Then she shatters, her inner walls gripping me tight as she comes with a sound that echoes through the trees. The sight of her pleasure, the feel of her contracting around me, sends me over the edge after her. I bury myself deep and spill into her, her name a hoarse cry on my lips.
She rides me for a good long while, milking each drop from me, and all I can do is hold on.
We collapse against each other, hearts racing, bodies slick with sweat. The forest is quiet around us, save for our ragged breathing and the distant call of birds.
Eventually, Isla lifts her head from my shoulder. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright, her lips swollen from my kisses. She looks utterly ravished, and I feel a deep satisfaction at being the one who made her look this way.
“I love you,” she says.
“I love you too.” I brush a strand of hair from her face. “More than I ever thought I could love anyone. And one day…soon, if I have anything to say about it, you will say yes, and we will be married.”
“That sounds good.” She smiles and then leans forward and kisses me softly.
I help her off my lap, and we help each other put our clothes back in order.
“We should head back,” she says, adjusting her dress. “They’ll wonder where we’ve gone.”
“Let them wonder.”
But I take her hand, and we start walking toward the caves. Our pace is slow. Neither of us is in a hurry to return to the world beyond this forest.
“A baby,” I say, the wonder of it finally sinking in. “We’re going to have a baby.”
Isla squeezes my hand. “We are.”
“I’m going to be a father.”
“You are.”
I stop walking and pull her into my arms.
“I’m going to be a father,” I say again, and this time the words aren’t a question. They’re a vow. A promise to the tiny life growing inside her. “Our child is going to know nothing but love. I swear it, Isla. Whatever comes, whatever battles we have to fight, our baby will be loved and wanted.”
“I know.” Her voice is muffled against my shirt.
“Marry me.”
“Still no.” She laughs.
I laugh too, and the sound surprises me. It’s been so long since I laughed so openly. She does that to me. She makes me feel like I might actually be the man she deserves.
My heart is fuller than it has ever been.
I’m going to be a father.
And one day soon, she’s going to say yes.
48
Sebastian
The dragons descend.
One after another, they drop from the sky and land in the clearing before the caves. Their wings fold against scaled flanks as riders swing down from their backs.
I stand at the mouth of the cave with Isla’s hand wrapped in mine. Her fingers are cool, and I give them a gentle squeeze.
I pull in a deep breath; my gut is churning.
