Chapter 7
Two Different Perspectives
Iris paced around the cabin, her mind going through so many different scenarios on how things would work out. So much was up in the air, and the more she thought about it, the more nervous Iris felt about the future. The more nervous she felt, the more red and black she saw overlapping with the world. Finally, she closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath. An image of Ian smiling at her in the classroom appeared in her mind, and she couldn’t help but smile. Next, she imagined a large tiger swimming in the water, and she giggled a little bit. Then she imagined him coming in through the window and how she would throw her arms around him and feel so much better. She imagined kissing him and laughing in his arms, then she was confused by the image and she opened her eyes.
There was a gentle rap at the door. Iris looked at a clock and saw that it had only been a little over an hour. That meant the person knocking would be one of the crew. She moved to the door and hid her body behind it as she opened it a crack.
Standing on the other side was an incredibly wet Ian. His eyes were taking her in as she squealed, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into the cabin.
“I’m sorry,” she pulled him into the room and to the bath area. “I shouldn’t have asked you to do that. Here. Use as many towels as you need. I have several men’s outfits for you in here. Nothing for myself but—”
“Wait, I am not important. I am here to make sure you are alright.”
Iris smiled at him, “I am feeling a lot better now. It’s weird. Is that normal for a mystic and a guardian? I guess that would make sense, they would be naturally comfortable together, right? I mean, that’s got to be because of the bond.”
Iris stopped and looked at Ian. His expression was a mixture of surprise and amusement. “I am not quite sure what to say to all of that. I have to admit that I’ve never been bonded before.”
Iris felt her mouth drop open a little. He reached out and closed it for her, then quickly pulled his hand away. Iris giggled, “Well, that’s a hell of a first time.”
“Yes, this is one… very ill-advised pairing.”
Iris frowned, “What do you mean ill-advised?”
Ian coughed and rubbed his hands on his arms. Iris picked up a towel and wrapped it around him as he talked. “Thank you. I have not been assigned to anyone before. And you. Not only do you have no training on what it’s like to bond with a guardian, you have some of the most dangerous abilities a mystic can have. And you haven’t been trained in magic. You really should have someone like Caden, someone with years of experience. But you are unfortunate yet again, and are stuck with me.”
“Stuck?” Iris frowned. “I’m stuck with you as much as you are stuck with me.”
“I don’t see it that way.” His eyes looked at her in a way that was decidedly different than in the classroom.
Iris felt herself warm up a little. “Oh gods, I’m starting to feel hot again.”
Ian threw the towel off. “Come here, I can at least help you with that.” He held out his hands.
Iris looked at them for a moment. Ian began to apologize, “I’m sorry, I’m still wet. Do you want me to change?”
“No, it’s okay.” She placed her hands on his and immediately she felt more relaxed, but she also felt warmer.
His eyes looked into hers as he held her hands. After a few moments, his brow creased. “Are you feeling better?”
Iris nodded, “As soon as you arrived I felt better.”
He chuckled, “That is difficult to imagine after the way you kicked my face.”
Iris’s smile immediately fell. “Oh gods, I did, didn’t I?” She took her hands out of his and moved close to him. “I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” As she got closer, Iris noticed that the skin around his eyes were darker. “Are you getting black eyes because of me?” She put her hands on his face.
Gently, he took her wrists in his hands and put them down. “It’s okay. It will all pretty much be healed in a day or two. We tend to heal fast, and my genetics are actually among some of the fastest for healing. It was why my father…” Whatever he was saying, Ian seemed to forget halfway through.
Iris smiled at him, “And a fast healer, too. On top of everything else.”
“What do you mean?”
She started beaming as she looked at him. “Top of your class, renowned guardian for a father, extremely handsome…” She pulled her hand out of his and reached up to brush away a strand of his wet hair.
Ian swallowed and took a step back. “I should probably change, and you need to get to bed. I will sleep right beside you on the floor.”
“That hardly seems fair. You could have slept in a bed if I hadn’t asked you to hurry.”
