15. Time to Fly #2
“And you never try something new with a dragon—even your own—without taking instruction from your superior officer first.”
Her mouth opened, then closed with a snap. She glanced at me from the side, over her shoulder, but nodded quickly. “Yes. Of course. Sorry.”
I glared at her, and her cheeks reddened further. But she didn’t move. And she didn’t speak. Which was the right thing to do. Yet, it still angered me.
‘Is it because you fell on your ass the first time you tried to mount and you’re angry she did better?’ Kham asked airily. But I cut him off.
‘She would have fallen—and probably broken something—if I hadn’t caught her.’ Then I sighed. “Show me that arm,” I growled, so Kham wouldn’t tease me further.
Grace stiffened, but then lifted the arm she’d used as an anchor, twisted into the leather strap.
The welts were still angry, but fading. Yet, her fingers were swollen. I would have bet coin that her hand tingled and lacked strength.
“Can you grip the strap on his neck. The one in front of you?” I asked flatly.
Grace looked down between her legs, widening her knees slightly, which pressed the outside of her thighs against the inside of mine, and made my body leap again. I bit down on my tongue and focused on the odor of sweat and dirt on our clothing to divert my body’s attention.
“Yes,” she said slowly.
I looked over her shoulder. She gripped the strap in both hands, knuckles up. But it was easy to see that the one hand wasn’t as firm.
“Turn one fist—the weaker one—so that your knuckles are under the strap and you can see your fingers, so the two hands hold in opposing directions.”
She frowned, but did as I asked. “Why?”
“Because when your bodyweight is thrown around by Kham taking off, it will give you counter-leverage in two different directions and make it less likely for me to have to save your life again,” I said darkly.
“Now, pull up with both hands—you should feel yourself being pressed harder against his spine.”
She did it quickly, and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I can feel that.”
“Good. When we start moving, you pull up as hard as you can, and you keep pulling until he’s leveled out. You still might fall, but you’re strapped in. Once he’s flying, I can pull you back into the seat if necessary, do you understand?”
She nodded quickly, though I watched her profile and saw her eyes widen.
“Trust the equipment. It’s strong enough to catch and hold my weight. You won’t even challenge it.”
Her throat bobbed. “Oh, I trust the equipment—Bren told me about what she had to do for her first flight—I can hardly believe I’ll have the chance to do that!—but I just…”
“You just, what?” I asked, suspicious of a trap.
“I’m just excited,” she laughed, then looked at me over her shoulder again. And she fucking grinned. “I’m going to fly!” she added breathlessly.
“This isn’t a game, Grace,” I snapped. Kham rumbled when she tensed, but I ignored him. “This isn’t a jaunt through the field on the back of your pony. Every decision a rider makes in the air is life and death.”
Her jaw flexed and her expression flattened, but she nodded. “I understand. I’m excited, not silly.”
I highly doubted that, but there seemed little point in saying so.
And the way she kept shifting her seat, rubbing against my crotch and stomach was making my blood boil.
“We need to get moving. Pull up on the strap at about half-strength until you feel his speed increase,” I instructed.
‘Kham, can you walk around first so she can get a feel for your movement?’
My dragon didn’t answer, which was odd, but he snorted, and lashed his tail, then started down the hillside, Koa keeping pace.
I leaned a little to the side in an effort to stop myself rubbing on Grace’s ass as Kham moved, but his strides were so long, it was unavoidable.
Heat bubbled in my chest—that hollow space that had pulsed and burned and driven me from the moment the dragons recognized each other. As Kham moved, and Grace forgot her concerns and began to bounce with anticipation, that heat spread through my veins and out to my limbs.
“Hold on—pull up. All the way. As hard as you can,” I muttered thickly, hooking an arm around her waist. “You’ll learn to ride it with time, but for now, trust the straps, and me.”
Grace nodded. I told Kham to launch, and he powered forward.
And she whooped.
I’d never heard a woman make that sound, let alone a lady. But Grace did. She bounced—though not as badly as I expected. She did exactly as I’d instructed her and pulled herself into Kham’s back.