Dragon Rebellion

by Amelia Jade

  “I’ll turn you around any time I want.”

  His hand smacked against her rear startlingly, making her yelp.

  The walls of the cave shivered slightly in response.

  “Uhhh.” It was a genius line, the best she could come up with. “Did I just cause another avalanche?”

  She was acutely aware of the fact that they hadn’t stopped coming even while she was off-duty.

  “No, my cave is reinforced against noise from the inside. Otherwise our friendly little game of chase when we first met would have triggered the entire mountainside.”

  She snorted loudly in the dark. “You have a really, really warped sense of what is ‘friendly,’ do you know that? The manners of a caveman.”

  “You take that back. My father was a caveman, I’ll have you know!”

  “Really?” she asked eagerly.

  “Well, he’s a man, and he lives in a cave.”

  She groaned. “All dragons live in caves!”

  “Technically not true. Some live in glaciers and sand dunes.”

  Rolling her eyes, she turned in a random direction and started walking away.

  “Be carefu—”

  “Ow!” Her shin slammed into something mostly solid that clinked.

  “There’s a pile of gold there.”

  “Of course there’s a pile of gold there,” she laughed. “Where isn’t there one in here. God, you’re a hoarder worse than those on TV.”

  “I don’t know what those are, but is it really such a bad thing that I have so much gold and treasures?”

  “Uh, no,” she admitted awkwardly. “Not really I guess. Especially if you continue to want to spend some of it on me.”

  He chuckled, the sound echoing in the chamber. “I thought not. So be good, or I’ll track down your team and tell them wildly embellished stories of just how girly you are. You’ll never live it down.”

  Aimee gasped. “You wouldn’t!” He looked at her. “You would!”

  “I am the mighty Rhyolite,” he said with false dramatics. “Of course I would.”

  “Oh boy. Full of yourself too. Boy do I know how to pick ‘em.”

  They smiled and he walked over to embrace her, before sliding a hand down her side and lifting her leg off the ground, where he proceeded to rub it. The pain had faded ages ago, but the gesture was both cute and endearing. Almost.

  “Uh, Rhys?” she said after a moment.

  “Yes?”

  “Wrong leg.”

  The mighty dragon shifter just sort of sagged in defeat in front of her. Aimee tried her hardest, but she couldn’t contain her laughter. She fell into him, arms wrapping around his rock-hard stomach, holding onto it as she howled, not at his mistake, but at his reaction.

  “I was trying,” he said stubbornly.

  “I know.” She pushed up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I know.”

  He accepted the kiss and held her tight, shaking his head at himself. Aimee almost felt bad for him. Everything he did with her seemed to start out wonderfully, and then just somehow go south. Their first kiss, first date, now this. The poor shifter had to be wondering why she was still with him. The truth was, it made him seem all the more human in her eyes.

  “You can make it up to me if you want,” she said, deciding to spring her idea on him.

  “I need to make up for rubbing your wrong leg?” She could almost see the sarcasm dripping from his words it came off so thick.

  “Well ,my other one still hurts, so yes.”

  He sighed, picked up her up, and put her over his shoulder, and then began to rub both legs.

  “Hey! What is this?” she yelped.

  “Me ensuring I don’t miss anywhere,” he replied, the timbre of his voice not changing.

  Then he kept rubbing higher and higher on her leg.

  “Hey, easy there,” she warned as he got friskier. “You can miss that. We’re in public.”

  Rhys chuckled and gave her bum a nice squeeze before setting her down. “Of course, though there’s nobody around.”

  She grinned. “I know. Which is why you’re going to take me flying.”

  Hook. Line. Sinker.

  “I am not a horse,” he protested, but she could tell he already knew it was a losing argument.

  “Nope, you’re better. You’re a dragon, and not just any dragon. You’re the mighty Rhyolite.”

  “Now you’re mocking me,” he complained wryly.

  “True, but you gave me that line, so really it’s your own fault.”