“I wouldn’t have slept. You realize I can feel the pressure building in you, right? I was really worried, and I kept trying to tell you to get in the water. I don’t know when it finally broke through.”
“I remember when it did. It was like reaching my room when I’m exhausted. A little bit of comfort in the misery of wading across the room.”
“Was your room full of water or something?”
“What? No. It just feels like time keeps slowing down as you try to get to your bed. Hearing your voice was like that second when you are falling onto the bed, and it feels like everything will be alright.”
“I think I should say thank you?”
She gave him a little push, then remembered that his clothes were completely wet. “Come on. Let’s get your new clothes. You are going to get sick if you wear that all night.”
“There is nowhere for me to change in here.”
“I’ll turn around.” Iris smiled at him as she pulled fresh clothes out of the drawer and placed them on a nearby chair.
“Are you sure you are comfortable with that?”
“If you prefer, I can watch you change. That wouldn’t bother me either.”
“Really?” He gave her a look of incredulity.
She folded her arms.
“Okay,” he smiled at her, “I see what you are doing. And I think I can make you squirm.”
“Go ahead and try.”
He gave her a cocky smile and began to unbutton his shirt. Iris found her face flushing a little. “You can always turn around. You don’t need to be raising your body temperature.”
“No, you don’t. I can handle whatever you dish out.”
“You had better be careful about the threats you make to a man alone with you in your room.”
“I’m not scared.”
“That’s not what you told me a little over an hour ago.”
She reached out to give him a slight push. Her hand slipped on his wet skin and slid over his shoulder and down this back under the shirt. She began to blush furiously. “I am so sorry. I—”
She felt a hand on hers, “You don’t need to apologize. I don’t mind.”
Iris looked up into Ian’s face. He was so close, she could see some tiny details of his face. He had a little dimple on the left side of his face, and his lips looked almost perfect. She tilted her head to the side and looked at his mouth. Her eyes drifted down, and she was looking at his muscular chest. She stretched out her hand, and he let go of her. Her hand moved down his pectoral muscles, and she saw the start of a six pack that was still half covered by his shirt. She undid the last couple of buttons.
“May I… is this what all guardians look like?”
“For the most part, yes. We have to be in top shape to keep our mystics protected.”
“Is it alright if I…” She was staring as his stomach. He did not stop her as her hand touched the muscles. “Wow, those are really hard. That’s incredibly impressive.” She smiled and looked up at Ian’s face. His eyes were looking down at her, but he wasn’t smiling. “Are you alright?”
He swallowed, then he tried to smile. “It just doesn’t seem fair.”
“What isn’t fair?”
“You don’t even seem to realize—”
Iris leaned in and kissed him. Her hands slid up his stomach and chest, and under the shirt. Ian wrapped his arms behind her back and pulled her to him as she opened her mouth a little. She let out a little gasp as his tongue slid into her mouth. Pressing against him, she felt him lift her off her feet. Pulling her mouth away from his, she moved her mouth near his ear. “What isn’t fair?”
Ian’s voice was low and soft as he said, “Never mind. You seem to know exactly—”
“What isn’t fair?” She kissed him again.
When she pulled back, she opened her eyes and saw that Ian’s eyes were still closed. He licked his lips, “It’s unfair that you get to feel me, but I don’t…”
Iris let go of his neck. He immediately released her and took a step back. She put a finger over his mouth before he could begin to apologize. Giving her head a little shake, she begun to unbutton her shirt. It was only when it was half open that she remembered she didn’t have any undergarments on. A light breeze pushed her shirt out of the way, exposing one of her breasts. She continued to unbutton her shirt.
Ian looked at her hands, then at her face, then back down. “May I…”
“Of course. It’s only fair.”
He stepped forward. His hand slowly rose, and Ian hesitated before placing his hand on the underside of her breast. He stepped closer as he slowly moved his hand around the breast. His eyes moved up to hers and Ian leaned in and began kissing her as his other hand slid behind her back. Iris moaned a little and pushed her hips into him.
