Violca's Dragon (6 page)

Chase can’t help but smile as he walks away from her office, heading back to where he parked his vehicle. He found Violca’s blush to be sweet and when she takes a few seconds to look back in his direction, he smiles even bigger. Rounding the corner, he bumps into Scott. “Hey.”

Scott raises an eyebrow, looking at him. “Have you come up with a plan yet on how to verify if they are the right girls?”

Chase shakes his head, feeling guilty. The last thing on his mind when he was near her was proving she is an earth witch. “So far, she has not done anything.” He shrugs. “I think I am going to do some research and see if there is a way to get her to use her magic without putting her in harm’s way.”

Scott nods. “Good idea. I know the quickest way to get a response would be to threaten one of her sisters, but she would never talk to us again if we tried that.”

Chase snorts at that.

“Okay, I got to go to work, you try to stay out of trouble,” Scott says with a small smirk.

“All right, I will message you later if I come up with a good idea.”

Chase heads to his car. His dragon huffs, not wanting to leave Violca. He shakes his head, reminding himself that Scott is there to protect her and that he will not let her out of his sight with a demon lord roaming about.

Pulling up to the house, he heads to the dining room where his laptop sits along with all his paperwork. Putting on a new pot of coffee, he turns on the computer, logging into the database Kassandra set up for them. Finding the tab pertaining to witches, he reads through, looking for information pertaining to earth witches. He reads the story of the first original witch and the birth of her powers.

Earth witches are known for having special gifts that present themselves in different ways. One of the gifts is a healing ability that is the strongest among the direct line and extends not only to humans but animals and plants as well. The rumor is that one of the witches developed skills so strong grass practically grew under her feet when she stood still. It was thought that earth witches could have only one girl, the rest of their children would be boys. The boys might have an ability but did not have the gift of magic. Their daughters would be considered demi earth witches. Their power would never be as strong but every few generations one is born with special gifts.

Chase thinks about it for a moment. Just because there is no record of them having more than one daughter doesn’t mean they couldn’t. Based on that information he wonders if he should hurt himself when she is with him, hoping she will heal him or if he should bring her a bunch of dying plants or grass. He smiles to himself trying to picture the look on her face if he brought her a bunch of almost dead roses. She would be polite, but with a look that would clearly say, what the hell.

Violca glances at the clock again. She rolls her eyes when she sees it’s only been five minutes since the last time she checked. Hearing someone chuckling, she turns her head and smiles at Scott. “Do you ever have one of those days that seem to drag on forever?”

The smile Scott gives her almost makes her think he knows she wants to leave to see a guy. “Hot date?”

“Don’t I wish. I have to pick up my car from the shop. A friend is picking me up when I get off.”

“Okay, getting your car does not sound fun, any plans afterwards?” Scott asks and she smiles at him. He is one of the friendlier guys who work security. He often asks questions about her sisters and their lives. He mentioned he was raising his younger brother. They formed a sort of weird friendship being in similar situations.

“Oh you know, the usual, homework, dinner, helping the younger two get ready for bed. I know boys are different than girls and your brother is older, but are you able to go out during the week?”

Scott laughs. “Yeah he is probably less work. I don’t have to make sure he takes a bath. Plus I only have the one, you have a lot more on your plate. Maybe next year when he’s in college I can start going to happy hour.” Looking up over her shoulder, he grins. “Isn’t that the guy who came in the other day?”

Viola looks up and feels her cheeks heating up. Scott chuckles before saying, “See you tomorrow Violca.”

She blushes more when Chase walks up to her, his golden brown eyes lighting up as he glances between her and Scott. “Are you ready to go, or do you need a few minutes?”

Reaching into her desk she grabs her purse and then her jacket from the back of the chair. “No I’m good, the phones will go to one of the secretaries desk until they turn off the phone system.”

Chase puts his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the door. “So should I ask what had you blushing so much when I walked in or should I assume it’s a private joke between you and fellow coworker?”

“Oh nothing serious.” Violca lets him lead her to his SUV, and she fights the urge to grin when he helps her in, closing the door for her after she is settled. Maybe chivalry isn’t dead, she thinks to herself. When he gets in, she gives him directions to the shop the tow truck driver took her car to.

