Chapter 65 CHAPTER 65
ALIRA'S POV
“What are you doing up there?!” Zade growled, running towards me with panic in his eyes.
“Relax,” I laughed, “there's a pool here I discovered during climbing lessons.”
“You're going to fall down Alira,” he insisted, still sounding panicked.
“Your eyes are glitching just because I'm climbing a mountain? You really think I'm that weak?” I asked, pushing up to the next boulder that I'd tested twice for sturdiness because I'm not trying to die untimely, thank you.
“Of course not, you're strong Little Sunshine but these mountains are not so trustworthy.”
I looked back at him and an idea slithered into my head.
I face the mountain to avoid showing the smile that was on my face.
“I can do – AHH!”
“ALIRA!”
Laughter erupted from my throat, and I grabbed another boulder, not the one I pulled free from its hold to scare him.
“Why are you scared? You can't catch me?” I teased, looking between me and the cave opening I needed to jump to.
The distance wasn't much, but for someone who was terrified of heights, if I made the mistake of looking down while in transit, well…
“You can't do that to me, shit!”
I looked down to see him hunched over, his tail swishing violently, making my heart skip.
Guilt raced through me.
“I'm sorry,” I breathed, “I didn't know… are you alright?”
“Just stay safe, I'll see you tomorrow,” he growled, turning around to walk away.
“Wait!” I screeched, desperate, “I'm really sorry for scaring you like that, please forgive me?”
He still didn't look at me.
“Zade?”
He finally turned, and his eyes were…
Gold. Bright, burning gold where soft grey used to be. They didn't just reflect the fading sunlight, they generated it, glowing with an inner fire I couldn't explain.
His body vibrated with urgency and I saw his talons grow longer, a thick, black extension.
“What is happening to you?”
“I have to –”
“Climb with me, please? There's a pool here, you can calm your body,” I begged, I could literally feel the heat pouring out of his body.
He looked forward and up at me, a war happening in his eyes.
Our eyes clashed again and I heard a ‘fuck it' under his breath before he began climbing the foot of the gigantic mountain.
I looked at the distance again and I took steadying breaths. I'd stayed here too long and my lungs, limbs and hands were shaking.
My legs too but let's not focus on that, okay?
Good Alira, ignore the fact that your legs are shaking and you might fall to your death.
I angled my body to the side, one foot on the mountain and another moving forward to the other side.
“What are you doing?!”
“Shh!” I snapped, his panic leaking into my blood. “Okay, stop overthinking it. You've done this before right?”
When I was fresh on energy, healing water and that drink they brought over here.
Not tired from the day's headache, not weak from the emotional battles I've been having and definitely not tense from Zade's presence behind me.
And it was daytime, how could I forget to mention that? Enhanced senses or not, it was dark.
“Wait, I'll help you,” he called but I shut him out.
I'm a dragon kin, one day, I'll jump off a dragon and I'll need to prepare my heart so it doesn't pop and kill me.
So with another deep breath, I jumped off the ledge, hands stretched for the boulder that's my connection to the other side.
I caught it, and I exhaled, a smile breaking as I grabbed it strongly with every part of me.
Then I heard a crack.
“Fucking hell.”
My feet swung over as the boulder shifted and I scurried to grab onto something else, ignoring Zade's terrified screams from the other side.
“I'm fine!” I yelled, pulling myself squarely on the flat-surfaced entrance into the cave.
I looked down, bad idea.
It was smooth and completely impossible to climb, talons or not, except your nails can sink into rock.
Then I looked out to see Zade already on my level, just moving sideways to come this way.
Something that took me over thirty minutes to complete.
“You're heating up,” I noticed again.
Up close, it felt like I was standing too close to the sun.
“Sorry love,” he huffed, and then jumped effortlessly to my side, “show me the pool.”
His voice had a sultry edge to it that I refused to believe I was hearing.
The man was sick and I was imagining him naked.
Maybe because of his protruding cock in his tunic. I don't even know what part of this entire exchange made him that horny but I rushed in, taking the small path that led to the pool.
It was a beautiful, translucent water body that adjusted to temperature.
I consider it magical and the perfect solution to the heating pan walking behind me, his footsteps getting slower as we walked.
“Try to keep up,” I chuckled, increasing my speed.
He only grunted and slowed down further.
Thankfully the pool wasn't too far in, which was why I was comfortable coming here all alone.
“Here you are,” I announced like I was introducing him to my high-level mansion, “knock yourself out.”
He jumped.
I watched the water swish and sizzle, his hot body making the water work overtime.
He stayed in so long I was scared he'd drowned or something.
Then he did and my breath caught in my throat.
I blew out the hair in front of my eyes, I needed a clearer view of the beautiful danger in front of me.
His eyes were like molten gold, but it was his hair, red lips and the clean-shaven beard that made his sharp jaw prominent that had me clenching all over.
I wanted to pull his hair and crash my lips on his.
‘Get it together Alira,’ I warned myself but nothing was working.
Not when I realised he was watching me too, his tail rocking above his head like a sex demon.
And then he made me an offer I should have refused,
“Aren't you coming in?”
But it looked like tonight, my brain was on leave with any hopes of returning.