Wyvern's Trim and other stories Read Online Free Page B

But I don’t see how any of
this is your business.”
    His eyes had
that intense look that made her shiver as he said, “I wish to make
it my business.”
    She frowned.
“What do you mean by that?”
    He picked up one
of her hands and turned it over in his hand. “Dragons, we collect
things. This includes people. I wish to add you to my
collection.”
    Anger rushed
through her so fast she was red with fury in an instant. “Well, you
can forget that mister. I am not part of someone’s collection. I am
more than a thing. I can’t believe you thought that was a
reasonable thing to ask someone.”
    He raised an
eyebrow. “You did agree to it.”
    She threw up her
arms in frustration. “What? Are you nuts? You must be crazy. I
haven’t heard something so ridiculous in my life. Well, you can
just leave right now.”
    His voice was
rough as he snapped. “No.”
    She wasn’t
amused and she growled. “It wasn’t a suggestion.”
    His eyes
narrowed and she wondered if he was about to use violence against
her. She doubted that the security measures she had put in place to
see to her father would have any effect on a dragon.
    They might look
human but they weren’t. As their conversation proved. He stood up
and she quickly raised her arms to protect her head. But the blow
never came.
    When she looked
up Faisal was looking at her with a dark look but it wasn’t one of
anger.
    He reached out
and touched her arm with his real hand and said, “Someone has hit
you before.” It wasn’t a question.
    He cocked his
head to the side like an animal might if it was investigating
something. “Is he still an issue?”
    Callisto
shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
    He growled. “It
does.” His voice softened as he added, “I can protect
you.”
    She shook her
head and paced away from him. This argument was frustrating her. “I
don’t need someone to protect me.”
    All anger was
out of his voice as he said, “Well then I have wealth.”
    She turned to
stare at him. “Are you crazy? I don’t want your money?”
    He cocked a
single eyebrow. “Then what exactly can I offer you to convince you
to join my collection?”
    She threw her
arms up in the air in frustration at the circular argument. She
realised that the conversation hadn’t been circular at all. He had
been leading to one thing all along.
    She pointed a
finger at him in accusation. “This was a negotiation. Well then let
me be very clear. I will never be part of anyone’s collection, just
to look pretty and to be shown off to others as if I don’t have a
brain in my head. That is not what I want from life.”
    He frowned. “I
don’t think you understand what it means to be in a dragon’s
collection.”
    She let out a
long breath. “I don’t need to understand. I don’t want to be
anybody’s possession.”
    He was still
frowning as he asked, “What about when you marry?”
    That surprised
her.
    Callisto gaped
for a moment and sighed, “Okay, laws around marriage make it seem
like a woman is owned by her husband. But I am not like the noble
women who are bought or bartered. I will only consider marrying a
man if it was for love. No exchange and no ownership except that we
would own each other.”
    Faisal looked at
her thoughtfully. “So you would only be in my collection if I was
in your collection as well. That is acceptable.”
    She wrinkled her
forehead. He had jumped completely outside of her logic that she
wasn’t even sure what he was talking about.
    And she said as
much to him, “I don’t know what you are talking about. You seem
like you are speaking a language from another world.”
    His voice was
distracted as he said, “I can do that but I don’t think that is
what you mean. Do you have a maker’s mark that you put on your
work?”
    She was
surprised by the sudden change in conversation.
    She nodded.
“Yeah of course I do.”
    His voice now
determined. “Show me.”
    She huffed. If
it got him off the whole idea of marriage and sleeping