“Hear me, sprites. I am the guardian of the sprite you call the Halfling Oleafia. You have no right to her glade and you shall not trespass. If you do, I will burn down your trees in retaliation.”

  He circled, shooting out a long stream of fire in a demonstration proving his capability to follow through with the threat. He would, too. No creatures were going to threaten his Oleafia and get away with it.

  Having made his point in graphic detail, he returned to the glade and shifted. Walking under the branches of Oleafia’s tree, he was thinking about the greed of others and didn’t duck fast enough. He was thumped in the forehead by a protruding branch.

  Rubbing his head, he glared at the offending tree limb. The air left his lungs in a rush. Surprise caused his eyes to widen and his body to freeze. The branch bore a striking resemblance to a phallus. A pretty decent-sized one, as a matter of fact. Measuring near the size of his own cock, it was perfect in detail and form. Damn, someone was an artist. A good one.

  He considered the question for a moment, still rubbing his head. Deciding to ask Oleafia about it when she came out of her tree, he sat, leaned against the tree, and closed his eyes.

  Unable to sleep, Daniel glanced up into the tree and reached out for one of the phallic branches. Breaking it off, he was left with a ten-inch member. Hmm, he could do something with this. Imagining how he could use this on his Oleafia, he smiled and soon nodded off.

  * * *

  Oleafia stood in the doorway of her room, a hand on each side, bracing herself for another earthquake. They had come from nowhere and seemed to have gone the same way. It was the first time she had felt this strong of a quake in her glade and hoped it hadn’t harmed any of the resident creatures.

  She waited for a few minutes longer, then, looking in every direction for falling debris, left her doorway. Wandering around her home, she picked up a spilled bowl and placed it in its spot, and adjusted a picture of a pretty flower. No damage had been caused by the quake and she was glad.

  Checking the damage to the glade was her next priority. She still hadn’t assessed the damage Ashley and her group had caused either. Grabbing a large bag from a hook near the exit, she left her tree and tripped over Daniel’s outstretched legs.

  “Daniel. What are you doing here?” She sat up and stared at him, stunned.

  In no hurry, he opened his eyes and shot her a slow, sexy smile. “I was sleeping until you threw yourself at my feet.”

  Shaking her head, she picked up her bag and stood. “I mean, what are you doing here at all? I thought you had left.” She looked around, pretending she wasn’t thrilled to see him again and that her heart rate hadn’t sped up to nearly jumping out of her chest. As nonchalantly as possible, she began to pick up rocks and other debris that didn’t belong, so she could return them to their places. The mess had been minimal, thank the Goddess, and shouldn’t take her long to repair.

  “Why would you think I had gone?”

  Glancing at him, she saw he hadn’t moved from his position against the tree. He looked relaxed and calm. She, however, had a riot of emotions shooting through her and she had difficulty sorting them out.

  “I woke and you weren’t here. I thought it meant you had moved on.”

  “And you reacted how to this news?”

  Oleafia turned to face him, threw the bag to the ground, and glared at him. “I took it badly, all right? Is that what you want to hear?”

  “Yes. I want to hear that you would miss me if I had gone.”

  “Oh, that’s just mean. Why did you come back if you left? To torment me, too?”

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “Did they hurt you, Oleafia?”

  She shook her head and sighed. “No. They didn’t hurt me. I got some of my own revenge, then I went into the tree. That’s when they started making this mess.”

  Daniel made a soft humming noise. “What did you do to them?”

  Oleafia sent him a wicked look. “I sat on Ashley. She couldn’t talk with me sitting on her chest.”

  Laughing, Daniel stood and reached for the bag. “Good for you. I’m sure she deserved it.”

  Oleafia thought about the things the sprite had done to her over the decades. “Yes. I suppose she did.”

  Still smiling, he looked up into the branches of her tree. “Tell me something.”

  Oleafia glanced at him. “Ask and I will try to answer.”

  “What’s with the cocks in your tree?”

  “Cocks?”