  Rhys grinned at her. “Very well, feisty human. I will take you up.” His expression turned stern and serious. “But there are some rules you are going to follow, understand?”

  She nodded, understanding the situation. Aimee was going to get what she wanted, but she had to obey him while up there.

  “Both hands stay on me at all times. No flinging them up in the air. No exceptions.”

  “Done.”

  “Second, if I give you a command while we’re flying, no matter what, you will obey it, and instantly. No matter what it is.” He repeated the last part for emphasis. “You can question me after you do it. Not before. If I have to tell you to do something, there is a very good reason for it that I might not have time to explain then and there. Okay?”

  Aimee swallowed as the craziness of what she was about to do set in. This was no helicopter joyride. She was going to fly on the back of a real, honest-to-goodness dragon. Her mind’s eye could picture it now, wind whipping at her hair as they dove, banked and soared high on thermals, free of technology and just gliding through the sky.

  “Do you agree?”

  “What?” She’d been daydreaming. “Sorry, yes, of course. I understand it’s risky.”

  “That’s…an understatement. One wrong gust of wind will send you flying if you aren’t holding on tight. It’s not like I have a saddle or anything.”

  She grinned.

  Rhys’s eyes narrowed immediately with suspicion. “This had better not be where you tell me you brought along a saddle,” he warned.

  Laughing, she shook her head. “No, no saddle. I did bring a length of rope though.” She shrugged when he frowned. “What? I like to be prepared.”

  “You planned this all out from the start, didn’t you?” he accused her.

  “Bet your ass I did. Seriously, how could you think I wouldn’t want to do this? It’s practically the first thing I thought of after I realized that you were a dragon, and got over how hot you were as a human.”

  The last part slipped out accidentally, a thought that had become verbal unintentionally.

  “Is that so?” he rumbled happily.

  “Yeah, but then you turned around. Damn cute ass though,” she said, giving it a hard pinch before digging in her backpack for the rope.

  “You have got to be the least ladylike woman I have ever courted,” he muttered.

  “Yet you’re still here.”

  “I am.”

  “And you’re about to let me tie you up with rope.” She winked suggestively.

  Out of nowhere the earth rippled and moved, leaping up to latch onto her. Bands of rock as smooth as metal wrapped tightly around her ankles while more of it humped up her back and reached out to snag her wrists, pulling them apart. The last bit of it settled in behind her head, so she could rest upon it.

  “That,” he growled throatily as the fingers of one hand ran feather-soft along her cheek, his other hand slipping below her waist and between her legs, “is because I don’t need rope.”

  Aimee went very still, the only sound that of her heart pounding in her ears. The casual display of power and sexual appetite toward her had been so abrupt and overwhelming that until he’d spoken she’d felt a little shiver of fear.

  Now though, he kissed her and the rock began to melt away, at which point he swept her up into a proper kiss.

  “Okay,” she gasped as they broke. “That was fucking hot. Little scary, but holy shit I want you so badly right n
ow.”

  His fingers were still putting exquisitely delightful pressure between her legs, but now he pulled away. “You’re going to have to keep on missing that,” he said quietly, speaking right into her ear so that his hot breath washed over her skin, giving her tingles. “Because we’re in public.”

  Abruptly he stood up and moved away.

  “Cruel. That was cruel,” she complained. “All that sexy, powerful buildup of control, and now you just wave it all away?”

  He grinned. “Do you want to go flying or not?!”

  “Yes please.” She did, but in the back of her mind she was still pinned to the rock, completely at his mercy as Rhys took her there in his cave. The scene played out over and over again as she ran the rope through her fingers, wondering if he would use that on her later instead…

  “Stay back,” he warned as she started to follow after him when he walked away. “I need some space for this.”

  All at once her focus was back on the presence. Here it was. He was going to change into his dragon, and she was going to get to see one of the mythical beasts up close and personal—and without it trying to eat her!

