Free Tell Me a Story by Dallas Schulze Page A

jobs."
    Silence fell between them, not uncomfortable but full of an awareness Ann didn't want to acknowledge. There was something about him that disturbed her in ways she didn't understand. He was so... different. She'd never known anyone like him.
    "Hold still." His voice was hushed and Ann froze as he reached toward her. She felt his hand in her hair and when he pulled away, there was a ladybug resting on the tip of his finger. "She was tangled in your hair."
    He held his hand up and blew gently. The tiny insect hesitated a moment and then flew away. The shadow of the big eucalyptus wrapped around them. The late summer air was still warm. The scent of the rose garden drifted on the air, a faint hint of perfume.
    "You know, for a dragon, you're pretty nice." Flynn's hand came up to tug at a lock of hair that had escaped from her braid, but he lingered, his finger twisted the fiery strand as if tangled in the warmth of its color. "I've always wondered what your hair would look like down." The tone was causal, but there was nothing casual about the way he was looking at her.
    "It just looks like hair." Ann told herself she was imagining the breathlessness in her voice.
    "I bet it's beautiful."
    His head was lowering toward hers, that brilliant blue gaze on her mouth. Her lips were suddenly dry and her tongue came out to wet them, a nervous flicker of movement. She saw his eyes darken and then his hand was slipping around the back of her neck, holding her still. But Ann couldn't have moved if her life depended on it.
    His mouth touched hers and her eyelids fell shut as if attached to weights. She stood as if turned to stone, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her head tilted to accept his kiss.
    His mouth was warm and dry. She could smell the faint tang of after-shave. Her lips softened under his coaxing and his hand tightened on the back of her neck, tilting her head farther up. Ann's breath caught as his teeth sank gently into her lower lip. Her mouth opened the smallest amount and the kiss deepened. Their breath mingled until it was impossible to tell where one began and the other ended.
    Flynn's free hand settled on her lower back as he stepped closer, and Ann's fingers unclenched, her hands creeping up to rest on his shoulders, her movements tentative.
    There was a warmth in the pit of her belly. A warmth that had nothing to do with the weather. Her toes curled inside her shoes as his tongue brushed ever so lightly against her lower lip. She could feel something waiting just out of reach. Something exciting and dangerous and full of promise. Something she wasn't sure she was ready to reach for.
    "Mr. Flynn."
    The voice seemed to come from a long way away. At first Ann couldn't even make sense of what it was saying.
    "Mr. Flyyynnn."
    Her eyes opened slowly as Flynn's mouth left hers. In his eyes she could see some of the same surprise she was feeling. Her hands dropped away from his shoulders but he was slower to release her. They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them quite sure what to say.
    "Mr. Flyyynnn." Becky's high-pitched call wafted toward them and Flynn's hands dropped away from Ann. She took a step back, dragging her eyes away from his face. Whatever had just happened, she wasn't ready to examine it.
    "Becky wants you. I.. .ah... I think I'll go see if I can do something to help your mother with dinner. Set the table or something."
    She walked away before he could say anything, but she was aware of his eyes following her until she turned a corner and was shielded by the bulk of the house.
    Louise McCallister looked up as Ann all but scuttled into the room. Her face was flushed and there was a distracted expression in her eyes as if she weren't quite sure where she was or how she came to be there.
    "Flynn is with Becky. I thought I might be able to help you with dinner."
    Louise bit her lip to conceal a smile and bent her head over her needlepoint. "That's very sweet of you, my dear, but I