  “Yes, these.” He pointed to one of the branches, and Oleafia blushed berry bright.

  “My tree… Well, it…” Deciding to answer against her best judgment, she blurted out the explanation. “My tree is an extension of me. When I think of what I need, it grows the item. When I thought earthy thoughts, it decided I needed those.”

  “But you never used them?”

  “While they look good, I don’t think I would be able to use them for the reason the tree wished them to be used. I was afraid of splinters.”

  Daniel stared at the formation for a moment and a wicked smile grew on his face. Oleafia was afraid to ask what he was thinking. “You know,” he said in a slow, silky tone, “I think I can keep it from splintering. A little sanding, a little fire, and it should work fine.”

  “Daniel.” Shocked, Oleafia swatted his arm and moved away, embarrassed.

  “All right. We will save the experience for another time.”

  She was very glad when he let the subject drop and took the bag from her hand.

  While he held the bag open, Oleafia began putting more things into it. If a piece of ground or a plant had been damaged by the sprites, she laid her hand upon it and opened her heart. When she pulled her hand away, the area was repaired and a feeling of well-being surrounded her from the spot. Smiling, she would move on to the next area in need of healing.

  “Wow, Oleafia. It looks as if it had never been touched.” Daniel’s voice held something different. Awe.

  Waving a hand in dismissal, Oleafia shrugged it off. “It’s not anything special. I have always had an affinity with animals, plants and the earth. They like me, I like them, so we help each other out when necessary.”

  “Oleafia, I have never seen any being who could do what you just did. They might be able to affect a small repair job, but not complete healing in a few seconds.”

  “That’s strange. I have always been able to do it.” Oleafia’s brow arched in confusion. It wasn’t such a big deal, and she didn’t see why he was making it into one. “It’s easy.”

  Daniel snorted. “For you, maybe. But for everyone else, it’s an impossibility.”

  “But the other sprites…”

  “The other sprites can’t do what you can. They can’t even get rid of boring beetles on their own.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” He had to be. It wouldn’t make sense that she would be so very different than the rest of her kind.

  “No, I’m not. Tell me something. Did the other sprites ever tell you about your parents?”

  “Now what made you ask such a strange question?” Her hands fluttered uncontrolled for a moment, then she clasped them tight in front of her. “Unfortunately, no. They said my father was a great warrior named Elm, but nothing about my mother. Why?”

  He was acting very strange. He had begun to pace, hands behind his back, head down.

  “When I got back…” he paused and glared at her, “…from getting food, I found Ashley and the gang causing a ruckus. I shooed them off and while waiting for you to come out of the tree, the Elders showed up.”

  Oleafia gasped. “The Elders came here?”

  “Yes. Those officious, greedy assholes came here.”

  Shocked, Oleafia jumped at him and covered his mouth with both hands. “You can’t say things like that, Daniel. They will hear.”

  After placing a gentle kiss into each one, he moved her hands. “I don’t care, Oleafia. Let me finish my story, then you will know why I don’t fear them.”

  “But—”

  “No, let me finish.”

  Nodding, Oleafia sighed. Never had she thought anyone would do anything against the Elders’ wishes. This was very strange.

  With great detail, Daniel described the Elders’ visit to her glade. He had scarce begun when she sat down hard. Unable to comprehend, she asked questions, which he answered to the best of his ability.

  Oleafia first was very, very angry. She was screaming, throwing, hitting mad. Of all the things she’d had to put up with, the harassment, the assaults, the mockery…this was the final straw. She was angry with everyone from her father, to the wizard, to the sprites. Now the single thing she had, they wanted to take. She was ready to confront the Elders for their attempted thievery.

  Daniel caught her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. It was enough to calm her down and allow her to think with any degree of coherency. “It’s not fair, Daniel. I have spent the majority of my life in misery and alone, just so they wouldn’t have to deal with someone different. I’m not evil, I’m basically a nice person, but they never cared.” She drew in a deep breath and sniffed. “I don’t see how they can think of themselves as good or nice when they act like that.”

