Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (15 page)

away from her. Why was he so upset?

The poor thing wasn't bothering anyone.

“It's a mermaid, of course,” she

said dryly. She straightened up and faced

him with her arms firmly crossed over

her chest.

Garren searched the evening sky.

Seemingly satisfied they weren’t going

to be attacked, he finally looked at her.

“If the momma comes back and catches

us near her baby, we’re toast.”

“Its mom is at the bottom of the

ocean, remember? It needs us.”

He bent down and picked up a

fist-sized rock. “It needs to go as far

away from us as possible.”

Chapter 8

“What are you doing?” Ivy fell in

front of the baby dragon. “You harm one

scale on his little head and I will never

forgive you.” Her heart pounded as she

locked eyes with Garren, daring him to

defy her.

The baby dragon growled louder

and backed away from her. She didn’t

care. She wasn’t moving until Garren

left.

“I don’t want to hurt it, Ivy. But it

can’t stay here.”

“Why not? The beach is big

enough for all of us.” Her knees were

sinking in the sand. If he didn’t hurry up

and leave so she could move, she’d be

stuck.

Finally, his eyes shifted from her

to the dragon and back to her again.

“Fine. Just keep that thing away from

me.”

“Count on it,” she said to his

retreating back. After he was half-way

down the beach, her whole body sagged

as she sat down. She and Garren had just

started to get along and now he was

pissed at her again. Maybe they were

destined to be on opposite sides of every

argument.

The little dragon stood in a

defensive stance. His eyes narrowed and

his tail twitched behind him.

“You’re safe, now.” She held out

her hand for it to sniff like she usually

did when meeting a dog, but it jumped

back and opened it mouth, spitting out a

tiny spark.

“Okay, okay. I’ll leave you

alone.” She stood and brushed the sand

off her pants. “I’ll be right over there if

you need me.” She ambled over to

where Thane hunched over a pile of

branches.

I must’ve swallowed too much

sea water if I’m talking to a dragon

like it understands me
.

“I'm starving. Do we have any

food?” she asked Thane.

He was attempting to start a fire

by rubbing two sticks together. It wasn't

going to well. He threw the sticks down

and fell back on his butt, rubbing his

eyes with the palms of his hands. “This

isn’t working.”

“That’s because making fire with

twigs only works in the movies. Can’t

you just use your magic to get it

started?” she asked.

“No. I can only use my magic to

meld ingredients together to create

potions. Besides, I already tried.”

“Oh.” She sat on the log across

from him and rested her chin in her

hands. “So, do we?”

“Do we what?” He grabbed the

sticks and rubbed them together again,

not giving up.

“Have anything to eat?” Couldn’t

he stop and pay attention to her for one

second?

“You mean you don’t have

anything?”

She

swallowed

down

the

sarcastic jibe that almost tumbled from

her lips. Instead, she answered in a low,

controlled tone. “Would I be asking you

for food if I did?”

He shrugged his shoulders and

went back to his fire-making activity. If

he was purposely trying to annoy her, he

was doing a great job.

“So, what were you and Garren

arguing about over there?” He tilted his

head toward the other end of the beach.

She was tempted to ignore his

question since he probably wasn’t

paying any attention to her anyway, but

thought better of it. Maybe he would side

with her.

“A baby dragon. Garren wants to

scare it away. I say let it be. What do

you think?”

His head snapped up and

excitement lit his eyes. “A dragon?

Here, on our beach?”

She eyed him warily. Was he one

of those kids that collected dragon toys

and slept on dragon-printed bed sheets?

“Yeah.”

He dropped his sticks and

squinted down the shoreline. “Is it a

Canadian Serpentine or a Black Zmaj?”

His enthusiasm pulsed in the air around

them. He struggled to keep himself still,

obviously wanting to run down the beach

to investigate.

The dragon was cool and all, but

he was getting way too carried away. “I

don’t know. It’s green and about so big.”

She held her hands about a foot apart.

Did it really matter what kind it was?

He nodded and went back to

work trying to make a fire. Every few

seconds he snuck a peek at the little

green creature sniffing around the rocks.

A loud crash of wood startled

her. Garren dumped an armload of dry

branches by the log she sat on. He glared

at her before turning around and

marching back into the woods.

She rolled her eyes.
What a

baby
.

Why did he have to be so

stubborn? It’s just a little dragon. A

dragon. A pang of guilt smacked her

square in her chest. He did save her

from being torched, twice. Maybe he

wasn't all bad deep down— deep,
deep

down. She needed to thank him.

Damn it.
Why did she have to be

the bigger person? Leaving Thane

working on the fire, she followed Garren

into the forest. The smell of pine

triggered a sudden craving for roasted

marshmallows and ghost stories.

