Chapter 7

Seven

Kaida and Enzo spent their time at the restaurant continuing with their questions to get to know one another. Kaida realized she hit Enzo with the hard questions first, so she changed up her tactics to asking easier ones, things like his favorite color, food, and such. Enzo did the same with his own questions.

After a bit, they hit a groove and were able to talk about anything that came to mind. Hitting that groove made them both sink into a level of comfort that didn’t seem possible between two people. Enzo cracked a joke about a couple in the corner opposite from them while Kaida was taking a drink, and it made her spit her water out, but it went through her sinuses and came out her nose when she laughed at it. Instead of feeling embarrassed about it, she laughed along with Enzo. It was lighthearted and brought more joy to her soul hearing his laugh.

How did I manage to get such a perfect mate?

When they stepped out of the restaurant, the sun was much lower in the sky than Kaida thought it would be. Instead of spending an hour at lunch, like she thought, it appeared they were there for at least three hours.  It did not feel like that much time had passed as they got to know one another. All Kaida could see was Enzo, and all she could feel was his aura of kindness and a sense of good that kept her wrapped up in their conversations.  Nothing ever felt as easy as it did just to be around him.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been around other guys before. There were guys inside of her family’s territory that were interested in her and tried to spark this level of conversation out of her. Some were close to the easy-going nature that she felt comfortable enough to get a little close to while in her mid-teens, though no one made her feel comfortable enough to go further than kissing.

Enzo? Even the slightest touch of his skin against hers made her yearn for more. She wanted to glide her hand up the length of his arm, pull onto his neck, and feel his lips against hers during the entirety of the meal. The only thing stopping her was the moments when Rual came to the table to ask if they needed anything. The bubble popped, and she was brought to reality that they were in public, and it would not look good on Enzo to be kissing her feverishly. Though the moment Rual walked away, they slipped right back into that bubble and comfortable conversation.

The carriage that brought them here was no longer in front of the restaurant. Kaida looked up at Enzo confused, but he didn’t explain. He simply held out his elbow for her to loop her arm in. Kaida didn’t ask anything but simply looped her arm through and allowed him to lead them wherever he planned to go.

They walked a few blocks before Kaida started noticing how people were stopping and staring at them as they passed. She tried not to let it bother her, but after the tenth person did it, Kaida found herself lifting her lip in disgust at them, especially when she realized it was all females that were giving those looks. Enzo let out a chuckle, and she glared at him when he did.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You. That face you made was cute.”

Kaida stopped walking, and Enzo felt the weight of her being immovable since she did not remove her arm from his. He looked at her with a surprised look and a cocky grin on his face.

“Cute? My disgusted look was cute?”

“Why are you disgusted?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question!” Kaida pouted at him to make him feel bad.

Enzo took a look around, and everyone was back to not looking at them at all. Yet again, she wished that her dragon would emerge already. Being able to growl with the sound of her dragon would have made these people think twice about throwing looks her way.

“People are looking at me as if they are disgusted that I am touching you or something.”

Enzo looked around again and didn’t see what she meant. He shrugged his shoulders and took a step closer to her. “They’re probably pissed off that it isn’t them on my arm.” A strand of her hair was over her eye, and he pushed it behind her ear. “Or maybe they are jealous that a beautiful girl is on my arm when I am usually alone.”

He was so close they were nearly touching. Kaida swallowed hard and stared into his eyes. The world fell away, and the only thing she could see was Enzo in front of her. Her eyes slowly left his and trailed down his face to his lips. Before she could lean in and claim his lips, taking action on the ever-present desire, Enzo stepped away. He offered his elbow once more, and she took it without hesitation.

They walked the entire length of the town, which was about a dozen blocks until they reached the dirt paths and the grassy terrain around it. There was a small stretch of grass that led to a wooded area which Enzo took them to. Enzo pulled his arm away at which Kaida whined softly in the absence of his touch. Enzo closed the distance between them and lifted her chin so their eyes could meet.

“Can I take you somewhere… a little more private?”

Kaida blushed, nearly breaking their eye contact as she felt a heat pool in her abdomen at the thought of them being alone. “As you wish.”

Enzo took several steps backward and gave her a smile. His eyes closed for a moment, and then deep blue scales slowly covered his body. Before she knew it, Kaida had a large blue and gold dragon before her. It was a gorgeous creature, and when he let out a roar to the sky, she felt its power deep inside of her soul. There was a tugging inside of her chest that she had never felt before, and she hoped that this would be the moment that her dragon would emerge! Unfortunately, the sensation only lasted a few moments, though, and then disappeared.

Before she could feel any sort of disappointment that, once again, her dragon didn’t show itself, Enzo’s dragon leaned its muzzle down to her face. She marveled at how the blue and gold complimented each other and seemed to fit Enzo perfectly. The calmness of his personality and how he made her feel was represented in the blue, and just how pure a soul he seemed to be was represented in the gold. Even his dragon’s eyes were the color of gold in its liquid form. Its large form created a shadow that made her own seem no more than a speck. If it was anyone else, Kaida knew she would be wetting her pants with this deadly dragon in front of her.

But it’s Enzo. He’s mine.

The dragon made a noise that almost seemed like a whine. Kaida held her hand out flat, and it moved its muzzle to lean into her hand. She never thought the feeling of scales against her skin would bring a sense of comfort, but it did.

“You are one good-looking dragon.”

