Page 83 of Golden Queen (Idrigard #1)

He had resigned himself to his duty—to deliver me to his brother. I had forced his hand. I should have known he would not dishonor his word for just one more roll in the hay with me. One more night of pleasure.

He was looking at me with an expression of pure regret.

That gorgeous face, those depthless dark eyes, had no business looking at someone like me.

..like that. Like he would tear himself apart to apologize for what he had done.

I did not deserve that. Even if I was not broken and corrupted by my own lack of honor, I would not have deserved someone like him.

I went to him, big arms coming around me automatically as I folded myself into him. "That wasn't true," I told him, laying my cheek against his chest and searching out the calming sound of his heart.

He placed his hand at the back of my head and laid his cheek against my hair with a sigh. "I would love to say that I would take you to Orin, that all you would need to do is ask, but I cannot do that, Sera. I'm sorry for that—or at least some part of me wants to be sorry for that."

I knew that. And the real truth was that I didn’t want him to be able to let me go. If he caved, and was willing to take me to Orin, then I could no longer lean on the excuse that I was simply being forced into doing the only thing my heart wanted to do.

I took a deep breath and released him, but before I slid my arms away, I pushed myself up and kissed him. "Let's go," I said.

As I climbed onto Veles and readied to leave, the thoughts regarding how I could possibly manage to extricate myself from the situation—to extricate him from the situation—crawled up my throat to choke me.

We followed the valley as it curved around to the northeast, the sky darkening to a deeper shade of blue that made the wispy white clouds stand out even brighter against the sky.

"We're entering the Twilight Gap now," Io said.

The Twilight Gap was a narrow strip of land that separated the Thyella Sea in the west from the Great Sea to the east. As the only overland route between the two halves of Alterra, it was the disputed territory that would transfer back to Windemere after my marriage to King Behr.

A wide band of milky stars shone in the distance, making an arch that streaked across the horizon.

"We won't see another dawn," Io added, as we flew toward the darkening sky.

I detected a note of pride in his voice. I already knew how much Darkwatch meant to him, but when I glanced back at his face as we flew towards twilight, I felt a surge of my own warm joy at sharing the homecoming with him.

We flew across much of the same snow-capped mountainous landscape as the sky faded from gold and pink to a deep blue that perfectly matched Io's irises. It was as though part of the sky had been taken down to create them.

The narrow track of a road could be glimpsed in places where the snow had blown away. We followed it through the pass until suddenly Veles veered off sharply to the left, angling downward. Eroa flew straight ahead, not seeming to acknowledge the detour of the big dragon. "Are we stopping?" I asked.

"To sleep, yes."

"In the snow?" I asked, eyeing the sloping snow covered mountains below.

"No," he said, cryptically, but I heard a smile in his voice.

Veles angled down to the darkened side of a mountain and landed on the slope. For one horrified moment, I thought we would go sliding over the edge. But then he used his massive claws to scramble up the rock to a small ledge with the dark outline of a cave mouth on the mountain's steep side.

Io unfastened the strap over my legs before he swung his leg across the saddle. He grabbed our packs and reached for me, lending me a hand to climb down the side of the dragon to a flat rock at the cave mouth.

Veles swung his head around and Io gave him a pat on the side of his face as I shrugged on my fur coat.

The dragon purred, peeling his lips back, and angling his head to the side. He looked like he was smiling as Io leaned his forehead against his snout. "I love you too, beast," he said.

Io turned and pulled me towards the cave opening as Veles angled his body back down the slope. He slid down in a shower of rocks, extending his wings only when he reached the edge of the steep precipice.

My heart lurched in my chest as Veles tipped over the ledge and disappeared. I started to push forward, horrified to imagine him broken on the floor of the valley below.

A massive burst of wind buffeted my hair, pushing me back as he surged up, beating his enormous wings, rising into the sky.

Io laughed as he saw my expression. "He's just trying to impress you. I think the big dog is half in love with you himself."

"Well call me impressed because the feeling is mutual."

Io took my hand again and pulled me the rest of the way to the cave opening.

I hesitated. "Are you sure there aren't ice cats in there?" I asked.

"Not in this cave."

