Authors: Carmella Jones
“So?” My daze had caused me to be completely oblivious to Simon’s presence. At the sound of his voice I turned around, looking at him. Realizing that next to me was a bookcase filled with the lost books of Alexandria’s library, my cheeks reddened.
“It’s…amazing. Where are we?” Simon chuckled as he walked up to me, wrapping an arm around me. He walked me over to a large window, covered with red velvet curtains. He looked at me as if expecting me to react.
Nervously I stepped forward, pulling back the curtains. A gasp emerged from my lips naturally as a magnificent sight revealed itself. Outside, there was a large body of water surrounding us. We seemed to be on some sort of island, and to the west was a larger island with a volcano located in the middle of it.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
“Eh, somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. No one can ever find us, however. You know how boats and airplanes get lost in the Bermuda Triangle?” Offering him a nod, my eyes were slowly widening in disbelief. “Dragons.” My eyes widened even more.
Eventually, he closed the curtains and lay down on the couch, allowing me to look around. I continued to explore, but the moment the distance between us increased, my stomach started to tighten with pain. Having no choice but to make my way back, I lay down on top of him, placing my head on his chest.
“I’m sorry about yelling at you,” I whispered softly. He ran his fingers through my hair as we lay there. He then kissed the top of my head.
He followed my gaze to the empty fireplace and chuckled. With a flick of his wrist, the fireplace exploded with sparks and a roaring fire appeared, filling the living room with a cozy heat. I looked at him in awe.
“How did you do that?”
“Magic.” I gave him a curious look for a moment before laying my head back down.
“Do I ever get to learn magic?”
“In time,” he whispered.
Soon enough, this new place began to feel like home. It was always warm and cozy and there were always new things to explore and to be admired. Eventually, my anger with Simon dissipated and was replaced by an ever-growing love for him.
As my stomach grew larger and larger, excitement was slowly overtaking me. What would the baby look like? Would it take after me or Simon? There were so many questions. Half the time I managed to nag Simon’s ear off. But he always listened to me with the utmost patience, ready to satisfy my desire for knowledge.
And, we had our fun of course. Since I was pregnant, he could no longer penetrate me, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun in so many other ways. Soon we were getting creative and I was having the time of my life in the arms of a dragon. Life seemed to be perfect. We were spending all our time together, slowly learning more and more about each other.
And soon enough we would have our own cute little whelp. To say the least, I was excited.
Chapter 8: Simon
The time my new mate and I spent together flew by. The thought of finding a male mate had never even crossed my mind, but Matt couldn’t have made me happier. Embracing my inner dragon was no longer a problem.
With Matt around, loneliness no longer had its ugly grasp on me, and flying around my nest didn’t present any danger. Having a mate brought my instincts under control, so I no longer had to worry about them. Life was almost perfect.
Now all I needed to do was wait for the whelp. Every day its scent became stronger and the excitement about meeting my child grew. Today, Matt was lying down in bed resting. His stomach was quite large at this point, and we were expecting the baby to come any day now. I promised to take good care of him. Catering to his every whim and desire wasn’t a problem and in return, he repaid me with endless care and affection.
One day, I was in the kitchen making some soup, which Matt always loved. I tasted it on the tip of my tongue as a scream came from the bedroom. I rushed in that direction, my eyes wide, searching for my mate. I found him leaning against the bedpost, groaning as he held on to his stomach.
My reaction was quick, picking him up and laying him down on the bed. “It’s okay, just calm down and continue to breathe, okay?” My eyes met his, as he gave me a pained look. It wasn’t at all easy for humans to bear the children of dragons. Looking at my mate, I placed my hand on his stomach, utilizing my magic to soothe his body.
He smiled in relief as the pain started to go away and he relaxed, closing his eyes. His eyelids slowly began to close as I ran my fingers through his hair, soothing him to sleep, kissing the top of his head
A few hours later, Matt woke up. He groaned softly as he opened his eyes and looked around. He was confused. As he tried to sit up I kept him down.