He pulled back a little, but he did not move his hands. “Iris, you know this is dangerous, right? I don’t know how far this can go before I won’t be able to stop.”
“You don’t have to stop.”
Ian’s hands stopped moving as he looked down at her. “You know that this isn’t supposed to happen, don’t you? Guardians and mystics should never be lovers.”
“Caden and Callie are.”
“They aren’t normal. They are an exception. Caden is always an exception. I am not. I am only 29 years old, the youngest shifter to become a guardian. Ever. This is why. I should not be giving into this right now. I am supposed to stop.”
“I don’t want you to.”
Ian closed his eyes and lowered his head, “You are making this so much harder.”
“Has any part of this been easy? Since the moment you touched me, we have both been in over our heads.”
He laughed, “That is definitely true. But this is a whole different level of—”
“I don’t care.” She placed her forehead on his chest.
“But you are still so young. And you know next to nothing about what our relationship is supposed to be.”
She shook her head, “My whole life, I have tried to do things to the extent of what people expected. I didn’t press for more information, and I waited for people to decide they were ready to tell me. You don’t treat me like a child or a prize. When I look into your eyes,” she lifted her face up, “I can see the same fear and hope that I feel.”
“Oh, no one warned me how good you were.”
“That’s because I’m not.”
He smiled, “That isn’t what I meant.” Ian leaned down and kissed her. “I feel it is only fair to warn you, I don’t have any experience with this either.”
Iris giggled, “You could have fooled me.”
“Acting confident is something I’m good at. I just don’t want you to be… disappointed. You have had enough disappointment for one day. Month. Year. Lifetime.” He smiled down at her.
“I don’t have any expectations.”
He raised his eyebrows, “I don’t think that is a good thing.”
Iris looked down and pursed her lips. She licked them as she looked up, a grin on her face. “I’m saying I can’t have much in the way of expectations because I don’t have any experience with this either.”
“Really?” He looked incredulous.
“I find it more believable than you saying you have no experience in it.”
He smiled at her, “Fair enough.” He pulled her to him and gently pressed his lips against hers. She pressed hard against him and slid her leg up to his hip. He leaned over and swept her off of her feet. Carrying her to the bed, he placed her down carefully, his mouth never leaving hers. Slowly he worked her shirt over her shoulders. Then he fumbled with her pants. She laughed a little at how much trouble he seemed to be having.
“Let’s see you do a better job,” he was breathless as he whispered this to her.
“You’re on.” Iris’s hands went to the top of his pants, and she quickly realized what he meant.
After a couple of minutes, she had not made any progress, but he already had her pants undone and was sliding a hand down her leg under the pants. She moaned and moved to the feel of his hand against her. As he ran his hand up her inner thigh, she moaned again. He moved his thumb where her leg and torso met.
She panted to him, “It’s not exactly—hmmm—it’s not exactly the same, is it.”
He kissed her neck, his thumb sliding along the top of her hair. “What’s not the same?” he murmured to her.
“Well, I—I—I—” She lost the ability to speak for a moment as his thumb slid down her lips and brushed against the inside. “I don’t wear men’s pants normally,” she managed a moment later.
Ian slid his hand out of her pants and lay down. “Okay, I can make it a little easier for you, then.” Iris rolled over and looked at the fastenings. Her eyes flicked up to his, “These are different than mine.”
“Yes. You are wearing pants for men who spend all their time at sea. From what I’ve seen, they tend to find themselves in these kinds of situations as often as they can swing it. My pants are designed for a guardian, and we… don’t often engage in this kind of activity.”
“Your father was a guardian.”
“Yes.”
“Obviously he did.”
Ian smiled, “Yes, he was married. My mom was not pleased that I followed in his footsteps.”
“I know it is selfish, but I am incredibly glad you did. If I hadn’t met you, there is a good chance I would have killed most of the crew on this ship. I think it is certain that I never would have known about my abilities. Not in a timely manner.” She took her hands away from the pants. “I don’t know what to do.”