When they get to the shop, Violca heads in while Chase gets out and stands in front of his vehicle. The older gentleman behind the counter explains that she must have gone through a construction zone because she had several nails in her tire. Thanking him for helping her, she goes to pay him for the tire but is told it was already taken care of before handing her the keys. Violca holds back a sigh of relief. She is pretty good at keeping a cushion for her and the girls for an emergency and really hates it when she had to use it. She is grateful but curious since she is pretty sure her insurance doesn’t cover flat tires.

When Violca heads outside, she sees Chase leaning against his SUV. Taking a second to admire the view, she notices how his jeans hug his muscular thighs and how the dark green of his polo shirt makes his eyes appear darker. Violca likes his short, spiky blond hair but wonders what it would look like if he grew it out just a little. He smiles at her and steps forward, opening the door for her before walking to his car.

“All fixed?” Chase asks.

“Yeah, he just said I went through a construction zone or something, ended up with a bunch of nails in my tire.” Frowning, she remembers that Chase did talk to the tow truck driver when he picked up her car.

“Glad it went flat while you were at work and not driving around.”

Violca smiles, glancing at the parked cars, spotting hers easily. “Yeah, that would have sucked.” Violca bites her lower lip, thinking for a moment. “I don’t know if you have plans tonight but me and the girls were planning on having tacos, if you would like to join us.”

Chase smiles at her and she feels her pulse pick up. “I would love too. Your sisters are interesting.”

Violca snorts. “Most guys run from spending a night with five females.”

Chase leans forward, brushing her hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear. “I am not most guys.”

Licking her lips, she smiles at him. “Want to follow me home?”

“I would love to,” Chase says, dropping his hand. Violca takes a shuddering breath and heads to her vehicle. She can feel his eyes on her as she walks away and fights the urge to turn around and look. Mentally she shakes her head, chiding herself for feeling like a teenager. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time.

Chase follows her home and when she pulls into the driveway, she sees Angel and Sari run out of the house. Chase gets out of his SUV and both girls make a beeline for him. Sari reaches him first, jumping into his arms. Violca grins when he ends up with both girls in his arms, swirling them around, making a growling noise.

“Chase, are you staying for dinner?” Angel asks after the girls get done laughing.

“I am. Your sister asked me earlier today.” Both girls cheer loudly as Chase carries them back up to the house.

“Girls, you are too heavy, get down,” Violca says and laughs when they both pout before sliding down to the ground.

When they step into the house, Eva and Kati come into the living room. Eva smiles a little too big. “It’s good to see you Chase,” she says leaning against the chair.

Chase winks at her. “Hi Eva, Kati. How was school today?”

Eva laughs. “Another typical day at high school.”

Kati looks away, biting her bottom lip. Chase notices that she and Violca have the same nervous habit when they get nervous. When Violca does it, he has an urge to kiss it, but with Kati he finds himself feeling protective. “It was okay,” she replies quietly. Chase wonders what happened to her today and makes a mental note to ask Eryk and tell him to stick to her like glue.

Looking over at Violca, he sees she has taken a deep breath and is watching Kati. Violca glances in his direction, giving him a fake smile before Sari and Angyalka start to ramble on about their days. Chase tries not to smile when Angyalka tells a story about a boy who was picking on her and how she threatened to punch him in the nose if he ever pulled her hair again.

“Angel, you know if you punch a kid you will get in trouble. Next time make sure you tell a teacher, okay?” Violca says.

Chase sees that she is trying not to smile as Angyalka pouts.

Chase hangs out with the two younger girls while Violca and the older sisters make tacos. He is surprised by how much he enjoys dinner and how much fun he has watching the girls interact with each other. The girls are all very different and have their own distinctive personalities. Although Eva seems to be more of the outgoing type, he has a funny feeling that when Angyalka becomes a teenager she will probably give Violca the hardest time. Sari and Kati are a bit more serious than the rest, and he can’t shake the feeling that Kati would smile more if he could figure out what is bothering her at school and fix it.

When everyone is finished, he follows Violca into the kitchen, carrying a few of the plates from the table.

She smiles at him. “Thank you, I can get these.”

