Touchdown Daddy (153 page)

Chelsey wriggled out of his arms so that she gently fell back on the bed. Aron laughed, but Chelsey’s growing anger was consuming her now. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for it again, that she had allowed herself to be weak and give in to her feelings for him. When would she start acting like a responsible adult in charge of her own heart?

She sat up in bed and rummaged around for her discarded clothes, while Aron remained on bent knees on the edge of the bed, staring at her.

“What’s the matter, Chelsey? There’s no rush. Nobody will be looking for us. It’s a huge house,” Aron said. He still had a casual laugh in his voice. She couldn’t bear to look at him, so she busied herself with getting dressed instead.

“Chelsey?” He prodded her again. She slipped her dress over her head, arched her back forward to reach the zipper on her spine, and pulled.

“I can’t believe you’re asking me what the matter is,” she spat out, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Aron’s brow slowly creased.

“I’m angry with myself for doing this again. For falling for this again!” she said, bending to help her feet slip into her shoes.

“Falling for what? What kind of trick do you think I played on you?” Aron turned and sat down on the bed, looking up at her as she straightened her back. He was completely naked. She could see him in all his glory, the film of sweat on his forehead, the strain of the muscles on his shoulders, the light dusting of hair on his chest. She wondered how many women would kill to be in this position. She wondered how many women already had been.

“I didn’t think I could be this silly. Like all those women I keep reading about in the papers. All the girls you date.” Chelsey couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice. She turned on her heels and walked over to the table, under which her clutch lay on the floor.

“What I can’t believe is that you fell for all those gossip columns,” she heard him say. She turned to him again, with rage in her eyes.

“So you’re saying that all these years you’ve been a saint?” She threw the words at him, and Aron shook his head and looked away.

“No. Of course I haven’t, but the newspapers exaggerate and I thought you would know that. Besides, it’s not like you’ve been a saint either,” he said with a smirk. This was all still a casual joke to him, Chelsey thought. She needed to get out of there.

She didn’t respond to his statement. How could she even begin to explain to him how and why he was the last guy she slept with? She drew in a deep breath and then hurriedly walked towards the door.

“Where are you going? I thought we were having a conversation.” Aron stood up, picking up his clothes and hurriedly trying to dress. Chelsey paused at the door with her hand on the door knob.

“No more conversations, Aron. I don’t want this to happen again. I’m going home.” She turned the knob and swung the door open.

“Wait!” Aron yelled out, still only half dressed. “You’re going home? Hannah is going to be so upset. You haven’t even seen my parents,” he said, as she walked out of the room.

“Chelsey!” She heard him yell out her name as she ran down the stairs. His voice was muffled by the music and all the noise around her. More than anything, she was thankful that nobody noticed her slip out of the house. She ran to her car and drove off faster than she ever normally dared to drive. The tires skid on the gravel and her heart raced faster than the engine.

By the time the Keels’ house was out of view, there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew she still loved him. Her feelings had never changed, but her daughter was more important now. She had to act responsibly for the sake of her daughter.

She wiped her tears with one hand and drove silently until she reached her apartment. She had managed to bring her nerves under control, sort of. She parked her car, climbed the stairs and jiggled her keys in the lock to throw the front door open.

Ruby was on the couch watching a music reality show with the sitter, Janice. They both turned to look at her in unison.

“Mommy!” Ruby screamed, and Chelsey couldn’t help but smile. That was the reaction her daughter always had to her. She walked over to the couch to pick her daughter up as Janice turned the TV off.

“You’re home early. Like, too early!” Janice said, standing up from the couch.

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling very well. Thanks for your time, Janice. Can I pay you tomorrow altogether? I have an eight-hour shift as usual,” Chelsey said, and Janice shrugged.

“Sure. Whatever. I’ll be here at the same time as yesterday, then?” Janice asked, picking up her purse from the coffee table. Chelsey nodded and tried to smile.

“Thanks, Janice. Ruby, say bye to Janice,” she cooed to her daughter, and held her tightly to her chest. Her heart was still beating fast. She felt as if she had committed a sin and she needed her daughter’s blessing to cleanse her. She stroked her daughter’s hair gently and kissed the top of her head. She could hear Janice open the front door.