Ian smiled, “Like this.” His hands moved a little quicker than she had expected, but she knew it was much slower than he could have managed if he wasn’t trying to show her what to do. “Should I do them up again so you can retry?”
Iris’s eyes looked at the unfastened pants and noticed something inside of them. “No. I can look more into that later. Right now I am more interested in what is inside your pants.” As soon as she said it, she started to flush.
“Good to know, but I wouldn’t mind if you always stayed more interested on the contents of the pants than the covering.”
Iris giggled. Before she knew it, Ian had pushed her down and was pressing the bulge against her. She moaned and leaned back as he moved on top of her. She looked up at him, “I’m not an expert, but I’m fairly certain the pants are supposed to be off.”
“I’m just—” Ian looked down at her. “Are you sure? If this happens, I don’t think I can just be your guardian ever. But we are bonded. This is a complication that I cannot take back once it happens.”
Iris moved her head, “If you will always tell me what you know, if you won’t hide things like everyone else, I won’t regret it.”
“A condition, and regret. That’s not exactly—” He started to pull away from her.
“I am glad you got stuck with me. I think anyone else would have treated me like a child, kept me in the dark, and expected me to just trust him. With you, it feels more like you are a partner than a person who protects me.”
“But I will, I will protect you.” His eyes searched hers. “Even if you stop this, my life is yours.”
Iris smiled, “And mine is yours. I can’t imagine putting my life in anyone else’s hands. I can’t—I don’t want you to die protecting me. If you did, I would bring you back.”
“No, no you would not.” Ian moved off of her. “I could never allow that.”
“Well, if you are dead, you can’t stop me.” She placed a hand on his chest. “If you can live to be 400 years old, and you became the guardian of someone who is already half dead and is a constant threat to everyone around her, shortening your own lifespan substantially, it’s not exactly even. I would only be giving you half of my lifespan, you are giving me almost 75% of yours.”
Ian opened his mouth, then laughed and looked away. “I never thought of it that way. But,” his expression became serious, “I chose this for a living.”
“You didn’t choose me, though. You should have gotten an easier assignment.”
“It was a risk I took, and I wouldn’t change a thing now.”
“And if you were to die, giving you half of my life would be my choice. I will do that whether anything happens between us or not.”
“You don’t make any sense.”
“Neither do you. And if you are just going to torture me—” She moved to get off the bed.
And arm wrapped around her and lowered her back onto the bed. She was vaguely aware of Ian working her pants off, but her mind was full of the feel of his body against hers. His skin was soft and supple. Iris began to push his pants off. Hesitantly, he removed them. His hand ran down her leg and pushed it to the side. Ian’s eyes shone as he looked down at her. “Right or wrong, I love you, Iris.”
She ran a hand up his arm, around his shoulder and chest, and down to his stomach. “Have you known me long enough to say that?”
“The color of our bond shows that it’s true. Besides, I’ve known you since you were five years old.”
“What?” Iris gave him a puzzled look.
“I can remind you of that part later. But the thread shows you how I feel. Most guardians and mystics have a golden thread between them. Ours is red, and that is not because of your ability. Caden and Callie’s is red.”
Iris looked up at him, then focused on the thread. It was short because he was right there, but it was a brilliant red that shimmered between them. “Oh. Is that why you kept apologizing?”
“Yes. It’s not supposed to look like that.”
“Was it always that color?”
“It was never just golden, but it has been red for over two weeks now.”
“You like a damsel in distress, huh?”
“Apparently so,” he began to kiss her, his hand moving to her breast.
Iris let her body move in response to Ian’s. His hand moved around to her back and he moved on top of her. She let out a little gasp as he pressed into her. As soon as she did, he whispered into her ear, “I love you, Iris. Whatever you do, I will be here to protect you.” With that he slid further into her, and she lost track of time as she let him explore her body.