You Will Fall For Me

Chapter 6 Answers

Donavan

            After Lance gave him his review of the girl and what he could find through files and records, he was both ecstatic and angry.  She was 100% human, to his surprise. He didn’t think the calling process could work on human females, yet here she was in front of him having dinner. The entire way of doing things, the process, and how they worked would have to be proceeded with caution and from scratch. He had no idea what to expect with a human in the mix of thousands of years of traditional mating courtships. God must hate him for pairing him with a ridiculous human such as her. She might have a fighting spirit, but Donavan knew all too well that, for the most part, humans were all talk and no action. They betrayed each other for stupid and fleeting things and reasons. And when they did choose their mates, it wasn’t always for life.  The lucky ones that Donavan was able to see had a heavenly glow to them, something he had always envied from afar despite not wanting to be tied down to a mate just yet.  However, circumstances have demanded that he find one, and soon. And what sheer coincidence that his mate happened to be at the mall the same day where he and Lance were discussing the very same thing. 

Fated…to be as one, his beast told him.  He was not sure where this would go with a human female as a mate. From the complaints of his staff, she was incredibly stubborn. She refused any help from the maids and insisted on doing everything herself.  He admired her independence, but she could have at least let them help her since being here was a little hard to absorb.  Humans to his kind were weak in many ways, and the only reason his kind decided eons ago to blend into their society is to make their lives easier. Nevertheless, his beast didn’t care; it wanted her regardless, and now that she was standing right in front of him within arm’s reach, and he wasn’t sure what might happen next.  His beast itched under his skin and begged for him to reach out and touch her again. He told his beast that it needed to be patient; otherwise, she might reject them both.  She looked stunning in the outfit one of his staff members picked out.  The dress complemented her body and skin, and his mouth watered over the idea of taking his tongue and going over every inch of those curves.  She was filled in all the right places his beast desired and craved to have.  He took a deep breath to calm himself and sat down once she took her seat. She had a glass of water first, taking only sips.  When she finished, she began, “My name is Aria, Charleston.”

He guessed she figured she needed to play nice first. Donavan smiled, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aria.”

       “So, your name is Donavan, right?”

    “Yes,” he reached for a glass of red wine.

        “Aren’t you the son of that billionaire that died less than a year ago?”

Donavan paused. He did not particularly like bringing that up, but he had to exchange information for information if he was ever going to get her to open up.

        “It’s not something I like to talk about,” he cleared his throat after gulping some of the wine, “But yes, I am.  My father, Donavan Harris Winfield the second, was the owner of several wildlife preservations and charitable foundations involved in health and disease research.”

    “But the first wildlife preservation and charitable foundations that had your family started was back in the 1860s.” 

    “That is correct.”

She scoffed, “What are you guys like immortal or something?”

    “No just longevity; although, some humans might call it immortal,” Donavan grabbed a piece of pork and a dinner roll.  He waved to a maid standing next to him and whispered in her ear for the staff to also enjoy eating the banquet. The staff started to join in, grabbing plates and filling them up.  Only a few stayed while the rest went into the kitchen to fellowship and eat. 

 “Now,” he began grabbing a few vegetables from a plate passed to him by a butler, “I am very interested in getting to know you, Miss Aria? What do you do as a profession?”

She lifted her head as she took a bite from the mashed potatoes.  There was a tiny smile that spread across her face and she closed her eyes making a small moan from her throat.  He could tell by her expression she was enjoying the food, so her mood changed slightly; to his relief for the better.

“It’s nothing special," she answered, "I’m a daycare provider, a teacher if you will.”

“Sounds to me like that’s very important.  Educating young minds may be a thankless job, but it does pay off in the long run to society.”

“It’s not completely thankless…," Aria explained, "there are rewards when seeing them learn and remember what you’ve taught them. You feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment to it.”

“Perhaps,” he put another mouth full of pork meat in his mouth.

“Oh, you know everything, huh? Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants, what college did you go to, or did you even finish high school?”  She was challenging him again, and he loved that about her. Her assumptions would be right, and he did want to stay in control. 

“I got my graduate’s degree from Oxford University and got my Ph.D. at Yale.”

