Chapter 8
"That was really spectacular," Dania said in a sleepy tone of voice several hours later. The two of them had just finished making love. "I never knew it could be like that, so you blew my dreams out of the water."
"You're welcome," Dave promised her tenderly, kissing her along her gorgeous neck. "I should've realized that you were a virgin though, because you were only 11 when those men killed your family and since you've never been married… well, there is really no way for a woman to have sex without somebody gossiping about it, including whoever took away your virginity. Men love to gossip just as much as women do, even if they claim that they don't and they also love to brag about their conquests."
"Exactly, so there was no way for me to lose my virginity without being gossiped about and that might've caused me to lose my job. That's kind of unfair when you think about it. I mean, men can have sex with women, visit brothels and not be married and yet they don't lose their jobs or have people talk about them maliciously. In fact, they are often congratulated on their conquests by other men."
"Yeah, it isn't really fair," Dave agreed. "That won't be a problem for you so long as you're with me though, as people will assume that we are married."
"The way you magicked up that wedding ring and wedding band for both of us was pretty impressive," Dania said looking impressed all over again, as she remembered what Dave had done because he didn't have time to stop by a real jewelry store before they were to board their train early the next morning.
"Thank you for the compliment. I studied plenty of rings over the centuries, which is the only reason I was able to produce one so easily. You need to take in the details. I just took certain features from multiple rings I had seen over the years and combined them into the ring you're wearing so that it's technically original instead of an exact copy of some ring I saw years ago," Dave said smiling. "Dragons are basically bottom, wells of magic, which is one reason we live for thousands of years so long as we aren't assassinated or killed in some other way. Using a little bit of my magic to create a wedding set for you and a wedding band for me was simple, since I've seen numerous examples of such items over the centuries. I will buy you a real ring as soon as we reach Chicago though and that's a promise."
"This one is real enough for me," Dania protested gazing at her finger at the wedding ring and band that Dave had magicked into existence. "It doesn't matter if you paid for it or not."
"Creating something with my magic instead of buying it would be considered cheating basically in my realm," Dave told her firmly. "It's considered taking the easy way out instead of buying something with real money, whether that's gold and silver like on my world or the paper money that is used here, even if it's backed by the gold and silver depository.
"If I let you keep that ring, and didn't actually buy one for you then, if this was my realm, any women you encounter would believe I didn't love you very much at all, because I couldn't bother to spend my gold to get you something nice."
"This isn't your world though, so I say a ring made by magic is fine with me," Dania protested
"If we ever get back to my plane, others will know that I magicked that ring instead of buying you one and while that wouldn't bother me necessarily those people would believe I didn't love you very much, since I couldn't even bother to buy you a nice ring.
"They might attack you if we miss any that are loyal to my brother that is and if you have accepted my tooth if you die, so do I."
"But how would they be able to tell, especially I don't plan on saying anything to anyone?" Dania asked Dave, wondering if he was fibbing in order to get her to accept another ring that he had actually paid real money for.
"Anything magic made gives off certain vibes, which I believe is the best word," Dave tried to explain. "Other dragons will be able to sense those vibes and realize that the ring I gave you was magic made instead of bought."
Dania studied Dave for a moment and when he continued to look sober and serious without even the hint of a smile to bend his mouth, she realized that he was telling the truth and not just feeding her a line.
"You're serious," Dania said finally.
"Deadly serious," Dave promise her his tone fervent. "You might be happy with a magic made ring, but other dragons will immediately recognize it for what it is if they happen to spot it, which is bound to happen. You've had to live on so little for so long that you don't want me to spend the money to buy you a real wedding band and engagement ring, but I plan to do just that, no matter how much you protest the expense."
"So the money you made by magic would have this vibe."
"Exactly and nobody, but another dragon shifter would ever be able to tell," Dave agreed. "It really is a good thing that only the royal family can produce exact copies of any money and have it last forever, because otherwise there would be chaos when counterfeit coins kept popping up everywhere in my realm."
"A lot of people are dishonest, which I'm sure is true in your realm just like it is here," Dania pointed out.
"We have our share of criminals, as Miles can't be an isolated case," Dave agreed. "I'm sure with Miles ruling like a despot that more people are performing criminal acts just to survive, as they probably see no other way to feed themselves or their families."
"So will you punish those people if we ever retake your throne?" Dania wanted to know.
"Not so long as they quit breaking the law and go back to honest business practices, as you often do things that are distasteful in order to survive," Dave said. "Of course, if they keep up with whatever criminal enterprise they are involved in after I take over and I discover that they are then yes, they will be punished."
"That seems fair to me, as you'll give them a chance to clean up their act once Miles is out of the way and if they continue to act like a criminal than they deserve to be punished," Dania agreed.
That was more than fair, and it was clear that Dave would be a fair, compassionate, and just ruler if he have a managed to retake the throne.
"Well, we'll see," Dave said. "Now, how about another round before we get some sleep?"
Dave gave her an adorable grin that made Dania just melt.
"I won't object I promise," Dania said eagerly, sounding wide awake now. "I never knew having sex with anyone could bring so much pleasure and that's a good thing or I would have been craving it constantly."
