“I know, I’m sorry. I was hoping to tell you this another way.” He ran his hands through his hair and then sat down on the floor across from her. “Do you have any questions?”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Well, I have an idea.” He stood back up and pushed the stop button back in, and then pushed R to take it to the roof.
“Why are we going to the roof?”
“I want to show you something.” The elevator stopped and they stepped out onto the roof. “Put your coat on. It’s cold out.”
Sarai put her coat on. Then they stepped out onto the roof. Alistair took off his shirt, pants, and shoes.
“Sarai, what is he doing?”
“It’s my favorite shirt. You want proof, real proof? Ok, you got it, don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you. Hold these tight now. I don’t want you to drop them.” He handed his clothes to her and then began to transform again. This time, he backed up away from them so there was more space.
Sarai and Mickey watched as a huge green dragon appeared. He was thirty feet long, with a ten-foot tail. His wings were massive, seeming to stretch on forever. His scales were emerald green. His eyes were golden. His neck was long. He had three horns on his head. He was magnificent.
She suddenly understood the fascination of dragons. They were creatures from another world, and yet here she was looking at one. One that had the eyes of the man she had made love to.
Sarai gasped. Mickey screamed, backed up against the wall and trembled in fear.
Sarai reached out to touch him. He nudged her hand. Carefully, as if not to harm her with his horns. She expected him to feel rough and scaly, but it was more like touching warm silk. It was terrifying, but mesmerizing at the same time. Gone were her feelings of anger and betrayal, replaced with feelings of awe, wonder, and curiosity. She couldn’t think straight while looking at him and touching him, but she didn’t want to stop. He was amazing. He stood there as she looked him over.
“Why did you ask me if I trusted you?” she asked after a moment of exploring his massive green scaly body.
Without responding, the dragon scooped her up and took to the sky. He cradled her in his arms and flew up into the clouds. She screamed at first, but then she lost her breath as he flew her through the clouds, securely holding on to her. He stayed above the clouds so people couldn’t see him. Though if anyone did, it’s not like they would have known or believed what they were seeing.
He stayed above the clouds till they flew over his destination, then just as quickly, he dropped out of the clouds and landed on Pike’s Peak with a loud thud and rocks went sliding down. He put her down gently. The view took her breath away. She could see rows and rows of mountains with rivers that snaked their way through. She had lived in Colorado her whole life and had never climbed Pike’s Peak. She had never had the desire to climb it, but to come to it from the clouds was something else. It was freezing, and she started to shiver, so he wrapped his wings around her like a warm blanket.
At first it took her by surprise, but she quickly warmed up to the idea. She tried not to think about the fact that if he wanted to, he could just swallow her in one bite. Instead she focused on the view. The sky was filled with clouds; they looked so close. She had been too scared to reach out and touch a cloud. Maybe she would on the way back. She had always wondered what a cloud felt like. Would her hand just break through it without touching it, or would it feel dense? Would it feel wet from all the water, or would it feel like snow? Was it safe to touch?
At last he shifted out of dragon form. She giggled because he was naked. She took in his body. His rock-hard abs, his smooth skin. Thought of the night they made love came pouring back, and for the first time in a while the thoughts brought a smile to her face.
Since she had been holding his clothes, she let him get dressed. She gawked at him the whole time.
“Well, say something.” He smiled. “You can’t tell anyone. You and Mickey must swear to secrecy. We would be hunted and killed if you told anyone. I must protect the secret of the shifters.” She nodded her understanding. “But, on occasion, when a human mates with a shifter, they are inducted, and invited into the circle. There just has never been a human who mated with an elite before.”
“I need a minute,” she said still stunned by what just happened. She pinched herself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. She ran her hands through her hair and looked out across the horizon. She couldn’t believe she was standing on Pike’s Peak. “So, you never loved Phoebe?” she asked at last.
“No, never. Sarai, all those messages I left were true.”
“I never actually listened to them,” she confessed.
“I have never seen or been with such an amazing person. I know it all seems fast… but I do love you.”
Sarai wasn’t sure what to think or say.
“I know you have a lot to think about, we both do. I want you to know, I’m in, Sarai. I’m all in. I will protect you and our baby from my father and from all harm.”
“If you promise there is no one else.”
“I promise.”
“Then ok.”
“Ok. Want to stay here and watch the sunset with me, before I take you back?”
“Can I just say this was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me?”
