***
Clouds were rolling in from the west, quickly devouring any light in the sky.
What an accurate reflection of my mood. He was grumbling to himself, but he didn’t care.
The night before had been wonderful, and the two of them had slept for close to twelve hours, waking early the next day.
Or more accurately, he had woken and arisen. Ana had been functional long enough to pinch his butt as he got out from bed, and then promptly gone back to sleep. He didn’t hold that against her though. She deserved sleep. He had gotten plenty and wasn’t interested in sleeping anymore.
“Hello?”
A voice on the other end of the phone he held to his ear finally answered.
“Uriel.”
“Hello Ferro,” the other voice replied, recognizing him. “Good to hear from you.”
“Raphael?” he asked.
Uriel laughed, likely at the bluntness of the question. “He actually arrived safe and sound yesterday with Karlie in tow. They’re both fine,” he added, answering Ferro’s next question.
Karlie was his granddaughter. When his son Luthor had made plans to invade Ferro’s hometown, he had kidnapped Karlie—who also happened to be his daughter, though he had disowned her—and used her safety as leverage to keep Ferro uninvolved.
After Luthor’s demise at Ferro’s hands, he had wanted to go looking for her. She wasn’t a dragon shifter, though she was born of his blood, and he knew he doted on her far more than was necessary. She had been the center of his world, making him proud at every turn.
The unfortunate reality was, that finding the Dragon Council was not only more important to more people in the overall picture, but also a task that only he could do, as no one else knew where they resided. The Council chambers were a highly guarded secret.
That meant Ferro had had to ask Raphael, a highly trained bear shifter, to go after her. Hearing that they had come back safe and sound lifted a weight from his shoulders he hadn’t known he was carrying. Raphael had set out over a week ago, a few days before Ferro had begun his long journey. This was the first news he had heard, and it made his heart swell.
“Thank you,” he told Raphael. “We are coming home soon to regroup. I expect to see you shortly.”
There was a long pause on the other end.
“We?” Uriel asked slowly.
“Myself, and another shifter.”
“Oh,” Uriel said. “Another dragon? What’s his name? I’ll have a place ready for him.”
“Her name is Ana,” he replied slowly. “And she will be staying with me.”
Silence rang out from the other end.
“Right. Of course,” Uriel said hastily. “Is there anything you want me to have ready for you?”
“No,” he said. “You aren’t my servant, Uriel.”
“I know, Ferro, just trying to be a nice guy,” he said jovially. “Have a safe trip. See you soon.”
He grunted and hung up the phone.
“Who was that?” a voice asked sleepily behind him.
He turned to see Ana, clad only in a sheet, hanging from the corner of the hallway into the bedroom.
“Back home,” he said distractedly, trying not to focus on the copious amounts of flesh she still managed to keep exposed—whether by design flaw, accident, or on purpose he wasn’t sure—but it was blood-warming to see.
“Hey, keep it calm mister,” she said with a wink. “I need breakfast before you bed me today.”
Ferro laughed, rising from his feet and sweeping her from hers as he flexed his arms, lifting Ana clear from the floor. “Okay then, young lady. But first, a shower.”
“Oooooh,” she said with mock anger. “Do not call me that,” she impotently threatened, held securely within his arms.
“What, a lady, or stinky?” he teased.
Ana merely looked at him as he set her down in the bathroom, fiddling with the dials on the water until they were warm.
“You’re washing my back,” she said firmly as she pulled the door open, letting him climb in first.
“That can be arranged,” he said, turning into the water and letting it run over his head.
Behind him the door closed.
“Ana?” he said, noticing she hadn’t entered behind him.
Ice cold water suddenly poured forth from the overhead waterfall showerhead, bursting across his body with numbing force.
“Oh my God!” he yelped, throwing himself into the corner and away from the torrent of frigid water. Ana fell to the floor with laughter outside of the shower, howling with delight at his misfortune.
She had made one miscalculation, he noticed with a grin, still trying to get his mind back on track.
With a careful reach of his foot, Ferro slid the door open.
It was Ana’s turn to scream as the cold water poured out of the shower and onto her, propelled by a swish of his foot. The sheet became drenched, clinging to her form. He saw her nipples harden and press through the material, immediately summoning another reaction from him.
With a grin, he plunged through the cold water and grabbed her in his arms, pulling her inside with him.
If they were going to suffer, they were going to do it together!