"What the hell did you bring her here for?" Damascus was angry. Amara could hear it in his voice. Her eyes remained closed, but she could hear the voices around her. "She needed to know what she was going to be involved with. The only way to make her believe was if she saw it for herself," Gabriel answered. Damascus swore under his breath. Amara must have been laid out on a couch. She could feel the velvet fabric underneath her palm. She felt a movement as someone came to kneel next to her. She wondered if it was Leslie, but instead a large, calloused hand covered her forehead and gently stroked. Amara's eyes instantly opened, and she was staring into a set of very dark brown eyes. Amara, waking suddenly had surprised Damascus, so had his own movements of putting his hand on her head. When there he could not help but rub his thumb along her smooth skin and soft hair. They sat frozen just staring at one another. Neither making the first move to separate. Gabriel watched the pair wi
Damascus did not step back when Amara took a step towards him. Instead, everything in his body wanted to close the space between them. He waged war within himself. Every fiber of his being wanted to be close to her, but his logical side said that he needed to keep that distance firmly in place. Damascus sighed and took a step back. He could see the rejection and hurt Amara's eyes as she turned forward and looked out once more. "Why do you do that?" she asked quietly. Damascus almost wondered if he had imagined it. "Do what?" he asked. It was the most they had spoken since the meeting. Other than the other evening when he had been short with her and Amara and stormed off into her apartment complex. Amara sighed and shook her head, "Never mind. We can return to Gabriel. I saw what I needed to," she turned on her heel and walked back into the castle. Gabriel and Leslie were still seated on the couches. They stopped speaking when they saw Amara and Damascus return."That was not very
Leslie had been quiet for most of the drive back into town. It was completely opposite from the nervous chatter she had on the way to the Kingdom. The word still felt odd in Amara's mind. A Kingdom full of dragons and she had just agreed to pack up her business and move them there. "Are you sure that you are fine with this?" Amara finally asked Leslie. Leslie was quiet for a moment. "Amara, I have something that I need to tell you," Leslie said after a long moment of silence. "What?" Amara glanced over from the road and looked at her friend. "The reason that I am not as freaked out as you are because I am also a dragon," the words caused all the air to release from Amara's lungs. She felt as though she had been punched in the gut with the information. "How? I mean obvious that would mean you were born that way, right? How have I never known this?" Amara asked. Her mind was beginning to spin once more. "Please pull over if you need to. We do not need to end up in a car accident.
Damascus stalked around the training field. He was beginning to feel his body temperature reach an unforgiving level. He took a few calming breaths to ease the rise of his Dragon from pushing through. He couldn’t tell Gabriel the reason for his anger when he himself could not even truly explain it. His mind and body were at war with one another. Damascus had been so trapped in his thoughts that he had not realized that his solidarity had been disrupted. "I heard we are getting a new marketing manager within the Kingdom. Also heard it is the human girls from the neighboring city," Ebony broke through Damascus concentration. "Hmph," Damascus grunted as he kept is pace around the field. Ebony quickened her step to keep up. Damascus was unsure why she was making it a point to discuss this with him. They usually only discussed training techniques and even though the interaction was few and far between. Damascus usually exchanged thoughts with Cain or one of the other leading dragons. "
Amara and Leslie both stood with their eyes wide as they looked at the space that Gabriel Eros had given to them to use as their office space. It had already been set up almost exactly as they had in the city. The movers must have worked all night or maybe another team had done the set up. Either way it was amazing that it had been two days. Gabriel met Amara and Leslie at the front door of the castle. He had already sent trucks to pick up their belongings from their homes and moved them to a home in the kingdom. Amara and Leslie had opted to share a home. Since they were in a city full of dragons they had chosen to stick together. "Wow," Leslie said. Repeating Amara's own inner sentiments. Amara had yet to see Damascus since arriving in the kingdom. It appeared that he was going to keep distance between them. Rather than let that sting, Amara had decided to move on and do what she did best, think about work. "I am sure that even our pens and papers in our desk have even been put b
Damascus stayed in his seat when he saw Amara and Leslie leave their new office space. He had decided to sit in Steph's cafe across the street and to keep his distance. They were still new to the kingdom and Damascus wanted to make sure that they did not get into any kind of trouble. More specifically Amara. He had not expected them to leave the office so soon and even less expected them to walk right across the street to the cafe that he was holed up in keeping watch from. He pulled out his phone and put it on the table in front of him. He used it as a distraction to make it appear that he was not watching them. If he looked up, he kept his gaze out the window. He could see from his peripheral that Amara had noticed him and looked over, but Damascus continued to look oblivious to the fact. Which also seemed to irritate her. Good, Damascus thought. If she was mad at him then she would also keep her distance. At least that is what he hoped. "Thank you," Damascus heard both Leslie an