“Bye, Ruby!” Janice said, and Chelsey turned with Ruby to wave goodbye to her. When she looked up, she froze. The front door was wide open and Janice was facing them. Aron was at the door in his suit, with his hair tousled, his arms straight down by his side, staring at Ruby in Chelsey’s arms.

“Jesus!” Janice screeched when she turned and nearly bumped into Aron at the door. Her initial surprise at finding a man standing behind her turned to excitement, then disbelief.

“You’re Aron Keels!” she screeched, and her hands flew to her mouth. Janice was still in college, a few years younger than Chelsey and Aron, but everybody in town knew Aron Keels, the local legend. Heck, everybody in the country knew Aron Keels, the national NHL heartthrob.

Aron hadn’t looked at her, and he still didn’t. He continued staring at Ruby while Janice stood with widened eyes beside him.

“Janice, can we please talk later?” Chelsey spoke up, breaking the silence. Aron seemed frozen in his place, while Janice stood staring up at him in disbelief.

“Janice…please.” Chelsey urged again, and finally Janice turned to Chelsey and raised her eyebrows.

“You know each other?” she asked, and Chelsey sighed.

“Janice. Please leave,” she said, more sternly this time. The other girl huffed, squeezed past the frozen statue of Aron and grudgingly walked away.

“Please close the door behind you,” Chelsey said quietly, and turned around to place Ruby back on the couch. She had been giggling and stretching her short pudgy arms towards Aron. The girl had always been very friendly with strangers.

Chelsey heard the door shut behind her and sensed Aron walking closer towards them.

“Is this your daughter?” Aron finally said, and Chelsey took her time, straightening up and then turning to face him again. There was no denying it. In fact, she wasn’t going to lie to anybody about her child.

“Yes,” she said, as flatly as she could, and crossed her arms. Aron seemed to be dumbstruck. His gaze kept flitting between her and the smiling face of Ruby.

“How old is she?” he asked, after several seconds of silence.

“She turned two last month,” Chelsey said, still glaring at him. She couldn’t believe he had followed her and found where she lived, or that she hadn’t been more careful. All of this was her fault.

“I don’t believe this. You have a two-year-old child,” he said, more to himself than to her. She could barely hear him speak. He was staring at Ruby on the couch, who was giggling and smiling up at him. Chelsey watched as her daughter had the same effect on Aron as she did on Chelsey. His heart was melting, and she could see the strength of the pull that Ruby had on him.

She hadn’t responded to Aron, and they stood in silence again.

“Is she mine?” Aron asked, finally turning to his gaze back towards her. Chelsey remained silent and then looked away. She didn’t want to break into tears. She wasn’t prepared for this moment. She had trained herself into believing that this day would never come.

“She’s mine isn’t she? I have a daughter,” Aron said and, without invitation, he stretched out his arms towards Ruby, who willingly snuggled up to him in a tight cuddle. Chelsey watched quietly as the scene unfolded. Ruby was in the arms of her father, a man she had never met before. As much as it was killing her inside, she was happy for her daughter.

“Why would you keep this from me, Chelsey? Why would hide my daughter from me?” His voice had changed. He was the angry one now. She flinched and then took a few steps away from him.

“I knew you wouldn’t have wanted her. Why would you? You had your career and stardom to look forward to,” she said, and then turned her face from him. The picture of Ruby in Aron’s arms was enough to make her knees weak. She didn’t want to lose control of her senses.

“I wouldn’t want my own daughter? My daughter with you? You were the girl I dreamt of every night for the past three years. I didn’t even know we had a child together,” he said, and took a few steps towards her. Ruby was still in his arms, playing with his earlobes. Chelsey looked at him again, the tears threatening to gush out. She didn’t know how to respond to him.

“I didn’t want to come home because I didn’t want to be reminded of you. Every other relationship I had, I ruined, because I couldn’t get you out of my mind. Because I never gave you a chance, never gave us a chance.” Aron’s voice was breaking now. The emotions of finding out that he was a father, that he had been for two years now, had overtaken him. Chelsey’s lips quivered. She stood still, allowing him to inch closer towards her.