Aria was now a little interested in this man.  If there was going to be something that they can relate to, why not education.“You studied abroad first,” she asked surprised that the man before her wasn't just some dumbbell who was rich. 

“My parents saw fit that it would be best to get different educational experiences worldwide rather than just western. It was a way of being well rounded in the world.”

“And I suppose you’ve inherited all this wealth from what your father gave you.”

Donavan folded his hands together, “Quite the opposite, I had to earn my place and respect in the company. My father never handed anything to me, not even money.”

"Is that so?" Aria frowned as she sliced a piece of chicken breast with her knife. She looked down eating the chicken piece and Donavan got the impression that she was disappointed by his answer, "Well, then what degree do you have?”

“I have two in Administrative management, and the other is Biometrics,” he stated.

That’s right most of his family’s organizations centered on genetics and cell physiology. More importantly, the CDC often inquires about their help when new diseases pop up or when they want the family to sponsor new cancer research and treatments.  Lately, they’ve been dipping their hands into genetic manipulation like stem cells.  It made sense that he would get his education in fields that his father's companies were in or sponsoring; molding him to take his father's place. To Aria's disappointment, he was smarter than he let on; a strategy all too often, Aria had to play this kind of tactical game with her father to stay one step ahead of him. Getting out of here just proved to be more difficult than she had previously thought. 

“What about you,” Donavan asked, snapping her out of her thought process, “Where did you go to school?”

“Jacksonville State,” she stated taking another bite of her food.

“Ah, I hear they are very nice and have a high reputation for creating some of the best teachers known. What degree?”

“Masters in Human behavior and my minor was public administration,” she answered, taking another bite of her broccoli.  After eating several small bites of her food on her plate, she placed the utensils down to the side of her plate. She decided to break the pleasantries and get down to business, “Look, this is nice and everything, but why am I here.  If you’re a... um... weredragon and a well-known reputation, then you can have anyone you want, right? So why me?”

Donavan was glad she finally got to the point she had been very curious about him as much as he was about her, but he knew the conversation was eventually going to head there.

“Look at your arm; where do you suppose you got that tattoo.”

“Well,” she looked at her right arm that somehow did not cause her any pain since she got here. “I got it from a tattoo parlor at the mall. It was one of my friend's many stupid ideas. Anyway, that lady must have done something wrong because it got infected somehow. This tattoo was supposed to be on my arm only, and now it's spread to my forearm, up to my shoulder pad, and down to my hand.  Do you have any idea why?”

“I do,” Donavan said as he took another helping of meat and started eating it. “That tattoo is no ordinary design. It’s an ancient inscription for females or women who have been chosen to be fated to their dragon mates.”  Aria's face squinted at the sound of that word mates.

 “Whoever gave you that tattoo knew exactly what they were doing when they put it on. They could have been a disciple of god or a Monk, but whatever the case, maybe, you were given a great gift. Legend has it that the inscriptions only grow when Azariah the god of destiny and the God of love decide who shall be fated to the other as a mate.”

Aria’s eyes had an intense stare with Donavan’s. He could tell that she was listening to every word and she flatly asked, “Then how come you don’t have one?”

“Mine comes later when we have mated for life,” Donavan explained, “Yours is only half complete.  It is typically the females who are the ones who get the mark first; the mark then calls out to their dragon counterparts.  This process is named the calling.  The bonding stage starts after the calling in which the mate for life ritual is complete during this course.  After the bonding stage, you’ll have both inscriptions on both arms and across your back as a symbol of marking or claiming you as my female into my family bloodline. This is only complete during both the mating and bonding process, but after the calling, you have witnessed. You’ll only be bonded to me and I to you, and neither one of us will choose another for the rest of our lives.”

“The calling,” Aria asked holding her head and looking very confused.

“Once your tattoo was embedded in your skin, it called to me, awakening my inner beast to come to find you and bring you to my home.  It is….an uncontrollable force that drives that part of me to pursue you instinctively.  Nevertheless, the calling does work both ways. Surely you had felt something when I called out to you several times. A longing or need to be near me.”

Her expression was blank as she shook her head, “Nope, nothing except pain.”

Well, she's not a very good liar. She definitely felt something pull her to him; otherwise, she would have let him continue to destroy things.  Donavan could look into her eyes and tell she was hiding the truth from him.  So, the little human was affected by the calling as well.  This led him to believe she was also affected in other ways as well just like him.  “So, what now,” she asked, almost afraid to get the answer.