Damascus threw his heavy leg over the gas tank of his new motorcycle. The night air had a slight bite to it. His muscles rippled underneath his leather-riding jacket as he stretched his arms to the handlebars. His dark visor darkened the world around him. Helping to shut out the noise. Although the noise inside of his head was louder than usual. He had watched Amara and Leslie head to their new home and made sure that they had got in safely before heading back to the castle. Seeing Amara once more sat him on edge. He needed to get out and let off some steam. Apart from shifting and flying again, his motorcycle and the high speeds called his name. Damascus turned the key and the engine came to life. The beast hummed between his legs. He became anxious to get out on the highway and let the beast do what it was made for. Damascus pulled the motorcycle out of the garage and out onto the quiet street. He made sure not to accelerate too quickly as he did not want to wake anyone, or alert
The next morning Amara was resolved in her decision to confront Damascus. If for no other reason than to find out why he was keeping a close eye on her and Leslie. Amara rolled from her bed and made her way to the connecting bathroom. She turned on the shower and stepped through the glass sliding door. The warm water cascaded down her body and helped soothe her aching muscles. Being in a new place with a dark figure that invaded her every thought was recking havoc on her sense and upsetting her sleep.Amara ran her hands down her face and through her hair. She did not want to leave the shower but knew that she needed to get her day started. Gabriel Eros mentioned an event the following day that he would introduce Amara and Leslie to some of the Kingdom. Amara would need to find out what type of event it was and if he needed any assistance with any final details. Event planning was most definitely in her wheelhouse and what better way to show the King what he had hired her for than
Damascus had decided to take Amara to a small restaurant that sat near the edge of the Kingdom. He had assumed she had not eaten yet and since their first ride had ended somewhere secluded, he picked somewhere more public instead. Not that he was trying to publicly announce that they were seeing one another, if that is what one called it, but a part of him did want others to know that she was under his protection, which he hoped would stop any negativity that might make its way towards her. Damascus turned off the bike and helmet Amara down from the back. "This looks nice," Amara said as she took the helmet off after Damascus had unclipped it for her. The restaurant was small but homey. It sat nestled between a bookstore and what looked like an antique shop. "It may not be much, but Lester serves a mean steak," Damascus said as she gathered the helmets in his hands. "Oh, did I not mention?" Amara looked at Damascus with the most convincing look she could muster. "What?" Damascus
Both Amara and Leslie were slow to rise the next morning. The event the previous evening had gone well into the night and since the rest of the Kingdom seemed to move at a more leisurely pace, Amara figured that a couple more hours of sleep wasn’t going to hurt them. Amara met Leslie in the kitchen once more, "Last night was nice," Leslie commented as she fried up some eggs on the stove top. Amara sat in the chair at the island and agreed as she check her email on her phone. Nothing new since the evening before so Amara placed the phone face down on the counter. "So, what is going on with Damascus?" Leslie finally asked. "He was standing next to you when I came back with food but excused himself pretty quickly after that," Leslie commented. Amara had noticed as well, and Damascus hadn’t returned for the remainer of the evening. It stung Amara slightly, but she had agreed that they were going to take this slow and Amara figured that he had enough socializing for one evening. Damascu
Amara and Leslie stood on the left side of the stage as Damascus had instructed. Amara could feel her palms perspiring. It was not the first time being in front of a large audience, however, her audience was never a room full of Dragons. "It will be alright," Leslie finally said. Amara could only nod in answer. The stage was a smaller one than the banquet she had recently held, and it was in the main dining hall of the castle, which again was smaller than the large venue, but it also made it so there was less room to hide. What are you doing? This is not who you are. Remember who you are, a small voice inside of Amara's head said. She squared her shoulders then. That is right. She fought tooth and nail when she was younger and again in her adulthood to make herself what she was today, without anyone for help until Leslie came along. "Please help me in welcoming Amara Hayes and her assist Leslie Howard to the Divine Kingdom," Gabriel finally announced to the crowd. There was applaus