“Is that why you never went to New York?” he asked, and she nodded.

“You’ve been doing this all by yourself? Stuck here in this town by yourself? Living in this place?” he asked, looking about him at her cramped apartment, at the damp spots on the ceiling. Chelsey looked away from him, embarrassed. She didn’t know what to say to him. She wanted him to stop feeling guilty or blaming himself.

“I didn’t know what else to do, or how else to take care of Ruby. My mother didn’t want anything to do with me. I had no money. At least I had a part time job at the salon here. In New York, all I had was an internship offer. I couldn’t put my newborn baby through that.” The words tumbled out of her. Her hands were shaking.

“Ruby. My daughter’s name is Ruby,” Aron said, as if in a daze. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Chelsey. Everything is going to change now,” he said, taking the last few steps to close the gap between their bodies.

“We have a child together. You and I. It’s like I was searching for something all these years, when I had the perfect life waiting for me right here, at home,” he said, gently stroking Ruby’s back. With his other hand, he grabbed Chelsey’s hand and pulled her towards him. She bit down on her lip and smiled. He was going to kiss her. He was going to make all her dreams come true.

*****

THE END

Bonus Book 33: Charmed by the Wolf Dragon

By:
Eliza Moon

Description

A curvy girl discovering magic PLUS a sexy guy who is all she wants PLUS a secret that could kill them both!

Kiara is a young, curvy witch who thinks she’s got it made. Great best friend, magical abilities and a beautiful, curvy body.

But when Spencer discovers her secret and asks her to cast a spell on him in exchange for his silence, she has no idea that doing so will change her life forever.

Spencer turns out to be her dream guy—a muscular bad boy who isn’t all bad. And the best part? He’s a wizard, too. They often do magic together, but Spencer doesn’t know everything about her, and if he did, it would kill him—literally.

Kiara must make sure no one ever discovers her deepest secret, or it could mean the death of someone she loves.

How will Kiara keep this secret from Spencer, who she tells everything to? What lengths will she go to in order to protect those she loves? Kiara will have to decide which is more important—love, or magic?

Kiara walked into the forest and past the small clearing where she usually did her magic. Today she was on a mission to find a certain plant to complete her latest potion. She’d heard that a patch of twayblade orchids grew deep in the forest to the north of the stream. She took out her cell phone to check her progress. She was getting close, but her signal was also getting low.

When she reached the coordinates the online forum had given her, she put her phone away and started searching. The plant usually grew about a foot high and was a tall cluster of smaller blooms, so she kept her gaze low to the ground and moved leaves and other ground debris aside to look. Kiara had to find this plant. It would be used to make a potion that made sure others believed her lies. It was critical to help her keep her secret, and her current supply was getting low.

She brushed a clump of leaves out of the way and her hand banged into something hard. Some sort of stone statue lay there on the ground. She brushed the rest of the dirt and leaves from it and stood it up. The statue was a dragon, three feet high, made of gray and white stone. It was intricately carved with extreme attention to detail. Each scale stuck out to a point, each claw looked sharp enough to cut her. It was incredibly lifelike. Kiara observed it, appreciating the fine quality of the carving. As she wiped the blue gem eye free of mud, the eyelid fell in a quick blink.

She stepped back from the statue and watched. Surely it hadn’t just blinked. As she stood there, watching, it blinked again, this time with both eyes. She took from her pocket the stone she used to find magic artifacts and held it in her palm. She spoke the words of a spell to the stone to reveal magic, and the dragon took on a bluish cast of light.

It was alive and full of magic. She’d read about living statues but had never seen one before. All she could recall was that they could be freed and brought back to life, but that sometimes creatures were made into statues for a reason.

After thinking for some time, she decided she would free the dragon. It was little, after all; maybe just a baby or a child. She took out her wand, pointed it at the statue and cast the spell.

