DPOV

Sunday came quick enough, and I was looking forward to seeing Rose. The last few days had been challenging. I had sent out scouts to patrol the area and inform me of any changes, and I had ordered the military in a state of readiness that we could leave at a moment's notice. But there wasn't much else we could do now but wait.

I always hated this bit. The calm before the storm. You couldn't quite relax and go about your business, but you weren't in the adrenaline rush of battle either. The in-between was hard, but right now it was necessary. I didn't want to unleash a war I didn't have to.

So for the last few days, I had been running scenarios in my head and studying maps of the region. But Rose would be a nice distraction to all of this. Even though this would probably be the last time I would get to see her. The situation could change at any moment, and I needed to be ready.

I was debating meeting her while human or Dragon. Being human meant we would probably make-out some, but she was usually more open with my Dragon form.

I was also debating telling her about the Dragon magic binding spell. If this was the last time we would see each other, I wanted her to know what they were, even if I had no explanation of how they got there.

I had been deep in thought on the sundeck when Rose approached. I guess the choice was made for me. Dragon form it is.

She sat herself under my chin and leaned against my chest. She scooted my claws apart so there was a little space between them for her to sit. She actually nuzzled a little closer to me. Rose was so comfortable around me. She was treating me like a giant teddy bear. I wasn't as fluffy, so I wondered why Rose found me so comfortable.

She was silent for a while, and so was I. There was something magical about this moment. Maybe because it was just the two of us. But more likely because neither of us wanted this to end, and I knew I would have to inform Rose of the possibility that I would be called away at a moment's notice. Why she stayed silent, I didn't know. Perhaps she had sensed it in me.

She shifted a bit and started to trace my scales. I was surprised how her small fingers could elicit such a pleasant feeling by simply tracing them. Normally they aren't very sensitive, but as she was running her fingers over them, inspecting every detail as if it was precious gold, I felt every brush, every trace, and every delicate touch.

"What happened here?"

Her fingers had found the scar beneath my scales. The scales themselves had me protected from the worst of the damage, but there were two or three scales that had been slashed through, and the skin beneath it was scared for life. I had barely survived, and the scar on my chest was a bitter reminder how brutal the war with the Snow Dragons could become.

"Battle."

She laughed.

I tensed for a moment. That had been my response as human as well. And of course, she had traced the exact same scar when I was in my human form. I hoped she wouldn't be putting that together. Because of the different anatomy of a human and Dragon, it meant the scar was in a slightly different place, and my scales obscured most of it. But still.

"What kind of battle?"

I was going to have to tell her eventually that I was going to leave because of the Snow Dragons, so I might as well tell her about them now.

"A battle against Snow Dragons a few decades back. They are our mortal enemy and vicious creatures. Snow Dragons despise fire. They are also more ferocious. Fire Dragons have a governing structure like humans do. We are civil and cooperate with each other. Generally speaking, we want a nice peaceful life with a good cow every now and then. Snow Dragons are different. They live for the hunt and the kill. They are only interested in blood. They are stronger than us, but they are disorganized. Because their needs are so primal and violent, they don't play well together. Even their appearance screams bloodlust. They are white as snow, but with blood red eyes. They are brutal to fight against. Their fangs are at least twice as long as ours and can rip anything apart. We have superior military training and numbers, but we need every last one of us to keep the Snow Dragons at bay. Although our fire helps with that as well. But they give back as good as they get when they freeze us."

"I never knew Dragons like that existed."

I was glad because if she had, she would probably be dead. No human could survive an encounter with a Snow Dragon. Fire Dragons may have given up eating humans a while back, but Snow Dragons had not.

"They mostly stay in the Icelands far from here. Not many people live there because the terrain is rather inhospitable."

She took the information in and returned to her original task of stroking my scales. I had to restrain myself from moaning at her touch.

"What about this one? This one is strange; it doesn't look like a battle wound."

It wasn't. I had many battle marks on my body, most of them small scars made by blades or claws, but that was the one exception.

"It is a Dragon pock scar."

She scrunched up her nose and looked at me confused. I couldn't hide my smile when I saw her face.

"It is like smallpox but for Dragons. Humans are unaffected. There was an outbreak about eight years ago. It can be lethal, mostly for hatchlings and older Dragons. I got pretty sick but survived with only a few minor scars as a result. We have some medication that works in some cases, and I responded just fine."

She still looked confused. Then she started to shake her head.

"Funny, I never realized that Dragons could get sick too."

