Trees dropped long limbs covered in glossy leaves of all shapes and sizes toward a long and wide pool of water that was also filled by a tumbling waterfall that ran over rocks, some as big as buildings. The sound of that water, rushing and wild, made her heartbeat speed up. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
He changed. His hand reached out and took hers. Tingles darted along her spine and made her face color a bit as heat surfaced yet again, leaving her hyper-aware of his touch and the way his touch felt upon her skin. He said, “Come on. It’s this way.”
They walked side by side. His hand still held hers, and he used that hold to guide her around boggy patches and slippery rocks. Birds sang from the trees and the grass, soft and a lush emerald green, waved gently in the soft breeze.
They went around the waterfall and then she saw it. She stopped, her mouth open and her eyes going round. “That’s incredible!”
It was. It was rather like a dragon version of Mt. Rushmore. The cliffs had been carved and dragons raced across the face of the cliffs. Beside them were knights, tall and wide, their swords planted into the very ground thanks to the clever carving of the rock they had been formed from.
Heather whispered, “Who made this?”
Max said, “It formed when we did. The battle was carved into the rocks by the magic that was used that day.”
Her fingers clamped down on his slightly. “I know you said that but I thought, I mean I thought it was just a legend or something. It…I am not doubting you, I swear, it’s just that things are so different here and I wondered, honestly, if you were maybe using the word magic to mean something else. I guess that is pretty silly. I mean, you’re a dragon and this world exists, so magic must exist too.
“There are some people in my world who believe in magic and witches and so on, but whether or not they have real magic, I couldn’t say. I was never someone who believed in that, or who thought any of that was possible. I have always been…I have never been much for going on faith and belief, I guess.” She paused for breath and asked, “Is there any magic left in my world?”
“Yes, of course. There’s magic in every world, even yours. But in your world, they’ve either killed it or hidden it under the cover of science so that those who fear it or who would use it badly cannot do so.”
She could see how science and magic could be viewed as the same thing. She said, “We’ve had a few scientists whose work got used for real evil.”
“I’m sure.” They stood there, staring at the rocks and the images upon it. “Here, magic is always present. It has to be for this world to stand. If the magic dies, this world dies. It’s as simple as that.”
As simple as that? She turned her head so she could see his face. “That’s…so how do you keep magic alive?”
“We just are magic.”
That phrase made her heart triple time it in her chest. He was definitely magical, of that there was no doubt. He said, “Come on.” He gave her hand a gentle tug, and they walked onward. His lean hip banged into hers, sending little shock waves through her system.
I want him. That’s crazy as hell, but I want him. Hard on the heels of that came a new thought. Can he read my mind?
She really hoped not but since she didn’t know for sure, she concentrated hard on clearing her brain of those thoughts, but the truth of them lingered on in her flesh, which was prickly and hot and shivering all over her bones. There was an undeniable wetness in her inner depths. She could not deny that she wanted him; it was written all over and within her body.
She stopped walking. “Is that a town or something?”
“It is.” They were at the very edge of a cliff now, looking downward into a fertile valley. “There’s a lot of people there. I’d rather walk in, if you don’t mind. They know of us, of course. Their ancestors came here with us, but even so, a dragon flying in can get them a little nervous.”
“I bet.” She eyed the steep descent “How do we get down without killing ourselves?”
“We take the path.” He pointed to a thin dirt track. She followed him to it. He said, “Here, put your hands at my waist and just try not to fall forward. If you think you are going to fall, just go backward. We’d be better off that way.”
Dry-mouthed at the steep incline and the sheer craziness of walking down an actual mountain, Heather said, “Yeah sure. Fall backward. Got it.”
Her hands went to Max’s lean waist. A long jolt of desire pulsed through her, stiffening her nipples. His hips rested just below her hands, and she could feel the heat of his skin below the simple shirt and trousers that he wore. That heat was echoing throughout her body, sending off crazy flares of want and need.
The feel of his hips and waist moving as they started down didn’t help calm that feeling either. Instead, that desire just grew stronger as she felt the flex and release of his long and lean muscles below her fingers and palms. She forgot to keep an eye out and nearly fell, teetering for a moment before realizing the danger she was putting both of them into and righting herself.
It took every ounce of her willpower to stop paying attention to his magnificent body and to pay attention to the path.
Max said, “Are you okay?”
Her feet faltered a little bit. She cleared her throat. “I am. Just a little nervous.”
He spoke in a soothing tone that made her feel both better and worse. “We’re almost there, and you’re doing great.”
She wasn’t doing great. Not in this world, and not in her own either. She asked, “Did you want to be king?”
He stopped walking. He stopped walking so suddenly that she actually walked right into his back. The hard and strong muscles that made up his ass and his back met her body, and she completely lost her breath and her entire train of thought.
