Bearing Her Wishes

By Vivienne Savage

All material contained herein is Copyright © Vivienne Savage 2015.  All rights reserved.

ISBN PENDING

***

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your preferred ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Mailing List Sign-up

Vivienne’s Facebook Page

Edited by EV Editing

Unrequited love is a bitter pill to swallow, but for a bear shifter named Leiv, a single wish may be enough to make his dreams come true.

Bearing Her Wishes is a story from the world of
Saved by the Dragon
and may be read as a standalone novella. It is advised to read this short story after Saved by the Dragon and before Mated by the Dragon for the proper order.

Another bold sunset descended over Drakenstone Manor, stretching hues of orange, deep rose, and twilight purple across the horizon. Leiv watched the transition of dusk to night fall from the estate’s elaborate porch. With his brawny arms folded against his chest, he leaned against a stone column and allowed his thoughts to drift.

More than a thousand acres of livestock-occupied pasture had become Leiv’s responsibility, a duty delegated to him by Master Drakenstone. With his employer out of the state to pursue matters of the heart, Leiv temporarily became the indisputable lord of all he currently surveyed. The fields, the orchards, and every head of cattle grazing the expansive grounds relied on him.

Such was the case whether Saul Drakenstone was present or not, and had been true for the past 35 years since Leiv’s father had died and passed the torch to him. As the first son of the first son, he continued their familial oath of duty as the seventh generation to serve the Drakenstone family.

While many dragons did consider their retainers to be pets, Saul never treated him like a slave, nor did the ancient wyrm lay unreasonable expectations. He wanted little of Leiv and gave him a private parcel of land to call his own. Upon that land, Leiv built a log cabin with his own hands, laid brick for a hearth, spread mortar, and found true peace each night within his slice of rustic heaven.

Despite his role as a servant, Leiv had never envied Saul until recently when the dragon had claimed a mate. Leiv coveted the magnetism between them, but he had his eye on another woman, a woman with a kind heart and beautiful turquoise eyes that shone like ocean water beneath the noonday sun. Her generosity knew no limits, and she never failed to make him smile. Pity she didn’t seem to recognize his heartfelt affection.

“Leiv?”

The feminine call from the doorway made him turn and offer an automatic, but genuine smile. “Good evening, Mahasti. Have I disturbed you?”

“No, of course not. Did you require something from the house?”

While Leiv was always welcome in the impressive underground home, he never lingered for long around Saul’s mountainside estate. His cabin provided for every need but the one that mattered most; it grew lonely and lacked companionship.

“Leiv?”

Mahasti’s voice pulled him from his thoughts and back to the present. Concern showed in her face, her entrancing blue eyes framed by a sleek bob of dark hair. He preferred her natural waist-long locks and always became fascinated by her genuine appearance. As a djinn, Mahasti could change anything about her physical body on a whim.

“Forgive me, I was lost in thought.” He reached down deep and found his confidence to blurt out the reason behind his visit. “Have dinner with me.” The clumsy words tumbled past his lips without the suave grace he’d hoped for.

Mahasti’s dark hair brushed against her shoulder as she canted her head to the side. “I can prepare whatever you like. What will it be tonight?”

“No, I meant, allow
me
to make you dinner, Mahasti. You have made me many over the years. Allow me to do this for you in return.”

Surprise widened her eyes and parted her bow-shaped lips. “Why?”

Leiv wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans in a dismal attempt to conceal his anxiety. Every attempt to reach out to her romantically seemed to fall on deaf ears. Mahasti frequently feigned ignorance and swept aside his recent attempts as if they were playful jokes. Hardly.

“We have Saul’s home to ourselves. I know you prepare his meals and that it comes as easy as thought. But tell me, when is the last time someone prepared something for
you
?” he asked.

“I’m a djinn. It’s our place to serve others,” she explained matter-of-factly. Amusement crinkled her eyes.

“Why?” he countered, tossing her earlier question back at her.

The sun sank below the horizon behind him, darkening the sky. Chirping crickets filled the silence between them.

Mahasti stepped aside without answering his question and welcomed him inside with a sweeping gesture of her arm. The humor in her expression brought a big grin to his face as he walked beside her into the kitchen. He ushered her onto a stool at the breakfast bar.

“Would you like help?”

Leiv nudged her seat closer to the bar and chuckled. “No. No, I would not. I know my way around Saul’s kitchen.” And Saul’s liquor cabinet. He fetched a cobalt blue bottle of arak, a potent Middle Eastern liquor Mahasti favored above the sweetest wines. Leiv poured a vodka for himself.

Effortless conversation passed between the pair during his meal preparation. They had much to talk about regarding the changes to their small family. Accepting Saul’s new bride into the home changed everything.

“She is a lovely woman,” Leiv said. “Does not ask for many things, very polite, and she treats him well, I think.”

“She is not what I expected,” Mahasti mused over her milky colored drink. “Yet I think she is exactly what he needs.”

“Agreed. It is good for him to have a woman of his own now. She is not dragon, but she cares deeply.”

Thick salmon fillets coated in a mix of honey and lemon juice sizzled in the pan with a generous sprinkling of fresh herbs. Leiv grew those outside in the gardens, but he also supplied Saul’s home with the harvest from an impressive orchard. Decades of masquerading as a human gave the dragon a taste for human cuisine.

“She doesn’t need to be a dragon to love him. What they are doesn’t matter, only their hearts.”

“You are wise, Mahasti, but of course, most of your kind must be.”
So why do you always look past me?
Leiv dished each fish fillet onto a bed of arugula and baby spinach.