  “I know, sweetie. I know.” Daniel tightened his arms around her, and she felt his lips in her hair.

  Her resolve firmed. “I’m not going to take it anymore. If they come here, they will get a fight.”

  “You don’t have to fight, Oleafia. You are a healer, not a fighter.”

  Oleafia turned in his arms and raised a brow at his proclamation. “You think I can’t fight? Let me tell you something; the ability I have for healing, I also have for destruction.”

  When Daniel blinked, Oleafia nodded. “That’s right. I have rarely used it, but I have the ability.”

  “Well.” Daniel looked as if he didn’t know what to say, so Oleafia saved him the trouble.

  “If they don’t stay out of my glade, there will be war. And I’m not afraid of them anymore.”

  “If you think you’re going to be fighting alone, you’re crazy.”

  Her heart pounding, she tried to see inside him. He was saying what she wanted to hear, but was he telling the truth? “Rotten roots, I don’t know.”

  He took her by the arms and gave her a little shake. “Goddess. Your head is as hard as your tree. Understand this, woman, I’m not leaving. Not now, not ever. You’re stuck with me, got it?”

  Oleafia couldn’t stop the tears flowing from her eyes. “Even if you wanted to stay with me for your lifetime, it won’t be for my lifetime. I’m a sprite, no matter what else I am, and as long as my tree lives, I live. Even if you stay with me, I will eventually be alone again.”

  Daniel laughed. Oleafia stared at him, mouth agape, sure he hadn’t understood her.

  “Daniel, you’re going to die and leave me alone. How can you laugh?”

  “Oh, I will die, but it won’t be for centuries.” He continued to chuckle and brought her into his arms for a tight hug.

  Looking up into his face with questions on her lips, she ran her hand along his shoulder. “Explain, please.”

  Oleafia held her breath when he shook his head and smiled.

  “Haven’t you figured out what my alter being is?”

  “Alter being?” Her forehead wrinkled and she frowned. “You aren’t a human male?”

  “Have you ever seen any other humanoid creatures besides tree sprites?”

  “Well, no. Only a troll, and he always looks the same.”

  “Honey, there are beings of every shape and form, and most have at least one form that can pass as human.”

  “And you are one of those beings?” She couldn’t imagine anything of the sort. Humans were humans, mythicals were mythicals. What else was there?

  “Yes. Absolutely I’m one of those beings.”

  “What? What type of being are you?” She felt a sense of curiosity and not a bit of disbelief. Also, a tendril of excitement and…hope.

  “Oleafia, you’re going to love this.” He walked her to her tree, pressed her against the trunk, and stepped away. Well away. Far enough that the shadows of the tree branches didn’t touch him. “Now stay there and watch.”

  As Oleafia made herself comfortable against her tree, she put her hand to her heart. It was beating very fast. She felt it pounding beneath her skin.

  He took off his clothing, chuckling and winking at her. “I am going to have to take up your habit of not wearing clothes. Would definitely make it quicker.”

  “I wear clothes in the winter. It’s cold, and I need the protection.” She watched him as he revealed the strong, sexy body that had been hidden by his clothing. Shaking herself, she looked into his face and intercepted a knowing smile. “Uh, quicker for what?”

  His smile grew into a wicked grin. “Exactly what you’re thinking about.”

  Oleafia felt the skin of her face heat in embarrassment. “Okay, yes. That would be a good thing.”

  Daniel blew her a kiss, closed his eyes, and let his head drop back. With his fists clenched, his breathing began to deepen.

  Then, he started to change.

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh! You’re a dragon.” She could see the features starting to form while his body grew and grew until he was bigger than her tree. He was a dark olive-green color, with scales that changed when the light hit them in a multicolored hue of emerald greens, peacock blues, and every shade in between. “Oh, Daniel, you’re beautiful.”

  He shook all over and coughed once. At least she thought it sounded like a cough. A puff of smoke came from his mouth when he made the noise, so Oleafia decided it was a cough. She eyed his massive body, her fingers tingling. The need to touch the colorful scales overwhelmed her.

