Page 27

Tiber stripped off his tunic and hung it up on the boulder he was using to protect Mia and their campfire from the winds.

Then he stepped around to the other side to find Mia sitting by the fire bundled up in a thick coat, a cap covering her hair and ears.

They’d made it here just under an hour ago and he was glad because she had been getting cold in the air.

But she smiled when she saw him, lifted her mug of tea. “I was wondering if you’d forgotten about me.”

Impossible—he could never forget her. Especially after seeing her floating naked out in the spring so free and…

goddess. She’d been glorious, her hair floating around her, her breasts full and begging for his touch.

But he half-smiled at her joke as he approached.

“I was helping Ilmari chase down his latest prey. He’s still a young hunter, doesn’t quite understand the delicacy of the hunt. ”

“So he’s not a vegetarian like some of his siblings back in New Orleans?”

Tiber blinked. “Absolutely not.”

She chuckled and stretched her legs out in front of the fire. “I can’t believe we’ve been traveling all day. I’ve taken mental pictures of everything we’ve seen, and I want to paint all of it.” There was wonder in her voice and he tried to see things from her perspective.

He’d been flying these mountains and this region for centuries but there was no denying the raw beauty of their surroundings. “I hope to purchase some of those paintings.”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll paint you something for free. For being such a good tour guide and giving me this gift of travel.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond as he crouched down next to her, enjoying being in her presence as well as the warmth of the fire. He didn’t want to be her tour guide. He wanted to be her mate, and his dragon was prowling right at the surface.

“You’re not cold?” she asked, her teeth chattering.

He shook his head and stoked the fire even higher.

He thought of breathing some of his dragon fire onto it but wasn’t sure how she would react.

He also seriously contemplated just pulling her into his lap to warm her up but didn’t think that would go over well.

“Did you get enough to eat?” He’d brought dried fruit snacks and other easy to eat food full of protein, as well as the tea she liked.

Unlike her, he simply hunted for his food in dragon form and ate what he needed. But she was human, and he found himself planning ahead for her needs. Something he’d never had to do before—but he enjoyed taking care of her.

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for the tea. I feel a bit useless since you set everything up.” White wisps of vapor curled in front of her as she spoke.

He shrugged, once again resisting the urge to pull her into his arms and keep her warm in a much different way. “There’s no sense in both of us doing it when I’ve done it a hundred times.”

“Really?”

He lifted his shoulder again. “I’ve taken this flight path many times before. Not to your artist’s retreat, but other territories.”

She made a hmming sound and looked back at the fire and he wished he knew what she was thinking.

After seeing her floating gloriously naked in the secret hot springs he’d never shown to anyone else, he couldn’t get the vision of her out of his mind.

Didn’t want to.

But he also couldn’t concentrate now that he knew exactly what her perfect pink nipples looked like. She’d been stretched out like an offering and now he was obsessed with the thought of pleasuring her, making her climax against his mouth, around his cock.

To be fair, he’d already been obsessed with it, but it was worse now.

“Where’s Ilmari?” she asked into the quiet, looking up at the dark skies.

Clouds had moved in, hiding the blanket of stars and moon. This high up on one of the mountainsides, they were likely to get fog as well.

“Enjoying his food,” he said dryly.

She giggled lightly. “He is a bit of a messy eater.”

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep now. I want to be rested for tomorrow’s flight.”

“Oh, of course. I’m tired too—and I know you must be a million times more exhausted since you flew all day.”

“It wasn’t bad.” And he’d enjoyed flying next to her and Ilmari.

Normally the thought of slowing down for someone else would have annoyed him, but, apparently, nothing about Mia bothered him.

He wished she’d asked to ride on him, but he hadn’t wanted to pressure her when she was already stressed about her ex.

She crouched down on her bedroll next to his, frowned at the space between them, then to his surprise, she moved her stuff closer.

He hadn’t wanted to crowd her, so he’d been cautious.

He was well aware of the physical power dynamics and never wanted to make her feel intimidated.

“I can sleep in my dragon form and you can curl up under the protection of my tail and wings,” he said as he unzipped the roll. “If it’ll make you feel safer.”

“I think I’d rather you stay in human form—only so we can talk a little. I’m not insulting your dragon half.”

Of course she’s not, we are perfect , his dragon purred. But I do like the acknowledgement.

Nodding, he started to unroll his bedding and realized there was a piece of parchment tucked under his pillow.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said hurriedly. “When you were gone, I decided to sketch you and Ilmari. I thought you might like it.” Her tone was a little higher than normal, as if she was embarrassed. “You don’t have to keep it.”

“It’s beautiful, I love it. Thank you.” He smiled at the black and white drawing of what was clearly him and Ilmari in flight, the much smaller dragon swooping around his left wing in play.

Carefully, he tucked it in one of his leather journals so it would stay flat and protected, then put it back in his satchel.

As he started to get into his bedding, he realized how far they were from the fire. And that it wasn’t going to work for her the whole night.

“Hold up,” he murmured before he quickly moved her bedding closer to the fire, then his own behind hers. “I’ll sleep behind you and keep you warm as well.”

He couldn’t tell because of the shadows but her cheeks seemed to pinken as she nodded.

Only once she was in her bedroll, did he slide in next to her.

Instead of pulling her close, like his dragon demanded, he tucked one hand under his head and half turned toward her.

“Did you still want to talk?” he asked quietly.

He would talk all night if she wanted, though he had no idea what to say.

She slid one hand under her cheek and turned to him, her coat hood pulled up over her head. Goddess, she was adorable and gorgeous at the same time. “Only if you want to.”

