Chapter Eleven

“You Want Me to… Ride You?”

The novel lay opened on the floor beside the fireplace, just out of reach of the flames. Ordinarily, she’d never place a book in such close proximity to the fire, but tonight there were other, more important things on her mind.

Other things meaning Sylvester.

Earlier today, she’d scoffed at herself for being preoccupied with him when she might be waking up to a war tomorrow instead of a regular Thanksgiving—or whatever passed as regular in a place like this. But right now she was more concerned about how Sylvester felt about her.

“You’re being ridiculous,” she muttered to herself, blinking into the flames.

And perhaps she was. But, Diane knew, in a way, matters of the heart were just as important as other matters. And wouldn’t anyone seek assurance that their heart was safe, especially if that heart had been wounded before? Diane was coming to terms with the fact that she loved this man, this new husband of hers. But what did he feel for her, exactly?

That wasn’t her only concern. She hadn’t forgotten her brief encounter with Jon earlier. From what he’d said, it sounded as if Sylvester had been seriously pissed. And if it had something to do with his brother, that was understandable, not that it made the situation any less concerning.

The irony of her situation was not lost on her. She could write a book about that everything that had happened to her so far. It was just the sort of content her readers would devour: a lone woman trapped on a mountain, a murderous village chief fanning the flames of war, and a fiery, passionate romantic entanglement with a sexy blacksmith who wanted vengeance for the killing of his father.

And all of that was on top of the characters in the story being supernaturals. That would drive her readers wild.

But there was the catch: She couldn’t write anything. In all the time she’d spent here, she’d found only a single book, and she doubted whether anyone had a pen or paper, much less a laptop.

She was still lost in her thoughts when she heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Her heart rate ratcheted up and she shot to her feet just as Sylvester entered the living room. He was scowling.

“Hey,” she said, unsure what else to add.

He blinked at her, but said nothing.

Diane pressed her lips together. “Are you okay?” she asked him. “Jon told me and Quinta that you went to see your brother again. Is something wrong?

In response, Sylvester scoffed. “Of course something is wrong. Glenstra requested that this village surrender instead of risking a war.”

“I remember. I was there when your brother mentioned it.”

“Well, my brother turned down their request.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It sounds like it. Except that his refusal will most likely spark a war.” He stepped closer, pulling off his top, and for a moment she found herself almost distracted by the sight of his chiseled abs. “If there was any doubt before, it’s gone now. It’s only a matter of days before Glenstra attacks us again.”

A question formed on her lips, and she let it out immediately. “Just… just how bad would things get if a war broke out?”

Sylvester simply stared at her, and for the next few seconds Diane wondered if he thought her silly for asking such a question. To her surprise, he reached out and took her hand in his, sending an electric jolt up her arm.

“Come with me,” he said. “I want to show you something.”

All Diane could do was nod.

***

Looking back on it, she wasn’t even sure what she’d been expecting. But it most certainly hadn’t been the fifteen-minute walk through the village as the orange sky darkened overhead. Pine Gap was just as peaceful in the evening as it was in the mornings, Diane observed, taking in the view as they walked in silence, but it was more beautiful now. Many of the cabins they passed were lit up; the darker it got outside, the brighter they appeared.

They soon came to the edge of the village, which was nothing like what Diane had imagined. There were no walls to keep out stray animals or outsiders. The street simply extended into the expanse of snow ahead, beyond the rows of buildings. In the distance, she could see a thicker gathering of pines farther down the mountain.

Sylvester moved on, saying he wanted to put some more distance between themselves and the village. When they’d gone another two hundred feet, he stopped.

“I don’t understand,” Diane said, turning in the snow to look at Sylvester. “What are we doing here? Is there something—?”

The rest of her sentence froze in her throat. Sylvester had begun divesting himself of all his clothing. Diane watched, eyes widening, as he kicked off his shoes and eased his trousers down his legs, standing completely nude in the evening cold. She let her gaze drop, and thought her eyes would pop completely out of their sockets.