  “Are you ready?” he asked after moving across the cavern.

  “Yes. But I can’t really see anything.”

  “Give it a moment,” he rumbled, and she thought his voice had changed, deepening, though still full of that melodious bass that was his trademark.

  Light began to glow from somewhere near him. No, correction, from within him.

  “What? I didn’t get to see you change!” she complained.

  “There is nothing to see,” he informed her. “It happens so fast, you see nothing.”

  “Oh.”

  Rhyolite paused. “Well, are you coming?” He crouched down to the floor, spreading out a glowing wing toward her like a ramp.

  “Not only yes, but hell yes!” she shouted, running over to him. “Take me to the moon!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rhyolite

  “Woo-hoo!”

  Aimee whooped with delight again as he reached the top of his climb and angled downward, spreading his wings wide to catch as much air as possible.

  “This is amazing!”

  He didn’t reply, letting her simply enjoy the moment. They were deep within the mountain range, hopefully out of sight of any humans at this point. The sky was still gray, and clouds of a darker nature were starting to move in. As he looked around, he knew that their time would be limited. They would have to head for cover shortly.

  She fell silent and he craned his head around, enjoying the look of sheer joy plastered on her features. He wished he could see through the orange covering of her facemask, but the smile was enough. Gods, she’s beautiful, he thought to himself, admiring her even as he pulled up, angling them through a soft banking turn, heading toward the nearest thermal to help him gain some more ground.

  “I can’t believe you get to do this any time you want,” she said, sounding stunned as the panoramic landscape of mountains scrolled by on either side of them, the ground shrinking below them once more as he beat his wings steadily.

  “Are you giving me permission?” he rumbled, tossing his head gaily as he laughed.

  “Take me up like this, and just maybe,” she fired back, unashamed.

  He turned to make an even dirtier comment, but as his head swung around on the end of his long neck, Rhyolite’s eyes narrowed, the inner set of his triple eyelids dropping into place protectively.

  “Aimee,” he rumbled, all humor gone from his voice. “Hang on.”

  “Eeep,” she said, snatching at the rope and leaning forward so that she was firmly pressed into his neck.

  Rhyolite dove for the tree line, wings tucking in alongside his body, taking a steeper angle than anything he’d dared do earlier. But there was no time to think as behind him another dragon roared in anger, beating its wings as it tried to close.

  They reached the treetops and he snapped his wings out, tendons screaming in protest as they caught the air and billowed wide, slowing his descent and angling him sharply to the left.

  He glanced back just in time to see a spear of black stone shoot through the space he’d just occupied and impale a tree lengthwise through its trunk before continuing on to impact in the ground.

  Conscious of the fully exposed human on his back, Rhyolite bellowed his fury. How dare they threaten her! He pumped his wings furiously, the ground beginning to blur as he built up speed. Behind him came a sight straight out of his memories, a bronze dragon gaining ground on him, eyes glittering with anger.

  Ahead of him the ground dipped away into a gorge. A plan appeared in his mind at the same time. He went over the edge, pulled his wings in, and dropped like a stone. A split second later though he spread them wide and pulled up, wings pumping like never before as he sought to lift himself up out of the gorge.

  Behind him the bronze dragon howled with fury as it dropped over the lip and kept going down, having thought it had a chance to catch him if it dropped hard and fast enough. Rhyolite slowed to a halt and opened his mouth, using his power to send several spears of rock after the other dragon, forcing it to keep flying down the gorge, giving him some time.

  He perched on the edge. “Get off!” he shouted, but Aimee was already sliding down his neck and onto the ground.

  The instant she was free he fell over backward and into the gorge, twisting in midair as he increased his speed, trying to catch up with his attacker. Now that his mate was safe, he could fight with abandon. Knowing that fireballs would attract unwanted attention, he stuck to lances of black rock, firing them in a steady stream that forced the other dragon to slow.

  “You!” he roared as he closed. “I finally have you, after all this time!”

