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
Amara stormed off in the direction of the castle. She had no idea is Damascus was going to be there but she figured that it was as good place to start. He was the second after all. Where would he be? Amara saw the tall cone shaped roof come into view as she got closer to the castle. As she neared the front steps she could hear someone shouting orders from the field that sat not too far off on the left side of the castle. Amara walked around and hoped that Damascus was the one shouting the orders. Her hopes were rewarded as she rounded the corner and saw none other than the devil himself standing in front of a group of men as well as the one female. She was blanking on her name once more, even though Gabriel had introduced her in one of their meetings before. Amara was too angry to take the time to try and recall the woman's name. Amara beelined it for the field. Some of the men noticed her approach and looked at her with questions clearly written on their face. Damascus noticed th
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
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'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
"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
"Why did you call me that?" Amara asked, still sitting on Damascus's lap. He had called her angel twice and she wondered at its meaning. It was Damascus's turn to look slightly embarrassed. He looked away for a moment at the trees that surrounded them. "After my accident and I found out that you weren’t a Dragon, I thought of you as my wingless angel," he said. His gaze returned to her. Amara smiled at the nickname and decided that she in fact liked it when he called her that. "You don't mind, do you?" Damascus asked and Amara shook her head in answer. Damascus planted a firm kiss on her lips before lifting her easily and setting her back on the ground. "It is getting dark. I would rather not chance something happening while riding back," Damascus said. His hand found hers as he pulled her back to the black machine that had raced them to the spot in the first place. Damascus took the ride home a lot slower than when they had first got on the highway and Amara was thankful for that.
"I am sorry. Were you and your father close?" Amara asked. "No," Damascus's short answer surprised her. She thought back to Leslie's comment in the kitchen that men like Damascus usually had some sort of back story that caused them to be closed off. Amara wondered if his father was that reason. "The closest thing I had to a father was a gardener at one of the foster homes that I lived at when I was ten," Amara decided to change the topic quickly. "He used let me plant the flowers each spring," she thought about the flower gardens that Jackson used to keep."How long did you stay with them?" Damascus asked about the foster parents. "Three years, then the couple had a child of their own and did not want any outside influence on their child," Amara shrugged. She had been accustomed to moving so much at that time that it had not offended her. Of course, as an adult she wondered how a family could take in a child and then toss it just as quickly. "That must have been lonely," Damascus
Damascus and Amara sat on the edge of the mountain side in the spot Damascus had first taken her. He looked out at the Kingdom below. The sun was setting once more. Amara had dropped Leslie back off at home and Damascus had picked her up in his usual manor on his large black motorcycle. They had gone somewhere they could be alone. Damascus knew the time was now to let Amara know about his past. He did not want to relay all his hidden scars, but he knew that she would have questions. Amara waited patiently. She wanted Damascus to tell her, but it would not be rushed. She would allow him to tell her as much as he wanted at the pace he wanted. "My father was the second in command to Gabriel's father. The previous King of Divine Kingdom. He took his job of training the warriors very seriously and protecting the Kingdom was always his first priority," Damascus began. "My father and mother got together when they were young, although I do not think it was a love at first sight situation w
Damascus walked out of his bedroom and closed the door soundly behind him. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he heard his name being called. Damascus looked up the hallway and found that Gabriel was waiting for him near the top of the stairs that led down to the lower levels. Gabriel's rooms were on the top floor of the castle and Damascus's were nestled on the second. Damascus met up with Gabriel at the top of the stairs. They had abruptly ended their conversation the night before about Amara and her parents with an agreement that some research needed to be done before anything would be uttered to Amara herself. "I will have Miss Hughs do some digging around today and see if she can find out anything about the accident on the highway that involved Amara's parents," both men began descending the stairs. It was still early enough that there were not many people around the castle besides the cleaning staff. "Did you find out any more information on the Eternal Kingdom's missing
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