Page 31 of Dimitri

I still was upset with myself. I knew we weren’t really in danger. Not with as quickly as I got us out of there. But I should have looked at the forecast before taking my mate up to the skies.

“If you wish to go flying, we will do so.”

Caspian nodded. That was all it took for me to lead him through the house and out onto the back deck. It would never hold my weight when I was in my dragon form, but there were stairs that led to the ground that could be used. The back deck had been designed for enjoyment. It was currently empty, but I knew that Caspian had plans to add furniture, as well as a hammock to relax in, come spring.

Caspian closed the door behind us, and his hand in mine was suddenly covered. I smiled to myself at the ability of my mate. When I glanced back at him, he was dressed in his warm wool coat and had a thick scarf wrapped around his neck. His hands were covered in smooth leather gloves, and yes, he was even wearing a hat. He looked nothing like the man I had made lovewith in front of the fireplace hours ago, but he was certainly still my mate.

We carefully navigated the stairs, and once we were on the ground, I started to walk away so I could shift. Caspian stopped me, though, by tightening his grip on my hand.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. I just wanted a kiss.”

I grinned. I would kiss him every chance I got, and I quickly found out that Caspian loved to be kissed. My lips touched his briefly before he smiled against my lips. I pulled away to a grinning, sexy man staring at me.

“Thank you.”

I tilted my head. “You’re welcome. But you do not need to thank me for kissing you. I am more than happy to do so. I enjoy it as much as you do.” To me, it was a part of intimacy that was beyond sexual intimacy. Both were needed in order to have a healthy relationship, and I was thankful that Caspian seemed to feel as much as I did on the matter.

“I know, but you came back and gave me the kiss. That made me feel important to you. It was something small, but to me, it means a lot.”

We needed to have a conversation, apparently. We’d done some talking, but we had been spending a lot of time doing other things. Newly mated things.

“You are the most important person to me. You have become my entire world, Caspian. I will always do what I can to make you happy. If that is giving you a kiss, I will gladly do so.”

Caspian’s smile grew. I knew all about his last lover, Peter. He had been in a relationship with him for two years, and although they both knew they weren’t fated for one another, they were committed. But Peter didn’t give Caspian those little things: kisses, holding hands, gentle touches, heated looks. It was a natural thing for me to do because Caspian was myeverything. Now, he was going flying with me, and that made my dragon incredibly happy. Our mate trusted us.

“Stay here until I’ve shifted. Then we’ll take off. This time, you won’t have to pat me if you need something though.” I leaned in and kissed him again quickly before I removed my sweats and the shirt I was wearing. After handing them to Caspian, I moved several yards away and called for my dragon.

It was a quick transformation, as he was eager to see our mate again. My body grew, and once I had shifted, I moved around, stretching out my body. I heard a gasp from Caspian and turned my head toward him.

“I knew you were big. I did. But the last time I saw your dragon, it was inky dark.”

I chuckled through our bond.“Yes, and this time, it is bright and sunny. What do you think of my dragon now that you can see him?”I couldn’t help but ask. My dragon, despite knowing he was quite a sight to see, needed to be reassured by our mate. He needed to know that our mate found him pleasing to look at.

“I haven’t seen a whole lot of dragons, Dimitri. Maybe one or two when I was here before visiting. But yours is by far the most beautiful one I’ve seen,” Caspian told me. He walked right up to me, and when he reached out and started rubbing up and down the scales on my leg, my dragon held perfectly still to allow our mate to touch him as he pleased. “I have never seen a dragon the color of yours. And when you move, you have a gold sheen to your scales.”

“Yes. The gold comes from Yéye. As far as we know, he is the only golden dragon aside from their children that it was passed down to.”

“Do any of the grandchildren have gold scales?”

“Nyet. Gold sheen, but that is the extent of inheriting the color. Only Yéye, Ming, and Longwei are gold. Others might have a sheen or, like me, gold wings, but that is it.”

Caspian rubbed up and down my leg some more before he was suddenly on my back. “Well, I think you’re absolutely gorgeous. I’m ready to go flying whenever you are.”

If my dragon could smile, he would. As it was, I started walking slowly. I needed to be farther away from the house in order to get a good jump and be able to open my wings without worry of hitting the house or any of the trees. Once I was far enough away, I decided to warn Caspian.“Ready?”

“Yes!”

Taking him at his word, I took a few more steps, these ones faster, and then jumped. I spread my wings, flapped a few times, and then we were suddenly airborne.

“Whoa,” Caspian said as I flew over the evergreen trees. They were getting farther down as I gained altitude, moving down the mountain and into the gorge. “Do you always fly this high?” Caspian shouted.

“This is low, lyubimyy.”

“What does that mean?” Caspian shouted again.

I chuckled through our bond once more.“Perhaps instead of shouting, use our bond? Although I can hear you.”I made a gentle turn to the left. The falls were just ahead, and when Caspian seemed to notice them, I felt it through our bond.

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