Steam (12 page)

“Vanilla,” the child said. “It’s my favorite. What are you getting?”

Sloan watched the two chat about ice cream, stunned by the ease Sunny interacted with the little girl. Eventually, the little girl and her mother ordered their ice cream cones and Sunny said a cheerful good-bye to her new friend. “I’ll have a chocolate cone please,” she said to the clerk. She made to pull her wallet out of her purse, but Sloan put his hand on her wrist.

“Let me get it,” he said. “What? Call me old fashioned,” he defended when she raised an eyebrow at him.

Sunny sighed but let him pay for their treats. “Okay, but dinner is on me. And don’t complain,” she said when he opened his mouth.

He had to make Sunny see that all he wanted to do was take care of her. He might not be as old as Leith or Raven, but he was still from a different generation.

Still, he didn’t say anything. He would make an excuse about going to the bathroom during dinner and then talk to the waitress about putting the meal on his credit card. He ordered his vanilla ice cream and waited patiently for the clerk to hand it over. A sudden sobbing from beside them drew his attention. Sunny’s little friend had dropped her cone and was weeping as if her dog had just died.

“I know you’re disappointed, love, but I only brought enough money for two ice creams. You can have mine,” the girl’s mother said.

“But I like vanilla,” the little girl sobbed.

Sloan had never been able to take a child crying. He would do everything in his power to make her stop. And really, she sounded as if this was a tragedy.

He accepted the ice cream from the clerk and walked over to the mother and daughter. Kneeling next to the little girl, he looked at the mother and smiled. “She can have my cone. I’ve just bought it and I haven’t even taken a lick yet.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up and she reached for the ice cream, but the mother shook her head. “No, we really couldn’t.”

He was about to protest when he remembered it was a different time than when he’d grown up. Parents needed to worry constantly about the motivations of strangers. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pressed a note into the mother’s hand. “I understand. Here, take this. It should be enough to get her another cone.”

The woman tried to give him back the money but he refused. “A beautiful princess like this shouldn’t spend such a nice afternoon crying.”

The little girl beamed at him. “Thank you,” she said, clasping her hands together under her chin.

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “My pleasure, princess. Now, make sure not to drop this one, okay?”

She agreed and skipped off with her mother to replace her ice cream after one last thank you.

Sunny’s warm hand slid down his forearm before she linked her fingers through his. “That was nice,” she whispered.

He hadn’t done it to impress Sunny, but he saw no reason not to ask her for what he wanted, now that he had her buttered up. “Nice enough to let me pay for dinner tonight?”

She pursed her lips, which had him wishing he’d asked for something else instead. “No. But it’s nice enough for a kiss,” she answered.

“I’ll take it,” he said, leaning down. Very softly, he placed his lips against hers.

*

Sunny let her eyes close when Sloan’s mouth settled on to hers. It was a rather chaste kiss, considering they were out in public, but it was still exciting.

She’d seen a completely different side of him today. He’d been patient with her since he’d taken over her training, even when she’d struggled to even form a flame at will.

But that afternoon showed her something completely different.

She’d been pleasantly surprised to find Sloan was some kind of old-fashioned romantic. He’d let her lead him around town, stopping obligingly every time she wanted to take a closer look at something. And while she might act like his insistence on paying for everything annoyed her, in truth, it was kind of nice that he wanted to provide for her. It hadn’t really been anything she’d experienced before.

And then he had to go and offer his ice cream to a crying child, and then he paid for another cone when his offer had been refused.

Oh, she’d seen glimpses of this Sloan. He was a generous lover, always making sure she was satisfied before he finished. It was in the gentle way he now treated Anna, and it was in the way he spoke to Matthew.

It was enough to make her fall in love with him. In fact, she already knew she was knee deep in love with the man. All it would take would be a push and she would fall head first in love. And the little display she’d just witnessed had been quite the nudge toward that edge.

Sloan deepened the kiss a little, and she pulled away before things got carried away in the middle of the park. “You know what else it’s nice enough for?” she asked.

He smiled. “What?”