The magic worked slowly. The stone cracked and chipped away, little pieces falling to the ground like rain. She realized that the statue wasn’t just coming back to life, it was also growing. So much for thinking this was a baby. The stone continued to fall away and the dragon continued to expand until he stood before her in all of his ten-foot-tall glory. His scales shone a deep emerald green, his eyes a lively blue, and the spikes on his tail were long and white.

She stepped back, a little fearful of his imposing size.

“You freed me,” the dragon said. The gratitude was obvious in his tone.

Kiara nodded slowly. “And why exactly were you made into stone?”

“It’s a long story that ends in heartache.”

“Can you give me the abbreviated version? I just want to make sure you aren’t some evil dragon that was turned into a statue because you were, I don’t know, killing whole towns of people or something.”

The dragon shook his head slowly. “I am of a peaceful clan. I was cast into stone by another dragon who sought my true love.” He paused then and touched his heart. “It seems too much time has passed. She is gone from this world.” He hung his head and a large, glittering tear fell from his eye.

“I’m sorry.”

“I trust she had a good, long life. What is the year?”

“2016.”

The dragon nodded slowly. “Three hundred years I’ve been sleeping in that stone. I thank you for freeing me. I can give you a great reward, but it comes with great responsibility.”

Kiara’s heart leaped in excitement. Dragons were rumored to be powerful magical beings, capable of great and mighty spells. If you believed they existed. “What’s the reward and what’s the responsibility?”

“I can give you the power to shift into a dragon at will. You will gain the power of flight, and can then access the dragon haven where all our great riches are kept. Your magic will increase in strength. But this great power must be kept hidden at all costs.” The dragon pulled a ring from his finger. “You will wear this at all times. If you tell the secret that you are a dragon shifter, or if someone should discover your secret, that person will become ill and die as the curse is activated. If you take the ring off, you will erase the secret from their mind and die in their place.”

Kiara didn’t take long to consider. She’d been keeping the fact that she was a witch a secret for years. Even her best friend, Erica, didn’t know she was a witch, and aside from the other witches she knew in her senior class at Eastside High, no one in school knew they even existed. It wouldn’t be hard to keep this part of the secret as well, and she definitely wanted the power.

“I accept the responsibility,” she said.

The dragon handed her the ring. It was a band of woven gold vines with a green emerald at the center. She slipped it onto her pointer finger and the ring shrank to fit her perfectly.

The dragon raised his large paw, set it on her head and began casting spells. The air swirled around her and she saw flashes of green and blue and red. She’d thought there would be pain in the transformation, but she hardly felt any sensation at all aside from bursts of heat and cold along her skin. Then everything settled and the air became still again.

Kiara looked down and saw a deep purple belly, round and curving toward the ground. She twisted, seeing her long tail laid out behind her, tipped in pointy black spikes. Her hands and feet were now paws with soft pads and small claws. All of her skin, once smooth and creamy, was now small diamonds of purple layered on top of each other. She reached out and stretched, stepping from side to side to feel her new body move. She felt massive and strong, as if she could knock over a tree with only a swipe or squish an animal with one stomp.

This would take some getting used to, and she had a sudden urgent need to make sure she could get her old body back. She closed her eyes and willed herself back to human, just to make sure that she could. It was much easier to change than she expected. All she did was picture the form she wanted to be in, and then her body shifted to that form. It was painless and quick—more like jumping into the water after picturing being wet than the bone-crunching images of a Hollywood werewolf transition.

***

When she saw that her clothing was all still there, she was relieved. Those movies always had wolves shifting back and ending up naked somewhere in the woods. That would be miserable. But that was Hollywood and this was real magic. Magic could do things like keeping your clothing for you while you became a dragon, apparently.

“Powerful magic,” she said. She made a small bow to the dragon. “Thank you for this gift.”

“Use it wisely.”

“I will. Will you tell me your name?”

The dragon considered. According to legend, if he told her his name she would be able to summon him. Their names alone were powerful.

After a long while he said, “I am Sindri.”

“Thank you.” She bowed again, overwhelmed by all he’d given her.

“Would you like me to show you the way to the haven?”

