Magic and Mayhem: How To Date A Dragon (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Baba Yaga Saga Book 2) (14 page)

“Your obsession for that female makes you weak,” Thane spat.

Nigel laughed. “Bet you’d never say that to Damien Smoke. From what you’ve shared, he seems quite obsessed himself.”

Shrugging, Thane stared off in a distance. “For a short while, I thought he’d come to his senses. He sided against her in an argument about my presence on campus. She doesn’t trust me and wants me gone. So far, Damien has denied her request, but I can tell he is weakening in his loyalty to our kind. Whatever action you want me to take, it must be done before he changes his mind and sends me away.”

Nigel crossed his arms. “Ugh…
I hate deadlines
. Okay. As much I detest the idea of outright murdering a Chosen One, I see no way around it in this case. Killing one of them would martyr the other, but martyrs often make grave mistakes. My guess is the other will take too many risks and ultimately pay the price. Yes, I believe it’s only necessary to dispose of one.”

Thane straightened and met his gaze. “Their actual blood on my hands would definitely anger their vengeful goddess beyond the worth of your paltry sum for my services.”

Nigel rolled his eyes. “You’ve brought me nothing but bad news each time we’ve met. Do you think you could at least kidnap one of them and bring her to me? I don’t mind getting my hands bloody, but as you know I can’t physically get inside the campus to do it there. I’ll wait for you in the woods. You can go back to the campus and I’ll do the deed.”

Thane thought about it for a moment. “Which one do you want?” he asked.

“Surprise me,” Nigel declared with a wave of Lord Magna’s wrinkled hand.

***

“Stay here, Ahmed. Watch for problems,” Carol whispered, pointing to the area beneath the bleachers. He took up a guard position and stared out in the direction where he could see anyone sneaking up on them.

The metal risers faced the cricket field. Just as Iren’s friend had told her, he sat on a bench seat about five rows up. He was dressed out for practice, but had a book open on his lap. She climbed up and sat down beside him. He hazily pulled his attention from what he was reading and blinked at her. It was several seconds before his gaze actually registered who she was. If she had bigger boobs, she’d bet the elf would have come to his senses a lot sooner.

Her gaze dropped to the front of her t-shirt. Maybe she needed to buy a push-up bra, but the underwire kind were so uncomfortable when you were fighting. Her sigh was long and loud as she lifted her gaze to his.

“Hi,” she finally said. “What are you reading?”

Iren closed the book and held it up. She glanced at the cover. “One Hundred Ways To Defeat A Dragon,” she read.

“My father said none of these really worked, but I figured I’d study them just in case.”

Carol nodded. “Are you worried about a particular dragon or dragons in general?”

“I’m worried about you,” Iren said.

The breath left her body. “Why are you worried about me?” she asked.

Iren grinned. “If I tell you why, do you promise not to do anything bad to me?”

Carol grimaced. “I’d like to say yes, but I can’t make any promises.”

Iren chuckled and rubbed his nose. “I know. And why I find that sexy is beyond me.”

“You think I’m sexy?” Carol asked.

His answer was to lean forward and touch his mouth gently to hers. Excitement warmed her girly parts and a deep longing melted every cell in her body.

Iren moved his mouth away and touched his forehead to hers. “Yes. I find you wildly exciting. I have never been with a woman because none ever moved me to want them… until I saw you defeat two Amazons at once. You were covered in scratches, cuts, and blood, yet were dancing around the training ring like an excited two year old. I’ve had a hard time keeping my hands off since.”

“You…” Carol swallowed hard. “You’ve dated all those girls, but you never….”

Iren straightened in his seat. “No. For elves of my family’s house, sex is also an exchange of magic and power, especially the first time. I have an obligation to my family to choose my first female wisely. I would like that female to be you.”

Carol blew out a breath. “Wow. I did not see that coming.” Iren’s laughter over her pun had her blushing. He might be a fellow virgin, but he obviously knew more than she did, which could be a good thing.

“Do you think you could kiss me again?”

Iren’s smile before his head descended made her insides flutter. Kissing him this way was so much better than anything she’d experienced to date. His lips fit hers precisely and moved wonderfully slow across hers, letting her feel every bit of deliciousness.

