The Dragon's Gem (11 page)

“Well
, don’t take chances like that again. The tunnels under the Town Hall are dangerous. I don’t know what India was thinking bringing you there.” He let go of my hand as the waiter arrived at our table and began laying out our dinners.

Carefully I moved my hand over the table using my fingers to find everything I would need to eat and placing
them in the pattern I used for every meal. It was an orchestrated effort that had taken me a long time to learn, but I had been adamant about doing it for myself and now I was thankful since it would have been humiliating to ask my date to help me eat. Once everything was in place, I took my fork in hand and began to eat.

“So what is going on with you and Draco?” he asked, making me choke on the bite of pasta I had just begun to swallow.

I managed to get
the food down painfully and took a long sip of my soda as I contemplated how best to answer.

“I
t’s none of my business and you don’t have to tell me, but I just wondered if I was wasting my time trying to pursue you,” he said after a few minutes of my silence.

I realized I could
just continue with our date never admitting how I felt about Draco, but it would have been unfair. Soran had the right to know Draco was important to me, but I wasn’t sure I could explain exactly what it was I felt for him. I wasn’t sure I even knew what it was that made me angry with him one minute and madly in love with him the next. I froze, fork in hand, and thought about those words that had just come so easily to me. Was I in love with Draco? I didn’t want to go there, I cautioned myself. Not when I was sure he was hiding something from me. Soran cleared his throat and I realized regretfully that I had kept him waiting. “I’m not sure,” I said, placing my fork on the table, my appetite completely gone.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said
, reaching across the table to clasp my shaking hand. “I like you a lot, Aurora, but I don’t want this to go further if you’re not as into me as I am you.”

“I…” I stuttered
, unsure what to say.

He gave
a throaty laugh and pulled his hand away. “That pretty much says it all.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him
, moisture filling my eyes.

“Hey
, it’s alright,” he took the seat next to me and placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, offering comfort. “I can’t say I’m happy about it and if you ever tell Draco I said this, I will deny it, but he’s the one.”

“The one?” I asked.

“The one you are meant to be with, the one who completes you,” he answered confidently.

“Want to tell him that?” I said with a forced chuckle.

“Oh, he knows. Trust me, that’s why he’s been such a jerk. I have the feeling, though, that he has come to his senses.” I felt him tense up and his arm tightened around me. “As a matter of fact I can see that he has.”

An evergreen
scent filled the area that had my head popping up instantly. “Draco,” I murmured, my heart pounding with excitement.

“Release her now
,” Draco ordered.

“Good of you to join us,” Soran said calmly
, keeping his arm in place despite Draco’s commands. “Any particular reason you stopped in?”

“I came to claim
what is mine.” Draco stated simply.

“About time
, too,” Soran said, placing a kiss on my cheek. “I think I’ll just let Draco finish off this date if you don’t mind.” I nodded and he pulled his arm away. “Call me and let me know how this all turns out.” I nodded again and he left us.

Silen
ce reigned for the next few minutes. I felt Draco’s presence close by, knew he was considering his next move, but the waiter interrupted before he could do or say anything.

“Sir the young
gentleman who left said I should bring this to you.”

Draco let out a soft chuckle
.

“What
?” I asked.

“He left me with the bill,” he explained to me.

“You did ruin his date, it’
s the least you can do,” I told him, trying not to laugh.

“I suppose you
’re right.”

“Oh, and don’t forget a nice tip.” I heard the rustle of money as it exchanged hands; the waiter thanked him profusely then left us.

“Can we get out of here
, everyone is staring at us,” he asked softly. I nodded and he took my hand in his, pulling me to my feet before placing his arm behind my back and escorting me outside to where his car waited.

***
Draco
***

As I helped Aurora into the car, my mind buzzed with excitement. I had no plan: I hadn’t even thought about what I was doing until I stood before her and Soran in that restaurant. My original idea had been to spy on them, see what was brewing between them, but seeing him with his arm around her, sitting so close, I had almost lost it. Every instinct in me had screamed that she was mine, that he had no right to touch her or even be near her in such an intimate fashion. I had stormed into the restaurant before I could think things through, wanting nothing more than to beat the hell out of him. Thankfully, Soran had been unusually gracious and had left us to work out our problems, which, although I hated to admit it, I now owed him for.

I
started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, my hands shaking, as I drove us towards home. The time had come to put up or shut up, and although I knew Aurora had feelings for me, I could only pray they would be strong enough to withstand the truth of what I was about to reveal to her.

I looked
over to where she sat, her head resting against the back of the seat, her eyes closed. The only sign of her current state of mind was the nervous wringing of her hands on her lap, which I immediately put an end to by taking her hand in my own and laying it between us on the seat. “We should be home soon,” I told her, hoping to ease her worry.

“A
nd what then?” she asked.

“Then we talk,” I told her. “There is so much we need to clear up
, if we are to be together.”

I turned into the driveway
ten minutes later and parked the car in front of the large rambling house that my father and I lived in, then shut down the engine and turned to face her. “I hope you’re ready for this.” Her hand clenched mine and I lifted it to place a kiss in her palm before getting out and going to her side to help her from the car. The urge to hold her against me was strong and I pulled her into my arms kissing her sweet, soft lips tenderly before escorting her up the stairs and into the house. To my relief, everyone that who dwelled there was suspiciously absent.

