Wyvern's Trim and other stories (8 page)

The elder looked thoughtful and
said
, “This is
unusual.

They were out of the garden before Ash could
collect herself and blurted out, “Married!”

Sebastian glanced at her and said calmly,
“L
et’s go to your room
first before we have this discussion.”

The fact that he
sounded so reasonable frustrated her and made her angry. When she
tried again to start the conversation he refused to engage and so
she rushed her steps so they could get to her room.

Ash realised her mistake when Sebastian closed the
door of her small room and she was trapped in a small space with
him. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the look on his
face. He stalked towards her and framed her face in his
hands.

He asked
, “Do you deny that you are
mine?”

She blinked confused with the way he was putting
things. “You never asked me. You just decided. You never said
anything about marriage.”

She thought back to it all. The first time
he had stated she was his was when he was ill just a few days ago.
She pulled back and glanced down at her hand
. “Was that it. The only thing you needed
to say we are married.”

Ash rubbed at the brands. They had stopped paining
an hour ago but they still tingled. She could feel the power in the
brands. Defeated she flopped to sit on the edge of her bed. Tears
blurred her eyes. Sebastian sat on the bed next to her and with a
finger under her chin turned her to look at him.

He murmured
, “Hush.”

Then he kissed
her. It was gentle, which surprised her. He was such a large man
and filled with a constrained violence inside him. He moved his
hands to rest lightly on her waist. That reminded her of the kiss
before.

Ash pulled back and asked, “Why? I mean you could
have waited and explained things.”

Sebastian sighed and said, “I thought you
understood. I thought you stopped things earlier because you wanted
the binding first. Before you would let me take you. The idea of
binding us together pleased me so I did it. I thought you knew what
it all meant.”

She blinked staring at him for a moment.
Anger rushed through her and she pulled back
further
. “You never said
anything. Ever, Sebastian. You don’t tell me anything, how am I
supposed to understand or know what is going on inside your head
when you are so stoic with me. How was I supposed to know a bloody
kiss was a marriage proposal?”

His eyes darkened and she was afraid for a
moment. He surprised her though by saying
. “Sorry.”

He stood up then and started undressing.
Gaping she asked
, “What
are you doing?”

“
You
are upset. I will comfort you.”

Her words choked in her throat then she
went breathless as he completely disrobed. He sat on the bed again
and she finally shook off her stupor
. “Wait Sebastian. This morning when I stopped you
it wasn’t because I wanted you to marry me first it was because I’m
not ready.”

He brushed the back of his fingers over
her cheek and said
, “You
only believe you are not ready because you are afraid. I will not
harm you and you will know that there is nothing to
fear.”

His logic was infuriating. She pushed away
his hand and said
, “You
aren’t listening to me. Yes, I am afraid. I’m only seventeen and I
haven’t... well before I hadn’t even been
kissed.”

“
Good.”

She shook her head
. “You don’t
understand.”

Sebastian leant forward and she quickly put her
hand on his chest to push him away. Ash could feel the heat of his
skin and the beat of his heart. She was breathless. Panic mixed
with confusion.

He put his hand over hers on his chest and
said
, “You are afraid of
the unknown. So I will give you the experience so you will no
longer be afraid.”

She shook her
head, confused and tingly. He tugged on the laces of her gown and
she jerked backwards. When he reached for her again she scrambled
away and reached for the lamp. She held it in the ready to whack
him over the head if he came closer.

She was
trembling in earnest now. “Stop it Sebastian. You can’t force
me.”

Her voice
hitched on the words. He frowned at her for a long moment then
reached for his clothes. She sighed and went to her knees, they
were no longer able to hold her up. Tears flowed in relief and fear
and a touch of confusion.

Sebastian finished dressing and with his hands
held out wide to show he was harmless he approached her. She let
him hold her and let the tears flow as well. He hushed her gently
as he smoothed a hand through her hair. “It’s alright sweetheart, I
will not harm you. You must know that.” He soothed.

She shook her head against his
chest
. “You scared me.
You might not think it was hurting me. I don’t know what is going
through your head, ever.”

He kissed the
top of her head and was silent for a long time. Her tears dried up
and she sniffled for a moment. She pulled back gently surprised
that he had held her for so long.

Ash rubbed her face and said, “So, we are married.
What are we going to do about it?”

He frowned confused by her question. She plucked
at her clothes. “I know we can’t change it but I didn’t expect
this. I was ready to be a worker here. I thought I’d never have to
deal with all this… this.”

She
waved her hand to indicate the brands. He took up her hands
as she was moving them nervously. “You have nothing to
fear.”

Frustrated she pulled her hands
back
. “It doesn’t work
like that Sebatian. Just telling me not to be afraid doesn’t make
me any less afraid. This is serious I want to know what is going to
happen.”

He huffed out a breath. He didn’t say
anything though. Frustrated she said
, “Say something.”

He raised an eyebrow and
said
, “You seem to get
angry when I talk so I thought to keep silent.”

She sobbed with
frustration
. “Oh my, how
are we ever going to make this work?”

