Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (8 page)

Amira jumped when Dragan slammed his hand, palm down on the table making the c
up
s jump, spilling their contents while the noise reverberated within the tiny
kitchen
.  “How can you say that?  Not all is forgiven.  Sometimes there are circumstances that prohibit forgiveness.”

“Not in my world.”

“Then you are a fool and live in a fairy tale world.”

“Hey!  You asked me a question
.
I answered you with honesty.  You do not need to be insulting.”  Amira watched in disbelief as he rose to his fe
e
t
,
turning angrily to walk out the front door.  Shadow immediately jumped up from his spot on the floor
,
running after his master.  Amira
sat for a moment
confused.  “Cripes.  What the heck?”

Walking outside she saw hi
m
at the edge of her
walkway
looking out towards the
lake and to the
mountains that rose in the distance. 
Quietly
approaching,
she stood
a few feet
behind him. 
Amira
knew he was aware she was there.  The sun had gone behind the clouds
,
and a breeze rose up over the
water
.  Pulling her sweater tighter around her body, she shivered.  He seemed to be filled with
anguish about something
and fighting some internal demon within himself.  Amira
wanted
to wrap her arms around his waist and give him whatever comfort she could.  His voice reached out to her.  “You can stay in the cottage.  It seems that Shadow has taken a liking to you
,
and I am sure he will be here often
, especially on the days I am working
.  I would appreciate it if you did not
spoil
him with too many treats.  If there is anything you need, please let Mr. Connor know or anyone on my staff.” 
Turning
his head, he caught the relief that passed over her face. 
Knowing
he was the reason for the
relief
warmed his heart.  To Amira
,
he seemed to want to say something else but instead turned and walked away from her.

“Dragan!”  She watched him hesitate then stop
,
but this time he did not turn around.  Softly her words reached out to him – “There is a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh, who once told me that you must embrace the roots of your suffering.”  Dragan’s body stiffened at her words. 
Knowing she had
h
it home
,
her voice softly continued.
 
“
He said to me
–
‘
You are fighting against the tide
,
and the current is too strong for you to fight.  If you are always
fighting
against the flow, then that will be your only focus.
’
 
I believe you are in the same spot
I was in this
life. 
Stop fighting
,
Dragan
,
l
et the current take you. 
Only
then
will the doors be opened; only then will you have rest.”  Getting no
response,
she continued.  “He also said that at times the current will take you to small inlets where the waters are calm an
d still.  It is there that you
are able to rest and gain the courage again to go back out into the raging water, this time with a faith that there is someone greater than you that has prepared your way and will provide you with another inlet.” 
Hearing her voice crack, Dragan turned and walked back to her
,
noting the tears that
now
hovered in her eyes.   Looking
down
as she placed her hand
on his
arm, he realized that she was
allowing him to see her vulnerability
,
and he was touched
. 
“
You asked me earlier why I am here.  I am here at this cottage because
I made a leap of faith and decided to stop
fighting
the current
,
Dragan
.  This
beautiful place is
my resting place for a time
. 
My inlet
,
if you want to
c
all it that. 
Maybe it is time
for you to stop fighting
also
–
e
specially if you have not made any progress in your journey
?”

Her words seemed to break his hard shell
,
melting the edges around his heart
. 
Expressionless, he reached out with his hand to run a finger down her cheek then along her
neckline -
feeling the vein pulse strong
under his fingertips; before moving
around to the back
of her head tugging on her hair,
not unkindly
,
forcing her
to look up at him.  His eyes
searched
her face before settling on her
lips that
had
opened slightly in surprise. 
His want for her was strong.
  He wanted to taste her mouth
, j
ust
this
once, to see if
she was as sweet as she seemed.  He wanted to taste her lifeblood …. Feeling pain behind his eyes
at the thought
,
he
knew he should pull away
,
but he was caught in her scent.
Leaning in, he kissed her softly on the lips. 
Surprised when
he did not feel any resistance,
he
pressed harder,
testing
.  Amira was stunned
, feeling for the first time the touch of a man
’
s lips on hers
.  Where was this coming from?  She could feel her lips tingling from his touch. 
Curious
,
she opened
her mouth wider,
feeling
his tongue ease into
her space.
  The sensation that this
interaction
was having on her body was intoxicating.
  