"It can be with the right partner," Dave said. "So long as that partner cares about the others needs than sex can be a very pleasurable experience for both parties not just the man."
"What you're not saying it is it can also be a bad experience if the partner doesn't allow the other to get off, but they do."
"Yes, it is usually the man that gets off but leaves the woman unsatisfied sexually."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Dania snorted.
"What can I say except men can be selfish creatures," Dave said dryly.
"Something you are definitely not," Dania said eyeing him, as if he was a stranger.
"You have to remember that I'm much older than any human on this planet. Also, I'm not human remember," Dave reminded her.
"I doubt I'll ever forget that fact unless I suddenly develop total amnesia," Dania giggled. "All I know is you've had plenty of time to be the kind, caring man I've gotten to know over the last few weeks."
"You're my mate, so it's a different situation then if I was facing an enemy or someone that had greatly annoyed me," Dave told her, even as he started to make love to her again. "I'll always treat you like my queen because I love you. You also must remember that someday you will be a queen, as I would never accept another in that position once we defeat Miles and I take the throne."
"I think you're more than demonstrated that ever since we met," Dania said. "I've been wondering why you never came into the grill again though, after we met that first time."
"I didn't want to get you in trouble with your boss if we were seen acting inappropriately," Dave explained. "If you were seen flirting with me by anybody and they had reported you, your boss could very well have fired you or at least suspended you without pay. I never would've been able to prevent myself from flirting with you if I was anywhere near you, so I made myself scarce after that first meal."
"That was really thoughtful, Dave, because you're right, I might've gotten reprimanded at the very least and that's at a minimum. How did you know where I live though? I've actually been meaning to ask you, but there never seemed to be a good time."
"I kind of followed you," Dave admitted looking sheepish. "I wanted to make sure you got home safely, even though I knew you had been walking the same route for years. It was the only way really since I didn't want to come into the restaurant again."
"I never saw you, not once, not that I was looking or anything," Dania said. "Still, that must mean you're pretty good at following someone without being noticed."
"I used the same invisibility that I used when we entered those men's apartments," Dave said. "I followed you home to make sure you got there safely and then I left you to go to my hotel."
That last part was a fib as Dave had stood outside his mate's apartment building for quite some time, unable to make himself leave, just watching as the people entered or left. He had seen Buddy and his friends, loitering around the outside of the building and he had suspected they would be trouble, which had turned out to be true.
They hadn't seen him, of course, because he had kept up his invisibility the whole time, but finally he had left to get himself some dinner. Only knowing his mate was safe inside her apartment at least for the moment allowed him to leave.
"It's why I was there when those men tried to rape you and you threw that fireball at Buddy," Dave added
"Kind of stalkerish isn't that right, Dave?" Dania teased him not at all upset at Dave had told her.
He had likely saved a life after all, and she couldn't really be mad at him for watching over her, even if she hadn't known he was there until just now.
"What can I say except my instincts to protect my mate are incredibly strong," Dave shrugged unapologetically. "I had to force myself to leave to get some dinner and then get some sleep.
"I was back at your apartment building long before you left for work, watching over you," Dave added.
"Well, I certainly never knew you were there," Dania said.
"You weren't supposed to," Dave told her. "Now though, I'll never hide anything from you again and that's a promise."
"Thank you for telling me. I do appreciate your honesty," Dania replied.
~~~Dave and Dania~~~
"Well, here we are Chicago. It didn't really take very long to get here considering the distance," Dania said, as they disembarked the train at their destination.
"It's was lot easier and also faster to get around once trains were invented," Dave agreed. "They've gotten faster and faster over the decades as 50 years ago it would've taken a lot longer to get here. We also took one of the fastest trains that is currently on the tracks, which also helped us get here in just 2 1/2 days. The Overland Limited is one of the fastest trains on the railways at this time."
"When I first came to this plane railways or cars did not exist and the only way to get around was by horse, carriage or your own 2 feet," Dave added. "Only the well off could afford horses, and usually only the wealthy had carriages. A lot of people had mules or donkeys to pull their carts, but at one point in time, horses were considered the height of luxury and so were carriages."
"That's hard for me to imagine," Dania admitted. "Still, I do understand that things were even more primitive back when you first arrived on this plane. I wonder why poorer people, had mules and donkeys but couldn't afford horses."
"Well, for one thing mules and donkeys can live on a lot less than horses can. They can live on grass and a little hay. They do like grain, but they don't necessarily need it. Horses are much larger and require more food than a donkey does and also they need grain as well as grass and hay, so I'm sure you understand why only the well off or the truly wealthy had horses, as they were more expensive to feed. The donkeys and mules were often necessary for hitching to a cart or just transporting goods on their backs to market to sell."
"That makes sense," Dania said thoughtfully. "I've already learned so much of what it was like centuries ago just from the few weeks we've known each other, Dave," Dania told the dragon shifter.