At his nod, she gave him a soft smile.

“Will you tell me about where you came from? I’ve heard enough talk that you’re from a desert region?”

He nodded and scooted a little closer, enjoying the way her orange blossom scent carried on the air, seemed to wrap around him.

“My clan was small…” He searched for the right words and then decided not to downplay where he came from. “We were not a peaceful clan. I don’t think we’re built that way. We often found ourselves at war with other clans.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

He paused as he thought about the answer. “I… don’t know. It’s all I’ve ever known. I liked fighting alongside my siblings.”

“Siblings?”

“A brother and a sister. Both living in different realms. We were always nomads, I guess you could say. My original clan, the ones who remain in my homeland still call the desert their home. They live in gorgeous caves, their lives different than mine. For the most part, they stay in their dragon form. They only shift to human when they need to trade.”

Her eyes widened slightly at that. “Do you miss your homeland?”

“Yes and no.” He’d never opened up to anyone about this, but he liked telling her more about himself.

And he wanted the same from her, to know all her secrets.

“I miss my family and carry my childhood memories deep in my heart, but… I love the Nova realm. It’s my home in a way no other place ever has been.

Octavia likes to say I found my family here and she’s not wrong. Nova is my home.”

“I love that. Found family.” Her eyes grew a little dreamy as she watched him. “You’re different than I originally thought.”

“Different?”

She bit her bottom lip and goddess, he wanted to take over, to pull her onto him and ravish her mouth. “I’m not sure if I should say.”

“You can say anything to me.”

“You have a fearsome reputation. One I have no doubt is earned. But… I don’t know.” She let out a little laugh. “Just ignore me. I’m enjoying hearing about how you grew up. Do you ever visit your family?”

“Occasionally. And my parents have both visited Nova.”

“What did they think of it?”

His mouth curved up. “That it is too civilized and its people too soft.”

“Soft?”

He snorted. “Yes. Soft. No matter that it is one of the strongest dragon holds,” he said, shaking his head.

“It’s simply different than what they’re used to.

There’s more structure, more… life. I might not enjoy being around others all the time, but I like the pulse of Nova.

I feel the rhythm of it in my bones every day. ”

“That’s beautiful,” she whispered, her gaze falling to his mouth for a moment.

He wondered what she would do if he reached out, grasped her hip, and made his intention clear. Would she reject him? It was too soon to tell, and he didn’t want to break this fragile bond he could feel growing between them.

And he was very aware that he might be putting her in the awkward position of saying no to him while she was dependent on him. He would never hurt her and he hoped she understood that, but… no, now was not the right time. “Tell me about your family, your homeland.”

“I grew up in a bayou—which is basically wetlands or swamp. My family is loud and large and while I love them… My sister and I never felt like we fit in.”

“How so?”

“We just wanted different things, saw the world differently, I guess. My father was a drunk, my mom was always taking care of us. He could never hold a job which meant my mom had to hide what little money she made from him. Because if he found it, he’d take it and blow through it on cheap moonshine or whatever he could get his hands on.

” She shook her head, her tone almost dismissive, but he could feel the sadness rolling off her. The scent of it was sharp, potent.

“You don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, I kind of like opening up about this. It’s been a long time. Unless this is too heavy to talk about?”

He shook his head, eager to learn everything about her, though he hated that her father hadn’t been there to protect her the way a parent should.

“My dad died of liver failure when I was still in high school. Ah, I was a teenager. So I ended up picking up a lot of slack around the house, working two jobs to help my mom out. I always felt guilty when I’d buy art supplies for myself, but one of my aunts was a big support.

When she realized how bad it was at our place, she engaged the whole family to help out.

Because of that I was able to go to college and not feel guilty.

Or as guilty,” she added. “Eventually my sister moved out too and in with me in New Orleans. We sort of took care of each other after that, which was nice.” She shrugged and he was under the impression she was done.

But then she surprised him by continuing.

“Robin, my sister, she hated Charles. She didn’t tell me at first because I was so smitten.

” Mia covered her face and groaned. “I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed for making such a poor choice, but the way Charles was with me, was the way my dad had been with my mom to an extent.

The love-bombing. The compliments and promises that turned out to be empty. ”

Sighing, she let her hand fall away. “Neptune never warmed up to him either, which should have been another sign.” She paused, watching him curiously. “What about you? Any scary exes in your past?”

His mouth curved up as he shook his head. “No.”

He wasn’t going to tell her about his former lovers, few as they were. They were all warriors like him, had all been looking for quick comfort and pleasure, nothing more.

With Mia, he wanted so much more. He wanted forever, someone to share his life with, someone who cared about him as more than a warrior. Someone who loved… just him. He wanted to create something real with her.

“That’s good,” she murmured, and he could hear the exhaustion creeping into her voice.

“Come here,” he growled, letting his protectiveness take over. “I can hear your teeth chattering. Just curl up against me until you get warm.”

To his surprise, she didn’t argue or push him away. Instead, she buried her face in his chest, and he was so glad he’d taken off his tunic.

He loved the feel of even her face touching his skin, though he wanted far more of her pressed against him, wrapped around him.

She slid her arm around him and sighed happily. “You’re better than a fire.” Her voice was fading now, and he knew it wouldn’t be long until she finally dozed off.

He heard Ilmari nearby, making his way to the camp, likely glutted on too much meat and ready to pass out.

“Feel free to use me for my warmth.” Or my cock, he silently added. Goddess, she could use him anytime, anywhere.