I laughed. Of course we could, we were mortal. Yes, we were much stronger and lived much longer than humans, but eventually, we too were mortal and could get diseases and get killed or simply age and die.

"What about this one."

She pointed to another scar, and then another and another. Most of my answers consisted of 'I got them in battle' or 'I got them in training.'

After a few scars, she started to chuckle.

"So you are a soldier then. Otherwise, you tend to be attracted to battle way too much."

I shook my head, half smiling.

"Roza, I am a General."

She put her hands to her chin and seemed to mull that over.

"Is that why you and Dimitri are such good friends? Because you both have seen so many battles and both command armies?"

I tensed at her words. I suppose that was a logical conclusion from this information. Much more logical than the truth that Dimitri and I were the same person.

"I suppose. We certainly understand each other."

Yeah well, I didn't understand myself very well right now. Rose tended to do that to me. Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable in her presence. I wanted to get away from her before I told her everything and ruin what could be our last moments together.

"Uhm, I have to go..to…umh catch some lunch or something."

I bristled my wings, and Rose stood up from her comfortable spot to give me some room to do so.

She was standing in front of me, and she looked like she wanted to ask me something.

"Uhm, Dimka?"

Her hands were behind her back, and she was biting her bottom lip. She was balancing on the balls of her feet, and her eyes were large and pleading, looking straight up at me.

"I have wanted to ask you something for a while now."

I took in a deep breath. Did she suspect the truth? What could she possibly want from me?

"Can I… I mean if you don't mind… Can I ride you?"

My mind came up with a million images when I heard that, but it took me a moment to realize that she was asking if she could fly with me. Funny, that is not what we were doing in those images. In those, a sweaty and moaning Rose was moving up and down on top of me as her own movements brought her to new heights, bringing me along in the process.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the images. I noticed Rose was still standing there with hope in her eyes but also fear I would turn her down. I should turn her down. I needed to get away from her not have her straddle me and keep herself steady by squeezing her thighs tightly against my back.

"Okay."

She practically jumped up and down in excitement.

"But only for a minute. I really need to eat something, and I can't do that with you on my back."

She nodded vigorously, grateful for any time I was willing to let her ride me.

"And I am not a horse. You don't ride Dragons, you fly with them."

She practically rolled her eyes at me at my wounded pride. She shrugged.

"Sure, sure."

I narrowed my eyes at her which only made her giggle, but lowered my body so she could climb on. Once she was securely seated, I opened my wings, and with one giant push down I took to the air. Rose squealed, but it was one of excitement not of fear. I would have to give her credit for that. Not many other humans would have been able to do that. Many would have pissed themselves by now.

I leveled off when we were high in the skies and simply glided along on a leisurely pace.

"Everything looks so small from here. Does it look small for you too?"

"I am a Dragon, everything is small compared to me, whether I am high up, or down below. And no, I have better eyesight, so I can see things on the ground more clearly."

I felt her bend down a bit as if looking down at the small town below.

"For instance, that merchant has a blue shirt."

She seemed to be staring at it for a while.

"I think that is purple, are Dragons color blind?"

Actually, we saw colors a bit more vividly than humans, but she shouldn't be able to see the man at all, let alone correct me in what color shirt he could be wearing.

"You know, it isn't very smart to keep insulting the Dragon that is currently keeping you from crashing to your death."

She giggled and petted me again.

"You are so sensitive. Big Dragon, but a little heart."

I rolled my eyes. She only keeps making it worse. In retribution, I spinned around, the momentum of the turn keeping her from falling off. Besides if she did, I would have been able to catch her with my claw.

She squealed again. Now it was of surprise, but still no fear. Once we had leveled off, she started laughing.

"Oh, do that again!"

Oh, she liked it rough, huh? So I rotated around my axes again and was met with a similar squeal. I decided she could handle a bit more, and started to dive down toward the side of the mountain, pressing my wings close to my body to make speed.

She pressed herself close against me but never asked me to stop. Her arms were wrapped around my neck as far as she could, and I felt those thighs pressing against my romp.

I leveled off a few feet above the ground and slowly started to make the ascent back towards the skies.

She didn't right herself again, and I began to wonder if I'd hurt her, or maybe she passed out from the dive.

"Roza?"

"Hmm."

"Are you okay?"

"I am great, just enjoying you. You are so warm and big. I wish I could stay like this forever."

