by Kiersten Fay
Grabbing a handful of his fur tightly in her fists, she called down to him, “Is this okay?”
He made a noise that sounded like yes, and then walked around a bit, letting her get used to his gait. Then, without warning, he planted his front legs on the banister and gazed out over the horizon before glancing back at her in question.
Putting her fingers to her forehead, she mumbled to herself, “I must be crazy.” Then louder, she said, “All right. Let’s do this!”
15
The second June had spoken, a freight train of regret rode through her stomach, fast and fierce and nauseatingly ticklish, but it was too late to renege. Tristan stepped his might paw over the edge of the banister and then they were falling, falling, falling! Her stomach executed several flips and then lurched into her throat. Wind whipped past her head, the sound deafening. She plastered herself to his body, white-knuckling his fur and squeezing her thighs as tight as she could around his neck.
Then she felt the moment his wings caught the air. His massive body to surged up as the corresponding G-force bore down on her. Her eyes clamped shut.
She felt dizzy and disoriented and like she wanted to upchuck all the sugary confections she’d eaten, but she managed to keep everything down. Then the world stabilized.
After a calm moment, she dared a peek…
She gasped and sat up, excitement firing through her pulse.
Only yards below, the forest was a blur as it zipped by at speeds she couldn’t begin to fathom. Behind her, her dress snapped against the force of the wind, baring her legs to the elements. “This is amazing!” she yelled.
He peered back at her for a moment and she thought she spotted a little grin on his dragon lips, though she couldn’t be positive. When he banked slightly to the right and then to the left and back again, languidly rocking through the air, she was sure he was enjoying himself. She released and allowed herself to enjoy the air rushing though her hair.
Then he glanced back and gave her a look that seemed to ask Are you ready for more?
Checking the security of her grip, she smirked at him. “What else you got?”
He angled his wings to catch more air and they rose in altitude. Higher. Higher. Then his extraordinary wings began to flap, jostling her enough that she once more plastered her body to his, but this time her eyes were open.
Up and up they went. The temperature dropped several degrees. Chilled air kissed her skin, but his body heat kept her from shivering.
As her body rolled along with his and the ground below grew farther and farther away, June wondered if he realized the air would be thinner up here for her. Already she felt the difference, her lungs working harder to deliver oxygen to her bloodstream.
Then the world below vanished completely as they entered puffy white clouds. Suddenly she was in another realm, a fantasy of heavenly proportions. Streams of wispy particles floated by. Tristan glided smoothly now and she dared to sit up once more so she could reach her arms straight out and feel the cool flurries between her fingers. Condensation beaded on her flesh, and she marveled at the fact that she was actually riding a dragon.
June Jacobs, dragon tamer!
And still they continued to rise. She only knew this because one moment they were wreathed by fog, the next they broke the surface and she squinted her eyes against the sudden blast sunlight. When her eyes adjusted, her breath caught in her throat. Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind stutter-stepped. The beauty of her view overwhelmed her, and all she could do was take in the awe-inspiring sight. An ocean of clouds so thick one might believe they could walk atop them fanned out in every direction.
This was a world in its own right. A world of peace. A world of tranquility. A world untouched, without turmoil, discord, or conflict.
Emotion flooded her. Eyes growing damp, she muttered, “Thank you,” to Tristan, unsure if he could hear her over the wind.
Every moment with Tristan had been better than the last; introducing her to the magic of the Faieara, the perfection of his body, the beauty of his world. Now he’d gifted her with yet another incredible experience to take with her forever, quite possibly the best one yet. Breathing in the thin air, she let herself melt into this moment; the sun on her face, the wind in her hair, the inconceivable view. She wrapped herself in it and inscribe it into her memory.
When Tristan shifted his wings once more, their altitude began to drop. They reentered the layer of clouds, floating down, down, down, through to the bottom. With one last reach up into the clouds, she let her fingers trail through the fluffy white portal, and then Tristan began to descend more rapidly, playing on the current in smooth wide arches back and forth.
As they approached the ground, anxiety ruled once more, and she tightened her grip on him. The landing was smoother than she’d imagined, yet still jostling. She felt the thud of his paws against the ground, his body taking the impact. After he settled, he lowered himself flat as he had before so that she could slide off. Her heels sank into soft turf. Then he trotted a distance away and shifted back to his two-legged form.
She glanced around. He’d set them down in a large meadow filled with wildflowers. “Why did we stop?” she asked when he approached.
Instead of answering, he asked, “Was the flight okay? You weren’t too frightened, were you?”
She shook her head and then sputtered, “It was brilliant, Tristan. Incredible. So amazing. Thank you. I’ve never experienced anything like that. I can’t even express how much I loved it. It was just…there are no words…it was wonderful, beautiful, stunning—”
With a self-satisfied grin, his arm hooked her around the waist and he pulled her close. “So, you liked it, yeah?”
She teased, “Meh. It was okay.”
“I have not shared that experience with many others, and this was a thousand times more enjoyable. So I would like to thank you.”
“Well, any time.” Something caught her eye then, a burst of solid color that didn’t belong in the rainbow-stippled field. A blanket had been spread out next to several baskets of food and wine. “Is that a…picnic?”
