Jett hung up shortly thereafter. He was touched by Ariel’s concern, but unless the witches could collar him, he was essentially immune to any Weaves they might throw at him. Still, he had to be careful, if only to protect Ariel: He meant what he said about not putting her training in danger. If he was spotted by a guard or something, he’d flee immediately.

He reached the immense wall that encircled the tower grounds and hung out in the shadows beneath it. When ten o’clock rolled around, he very slightly relaxed the power that constrained him in human form, and allowed the miniature version of his wings to emerge from his body. Those powerful appendages passed through folds specifically cut into the back of his dress shirt for that very purpose.

He flapped his unfurled wings in a figure-eight pattern, tightening the muscles near the edges to bend the skin there, which had the effect of muting the sound made by his motions.

He ascended toward the upper walkway, making for an area free of sentries. He slowed as he neared the top. Ribbons of razor wire lined the outer edge of the walkway, preventing a climber from surmounting the stone railing without injury. Thankfully, he wasn’t a climber.

Flapping softly, he ascended higher until he could peer past the railing and onto the walkway itself. He glanced in either direction: no sentries were in view along the top of the wall.

He flew over the handrail and landed on the walkway. Crouching, he retracted his wings and moved toward the inner side to gaze down into the Tower grounds. Ariel had sent him the Thursday night patrols from ten to eleven, and he had no reason to believe the route or schedule would change on Friday nights, but he planned to wait for the first patrol to confirm that.

Five minutes later the guards appeared on schedule, following the path Ariel had described. So far, so good.

When they were gone, Jett lowered lifted himself over the edge and then dropped. He extended his wings to slow his ascent and landed as softly as he could, though the resulting thud and rustle of branches were still a bit louder than he would have liked. He forced the wings back inside of himself and then moved deeper into the shadows, waiting a few minutes to ensure no one had noticed his landing. When he was satisfied that his entrance remained undetected, he headed deeper into the courtyard.

Because of his dragon abilities, he could sense hidden traps of the Strength lying in wait, and he steered around those. There were tripwires made of human technology as well. He had sent the aerial photos taken by his lioness to Gwendoline, and his sister analyzed them with Dan and determined the areas most likely to contain laser-based tripwires. Jett avoided those areas like the plague, instead wading into a group of satellite dishes. He waited there for the next scheduled patrol to pass, and then made a dash across the courtyard toward the thick foliage that cloaked the eastern side of the tower.

He advanced slowly through the dense undergrowth, calling on all of his stealth to move as noiselessly as possible. When he reached the exterior of the Steel Tower itself, he fetched his sat-phone and used the GPS to reposition himself until he was directly underneath Ariel’s window. Satisfied, he stowed the phone and moved a few paces to the left so that when he flew up there he wouldn’t pass in front of other windows along the way.

When he was in place, he allowed his wings to unfurl and began a quiet ascent. He stayed as close to the exterior as possible, so much so that his wings occasionally scraped the steel surface and issued a soft squeegee sound.

The windows of each floor passed by on his right, and he counted them in turn.

Three.

Four.

Ten.

Twelve.

When he reached the fifteenth, he altered his flight to maintain his height, and traveled horizontally. In moments he was hovering in front of the window.

Ariel was staring at him from inside. He could see her clearly with his night vision. She seemed tired, yet relieved.

“There you are,” she whispered. Ariel glanced over her shoulder. “My roommate is still asleep.”

Jett nodded. With one arm, he grabbed the clotheslines that partially blocked the window and pulled them down out of the way. He offered her his free hand.

Ariel looked back into the room one last time and then she pulled herself onto the windowsill.

Jett scooped her into his arm, released the clotheslines, and began flapping upwards.

Her grip tightened around him.

“You know, this is the first time you’ve ever flown with me,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Are you scared?” he asked quietly.

“Not at all. Not in your arms.”

Jett scooted to the left, moving out of the way of the next window, and continued upward. Guards watched the roof of the tower, so Jett couldn’t get too close. But he had another path in mind...

Three stories before the roof he halted, and then flew directly to the left.

Jett stopped in front of a windowsill. The glass pane was ajar. He shoved it with one hand, opening it further, and then lowered Ariel onto the sill. After she scrambled inside, he landed on the edge, retracted his wings until they merged with his back, and then leaped through.

He closed the window behind him and sealed the curtain so that the two of them were in absolute darkness.

“I’m not the only spy you have in this tower, am I?” Ariel asked in the dark.

“I personally don’t have any,” Jett said. “But Midnight has many spies throughout the world...”

“Well, thank your sister for me,” Ariel said.

“I already have,” Jett said. He felt around in the dark, seeing nothing in the pitch black. His night vision required at least some light in order to work.

“What are you looking for?” Ariel asked.

“The spy was supposed to leave an electric lamp somewhere…” Jett continued to grope around him. He hit his head on a sharp object and grimaced at the pain. He hadn’t hardened his skin: his physical defenses were down in anticipation of Ariel’s touch.

“So wait,” Ariel said. “If your sister had a spy already, why would you need me to take all those pictures, and to watch for the patrols?”

“Let’s just say there are limits to the favors I can ask of my sister, seeing as I’m no longer king,” Jett said.

He finally found the electric lamp and hit the on switch, lighting the room in a dim glow. He turned toward Ariel. She was tinted blue by the faint light, and dressed in a long flowing robe that would be easy to remove. He found himself already getting aroused.

But she wasn’t looking at him. Not yet. Probably worried about getting caught.