Damascus had left Amara and Leslie after seeing that they made it home. They had taken off shortly after lunch to get ready for the event being held at the castle that evening. Amara had confided in Damascus that she was a bit nervous to be in a room full of Dragons who might not be able to accept the fact that there was a human living among them. Gabriel had already told Damascus about Leslie. He was aware that she was one as well, but up until now she thought that she was alone. Damascus was glad that she was no longer on her know. He had met several Dragons who had grown up that way and it changed them for the worst. They became bitter and angry when they found out about the Kingdoms and turned their hatred on their own kind. However, Leslie seemed nothing like the others and he was thankful for that. Damascus had left his and Amara's conversations surface level for the remainder of the day. He knew that she was nervous enough without adding in any conversation about their relati
Amara walked over and let her weight fall onto the couch next to Leslie. "Was it a good ride then?" Leslie asked. A smile still firmly planted on face. Amara rolled her head and looked over at Leslie without lifting her head from the back of the couch. "It was," Amara finally said. Leslie had put on a reality show in the background. Although for the life of her, Leslie could not explain the plot to any of it. "I made some chicken and rice in the kitchen if you care for some," Leslie said to Amara. Amara thanked her and walked to the kitchen to grab a bowl. They were content to sit on the couch and talk about the ridiculousness of the show that was currently running.*****************************************************************************************************************The next morning, Amara woke after a heated dream about a certain man in a motorcycle helmet. The dream had left her feeling unsatisfied. The idea of a helping hand was not foreign to her. She was still a vir
"Sorry," Damascus said a little breathlessly. Amara had to get past her own drumming in her ears to make sure that she heard him correctly. "You do not need to apologize," she said. "I did not bring you up here to do that," Damascus tried to explain himself. It helped her to know that he was feeling something between them as well. Something that he had a hard time controlling. "You do not need to apologize for kissing me," Amara tried to give him a small smile so that he believed the words that she said. "This is completely new to me, and I do not know where we go from here," Damascus admitted. New for him? Amara was confused. "You have never kissed a woman before?" she asked. It was the second time that she heard Damascus chuckle. She realized that she liked the sound and hoped that he would start to do it more often. It lit up his face and she could feel it released some of his tension. Although the idea of him kissing someone else did have a bit of jealousy sting running down
Damascus's hands had shook slightly as he had fastened the helmet on Amara. She would be his first passenger on his bike ever. He knew that he would not be able to go the same careless speeds that he normally went while he was alone. She was too precious of cargo to chance something happening and Damacus would never be able to forgive himself. If Gabriel knew that he had taken his bike rather than a car he would be chastising him. Gabriel had offered the dresses as a reason for Damascus to go over to Amara's and ask her on a date. But Gabriel's idea of a date was a nice quiet dinner. Damascus had no idea how to behave on a quite fancy date. So he stuck closer to what he knew. Adrenaline. Damascus pulled the large motorcycle away from the curb and took great care to go slow and let Amara gt accustomed to sitting on the back of the bike. He had not fully thought though his plan as riding together put Amara's entire front pressed against his back. Even though he was wearing a riding ja
Amara got back to her office and greeted her by an email from Gabriel. It laid out everything for the event that would be the following evening. He had also added that she was not to work that night. It was to introduce the citizens to her as well as her to them He planned for her to enjoy her evening without any other interruptions. Amara let out a humph noise. There went the idea of taking over and showing the King what she could do. Leslie had been quiet as they had walked back to the office. She did not try to ask what Damascus and Amara talked about. She would let Amara disclose that if she ever did. Leslie wondered what would happen with the two. Amara had been angry about Damascus keeping an eye on her, but Amara had only grown angry when the man sitting in the coffee shop was not Damascus himself. Leslie stuck to her desk the remainder of the day and worked through a few action items that Amara had sent to her. It wasn’t until three o'clock in the afternoon that Amara final
Damascus found himself unusually distracted for the rest of the training session. The other warriors noticed it as well. Damascus tried to ignore the whispers among them. He did not want to draw any more attention to his and Amara's discussion than it seemed it was already drawing. "Get cleaned up and something to eat, that is it for today," Damascus shouted to the rest of the warriors. Damascus turned around and headed towards his own set of rooms within the castle. He had almost made it to his door uninterrupted until he heard his King's voice travelling down the hallway. "What happened during the training session this morning, D?" Gabriel's voice held a sour note and Damascus turned around. His own irritation plainly written on his face. "Nothing that I cannot handle," he wondered who had run off during the session to inform Gabriel about Amara's visit. He had no doubt it was a certain female warrior. Ebony was having a hard time keeping her noise out of Damascus's business, at