“Yes! Please.” She closed her eyes, letting her body change back into a dragon. Already the transition was becoming effortless. She felt like she’d done it a hundred times. Sindri took to the air and Kiara watched for a moment. Then she extended her long wings, raised them and pushed down hard. Her body lifted several feet off the ground. She broke into a grin and raised and pushed down her wings again, flying into the air for the first time.

The two dragons soared gracefully side by side, and she loved this new feeling of the air pushing against her as she glided through it. She would have a hard time staying on the ground.

“The magic that exists naturally in the atmosphere keeps us hidden above the tree line,” Sindri explained. “But on the ground, we are visible to humans who should come across our paths. You would be wise to quickly learn a cloaking spell.”

Kiara tucked away this information. It was the first thing she’d work on when she got back. In fact she had been working on such a spell, but as a human witch she was limited. Her dragon magic, however, would likely allow her to cast the spell with ease.

They flew over expanses of blue water until, up ahead, she saw a small, very green island. It appeared to be shimmering, which meant it was hidden from plain sight. Likely only those with dragon magic could see it. She followed Sindri to the ground and landed softly beside him in a patch of plush grass.

“You’re a natural flyer,” he said. “You will learn the dragon life quickly.”

“Thank you.” She lowered her dragon head a few inches to reverence him, gleeful that she was taking to this form so readily.

The island was thick with vegetation. She recognized many plants as rare magical plants. Here, they grew in abundance. There was a large patch of the twayblade orchids she’d been searching for back in her forest.

He led her along several paths through the trees, showing her all of the magical elements available there. It was something like a magical super store. She could fly here, get everything she needed in one place, and fly back.

They stopped before a large cave, the opening carved into a small mountain of stone.

“This is our treasure collection.” He stepped inside and she followed. Inside was a large, damp cavern in roughly an oval shape, with a pathway circling its perimeter. They followed it deeper into the cave until they reached another opening, this one much smaller than the cave’s main entrance.

Another dragon was there, keeping guard over the entrance. He stepped aside when they came near and nodded at them. Kiara followed Sindri into a room that glittered with gold and colorful gems. Piles of treasure sat high in all corners. Gold coins, jewelry, crowns. Like something straight out of a movie.

“Like all things on this island, as a dragon you are free to take what you need. But know this: the island knows your heart. If you become greedy or use the resources of this land for ill purposes, the island will shut off its magic to you.” He picked up a thick gold necklace. “To live in the human world, you need human currency.” He handed her the necklace. “This should buy you plenty.”

She took the necklace and slipped it onto her arm like a bracelet. It shrunk to fit her as the ring had back in the clearing near her house. Good, she thought. She wouldn’t have to worry about losing it on the flight back.

“May I gather some plants as well before we fly back?” she asked.

“Take what you need.”

They returned to the place where they’d landed, and she carefully bit the stems of several twayblade orchids.

“Return home now, young dragon. You will need time to rest after such a journey until you are more experienced.”

She held the orchids in her paw. “Thank you, Sindri, for everything.”

“Use your gift wisely.” He nodded at her, then leaped into the sky and flew off.

Kiara put the plants carefully into her mouth and took off, too. She’d have to get some sort of pouch for her trips here to carry things back. She returned to her forest, guided by the scent, which was easy to pick up with her heightened sense of smell. This was why animals were so good at finding things and could always get home, she thought. The smell was like a map leading her home. She landed in the place where she’d found Sindri, and changed back to human form.

Again, she was relieved to find all her clothes intact. Not like those werewolf books she read where their clothing burst every time they changed. Life was much better when you had magic to take care of that sort of thing. She ran her hands down her body, feeling her thick waist and thighs. Every inch of her curvy body was still there, though it felt like maybe she’d grown even more curves. Her muscles seemed to be stronger and bigger, making her arms and thighs even thicker and fuller than usual. Her breasts, too, seemed to have become more voluptuous with her increased chest muscles. She smiled at that. Now she had even more of herself to love.

Kiara started the long walk home, and as Sindri had said she was feeling rather tired. But she had the plants she needed and a gold necklace which would fetch a nice sum when she sold it. She put the necklace on, letting it fall between her full breasts. Her step gained a bounce as she wound through the trees and brush, and she felt happier than she could ever remember feeling in her life.