Friendly silence fell between them as they began the succulent meal. Leiv and Saul preferred their fish raw but the two friends shared an appreciation for practicing their culinary talents as a hobby. Performing the skill for Mahasti brought him happiness, but most of all, he wanted her to smile with joy and feel cherished for her years of loyal service. For the friendship she gave to him. For the way she made him feel each time her fingers brushed his hand in passing.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s delicious,” she assured him between bites. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“Saul and I have much free time when he visits my cabin. You should have joined us for the Super Bowl. It was very good food night.”

Most of Leiv’s bear shifter brethren shunned modern conveniences of civilization, but he had a soft spot for televised cooking shows and sports. American football and hockey had become favorites enjoyed by both men, and occasionally they snuck away to a local stadium to spectate live events together.

“I like when you allow your natural accent to emerge.” Mahasti nudged her empty glass toward him as a silent cue for more. When he fetched a fresh glass, she waved off the ice and took it straight, a feat Saul’s young mate had failed to accomplish when she tasted the anise-flavored alcohol.

“My accent?” The startled bear shifter glanced up from pouring his refill.

“Yes,” she replied with a smile. “I prefer it over your American veneer. Your father never took to this language well. He would always force Saul and me to speak Russian to him instead of adapting to English.”

Leiv chuckled. “It seems like so long ago when I came to live here with my mother and father in this country, but in some ways it is like yesterday.”

“An understandable sentiment. One we share in part. When Saul brought me here I was amazed by the new surroundings.”

“You two have been together a long time,” Leiv said in a soft voice.

“A little over a century, yes.”

Leiv pulled in a deep breath.
Now or never,
he thought as he drew all of his courage into his next conversation point. “For many years we have served the same Master. Times came when I wondered if perhaps you and Saul… if you found comfort in one another.”

Mahasti set her fork aside and laughed, amusement bringing an attractive, dark rose coloring to her cheeks. “No, nothing such as that. On the day he claimed my lamp, he swore he would never make that request.”

Leiv gazed at her quietly. In the years since his arrival on the estate, he observed many things about Mahasti. Her smiles, her supportive friendship to their Master and unwavering loyalty, but he never witnessed anything resembling a hope for intimacy.

“Have I misjudged so greatly? You are… you do not prefer male companionship?” Leiv asked gently. “Perhaps female?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’ve served female masters in the past but it is not my preference.”

Then it must be me. It is something wrong with me.
Disheartened, Leiv slouched in the seat and picked at the remnants of his meal. “Then why do you refuse my advances? If I am not to your liking, I will understand. At least tell me why, Mahasti. Do you refuse me because I am also beast?”

“I would never think such a thing,” she replied quickly. “You are kind, Leiv. I’ve met humans more beastly, monstrous, and barbaric.”

Mahasti rose to her feet and moved to the window. Leiv followed, no longer hungry.

“Why push me away? Why?” Leiv asked her again. “You are lonely here, just as I am. He does not treat you as a slave, yet here you remain. Why do you not make a life for yourself?”

She shrugged her shoulders, keeping her back to him. “The city holds no appeal for me. The crowds and the detachment feel empty.”

“If I emulate their speech, then you must model your looks after them.”

A wrinkle of her nose displayed her displeasure with his words, but she made no vocal protest. Instead, her hair lengthened until the curling tips brushed against her waist.

“Where is my answer, Mahasti? Why do you stay away when I am right here?”

“Because I am a creature of magic. I am as I am, and I will always be as such.” She sighed and turned around to regard him with somber eyes. “I do not sicken. I do not wither and waste away.”

The ageless beauty before him would never change, her life fueled by an eternal, undying flame. As he came to understand her meaning, Leiv murmured the words, “But I do.”

Her wide almond eyes remained on his face, gaze solemn. “I remember when you were a young man in our Master’s service. You blushed when I smiled at you.”

“I still do.” He cherished each and every smile.

More than three decades had passed since Leiv first came to them as a young man of twenty, eager to live up to his father’s name and quality of service. As a shifter, his longevity would endure for decades past a human’s lifespan.

“Leiv—”

“How long has passed since you took a lover?” he pressed. This time he reached out and claimed her hands, her fingers dainty by comparison and swallowed by his heavy palms.

Mahasti sighed. “Many years. Before you came to us.”

“What do you have to lose? Why deny yourself? Are djinn not allowed mortal pleasures? Companionship?”

Liev waited through her silence, afraid of pushing her but equally terrified of another rejection. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, as if preparing to pull away. Instead, she leaned in and pressed a passionate, too brief, kiss against his lips.

“Is this what you truly want, Leiv?” she asked in a whisper.

“Do you not know my wishes?”

“I’ve always known,” Mahasti admitted. She leaned close against him, and in a puff of jasmine scented smoke, she relocated them both to her personal chambers within the expansive dwelling. And while she could have transported them to Arabia for all he knew, the room still felt like home, some part of Saul’s estate. Persian rugs covered the stone floors, gauzy curtains framed the wide arched window, and silk pillows in metallic shades of purple, turquoise, and gold piled thickly on the round bed.

She smelled of cinnamon and cardamon, exotic spices that encouraged him to inhale her scent again. Leiv kissed her without loosening his grip, eager to learn her taste and experience contact with her body’s unique curves. She was built like Ishtar herself, a fertility queen, the sex goddess of his fantasies. Everything he’d ever imagined in his head came true once her dress whispered from her body and fluttered away in a mysterious breeze.