“You’re welcome to sing along if you want.”
Rysha gazed at him, curious as to if she would notice a change when they were standing here in the dark. It wasn’t as if she had magical senses to detect auras. Before, when she’d noticed him radiating power, it had been something she’d seen with her eyes, or so she’d believed. He’d projected a presence that anyone would have noticed, but it could simply have been a matter of confidence and body language.
Still, as they stood there, looking at each other, little visible in the dark, she started to feel drawn toward him. It seemed silly, since they were already standing chest to chest, his arms around her, but she had the urge to bury her face in his chest and rub her cheek against him, to breathe in his scent and press herself as tightly to him as possible.
Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, he murmured into her mind.
Even though the words came as a whisper, they seemed to resonate more than usual. They didn’t thunder painfully in her head the way Shulina Arya’s did sometimes when she spoke, but there was a sense of power to them, something appealing.
I can feel you getting, uhm.
I can feel you too. She smirked.
Some of the draw lessened as he did something to adjust his scylori. Rysha was surprised how noticeable those adjustments were to someone like her.
I don’t know how to do it without making it sexual, he told her.
I think that’s typical. Almost like letting the power out also releases pheromones. I wonder if it’s anything that would be measurable with modern instrumentation. We could do some experiments on it in a laboratory.
You want to experiment on me?
He sounded amused, so she didn’t think she had offended him.
Just on your scylori.
It’s attached to me.
That’s not quite the right word. It’s something you can hide or project to different degrees, isn’t it? Consciously? What’s it like if you don’t try to hide it, but also don’t try to exude it?
Trip hesitated, then she sensed the return of his allure, the increasing of her attraction, but something more as well. She could almost make out his face even though the light level hadn’t increased. She reached up to touch his cheek, feeling something similar to what she felt when Shulina Arya was close, a knowledge that she was in the presence of power, and also that she was safe here in its shadow. In his shadow. She felt a particular pleasure in knowing he had his arms around her, claiming her as his. She wanted to be his.
All the nearby insects and animals fell silent. The mournful howl of a wolf came from the distance. A coincidence, or did the animal sense him even from afar? Maybe that was a protest from the wolf, a complaint that a greater predator was here in the valley.
It seemed strange to think of Trip that way and yet that was what his heritage deemed him to be.
“Are you more comfortable like this?” she asked. “Not hiding anything?”
Another hesitation, and from it, she guessed the answer to be yes.
“I’m not comfortable with the way people react, but yes, it’s a relief to just, as you said, let my hair down. It’s like tearing off soggy clothes and being free to walk around naked.”
She chuckled, but then made the mistake of imagining him naked. She realized she was rubbing his chest again—or maybe she had never stopped.
“Your colleagues in Wolf Squadron may not be ready for this, but if you want to walk around naked with me, you can. I’ll get used to it. I’m getting used to Shulina Arya. Admittedly, her aura doesn’t inspire me to have lurid fantasies, but I’ll still get used to it. Or I’ll constantly drag you to bed.”
“Oh? If I’d known that would happen, I would have been stripping naked for you all the time.” He returned to rubbing the back of her head, and she wondered if he was thinking about nudity and beds right now. Neither the gravel of the road, nor the wet grass alongside it seemed inspiring places for sex, but if he kept massaging her scalp like that, she would drag him off into the brambles if need be.
“I have to go for training with Sardelle tomorrow morning,” he said, “but I’ll help you figure out what’s going on here with Lockvale. If your family is in jeopardy, I’ll make sure they’re protected.”
A little shiver went through her, maybe because she knew he could protect them.
“They were all snotty to you tonight and don’t deserve your help, but I do appreciate the offer.”
“Good. I like it when you’re appreciative.” He brought his lips to hers for another kiss, and she sensed him grinning. He drew back. “Do you think your father would be appreciative if I made him an automated apple picker?”
Remembering their earlier conversation, she said, “You haven’t been thinking about how to make one the whole time we’ve been talking have you?”
“Not the whole time.”
Rysha returned his grin. As sexy as she found his powerful aura, it was the rest of him that she loved. She pushed her hands up under his shirt, letting them roam boldly as she kissed him. His hands also roamed, rubbing her hip and the back of her neck, and warm tendrils of his power embraced her, then seemed to be within her, lighting every nerve. The grass and the gravel started to sound more appealing.
Greetings, Storyteller! an overly perky voice spoke into her mind.
Your dragon is back, Trip informed her, though his lips didn’t leave hers.
He squeezed her butt, pulling her tight against him, and she got the feeling that he didn’t care if Shulina Arya sat on the road and watched. Rysha might not have either if not for the dragon’s comments earlier in the day.
She’ll take us to my room in the barracks, Rysha said. It’ll be better than the gravel.
I was not able to catch the silver, I am ashamed to admit. The flap of wings sounded over the gentle lapping of the lake, and the great gold dragon landed in the gravel with a light crunch. He must have entered races in his hatchling days. I wouldn’t have believed a mere silver could move so quickly. I was unable to interrogate him, alas, so I do not know why he was lurking above your home, Storyteller. Your castle! This place is so much more appealing than your tiny stall at the soldier fort. Why do you not live here all the time?
Rysha didn’t want to stop kissing Trip and might not have, but he drew back—he must have heard all that burble too. It was something of a mood-killer, though if he’d kept kissing her and rubbing her neck, she might have been able to block it out. She took satisfaction in the quickness of Trip’s breaths, of knowing he would have happily rolled around in the wet grass with her if they hadn’t been interrupted. Either that, or he was excited thinking about mechanical apple pickers.
He rubbed his nose against hers. What excites me is that you like it when I fantasize about apple pickers.
She couldn’t truly object. She did like his quirky engineer side.