No images flashed through her mind. No emotions. If he was communicating, she had no idea how.
Stratow tensed and bowed, his front legs bending and his head coming down. She gripped his mane tightly as he sprang forward.
She screamed, thrown backward by the force of his sudden gallop. Her cheeks flapped in the wind rushing against her face, and her body jolted with each step. A sports bra would’ve gone a long way in this situation. The ground blurred around her, the trees whipping by so fast they lost their shape.
Her butt slid backward as her mind flashed to the knife in her loose and horribly out-of-shape bra. She squeezed with her legs and loosened one of her hands to clutch it, ensuring it didn’t fall.
Don’t you fucking dare,Tarian yelled in her mind.It’s going to get dicier in just a?—
Stratow launched into the sky, the power of the move so intense it felt like her teeth were trying to find the back of her throat. Her eyes watered. Her hands slipped on the silky mane.
Hang on, dove,Tarian said with a rough edge to his voice.I’m right behind you. If you slip, push back to me. Slide into my body and I’ll hold us on.
She couldn’t focus enough to ask howhewas holding on. The creature was climbing at an insane angle, the massive wings reaching out much farther than she had anticipated they could. Each flap propelled them at a force that tore at her grip. That made her butt continue to slide.
Almost there,Tarian said encouragingly.Just a little more.
Was walking really such a terrible idea?
Too late now,he said, and she could hear the strain in his mental voice.
Wings pumping, Stratow started to level off. Her hands stopped sliding and her legs found their purchase. The wind still tore at her cheeks, and if she opened her mouth, they’d flap, but the fear of sliding off reduced.
You made it,Tarian said, his hand on her lower back.That’s the worst of the climb. Stormbacks typically take off by gliding. It’s why mountains are the best places for them. Taking off from flat land means they need the winds to be right, space to get speed, and it requires a lot of exertion.His mental touch changed slightly, and she realized he was no longer talking to her.Thank you for the effort, friend.
A feeling of humble gratitude swept over her, and she knew Tarian felt it, too. That must’ve been Stratow’s response.
She ducked a bit as they continued to climb in elevation, the air starting to thin and cool. In no time, she was shivering and gasping for breath.
It’s okay. Here, lean back into me.She felt Tarian’s hands on her upper arms, coaxing her to lean back.
Had he lost his fucking mind? The wind threatened to rip her right off this creature’s back and fling her into the great, wide abyss. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but usually, when she encountered them, she had something to hold on to or a metal enclosure around her.
Concern radiated through her as she gasped harder. It wasn’t her emotion, though. It came from Stratow. He leveled out, and she felt a hard grip on the back of her shirt. Tarian yanked, ripping fabric and forcing her to slide back.
She screamed again and wasn’t embarrassed about it. She tried to clutch on to the mane as her fingers slipped, but the yank was too hard and unexpected, and suddenly, she was sliding.Falling back. Her legs kicked at nothing as air washed around her.
Tarian’s strong arm wrapped around her middle. His hand splayed against her ribs, and even through her clothes, she could feel the heat of his touch. The hard planes of his chest pushed against her back as he leaned over her, enveloping her in a warmth that couldn’t just be from his body. The wind stopped rushing her face, and the atmosphere gained density, offering more oxygen.
She took a deep breath, somehow inhaling his delicious scent despite the wind. Her body shook, not from cold, but from fear.You could’ve put that bubble around me while I was still clinging to the mane.
I’m sorry,he whispered in her mind, his face brushing against hers and nestling into her hair.I panicked. I didn’t realize humans couldn’t tolerate the change in air pressure and temperature from flight. I have you now. You’ll be okay.
His legs gripped the stormback, and his hand fit in a deep groove at the back of the stormback’s wing. For all intents and purposes, he’d had a handle to hold and purchase for his legs while she’d been up at the neck sitting. She’d gotten the shit end of the stick on that one.
His arm squeezed her tighter, and his thumb moved, stroking against her, the tip barely sliding along the underside of her breast. This time the shiver wasn’t from cold or fear.The force is greater back here, and I worried you wouldn’t have the grip strength to hold on. If you’d slipped from the neck, you would’ve slid into me. I could’ve held us both.
It would’ve been nice if he’d done that in the beginning with his oh-so-mighty grip strength, the weasel. It would’ve kept her from thoughts of certain death.
A vibration under her legs and a rolling sea of mirth indicated Stratow thought all this was humorous. She didn’t see the joke.
That’s because you’re the punch line,Tarian said, and she glanced to the side, wondering how much effort it would take to push him off. The rumbling continued.
Other stormbacks flew in close, theFallenatop them looking at ease and windswept, but with concerned expressions. They really needed to focus on hanging on better. A little turbulence and those fuckers would be headed for the ground.
The rumbling intensified.
Honestly, what is so funny?she thought in exasperation.