“Rest. You need it.” I gave him a look, a bright smile on my face. As he looked back, he reached down, feeling his now flat stomach. His eyes went wide.
“The baby…what…” Shushing him with a small kiss, I walked over to a small crib and took out a tiny but healthy boy. He cooed happily at me as he pulled on my hair. I chuckled, prying his small hand out of my hair before carrying him over to Matt.
The baby giggled with glee seeing his human father. Matt’s face lit up, seeing his son for the first time. He tried to get out of bed but was met by my chiding look. He lay back down, but looked excited as I approached, laying the baby in his arms.
The little whelp reached up and touched his father’s face, giggling happily. Matt reached down, playing with his little hand as I looked on. Matt finally turned to me and whispered, “Come here.”
I happily obeyed, sitting on the edge of the bed. He managed to pull me down until we were lying together with our new son. Our small boy looked at us for a moment before yawning, causing me to chuckle and put him back in the crib.
I rocked him to sleep before making my way back to Matt. Lying down next to him, he cuddled up to me instantly. With a smile on my face, my arms wrapped around him.
“You did great.” He offered me a smile before laying his head on my chest. I rubbed his arms and pulled him closer. He yawned and began falling asleep, causing me to smile and kiss him good night once more.
That was three years ago. We now had a lively toddler on our hands. Lucas, our whelp, likes to cause trouble. With his new wings coming in, he is learning to fly and that means he has been breaking things left and right. Matt runs around the nest chasing him, but my human mate is quickly becoming no match for the growing dragon.
“Get back here! That used to belong to King Tut!” Matt shouted last week as he ran after Lucas, trying to get him to land. The little troublemaker flew around the house, holding the jar, looking at it with curiosity. He didn’t care about the history, he just liked how shiny it was. Suddenly he placed it in his mouth and began chewing on it. Realizing it didn’t taste good, he dropped it to the ground. Matt made a dash for it, catching it before it could break.
He seemed exasperated as he looked over at me. “A little help here would be nice.” I chuckled and relaxed, allowing my wings to emerge, stretching them out, before looking at Lucas. He saw me and flew away quickly, thinking he could get away from me. I chased him around the house, letting him escape my grasp for a few minutes before finally grabbing him. Bringing him back to the ground, I punished him with an onslaught of tickles. “What did I tell you about tormenting Daddy?” I asked him in a stern tone. His eyes fell as he looked away from me.
“That I shouldn’t do it, Dad,” he said, looking guilty. He ran off into his bedroom, and I let him go with a chuckle. As he disappeared from view, Matt walked up to me, wiping the sweat off his brow.
“Why does he always listen to you?” he asked me with a pout on his face.
“Because I’m Dad, the bad guy in this relationship.” He pouted even more. I chuckled again, pulling him into a hug.
“Don’t give me that look. You know you love me.”
Matt finally smiled, kissing my lips before saying, “Forever.”
Fire & Ice
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Chapter 1
The cold air stung his pale skin as he tightened a scarf around his neck. It had been a difficult semester for Casey Meindert as he balanced school work, extracurricular activities, and a social life. But now all of that was behind him. He was finally on break and he was going to enjoy it.
Born and raised in the States, Casey jumped at the opportunity to study in New Zealand through a study abroad program. He loved the new and exciting environment, but he was exhausted from the arduous work schedule the school demanded of him. At last, he could relax on the beautiful slopes of the southern Alps.
Casey had always been a winter baby. He loved the cold and the snow and hated the summer heat. So arriving at the Rocky Vista ski resort was like a dream come true. Bending down, he grabbed his suitcase before walking toward the warm-looking log cabin, adorned with impressive wood carvings all around. He was going to spend a month at the resort, and he was already excited to put on his gear and get on the ski lift.