Boy, was he packing.

Before she had time to savor the marvelous sight he had just revealed to her, he dropped into a crouch in the snow.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

He spared her a glance. “You and I are going up.”

It took her a couple of seconds to realize what he meant by that. “Wait, what? I… I don’t like flying.”

“It’s okay,” Sylvester assured her calmly. “You’re safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The warmth of his words enveloped her, but only for a moment. She fixed him with a skeptical stare. “And I’m supposed to, what, hold on to you, or something? What if I fall?”

“That’s not going to happen.” He cocked a grin, barely visible as the sky darkened. “And even if it does, you’ll be okay.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I caught you before, didn’t I?”

It was hard to argue when he put it that way. She nodded and backed away, almost on instinct, watching to see what would happen next.

Suddenly, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

Sylvester’s body was growing at an alarming rate, doubling in size by the second. At the same time, a scaly blue pattern appeared on his skin, spreading all the way to his extremities. She heard the sound of bones crunching and she winced, still transfixed by the wonder unfolding before her eyes.

His head expanded so suddenly it might as well have exploded into being. Horns curved out from his forehead, strikingly similar to the one she’d seen on the roof of Gregory’s quarters. Before Diane could fully process what she was seeing, a pair of wings sprouted from his back, and a tail the length of two school buses stretched out onto the snow.

She held her breath, staring wordlessly at the dragon that had seconds before been Sylvester.

The dragon’s yellow eyes blinked back at her, gleaming in the semi-darkness. He spread his wings and tucked them again, repeating the action a couple of times. It wasn’t until he’d spread his wings the fourth time that Diane realized he was trying to communicate with her.

“You want me to… ride you?” She couldn’t help blushing as she said the words.

Sylvester gave a snort, which she took to mean yes.

Diane made a discreet sign of the cross. “Okay.”

She approached the dragon gingerly. His huge eyes followed her until she reached his head.

“I guess you want me to get on your back?” she muttered. And without waiting for a response, she sucked in a breath, wondering how she’d managed to get herself into a situation like this, and climbed atop the dragon’s back, holding on to his horns for dear life.

“If anything happens to me, I’m going to haunt you forever.” She said it as a joke, but the humor in her voice was missing. “Ready when you are.”

For a moment, Sylvester did nothing, and she wondered if he had heard her. Then the dragon spread his wings. The next thing she knew, they were rocketing off the ground so fast Diane thought she’d lose her lunch.

“Oh, my—” The rest of her words were drowned out by the wind rushing in her ears. She kept a tight grip on Sylvester’s horns, determined not to let go, unsure how she’d let him talk her into doing this in the first place. Her hair fluttered around her head, and it took every last shred of willpower to keep from looking down.

Before long, the howling in her ears died down to a gentle whistle. Between that and the steady beat of Sylvester’s wings, there wasn’t much else to hear. When she finally gave in to the crippling temptation, directing her gaze to the mountain below, she nearly let go of the horns in shock.

They had to be at least three hundred feet or more in the air. From her vantage point, the landscape looked like a painting—except for the fact that it stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. Frost Mountain wasn’t just massive, it was all there was to this place.

“Whoa,” she breathed.

A part of her struggled to connect the experience to the rest of what she was still accepting as her reality. Flying above a mountain that shouldn’t exist on the back of… well, a dragon … that was supposed to be impossible. It was colder up here, she realized, a shiver racing through her body. Her knuckles were freezing, but she was determined not to let go of Sylvester’s horns.

Somewhere on this mountain were the remains of the plane that had breached the portal and dumped her here. Somewhere, hopefully, there were other survivors besides herself and Tom. Flying this high made her recall what it felt like to plummet to earth. Sylvester was the only reason she’d survived. Diane felt a rush of gratitude as she held him.