“It is.” Big grin.“You set this whole thing up?”
“Well, I had Tenji set it up.”
“What if I had refused to fly with you?”
He shrugged. “Then we would have dined back at the palace.”
She threw her arms around him. “No one has ever done anything like this for me.” That Tristan would go through all this trouble warmed her heat and had it soaring higher than clouds.
He kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome. I hope you’re still hungry. I did not know you would gorge yourself on sweets before,” he teased.
She waved that away. “I’m determined to eat everything here just to show you how much I appreciate it.”
“Then I predict I will be carrying you back home rather than flying.”
She laughed. “What did you have them pack?”
“I told them to surprise us.” Together they rummaged through the baskets, pulling out wrapped sandwiches, desserts, and even a few warm dishes that resembled pasta. Tristan poured them both a flute of wine. It hit her tongue with a blast of flavor. Then they sampled a bit of everything before lying back on the blanket to watch the sun set and the stars emerge. The evening had been nothing short of magical.
How was she ever going to give this up? How could she return to Earth knowing she had left the wonders of this place, this man, behind? Was Tristan only being so romantic with her because he knew their expiration date was fast approaching?
The thought threatened her joy, so she pushed it away. But Tristan must have seen something on her face. “Everything okay?”
She forced a smile. “I’ve just never been so happy.”
“Me either,” he admitted, surprising her. “You make me happy, June.”
Her heart felt as though it would burst from her chest.
“What do you think about…” he trailed of and then tried again. “What do yo
u think of my planet so far?” he asked.
“I love it,” she breathed, their eyes locked.
“Enough to stay?”
She sat up. “Stay?”
He seemed to grow unsure then. “Just a little longer. I mean, you don’t have to rush home, do you?”
“I um, no, I guess not.” For a moment, she thought he’d been asking her to remain here with him permanently. What would she have said if he had?
At her words, he blessed her with that sexy smile that she loved and she leaned over to reward him with a kiss, sweeping her lips across his. He slanted his head, deepening the kiss and pulling her closer into the curve of his body.
“I want you,” she breathed. Forever, she added to herself.
“I am yours,” he replied, delighting her, but she knew it was only a half-truth. He was hers for now. For how long, she didn’t know. But tonight, she would let the lie burrow its way inside her and live for a bit. She would let herself believe it. She would make him believe it, too.
As they kissed, she reached between them and worked the buckle of his pants open. He went for the zipper of her dress, drawing it down her back while she tried to shove his pants down over his waist. Both garments removed, he shrugged out of his shirt, and then paused to gaze at her body, clad in only her frilly underwear.
“Beautiful,” he growled, his eyes flashing green, reminding her of both the man and the dragon.
Then his tongue was on her breast, sucking and nipping as he kneaded the other. She moaned, arching her back to give him better access. She reveled in the sensation, letting him play for the moment, but she had something more wicked in mind.
Before his ministrations turned her to putty, she placed her hand on his chest and directed him to lie back. He did, his gaze darting between her face and her breasts as if he was reluctant to let them go. Then she moved to straddle him, leaning down to give his lips a teasing sweep of her tongue before she muttered in his ear, “I’m about to rock your world.”
As she swept down his body, he went up on his elbows. She knew her expression was somewhat sinister. “Are you about to be wicked with me?” he rasped.
On her way, she flicked his nipple with her tongue. His body jolted and a little groan left him. When she glanced up, his expression was nothing short of carnal, eager, and filled with barely contained lust.
Slowly, to prolong the sweet torture, she kissed her way down his stomach, stopping just above his bellybutton to nip his exposed flesh. His muscles constricted and she felt the tip of his erection jerk against her the hollow of her throat. Her nipples budded at the thought of tasting him, the feel of him in her mouth as she drove him to orgasm.
Taking the base of him in her grasp, she felt his entire body go stiff. Watching his reaction, she rubbed her cheek along the soft mushroom tip. Intense shudders raked his body, his expression filled with adoring fever and intensity.
When she ran her tongue up the length of him, she was sure he would explode right then. “June, love, I canna take this torture!”
The sound of his agony made her feel powerful but, feeling benevolent, she closed her lips around his shaft and sucked, hard. He hit the back of her throat.
His guttural cry was a combination of relief, pleasure, and passion. Slowly, she sucked him like the sweetest treat, loving the smooth feel of him against her tongue, the tremors she forced through his body, the sounds he couldn’t keep from bellowing. Every now and again, his hips rocked as if he was imagining fucking her as she sucked him off. She imagined it too and heat invaded her core.
“Unh,” he groaned when she twirled her tongue around his tip. “I can’t last like this. You’ll make me… Ahh!”
She drew him hard into her mouth, holding him at the back of her throat as her hand traveled south to tease her own flesh. He cried out, and his hips began to thrust, driving his dick in and out of her mouth harder and faster while her fingers played with her sensitive clit, building pressure at the base of her spine. Just a little more, she thought. So close.