“Dinner in bed.”

“Yeah?” Sloan asked, sounding extremely interested. “Can I have you for dessert?”

Sunny blushed a little but tugged on his hand, pulling him in the direction of the car. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Sloan dropped his head back and closed his eyes. The magic hummed through his veins, and it was slightly uncomfortable. His power had been increasing in spades since Sunny had come into her magic. Anna had said the same thing and according to Leith, Sunny was the only handler to have so much magic to control right off the bat.

While he still scoffed openly at the whole prophecy business, it was just for show. Why else would the handlers’ magic keep increasing in power?

And the whole thing about the handlers having their soul mates at their sides during the war to end all wars…well, he could see how it could be considered a sign.

Trying to pull his mind from his dark thoughts, he tuned into Raven and Leith’s conversation. “Have you seen Matthew lately?” Raven asked.

Leith shook his head, but Sloan noticed the slight concern on the man’s face. Everyone knew Matthew was desperately in love with Leith except Leith. “He’s not been home at all then?” he asked.

Sloan leaned forward. “I saw him early this morning,” he said to ease the man’s worry. “He was on his way into the office.” He didn’t mention that the kid looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion.

Leith frowned and ruffled his long hair. “The lad needs someone to take care of him.”

Looking up, Sloan caught Raven’s eye and shrugged. He wasn’t sure if Leith was really that blind or if he just didn’t want to acknowledge Matthew’s one-sided love. After all, the man did come from a time where homosexuality was condemned. Hell, in Leith’s time, a man would have been killed over his sexuality.

Sighing, Raven sat up and changed the subject. “We really need to focus on convincing the dragons to train with us again.”

“It’s not like they made any difference the last time,” Sloan grumbled.

Leith poured himself a glass of water and took a small sip. He was still frowning, and he stared into space when he finally answered. “Well, we weren’t prepared for the battle. We were only doing some training, so the dragons signaled for reinforcements far too late.”

A small breeze stirred Sloan’s hair, and he glanced over his shoulder and grinned. Anna had summoned two tiny tornadoes and made them race across the table. It was quite the sight to see.

Sunny stood by the fireplace, forcing the flames into different shapes and sizes. She stared at the fire and smiled when it formed itself into the shape of a lightning bolt. “This is fun,” she said.

Sloan couldn’t help but stare at her. He’d taken over her training, and she already showed great improvement. Sunny was happy and it showed. She positively glowed, always had a ready smile and was nice to everyone.

Unless something pissed her off. Then she turned into a fiery little thing, like the sun itself.

He schooled his expression and stood up to wander over to the water feature Raven had installed a couple of weeks ago. Water ran down the tiled wall in a small stream to splash into the basin below. It provided a soothing sound, sure, but Raven had installed it for Sloan to practice on when he felt the need.

Looking at the water, he imagined it swirling. Instantly, a small whirlpool emerged. He amused himself for a few minutes by dropping things into the whirlpool and watching them get sucked down. Anything was fair game as long as it didn’t disintegrate. Coins, pencils, and paper clips all made for good entertainment.

“Didn’t you send a message to the dragons?” Sloan finally asked, pulling his eyes away from the water.

“I did,” Raven said. “And I got a message back. I’m still trying to figure it out though.”

Everyone in the room looked at Raven, and the leader started pacing the perimeter of the room. “It was from Prince Gareth.” Raven explained the prince’s conditions and how not everything had been finalized.

Anna released the tornadoes and they flew out the window Leith opened for her, dissipating as soon as they hit the fresh air. “I wonder what happened to the queen.”

Sunny began swirling her finger through the air, drawing letters with fire and holding the trail in the air. “Why is everyone so concerned about the dragon queen? It’s been twenty-five years since you saw them last, right? Maybe she got too old to make these kinds of decisions.”

Anna blew at the letters and they all watched them float through the air lazily. Sunny’s control over her magic had come along remarkably well for the most part. “Nice,” Anna praised. “And dragons are immortal. So, if something has happened to the queen, we’re all in big shit.”

