You Will Fall For Me

Chapter 5 Greetings

Donavan 

“How was your trip back,” Lance's grin grew wider. 

“It was satisfying.”

“And the girl,” Lance asked, “Did you find her?”

Donavan rolled his eyes, “Yes, Lance, she’s here with me.”  Donavan lifted his hands to the workers and assured them that he was fine.

Lance gave him a hard stare, “Under the circumstances, I wish that were true. You do know you made a mess of things back there, and now they will be looking for you.”

Donavan nodded. He figured as much based on what the servants were telling him. “I know, Lance, but I figured if we pay off several people, including a few politicians, this whole thing might blow over coupled with a solid cover-up.”

Lance turned his head to the side, “How do you figure that?”

“We can say that they’ve killed me or something and produce a fake body for the tabloids. Oh, and make sure that we destroy all the security footage in and around the mall. We can't do anything about the cellphone videos that are leaked on the internet right now, but we can have our tech guys down at one of the research facilities round-up that information.”  

Lance stroked his chin with the paw. “Hmm, that might work, but just to be safe, keep it low for a while and don’t transform unless necessary.”  Donavan agreed.  His public identity had nothing to do with today’s events at the mall, but his beast would have to keep a low profile until the whole thing smooths over.

Lance turned around and looked.  “So,” he began, “where is she. I’m dying to meet the woman who caused all this commotion, not to mention caused Donavan’s stone heart to melt, or at least enough to make him lose control.”

“You’re too modest, Lance,” Donavan blandly stated sarcastically.

Lance stared at Donavan impatiently, “Well.”  The staff, too, were interested to see this person.  They eagerly stared at the beast, whispering to one another, guessing what she might look like or who she might be.

Donavan looked down and exhaled slowly.  He rubbed the back of his neck and, with a guilty voice, spoke, “I may have overdone it just a little, Lance.”

“What do mean overdone it…. Donavan, what did you do,” his eyes were full of worry now. Donavan took a giant heave of air, and within seconds he coughed up a young woman.  She came out of his throat with juices and slime-covered over her as she landed butt first right in front of the staff. One of her white sandals landed in front of her; the other landed next to her side.  Shock, everyone stared at her as she tried to gather her senses around her.  She was gasping for air, and she stared at the ground nearly frozen in her dazed state.  Finally, her eyes eventually fixed on Donavan, and she screamed at him.  Infuriated, she lunges straight for him, threatening to tear him apart.  The staff of the mansion quickly intervened and held her back.

“What the hell,” She yelled, “You ate me!” 

Donavan objected, “I did no such thing, woman. I swallowed you into my egg pouch, where you would be safe.”

“Egg pouch,” She shrieked, “you son of a b***h!” She managed to fight off some of the staff long enough to grab a thick wooden stick and swing it at Donavan.

“Woo,” Donavan held up both paws and backed away. “Calm down; there’s no need to act this way.”

“Calm down; you ate me!”

“I didn’t eat you. Look…lady, it was an egg pouch,” Donavan had to step back almost close to Lance now. 

She was becoming hysterical. “What the hell are you anyway?!” She was screaming at him.

The head butler, Conner, attempted to grab the stick, but when he got close, she quickly spun around and turned on him.

“Get back,” she screamed, thrashing the stick at the staff who was trying to get her to calm down. “For all, I know you all are just like him; you want to eat me too!”

Conner approached the young woman very slowly.  “Please, miss, we're trying to help you.”

“Get back! Get away from me!”

Lance turned to Donavan and laughed, clearly amused in his sarcastic voice, “I’ve got to hand it to you, Donnie boy. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“I didn't have a choice in the matter.”

“I’m kidding, but wow, she’s got one fiery spirit.”

Donavan decided to put an end to the show. He took several steps forward to her, close enough that it broke in half across his mussel when she swung the heavy stick. “Enough! Calm down now, or I’ll do it for you!”

She frowned, “I dare you.  Just try to eat me again. You sick Basterds have a taste for people well; I won’t let you eat me. If you even try to make this a buffet, I swear to God I’ll give you heartburn.” Ignoring her threats, Donavan gestured to the servants to take her inside.  They quickly grabbed her, tackled the stick away from her, and then dragged her inside. She was still fighting them the whole time she was being handled inside.

 Donavan shook his head then called the lead maiden, “See to it that she’s cleaned up and dressed for dinner.”

“Yes, sir.”  