  Without warning his opponent pulled up and out of the gorge, just when Rhyolite was about to deliver a blow that couldn’t miss.

  “COWARD!” he screamed, moving in pursuit. “GET BACK HERE!”

  “No,” came the simple response, and he gasped as the bronze dragon banked around and put on speed as he headed for the one thing Rhyolite couldn’t have predicted.

  Aimee.

  They were headed on a straight-line course. If Rhyolite used any more of his breath weapon and missed, he stood a chance of it killing Aimee. He would need to be perfect.

  Or just smart, he thought suddenly as he saw an opportunity. It was going to hurt, and hurt bad. But it would work, because the other dragon would never see it coming. Forcing his body to move faster, he gained speed, more and more of it. The bronze dragon was low to the ground, and if Rhyolite tried to angle upward, he would lose precious ground.

  So instead he did what any lovestruck idiot would do, and sacrificed his own body to protect the one he loved.

  Flipping over onto his back he plummeted down, the extra burst of speed allowing him to get close enough he couldn’t miss. Rhyolite hissed and a ten-foot-long bolt of rock shot from his mouth with a crack and impaled the bronze dragon right where his wing joined his body.

  Rhyolite howled in triumph as his enemy peeled off, but it was short-lived as he plowed into the ground, the rocky landscape catching silvery-platinum scales and popping them off with painful results. The noise from his mouth quickly became pained as he bounced and rolled, crushing trees and sending snow everywhere.

  Before the snow had even settled the ground thumped with noise.

  “Haven’t you had enough?” he roared, struggling to right his battered body so that he could confront the relentless juggernaut.

  Beside him he saw Aimee pause, unsure on whether to run away, or come to his aid, though there was little she could actually do to help.

  “Run!” the bronze dragon ordered as it stumped across the ground on three legs, one wing drooping, the injury preventing him from fully controlling it.

  “I will not run from you again!” he shouted.

  The other dragon hesitated. “I was talking to the human. She is safe now, and no longer in
danger.”

  Rhyolite bit back a scathing retort as Aimee entered the conversation, and as she spoke he was reminded that she was fully capable of handling herself in a verbal conversation.

  “Danger? The only danger I see around here is you. We were having a lovely time, and then your overly-tanned scales come in here like a bull in a damn china shop, wrecking everything.”

  The bronze dragon hesitated. “You…are not in danger?”

  “Ding ding ding!” she shouted, waving her hands around, golden-blonde hair bouncing frantically as she mocked the other dragon. “I’m so glad you finally picked up on that. The only time I was ever at risk was when you started chasing us like the schoolyard bully. It’s a good thing you got the drop on Rhyolite here, or else he would have kicked your ass all the way back to the Stone Age.”

  “Umm, Aimee,” he tried to interrupt.

  “Not now, flyboy, I’m busy giving this third-place wannabe a piece of my mind. You can beat his ass later, okay?”

  The bronze dragon chuckled. “Well, that would certainly be the first time he’s managed that.”

  “Rhyolite, what’s he talking about?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” he said, happy that in his dragon form he couldn’t go red in the face.

  Staring daggers at the bronze dragon, he readied himself just in case the momentary truce went south. It wouldn’t be unheard of, and he knew that the two of them had unfinished business.

  “Men,” she snapped. “Fine. Listen, I’m perfectly okay. In fact, I was on a date that you so rudely interrupted. So why don’t you take your scaly hide back to whatever rotten hole you emerged from and fill it in behind you, okay?”

  “She certainly has a way with words.”

  “That she does. Now, what do you want, Obsidian?” he asked, finally speaking the bronzed dragon’s name.

  The bronze dragon suddenly pulled its injured wing in tight alongside its body, showing that he was now healed from the earlier attack.

  “Drake’s Crossing, the valley, and these mountains are under my protection,” Obsidian replied. “I’m sure you’ve found out that times have changed. These humans are different than the ones we left in the past.”