His large hand rising to cup her breast through her shirt startled her into making a little squeak sound which passed into his mouth from hers. His groan of appreciation preceded his hand brushing reverently before gently squeezing and taking possession. Her breast felt enormous under his palm. She was stunned, aroused, and a whole bunch of other stuff she’d never felt before.

His mouth suddenly left hers abruptly. She listened to him breathing hard, like he did after cricket practice. She watched mesmerized as his hand slowly slid away and reluctantly dropped from her breast.

“I knew you’d fit my hand perfectly. I’m sorry… I couldn’t control myself. I’ve wanted to do that for a couple years.”

Carol shook her head. It felt a little bit like she was dreaming… or going deaf… or maybe becoming mental. This was so much more than she’d expected. She’d just been going to ask him to maybe hang out sometime.

“You think my boo… I mean… breasts are perfect?” she demanded.

Iren laughed dryly. “Carol, I think
everything
about you is perfect.”

Carol drew in a breath. “Well, okay. That really was worth the wait. I mean, adults always tell you to wait until you find the right person, but usually I just think they’re being… well, adults. Actually I never know what to think about sex advice. It makes me uncomfortable usually because I think it should just happen naturally like breathing and…”

She stopped to giggle at Iren’s lopsided grin. Why had she never realize how cute he was?

“I’m babbling like an idiot, aren’t I?”

“Let’s go with charming. Your babbling is charming. Did I make you babble?” Iren asked.

Carol giggled more. “Yes. I guess you did. But I will kill you if you tell anyone. I have a rep that does not include babbling.”

Iren pulled her hand into his lap and linked their fingers. He lifted them to his lips for a kiss.

“This is the best day of my life since I came to Witchery U. My first honest-to-goddess, gut churning make out session is with the sexiest witch I’ve ever met. This is better than my perfect GPA or knowing I’m going to inherit my family’s kingdom.”

“Stop,” Carol declared, putting her free hand over his mouth. Iren laughed beneath her fingers. “I’m not experienced at this either… like at all… like I’m like you not experienced. But I think we should date. Maybe do more fooling around. You make me babble and I find that just as intimidating as anything else I’ve had to learn.”

Iren nodded and smiled as her fingers dropped away. His smile widened.

“I’ve read a lot about it,” he said. “I know all kinds of things in theory. We could practice together… if that appeals to you. Goddess knows, it appeals to me.”

Carol stared at his mouth until she just had to kiss him again. So she did. This time he let her do the exploring. She had a hard time resisting when Iren tried to pull her into his lap.

She leaned away, stared at his mouth, and then met his gaze. “It definitely appeals to me, but I better go before I say stuff that will make you think my breasts aren’t perfect after all. I’d rather just bask in your compliments for a bit longer.”

Iren’s genuine laughter over her honesty made her smile widely in return. She walked down the metal risers and stopped at the bottom. “Don’t worry about the dragon, Iren. You kiss way better than he does.”

Iren stood and made a courtly bow to her. “Thank you for the high praise, Great Baba Yaga.”

Giggling at their flirting, Carol nearly skipped back to the dorm. She couldn’t wait to tell Hildy about kissing Iren. She looked down at Ahmed trotting briskly beside her.

“Do you think this means I have a boyfriend now?”

Ahmed barked twice in approval. Carol started giggling all over again.

“Did Nathaniel die?” Hildy asked. “I thought Jezibaba said he was healing, but I don’t see him.”

“I don’t either. She said Professor Cranky Pants pulled off some serious magic. You’d think he’d have stuck around to brag about it,” Carol said, chewing on her lip. The Jezibaba had called them to come see her, but she’d been in the middle of her warlock posse since their arrival. Their heads were bowed and their whispers were low and furious sounding.

“I don’t see Nathaniel, but check out the hot new guy in the group,” Hildy ordered.

Carol chuckled softly. “They’re all wearing ugly brown monk robes with hoods. How in Morgana’s name can you tell what they look like?”

Hildy gave her friend a knowing glare. “I saw a flash of his face and a very nice looking neck and bare shoulder. Everything I saw looked really good… plus that rope belt tapers in to his waist. I’m telling you… the new guy’s hot.”

“If you’re starting to think guys in the warlock posse look promising, you seriously need to get a boyfriend,” Carol exclaimed.

They straightened when Jezibaba and one of the warlocks left the huddle and walked towards them.

