Free Helpless (Blue Fire Saga) by Scott Prussing Page A

no longer see the ring.
    “Impressive,” Balin said.
    He didn’t say anything else about it. Leesa guessed in Balin’s five hundred plus years, he had seen more than a few unusual things.
    Dominic hefted his mug and held it under his nose, inhaling deeply of the sweet, somewhat fruity scent. A big smile brightened his face.
    “To new friends,” he said, holding his mug out to the others.
    “New friends,” the rest of them said, clinking mugs with Dominic.
    “Ahhh…this is amazing,” Dominic said after swallowing a long draught from his mug. “I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the taste of good mead until now.”
    “Drink up,” Balin invited. “There’s plenty more where that came from.”
    They all raised their mugs to each other one more time. As Leesa took a big swallow of water, she did not feel left out at all. She wasn’t much of a drinker anyhow, and Balin’s water, straight from a nearby underground spring, was far and away the best she’d ever tasted.
    Balin moved over to the fireplace and used a wooden ladle to fill four big earthenware bowls with stew. He set one down in front of each of his guests and one at his spot.
    Leesa dipped her wooden spoon into her bowl and then blew upon the steaming spoonful before slurping it into her mouth. The stew was as tasty as she remembered. Balin had told her the meat was venison, but it was really the herbs and spices the volkaane used that made his stew so delicious.
    They spent the next fifteen minutes eating and talking easily, more like four old friends who had not seen one another in awhile than people who had only known each other a short time. Balin had lots of questions for Dominic, which the wizard happily answered. Midway through the meal, Balin refilled everyone’s mug.
    Finally, they were done eating, their bowls scraped clean.
    “Now I want some dessert,” Leesa said, her eyes fastened on Rave, who looked just a bit uncomfortable under her gaze.
    “Am I missing something?” Dominic asked, looking back and forth from Leesa to Rave.
    Balin smiled. “Dessert is Leesa’s code name for kissing.”
    “Ahhh,” Dominic said, smiling now as well.
    “I know we can’t do it like we were,” Leesa said to Rave, meaning the last time they had kissed, when the kiss had gone too far and Rave’s fire had almost killed her. “But I don’t see why we can’t go back to our five second kisses, especially with Balin here to watch us.” Their first few kisses had been done with Leesa’s cell phone alarm set for five seconds. Those kisses were way too brief, of course, but they were still amazing beyond anything Leesa had ever imagined.
    “I don’t know.” Rave was clearly still feeling guilty about totally losing control of his fire. “I’m not certain it’s safe.”
    “Five seconds,” Leesa pleaded. “We did it safely with no one watching. Tonight Balin and Dominic can count to five and pull us apart.”
    Rave looked at Balin.
    “I do not think your young lady is going to take no for an answer,” Balin said.
    “You got that right,” Leesa said. “I don’t get to see you nearly enough, so I want to make full use of the chance when I do.”
    Rave held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I surrender,” he said, smiling.
    “And stop pretending you don’t like it as much as I do,” Leesa told him as she got to her feet.
    Rave laughed and did likewise. Balin and Dominic also stood up.
    Leesa and Rave moved out from behind the table and faced each other. Balin stood behind Rave and Dominic moved behind Leesa.
    When Rave laid his warm hands gently on her shoulders and locked his gorgeous brown eyes onto hers, Leesa remembered why they needed an alarm or a chaperone when they kissed. It was way too easy for her to lose herself completely. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as Rave inched his face closer to hers. She forgot about Balin and Dominic standing so close watching them, forgot about Rave’s fire, forgot about any