"How do you know?"

"Because this cave is special."

I took a tentative step inside and immediately felt the change in temperature. It was warm, almost muggy.

Io's hand flared to life with bright gold flames as we moved into the cave through a narrow, arched tunnel. The light cast flickering reflections over the smooth, shiny black walls.

"Is this a natural cave?" I asked, thinking the walls looked much too smooth to be anything but man made.

"These are lava tubes."

"So this is a volcano?" I asked with sudden apprehension.

"A dormant one," he replied.

"It doesn't feel very dormant in here," I pressed. The temperature had climbed so high that I was sweating and needed to remove my thick fur coat.

"It's safe, I promise."

We followed the tunnel as it snaked down and around for several hundred feet until it abruptly opened on a massive chamber.

I gasped at the beauty of the cave before me. Diffuse light streamed from long tendril vines hanging from a central hole in the ceiling. I could see the stars and a portion of the night sky far above. Below, spreading off into the darkness, was a huge hot spring—more lake than pool.

Steam wafted from opaque blue water. It rose up to mingle with the glowing vines. Some of them reached nearly to the rocky shores of the hot spring. The edge of the pool was stained white with the build-up of minerals from the water so that it gave it the appearance of being a frozen, icy paradise.

Thick verdant mats of pale gray moss grew down from the cave walls and extended in flowing patches down to the water's edge. I could faintly see tiny swaying green plants in the water carried back and forth on some current.

Io released my hand as I stepped into the cave, shrugging off my coat. I turned in a circle, my face split in a wide grin of astonishment.

He studied me as I picked my way to the edge of the water and leaned down to feel it. It was warm—deliciously so.

I stood, kicking off my boots one by one and going for the buttons of my shirt. I heard his laugh as I threw it to the ground and moved to undo the buttons of my pants.

Only when I was completely naked and waded out to where the water covered me to my navel did I look back at him.

He was watching me, his eyes dark and intense as I ran my hands through the ethereally blue water.

"You look like a water goddess," he said, a slow grin curving his lips.

I didn't respond. I just turned and began walking further out, following the gentle slope of the pool until the water was deep enough that I had to swim.

I tipped my head back and looked up at the brilliant stars overhead, visible through the open ceiling of the cave.

Snow could be seen clinging to the edges of the rocks at the very top where those long, faintly glowing vines were rooted in between the stones.

The sound of splashing drew my attention to the shore, and I saw Io, gloriously naked, stalking out into the water toward me.

His body was a masterpiece, his long arms and chiseled torso, with the flat planes of his stomach leading down to that deliciously wicked ‘v.’ Even his cock was perfectly made, long and thick between his massive thighs.

How could this wonderful, supremely powerful creature be stalking toward me with his eyes full of hunger? It was ridiculous.

I thought he would come straight to me, but he disappeared beneath the surface. He surfaced just in front of me, his head bursting through the water as his arms captured me. He pulled me against him as his lips found mine.

"I have wanted to see you in this place since the first moment I laid eyes on that devastating body of yours," he said.

I smiled. It always made me feel beautiful when he said things like that.

I had never been particularly proud of my round shape, even when I easily comprehended the looks I got any time I wore something particularly form-fitting.

Men liked the shape of me, that was true, but I never liked the way their eyes made me feel—somehow ashamed of it.

That all changed when he looked at me. When he looked at me like that—like he was devouring the simple sight of me—like the image alone was enough to fulfill him…it made me feel like that goddess he compared me to.

He pulled me closer to shore until we were standing, and then he turned me. He pulled the leather tie from the end of my braid and began undoing it.

"Your hair is enchanting, Sera. It makes me think of moonlight on a snowy mountain. Like you were created to exist beneath the Darkwatch skies." Chills raced across my skin as he unwound my hair, and when it hung down my back, he turned me again. "Stay here," he said.

I nodded, and he walked up the sloped floor of the pool towards our packs on the shore. I watched the muscles of his very well-made backside flex and move as he walked. "Talk about devastating," I said, breathlessly.

His deep laugh carried back to me as he reached in my pack and came out with the bar of soap I bought in the Cold Garden mercantile.