The castle never ceased to amaze her. Her first time coming here she had expected a crumbling, dark, forbidding place. Instead, she found a place of light and life, even laughter.
"Take my hand," Kirishima kindly ordered her, extending his hand behind him as they came to the back steps that led into the kitchen.
Nerissa happily complied, sliding her hand into his soft, warm palm.
"You're so cold," he commented as he opened the door and the heated air from the ovens rolled over them like a wave.
The pretty young women in the kitchen greeted him with big smiles and blushed cheeks. They acknowledged her politely with words, recognizing her as a former guest and important emissary from a neighboring kingdom. Their eyes, however, cast invisible daggers at her especially when they took note of her hand securely encased in his.
The older women working in the kitchen ignored him but nodded at her. A few offered food or drink to her which she graciously declined as he pulled her through the kitchen and toward the back stairs that led to the second floor. Instead of taking her to one of the guest rooms there where she had stayed before, he continued dragging her up the winding staircase to the third floor reserved for the castle residents such as himself and the Prince.
"Where are we going?" she questioned him in a hushed voice as they entered the wide hallway.
Lit torches mounted on the wall every few feet reflected off the cream colored marble veined in dark brown filling the area with soothing amber ambient light. Kirishima stopped in front of a door halfway down the lengthy hall.
"This is my room," he announced, turning to her. His eyelashes fell against his cheek that once again turned the most lovely shade of vermilion like his hair.
The familiarity bred by their frequent meetings and the courteous friendship that had developed between them apparently made him bold. Yet he still retained an innocence, an unassuming sincerity that enabled her see him as an endearing, platonic friend as she had always seen him. An electrical tingle tickled the base of her spine, warning her that their relationship was about to change.
"Y-your r-room?" she stuttered, feeling his fingers tighten around her hand.
"How long have we known each other?" His eyes met hers, holding them captive with his stunning crimson irises. He pushed open the door with taking his eyes off of her.
"Uhm...well..." She hesitated, rolling her eyes upward as if she could find the answer written on the inside of her eyelids. "I believe it's been about two years. Maybe more."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" His pointed upper teeth caught his lower lip, displaying his apprehension as he waited for her answer.
"No," she answered truthfully, placing the palm of her free hand against his cheek.
Her heart ached as she watched his hopeful expression shatter and fall away to disappointment and sadness. She stroked his cheek with her thumb to entice him to look at her.
"But upon the second and third look, I believe things began to change," Nerissa admitted. "I've seen you many, many more times than that."
Her heart fluttered inside her chest when the corners of his mouth lifted, stretching, until his lips separated into a wide grin that revealed most of the v-shaped sparkling white teeth in his mouth. In a veiled manner he had confessed he loved her. And she had confessed her own love for him in an equally abstruse way.
"Do you want to come inside?" Kirishima asked.
"I do," she answered, walking into his room and pulling him along behind her.
A fire burned in the sandstone fireplace built into the wall. It seemed quite natural for him to have a fire burning in his room, although he seemed to have an internal heat source of his own.
A blush crept up her neck and over her face when she looked at the massive bed sitting against the opposite wall. The tall, pointed, oak wood spindles on top of each column at the corners of the bed reached almost to the ceiling. The puffy brown covering the color of rich dark brown earth looked so comfortable and inviting.
"So you sleep in a bed?" Nerissa inquired.
"Should I sleep in a cave on a pile of gold?" he retorted.
"I guess not," she giggled at herself. "All of those hard gold coins would not allow a restful sleep. Even in your dragon form."
"I've come to favor my human body. I stay this way most of the time now. Your visit today was unexpected which is why I transformed into a dragon. I am happy to see you," he said, his blush deepening to a shade of dark crimson.
At last Kirishima released her hand in favor of pulling her close. Her heart beat fast like that of a terrified rabbit. But she wasn't afraid. He placed one hand flat to the small of her back to hold her firmly against him. The excitement of anticipation, the desire for more of his touch, increased the electrical spark in her spinal cord to a dull hum of energy that slowly rose up her vertebral column like mercury in a thermometer on a hot day. His other hand rested on her jaw, tilting her face upward so the only thing she could see was his glorious face.
"Say my name," he implored her, his voice low and his breathing heavy.
"Kirishima," she croaked wishing she had accepted a glass of water in the kitchen.
Nerissa swallowed convulsively when his eyes lowered to her mouth. When the tip of his forefinger touched the corner of her mouth, her lips parted slightly as she inhaled sharply. Her body trembled helplessly as he dragged his fingertip across her bottom lip. Then he traced her top lip. His fingers rested on her neck, falling every so slowly across her skin, following the curve of her neck. There they danced over her collarbone to her shoulder. Everywhere his fingertips touched shot off sparks igniting her nerve endings with the most delightful fire.
Nerissa gasped again when his face lowered toward hers. Instead of kissing her, he rested his cheek against hers. Her hands flattened to his chest relishing the dual texture of his scales: smooth on the flat tops and rough on the edges where they overlapped. Her heart beat in her ears when his lips grazed the outer part of her ear next to her cheek.
"Say my human name," he commanded her in the most enthralling manner, his hot breath teasing the inner part of her ear.
Nerissa bit her lower lip to withhold a moan as the muscles tensed in her lower belly with delicious arousal.
"Eijirou," she whispered hoarsely.
Eijirou's lips pressed a kiss to her cheek. Next he kissed her temple, the middle of her forehead, her other temple, and her other cheek.
Nerissa never knew chaste, typically platonic kisses of friendship, could be so provocative, evoking a craving in her she had never experienced before. Her knees weakened when his lips glided over the corner of her mouth, catching the smallest bit of her lips in a kiss.
"Eijirou," she whispered once more, this time as a plea.
Nerissa held her breath when his mouth pressed squarely to hers in a tender, pure kiss to convey his emotions to her. How long had loved her? She could ascertain the strength of his feelings through the gentle, controlled way he kissed her. He wanted more but he held back, waiting for her to return the sentiment on her own - just like he had for a while now.
Her feelings of love had been slow in coming, rising up when they were together then ebbing away when they were apart. Each time those emotions of fondness, affection, and liking returned, her feelings toward him had grown stronger. At the moment, as he kissed her, pressing his lips tighter to hers, her love for him filled her heart, bursting forth and overflowing. Her emotions gushed forth from her eyes in tears that flowed down her cheeks, wetting both of their lips as he kissed her so sweetly.
"I'm so very glad you came here, surprising me," he panted after he lifted his mouth from hers.
"Me too. I didn't expect to be taken by surprise myself in such a wonderful way." She gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"Will you stay with me?"
Suddenly, the intoxicating magic cast upon them vanished. Nerissa pressed her cheek to his chest over his heart. Her arms wrapped around his waist, embracing him.
"I can only promise tonight," she said. "Neither one of us knows what tomorrow will bring. Nor are we free to leave our masters."
"Would you leave your Lord and Master even if you were free?" Eijirou asked her, tipping her head back with a finger under her chin.
Nerissa studied his rose red irises that searched her emerald green ones for an answer. She gave him the most honest answer she could.
"I don't know."
"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully, blinking slowly to break eye contact. He brought his mouth to hers for a kiss. "Then I guess we should make the most of the time we have."
A/N: Okay, so here we are at Chapter 2 with my little experiment. Thank you maxridelover for your quick response and enthusiasm that has spurred me on. We shall see what happens next!