Ash scrambled to her feet to pace the small
confines of her room. “I don’t know anything about you. You aren’t
even the same species as I am. How can we have anything in
common?”

Sebastian remained on the floor watching her as
she raved for a moment longer. She turned to look at him when he
said, “Ask then. I will tell you anything that you wish to
know.”

That railroaded
her thoughts. She sat down on the bed and stared at him for a
moment. Before she could think of so many things she had wanted to
know about him but now that he had given her leave to ask she
couldn’t think of one single thing that she wanted to ask
him.

Except one
. “Why me? Is it because I was the one to find
you? That I was just convenient?”

He shook his head and stood up to come sit next to
her. “When I was first placed in the labyrinth all I wanted to do
was to kill everyone that had placed me there. Then I became
resigned to my fate. I was merely waiting for my end. Then you
arrived. A light in the darkness. You took compassion on me when it
was clear that I had been placed there for punishment.”

Ash shrugged. She had thought of it but she had
decided to reserve judgement. He had seemed so pathetic trapped
down there. “You befriended me. A strange thing for me as even
before I was not one to have friends. I was always so filled with
anger. Now still. Yet you kept coming back. Please tell me it was
not out of pity?”

Ash shook her head though part of it had been. She
said, “I was curious. I’ve never met a dragon before.” He nodded
though she thought he wasn’t pleased by that answer. He was quiet
for a long moment. Then he nodded his head slightly and said, “You
need time.”

She sighed and said
, “Yes. Yes I think I do. Thank you
Sebastian for understanding.”

He nodded his head and
said
, “We should eat and
rest.”

She jerked
up to attention and said, “Sorry, you are still
recovering and I’ve been dragging you around all over the
place.”

His smile was
warm as he said, “I don’t mind.”

Ash
glanced at Sebastian lying on her bed as she put away the
things they had used to eat their meal. He moved his arm from off
his face and motioned to her. He had conked out right after the
meal. He really wasn’t completely recover.

She hesitated to
follow his instructions. It had gotten her into trouble
before.

He
seemed to understand as he explain. “I merely wish to hold
you.”

How could she resist that?
She hadn’t been able to tell
him but she did love him. She wasn’t sure wanted marriage and
everything that went with it though.

Ash approached and sat on the edge of the bed and
kicked off her shoes. She kept on her clothes because she still
didn’t trust him to understand completely that she wasn’t ready.
She lay down stiff as she was unsure what she felt and what was to
happen. Sebastian shifted to make more space for her.

There was a lot of shifting till she
settled. There was
a
long silence. Sebastian stated. “I wish to kiss
you.”

Ash went very still. But they were married and
there was nothing she could do to change that even if she wished
she could go back and enjoy to courting there would be no changing
where they were. So she would need to make some effort in fixing up
their relationship. It was clear that Sebastian was ready to do
more than just hold her. But she wasn’t sure.

She asked
, “Will you stop if I ask?”

He nodded. So she said, “Okay. But just
kissing.”

Sebastian
moved so he was leaning over her. He was propped
up on his elbows. He looked down at her his eyes searching her
face. His hair hung down past his face. He brushed her lips with a
thumb and shifted so his knee was between hers.

She went still,
tense with this change. But he didn’t do anything else for a long
moment. Watching and waiting to see if she was alright with this.
That eased her fears. This was different from before. He was slow
as he leant down. His lips brushed hers gently. Asking for more.
She parted her lips out of curiosity. She was rewarded for her
bravery. Shivery feelings ran up her spine and warmth pooled in the
pit of her stomach.

Ash reached up to touch his arm. She ran her hand
up to his neck and into his hair. She was surprised by his groan
and she pulled back.

He shook his head and
said
, “Don’t
stop.”

“
Oh”

He kissed her again his hand moving to her waist
so he could arch her up to deepen the kiss. His mouth was sinful
she thought. He pulled back though after a moment and she made a
sound of protest that soon changed when he sat back to pull off his
shirt.

When he saw her face he
said
, “I am used to
wearing less, Love. This is still just a kiss.”

He moved slowly
like he had done at the beginning. He brushed her lips but it soon
went deeper. She placed her hand on his chest and his skin shivered
under her touch. She splayed her fingers. His skin was cooler than
she would have thought. Smooth as well. He was not hairy like some
men. In fact she could see the flex of his muscles. She explored
this with her touch. She was rewarded with a groan from
Sebastian.

He placed his hand over hers on his chest
and held it still and said against her lips
. “Be careful love, I am not infallible
and you tempt me.”

Still she looked
up at him. He groaned and rolled away from her. She turned to look
at him. He had his eyes closed and his head tilted back. His skin
was exquisite.

He asked
, “Am I pleasing to the eye,
Love?”

She chuckled. “Oh, definitely. I don’t know how
you managed to survive down in that cave, let alone look so damn
healthy.”

He took her hand and twined his fingers
with hers. Playing with her fingers, he stared
at them intently. He made a non-committal
noise. At least he wasn’t growling at her as he used to. He kissed
her fingertips one at a time, slowly savouring it. She let out a
sigh.

She was enjoying this
moment
. “How come you
remember your brother but not your own name?”