He banked right suddenly, and she nearly lost her grip. Diane nearly uttered a curse, but bit back the words as she took in the sight of the village below.

The town was illuminated by lanterns that bathed the snow in an orange glow almost reminiscent of a sunset. It was hard to make out the cabin rooftops, which were all covered with snow, but she could see the streets, which, from this height, resembled a maze. The word beautiful didn’t do the view justice.

But then something else caught her eye. There was another village a little higher up the mountain. It looked just like Pine Gap, only larger. Between the two villages were a dense wood and an expanse of snow.

“That’s Glenstra, isn’t it?” she whispered.

She doubted Sylvester could hear her over the wind, but the dragon gave a grunt that sent vibrations all the way from her hands to her toes. Figuring he had answered in the affirmative, she examined the town some more, tucking her legs against his scales as a wave of queasiness rocked her stomach.

Why was he showing all this to her?

Then she suddenly guessed the answer: Not only was Glenstra on higher ground, but the village was also much larger than Pine Gap. Any war that broke out between the two villages couldn’t possibly end well for the latter.

Nausea swept through her again, and she shut her eyes for a few seconds. “Take me down, please.”

Sylvester obliged, swooping toward the mountain and opening his wings just before he hit the ground. Certain she might throw up, Diane slid off his neck onto the snow, grateful to have solid earth beneath her feet once more. She doubled over for a moment, trying to steady herself.

When she straightened up, Sylvester was back in human form and climbing into his clothes.

“I see what you mean now,” she told him. “Pine Gap would be crushed in a war.”

He pulled on his other boot and walked toward her. In the darkness, she could barely see his face, but she sensed he was scowling. “My brother’s desire for war has resulted in the death of our father. Soon, it might mean the deaths of many more.”

Instinctively, she laid a hand on his arm. “Everything’s going to be okay,” she told him because she didn’t know what else to say. “If there's war, we’ll make it through. And as for your brother…”

“My brother will get what’s coming to him,” Sylvester said. “I’ll make sure of it somehow. I’ll make sure everyone in the village finds out what he did.”

“Are you sure it’ll work?”

“No.” He shook his head, and she heard the disappointment in his voice. “It won’t be easy, and I’m sure my brother will try to stop me before I can convince everyone.”

Before she had time to think, she said, “I’ll help you.”

“You will?” She imagined he had an eyebrow raised.

“Of course. I’m your wife, aren’t I?”

He let out a chuckle that instantly warmed her insides, and she almost completely forgot they were still standing outside in the cold. When he suddenly looped his arm around her waist, she thought she would melt in the snow.

“You are,” he said.

And then his lips met hers.

Diane hadn’t realized how much she’d missed kissing this man until she felt his warm lips on hers. He crushed her body against his, claiming her on the spot, his hands running along her back. Despite the barrier of clothing and the cold night air, she could feel his warm touch on her skin.

She almost gasped as his tongue made its way into her mouth, but it immediately turned into a moan as one of his hands made its way beneath her sweater. The cold brushed her skin, but vanished the second she felt his palm on her belly. As their kiss grew more passionate, he began to caress her, his fingers climbing dexterously toward her breasts.

It was hard to believe this was really happening. The realization swept through Diane’s gut, and she suddenly broke the kiss, placing a hand on his chest. His heart thudded against her palm in an unsteady rhythm.

“Is something wrong?” His breath was ragged against her nose. He lifted a thumb to stroke her parted lips. “Do you not want this?”

Diane nearly burst out laughing. She wanted this man. Right now. More than anything else in the entire world, she wanted him. Hell, she craved him.

He laughed then. “I see the problem. Would you rather we took this someplace else? Perhaps somewhere not so… public?”

Satisfied with his proposal, and thankful that she would not be having her first sexual experience in years in the freezing snow with her naked butt exposed to anyone who happened to stumble upon them, Diane threw her arms around his neck.

“Yes, I would.”