Carla
Light from under the curtains eventually woke her, and with a big stretch she rolled onto her side, knowing that Thorne would hear her and come back to bed for their usual morning cuddles. It was a pattern that they’d established shortly after they started sleeping together on the regular. With him unable to sleep much, he often would nap during the day for small stretches.
To her surprise, when she rolled over she was confronted by Thorne’s slack face. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung slightly open, a small dribble of drool pooling between his lips and the pillow. Normally she might have laughed it off, but right then her reaction was shock.
Thorne was in the bed. And he was sleeping.
Not only that, he was sleeping peacefully. His entire body just screamed calm and relaxed, as if a giant billboard had been erected above it. Carla wasn’t sure what to do. Her excitement at the fact he’d been able to fall asleep in the bed without having nightmares was overwhelming, and she wanted to share it with him. Doing that would mean waking him up, and the last thing she wanted to do was prevent him from getting as much sleep as he could.
Two weeks had passed since the battle with the Outsider, and the two of them had been busy working with the new leader of the dragon riders, creating the framework, strategies, and even the beginnings of a training plan. It was going to be a huge undertaking, and they wanted to do it right.
Propping her head up on an elbow, she stared at him, memorizing the lines of his face and the expression of pure tranquility. And the drool. A wicked idea came to her and she gently rolled onto her side, reaching out to her night table until her fingers brushed what she was looking for.
Pulling the object into her grip, she aimed it at him.
“Say cheese,” she whispered.
Thorne’s eyes popped open.
“Oh shit.”
It took a second for recognition to flare in his eyes at what she was doing, and another for him to realize he’d been drooling profusely.
“Were you just trying to take a picture of me?” he rumbled dangerously, sitting up in bed and wiping his arm across his face in an attempt to clear up his mess.
All it did was smear it even more, and frustrated, he used the sheets to make himself more presentable.
“Of course not, darling,” she said with false sweetness, batting her lashes at him and squeezing her arms together while she looked up at him.
The added effect of that was something akin to super cleavage, and Thorne’s eyes were predictably drawn downward to her chest, lingering there for a moment before returning to look at her.
“Do you really believe me to be so simple that you can seduce your way out of this?”
Carla thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”
His eyes lit with laughter as they both enjoyed the moment. “Very well,” he said, coming closer as she fell onto her back, baring her complete nakedness to him. “But since you wanted to take pictures so badly, why don’t I take a few…” He reached for the phone.
“Oh you think so, do you?”
“Yes.”
“Not today,” she said, pulling him back down before he could do anything.
They kissed briefly as he lay on top of her.
“You were sleeping,” she said softly.
“Yes.”
“Beside me. Peacefully.”
“Yes.”
“Did you have any nightmares at all?”
“No.” He kissed her cheek. “They are gone now, I believe, my love. I still feel guilt, but having finally told my story to everyone, and apologized to Corde, I feel more at ease with everything that has happened. We are working in our spare time now to find any descendants of people who may have survived the attack.” He smiled happily. “The internet is a wonderful resource.”
Carla ran her hands up his arms, feeling the taut muscles there as he supported himself above her with careless ease, the sheer strength present in them awe-inspiring as always.
“I’m glad that the two of you are working together now.”
He leaned down to kiss her again, his face beaming with happiness. “Me too. It feels good to reconcile things.”
Carla’s hand caressed his cheek, feeling the stubble there. “I love you.”
She could have sworn his cheeks grew a little pinker. “I love you too, Carla Giannone. I love you too.”
They embraced some more, before he rolled back onto his side. Carla frowned at that; she’d been expecting them to have sex. Had he changed his mind?
“Would you do something for me?” he asked suddenly, sitting up with one hand on top of the other, palms together. Fingers touched to the opposing wrist as he held his hands crosswise against his body, like a magician about to perform a trick.
“Maybe,” she said cautiously, wondering if this was going to lead to a request for some sort of naughty sexual activity.
“Will you wear this?”
He slid his hands apart, and Carla gasped as she realized what they contained.
“Thorne,” she said, gazing down at the onyx choker. “It’s beautiful.”
The glossy black material sparkled and reflected the light, and as Carla looked at it closer she saw the sides ripple as if they were water.
“Wait, is this what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s a necklace made from my acid and scales embossed with my crest upon it, then yes?”
That wasn’t entirely what she’d thought it was, but it was close enough. “Is it safe for me to touch?” she asked cautiously. “It’s not going to burn, is it?”
“No,” he assured her, lifting it up with one hand. “It’s very safe. I can control that.”
“I see.” She reached out nervously and picked it up. There was a thick round-edged square at one point, that had the outline of a winged dragon with two vertical swords worked into the wings themselves, and a flowing script across the bottom that she didn’t recognize.
“What does that say?”
“It says Giannone, in dragonscript,” he explained, pointing out the various symbols that formed her name.
“Thorne, it’s gorgeous,” she said, dumbfounded. “But there’s no clasp. How do I put it on?”
“It stretches. I figured that would be easier for you, so I made it to simply stretch.”
Testing the band she realized he was right, it easily stretched and then reformed back to its original shape. It didn’t snap back like an elastic, it just slowly shrank.
“Will you try it?” he asked.
“Of course,” she assured him, having heard the nerves in his voice.
Lifting it up, she stretched it over her head, settling it around the middle of her throat. While she’d never worn chokers before, it fit perfectly, and was loose enough she didn’t feel constricted, but was tight enough she knew it wouldn’t bounce. It practically molded itself to her skin in fact, and in seconds she only felt it if she touched it.
“Remarkable.”
Thorne picked up the phone once more. “Now can I have a picture?”
Carla rolled her eyes and let the comforter fall away. “Only because you asked so nicely, and also only if you finish what you hinted at after you’re done.”
The look she received promised all that, and more.
The camera flashed.
********
This concludes Dragon Fixation, Onyx Book 1.
I hope you enjoyed the adventure. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts on the book, anything from characters, to plot, to even the formatting of the book itself. I appreciate all feedback, whether it be reviews, on Facebook, or via my website!
If you wish to read some more about Thorne & Carla, sign up for my newsletter to receive a FREE bonus scene. Otherwise, read on for a list of all my other works to check out!