At first, she didn't see him until a

grunt in the shadows tipped her off. He

tore apart a rotten log, piece by piece,

and threw them in a pile. A large branch

he tossed nearly hit her foot when she

stopped by the growing pile of wood.

He did a double take when he

saw her standing there. He straightened

up and wiped the sweat from his brow

with the back of his hand. His gaze

washed over her from head to toe and

back again. “You need something?” He

sounded as if he was still annoyed with

her.

She squirmed at his scrutiny.

Clearing her throat, she said “Hey, I just

wanted to... um...” This was more

difficult than she thought it would be. If

he wouldn't stare at her like she had two

heads, she might get through this with a

little grace. She fiddled with her leather

bracelet as she gathered the courage to

continue. “Thanks for helping me up

there. You know, when the dragon tried

to roast me.”

His eyebrows shot up, nearly

disappearing into his hairline. Then, his

lips spread into a smirk as he stalked

towards her. She automatically backed

up. For every step he advanced, she

retreated, until rough bark scraped at her

back. Her heart thudded in her chest as

he braced his hands against the tree on

either side of her head, trapping her.

“So, one might say you're

indebted to me, like an indentured

servant.” He took another step closer,

his eyes never leaving hers.

His proximity seemed to suck all

the moisture from the air and she had to

swallow in order to talk. “I think you’re

reading too much into a simple ‘thank

you’.” She held his gaze, wondering

what he was up to
.

“Well, if being my slave is off

the table, I have a better idea of how you

can
show
me your gratitude.” He leaned

in closer, so close she could see each

eyelash framing his crystal blue eyes.

Those eyes darted down to her mouth

and lingered.

Holy crap, he's going to kiss

me!

Suddenly, she became very

aware of exactly how close he was.

Heat radiated off his body in waves,

crashing into her. Breathing normally

became

impossible

as

her

lungs

struggled to take in air. Did she want to

him to kiss her? She wasn't sure. He did

save her life. Maybe there was a nice

side to him after all.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth.

He really did have nice lips. And with

all those skanks he dated, he had to be a

good kisser.

Leaning in further, he rested his

elbows on the tree, just above her

shoulders. His warm, minty breath

washed over her face, causing both her

eyelids and belly to flutter.

This is
Garren
, the boy who

gave me purple polka dotted skin that

lasted for a week. Push. Him. Away.

Her traitorous arms refused to listen to

her brain and remained perfectly still at

her sides. In fact, her whole body was

paralyzed with… fear, maybe? But not

attraction. Definitely not attraction.

Their lips were only centimeters

apart. Her heart hammered against her

chest. At that moment, her tough-chick

persona slid away leaving only girl. She

wanted this. Without realizing it, her

eyes slid shut and she waited for him to

close the distance.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Nothing.

Nothing but the crunch of leaves

as he stepped away. Reality slugged her

in the gut, turning her split-second

moment of disappointment into utter

mortification.

Why?

Heat crept up her neck as she

prayed for a hole to open up beneath her

and swallow her up. When that didn’t

happen, she threw up a wall around her

heart and opened her eyes.

The back of his head greeted her

as he did an about face and marched

back toward his woodpile. “You're

welcome,” he called over his shoulder.

Fury burned through her as she

stared at his back, imaging how nicely

her dagger would look embedded

between his shoulder blades. After

envisioning his death in a few more

brutally painful ways, she turned around

and stomped out of the woods.

Pull yourself together, Ivy.

Garren is not worth a second thought.

And
definitely
not worth your kisses.
So

why couldn’t she get the image of his

lips out of her mind? So much for

believing there was anything even

remotely

decent

about

him.

She

should've known better than to trust a

wizard. At least she'd have the upper

hand when she kissed Prince Sebastian.

Bile climbed up her throat. He

couldn't
back away from her kiss, being

a stiff and all.

He's only sleeping, Ivy. Just

sleeping.
The drawing in Thane’s book

flashed

in

her

brain—

Prince

Sebastian’s black eyes, intense and

beautiful, peering into her soul. She held

on to the image and relaxed. Hopefully,

his eyes wouldn't look at her in mockery,

like Garren’s did.

Gathering up the pieces of her

broken pride, she vowed to never let

another wizard sneak past her defenses

again. She stepped out of the trees and

stopped. Thane was crouched on the

ground, slowly stalking across the

beach. In each hand, he held a branch,

dead leaves still clinging to the twigs.

She waited to see if he was going to start

chanting like a voodoo witch doctor.

“What are you doing?” she

asked.

He jumped at the sound of her

voice. “Oh, hey. I’m trying to get fire.

Rubbing the sticks together wasn’t

working.”

What a surprise.
“So you’re

doing a fire dance?”

He furrowed his brows before

glancing ahead of him. Using one of the

branches, he pointed to something on the

beach. She followed his gaze and saw

the baby dragon staring at Thane, its tail

twitching.

“So you’re using yourself as