Her head was comfortable resting at the base of my neck, and her arms were wrapped around me. Her legs were positioned just behind my shoulder blade and the bone connecting my wing to my body. I felt her entire body relax as it was pressed against me. At this moment I felt closest to her. Something so simple as enjoying a flight together. Maybe it was because I knew this was one experience Dimitri couldn't give her. And I was glad I could give her some joy while being Dragon. But reality soon brought me back from dreams of Rose flying with me into the sunset.

"We should go back. I know you didn't come to see me."

I felt Rose straighten up from her position on her back.

"I come to see both of you. I like spending time with you Dimka."

I was glad to hear that, but I needed to tell her I probably wouldn't be around much longer and I think it would be better if she heard it from me in my human form.

I flew us back the short distance to the cave and landed on the sundeck. I laid down so Rose could get off. She stepped in front of me, so we were face to face. She took my snout and brought it down, so my snout was level with her head. Her hands on the side of my cheek felt amazing. She placed a gentle and soft kiss on top of my snout.

"Thank you. That was amazing. Now go get your lunch."

I smiled and took off into the distance and saw her walk inside the cave. I decided I did need a good piece of horse or cow before I would return to my human self.

After my belly was fully satisfied, I was hovering near the cave entrance that was covered by the waterfall. I flew inside and checked to see if Rose wasn't in there before I let the flames engulf me and turn scale into skin as I transformed back to my human form.

When I walked in after I had put on some clothes I saw Rose had just finished lunch herself.

I loved how comfortable she was here that she would just help herself to whatever I had lying around. When she spotted me, her face lit up with a genuine smile.

"Hi. I didn't know if you would need lunch too, but I was starving, so I decided to go ahead and eat, but I can make you something if you are hungry?"

I walked over towards her and pulled her close to me as I kissed her hair.

"Thanks, but I just ate."

Absentmindedly, I touched the sides of my lips to see if I still had cow's blood on there, but I had washed it all off. I usually cook my meat, even in Dragon form I roast it with my flame, but sometimes a Dragon needs a raw and bloody piece of cow to get him through the day.

She pulled back a little so she could look up to me. I didn't know what she was doing exactly but she was transfixed by my face, and I thought I detected a hint of sadness in her eyes. It was like her feelings mirrored my own. I was looking down at her and was committing every detail of her to memory. Her silky hair, her smooth tanned skin, how her hair consisted of a thousand colors of brown and how her eyes reflected love for me.

I wanted that moment to last forever, but it wasn't meant to be. I needed to let her know that this might be the last time I saw her. I needed her to know I would be going into battle soon, and I didn't know when I would be back. If I would be back.

I took a deep breath, and so did she. My lips parted to let the words pass, and I noticed hers had too.

"We need to talk."

We both said at the same time.

I chuckled but found no humor in this. She looked down with half a smile on her face.

"You first," I said as I gestured towards her.

She looked nervous and started to pace around the kitchen.

"It's Lissa. She is doing something very brave, and I support her a hundred percent, but she is also putting herself in even more danger. So I need to be with her."

I saw she was fighting hard to keep the emotion out of her voice but failing miserably. We both knew exactly what more time with Lissa meant. Less time with me.

She sat down on the kitchen bench, her hands tucked between her legs.

"I don't want to leave you, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to her and I was here with you. I just don't know how I can be with you both."

I smiled softly as I sat down next to her. I took her hands in mine and placed them on my lap. Rose was such a good person. In a way, she reminded me of myself. She always put her duty first, even before her own happiness.

"I understand. I wish it were different, but I understand. She needs you."

She nodded but wasn't convinced of my words, or perhaps she simply regretted their truth.

I was silent for a little while. Neither of us knew what to say. I was rubbing circles on her hand, and this simple gesture seemed to be enough to tether her to this moment. A moment where we could still be together and where what we wanted and made us happy, mattered.

She took a deep breath and looked my way.

"You wanted to say something too?"

Oh yeah, right. Rose wasn't the only one that had other duties. I looked down at my hands. I had stopped the circling motion on her hand but still held onto it.

"My army has been called into a state of readiness. I don't know how long I will be able to stay here either. I have scouts ascertaining the threat, but it doesn't look good."

I sat back a little looking at the ceiling of the cave I had called my own for the last few decades. Ever since the last time we had to squash a Snow Dragon incursion. Ever since Ivan. I had first started coming here to get away from everybody and be alone. It isn't strange for a Dragon to live in seclusion, but I had certainly taken it to extremes. But somewhere in that time, I had started to call this place home, and I had found some peace here. And as I looked over to the dark angel sitting next to me, I couldn't deny anymore that this is the place I fell in love. I would have happily made a home for Rose and me here. I know she loves it here too. But I would have to part with this cave soon, and I would have to part with her too. I knew that when the war was over and I was still alive, even if it was a few decades, I could come back here. But I knew that wasn't true for Rose. She didn't have time to wait for me as this cave would.