Letting go of her head,
Dragan no longer touched her
except with his mouth.  Moving
slowly
, tasting.  He
was overwhelmed and
could not get enough.  Amira began to return the kiss.  Soon, her tongue was sparring with his until he caught hers and sucked gently.  Feeling overcome and incredibly weak, she grabbed his
hips
to
steady herself. 
He was not expecting her touch
,
and h
er hands on his body enflamed him even more.  He had just wanted a taste, but kissing her
now,
he realized it was not enough.  It would never be enough.  He had to have all of her.  Wrapping his arm around her, he bent her over his arm as he kissed her more deeply increasing the intensity while his other hand
moved
under her shirt sliding his fingers across her ribcage before easing up to caress her breast.  Moaning into his mouth, Amira felt herself swell under his touch
as her whole body came alive
.  She had waited her whole life to be touched this way
,
and what she was feeling now was
more than she had ever expected.
  Pulling out of h
er
arms, they stared at each other, both breathing heavy
.

The second Dragan was out of sight of the cottage
,
he started to run
,
trying
to get her out of his thoughts.  She confused
him
the way she looked at him.  She had no fear of him
,
and she seemed genuinely
happy to
see him
,
inviting him
to come in and have tea with her.  He grimaced at remembering the blackberry tea.  He would be sure to have James run over a different selection for her.  If nothing else, he would have something to drink the next time he visited.  He stopped running abruptly at his thoughts.  What was wrong with him?  He was already planning to return to see her.  Standing in the woods, he breathed deeply remember
ing
her words and her touch.  It had been less than twenty-four hours since they met
,
and he already felt like he had known her forever.
  It was startling how closely she had hit home
with her words
.  I
t
was
as
if she could read his mind.
  He should never have kissed her.  He was not expecting her response to him.   It seems they both felt the same attraction.

Deep in
the
woods
now
, he heard a screeching sound of something in distress.  Both man and wolf sniffed the air.  Sh
ad
ow’s hair stood up on his
back
as a low grow
l
emitted
from his throat.  He
looked up at his master.  They both could smell the scent of a
n unfamiliar
man, but
the scent
was not recent.  The energy trails were at least several hours old.  Frowning
,
Dragan s
ped through the trees listening
while
attempting
to follow the
sound
of the cries.  What ever it was, it was afraid and in great pain.  Within seconds, he saw what was making all of the noise.  Lying on the ground was a large hawk
that by now
had seen the wolf and fear radiated off
the
bird
in waves.  The bird was
flutter
ing
and squawk
ing
in an attempt to get away from what he sensed was imminent death.  Dragan’s voice reached out to
the bird.  Clucking and cooing, trying
to calm it down before it did any more damage to itself.  It was obvious to him that the bird ha
d
suffered an injury to its wing.  He needed to bring it home so that he could
get a better look and
bandage it up.  “Shadow, retreat!” 
Heeding the command,
Shadow went deeper into the woods
away from the bird
.  This immediately calm
ed
the hawk.  Cocking its head to one side, it looked up at
Dragan
as he approached.  The hawk tried unsuccessfully to fly before screaming in pain once more. Dragan reached into his pocket, removed a handkerchief
,
befor
e kneeling down to gently place it
over the birds head. 
Unable to see
,
the hawk lost all fight
,
and its body lay still on the ground.  Gently taking its wing in his hand, Dragan spread the feathers out while speaking in low tones to the bird all
a
ying his fears.  Seeing a
piece
of silver lodge
d
near the bone, a surge of anger flowed through him.  Th
e
bird
shot by a
pellet
,
had
caused some of the tiny bones to break
in the wing.  Dragan knew it was not one of his staff
members
who had committed this
c
rime.  More than likely it was from the person he smelled earlier. 
As he picked up the injured bird
that now rested quietly in his hands, he whistled
for
Shadow to follow.

Arriving back
at
the manor,
Dragan
went around to the side of the building
where the barn stood.  Stepping in
,
he walked
in
to the
tiny sanctuary designed
specifically
for birds.  Gently guiding
the hawk on
to
one of the many perches throughout the area
,
he
worked quic
kly
and efficiently bandaging the
bird
’
s
win
g
.  The hawk stood quietly during the procedure.  Dragan had such respect for the
hawk’s
courage.
  Cutting the tape, he reached out and gently removed the cloth covering the
hawk
’
s
eyes.  Blinking in the light, it turned its head to one side as it looked up at Dragan.  Sensing no danger, the bird cooed.  Reaching
out
with his finger, Dragan ruffled the feathers on top of its noble head.  “You are welcome my new friend.”  Stepping out of the room, he gently closed the door.