Read dragon archives 02 - pursued by a dragon for Free Online

sensibilities?” His mouth quirked for a moment before he bent his head closer to hers.
    “I’m not very fond of dragon stories,” he replied softly. “I find storytellers like to embellish far too much.”
    “Isn’t that the point of a story?” she asked, her voice just as soft. Favian looked at her for a moment, before shrugging. “I suppose you are right,” he said. Cathryn returned her attention to the storyteller as the man continued his tale.
    “You all know that I speak of the dragon, the most dreadful of all the beasts that ever walked this earth.” The words rolled from his mouth as he shook his fist in the air. “A creature so monstrous, so hideous, so terrible, that hell itself shook in terror.” The man glanced around, his eyes wide, before he dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “A monster so evil, that there seemed none who could thwart it. A creature, it is said, that can take on the form of man, luring his unsuspecting victims to their deaths.” The man lifted the cup in his hand to his lips and Cathryn could see his throat working as he swallowed another mouthful. Once again, he dragged his sleeve across his mouth before continuing. “But there was one, a knight so pure and good, brave, strong and courageous, he had the power to defeat the evil dragon.” Cathryn glanced at Favian in amusement as she leaned towards him.
    “Are you the good knight, Sir Drake?” she asked. He returned her look with a wry smile.
    “Perhaps I’m the dragon.” At his words, Cathryn snorted out a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand when she saw others glancing at her in irritation. She sneaked a guilty look at Favian, and he lifted his eyebrows at her. She smiled back before returning her gaze to the old man. Beside her, Cathryn felt Favian shift in his seat, the movement bringing him slightly closer. Even though he did not touch her, she could feel the heat of him running down the length of her, as soft and gentle as an intimate caress. She felt her heart speed up again, each beat sounding like a drum pounding in her ears, and the thought flashed through her mind that if he could hear her whisper across a room, perhaps he could also hear her heartbeat. She glanced up at him to see him watching her intently. If he heard the thrumming in her chest, he gave no indication of it, but instead gazed at her, his eyes holding hers, the strange light that she sometimes saw burning a little brighter. Her lips parted slightly as she drew in a breath, and he glanced down at them for a moment, before looking in her eyes once again.
    Leaning closer, he brought his lips close as he whispered in her ear. “Can I call on you sometime?”
    Mutely, she nodded, an incline of the head so slight she wasn’t even sure she had made the movement, but it was enough for him. He pulled back, accepting the response with his own slight nod, before turning around and sliding off the bench. He was gone a moment later, the warmth of his body quickly replaced by a cool breeze that stirred with the opening of the door as he exited.
    Cathryn returned her attention to the storyteller, but her mind was distracted. It was with only half an ear that she heard the tale of the brave knight who had defeated the world’s most wicked monster, piercing his heart with a double-edged sword, and finally avenging the lives of so many maidens who had been ripped to shreds by the terrible beast. But instead of a dragon, her mind was filled with thoughts of Favian. The man seemed determined to torment her, and now she had agreed, while caught up in a moment of insanity, to his request to call upon her. She would have to see him, of course, and use the opportunity to let him know that he was to leave her alone. But faced with the distraction of his presence, she wasn’t sure she would even be able to. And therein lay the problem.
     
    The tale of the defeated dragon brought the evening to a close, and it was not long after the story was done