226

Riley and I had driven the six hours to Bucharest and booked into a hotel. Our flight back to the States left the following morning. I lay in bed and thought about my next move and where I should go with her. I was about to close my eyes when I felt the pull of the dragon realm.

“Wynter Grey.”

“I’m at your service, Lord Typhon.” I bowed my head respectfully as Typhon inhaled sharply and I looked up at him.

“I can grant you one desire in this life, you have saved the realms of dragon although I cannot give you the life you seek but I can grant you one wish.”

“If I can’t have Luciana back then I wish for all my blood bonds to sever so I can live in peace.”

“It is done, Wynter Grey.”

I woke up with the sharp pain of my familial bonds snapping, the blood oaths I’d taken snapped all at once and I gripped the sheets beneath my hands as pain seared through my soul. The pain lasted for hours and not once did I stop to think that my family now thought me dead.

I felt better when I woke up in the morning and I found Riley in the hotel’s cot looking up at the ceiling. She was the most precious thing in my life now and I amazed myself by how gentle I could be. Echo was smitten and his tail started thumping up and down every time we looked at her or touched her.

We boarded our fifteen hour flight and landed in Seattle. She’d been good on the plane, sleeping and drinking although the changing took some creativity on my part. She slept on my chest and every now and then I’d wake up with drool dribbling onto my shirt.

Two hours later I parked the rental car in front of the Marriot Grand Hotel in Chehalis, Washington and got booked in. Washington State was the furthest I could get from Georgia and still be in America and not live in Alaska.

We spent the night in the hotel and met up with a real estate agent, Lauren, the next morning. I parked the car in front of the address she had sent me and looked at the woman who stood in the driveway. She was by far one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.

“Mr Callis?”

“Please, call me Ethan.” I shook her hand as she smiled at me and peered at a sleeping Riley in my other arm.

“She’s absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thanks. So is this the house you want to show me?”

“Yes, I know you said you wanted privacy but trust me when I tell you this place will suit your needs perfectly. It has five bedrooms, all with walk-in closets and six bathrooms. You have an acre of property around you and the surrounding open areas are all divided and privately owned by the residents on this street.”

I had noticed that there were only four houses on the street and that a large open field bordered the one that I was looking at. It had a huge back yard for Riley to play in but I was worried about Echo; he’d need space to stretch his wings and lie in the sun.

I turned to look at Lauren as her eyes flashed silver and she blinked, the normal brown returning to her eyes. She was standing close to me, closer than she should and she sniffed me tentatively.

“Sorry, but I had a feeling that you were different.”

“You’re fae.”

“And you’re a dragon. Billy down the street’s a vampire and I live right next door to this one with my girlfriend, Chandra. The fourth house belongs to Joey, he’s a lone wolf.”

“That’s an interesting mix.”

“Come on, let me take you through the house and then you can decide over coffee.”

Lauren took me through the house and I had to admit that I loved it. The rooms were spacious and the kitchen was state-of-the-art. The house was modern and warm, everything done in whites and gray’s and I felt it speak to me.

“So … how much do you love it?”

“It does have a certain appeal to it.”

“Let’s go over to my house for that coffee I promised you and we can hash out the details.”

Lauren pushed her front door open and I looked around at the open living space and the smell of cookies that beckoned from the kitchen. Riley’s baby bag was placed on the large sofa and I followed her through to the kitchen.

“So, Ethan Callis, tell me your story. What brings you to Chehalis?”

“I guess we both just needed a change of scenery.”

“Where’s her mother?” Lauren looked me in the eye and I could tell she didn’t beat around the bush. She was straight forward and I liked her. Her face was expressive and she was an open book.

“She died in childbirth.”

“I’m sorry, Ethan.”

We sat at the kitchen island with our coffees and talked. She told me all about Chehalis and the people that lived there, my new neighbours - since she had gotten me to sign the purchase offer – and about Chandra.

The front door opened and I heard a voice call out. “I smell a man, a delicious smelling man.”

“In the kitchen.” Lauren laughed as the woman stepped into the kitchen and I did a mental double take.

“Ooh a baby!” Before I could blink she had Riley in her arms kissing her fingers and walked over to Lauren and kissed her on the mouth.

Chandra had short black hair, cut in a pixie style, which suited her petite features. Echo mentioned something about a threesome and bikini’s in a hot tub in our future and I had to physically block him out.

“Is this our new neighbour?” Chandra smiled at me.

“Sorry, I’m Ethan.” She shook my hand and then focused all her attention on Riley.

“And what’s this sweet thing’s name?”

“That’s Riley.” I felt oddly comfortable in their house and Echo agreed. We’d be staying in Chehalis.