Donavan put his napkin down and looked straight at her. “Now, you will remain here for a month until all the necessary preparations are made for our wedding ceremony.”

She shook her head and held up a hand, “Hold up, that’s not happening. Besides, you keep saying things like bonding and mating. What exactly do you mean by that?”

Donavan leaned forward and put an elbow on the table while taking one of his fingers; touched the temple of the side of his head.  He grinned showing perfect teeth behind his lips and glared a dirty leer at her. “Why Miss Aria, I would figure you would know what I mean when I say mating and bonding Miss master’s degree of human behavior.” He liked teasing her, seeing her reaction and her light brown cheeks turn pinch pink.  She turned her head.  She knew, and she didn’t want to accept it. Donavan teased her more, “But the term mating is so primitive. I prefer the words making love more appropriate.”

Her eyes flashed as her face blushed in disgust. “You have to be in love to make it first. We’re not in love,” she glanced at him from the corner of her glasses angrily.

“No,” Donavan sighed and admitted, “no, we’re not...not yet, but I have a feeling that after tonight you will be.”

Aria found the notion so ridiculous that she chuckled slightly placing a hand on her chest, “Ha. What makes you think I would want to be with you after one night? What could happen in that short amount of time that would make me fall for you?”

Donavan didn't care if she was overwrought.  He only grinned in response to her questions.  Aria got the hint and disagreed in disbelief by twisting her face in a frown and blushing.

“Ha. You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you?  You’re so confident.”

“Of course, my dear,” Donavan stared at her up and down, licking his lips.  She looked appetizing in that dress, and he wanted to devour her.  His eyes raked over her body again as the lump in his pants began to swell. She could sense his intentions and fidget in her chair. He wanted her to be frightened; it excited him more than anything.  He stared at her the way a carnivore might hunting his prey, capturing her in his arms. His mouth almost showed his fangs when he thought about it, and Aria winced when she saw the hunger in his eyes.

She sat there for several minutes, not touching her food or anything. She finally got up, shaking her head, scooting her chair back, and standing up; she spoke her voice full of worry and fear.  “This is crazy.  I’m not doing this.  I can’t do this.”

“All I’m asking is for a month, just a month to stay here with me.”

“No. No! I’m not staying a month with you or anyone else for that matter.”

Donavan reminded her of her promise, “You did agree that you would come with me here, without resistance.”

“Yes,” she looked down, “and I’m here like I promised, but I never agreed to stay with you.”

“Would you like me to tear up downtown looking for you again?  I told you before the mark acts as a homing device-calling to me. It makes my actions very unpredictable until the bonding stage is complete. This means until then, your mark tattoo will not stop beckoning to me, and neither will I.”

“Well, of course, I would prefer you not to stock me and tear stuff up,” Aria exhaled and rolled her eyes.

“Then we have an understanding… that you will stay here with me until the ritual is complete--one month, and I won’t relocate half of the state looking for you.”

She rubbed her head, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Besides, your parents thought it was a good idea,” Donavan started ignoring her rhetoric.

“Excuse me?” Her moon-eyes expanded, and then she grimaced.  “What are you talking about?”

Donavan poured himself another glass of wine.  He wasn’t shocked by her reaction.  He had made every precaution to ensure that she would stay.  After waiting this long for his mate, he wasn’t about to let her go so willingly without the two of them getting to know one another. “I spoke with your parents and informed them of the situation and a solution as compensation for their inconvenience.”

“Oh really? What exactly did you tell them? That you’re a weredragon, that you swallowed me whole.  That you kidnapped me and brought me here.”

“I told them the truth,” Donavan said sharply.  He took a sip of the wine before continuing, “You’re more than welcome to call them if you’d like.”

“I will,” she slammed her fists on the table, making it shake a little, and began to walk out toward the hallway into the living room.  She pasted Donavan on the way to the dining room, and she whispered to him, “You’re a liar, and I’m gonna prove you wrong.”

Donavan raised an eyebrow to her as she left. Amused, he shook his head. She was completely and utterly emotionally stubborn. Best to keep a close watch on her.