“Where are we?” Ariel said, examining the boxes around them. “A storeroom of some kind?”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Jett said. “It’s not very fancy, but it’ll do for our needs.” His breathing was heavy, his voice deep. “Did you leave the ring and phone behind?”

She held up a hand. She wasn’t wearing the RFID ring she had told him about. “What do you think? I’m not going to bring tracking devices with me when my dragon visits.” Her voice, too, now sounded husky.

Good.

“Never hurts to check...” Jett leaned forward and planted a fervent kiss on her lips. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long. It seems like it’s been an eternity.”

She kissed him back just as enthusiastically; there was no sign of the weariness he had glimpsed earlier.

“Five days,” Ariel said, gasping. “It’s only been five days. But try telling that to my body! Oh wait, my mind and body are supposed to be the same thing.” She was mumbling now. “That’s what I learned so far this week.”

“Then I’m looking forward to pleasuring your mind,” Jett said.

He pressed his tongue between her lips, darting in and out, giving her a hint of what was to come.

“My dragon, I’ve missed you,” she said.

Jett tingled all over. When she was gone, he felt lost, set adrift. Like a part of him had died. The most important part.

But now that part had come back to life, and he felt complete. He had his purpose once again. It revolved entirely around her. Everything else—the pride, his own life—was secondary. At least in that moment.

He kissed her passionately. “And you have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Lioness.”

She began to purr, and that sound made him lose the last of his restraint. He opened the belt that girthed her robe, then slid off the entire piece of clothing in one smooth movement, revealing her bare body, glistening with sweat.

“Not wearing underwear again,” Jett said. “Tsk tsk.”

“Actually I’ve started to,” Ariel said, panting. “But I took them off since I knew you were coming.”

“Smart girl.” He set her robe on the ground, forming a makeshift bed, and lowered her. Then he stripped off his black and gold dress shirt.

“Oh God,” Ariel said. “You really are a sight for sore eyes.” She sat up, and he couldn’t help but admire the way her breasts jiggled.

He knelt beside her and she immediately leaned over to plant a hand on his pecs. She slid her hand downward to explore the ridges of his abs. Her touch made him throb painfully, his pants feeling way too tight.

He growled and threw her backward. Then he planted his lips squarely on her folds. She was so achingly wet.

“You taste so fucking good,” Jett said.

Her back arched as his tongue thrust inside her. A moan interrupted her purring.

He felt her hands slide into his hair. Her fingers squeezed, knotting his locks, and she pulled him tight against her center.

He relished the smell of her, the taste. He continued to dart his tongue inside and out, and he massaged her nub with one hand. He lightly slid the fingers of his other hand up and down her thigh.

“So so fucking good,” Jett said. “You know what heaven is? It’s tasting and smelling you just like this for every moment of the rest of my life.”

“I love you,” Ariel said between gasps. “I really do.”

“I love you more.”

“Cheater,” Ariel said. “You can’t.”

“Okay fine,” Jett said. “We love each other equally.”

“Better.”

He planted his lips on her core with renewed vigor and she squirmed under him. It was so damn sexy how she did that, and it turned him on immensely. He had to unzip his pants to relieve the painful pressure.

“Oh Jett, I’m going to scream your name,” Ariel said. “I won’t be able to help myself. You have to stop. We’ll get caught.”

“Better find something to bite down on,” Jett said. “Because you know there’s no stopping, not now. Unless you prefer sheer torture?”

She fumbled for a sleeve of the robe underneath her and stuffed it into her mouth.

Smiling wickedly, Jett attacked her center with renewed alacrity. “I’m going to make you come. Time to end your suffering, Lioness.”

He rammed two fingers inside while wrapping his lips around her clit and sucking.

Ariel’s eyes rolled up and her panting tripled. She wasn’t going to last long.

Sure enough, Ariel’s fingers tightened in his hair and her knees jerked against his shoulders. Her back arched violently and she made a muted, garbled sound around the sleeve she’d stuffed into her mouth.

“Jfette!” she said. Jett.

She relaxed underneath him, her release complete. Her breathing slowed: long, content inhales and exhales.

Jett pushed himself up and slid the wet fabric from her lips. “Get that out of your mouth. I want to look at you.”

She smiled drunkenly.

“You look like you’ve had a few drinks,” Jett said. It was difficult to joke with the sheer want throbbing inside of him, but he wanted to make this time with her last as long as possible. He would have his release soon enough.

“I’m drunk on you,” Ariel said. “I almost forgot what you could do to me. How you make me feel.”

“Already?” Jett said. “Short memory.”

“Seriously, it’s been a long week,” Ariel said.

“For you and I both.” He stared at her intently, that throbbing becoming unbearable. “But I’m not done with you yet, Lioness.”

“Oh, I’d never dare to assume you were,” Ariel said. Her eyes darted to his crotch in obvious anticipation.

Jett paused. “Do you want to be in control tonight?” It was an earnest question. Though he preferred to be on top, he figured after the week she’d been through that he’d at least give her the option, as he doubted she was given much choice during her day-to-day life in the Tower.

“After what you’ve done to me, I don’t think I can do much more than lie here,” Ariel said.

“Liar,” Jett said.

She smiled. “Honestly, I could use a little relaxing release tonight. You take control.”

“Suits me,” Jett said. He kicked off his boots and removed his jeans. He doffed his underwear and his manhood sprung forth.

Ariel shuddered. “Now that’s what I call a dragon.”

Jett grabbed a condom from the pocket of his jeans and applied the sheath. Then he lay his big body down on top of her and plunged inside to the hilt.