AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The ground surrounding the base of the mountains' foothills is covered with shrubs, bushes, and grass. Moving upward is a steady reduction in vegetation density until, at last, there is the snow line, which offers nothing but pristine and untouched expanses of white snow. “Is that… are those clouds or is that fog?” she asks.
“They’re clouds. The mountains are as high as the clouds. Wait until you see it in the morning. There are times when the whole snowline seems orange and yellow because of the clouds reflect the sunlight and then the snow reflects it back.” I look at her face and I’m just thrilled with the way she’s very clearly enraptured by the sight. This girl is beautiful and I’m seeing beauty confronted with beauty.
As is typically the case with beauty, it is fleeting. We observe the view for only a few minutes when the pilot announces that we have to climb over an approaching thunder cell. He will take us to the plane’s maximum altitude of fifty-one thousand feet.
We climb over the clouds and the view disappears, but the view that replaces it isn’t inferior at all. At fifty-one thousand feet, nearly ten miles above the ground, the tropopause, the line the marks the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere, is clearly visible. The bright blue of the lower atmosphere contrasts majestically with the dark blue of the upper atmosphere.
It’s so beautiful. Again, I’m struck between the difference of my dragon perspective and my human perspective. As a dragon, I’ve often flown much higher and much faster than this airplane can fly. I still need to breathe in dragon form, so I can’t spend very long at extreme altitudes, but my needs for oxygen are much reduced in dragon form and I can fly at nearly three times the speed of sound in a dive, so I’ve frequently soared to heights nearly double this. Once more, this sight would be only somewhat interesting to me as a dragon.
Not so as a human. As a human, this is utterly breathtaking.
But it still pales in comparison to the treasure sitting next to me.
There’s no question now that I feel the calling for her. This is more than simple desire, more than simple attraction. I want her in ways that a normal human probably can’t understand. It’s an all-consuming need that reaches to the depths of my soul.
I decide I will have to avoid telling her of my nature, not simply because it’s dangerous to me to risk the wider human world discovering my nature and not because that danger extends to my family and all other dragons but because if I were to turn into my dragon in front of her, I would lose any restraint and claim her for mine the way dragons of old claimed their princesses, spiriting them away to their lairs and holding them there as goddesses.
She looks at me and blushes slightly, lowering her eyes. I smile at her, but I feel a flush of awkwardness myself at the lull in conversation. I am reminded viscerally that we’ve only just met. It feels when we’re together that we’ve known each other a lifetime, but the reality is that we’re still strangers.
I feel the first touch of real fear that I might be mistaken and she might not be the woman meant for me. That’s not really a concern. In fact, if thatisthe case, it would work out far more nicely for me in many ways. I would no longer consider leaving my betrothed, no longer consider potentially throwing my race in turmoil.
But I would never be as happy without her as I am with her, and that’s why I’m afraid.
The plane begins its descent and when we pass below the clouds and Brooke sees the small private airfield tucked away in the mountains, she gasps and grips my hands.
“Don’t worry,” I say, “one of the reasons I purchased this airplane is its steep approach and short field performance. We have more than enough room to land.”
She relaxes slightly, and I savor the feel of her hand in mine. I only release it when we roll to a stop and Pauline comes in to inform me that the helicopter is ready for immediate takeoff.
ChapterFour
Home
Brooke
This whole experience is just surreal. I don’t know for certain, but I suspect sex just isn’t a big deal to Aiden. He doesn’t treat me in any negative way, but there seems to be nearly no discomfort at all about the fact that we’ve actually done it. I mean, how in the world am I going to have a rational conversation with a man when all I can think about is how he knows how I moan when I’m in the throes of an orgasm?
I have more immediate thoughts in my mind as the helicopter passes over a summit and then descends into a truly stunning valley. The estate, which looks like some kind of fairy tale castle, is simply beautiful. It looks more like something out of a fantasy movie than an actual place, something in a fictional world more than an earthly world. If we get closer and I see knights on horseback jousting, I won’t really have any right to be surprised.
I don’t see knights but as the helicopter passes over the thick stone outer wall, I realize it’s even bigger than it seemed from a distance. Back in California, there’s a park named, accurately I might add, Mile Square Park. It’s named that because the park is exactly six hundred forty acres, and each border is exactly one mile long. It’s in the middle of a city called Fountain Valley and it’s bordered by four of the major streets in that city. I’m not sure who comes up with the idea, but it’s an excellent plan for a city park.
I think it’s fully possible there’s a square mile contained within the walls of the estate. The main castle is largest and probably covers several dozen acres itself, but there are several large houses or what I think of as houses there as well. I guess they’re more like country estates, at least eight or nine of them.
The whole place looks timeless, and I suspect a great deal of what I see is new construction designed to match the earlier construction. I’m not sure about that, of course. I will say that calling this place a residence is a lot like calling Buckingham palace a residence. Hell, I bet this is bigger than any palace on Earth.
“Your secretary will show you to your private quarters,” Aiden says, “and you can settle in for the weekend. We won’t really get started on any work until after the weekend. It would be my great pleasure, however, if you would join me tomorrow night for dinner.”
“It will be my pleasure as well,” I say, “and I… Hey wait. How in the world am I going to find you? And also, I didn’t know I would have a secretary.”
He smiles one of his perfect smiles, and I have to remind myself to maintain at least a little professional decorum. “Those two things are related. Your secretary will be able to show you anything about Red Aerie you’d like, including where we’ll have dinner. As for having a secretary, our legal needs are often quite complex and here, a secretary is more like what in the states you call an executive assistant. I don’t mean in Switzerland. I mean here, at my home.”
I nod. “My home too, now,” I say. I shrug. “I guess.”
“I very much hope you will think of this place as home,” he replies, and I think it’s a good thing I’m still in the helicopter because otherwise my knees might just buckle beneath me.
The helicopter comes to a stop at a helipad on the roof of the main palace. I don’t know that I’ll be riding in a helicopter when I research the business jet, so I don’t know anything about this helicopter other than the fact that it’s as luxurious and well-appointed as the jet is, albeit on a smaller scale. I am impressed with how smooth and quiet the ride is. I would have expected a lot more vibration considering the massive torque produced by those rotors.
When we land, Aiden kisses my hand goodbye, and it takes every ounce of my willpower not to moan. He turns me over to a brightly smiling young woman who looks about five or six years younger than me.
