Callan
Let’s do this.
She wanted him to join in? Very well, he could do that, though whatever reasoning she had was beyond him.
The class started out slowly, and Callan had no trouble following along. It seemed like it was the same exercises as last time, though organized somewhat differently. The instructor also introduced a few new ones, judging by the time she took to go over it with the class. Callan’s body warmed as he moved, and eventually he found himself bobbing and bouncing, turning and lifting along with everyone else.
It wasn’t that bad until he didn’t turn in time, and happened to make eye contact with Kathryn. She was looking pissed.
“What?”
“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered, trying to keep her voice down, but the anger in it made it hard.
“Exercising?” He looked around. The class was still ongoing, and he started to go with it, but a hand reached out and pulled his arm back down.
“Why?”
“You said to.”
Kathryn’s face exploded in surprise. “I told you to?”
He nodded. “You said ‘Let’s do this.’ So I’m doing it. Why are you mad about that?”
The confusion was immediately replaced by frustration. “You oaf! That’s not what that saying means. It’s just a pump-up for myself to do the class, especially while having to put up with you.”
Callan winced. People were starting to glance at them over their shoulders—thankfully they were at the back—and even the instructor was looking frustrated.
“This is a class for elderly people and those coming back from injuries. You’re mocking everyone in the program by doing it yourself.”
His jaw dropped open. “What? No, that’s not what I was trying to do. I just…” Callan cursed himself silently. What an idiot he’d been. Of course she would be pissed at him.
“I just thought I was doing what you wanted,” he said dully, hanging his head in shame.
Things were not going the way he’d hoped they would. His initial plan had been to show up, be there during class but not say anything, and hopefully get a chance to speak to her after. All he wanted was a chance to know where he’d gone wrong, and how he could make it up to her. Was that so hard to ask for?
Kathryn shook her head at him, brown curls wet and plastered to her face. She wasn’t wearing her cap today. “You should go.”
“I can’t do that,” he said stubbornly.
“Why not?”
The class had come to a stop behind her, everyone looking, watching.
“Because I need to know what I did wrong.” He paused for a fraction of a second before saying the words that he’d spent long hours rehearsing in the mirror, ensuring that they fit, that he was ready to say them. That he meant them. “Because I…need you.”
Kathryn didn’t react. Nothing. Her face stayed immobile, her body still. If it weren’t for the slow rise and fall of her chest, he would have assumed she was a statue of some sort.
“Oh.”
“Please.” He was all but begging now, and it bothered him. A dragon like him shouldn’t have to do that, should he? Even for his mate, it felt…wrong. But Callan was out of options, and when it came to Kathryn, if he needed to say please a dozen more times, then he would. It was a small price to pay to have her in his life.
“This is not the place, Callan.”
“I know. I tried to come and talk to you, to sit down and figure out what was going on in a reasonable manner, but you wouldn’t answer your phone and your mom wouldn’t let me in. I had no other choice.”
Kathryn looked away as he called her out on avoiding him and the issue.
“I was hurt in the past,” she said at last. “Betrayed by someone that I trusted, because they had different priorities. Because I wasn’t one of their priorities. All they wanted was money. Treasure.”
Callan rocked back, water moving away from him in tiny waves as he gained some sudden insight into what was bugging her. “The gifts,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “I started to buy you everything I could, day after day.”
“I’m not about that lifestyle, Callan. I can’t be. Not after what happened. You need to understand that.”
“I do! It’s not like that with me, Kathryn. I promise. I only want my treasure back because I’m a—”
He caught himself just in time. Callan had been just about to spill everything, to confess to her that he was a dragon, and that his treasure was for her. That the reason he was so obsessed with getting it back was so that he could give it to her, his mate. To ensure she had whatever she needed. He didn’t want it for himself, other than to admire the shiny colors. But his hoard was hers. Theirs. He had no need for more wealth; the piles of his treasure would last them a thousand lifetimes.
“What, Callan? You’re a what?”
“My word.”
“You’re a word?”
He shook his head. “I’ve given my word, Kathryn, that I will not hurt you. I think you know how much that means to me.”
Watching her eyes carefully, he saw the truth of his claim in them. The brown so dark it was hard to distinguish from her pupil lightened ever so much, the only sign he got that she agreed with him.
“You’re still not telling me everything. You’re lying to me.”
Callan shook his head, trying hard not to let the hurt show on his face at the accusation that he would lie to his mate, that he would purposefully and knowingly mislead her. “No,” he said softly, leaning in close. “I’m not lying. There is more, you’re correct. But I can’t show you.” He looked past her at the rest of the class, who were all milling around, looking over at them. “Not here at least, not around others.”
Kathryn’s reaction was not at all what he expected. She sneered at him. “Really? You think taking me to bed will show me that you mean what you say? That’s not going to work.”
Callan didn’t hold back this time, rolling his eyes as derisively as he could, letting exactly what he thought of the low blow show on his face with disdain and contempt. “Listen to me, and listen closely, Kathryn, because you won’t hear me say this often, because it’s not how I think. I’m only saying it because you lashed out unnecessarily here, and you need to have some cold truth given to you so that you can see the reality of the situation.”
His voice was icy and hard as he spoke, and he could tell it was having its intended effect. “If the only thing I was after was sex, I could get it elsewhere and have it. I know by your society today that I’m considered very good-looking. I see the looks women give me as I walk down the street.” He shook his head, having a hard time believing he had to say this. It made him feel dirty to have to acknowledge that fact. “I’m not in it for sex. I’m in it for you. I don’t want a quick lay, I want you. How hard is that to understand? Just let me prove it to you, that’s all I’m asking.”
An old lady chimed in from nearby. “Just give him a chance. Can’t you tell he’s sincere? It’s practically radiating out from him. This man cares for you, girl.”
Kathryn turned around. “You’re not helping, Doris.”
The old lady smiled and winked at him. “Sure I am.”
Callan looked anywhere but at the older woman, at a complete loss for words. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
“Fine,” Kathryn said, facing him again. “I’ll let you explain. After class.”
He nodded. “Okay, though I think the instructor would prefer if we just left now.”
The young female at the front who guided the class nodded vigorously in agreement.
“We’ll go now then,” Kathryn agreed, bouncing her way toward the chair.
Behind her the instructor sagged in relief, clearly mouthing the words Thank you in their direction. Callan glared at her until she noticed and turned her attention back to the rest of the class. Then he swam off to ensure Kathryn got out okay, though he didn’t offer her any help. She needed to be independent, and he was going to have to let her.
But he had his chance to explain everything. All he had to do now was not screw it up.
No pressure.