Hollie

What the—

Oh. Oh my, that’s good.

She melted into his arms. The steady, muscular arms that held her still as he kissed her, heat blasting out from his body to warm hers after the chilly high-flying adventure that had nearly killed her. But now he was showing her just how sorry he was, and boy was it one hell of an apology!

“As much as I like how you’ve decided to make it up to me,” she whispered when they parted for air, “don’t you ever fucking do that again, understand?”

“Absolutely,” he rumbled quietly, properly chagrined. “You have my word.”

“Okay.”

Sid then kissed her some more. Hollie thoroughly enjoyed that. She’d always been into older men because of how confident they were with their bodies and using it on her. This was something entirely different, however, and she found that there was still a lot she had to learn. That thing with his tongue was scorching, and her pants were still on!

She relaxed into his embrace, letting the fear of a few minutes earlier fade. It would be all right. With Sid around, it would always be all right—she had nothing to fear from him, or with him around. He would protect her, care for her. She could feel it in his touch, the way his fingers caressed her skin, so gentle to the touch, and yet keeping her held tight at the same time. It was an equilibrium she’d always wanted to reach, and just then, she had it in perfection.

A flutter of nervousness raced through her system, the beat of her heart skipping every now and then, it was hammering so fast. This was it, she realized. They were going to take things to another level, right then, right there. His hand slid lower down her back, and she arched a little harder toward him, longing to feel his fingers dig into the soft flesh of her rear.

Sid stopped just short, however, though he continued to kiss her, with a passion and thoroughness that was threatening to leave her out of breath. It was obvious he was into her on some level. So why was he stopping there? The hunger he’d awoken in her with just a kiss surged up and tried to take control, directing her to say something, or to move her own hand in a suggestive manner that would indicate what she wanted.

But just like she’d been unable to run away from him in his cave, now she was unable to advance things. Her hands stayed where they were, fingertips digging deep into his back, and her mouth stayed firmly closed. Well, not firm, or closed, but it stayed in close contact with his, which was all that mattered.

Eventually he leaned his forehead against hers, staying close, but leaving enough room to speak. “Did you enjoy the flight? The first half,” he added in a rush.

“The flight? Oh sure, that was fantastic. But skydiving was never really my thing.”

Sid groaned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d spaz out like that.”

She moved back enough to be able to glare at him. “I did not spaz out,” she said hotly.

“You threw yourself off of my back,” he told her bluntly. “We weren’t twisting or moving.”

“Well, you did something!” she snapped. “Whatever it was you did, it made me terrified to be near you. So, I, uh, got away from you.”

“But you know you can’t fly, right? That’s my shtick.”

She sighed. “I know that now.”

They both enjoyed a chuckle, able to joke about the experience now that it was over.

“But seriously, what did you do?” she asked. “That’s twice now. How…”

It wasn’t the question she most wanted to ask. That would be why she wasn’t on top of him, naked, and grinding her hips back and forth against his—Stop it. Right now. If he wanted it to happen, it would, or will happen. But for now, keep your pants dry.

“It’s an ability of ours. We can reach out and affect certain parts of your mind. That’s probably the easiest way to think of it.”

“So you can, what, make people terrified of you?”

He shrugged. “Not necessarily of me. That’s my default, but I can tweak it enough to get generalized fears. So, you could be scared of me, or all men, or a certain person. Being afraid of say, jumping off the back of a dragon while in midair? That’s a bit harder to do.

She slugged him in the arm, but he didn’t seem to feel it at all. “Cheater. How am I supposed to make you regret saying things like that?”

“You’re smart. I suspect you’ll come up with something.”

“Right.” She blew air noisily. “Is that something all dragons can do?”

“Fear is my thing. Others can do different emotions. Anger, sadness, joy. Lust.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But you only do fear?”

He grinned. “Yes. It comes in useful when I want to be left alone, but truthfully, I tend to forget just how much it can affect humans.”

“No kidding,” she agreed.

“I am very sorry,” he said softly, reaching out to pull her into a tight embrace. “My intent was never to put you into jeopardy. I just didn’t think it through well enough.”

“How very typically male,” she said drolly, allowing just the hint of a smile to show to indicate she wasn’t upset. “But if you truly want my forgiveness, you’re going to have to do something else.”

“Oh?” He perked up at the mention of something to redeem himself. “What would that be?”

She grinned. “You’re going to have to take me to dinner.”

“Ah,” he said, returning the look. “Like a formal date?”

Hollie nodded. “Yes, exactly like a formal date.”

“I can do that. But first, I’m going to take you up again. This time properly.”

Her smile widened. “You know, I think I would like that, Sid. I think I would like that very much.”

And just like that, her earlier uncertainty about Obsidian not making a move on her was lifted away. He was interested. He just didn’t want to rush things.