Dragon Hearts (Book 1 of the Dragon Series)

Chapter 6

Elle

“Are you ready to go to your room now?” Everett asked softly. His eyes were guarded.

“Everett,” I said standing closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his body and hugged him close. “I forgive you too.”

Without thinking Everett bent down and kissed me on the lips. It was a sweet kiss and I enjoyed it quite a bit. He laced his fingers with mine and held my hand while walking me to the staircase, my lips tingling. We went two flights before stepping onto the third floor. It was a huge space with beautiful carpet down the hallway. Fresh flowers were set on marble ornate stands between the doors. Huge, picturesque paintings filled the walls. Some were of people or dragons or both. Some depicted sweet scenes of celebration and love and some were scary dark ones that I didn’t want to look too closely at.

Everett led me down the hall and stopped at a door halfway. It was a big wooden door with leaves carved into the frame. It was elegant and the most beautiful door I’ve ever seen.

“This is your room. Mine is right there across the hall if you need anything,” Everett spoke softly again. “I hope you don’t mind but when I called from the plane to ask my mom to get a room ready for you, I told her some of your preferences, so you’d feel more at home.”

I smiled at Everett and my heart squeezed tightly in my chest. I felt tears wet my eyes again. Jeez, I keep crying tonight. I blinked a few times to get rid of them. I opened the door to my new room and was greeted by a warm sight. The walls here are a light purple and with blue accents. The drapes matched the deep purple carpet. The huge poster bed was decked out in dark purple and black bedding with a million pillows. I loved pillows. I told Everett that one day during our hangouts. He remembered.

“Oh Everett,” I whispered. “It’s beautiful. Your mom did an amazing job!”

Everett’s smile lit up the room and he walked me further into the room. I saw my black duffle bag sitting at the end of the bed. On each side wall, there was a door and Everett walked to the one the right first. He opened the door and I saw a beautiful bathroom with plush purple rugs and towels. The huge shower was already screaming my name.

“As you can see,” Everett elegantly maneuvered his hands towards the bathroom as if showcasing it like Vanna White. “This is the bathroom. It’s fully stocked with soap, shampoo, conditioner, and whatever else girls use. I didn’t know what brands you preferred so my mom gave you an assortment. She can be extra sometimes.”

I giggled. “Your mom's amazing,” I said. He smiled at me.

“She got to you, didn’t she?”

“We had a good talk,” I replied.

“Is that why you forgave us?” He asked.

“No, I had already decided to do that. She just gave me the answers I needed to be able to.”

“Answers to what?” He asked curiously.

“Why this is all happening to me. I needed to know if it was just by chance like it could’ve been anyone. Or if it was meant to be me.”

“What did she say?” He took a big swallow.

“She confirmed that we are mates,” I whispered. I knew he’d hear me.

“And how do you feel about that?” He asked. His voice was reserved but his eyes were begging me to accept him. To give him a chance.

“I feel this undeniable pull towards you,” I respond honestly. “Like I can’t be comfortable unless you’re at least in the same room and it’s even better when you’re close to me. When we kissed that first time, it was like heaven. I felt sparks. Actual sparks like there were a chemical reaction to our lips.”

Everett smiled at the memory and touched his lips with the tips of his fingers. He closed the small distance between us and stood in front of me. I didn’t back away from his closeness, I moved closer to him so that our bodies touched. He wrapped an arm around me; his other hand stroked my cheek. His emerald eyes were darker in the dim light of the room, but they were still warm and kind and loving. He gently placed his lips upon mine, and we kissed softly. I felt the sparks again and they intensified the longer we held our mouths together.  Before I knew it my breathing started to quicken and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him tighter to me. Suddenly we lost our balance and fell over onto the bed. We both burst out laughing and sat up.

“Sorry,” I said a little breathless.

“No need to apologize,” Everett chuckled. He cleared his throat and got up from the bed. “Let me finish the tour so you can get some rest. It’s already late.”

He turned to the other door and opened it up. It was a big walk-in closet, but it was empty Everett looked at it and frowned.

“Oh uh,” he stammered and eyes my duffle bag. “Well, we can go shopping tomorrow and get you some new clothes. I will replace anything that we didn’t bring. It’s the least I can do for taking you away like this.”

Everett stood sheepishly to the side of the closet and closed the door. I wanted to tell him it was okay, but I couldn’t hold off the huge yawn. He smiled at me.

“You’re so cute when you stretch and yawn,” he whispered I think more to himself. “You’re like a wee kitten.”

I felt my blush splash across my face again. Man, I do that a lot around him. From the warm smile on his face, I can tell he likes that a lot.

“Well, I’m going to let you get some rest, kitten,” he said with a grin. Looks like he found a pet name for me and I couldn’t help but smile.

“You get some rest too,” I said. “Sweet dreams.”

I walked him to the door and kissed him softly again before closing it. I heard his satisfied sigh on the other side and then he was gone. The door clicking closed across the hall. I went to my duffle to find some pajamas. But when I opened the bag a bunch of stuff came popping out.

“Elias,” I grumbled as I began digging through the wads of clothes. I kept pulling out shorts and tank tops. Only a couple of underwear, socks, a pair of flip flops, and one sneaker that I haven’t worn in forever.

I stared at the mishmash of clothes on my bed and cursed Elias’s name. He was gonna catch hell for this; yes, I know he was packing under duress but still! Tank tops and shorts in Ireland? It’s already twenty degrees colder here. Looks like I must take Everett up on replacing what I’m missing. No way I can bankroll a whole new wardrobe.

With a heavy sigh, I picked out some shorts and a tank top to sleep in. I grabbed one of the few pieces of underwear I have and set the rest of the clothes in the duffel. I went into the bathroom and stripped down. The shower was beyond amazing and I surpassed a moan as the hot water massaged away all the terror and tears.

When I was clean and smelling like expensive soaps, I toweled off with a plush purple towel and got dressed. I brushed out my hair and left it to dry overnight like it was. As I crawled onto my new squishy bed, I looked at my massive pile of pillows. A little black face with glittery green eyes caught my attention so I reached into the pillows and pulled out a stuffed black dragon. It reminded me instantly of Everett’s black velvety wings and I squeezed it tight to my chest.

I burrowed myself deep under the blankets and pillows. I was sleeping on a cloud! A big, beautiful cloud that would mold to my body no matter which position I was in. It was heaven. I closed my eyes and the first thing I saw was mean glowing orange eyes in the darkness. I squeezed the dragon to my chest and the eyes slowly faded away. As they did, I slipped full-on into slumber.