"I have to leave soon too," I finally managed to say.

I was afraid to look over to Rose. I didn't know what I would see in her eyes or what I would feel, but I knew she would probably look sad. Mournful. I imagined a million different emotions on her face, but when I finally had the courage to look her way, I saw none of them. I saw determination and lust.

She didn't hesitate and pressed her lips to mine as she repositioned herself on my lap. She pulled herself up on my neck as she laced her fingers in my hair. I moved my hands down her back and on her hip to lock her in place. My mouth devoured hers as if I would never have the chance again, and honestly, that would probably be the case. Based on her current behavior, Rose had a similar train of thought. If we only had this moment, we would take full advantage of it.

I knew this would probably be the only time we would be able to be together. I wanted more than just this moment in time, but I knew I couldn't, so I would enjoy it while it lasts. I would feel every brush of her lips, remember every touch of her fingers. If all we had was now, I would remember every inch of her body and memorize every emotion on her face.

I undid the laces on the back of the dress. She didn't stop me. She just pushed herself flush against me to give me better access. I had long infiltrated her mouth with my tongue and was currently in the exploit of conquering more skin down her neck and collarbone. I had loosened the laces enough so I could lower the dress over her shoulders, exposing more skin for me to explore.

I was trailing deeper and deeper into her cleavage, and Rose threw her head back, giving me better access. She was working hard to rid me of my shirt. I had to release the hold my lips had on her skin and was strangely reluctant to do so. But I pulled back a little so she could lift the shirt over my head. On the way back our eyes locked. I tried to detect any sort of hesitance or doubt. After all, this would be her first time, and we probably wouldn't see each other again. I would understand if she had doubts. But I found none. Her eyes reflected only love.

I stood up and easily held onto Rose as I did so. She was so light in my arms, I barely felt she was there - even if her emotional load was weighing me down significantly,

She wiggled out of my arms and stood back on the ground. I wondered if she had changed her mind, but still, no doubt registered in her eyes, but a new emotion was added to them. Mischief.

She took a few steps back, but the sway in her step told me she wasn't pulling away from me.

She slowly, agonizingly slowly, shifted her dress further over her shoulders and upper arms until it fell in a heap on the floor, exposing what lay beneath. The bodice still supporting and concealing her breasts and an undergarment was still covering the rest, but even then, I could feel myself stir as I knew I was probably the first man to see her so exposed.

She wasn't done, by the look of the smile on her face.

She started to undo the laces of her bodice. After all of them had been undone, the fabric fell away exposing her chest, her perfect, supple, naturally tan breasts. She took a few steps further towards the bedroom and rounded the corner. When she held up her undergarment around the bend. I followed like a puppy.

When I made my way into the bedroom, my mouth went dry and my heart rate went up. I could feel my heart desperately pumping in my chest, trying to distribute as much blood to my brain as it still could, since my body had directed most of it south.

She lay naked on my bed, she was supporting her weight on her elbows, and her leg was slightly draped over her other, obscuring her most private place.

I took off my own pants and saw her eyes widen when she took me all in. It held excitement, nervousness and a little bit of fear.

I moved on my hands and knees over the bed towards her. She let herself rest on the bed as I hovered over her. One of my legs had made its way into her inner sanctum and was resting comfortably there. I bent down and kissed her gently. I would need to take it slow. I pulled back and took in every feature of her face as I brushed her hair away and draped it on the pillow.

"You are so beautiful, so beautiful it hurts sometimes."

She cupped my cheek and pulled me down towards her, pressing her lips to mine as her hands laced themselves into my hair. I roamed my hands over her naked body and simply relished in her soft skin and amazing curves. She was pressing her body against me and rocking her hips against my thigh. I could feel the evidence of her excitement on my thigh and no doubt she could feel the evidence of my own arousal.

I traced my way down from her lips to the skin on her neck and sucked on it. If her moans were any indication, she seemed to enjoy it.

"God, Dimitri, that feels so good."

"Roza."

Her body stilled, and I pulled back a little to see why she had suddenly frozen. Her eyes reflected shock and disbelief. I saw a million different questions in her eyes until I realized she had stumbled on the truth. I saw my whole world shatter in that moment. Because I knew what I had done wrong.

Only the Dragon called her Roza, and now she knew.

And I was screwed.