Desperate moans escaped her as she tripped toward orgasm, and she drove him to the back of her throat once more. His entire body shook violently before he went completely rigid, his dick pulsing. As she was about to blast off, so was he. With him filling her mouth, she used her tongue on him in the same rhythm of her fingers until she found the exact right friction.
She moaned around his cock, pleasure spearing her brain. He’d grown even larger, hard as steel, his hips thrusting now as his own body demanded release.
Right when she thought he would burst in her mouth, he gripped the hair at her nape and pulled her away. His cock slipped from her mouth with a resounding pop.
His eyes were wild with lust when he flipping her to her back and loomed over her, possessiveness in his expression as he pumped his cock with his fist. Then, with a guttural bellow, his release burst forth, lashing across her breasts in long hot streams. Amazingly, the action sharpened the orgasm still rolling through her and she cried out as the last few pumps covered her, branded her.
Lying there, completely dazed and blissed out, Tristan retrieved a napkin and cleaned her off before flopping down next to her with exhaustion. She used the last of her own energy cuddle up beside him. They stayed there a long while, holding each other and basking in the moment.
She may have dozed off because the distant rumble of thunder jolted her. A storm was rolling in.
16
As dark angry clouds encroached, June and Tristan rushed to dress. “I’m sorry, June. I didn’t realize a storm was coming. If we don’t leave soon, it won’t be safe to fly and we would need to hike back. We are a long way from the castle.”
Hike? In my stilettos? She wouldn’t make it a mile.
“Bring the blanket,” he said. “It will be colder for you up there now. Don’t worry about the rest. My people will return to clean it up later.”
After Tristan shifted, she climbed up on his back and tightly folded the blanket around herself. This takeoff was different than before. He had to get a running start and it was much more bumpy as his wings worked hard to pump his big body into the sky. She gripped his fur tight as they gained altitude. Adrenaline prevented her from enjoying their return trip. This time around, she didn’t notice the view. She didn’t admire the brilliant starry sky, too busy watching the tempest at their back like a predator on their heels.
It was clear they were in a race against time and that they were losing. A crack of lightning to her right informed her that the storm was traveling much too swiftly. Another crack of lightning just ahead forced Tristan to alter course so abruptly that she lost her hold on him and slipped sideways down his body. Grasping for purchase, she caught hold of his thick mane and heaved herself upright.
As she secured herself back atop him, Tristan landed in a small clearing between a patch of thick trees. She thought she felt a drop of rain on her shoulder as she slid off him so he could transform.
Once he did, he gripped her by the shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay,” she assured him.
“I’m sorry. That was reckless of me. I thought we had more time, but the storm is upon us,” he said, glancing skyward. “We will have to wait it out.”
She felt another drop on the crown of her head. Then fat drops began to slap the leaves around them.
“Come,” he ordered. “I know of a cavern this way.”
She followed him into the forest, pushing past thick foliage and scratchy twigs. The trees blocked much of the rain at first, but when the leaves became drenched, it was like a million mini waterfalls sloshing down upon them. She used the blanket to shield herself as best she could, but soon that would be drenched too. Lucky the cavern Tristan spoke up wasn’t too far, and soon enough they were crawling into its dry embrace and curled against the stony wall.
June used her blanket to cover them both. Luckily only one side was damp. After a moment of catching their breaths, she laughed out loud, the sound echoin
g. “This is quite an adventure.”
He pulled her into the warmth of his body. “I have blundered our romantic evening.”
“Not at all. This will be a funny story we can tell our kids.” She nearly choked on the foot in her mouth. She eyed Tristan, waiting to see that freaked-out look guys got when they thought a woman was getting ahead of herself, but she couldn’t read his expression.
She was about to blurt that she was just kidding when he muttered, “There will need to be some creative editing.”
Her laugh was a bit delayed. “Oh, definitely. But seriously, I’ve always wanted to curl up with my man in a dark cave.”
He snorted. “In that case, I totally planned this.”
She humored him with another laugh and then gave him a kiss that quickly turned sultry. She felt that familiar heat return to her body, the one that said she couldn’t breathe until he was inside her, when a scraping sound echoed from the back of the cave.
“What was that?” At the sound of her voice, more sinister sounds erupted, and she realized someone—or something—was in here with them.
Tristan shot to his feet and placed himself between her and the darkness. His body shimmered as if on the verge of transforming, but there was no way the cavern could accommodate his dragon’s size. He’d be crushed!
“Calm down, Tristan,” she urged. “It’s probably nothing. A harmless animal or something.”
“Nay,” he argued, his accent suddenly thick. “’Tis something else. Show yourself, beast, or I will drag you out by your throat.”
June squinted into the darkness. At length, a shadow began to move, drawing closer, closer. Her heart pounded. Then something stepped into the light….
A…child?
He looked to be between seven and eight years old.
“Boy?” boomed Tristan, his body relaxing a touch. “What are you doing out here?”
Smudged with dirt and raked with shivers, the poor thing recoiled at Tristan’s intimidating voice and looked as if he was about to rabbit. He reminded June of so many of the youths she’d counseled back on Earth. To Tristan, she whispered, “Is it normal for young boys to inhabit caves on your planet?”
