He laughed. The big oaf actually laughed right out loud. Turning on her heels, Charlie stomped towards the waterfall, grumbling about pigheaded dragons. She made it four whole steps before she was snatched up, thrown over Aaron’s shoulder, and traveling so fast the trees were just a blur. Huffing her disgust, she just hung on, waiting for him to stop. It wasn’t long before she was once again on her feet, but now by a spectacular waterfall that looked like it was straight off the pages of a Sierra Club calendar.
Aaron moved in behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed the spot right behind her ear. Leaning against him, she shivered. “Are you cold, mo ghra?” he whispered at her ear.
“No, not at all. You’re like a heater.”
“We do run a little hotter than humans,” he chuckled, teasing her earlobe for just a second. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more serious, “Just so you know, there will never come a day that I’ll wake up and shout NEXT. The moment you entered my life all other women ceased to exist. You are all I see, all I think about, all I could ever want or need. I know none of this makes sense to you, but please believe me when I tell you that is the most real thing I have ever experienced in all of my hundred years.”
Turning in his arms, she saw his belief and total commitment to every word he’d just spoken. That same ‘something’ that had clicked into place earlier, vibrated with what she could only describe as pure joy. Everything she’d been feeling, more precisely everything she’d been trying not to feel, was only growing stronger. Her feelings were real. She knew it was time to stop denying them. Fate, Destiny, the Universe…God, whoever it was that decided she and Aaron were supposed to be together, had been right. Everything she knew about him said he was her perfect match. The man somehow knew how to deal with her crap and actually had the balls to laugh in her face. Something no other man, save her father, had ever dreamt of doing.
It was then that she remembered her mom telling her about the first time she’d met Charlie’s dad. “Ya know, what you’re saying sounds an awful lot like the story my mom told me about meeting my dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, mom’s a nurse. She’d only been out of school a few months and had drawn the nightshift in the Emergency room. It was like four am and she was dog-tired when they brought in a cop that had been shot. It was only a flesh wound, but still pretty deep. He was covered in blood, looking like he might pass out, but acted all tough and macho when she came to clean the wound.”
“The doctor came in and announced he needed stitches. Mom said dad almost tossed his cookies, and when she brought out the needle, he lost consciousness. She assisted, bandaged him up, and went on to her next patient. It wasn’t until a couple of days later when she was heading to her car that she saw him again.”
“He was sitting on a bench, holding a bunch of grocery store flowers…daisies. When he saw her, his whole face lit up. He asked her out for coffee and the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, she gave him a run for his money. Didn’t make it easy on him. Even told him, ‘no’, the first time he asked her to marry him, but he never gave up. Said he knew she was the one, the first time he laid eyes on her.”
She stopped and thought for just a moment, then added. “I don’t know that I’m in love you… but I’m damned close, and I have to know what this is between us. I’m not sure if this will make sense to you, but it feels important…like as in once in a lifetime important. Something I was meant to do. I have to see where it all goes.”
Aaron smiled, not his usual smirk, but a real smile. She could see in that one look how much he truly cared for her. Her heart beat just a bit harder as he kissed the tip if her nose and whispered, “Thank you, mo ghra’.”
He lowered his lips to her. The kiss was different than any other they’d shared so far. It was deep and complete, all encompassing. There were no demands, no expectations…just two souls sharing a perfect moment in time. It seemed to go on forever but also to happen in the blink of an eye. When they broke apart, Charlie knew the look of awe on his face mirrored her own. It just felt right. They spent several hours lounging by the waterfall before Aaron announced that he was hungry.
“How about tuna salad sandwiches and chips?”
“Sounds good to me,” he answered before picking her up and speeding through the woods.
Several minutes later, he sat her on the patio, turned her towards the door, and swatted her behind. Mock glaring over her shoulder, she winked. “Thanks for the ride.” Aaron barked with laughter behind her and had tears in his eyes when he appeared at her side in the kitchen.
Clearing his throat he asked, “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing at all. You ‘cooked’ breakfast. I got lunch.” She used air quotes just to give him a hard time and snorted when he stuck out his tongue.
They ate lunch, told each other embarrassing stories about growing up, and laughed until Charlie’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. While they were doing the dishes, she noticed Aaron had gotten fidgety and thought about asking him what was wrong, but somehow knew he would tell her when he was ready…which came sooner rather than later.
As soon as he’d dried the last glass and placed it in the cupboard, he said, “Can we sit and talk for a minute?”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” she joked.
“Yes, but this is important, something I need to tell you.”
“Okay,” she answered, following him into the living room.
He sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him. Charlie sat, but turned so she could see his face. His arm on the back of the couch touched her shoulder and his fingers drew circles at the nape of her neck.
“You heard my voice in your head last night, right?”
“Yes,” she answered, totally thrown off by his question but curious to see where he was going.
“And you can hear me now, right?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice in her head, but nodded.
“Think your answer to me. Let’s see if it’s working both ways.”
Not sure how it all worked, she did exactly what he said and thought at him, “Can you hear me?”
His smile was the only answer she needed, but his voice in her head still sounded good, “Yes, I can, mo chroi.” He switched back to speaking aloud, “Now, I want you to look inside yourself and look for the link between us, the one we just used to communicate.”
Charlie felt somewhat weird, but did as he asked and was surprised to find it almost immediately. “Okay I see it,” she said aloud.
“Now, I want you to follow it into my mind.”
She opened her eyes to make sure she’d understood him correctly. When he nodded, she again closed her eyes, located the link, and followed it to him. At first, it was like she was floating, but almost immediately she was grounded and could feel Aaron everywhere. It was absolutely extraordinary, so different from being in her own head. It sounded trite, but inside his head was really masculine.
The first thing she saw was a vision of herself, the way he saw her. She had to admit, he made her look like a million bucks. Attached to that mental picture were thoughts and feelings all centered on what she meant to him. Every emotion reinforced what he’d already said to her. Aaron completely believed they were meant to be together. There was not a doubt to be found. Most shockingly, he’d already begun to fall in love with her.
She also felt his dragon and thought of the huge tattoo that covered most of his torso. When she looked closer, she could actually see the beast, but in this case, he sat quietly, studying her just as she studied him. For a moment, she felt the dragon’s presence in her head along with Aaron’s. He was powerful and regal; truly befitting every story she’d been told. She could feel the affection he had for her mixed with a healthy dose of admiration and more than a little possessiveness. The dragon had already claimed her as his own and was making sure she understood he took his responsibility seriously. Smiling in her mind, she laughed when he chuffed at her. Now, more than ever, she wanted to see him in person.
Charlie was humbled and more than a little freaked out, but knew it was something they would be dealing with soon. Following the link out of his head, she opened her eyes and found him observing her every move.
“That was the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I would imagine so, but it’s one of the many things mates can do. I will admit, mindspeak and looking inside one another doesn’t usually happen until after the official mating, but you seem to be somewhat of a quick study. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She nodded for him to continue.
“Last night after we made love, your back started bothering you. You moaned and wiggled like it itched, so I gave you a little massage until it settled.”
She figured he’d seen her marks and was just about to explain when he started again. “When I stopped, you got really agitated, and since touching you has become my favorite pastime, I kept doing it.” He winked and she rolled her eyes.
Have to keep this one on his toes.
“It wasn’t long until I felt them move…and my dragon felt them, too. You were finally resting comfortably and I didn’t want to wake you, so I took a look at them. They really are quite beautiful.”