Sloan blinked when he heard the vulgar language slip from Anna’s mouth. What she said was true, but he’d never heard her swear before.

“Anyway,” Raven said, hiding his smile behind his hand, “I’ve agreed to meet Prince Gareth. He’s going to send a driver once we’ve got the meeting date hammered down.”

Sunny clapped her hands and the fire extinguished. “Can I come? I really want to meet a dragon.”

Sloan thought of Gareth. He remembered the dragon’s human form as one all the women, including Dara, had fawned over. “Why would you want to meet an overgrown lizard?” he asked.

This time, it was Leith who shot him a knowing look. “You know dragons have human forms. He won’t meet with Raven as a dragon.”

“Yeah,” Anna said dreamily. “And I remember Gareth’s human form well. He’s gorgeous.”

Squealing, Sunny rushed up to Raven and clutched his arm, jumping up and down. “Now I really want to meet him. Please, please,
please
.”

Jealousy made Sloan see in tunnel vision and it focused on an image of the little redhead and the tall dark haired dragon prince in an embrace.

No way in hell would he stand by while his lover hooked up with lizard boy. He would be damned if he shared Sunny with anyone, let alone a Goddamned prince. Growling, he went all caveman and strode over to her, throwing her over his shoulder. He stormed out of the rooms, hearing Leith and Raven’s laughter in his ears underscored by Anna’s outraged shout.

“Put me down,” Sunny shrieked.

Sloan winced as she hit at his back with her fists. “Stop it, woman, or you’ll bruise my kidneys.”

“Oh, honey, I’ll do more than bruise your kidneys if you don’t put me down right now.”

A shot of unease went down his spine, but he tried to keep his mind off the damage she could cause. Instead, he continued up the stairs.

At least she waited until they were at the top of the stairs before unleashing her anger. This time, instead of hitting him, she sent some of her fire down his back.

He yelped and just about dropped her, only barely managing to lower her to the ground without dropping her on her head. “What the fuck?” he shouted, even though he knew exactly why she’d burned him.

“We might be sleeping together but I am not a toy you can haul around anywhere and anytime you choose,” she said, poking him in the chest with a single finger.

“But, baby, I want you,” he said, trying out his best puppy dog eyes for good measure.

Of course, she didn’t back down. It wasn’t who she was. “Then try being nice.”

God, he was such a fool. “I’m sorry, Sunny. I really don’t like the idea of you meeting with Lizard Boy, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

Sunny froze and looked up at him. “So you went all caveman on me because you don’t want me to meet Prince Gareth?”

Embarrassed, Sloan pulled a Matthew and rubbed the back of his neck. “Umm…”

The smile on Sunny’s face was pure siren. “Are you jealous?”

“No,” he denied, but the tone of his voice wasn’t convincing even to himself.

Sunny sashayed toward him, her hips swinging enticingly with every step. She placed both her palms on his chest and slid them up and around his shoulders, tugging at him. He obeyed the gentle pressure, bending at the waist until his mouth was even with hers. “Don’t treat me like a possession again,” she whispered.

His need for her was so bad, his head spun. “I promise. What can I do to make it up to you?”

Sunny ran her tongue along his lower lip, and he promptly forgot how to breathe. “You can have your way with me in bed.”

“Yeah?” he asked hopefully.

She closed the tiny distance between them and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Take me to bed.”

Like that was a hardship. He cupped her hips and lifted her so he didn’t have to get a kink in his neck when he kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him more firmly into the kiss.

As much as he liked her taking the lead, he wanted—no, he needed—to take control. He had to show her that he was every bit as manly as a damn dragon prince.

Determined to take control, he licked at her lips, prodding them insistently until she opened her mouth. He pushed his tongue in, stroking the roof of her mouth and bossing her tongue around with his.

He stumbled down the hall, knocking into the ridiculous little tables Anna had insisted be scattered throughout the castle. One may have toppled over and something may have shattered when it hit the floor, but he didn’t stop to check. Not when Sunny kept releasing those tiny little moans into his mouth.