Aria 

       As she was being carried away inside the mansion, she struggled against the two maids handling her.  She cursed at them, screamed, and kicked with all of her might.  Aria couldn't believe that she could not overpower these maids.  The maids were smaller than her as far as muscle-wise, and one was even shorter.  She could have easily taken at least one of them to get loose of their grip.  If they were like the creature outside, which she had no doubt they were, it would explain why she couldn't overpower them.  As they dragged her inside, she started to get tired.  She had been fighting all afternoon, and it was now late evening.  She figured she needed to come up with a plan to escape, just not right now.  Once she passed double doors into the mansion, Aria noticed that the interior was huge and wasn't even past the front door. Off-white marble floors covered the area near the front door whereas the same color covered the stairways made carpet that leads up to the upper rooms.  On the level she was on, she can see halfway down the hall before it turned the corner and assumed there were more rooms, including the kitchen. She struggled for a while as they carried her up the stairs and along the carpeted hallway where several rooms were scattered on both sides.  The two maids, one short brown hair the other long black hair with curls, gently forced her through the fourth door down the aisle and into the room. It was a large bathroom with huge windows overlooking the woods and a freshly cut lawn outside.  A view of the mansion's back gave the bathroom a warm feeling as the cream-colored curtains hung low to the floor.  The tub was huge, oval-shaped in the middle of the floor. This room was sifted with shelves of all kinds of medicinal herbs and ointments like a large home indoor spa.  Shampoos and conditioners were also present on another shelf. Sorted towels of brand names stitched in were located in a closet on the other end of the room. Some were already laid out for her when she arrived on a small square table near the bathtub.  She ran her fingers through the cotton-rich fabric of the towel.  It had such a warm feeling.  She then touched her dress which was soaked in stomach-egg pouch juices.  Aria was disgusted with the fact that the dress was ruined because of this beast.  It wasn’t like she had a bunch of them at home to throw away.  The water was already in place, and the maids ushered her into the tub by stepping up on a stool.  Aria wanted to be completely uncooperative, but she did look and smell weird and covered in slime.  Perhaps a bath would help take her mind off of things, even if it was for a short while.  She glanced at the two maids near the door; the one with long black hair came up to her and asked that she give her the dirty clothes. 

“I can wash them for you if they still hold value to you,” the maid suggested. 

Aria only nodded. She did like her dress, and she didn’t want to have to throw it away so quickly, that is, if it can be cleaned.  However, one of her white sandals was missing, and she figured that it might have slipped off during her struggle, or it still could be in that beast’s stomach.  Figuring the shoes were a total loss, she kicked the remaining shoe aside and started to get undressed.  She asked if the maids could find it for her just in case, and one of them agreed to do so.  Aria started to get nervous, for the maids were still watching her as she started getting undressed.  Aria stopped and asked that they leave.  When the maids told her that they couldn’t, she demanded to know why. 

“The master of the house has instructed us to watch over you until dinner time in case you might.... try to escape.” Damn.  It was one step ahead of her. She wasn’t going to be able to escape right away as she had hoped, but if it had both these so-called women to watch her, they were playing the duty of babysitter rather than bodyguard.  “Do you need assistance getting undress miss,” the maid with short brown hair asked with a twinkle in her eyes.  So, you’re the frisky one. No thanks. 

 “Thank you,” Aria said politely, “but I can do it myself.”  Thankfully the maid did not put up a fuss for Aria refusing her help.  Aria got into the tub and began to scrub herself off. The water was hot but comfortable, and she sunk herself further into the water to the shoulders.  Smelling a spicy but sweet scent from the bathwater and bubbles, she guessed it was a woodsy or forest scent.  Whatever the name of it was, it reminded her of home, and she suddenly felt homesick.  What if this thing won’t let her see her family again or even keep in contact with them?  She decided she wasn’t going to stick around to find out. “What time is dinner,” Aria was curious to know.  

The maid with long black hair answered, “In an hour, the cook will finish preparing a special dinner for you in celebrating your arrival.” 

Aria checked her fingers to make sure they were not pruned and scoffed.  “A Celebration?  Do you celebrate all the people you kidnap?”

“We are celebrating the master of the house finding his mate,” The maid with short brown hair stated in a sterner tone. She was obviously offended by Aria using the word kidnap, but what else would you call it.  The creature had snatched her way in front of everyone, and she had no idea if she was going to see her friends or family again.  So yea, kidnapped.

Aria jerked her head around, “ Wait, what!?” She couldn’t believe what she heard.  His Mate? She had a deep feeling of what that meant but didn’t want to admit it. It terrified her all over and turned the water ice cold when she thought about it: that this beast wanted to mate with her.  She strived to put it out of her mind; yet, a small part of her wanted to know what it would feel like.  Her skin tingled when her thoughts shaped the image of its giant tongue raking over every inch of her body.  But that was hopeful thinking when she wasn’t even sure how it mated.  It was wishful thinking to hope that its way of mating was what normal people did. Calming herself, she shrugged nonchalantly and continued cleaning herself. “What makes it think that I would agree to something like that?”

One of the maids with short hair chuckled, “No one can resist the calling or the bonding. Not even someone as fiery as you miss.”  Her heart bounced at the top of her throat, racing with every passing second. Pull it together, Aria; they’re just lying to you so you won’t attempt to leave.  Once she finished, she got out of the tub and dried off with a nearby fluffy cream towel.  She asked the two ladies what their names were. The brown short hair lady introduced herself as Miranda; the other, who seems much younger, introduced herself as Pavlova.