“I can help, after all this is the second night in a row I had a home cooked meal.” The rest of the girls come in carrying more dishes. “How about this, I wash and you dry since I don’t know where anything goes.”

Eva comes in with the last of the dishes and smiles brightly at him. “Wow, very sexy Chase.”

Violca blushes, giving Eva a look that causes her to bust out laughing. Chase winks at Eva. “I think I still need to get a ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron, but if you guys have those yellow rubber gloves…”

Laughing, Eva shakes her head. “I will make sure to put both on the grocery list if you promise to come back and eat with us.”

“Deal, just make sure you get a large.”

Still blushing, but with a smile on her face, Violca says, “Eva go make sure Angel and Sari have their homework done.”

Eva winks at Chase before heading down the hall. Shaking her head, Violca puts away the leftover meat and cheese while he starts the dishes. They work together quietly to finish up and wipe down the counters. Violca leans against the counters watching him for a moment. “Thank you for the help.”

Violca grins when he comes over to her. She notices his movements are almost predatory, his eyes narrowing, and she swears she can hear the faint sound of a growl as he approaches her, putting his hands on either side of her, caging her in.

“Thank you for having me over for dinner.”

Violca feels her breath catch, her eyes glancing down at his full lips before coming back up to meet his eyes that seem to be more gold then brown. This close, she sees gold flecks in his eyes and she licks her lips nervously. His eyes darken and he leans forward, brushing his lips against her, his hand sliding from the cabinet up her arms to cup her cheeks and he slowly deepens the kiss, his tongue coming out and slowly entering her mouth. She whimpers, her arms sliding up around his neck as their tongues duel.

Hearing someone clearing her throat, Violca jumps away from Chase, who puts his head against her shoulder. She can feel his shoulders shaking and she tries not to smile when she realizes he is trying not to laugh out loud. Looking over his shoulder she sees Kati standing against the doorframe, her cheeks pink. Chase slowly steps away and looks over at Kati and smiles at her.

“Should I go ahead and have Angel take her bath?”

Nodding, Violca feels the heat in her cheek and knows she is again blushing. “Thank you, that would be great.”

Nodding, Kati turns and quickly walks back down the hall. Chase smiles down at her, brushing her hair from her face. “I actually think I should be heading home.”

Biting her lower lip, she nods at him. “Thank you for everything today.”

Chase’s lips come down and meet hers one more time before straightening up. “It was my pleasure.”

Licking her lips, Violca smiles as she walks him out. When they get to the door, he stops and smiles at her. “I had a great time.” He reaches up and brushes the hair from her face, pushing a strand back behind her ear. “I hope we can do it again soon.” He bends down and kisses her softly before whispering, “I also hope to one day soon finish that kiss without interruption.”

Violca feels her cheeks heat up, swallowing before nodding. “I think I would like that.”

Chase winks at her before opening the door. “I will try and call you tomorrow okay?”

Grinning she nods. “Sure.”

Chase steps out, smiling at her before shutting the door. Violca takes a deep breath, before releasing it slowly, and then walks down the hall to check on her sisters.

Kati did her best during the day to stay invisible. She knows Violca does not understand why she always buys such baggy clothes, but is grateful she never makes a big deal out of it. Keeping her head down, she goes to her math class but stops when she hears familiar laughter behind her.

“If it isn’t beautiful Kati,” she hears Rick as he walks up to her left. Feeling an arm go around her and pull her to the right, she sighs, pulling away, knowing that it is must be Rick’s best friend and ringleader, Alex.

“Let go of me,” she hisses and feels him tighten his hold on her.

“Kati, we were hoping to run into you before class.”

Kati finally wiggles out from under his arm. “Get away from me.” She walks faster and hears Alex call after her, “I’ll have you soon Kati.”

Kati finds herself shaking in her math class. Last year when she was in the shower after gym class one of the cheerleaders took a picture of her in the shower. Like most the females in her family, she developed early, but has hidden her breasts well with the shirts she wears. The girl who took the picture sent it out to all the cheerleaders and jocks. Eva found out and wanted to tell the principal and Violca, but Kati made her promise to keep quiet, hoping that it would just die down if she ignored it.