  Taking a step forward, she held a hand out. Pausing, she gazed up at him. “May I?”

  His booming voice rocked the tree and the ground. “Naturally. I’m yours to do with as you wish.”

  “You have been causing quakes in my glade, haven’t you?” Missing pieces to an unseen puzzle started to fall into place.

  “I don’t know about quakes, but I have changed a couple of times since I’ve been here.”

  “It explains a lot of things.” She reached her hand out and laid it on his side. He had a large body, short legs, long neck and tail, and dangerous-looking teeth.

  His skin quivered when she ran her hand across him. It was slick and soft, not rough at all, and she liked the feel of the heated scales. “You’re warm.” She glanced up at his large eyes, so much higher than hers.

  He lay down and curled around her, enveloping her in his heat. “It is a side effect from the flame production.”

  Oleafia smiled. “You make flames?”

  “Flames, balls of fire and super-heated air.”

  “Hmm, a dragon of many talents, I think I like that.” She sent him a wicked grin and, borrowing a leaf from his tree, winked at him. “And did you use these special abilities on the Elders?”

  “You bet I did. I shot fireballs at their asses.” His large head shook in anger. “I told them that if they crossed the barrier again, I would burn down all their trees.”

  “Overkill, but I’m sure the threat was effective.”

  She watched the changes in the large dragon head as he glared in the direction she knew the Elders lived in the forest. It seemed strange, but his expressions were almost the same as when he was a man. He looked different though. If she hadn’t seen him change, she wouldn’t have believed the man and the dragon were one and the same.

  She examined every part of him while he continued scanning the glade. Her body shivered. He was sexy in this form as well. It was difficult to restrain from rubbing her body all over his, taking his scent as her own. The reaction was a little bit shocking, and she wasn’t sure where it came from. Perhaps it was his animal magnetism.

  Whatever it was, it was beyond her ability to fight. Hoping he wouldn’t notice, she pressed her upper body against his side. He was very hot, and her skin tingled where their bodies touched.

  “Having fun?”

  Oleafia opened her eyes and looked up at Daniel. “Yes.”

  She felt his laugh vibrating through her. Unable to stop a groan that rose from the depths of her being, she pushed back just enough that nothing but her nubbins grazed his scales.

  “Gah!”

  He broke into delighted laughter, almost sending her into orgasm. “Good grief, woman, I think you’re enjoying yourself entirely too much since I can’t participate.” He leaned down and flicked his giant forked, snake-like tongue across her body. “Oh, baby, you taste good.”

  His tongue flickered over her again, leaving heat in its wake. Something in his saliva perhaps was the cause of the slight burning sensation. She would have to think about it later. Right now, she was enjoying the tingle.

  “That’s it.”

  Oleafia jumped back and her eyes flew open. “What’s it?”

  “We’re going for a flight. Otherwise I will try to make love to you in this form.”

  “And that’s impossible?” Darned curiosity. Sometimes it was too hard to control.

  Daniel tilted his head in a considering way. “Perhaps not impossible, but the logistics would have to be worked out first. I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

  Oleafia sighed. “All right.” She perked back up. “Did you say we were going to fly?”

  “Absolutely. Hop on and hold on tight. Sit in front of my wings, and don’t block them.”

  Excited, Oleafia followed his orders to the letter. She stepped on his foreleg and straddled his back without touching his wings. He had a line of green-gray hair trailing down the back of his neck that he instructed her to hold on to.

  “Won’t it hurt?”

  “No, I won’t feel a thing. Go ahead and get a good grip. I wouldn’t want you to fall off.”

  Taking him at his word, Oleafia wrapped her hands in the hair and clamped her legs on his sides. She shrieked when he gave an experimental shake.

  “Only making sure you’re on good.”

  “You are going to pay for that. Count on it.”

  Oleafia decided she probably didn’t make a very threatening being, sitting on top of a creature three times her size and sporting a wide smile. She couldn’t help it though, she was happy.

 

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