A promise of a lifetime

"Nevermind," she replied quickly.

Fiona never felt more like a coward than right now.

He arched an eyebrow in response. Tiamat knew he had her rattled and the fact that he was amused shone brightly in the sparkle of his amethyst eyes.

Another reason she wished she would learn to keep her misgivings to herself. Indirectly, she had been filling his brain with provocative images of herself, she just knew it.

"Clearly, I would rather not say what's on my mind," Fiona said after a brief pause.

He smiled, "I won't force you."

The double meaning behind his words were intentional.

When he had lowered his face to see hers better, he was pleased by her reaction to him; it showed she wasn't as immune to him as she presented to the world.

Tiamat decided to end the conversation right there because tomorrow would be one more day's hard ride before they reached his new home.

"Go to sleep Fiona," he repeated.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about some stranger taking advantage of you while you sleep," she mumbled.

His eyes widened with anger at what she was implying.

Tiamat retorted, "It's the opposite of what you're thinking, women beg me to make love to them. I have never unwrapped a sheepskin condom and have to put it back down. If we had made love to each other, I would last longer than a few minutes. Do you really think you'd be fast asleep?

Her face was now redder than tomatoes. "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds impossible even to me," she responded.

"Good. I promise when we make love there will be no doubt in your mind that we both want this for ourselves. Now, please get some rest. We have to wake up early on the morrow," he said with satisfaction.

Not if but when such a bold statement coming from a smug dragon curled up on top of her.

She fumed for a bit but in a couple of minutes she started feeling drowsy, it didn't hurt to make herself cozier.

The next morning, she woke when the first ray of sun washed over them. She was slightly embarrassed to find herself straddling Tiamat.

In her dreams she had been riding a stallion of her own but in reality, she was riding…

Fiona immediately hopped off of him praying that by some miracle she hadn't disturbed his sleep.

Loud clanging sounds made Fiona want to cover her eardrums. After hearing that noise, she couldn't go back to sleep even if she wanted.

Gritzl was responsible and worse than a rooster; he started banging on a gong and yelling, "Time to get moving folks."

Angry groans and grunts greeted him in response, but everyone knew better than to linger with the Black Flame nearby.

While the men were packing up Fiona went by the spring to have a quick wash and put on her sundress which had finally dried, and she felt like a lady again.

When she got back to the campsite the men were all packed and ready to go. It seemed by Tiamat's orders they had all stood patiently waiting for her to return.

Tiamat rode his warhorse up to her side and pulled her up, placing her in front of him. He then gave the signal for his men to move out and it was time to go home.

The sun was brutal that day, pelting them with heat and Fiona felt drained of all her energy as Tiamat never stopped for a break, not even once.

It made her feel on edge and grumpy and she was pretty sure her frustrations were quite visible on her face but at that point she didn't care who saw it.

Obviously, Tiamat was having the opposite reaction; he was thoroughly enjoying the ride, his silver hair whipping in the wind as he encouraged his mount to go even faster.

In Tiamat's mind he was eager to get to his new home. As he already had a picture of the renovated Thornwyck Castle once he returned prosperity to the lands.

His reason for requesting Thornwyck Castle as his reward from the Dragon King was because it reminded him of where he grew up as a child.

Sadly, as firstborn his older half-brother inherited his father's dwelling and since they were not on friendly terms he no longer ventured near that town.

Tiamat was not one to cry over spilled milk and he was determined to have a place of his own.

He instantly felt a connection to Thornwyck when he first laid eyes on the lands.

It would be a place where he could have a family and raise future generations there.

He planned to lay the foundations with his own hands for his descendants and let them know that as long as he considered them family, they would have a sanctuary here.

In two years, he would be looking to expand, and his estate and all its entails would be flourishing.

There was nothing wrong with being ambitious and he had great plans to restore the castle.

Repair the pens that kept farm animals and plant new crops so that even during lean times his people would never know hunger.

Fiona was relieved when she heard whoops coming from the soldiers saying they could see the keep, they were almost there.

Another two hours of riding across the wide-open savannah at a fast pace finally the galloping horses started to slow.

Tiamat easily dismounted from the horse unbothered but for Fiona it was the worst experience she ever felt to date.

Every joint in her body ached, she felt like a newborn colt learning to walk for the first time and she was pretty sure had Tiamat not supported her she would have fallen to the ground.

Despite all that, Fiona was curious to see what Tiamat's home was like, since it was where she would be staying until she could find a way back to her own world.

Tiamat wished he had the presence of mind to ride ahead before Fiona's arrival at Thornwyck Castle.

Perhaps he would have been able to offset the spectacle that awaited them or maybe that was wishful thinking.