Page 38 of The Mountain King
“It seems a gentle pastime.” He inclined his head and held out a hand. “Are you ready?”
Kailigh took the hand readily enough and he drew her along. The trek this time led them the opposite way from her home and the town. Instead, they dived into the forest and with the sunlight streaming through the trees and the song of birds fluttering in the canopy, it was almost as if they entered another time.
Or maybe it was just the dragon at her side who made it seem new.
He seemed content not to speak, glancing at her occasionally, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. And slowly, Kailigh relaxed. Her daughters were more or less safe, everyone was fed, and she had at her side the baddest beast for miles around. If there was any time she could relax her guard and simply enjoy the day, it was now.
They emerged from the forest on the edge of a crystalline blue lake, small enough for a leisurely swim across, the sun bursting overhead and sparkling on the still surface. Baby mountains rose in the back and for a moment, she feared to travel to the other side, climb those mountains and see what was beyond. But she knew what was beyond. Seattle, the only Dome in the Pacific Northwest, and the Outlands. Maddugh’s mountains, the surrounding forest, was an oasis. It was why, despite its issues, she’d never left.
“You’re smiling,” he murmured. “Share your thoughts?”
“I never knew this was here,” she said, stepping forward. “How could I have not known this was here?”
“I’m glad it pleases you. I come here when I can—usually not as a man, though.”
Kailigh turned. “Are you?”
“Pardon?”
“A man. Are you even a man? I don’t know much about your people, only that they came through the worlds when the War ripped the veil between the dimensions.”
She held his eyes, not wanting to miss even the flick of a lash. Maddugh moved forward, grace and confidence. He took her hand and lifted it to his chest. Her palm flattened against his hard pec, the thrumming of his heart met her fingers.
“My heart beats,” he said. “My blood is red.” He smiled. “My passion hot.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” she asked in a whisper as his head lowered, his eyes trained on hers.
His lips hovered over hers. “Courting a woman worth a dragon’s weight in gold.”
Kailigh’s lids drifted shut and her senses became hyperaware of the scents of the forest, the warm beam of sun on her cheek, the rapid beating of the organ under her hand. Her heart sped up to match his own. He suckled her bottom lip, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and pulling her flush against his body, trapping both of her arms against him.
Kailigh didn’t struggle, didn’t pull away. She sank into him, wanting to know if her body would truly wake for this man—if his would truly wake for her. And she had her answer soon enough with the stiffness pressing against her belly. She inhaled, not quite ready for things to progress beyond a kiss. Not quite.
Maddugh stepped back without relinquishing her hand. “Come.”
