ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (45 page)

“I don't need one. You're my star,” Elle whispered earnestly, vaguely alarmed at how intensely she felt this but knew it was true with every fiber of her being. Fara stared at her with deep sapphire eyes glimmering in tender affection that transcended species. Taking her hand again, Fara sat delicately on the bed once more, eyes hooded and looked at their laced fingers in muted wonder. “But I wouldn't mind if you shared the sky with me.”

“Then I shall, Elle,” Fara's free hand brushed her hair away from her face with the intimacy of a lover, and Elle purred, eyes too heavy to stay open. “Sleep, so that you can show me your world in the morning.” Elle was sure she murmured something in the affirmative, but couldn't be certain of much else beyond that as she fell into the deepest, most contented slumber she had ever experienced in her adult life, clinging to Fara's hand like it was her only connection to the one person in the universe that made her feel like she belonged somewhere. From the linked emotions that Fara was channeling in a hushed murmur through their touch, the sentiment wasn't one she felt alone.

W
ith morning came
the sun streaking through the fluttering curtains, and Elle blinking away the last hints of sleep from her eyes. In spite of the warmth of her blanket, she felt a strange chill under her skin once her senses had caught up with her, and it didn't take much to attribute it to the feeling of loss when she woke up to a room devoid of other occupants. Sitting up to get out of bed, she hissed at the feeling of her feet hitting cold wood flooring. The chill of autumn had clearly crept into the house in earnest now, she thought as she padded stiffly out of the bedroom to see where Fara had gone, and vaguely wondering if she had simply dreamt it all.

Her search was short lived, as she rounded the corner and spotted Fara, still dressed in the clothes the crystal had conjured up, fingers skimming a page in one of her filled sketchbooks she'd left out absentmindedly. Fara's eyes were a topaz hue as they took in the rough charcoal sketches, and Elle pondered whether or not it was due to comparing the doodles to the real stars that Fara had gotten to see up close.

“Your sketches fascinate me, Elle,” she jumped a bit at Fara's voice ringing in the quiet of the morning. When Fara lifted a gaze, its eyes glittered a brighter blue in amusement. “My apologies, I did not mean to startle you,” the gaze flitted back to the pages in the book. “These are all based on constellations, correct? I remember you saying something about drawing them when you look at the stars at night.”

“Umm, yeah,” Elle said sheepishly as she went to her kettle to start the water for tea. “I try to draw within the shape that the lines connecting the stars makes. It's fun to try and create something in that space.” She stood in the kitchen uncertainly, waiting for the telltale whistle of the kettle to let her know when it was ready. “When I ran out of constellations, I made some up. And then I started all over with every constellation, drawing something different.” She picked her favorite green mug up from the shelf, and opened the cabinet containing all of her different selections of tea.

“I enjoy them,” Fara replied, closing the book delicately and setting it back on the table where it was left with a sort of reverence Elle was confident she would never be worthy of.

“Would you like something to eat or drink? Is anything here safe for you to consume?” She asked to skirt past the way Fara's appreciation of her work made her feel. Fara smiled in response.

“I am what you call, 'photosynthetic,' so I do not require food the same way you do, and I have already absorbed enough sunlight to sustain me. But,” Fara's smile grew sheepish, like one about to tell a personal secret. “I do enjoy hot tea. It has always been enjoyable, no matter what planet I get it from.”

“Other planets have tea?” Elle asked incredulously as she reached for another mug. “I guess that isn't surprising. Brewing leaves in water was probably a thing every self-aware species has tried, though, come to think of it,” plopping one tea bag of simple black tea in each mug, she leaned against the counter to continue to wait for the kettle. Shouldn't be too much longer, now that she thought of it.

“Yes,” Fara said, rising and joining her in the kitchen, stopping in front of her while leaving a comfortable amount of space between them. “As I said last night, several things are very similar in many civilizations that have never even met each other before,” Fara smiled wistfully. “Life has its own patters, it would seem.” The silence between them was a comfortable one, broken only by the shrill whistle of the kettle demanding their attention. Elle clicked off the stove top and poured the steaming water in the mugs to allow the tea to steep.

“Just need to wait on it to cool a little. Don't want you to go home with a burned tongue at the end of your trip. That would just be awful,” they shared a laugh at the thought, but Fara seemed to trail off in thought soon after. Elle picked up on it, and tilted her head with an inquisitive stare. Fara picked up on the silent question and gave a sheepish smile.

