“Where are you taking me?” Jade asked a few minutes later when he cleared the narrowest part of the canyon and they were flying above the Rainbow Falls.

“To my private retreat,” he answered.

His body was unyielding, like a marble surface behind her. His hand against her stomach was barely touching her as if he wanted to put as much distance as he could between them. It hurt her.

Jade had stopped trying to make sense of her conflicting thoughts and feelings, and simply accepted that she missed Dragon’s warmth against her. There was nothing right about the whole mess she had created all by herself, but she couldn’t see what was wrong any longer. The only thing that mattered was that he had come back for her.

“Carellian?” she asked.

His stance softened ever so slightly. “I left before the animal medicus arrived.”

“He’ll make it,” she heard herself say. “He’s strong.” The need to reassure him was difficult to ignore.

“None of his vital organs were wounded.” His voice was soft and there was a trace of shame in it.

“I know you wouldn’t have left him if he were in serious conditions.” Of that she was sure.

“I don’t know anything anymore.”

She looked at him from over her shoulder. His beautiful eyes had a sadness in them that tore at her heart.

“I’m sorry.” The words escaped her mouth in a whisper.

“It’s not your fault.” His hold softened against her stomach.

“Everything that’s happening to you is my fault.”

“Sometimes we don’t have a choice,” he said.

Jade mulled over his statement, unable to add anything to the conversation, but slightly relaxed against him, needing to feel him.

The tempest had finally lessened. They flew in silence, and after passing the falls, Dragon led the draglet higher and guided him across a large bend that opened into a valley. They left behind the solitary monolith of the Cracked Dome, heading toward a glen that bordered a lake. Big boulders, miniature versions of the gigantic monoliths that were Solaria’s landscape trademark, emerged from the placid waters, creating a spiraling pattern that could only be seen from above.

A light sprinkle showered them, and it stopped by the time Dragon steered their ride lower. They moored on top of one of the taller boulders, several stories high and covered in verdant moss and white flowers. A swirling mist rose from the lake, dancing in tendrils around the rocks, transporting the fresh smell of the budding honey-roses, the nocturnal flowers that blossomed under Aurealis’ silver rays. The lingering clouds hid the Fifth Moon, but its large halo regaled the wet night sky with a pink and purple rainbow that was reflected by the still waters.

Dragon vaulted over the draglet, landing on the rocky floor with an elegance of movement that was rare in men of his massive build. “Come.” He motioned for her to jump into his open arms.

Her heart sped when she let herself go, and for that moment when she was suspended, she lived in between worlds. The assassin and the woman. Duty and passion. Captivity and freedom. Despair and hope.

Long ago, in another life, Jade had trusted people, and she wouldn’t have thought twice before throwing herself into the capable arms of her beautiful mother. But the past was long buried.

To her, it seemed like the jump lasted forever, but not a heartbeat later, Dragon caught her and cradled her trembling body close to his naked chest. Wrapped in his embrace, Jade found peace. When his lips gently brushed her crown, tears welled in her eyes, but she kept her face down to hide her emotions.

“Let’s get inside,” he whispered, without letting go of her.

It was a strange sensation to be carried like a child, but this man was so much bigger than her and made it look like she was small. Always the tallest in her class, Jade liked the feeling and burrowed in his arms.

Dragon walked down a path hewn into the rock. The steps wound around the boulder, leading toward the lake. When she thought that they were about to enter the water, he cleared the corner and ducked before an opening. Steps led inside the rock and continued down, under the lake’s surface. Millions of lightning-bugs flew around them, their diaphanous wings flapping fast at their passage, releasing the luminescent substance that colored the corridor with a purple light.

Finally, Dragon entered a spacious chamber and gently placed Jade down. “Welcome to the Cove.”

In front of them, a crystalline pool occupied a large portion of a high-ceilinged room excavated inside the boulder. Even though they were underground, the place was lit by the lightning-bugs that fluctuated in swarms over the water before resting on the heart-shaped leaves of white, long-stemmed flowers. The blossoms emanated a sweet scent with a hint of citrus, and when the bugs took off at once from their leaves, the flowers swayed slightly and golden pollen fell into the pool.

“King’s Goblet,” Dragon said. Then at her puzzled expression, he added, “It’s the flowers’ name.”

“What’s this place?” she asked.

“My refuge.” Dragon’s hand went to the waistband of his kilt.

