting to drift shut when the soft pattering of footsteps made them open again.
“Oh!” Willow’s fair skin flushed red when she came into the room. Her gaze dropped to the water where his nether region was and he couldn’t help but grin. He’d been noticing her giving him the eye quite a bit lately and enjoyed the attention she gave him.
“You can come in.” He eyed the robe she had wrapped around herself, wondering what it hid beneath. “I’m wearing trunks.”
Willow fidgeted a moment. “I just . . . Well, I spent the whole day cleaning. Those attic rooms are disgusting. And I saw mice, so you’re going to have to get some traps set.”
She took the robe off and hung it on a hook near the door. Her bathing suit was modest to the extreme. It looked more like a dress. The skirt hit her mid-thigh, and the neckline was at the base of her throat. The back was high, too. The waist pinched in just below her breasts in a way that showed her figure while almost making it look very innocent. All in all, he liked the way she looked in it. When she stepped into the springs, the skirt floated up to reveal she wore a skimpy bikini bottom with nothing else beneath. He grinned.
Willow cleared her throat and pushed the skirt down. Her face grew even redder. “So, um . . . I haven’t seen you around much. What do you do during the day?”
“Train, mostly. Most of the dragons born without wings never have a chance to join the raiding parties, and I’m determined to change that.”
“Wingless,” Willow whispered under her breath. Her gaze dropped to his chest, as though she was trying to peer at the scars on his back through his body. She opened her mouth again but he knew he didn’t want to answer the question that was certain to follow.
So he spoke first. “How are you doing? I know that it’s been hard, but you seem to be adjusting . . . If you want, I can put you in touch with some counselors. We have plenty available for captured humans . . . Although your case is rather unique.”
Her expression darkened and she looked away. “I’m fine.”
He could have kicked himself. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of those people who dared call themselves her parents. He had done some digging on the side, expecting – hoping – to find something that would indicate that they weren’t her real parents. That she was left on their doorstep or something. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
“You can talk to me, you know,” he prodded gently. “I understand if you don’t want to, but I have my listening ears on.”
She looked down, letting herself float in the water. For a moment, she hung in the liquid, then slowly she sank down to her chin. She still didn’t look at him. “You’re not what I expected from a dragon. You’re . . . you’re kind and gentle.”
Heat rushed to his face. “Ah, I’m not that great. That’s just the Stockholm syndrome talking. You’d leave if you were given the choice.”
“I said you were kind and gentle, not that I wanted to stay forever.” Despite her words, she smiled at him. She paddled a little closer, then hesitantly moved behind him. Asa tensed, but as her soft, gentle fingers probed the scars on his back, he found he didn’t mind her touching them so much. “What happened here? When you fought that dragon that took me . . . ”
Asa swallowed hard. His first instinct was to tell her the cliff notes and leave it at that. He had been injured. He lost his wings. It had been a long time he had talked to anybody about it, ever since his appointed therapy sessions.
“I was born with wings,” he said. “I was out hunting with the king. Well, he was the prince at that time. What we didn’t know was that there was a rebellion brewing. There was an assassination attempt. A group of dragons attacked us. We managed to fight them off, but I was critically injured. Dragons heal fast, but not fast enough. And we don’t regenerate body parts.”
Willow’s eyes were wide. “When?”
Asa sunk deeper into the water until half his face was covered. He blew out a breath of bubbles as he considered. Time was hard to keep track of when things went from years to decades to centuries. Eventually, he resurfaced.
“I’d say close to two thousand years ago. It was when Quinn became the king. His parents were both killed. If I had the same injury today, my wings might have been able to be saved, but back then, medical procedures were . . . less refined. There was a lot more separation between humans and dragons. And when you’re a dragon, when you live all these years, you forget how to innovate. Invent new things. We would never have thought to create cell phones because shouting was good enough to communicate.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “It must have been terrible.”
“It was.”
Her soft hands continued to caress his back. They began to move lower and Asa leaned into her touch. He closed his eyes, letting a soft sigh escape him.
“I didn’t realize you were friends with the king,” she continued. “That’s . . . that’s cool, isn’t it?”
“We’re not really friends. When we were attacked that day, I was in training to be part of the royal guard. It was my duty. Quinn and I get along and he’s as friendly as can be expected considering our stations, but we’re not friends.” He allowed his head to fall forward, his breathing growing deeper. Willow started to pull back and he followed her. With just her fingertips touching him, she led him back until they were seated against the side of the springs.
Willow rested her head on her arms and gazed at him with those green-grey eyes. “What happened to your parents?”
Asa glanced away. “Remember that rebellion? They were both killed defending Quinn’s parents. Quinn’s mate, too. His queen. She should have been ruling with him, but instead, he’s been alone. At least until he met Shante.” He smiled. “She’s been very good for him. She can’t be his queen since he lost his mate, but she is our queen in everything but name.”
Willow’s brows arched. “Oh. Is that how it works?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you ever have a mate?”
Asa shook his head.
“But you’ve had lovers, right?” She inched closer, licking her lips.
Asa tightened at the sight of her pink tongue against her ruby lips. He nearly moaned as it flicked out again. Was she aware of what she was going? She rubbed her thigh against his and rose a brow. Oh. Oh, boy. Yes. She knew what she was doing. The question, the suggestive glances. He cleared his throat and moved a little away.
“From time to time, yes.”
“Hmm . . . ” Willow’s face went bright red again and she moved away. He wished she hadn’t, but didn’t say so. She laughed self-consciously and brushed back a stray piece of hair. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be this forward. I guess I’m still figuring it out, you know? What it means to be here. Free from my village and the expectations there. Although . . . although, if you hadn’t kidnapped me, I’d find it very easy to fall in love with you.”
Asa’s jaw dropped. He wasn’t entirely certain how to respond as she looked up at him through her lashes. He liked that sexy little grin she gave him even if he was uncertain about how to proceed. His mind whirled over her revelation, but it kept returning to one important part . . . If you hadn’t kidnapped me.
Because he had kidnapped her. And, like it or not, there was a power dynamic between them. She was in a less powerful position. Even if she was the aggressor in the relationship, that didn’t mean that he should just ignore the fact that he was essentially her master . . . Should he?
Then she straddled him, thrusting herself against him, and all those thoughts fled. He gripped her hips as she pressed her mouth to his and let the sensations carry him away.