Before that, however, he had to check in. Accordingly he made his way into the oppressively warm log cabin. There was a large fire crackling loudly at the back of the reception hall. A crowd of skiers was huddled around it, trying to warm their toes and fingers back to life. A lot of people enjoyed skiing, but almost no one liked the bitter cold associated with it, except for Casey.
With a bright smile, he walked up to the check-in desk, his blue eyes gently rolling over the well-built man sitting there. The receptionist looked up at the young student before grabbing his reservation. A small frown crept up onto Casey’s face as he noticed the man’s rude demeanor. He ran his fingers through his choppy red hair as he took a look around the building. As his eyes fell on a wooden sculpture of a dragon, the man spoke up, breaking his concentration.
“All set. Second floor. Room 22B.” Casey nodded, grabbing his keys, completely forgetting about the wooden sculpture as he once again grabbed his bags and walked up the stairs to the second floor. He found his room to be the last door on the left. He looked at the old wooden door before entering his new temporary residence.
It was a tiny room with a twin-sized bed, a small kitchen area, and an even smaller bathroom. He placed his bags on the ground and walked up to the long curtains that hid the room’s French doors. He pulled them down and gasped at the million-dollar view. With great satisfaction on his face, he opened up the window before stepping onto the balcony.
The snow stuck to his pale skin, blending in to his complexion before finally melting away and dripping down onto his neck. He smiled as he placed his bare hands on the cold, metal railing and leaned over, nearly falling off. His pastel blue eyes had a wild spark roaming through them as he looked at the mountains. This was going to be a great vacation.
Within moments, Casey walked back into the cozy room, leaving the French doors wide open. He quickly stripped down before getting dressed in his ski clothes. Unlike other skiers, he didn’t wear layer upon layer of clothes to ward off the cold. No, he preferred to go out in thin clothing, to feel the elements battle against his skin. Looking in the mirror, he zipped up his lightweight jacket and smiled at the charming reflection before grabbing the rest of his ski gear.
Minutes later he was settled down on a ski lift, watching the residents of the log cabin become smaller and smaller until they eventually turned into tiny ants in his vision. Small puffs of air emerged from his mouth as he neared the top of the mountain. Finally, he jumped off at the last stop, before making his way to the steepest slope. He stood on the ledge looking down, his eyes gazing at the incline with a devilish smile painted on his rosy lips. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he took a deep breath and took the leap of faith, letting his body take control, moving and contouring in a way that felt natural to the supple young man.
Soon, however, he was at the bottom of the slope and the adrenaline that had filled his body moments ago was now gone. He looked back at the slope, hungry for more. Looking around, he noticed several snowmobiles lining a nearby fence. An older gentleman with a beet-red face stood there, looking quite miserable. The cold clearly didn’t agree with him. Casey walked up to him with an upbeat smile and offered a warm greeting.
“Hello!” The man just grunted back at him, shoving his shivering hands into the pockets of his huge jacket. “Can residents of the Rocky Vista use these?” Casey inquired politely as he looked into the old man’s dull eyes. The man seemed to sigh as he pulled his worn out scarf away from his mouth.
“For a fee,” he said simply.
“How much?”
“One hundred for an hour.” Casey frowned at the number. He thought about it for a moment. Eventually, he reached into his inner pocket, pulling out a crisp hundred-dollar bill. He handed it to the man with some dismay. The man, in turn, gave him a toothy smile before handing over the keys to the snowmobile. “Return in an hour or it’s another hundred,” he said before turning his back on Casey, who was already on top of the snowmobile, looking excited.
Putting the keys in the ignition, he grinned in delight before maneuvering away from the rest of the vehicles. Clear of obstructions he revved up the engine and shot off toward the endless blanket of snow that caked the mountain top. His eyes locked on the mountain peaks, his face painted in hues of excitement as he pushed the engine to its maximum, eager to get to the summit.
As he passed an “off-limits” zone, he scoffed.