Page 50 of Of Steel and Scale

His lips met mine, stealing the rest of my words away. Stealing thought and breath, leaving nothing but sweet sensation as the kiss deepened and our tongues tangled, tasted, teased.

God, the man couldkiss.

The deep-down fires burned to life once more, and I pressed my body harder to the length of his, wanting more, needing more, wishing we were flesh-on-flesh so I could explore the glorious length of him. But leather lay between us, and that was probably just as well. A cold stone tunnel really wasn’t the best place to consummate our marriage.

As if he’d heard that thought, he groaned and pulled back. His blue eyes were afire with desire, but there was amusement there, too.

“This kiss confirms desire will never be a problem between us, but I believe our timing could certainly be better.”

“I believe you’re right. Perhaps we should—” I paused and waved a hand at the seriously impressive erection visible even through the leathers. “—discuss your current inconvenience once we return to Esan.”

“I believe the same inconvenience affects us both.”

His voice was dry, and I grinned. “Yes, but mine’s a whole lot less obvious.”

“I shall enjoy exploring and tasting your less... obvious... inconvenience once we have the time.”

“I believe I would enjoy that.”

“I shall ensure that you do.” With the smile of a man well used to pleasuring women, he bowed and stepped back. “And you had best be on your way, before your drakkon becomes impatient again.”

I laughed, but turned to the barrier we couldn’t see and said,Ready when you are, Kaia.

Deepen bond, she said.Must be one.

I frowned.To share immunity?

Mesh with young. Protects them, will protect you.

I blinked.When have you had to protect drakklings against magic?

The only magic we ever employed against them these days was from the weather mages, and that was simply a means of forcing them into retreat on the few occasions they did fly over.

The white ones use.

The white ones being the Mareritt, according to the image that accompanied her reply.I had no idea drakkons flew into Mareritten.

Good hunting in warm times. Risk worth. Bond.

I drew in a breath, then deepened the connection between us. Her mind was deep and vast, alien and yet not, and it opened to me like a flower, as mine did to her. My connections with other animals had been surface level only, so the difference here was to be expected. But this was much,muchmore than deepening the ability to read thoughts and feel emotions. It was a sharing of our verybeings—of all that we were, all that we had been, and all that we could be. It was a sharing of memories, of power, and of joy, but it was also pain—of friends killed, love betrayed, and dreams diminished on my part, and on hers, mates and drakklings lost, some to humans, some to wind and weather, and some who simply weren’t strong enough to survive the harshness of the lands we’d driven them into. Grief rolled through me, throughus. Then there was a brief twist of senses and mind, and I was looking through her eyes and she through mine.

We were one.

It was a weird sensation, and my brain scrambled to cope with the multiple points of view now hitting me—not only what I was seeing and sensing here, but what Kaia was, both here and in the aerie, where Gria slept with the bloody remnants of a capra scattered around her.

Kaia obviouslywasn’thaving the same difficulty as me. But then, if she’d done this with drakklings, she was obviously familiar with the dual points of view.

Walk now, she said.

I did so, every sense I had—hers and mine—tuned to the barrier I could now see. It was a fierce golden wall through which hundreds of fiery ribbons shimmered and roamed.

Magic, Kaia said.No stop.

I hit the barrier. It briefly resisted my presence, then the threads on either side of me melted away and I stepped through. It felt like what I imagined walking through a tar pit would. It enveloped me, smothered me, making breathing difficult and forward movement harder and harder. Fear rose, as did flames. I clenched my fingers against the need to react and forced my feet on. Kaia remained a bright presence in my mind, and there was no concern in her thoughts.

I’d trusted her before. I could do no less now.

I moved on, each step slow and steady, for what seemed an eternity. Then, with a suddenness that tore a gasp from my throat, I was through.

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