“Oh goddess, that’s him… that’s the new hottie,” Hildy whispered, gripping Carol’s arm tightly.

Carol tilted her head. “Wait a minute. That’s…”

When the warlock stopped near them, he pushed the hood off his face. They stared in dumbfounded wonder.

“Wow. You look so much like him. Are you Nathaniel’s son or grandson?” Carol asked.

The good-looking warlock shook his head. “I’m the original Nathaniel. You can be no more astounded by my appearance than I am, Chosen Ones. It appears I have been rejuvenated.”

The girls looked him up and down, saying nothing more until the Jezibaba cleared her throat to get them to stop staring.

“Uh… well… you look like you’re feeling much better,” Hildy said brightly.

“What she really means is you’re a hottie now,” Carol corrected.

Hildy’s arm slap made her jump. They both giggled when Nathaniel… the rejuvenated Nathaniel… blushed. He pulled his cowl back over his head.

“I believe I will join the others so we can resume our search for Zenos, M’lady. Call if you need me.”

Three sets of feminine eyes stared at the back of his robe which showed a very impressive masculine outline. They sighed in unison and shared a guilty look.

“Did Zenos really do that?” Carol asked in a whisper.

Jezibaba nodded. “Yes. And then the old fart disappeared on me.”

“Disappeared
disappeared
? Or just disappeared?” Hildy asked.

Carol looked at her. “What in Morgana’s name does that even mean?”

Hildy glared. “Well, if Nathaniel looks like the latest Mr. Hottie now, what was the magical cost to Zenos? Professor Cranky Pants didn’t seem like the kind of person to do a favor that big for no reason. And since when does a mage have that much power?”

“Excellent questions,” Jezibaba said, looking off across campus. “Have either of you seen Professor Smoke today?”

The girls looked at each other and then both shook their heads.

“Oh,” Jezibaba said. “Okay then. I suppose I’ll see him later.”

Hearing disappointment in their mentor’s tone, the girls exchanged a glance.

Carol shrugged. “I’m sure he’s just doing headmaster stuff. Sometimes Professor Smoke goes to read to the baby shifters.”

Hildy glared. “They’re not babies, Carol. They’re just young shifters. They’re here to learn while they’re still mostly in human form. I learned that the first few years of shifting are traumatic and their animal brain sort of controls everything. They have to be back with their families and packs before that happens, so they’re only in this kind of school for a few years.”

“
Babysitter
,” Carol coughed into her hand. Laughing, she dodged Hildy’s foot accurately aiming for her leg.

“I haven’t seen Thane for the last hour,” Hildy said, turning her attention back to the Jezibaba. “He was in the library looking at books about plants used as aphrodisiacs. He was there all morning going over and over stuff while he made notes. When I finally had to go to the bathroom, he left while I was gone. I pretended to be looking for him for Professor Smoke and the reference librarian said Thane had gone for a walk in the woods to clear his mind. She said he always returned after his breaks so she left his books and work alone.”

“Aphrodisiac plants? He’s probably crafting an illegal love potion,” Carol exclaimed. “That’s just gross. I feel sorry for the female he uses it on. It better not be meant for one of us.”

Jezibaba snorted. “The research is being done for Professor Moth. Apparently the mutant bats are having problems getting in the mood to reproduce with each other.”

Carol and Hildy both blinked at her in surprise. Hildy cleared her throat. “Do you believe that?”

“Not for a minute,” Jezibaba said. “But that’s the cover story.”

“Is there any antidote to a love potion?” Carol asked.

Jezibaba nodded. “Yes. True love’s kiss.”

Hildy rolled her eyes. “Great. We’re all going to have to wear gas masks for the rest of our lives.”

“No, we are not,” Jezibaba said firmly. “You’re going to go back to the fight ring this afternoon to train like usual. You two are going to lure the traitorous fire breather to you and make him comfortable enough to make his move. Then… then
I’m
going to kill him.”

“Kill him dead?” Carol asked.

Jezibaba glared. “Kill and dead sort of go together, don’t you think, Carol?”

“Right,” Carol agreed quickly, swallowing hard. “So we’re going to be bait and you’re going to kill Thane. Sounds like a plan.”

Hildy studied the ground. “I bet he’d for sure come if he thought one of us was going to give him a second chance. It would make his ego feel better and he’d drop his guard.”