"I'm glad you're interested, but now, let's get a cab, which will take us to the nearest five star hotel," Dave finally said. "Once we get a room, I'll head to the nearest jewelry store to buy you a ring. While I'm taking care of that I don't know why you can't go shopping for some more clothes. Don't worry about the expense," Dave added when he saw Dania was about to protest. "I made sure I withdrew plenty of money out of my account while we were in San Francisco. If we happen to run low, then I'll just go to the bank here and withdraw more."
Dania shut her mouth, knowing that this was Dave's polite way of saying that he was going do what he wanted to do with his money and if he wanted to spoil her, then he was going to do so. Her protesting wouldn't do any good Dania knew so she said nothing.
Dave's earlier comment about how she had had to live on so little for so long came to Dania's mind and she knew that Dave was absolutely right. She might've scraped up a living in the city, but it's not like she had any extra money to use on a splurge.
Dave was more than willing to spoil her because she was his mate while she tended to be more practical, if only because she'd had so little money before she had met David Rossi.
Dania admitted that she was rapidly falling in love for Dave and she would probably end up remaining with him for the rest of her very long life.
She would never find anyone better, and Dania was well aware of it.
The fact that she had agreed to let Dave make love to her and possibly get her pregnant, told Dania that she was indeed falling in love with him as she never would have let Dave have access to her body if she wasn't.
She well remembered the comment she had made about how they would just have to stay together if she did happen to get pregnant because having a baby without being married, would make people look down on her and treat her as a pariah. She wouldn't have the money anyway to take care of a kid, which was another reason for her to stick around if she happened to get pregnant.
Her feelings, for this intelligent, gentle man were growing at a fantastic rate.
Dania then remembered the pain in Dave's posture and voice when she had mentioned separating from him once they reached Chicago and how he had explained what would happen if that were to occur.
Besides, she really had no option, but to stay with him unless she wanted to go back to barely scraping a living like she had been doing before she had met him. No, she did not want to go back to watching her pennies from whatever job she got, as she knew that the pay wouldn't be any better than it would've been at the grill. She also might not have such a good boss, but someone who constantly sexually harassed her, wanting sexual favors, which was another reason that staying with Dave was a good idea.
She couldn't really believe he had said that, actually, as Dave had always treated her like an absolute equal from the very beginning and no other man had ever done so. Of course, part of the reason was, because he wasn't human. While Dave had been on this plane for centuries and could've picked up numerous bad habits like being careless, thoughtless, keeping his money for himself instead of sharing it and spoiling her, he hadn't.
"After we've settled in, we'll try to find a teacher for you," Dave added once he was sure that Dania wasn't about to protest.
"That would be good," Dania agreed without arguing. "I'm only sorry that Mom didn't have time to teach me very much. She taught me some things, but there's still so much to learn that I never had a chance to."
Dave looked rather satisfied that Dania had quit protesting about the money spent on her behalf.
There was really no way for a woman to live on her own unless they had family money and no male relatives. While such a thing did happen on occasion it was pretty rare for a woman to be able to live with no man around whether that was a husband, a father, a brother or even a cousin.
Some women though simply had no relatives, male ones anyway.
Those women were lucky, indeed, if they had no one to answer to other than themselves and also had money.
"Well, we'll find you a teacher and I'll teach you what I can as well like I promised," Dave said.
The two of them fell silent as Dave found them a cab.
Cabs weren't exactly hard to come by right in front of the train station so within a few minutes, Dave and Dania and their trunks were loaded into the cab on their way to the Chicagoan, which was the best hotel in the city.
"Here you go, sir," said the driver, as he pulled up in front of the Chicagoan.
"Thank you very much," Dave told the driver politely handing him a dollar which reminded Dania of the five that Dave had left her as a tip when they had met. Alright, part of that had gone to Dave's bill for his food, but after that over $4.50 had been left and Dania had spent it after she hadn't seen Dave again for over a week. She had felt guilty at the time for doing so, because to her that was a lot of money, but since Dave could apparently afford it, her guilt had since faded.
What Dania had come to realize ever since they had become associated with each other was that Dave was generous and kind as well as compassionate.
For someone who had grown up as a prince in a palace that said a lot about his personality and upbringing, as Dania knew that a lot of rich men weren't as generous, compassionate or kind as Dave was and kept their money all for their own needs and possibly their families.
"Keep the change," Dave told the driver when the man tried to give Dave his change from the dollar.
"Thank you, sir. That's very generous of you," The driver said gratefully and urged his horses away from the hotel before Dave could change his mind.
"Let's go check in shall we?" Dave suggested with a smile, as he took Dania's hand, giving it a squeeze before releasing it and grabbing both their trunks one in each hand and dragging them towards the hotel.
The doorman rushed forward and helped Dave with the trunks when he saw how much luggage Dave was trying to handle by himself. The doorman helped him drag one of the trunks up to the check in desk while Dave handled the other.
"Thank you for the assistance," Dave told the doorman handing him a dollar bill for his assistance.
"You're quite welcome, sir," The doorman said clicking his heels together before walking briskly back to his post.
Check in was smooth and efficient and soon a bellhop was escorting Dave and Dania up to their room.
~~~Dave and Dania~~~