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He studied me in a curious way, a forked tongue briefly flicking out to wet his bottom lip.
“My needs?” I asked as he squeezed my hand tighter and pulled me against his chest.
“If I hadn’t seen your group traipsing up my mountain all day, you may have suffered a very different fate,” Volk said sternly. “I reached you just in time.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Thank you,” I said, my mind still woozy.
“You’ve heard the legends of monsters on Mount Vulcan, what made you think you’d stand a chance of survival up here alone at night?”
I felt cowed. Foolish for even considering it and unsure of how to answer.
“I made a mistake,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
He looked down his nose at me and I saw tendrils of smoke curling out of his nostrils with each exhale of breath.
“What are you?” I asked nervously. “Half dragon, half man?”
I reached up with my spare hand and gently touched his face, feeling the warm scales beneath my fingers.
“Precisely,” he mused with a wry smile. “You’re an intelligent little thing.”
As I looked at him deeply, any fear I may have initially felt was rapidly leaving. He was handsome in his own way, a rugged creature exuding masculinity and strength. His appearance had been alarming in the first few moments, but as the seconds slipped by he was becoming more familiar, carving out a place in my bones.
“I think I may be losing my mind,” I confessed with a half laugh. “Am I unconscious, still hiding up the tree away from the mountain lion?”
Volk shook his horned head.
“No, little one, you most certainly are not.”
I breathed in deeply, a strange sensation coursing through me. I looked into his eyes and I noticed the black slit of his pupils pulsating, growing wider and then thinner as he watched me with intent. His grip tightened on my hand and he smiled a wicked smile, one that sent a shiver of desire right through me and made me gasp in response.
“I believe in fate,” Volk said. “When I saw you in danger tonight, I knew you had been brought here for me.”
With his free hand, he reached up to his cheek and placed his palm over mine, the warmth within him radiating so intensely that I felt even more calm.
“You do?” I whispered, my lips trembling.
“I do,” he said sternly. “It can be so lonely up here as the guardian of Mount Vulcan. People rarely visit and no one ever wants to stay.”
My brow furrowed, the sadness in his eyes showing for a brief moment.
“But now you’re here,” he said, his gaze darkening. “And I know that you’ve been sent to keep me company.”
He pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close as he breathed in and out heavily.
“Oh,” I said in surprise, leaning in and enjoying the sensation of being held by such a large beast.
“You heard the stories and you knew the risks and you still came,” Volk said. “You’re brave. You’re perfect.”
I closed my eyes and smiled, unsure of why I felt so at ease and safe, but relishing in it all the same.
“You’re a risk taker, little one,” he growled. “A fine mate for a dragon.”
I blinked, still nuzzling in but staring at the scales on his chest as they lifted and fell each time he breathed.
“I certainly feel comfortable,” I said, almost in a daze.
