Page 5 of Love Bites Extra Hard

I still wasn’t sitting securely, but I wasn’t in the process of falling off anymore.

My heart beat wildly, pounding against his scales. The wind felt like ice against my skin.

He flew for a few minutes, leaving Mistwood behind quickly.

A few more minutes passed and, my heartbeat slowed.

I wasn’t going to fall off his back after all.

That was good.

He hadn’t killed me for accidentally knocking one of his scales off. Also good.

The situation could’ve been much worse. Maybe that fact shouldn’t have made me feel better, but honestly? It did.

I wasn’t dead, and I hadn’t been attacked.

And I was going with him for my sisters’ sake, so I knew without a doubt that I was exactly where I needed to be.

Now that I wasn’t in the midst of a panic attack, I let myself look at the view below us.

The world was stunning. Thick, green trees. Giant mountains. Small patches of snow as we flew to higher elevation, and eventually, a thick coat of it.

My heart seemed to swell.

How many people in Mistwood would ever get the chance to fly on the back of a dragon? How many people in theworldwould?

Sure, I had traded my freedom for the experience. But the experience, paired with protecting my sisters, suddenly felt worth it.

Talon’s body tilted as we approached a group of mountain peaks clustered together. There were six of them, with the largest in the center.

As we got closer, my eyes widened.

The middle peak had no snow on or around it. It wasn’t a peak. Or it was—but it was more.

There were windows built into it. Balconies. Chimneys, releasing smoke into the sky. Water in the form of melted snow flowed in aslow, thin stream around the base of it. Its movement had clearly been planned, because I could see the space for a river built into the stone, leading the water down to a ledge that created a waterfall.

Fog surrounded the mountain, as if our city’s mist had extended itself on purpose. Maybe it had.

My heart was beating again, more wildly, when Talon landed on one of the large balconies and shifted back. I clung to his neck as his scales became skin, one of his hands grabbing one of my thighs to keep me from tumbling off.

He set me down on my feet when he was done shifting, and one of his knuckles was below my chin a moment later. His chest vibrated with a growl as he tilted my face. My skin was stinging a little with the cold, but I knew I was bleeding, too. There was no doubt about that.

I’d tried not to move too much, so his scales wouldn’t cut any more of my skin. But there was no doubt that I had a few dozen small, bleeding wounds. A few of which were on my face.

Talon lifted his other hand to my cheek, and I winced as he slowly peeled something off of me.

When he pulled it away, my eyes widened.

Another scale.

Shit.

How had I knocked one off with my face? They couldn’t have beenthatdelicate. He was a dragon, for fuck’s sake!

He tucked it in my pocket with the first one, and still didn’t look mad.

“I wasn’t trying to—” I began, but he cut me off.

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