        “Nice to meet you both,” Aria politely said, putting on an evening dress that was picked out. She might also play the fool and be nice until she could figure out a plan to escape.  It would be hard to act like she accepts all of this, but it was just a mask until then. The underwear was also picked out, but she felt that was a bit excessive.  The underwear laced black with peach poke-a-dots and a matching braw to fit it.  Her bra size was tremendously hard to find; she was anywhere between medium and large.  It just depended on the braw's manufacture would depend on the size, but to her surprise, she fit the braw they had provided for her. The dress was a lovely shade of light pinks and peach with black designs throughout the dress.  It fitted her perfectly; it showed her wide hips and large breasts a little too well. Certainly, an hourglass figure that could benefit from losing ten to fifteen pounds.  Nevertheless, if her ex could see her now, he never really liked her size and always kept telling her, “You’re not fat, just thick.” Asshole, that’s one of the things you never say to a woman.   Pavlova cleaned up while Miranda leads Aria down the hallway, down the long staircase, and into another hallway.  

    They eventually reached the dining room, which was the size of three kitchens. A buffet table of food was laid out, and every type of fancy food you can think of that might be at a thanksgiving dinner. She wondered if the maids and butlers would eat with them as well.  A modern mahogany Victorian dining set complete with cushion chairs made the atmosphere cozier. It seemed like costly furniture, and Aria saw that the lower levels consisted of this Victorian theme. The upper levels were more modern and even had a futuristic look.    Before she pulled out the chair to sit the butler, presumed to be Conner, rushed to her side and attempted to pull it out for her.  Aria quickly brushed him aside, stating she was used to doing things independently and didn’t want to start being catered to unless necessary.  Conner protested, which sparked an argument between them that Aria was determined to win.  She didn’t need any help.  She rejected the idea that she would be held in this place without any control.  Someone used to this kind of treatment must be spoiled. 

A hefty chuckled came from the side as the host stepped forward from around the corner.  “Still putting up a fight, I see,” the voice said, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.   A man stepped in, greeted his staff personnel, and took off his suit jacket handing it to one of his butlers.  His cream-colored collared shirt had a few buttons at the top that were undone, revealing some skin on his chest, and from what Aria could tell, this guy was extremely muscular underneath.  His charcoaled colored suit pants were perfectly pressed and had no wrinkles.  His sandy blond hair matched his personality, although she probably would have taken him for a stuck-up spoiled brat. His hazel-green eyes were particularly catchy as they tended to sparkle whenever he grinned or laughed.  However, what cautioned Aria the most was when his eyes found their way to her, and a quick flash of fiery yellow could be seen, the same color eyes as the creature she had encountered moments ago.  Her mouth was parched, and she suddenly wanted to turn back and run to whichever room was closest.  She swallowed hard as he began to make his way to the table.  He rubbed a hand through his hair while one was in his pocket.  When he spoke, her breathing became shallow.  Why did he have such an effect on her?  She was never this nervous, this frightened, and this attracted to someone all at once.  Something was wrong with her body too.  It ignored every logical reasoning to stay away from this man but instead wanted him closer, wanted his touch and the sick thing about it; it got some s****l thrill out of being in that egg pouch.  She shuttered trying to wash the thoughts out of her mind.  Aria would not allow herself to be defeated. She will get out of here no matter what.

“You’re probably wondering why all this is happening. Right?” Oh, dear God, even his voice is overwhelming.

“Where’s that creature? I thought I was having dinner with it, not you,” she fought the urge to run up to him and kiss his lips. 

Of course, she knew at its size it was not going to fit completely in this room; however, Aria figured that it could perhaps shrink in or squeeze size to get more prey. Sort of like an octopus or squid might do.  She looked all around the room thinking the creature would come out any moment.  She was shocked when he cracked a small smirk and answered her.

“I am the so-called creature.”

Aria gasped and covered her mouth. “No, it’s not possible. I don’t believe it.” She studied him up and down.  How could something so massive morph into a man?  It didn’t make sense biologically. She started to back away, looking at the staff.  She looked to the left and right for any support or hint from the staff that this man was lying; that the truth was that the beast was waiting to eat her again somewhere just as soon as she was done eating. “This is a joke. I mean, it’s a joke. You can’t be that thing-”

“That thing has a name,” he spat back, “Speaking of which I believe proper introductions are due.” He gestured his head, “My name is Donavan Winfield the third, and what I am….is a weredragon.”  She stared at him for a moment; it almost seemed as though she stopped breathing in the same instant.  A dragon. That would explain so much, and although archeologists have not discovered a complete skeletal structure of these creatures, only a few fragmented bones, and joints. However, every major civilization dating back to the ice age and biblical times believed they existed. The picture of these gigantic beasts breathing fire, and god only knows what else; destroying whole cities and empires.  Some worshiped them as gods, while others deemed them devils or demons.  But why hide amongst humans?  Aria put her hand to her head; it was already too much and now, her head began to hurt.  Everything raised more questions that needed more answers. If she was going to get an understanding of this at all, she had to let the information flow through her mind before it had a chance to block it.

“Okay,” she said, calming herself, "so why was I snatched and brought here?”

“I would be happy to explain, but first your name,” he gestured for Aria to sit down and eat. “I am very interested in getting to know you better as well.”