“May I... ” for the first time since they were able to communicate, Fara seemed to ponder over her choice of words, as though unsure of whether to ask what was on its mind or not. “May I connect with you?”

“What do you mean?” Elle asked in a whisper, heart racing at the thought of what Fara could be asking. She wanted to feel linked with them again, to feel that strangely deep mental tether to them that she had never experienced before, but wanted to be absolutely sure that that was what Fara was asking of her. It wouldn't do to presume to know what Fara was talking about when discussing things of their species, and not her own.

“Like before, when I used it to understand your language... and again when you were falling asleep. That was the feeling you had as you drifted off- it was me,” Fara hesitated a moment. “It is a telepathic link through which we can share feelings and, if you'd like, memories.” Elle tried to swallow through the sudden dryness of her throat as Fara continued. “Sharing memories can come later, if that is too much for you. I just... ” wincing, eyes a stormy Hematite gray as they swirled with conflicting emotions. “I felt unlike I have ever felt when I held your hand. I want to understand that better, if you are comfortable with it.”

“Yes,” Elle said hoarsely before she cleared her throat and tried to elaborate. “I want to feel what you're feeling. Let's start there. We can... we can share memories a little later. Ease me into this whole telepathy thing, yeah?” Fara's smile was more dazzling than any breathtaking sunrise over a beautiful vista, and Elle allowed herself to get lost in the glimmering of their golden eyes as Fara offered a hand for Elle to take whenever she was ready. And frankly, it should have startled either of them with how quickly she placed her hand in Fara's, but the undeniable chemistry between the two, even in such as short amount of time was enough for both of them to want more of a connection, a stronger bond to sustain them after Fara had to leave.

Elle had no illusions of Fara staying, not even if this thing between them turned out to be love. She wouldn't ever ask it of Fara anyway; knowing how strong the pull of wanderlust is, she would never want to keep Fara tied to her because she was grounded. Going with her was an option, but one that required her to abandon everything she had built for herself, her entire life. As little as that amounted to in the grand scheme of things, it was hers, and her independence was just as vital to her as Fara's was to Fara.

The sensation of their hands laced together was steadily becoming as familiar to her as her own heartbeat. The warmth that flooded her body as Fara began to gently ease them into the link was akin to their soul pressing a kiss to each other's, and she felt confident that she would never be warm again without Fara's presence, telepathic or otherwise.

Elle forced her eyes closed to focus on the sensations, both the ones that she was feeling and the ones that were being shared with her, and soon found herself awash in bone deep comfort that she never wanted to be wrenched out of. The tendrils of Fara's mind softly stroked against the doorway into her mind, and with a stuttering breath, Elle relaxed, and let Fara in to freely poke around. Even with her express permission to explore the very depths of her soul, she could feel Fara just floating there, in the center of her consciousness, simply taking in what she was feeling. She soon found herself drifting toward Fara's emotional pull, and lost herself in emotions.

The feeling was very strange to her; on the one hand, she could still feel her physical being standing in the kitchen. She was still aware of the kitchen counter pressing against her back, of the soft cotton pajamas against her skin, and she could smell that the tea on the counter for them was nearly done steeping. And yet, at the same time, she was also
not
there, in the kitchen waiting for their tea to cool. She was floating adrift in the current of Fara's emotions, letting the waves of Fara's affection and empathy cresting over her soul and basking in the sensation of being... what was that? A quiet whisper of Fara's thoughts drifted alongside her, saying,
'You are different and frightening but I think that I am starting to love you and that is what scares me the most.'
The feeling was frightening, but welcome, and even reciprocated on her part.

To reassure Fara, she thought in a whisper, terrified that anything thought louder would spook Fara away,
'I'm scared, too but you're wonderful and I'm already falling for you and I'm honestly really okay with that.'
She sucked in a breath and held it, anxiety tearing her insides up at the admission. Present telepathic link notwithstanding, she had never before left herself so exposed with the admission that she just murmured in the corner of her mind that Fara had floated toward.

Just as suddenly as it had begun, Fara began to ease them both back out of the link, no doubt to stop before it went too far. Though Fara had done wonderfully to gradually pull them out of each other's heads, the loss still felt sudden, and sent Elle reeling as she came back into the now.

“I am sorry, Elle,” Fara smiled uncertainly. “I would have wanted to go further, and share memories, had we kept things going much longer.” Elle smiled in understanding.