I walked her
purposely to the library where the story of my ancestors waited for her discovery. Once seated, I handed her a book, which she held helplessly in her hands, looking confused. “Draco, you will have to read this to me,” she said her voice trembling with embarrassment.

“Open the book,” I told her. “Y
ou will be able to read every word by yourself,” I assured her, clasping one of her hands in my own and focusing on her. “Go on, I promise you will see everything.”

With her free hand she o
pened the book, gasping in surprise as the words there became clear and easy for her to read. “How?” she asked with surprise, looking to me with excitement, realizing she could also see everything around her. For a moment our eyes met, neither of us said a word. The book fell to the sofa next to her and one of her delicate hands lifted to my face. Her fingers moved over my cheek caressing it tenderly before falling back onto her lap. “You’re beautiful,” she said, looking amazed.

“N
owhere near as beautiful as you are,” I answered, leaning towards her, capturing her lips with my own, kissing her as I had longed to since the moment I had first seen her. She sighed, her free hand moving to the back of my head, her fingers sifting through my long blond hair as I pushed her back against the soft cushions of the sofa. It felt right to hold her in my arms, as if a piece of me that had always been missing was in place, but I reminded myself we still had a long road ahead and even though it near killed me I somehow managed to pull away. “Too much, too soon,” I murmured.

Aurora
lifted our still-joined hands and looked upon me with a frown. “Why can I see so clearly now?”

“I
am giving you the power to see,” I explained.

“But
in the past when you held my hand I could only see blurry images, now everything is crystal clear.”

I was stunned. “You have seen things when I touched you?” I asked. “Why didn’t you tell me this?” It was a stupid question, but I was surprised by her revelation and worried about just what she might have seen.

“We were not exactly on the best of terms most of the time
, and I wasn’t really sure what was happening,” she explained.

It made sense.
I had not been exactly reasonable where she was concerned, so I couldn’t blame her for remaining silent, but now the time had come to explain. “I wasn’t aware my touch was causing you to see, albeit unclearly, but I do know that by touching and focusing on you I can, for a short time, lend you the power to see as the rest of us do.”

“How can this be?” s
he asked in confusion.

“If you will trust me
, I can show you.” She nodded and I grabbed the book from the floor, holding her hand while tucking her up against me with the other arm. Her head rested against my shoulder as she turned the first page and began reading the ancient script that would reveal all to her. I wasn’t concerned that she would able to translate the writing, my power would help her with that, but I was concerned that she might react badly to what she read and I held my breath, waiting for her reaction. When she didn’t scream, or worse, deny what she was reading, I allowed myself to relax. Over an hour had passed before she closed the book and turned to face me. I held my breath again, waiting for censure, waiting for her to call me a lunatic, but when she opened her mouth, as always she surprised me.

“Dragons,” she said simply, summoning it all up in that one word. I nodded and the corner of her lips lifted into a smile. “It figures.”

“What do you mean?”
I asked, unsure why she was reacting so calmly.

She
laughed softly, her free hand falling upon my chest, causing a riot of sensations throughout my body. “I have spent my entire life studying everything and anything I could get my hands on about dragons, and now I find out the guy I have…,” she blushed and changed her direction, “you are one.”

“I’m sorry
. I know this must be a lot to take in.” I was worried about how calm she was. It wasn’t often we let humans in our secrets and normally they didn’t take it so well. Freaking out I would understand, but her calm acceptance was unsettling. “I understand completely if you want some time to think about this before you and I get any more involved.”

“I appreciate
that.” Her eyes met mine and I saw all of her fear and longing laid out before me like an emotional buffet.

“Why
aren’t you screaming or running away?” I managed to rasp out, my own emotions so twisted that I wasn’t sure how I even managed to utter that one question.

“
What good would that do? I’m not afraid of what you are. I’m more afraid of how devastated I would be if you decide to push me away again.” Her voice shook with fear and my arms closed around her, pulling her against me, instinctively wanting to offer her comfort.

“
I won’t. I can’t deny this any longer,” I murmured, surrendering completely to my fate. She was my future, my destiny and now that I had embraced that knowledge, nothing else mattered but her. “I tried to keep you at a distance, tried to deny that you are the one I was meant to be with, but this thing, this desire inside of me to have you by my side, is overwhelming. It won’t be ignored.”

She looked up
, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I want to believe you, I really do, but you have been kind of been like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde since I met you. How do I know this won’t change tomorrow?”

She swiped away a lone tear that rolled down her cheek and I took her hand
, kissing away the slightly salty residue. “I’m going to prove it to you,” I told , kissing her sweet lips gently as the grandfather clock behind us chimed, letting me know it was midnight. “Come, we must get you home before your father sends a search party for you.” She sat up immediately with a soft gasp and I pulled her from the sofa, wrapping her in my arms. “It’s all right, he’s been informed you’re here, and safe, but I don’t want to push the limits of his patience.”

“Oh G
od, I must look a mess.” She fussed with her clothes and ran her fingers through her long curly hair, trying to tame it.

“You look beautiful,
” I told her, bending my head to hers, kissing her once again before escorting her out of the front door and across the stone walkway to the guesthouse where she and her father, were currently residing. At the door I hesitated to leave her; fear that my absence would give her time to change her mind consumed me.