He blew a puff of smoke at her and nudged her side. Kaida laughed and swatted at the air in front of the tip of his nose.

“Stop being pushy. I’m going, I’m going.”

She knew he wanted her to get onto his back, but with how tall he was, she wondered if she would even be able to. Enzo’s dragon laid his stomach on the ground, but it was still a good ten feet. When his nuzzle was on her back, she let out a yelp from the sudden touch but relaxed a second later. He was able to prop her up on his nuzzle to get her to his back. Once there, she sat between two of the spikes along his back.

With one strong flap of his wings, they were in the air. Kaida did her best to keep herself seated as he leaned left and right, soaring in the sky. Before she knew it, they were just below the clouds. She could see ripples of the magic drawn from being around the clouds within Enzo’s scales. Arcs of lightning cascaded down his neck, and she could feel his power grow as she flew on his back.

Kaida felt so free as the wind blew against her body. There was no one up here to look down on her, no secrets she had to keep, no expectations to live up to. The only thing she could feel was weightlessness and a feeling like she was finally above all the troubles that were down on the ground. She felt herself holding her arms out and closing her eyes as the feeling swarmed around her.

What I would give to be able to feel this every single day.

She felt Enzo’s body begin to descend, and she wrapped her arms around the spike in front of her to keep her balance. When she looked down below to see where he had taken her, it seemed to be a small body of water with trees all around it. There was barely enough room for his large body, so Kaida wondered how Enzo was going to manage to land. Her question was answered when she felt the ripple of magic course through his body as he shifted midair. She let out a scream as she freefell through the air for a few seconds as her heart rose to feel like it was inside of her throat. Then she felt Enzo’s strong arms catch her and pull her against his chest. She felt the rumble of laughter inside of his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest, trying desperately to calm her breathing.

“That is not funny!” She screamed at him.

Enzo continued to laugh as his wings slowly flapped until they reached the ground. When they did, Kaida practically jumped out of his arms so she could be standing before she began to yell at him properly.

“Why would you do that! I thought I was going to die!”

“You could have just shifted yourself.” It felt like a knife went into her chest at his words.

Ugh. Here comes another lie I have to tell. I hate this. I’m so tired of having to hide my lack of a dragon.

“That is not where my head went when that happened. All I could feel was me freefalling!” Enzo gave her a questioning look, “it didn’t compute, okay?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I had that trouble after I first shifted. Just didn’t come as natural to shift between both forms whenever I wanted to. I get it. It’s more common than you think, actually.”

Kaida sighed with relief at his words. To not appear like she got away with the lie, she looked around and gave Enzo a smile. “So, why here?”

“This is where I come to get some privacy. We aren’t too far from the castle, but not many people come here. Not sure why. It’s pretty peaceful.”

Kaida nodded in agreement as she tried to sit down on a large, flat rock. Enzo was at least a gentleman and had them in the perfect spot to be right next to the water on one of the only rocks that appeared to be flat enough to be able to sit on. The rest were too small or too jagged. This one was just right.

“Not sure if that was the explanation I was looking for.” She glanced at him with her eyebrow raised. “I think there was another reason. Am I right?”

Enzo bashfully looked away from her for a moment, “busted?”

Enzo sat down beside her. Kaida leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder as they both looked at the water.

“You’re right. It is peaceful. I can’t hear a damn thing. No hustle and bustle of people moving around. Not even dragons flying around.” There was nothing but the sounds of nature around them.

She felt his neck move to look at her. Kaida glanced up at him from the tops of her eyes to be sure she was right. When her eyes met his gray ones, yet again, it felt as if the world had fallen away. The tugging inside of her chest returned the moment Enzo used his hand to lift her chin just enough to where she could feel his breath on her. His breathing was a little ragged as he stared at her lips. The only thought in her mind was playing repeatedly, saying, please kiss me, please kiss me.

Enzo closed the gap and pressed his lips to hers. When his hands went into her hair to pull her closer to him, he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. Slowly their bodies melded into each other, and she heard them both groan at the same time. Before she knew it, he adjusted her to be seated on his lap. She quickly adjusted herself to straddle him so she could be more comfortable. Enzo’s hands trailed down her back, and a sizzling sensation accompanied it. The heat was welcomed, and it made her moan at his touch. His hands landed on her hips, and she fought the urge to rock them back and forth against him. She felt his hardness grow beneath her, making her panties drenched and only leaving her wanting more.

When Enzo pulled himself away, Kaida groaned as she muttered how she didn’t want it to end. Enzo chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“The sounds you are making are making it very hard for me to stop.” She felt his hands shaking for a moment, and it was clear that he meant it. “I think we should call it a day.”

Kaida groaned again, “I don’t wanna go back.”

“I’d love to stay in this moment with you until the end of time. But this is not Prince-like. I need to get you back before I break all the rules I told myself I’d follow.”

Kaida gave him a cocky grin, “I like bad boys, though.”

Enzo growled, gave her a quick kiss, and scraped his teeth on her bottom lip. When she moaned again, Enzo slowly pulled her off him and helped Kaida to her feet. “Yeah, I need to stop before I can’t.”

Kaida reluctantly agreed as he shifted, letting his wings be put on display again. He flew them out of the area just enough to shift into his full dragon and then flew her to her balcony. As she waved goodbye, she practically growled in frustration.

If this was the first date, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for date two.