32. Chapter 32 - Regina
Chapter 32 - Regina
C hayce won’t tell me what we are going today, only that I need to dress warm.
After he fucked me on the kitchen table, we had sex again in the shower. We were in there so long the hot water ran out. Apprehension took over this morning when I inadvertently blurted out those three little words. He didn’t say them back, which is nerve-wracking, but he did show me how he felt. Still, it would be nice to hear them spoken.
Trying to brush away the disappointment and self-depreciation at jumping the gun, I finish getting dressed. Chayce seems nervous for some reason and it’s making me nervous in return. Heading downstairs, I find him pacing the floor. My eyebrows crease as my footsteps falter, not sure of the reason. Immediately, the trespasser comes to mind.
“Has something happened?” I ask, a nervous edge to my tone.
“No,” he responds, his words clipped, not giving me any reassurances on the matter.
“Yeah, okay,” I say sarcastically, making my feelings known.
Trying to brush off whatever his issue is, I continue down the stairs, grabbing my purse and phone on the way to Chayce’s truck. He rushes to catch up to me.
Riding in silence to our mystery destination, the tension between us is palpable. Unsure of where we are going or what we are doing, I break my silence, having had enough, after about twenty minutes.
“Chayce, what is going on?” I ask, my tone sharp.
“I…I,” he stutters, saying nothing more.
Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he turns the truck onto a side road that doesn’t appear to have been used since the snow hit. Putting the truck into park in the middle of a large clearing, Chayce turns to face me.
“I want to show you my dragon,” he says nervously.
A smile blooms across my face as excitement fills me.
“Really?” I ask, surprised.
Feeling giddy, I start to bounce around in my seat. I thought he had forgotten about me asking. Taking my hands in his, Chayce speaks, his words gentle.
“I love you, Regina.”
A calm washes over my body as an invisible weight floats away at his declaration.
I start to launch myself into his arms, only to get caught up by the seatbelt. We both laugh as I fumble to get it released. As soon as my body is released, I move without thought into his arms. Our lips find each other, and it isn’t long before clothes start coming off.
Chayce lays me down across the bench seat of his truck and slowly makes love to me. It is a bit uncomfortable in a confined space, but that doesn’t matter.
After helping me clean up as best as we can since having a quickie in the middle of nowhere was not on my radar, I get dressed. Chayce looks nervous again. Squeezing his hand, my words are soft and reassuring.
“If you don’t want to do this, we don’t have to.”
Taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly, he gives me a quick nod before opening the truck door. Standing bare ass naked in the cold and snow, I rush to climb from the truck, grabbing his coat as I go. Rounding the front of the truck, Chayce gives me a quick, chaste kiss before walking off.
The air around Chayce seems to shimmer and my excitement is a living, breathing thing. Slowly, his body contorts and grows. After what seems like an hour but is actually mere seconds, a massive dark orange dragon looms before me. His neck and snout extend into the air as a large flame shoots from his mouth. It is easy to feel the heat from here. Unlike Chayce’s brown eyes, his dragons are a bright emerald green. They appear brighter, offset by the orange.
Taking slow, measured steps, I approach him, not sure how much of Chayce is present compared to the mind of his dragon. He lowers his head, melting the snow under him from the heat he is radiating. Stepping up next to him, my hand reaches out to touch him.
His scales feel different than expected. They are cool to the touch, thin, but not brittle. They come to a point, the shape similar to a guitar pick. Running my fingers up his long nose, smoke billows from his snout. My body lurches, falling against Chayce for support. When I look over my shoulder, his tail catches my attention.
His tail is long, slimming out as it gets farther away from his body. The end has sharp-looking barbs that no doubt can do a lot of damage if he is angry. My face hurts from smiling so much, a semi-permanent grin frozen in place. Giving him an awkward hug, he growls in approval.
“You are exquisite!”
Chayce suddenly moves to stand on his hind legs, once again blowing fire up into the sky.
I retrace my steps through the deep snow back to the truck as Chayce’s dragon retreats, giving him back his human form. Walking through the mud, he finds an untouched section of snow and uses it to clean up.
“One of the hazards of my fire,” he says flatly in explanation. “Climb back in—we will go eat.” Chayce starts to get dressed, and I walk around the other side and climb in, leaning sideways to turn the key and get some heat going. Once he is dressed, he gets behind the wheel and points the truck toward town. My stomach is rumbling as we park in front of the steakhouse. Stepping out of the truck, the smell of seared meat floats through the air. Simmer Down is painted on the sign that runs along the roofline.
“The bears own this place,” Chayce whispers. “Fair warning, the portions are large. I hope you are hungry.” He holds the door open for me to step inside.
The Western-style theme fits somehow. This entire town, in fact, seems like it could easily be located in the Old West. One of the triplets greets us from the hostess stand. Since they are identical, I have no idea which one it is. Instead of embarrassing myself by calling her the wrong name, which no doubt happens often, I keep my greeting to a simple “hi.” She grabs two menus and some wrapped silverware, leading us to a booth in the far corner.
Since showing me his dragon, Chayce is much more relaxed, and our conversation flows easily.
Our first official “date” was perfect.