“That's alright. We can try that later. For now,” she plucked the two mugs from the counter and handed Fara one. “We drink our tea, and when we're done, I'll show you all the things you wanted to see around here.” They sipped their tea in companionable silence, and enjoyed the hushed warmth that flooded them from the hot drink. It wasn't exactly like what they shared, not even close, but it was a nice enough substitute, they both agreed. Soon, the tea was drained, the mugs were cleaned and put away, and Fara was stroking Socks in greeting when she came to investigate the newcomer again while Elle went and changed into some actual clothes for their adventure.

Emerging far less shaken than she had been when their link was broken and wearing a lovely black sun dress and a gray scarf, ready to have an adventure with her new companion. She had an extra scarf to drape around Fara's hood to further hide who Fara was, and Fara greeted her and accepted the fabric gratefully, but only once they had finished explaining to Socks where the duo were off to for the day- something the cat was evidently not too happy about but, 'would allow,' because Elle and Fara were her, 'favorite people,' as Fara so helpfully translated. And it was with the feline's blessing that the two were off with a twist of the lock behind them once Elle had gotten the remainder of the kettle water in her thermos to brew more tea, toward Fara's first great adventure with a companion.

“So what kinds of things do you want to see while you're here?” She asked as Fara was bundling neck and face with the scarf until two expressive eyes were all that could be seen, however obscured from the hood they may be. She stuck the thermos in her dress pocket so they could link hands, if Fara wanted to. “We can go into Chicago and go up to the top of the Sears Tower? Or we could-”

“I want to see what you like to do when you don't need to do anything mandatory in a day. You humans and your mundane is what is so fascinating for me, when it comes to Earth.” Fara laced their hands together and smiled. Though the sensation wasn't nearly as intense as it was when they were fully linked, the heat that flooded her chest had Elle all but purring in happiness.

“Mundane, boring old day, it is, then!” With a bright smile and a gentle squeeze of the hand, she led Fara down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, guiding them toward her favorite corner bookstore. It was a humble little shop, mere blocks away from her home, and Elle beamed at the way Fara's eyes glittered like bright blue Serendibite gems as they entered the quaint and cozy shop. With a quick greeting tossed at the store owner, they darted up the metal spiral staircase that led to the classic literature section. They browsed books for hours, Fara wanting to read a little of each book that caught their eye, and Elle simply watching, loving how much they were enjoying something so... perfectly mundane.
'Almost like a date,'
she thought with a twinge of sadness. She shook her head to force the thought out. They weren't a couple; their feelings were abundantly clear, but getting too involved would mean that Fara leaving would devastate her all the more. As if it wasn't going to do that already, she thought with a twist of her stomach.

“Oh, I have heard of some of these,” Fara said distractedly as fingers danced across the binders of the books. Fara's voice breaking the silence was enough to pull Elle from her somber train of thought, and with a few blinks, she sidled up beside Fara to see what she was looking at in better detail.

“Pick a few out,” Elle said with a smile. “I'll buy them for you,”

“I would not want to inconvenience you,” Fara said with more than a little hesitation.

“Please,” Elle implored, running her thumb along Fara's. “It'll give you some great reading material for your trip home. It'll be my souvenir gift to you!”
'So you don't forget about me as you travel where I can't follow,'
the fearful thought whispered across her heart.

Fara, having either heard her thought or understood what wasn't said, smiled sadly and, after some more browsing, handed her three books in particular that had apparently been curious when Fara heard about them the last time while on Earth. Elle scanned the titles-
The
Silmarillion
, the Sherlock Holmes tale,
The Hounds of Baskerville
, and
The Great Gatsby
. Seeing Fara pick out what was practically the Bible equivalent of the J.R.R. Tolkien world of
The Lord of the Rings
saga, she insisted on purchasing
The Hobbit
, and the entire
The Lord of the Rings
trilogy in addition to the other selections. With the bundle of hard cover books in tow, they made their purchases and ran out to continue their adventure.

With the heavy hemp bag of books firmly in hand, the two stopped at the cafe and bakery just down the street. When Fara inquired as to what they were doing there, Elle grinned and ordered some pastries, brownies, and two sub sandwiches to go. After paying for them and folding them neatly in the cloth and box the goodies were tucked safely away atop the books in the bag, they made the telepathically linked duo exited; the warm, sweet smelling shop and they journeyed forth, hands never parting all the while.