Lauren gave me a look like we were sharing a secret. “You know she’s going to make you her new best friend just to get to your baby.”

“That just sounds wrong.” Chandra laughed at the look on my face.

“What she means is, I love babies and yours is so beautiful. She has a special quality about her, a strong aura. I’ll be her favourite aunt!”

A week later we moved in next door and Chandra and Lauren was there to welcome us home. Chandra doted on Riley and really became my new best friend. The night we moved in we attended a barbecue and I met Joey and Billy.

It was odd having neighbours that I knew and cared about. Billy and I played golf on Saturdays while Chandra and Lauren took Riley to the park or market. On Friday nights we all got together and had a barbecue at someone else’s house. On Sundays Joey and I would fish down by the river that was walking distance from our houses.

Life became routine again and my house was filled with friends, Riley’s laughter and a sense of calm. I spent my time taking woodworking courses and started making furniture as a hobby. Lauren caught me in the workshop one day and squealed with excitement as she started selling my pieces in her mind.

Life with Riley was a blast. She’d wake me in the mornings sometimes at four am crying to be changed and fed. By seven am I had her in her stroller as we jogged my ten miles. Back at the house she’d take another nap while I showered and ate breakfast.

Lauren dragged me to cooking classes while Chandra happily spent time with Riley. Within six months I could hold my own in the kitchen. Most nights were spent in the living room in front of the stone fireplace as Riley slept on my chest and I kept tabs on things in Romania.

Shopping proved to be a whole other obstacle since Riley was a people magnet and we got smiles wherever we went. She went through clothes like it was a competition and every single day I said my thanks that I had her.

I still dreamt of Luciana at night and I was far from being over her. I didn’t want to forget her or the life we’d shared, those few precious months that we’d had. Riley and I were doing just fine on our own until the night I accidentally walked in on Lauren and Chandra.

The day had started out like any other and Riley was almost three and running around everywhere. I had foolishly agreed to go on a double date with Joey and I was already regretting the decision.

Chandra happily agreed to take Riley for the night and I planned on drinking … a lot. It was the first time Riley wouldn’t spend the night with me, not that I was worried, Chandra loved her like she was her own and they both urged me to get out of the house.

Most of my clothes and shoes were ordered online because Chehalis really didn’t have the kind of stores where I could buy clothes. We had our weekly shopping trip to the grocery store as Riley chewed on a biscuit and sat in the trolley as I shopped.

Riley’s headband was halfway off her head and her hair was sticking into different directions and no matter how I tried to smooth it down, it didn’t last long. Lauren told me to get her hair cut and Chandra threatened me with physical pain if I did.

It was a friendship that worked for us, our houses open to each other. I’d found Lauren going through the cupboards in my kitchen enough times to know that she always forgot the one thing she went to the store for and that I usually had it.

I drew the line at baking of course and once again Chandra was the lifesaver there. Whatever she baked she did in two’s and we always got our share of whatever had taken her fancy which meant that I supplied them with wine and scotch.

Billy was a red wine kind of guy and Joey chugged down beers while I stuck to scotch and the women preferred white wine. Our group was peculiar to say the least and Billy had asked me more than once if I thought they’d be into a group thing.

I’d been living in Chehalis for three years now and after the first year they started badgering me to move on with my life and get a girlfriend. Billy’s invitation was one they refused to let me say no to and that’s how I got to where I was.

I was an hour early because I was nervous and something else too. I put Riley down in the cordoned off play area they had set up for her and switched the television on. We had a very open friendship and neither of us knocked on the other’s front doors.

I headed upstairs to find Chandra and stopped short in the hallway. Noises came from their bedroom and the door was ajar. I had no idea what I was thinking when I pushed that door open and stood looking at them in the throes of their passion.

They were both naked, writhing on top of each other, hands exploring and I felt myself growing aroused. Chandra’s hands trailed over Lauren’s body, going lower and disappeared between her legs as they kissed. Chandra arched her back as Lauren’s tongue explored down to her breasts and she took her nipple in her mouth.

Lauren shattered first, her orgasm rocking her body and Chandra followed closely behind. I couldn’t breathe and for the first time since Riley was born I had the urge to tear my clothes off and take matters into my own hands.

I’d been celibate this whole time, not even thinking about sex. My heart was hammering in my chest and when my eyes focused again, they were both looking at me, the erection in my jeans very evident. “Sorry.”

I backed out of the room as Lauren and Chandra started laughing. I shook my head to clear the erotic thoughts from it and sat down on the sofa, forcing myself to think of anything else besides them naked.

“You’re early.” They were both dressed in robes and I averted my eyes.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to stay and watch.”

“Tell me, Ethan, did that come close to the fantasy you men have about two women together?”

“Oh yeah.”