Kati manages to get through her math class and quickly heads to her gym class, ducking into the locker room. Changing in one of the bathroom stalls, she hears a few of the girls laughing as they talk about the fat girl who just tried out for the cheerleading squad. She sighs, trying to hide until the group leaves.

When the locker room is finally quiet, Kati steps out of the stall to put her clothes away in her locker. Turning, she runs into Melissa, the head cheerleader, the girl who took her picture and started all her torment. Melissa is almost Kati’s opposite in every way. Her long, perfect blonde hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Kati hates her curves and envies Melissa for her small waist and hips. Kati is pushing into a D cup bra where Melissa probably barely fits into a B cup. Melissa never goes outside without her hair and makeup done. Melissa smiles at Kati with a superior look. “Kati, you have got to quit hiding in the bathroom stalls.” Her lips quirk up as she looks her over. “You don’t have anything that the rest of haven’t seen.”

Kati looks down, trying to step around her only to have Melissa block her.

“Stay away from Alex.”

Kati steps to the side, Melissa finally letting her go. Walking to the door Kati sighs, “Not a problem.”

Kati stays as far away from them during the class as she can. Once most of the girls clear out of the locker room, Kati takes her shower. Since she has lunch after gym, she is able to wait and take her shower last and avoid the other girls.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she heads over to the bench where her clothes are, when she suddenly sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she sees Alex and Rick standing between her and the doorway. Alex stands a little taller than Rick. Alex has sandy blond hair and brown eyes. His face is almost perfect, except for his nose that has a little bump in it from getting broken last year when he got sacked during the game. Rick has darker hair with hazel eyes. Rick’s facial features are not as perfect as Alex’s and the gap in his teeth is very noticeable when he smiles. Everyone knows Alex mainly keeps Rick around because he is thicker, muscular wise, and always willing to do exactly what Alex tells him to do.

“Hello Kati,” Alex smiles as he walks toward her.

Kati clutches the towel to her chest as she glances at her clothes, then at the door behind them. “Unless you guys came to tell me I was right, you two are actually girls, I think you are in the wrong room.”

Rick and Alex back her up against a set of lockers and Rick winks at her. “We will gladly show you that we are not girls.”

Alex’s grin makes Kati shiver in response as he looks her over. His eyes pause when he gets to her chest, and she tightens her hold on the towel. She tries to stand a little taller and look down her nose at them, trying to imitate the look she has seen Violca give when some guy annoys her. “You have nothing I want to see. Make sure the door doesn’t hit your ass on the way out.”

They both move forward and Kati feels her back hit the lockers behind her. Her eyes widen when she feels the lockers behind her as she tries her best not to give into the panic that is starting to rise.

“I think it’s time we prove to ourselves whether or not that picture was photo shopped or not.” With that Alex reaches out and yanks the towel from her gasp and drops it behind him.

Squeaking, she tries to cover herself when she hears an unfamiliar voice, “Is this where the jocks hang out during lunch?”

Alex and Rick both turn to the voice and she notices them tense. Glancing over their shoulders she sees Eryk. Kati has seen him around, but since she keeps to herself, she has never talked to him.

“This is a private party, Eryk, you should leave.”

Eryk glances at Kati, and she thinks she sees a note of sympathy in his green eyes. She blushes, wishing she could just melt into the floor. Her one arm crosses her chest as her other tries to cover herself. Her legs squeeze tight together. Kati is sure she can actually hear the sound of her knees hitting as her legs begin to shake.

Eryk nods. “I don’t think you guys were invited either.” He smiles at them, his eyes narrowing. “If you want we can fight about it, pretty sure I could kick your ass before the teacher hears us.”

Rick and Alex glance at each other before Alex turns his back to her. “Next time Kati.” He says before walking out, bumping Eryk along the way.

Eryk slowly walks to Kati. Picking up the towel and wrapping it around her, he keeps his eyes on hers. “Are you okay?”

Kati nods, swallowing past the lump in her throat. “I’m fine, thank you.”

Eryk nods, the look on his face saying he does not quite believe her. “Why don’t you get dressed and I will wait for you by the door to make sure no one comes back, okay?”

Nodding, Kati waits for Eryk to get to the door. Sitting on the bench she feels her body shake. Hearing Eryk shuffle, she takes a deep breath and begins to get dressed, determined not to break down in front of him.