Jade watched as he lowered the fabric down his hips, uncovering naked skin and a thatch of blond hair. The material kept traveling down over his thighs, giving her an eyeful of his growing masculinity. The garment passed the knees and pooled at his feet. He stepped out of the kilt, then moved closer to her, his hand reaching for his shirt she was wearing.

He pulled at the wet material that had stretched against her skin. “You are cold,” he repeated the words from before when he had lent her his shirt.

Goosebumps covered her skin, but it wasn’t the exterior temperature that made her tremble.

Brushing her ribcage with his fingers, Dragon whispered her name. When his hand skimmed the side of her breast, a jolt shot directly to the apex of her legs, and her nipples stiffened against the soaked shirt. Dragon’s eyes darkened, filling with the liquid heat of desire as he bent and pressed his warm lips against one of the peaks. He suckled at her sensitive skin from over the fabric, coaxing gasping moans from her as he passed from one breast to the other. His teeth gently nipped at her buds before soothing them with his soft tongue, the barrier of the shirt accentuating the exquisite agony. Alternating soft and hard, he played with her senses until she pressed against him, needing release from the sensual torment.

His hands replaced his lips and teeth, and he straightened to his full height only to dip again to take her mouth in a devouring kiss. He placed his hand on the small of her back in a possessive gesture, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

When he pulled her to him, flush to his hard body that couldn’t hide anything, he said, “I ache for you,” in a hoarse whisper.

His hand left her breast and reached for the hem of the shirt, bunched up the fabric, and caressed her stomach, then slid lower, his fingers inching toward her curls. Jade arched against him, welcoming his touch that deepened, entering her with slow, unhurried strokes.

She was used to quick, unfulfilling sex with no kisses, where both she and her partners only thought of their personal gratification and went about it without finesse, in a crescendo of grunts and rough touches. Instead, Dragon made her feel as if only she existed in the universe, and she responded to the heady sensation viscerally. But at the same time, his mastery of the art of seduction intimidated her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, stopping his ministrations at once.

“I don’t know what to do,” Jade confessed, feeling inadequate. Her skills were aimed at causing pain, maiming, killing. She was wandering in uncharted territory here without compass and safety pack. “I’m not like the princesses. They would know how to please you. I am—”

“The only one I want,” he said.

Her breath caught in her chest. The man didn’t need to touch her. His voice alone and those beautiful, sensual words he said were enough to make her forget about everything else.

“Jade—” His finger lifted her chin, and she found herself staring into those impossibly blue eyes.

She saw passion and need illuminating him from within, mirroring her own feelings and something clicked inside her. “Dragon—” She sought his mouth, pulling him down to her, her hands stroking his back, his hair, down to his sculpted behind, and up again in a frantic arch.

The fabric of the shirt now chafed her, and she leaned away from him to tear it away, wanting no barrier between their bodies. The cold she had felt during the ride was now a thing of the past as her entire being went up in flames under his lips. Expertly, his mouth trailed kisses and nibbles from one breast to the other, while one hand cupped her bottom and the other resumed his exploration of her most intimate place.

Her hand went to skim his taut stomach, then inched lower, brushing the soft nest of blond curl. Emboldened by his low growl, she reached his hardness, encircling him with her hand. Everything about him was big, and in any other circumstance, she would have been scared by his sheer size, but his attentiveness calmed her nerves. Her tentative strokes were met with more growls and sweet encouragements.

They intimately caressed each other and kissed with abandon until they were both panting. Dragon splayed both hands on her bottom and pulled her up against his body, opening her legs wide at his waist. Obeying his silent command, she anchored herself to him, her center pressed against his hardness.

“I’m burning for you,” he said, locking eyes with her as he walked into the water, wading toward the center.

The pool lapped at her bottom and legs, cooling her skin. The golden pollen swirled all around them.

“I need you.” Jade couldn’t wait a moment longer to feel him inside her.

Dragon leaned his forehead against hers, panting loudly and fast, his hands holding her in place and thwarting her attempts to close the gap between them. He kissed her tenderly then, sucking her lips before slowly lowering her eager body onto his. Centimeter by centimeter, he entered her, stretching her, filling her, making her gasp at the impossible feelings he created in her. He didn’t rush the act but gave her time to adjust to his size.

Overwhelmed, Jade kissed him back fiercely. Her hands hooked around his neck, and she pushed herself against him, into him, finding a rhythm that only spoke of them. The water splashed and caressed them, adding to the sensory overload. Golden pollen coated their bodies as they moved in an ecstasy of deep thrusts and caresses that reached well beyond the flesh. Their mouths fused, they breathed each other’s air.

United by the magic of lovemaking, they were one.