Flame Touched

Chapter Sixteen - Rei

Matteo lay his head against Rei's bare chest and sighed happily. She'd dreamed of being his wife ever since they first met. Now the dream was a reality, and she could hardly believe it. She knew they were meant to be together forever. He completed her so well. He calmed her when the darkness was overpowering in her life, and his smile made everything so much better. It was infectious. For the first time, they'd been able to completely express their love for each other. He no longer held back. The boy who had been so shy at the park was definitely not so shy in the bedroom. How did she get so lucky to spend her life with him?

"What else do you want to know?" he asked her while tracing her hand with his fingers.

"I don't know," she whispered. "It's been a lot to take in. I mean, you're a dragon, an actual dragon. I didn't know it was possible. I suspected something was different about you. The way you were always so nervous, how you knew what was about to happen before it actually did, how you seemed to make those things happen. Your hands. I noticed you always wore gloves. Now I see you have the black nail disease."

"Not to brag, but I'm kind of a big deal. I told you I'd make sure you'd be safe. That I could take care of you. Now you know why your parents don't scare me. I still want to make them pay." He sighed, and shook his head, speaking before she got a chance to. "Not what you want, I know, but I still want to. The only reason I won't is because it'll make you unhappy. And my hands don't have a disease, it just...is part of what we are." He laughed a little. "Just like I age slower, and now you will too. We're the same. Finally the same."

"The same," she agreed and kissed his forehead. "What other wonderful perks do I get for being the wife of an apparently very important dragon?"

Matt let out a playful and dramatic sigh before rolling onto his back. "Is that all you care about? Man, I should have known you'd only be into me for my money." He winked. "We'll be able to have sons together, you'll have an immunity to fire, and the ability to talk with me whenever you want to."

"Any time?" she asked.

"Any time."

"There are a lot more dragons than I realized," she said quietly.

He gave her a small shrug. "There needs to be a lot of us if we're going to stay safe from the other tribes. They're larger in size and strong in magic. Our best defense is our numbers."

"No, I just meant I didn't know so many of the men here were dragons. Maybe I'm only noticing they're different now because they smell funny." She scowled a little. "Why can I smell everything? It's like all of a sudden my nose opened up and can identify different kinds of dust. Dust, Matt, I shouldn't be able to smell that!"

Matteo chuckled. "I have a great sense of smell. Of course you would too. It's called transitioning. I didn't think it would happen so soon after we...you know..." A big grin formed on his face. "Guess we must be true love if you're changing so fast. Almost like it's instantaneous. Sometimes the process can be a bit painful, but if you stay close to me, you'll be just fine."

She swallowed, trying to not let his words frighten her.

"You know I wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to you right?" He leaned in and kissed her cheek gently.

"I know. I trust you, fully and completely now," she said, and she did. She now knew one-hundred-percent that he would never let her down. "So what do I get to do all day while you do your dragony things?"

"Whatever you want."

Rei scowled. "You mean sunbathe and look pretty like all the other women? Be a bimbo? I've seen some of the magazine articles about the lifestyle of the Elite."