RPOV

We flew most of the morning and reached the foot of the mountain by midday. From the sky, it really didn't look like much of a walk. And as Dragons, we might have been able to cross it in a day. But now we had to walk the distance, and Dimitri said it would take us about a week to do so. I wasn't looking forward to it.

I was very grateful I had packed some good boots.

All the Dragons transformed into their human form and got dressed. The further we went the colder it got, but I noticed their clothes didn't change. They were mostly wearing shirts and pants, and leather boots. No thick fur coats or anything like that. I also noticed while I was wearing a few more layers and had packed warmly, I wasn't as cold as I had expected. Must be some internal flame thing.

Once we were all packed, Dimitri consulted his maps one more time before we started walking. He had asked me and Mason and one other Dragon to lead. I knew why - he judged us the slowest, so we should set the pace.

I didn't know how I was going to make it over the mountain but was confident I could make it.

I had that belief until we were a few hours in and I was breathing heavily. We were on a piece with a steep incline, and the top just kept getting further and further away.

I was about to start whining or sulking, or just do something else than walking up that damn mountain, when I felt Dimitri's hand on my back and his eyes held pride. I couldn't let him down. Not as my boyfriend and certainly not as my General, so I soldiered on.

Finally, I made it to the top, and I triumphantly raised my arms in the air. I heard Dimitri chuckle, whereas the others all sat down to take a breather. Although I was definitely the one breathing the heaviest, most Dragons were breathing loudly too. Dimitri was the only one who seemed to be doing fine. But although he wasn't breathing like a horse, I could see the rise and fall of his chest with a frequency higher than his normal rhythm.

It made me feel a little better that they were having a difficult time too.

"Take five minutes to rest and hydrate. We will stop for the night at the base of the mountain."

Dimitri pointed to a small stream of water down, way down in the valley, at least it was downhill.

After five minutes, Dimitri got up and started to walk again.

My own groans were muffled by the groans of everyone else. But we all soldiered on.

I dropped to the ground when Dimitri finally said to make camp when we reached the valley.

Once he had made the necessary orders, he sat down next to me.

"You did well, Roza. It will be easier tomorrow."

I really doubted it. I would be sore all over. A little smile came across my face as a thought came to mind.

"I might be sore tomorrow. You should really massage me to make sure I can still walk tomorrow."

He smiled.

"I can cook you a warm dinner instead."

"Sold."

He shook his head as he unloaded his supplies and started to make preparations for dinner.

I sat there and watched him. Everyone seemed to know their role, but I either didn't have a role, or nobody told me.

"Rose, can you help me with the fire?"

I got up, happy to be doing something and being needed, although with so many Dragons around, I was probably the last one to help with the fire. But nonetheless I walked over to Christian as he had collected logs.

"Can you start a fire on this one, then I can collect more firewood. And make it a good one too. This will probably be the last one. We will be too close tomorrow. They will be able to spot us due to the smoke."

"Do you have a fire starter then, or some matches?"

He just looked at me funny as he walked away. Right. Half Dragon. Should be able to do this.

I piled the logs in an optimal position and took a deep breath. I didn't breathe fire like the rest of them but exuded fire from my every pore. Christian had been working with me, and I could at least summon the fire without burning my clothes. It was like they had a mind of their own and I could communicate with them, tell them what I wanted them to do.

My flames seemed to be alive, like a part of me was embedded in those flames. I wondered if Dimitri had the same connection with his fire. I had mostly seen his giant flame shooting up in the sky, and although I knew mine could be as destructive if not more, it did feel different.

I breathed in and out, letting the flames come to the surface. I saw them dancing on my hand and took a moment to admire the colors and movements of the flames. They burned bright at the base of my hand and dissipated into the air as they moved further away from my skin.

Now I had to transfer them to the logs and control them long enough for the logs to catch fire. I sent a few flames towards the wood and willed them to stay there. I felt the moment the flames were no longer mine, but were now controlled and fueled by the wood and air around them.

Christian came back and piled a few logs next to the fire.

"Nicely done. Now make sure it keeps burning, you are on fire duty."

I groaned but dutifully sat down next to the fire, at least happy I had a job, even if it was a boring job.

Mason sat down next to me.

"You really are getting better at controlling your flame."

Yeah, when I was happy and didn't have a lot of stress, and the person that kidnapped my best friend and charge wasn't in front of me trying to steal her power and lock her up. Then I was just peachy.

"Thanks, I have been practicing."

"I noticed."

I saw him looking down at his hands. He didn't know how to hold a conversation now that he knew I was the boss' girl.

"Mason."

"It's okay Rose. I missed a lot of signals that everyone else seemed to have picked up on. It's my own fault. But can you tell him not to be such a dick? I feel like he is picking on me."

I laughed. But unfortunately, it was a little true.

"He is just in General mode. He is under a lot of pressure and just wants us all to make it home safely. He is pushing us hard to make sure we survive. Trust me; I have been on the other end of his wrath too."

Not as much as Mason, but still. When Dimitri was in General mode, he was cold to me too.

Mason nodded, apparently unconvinced.

"So how are you holding up?"

I started to rub my legs.

"Tired but okay. You?"

"Same."

Again a bit of awkward silence. It had always been so easy to talk to him, but now it was just weird. I think we were both a bit relieved when Eddie sat down next to us.

His groan was loud, and we both chuckled.

"What, I trained my wings, not my legs."

I put on a serious face, trying to mimic Dimitri's voice by lowering it a few octaves.

"A good soldier is prepared for anything. Life is never predictable."

Both boys laughed.

"That is spot on. You really sound like him."

We were all three laughing when Mason and Eddie suddenly stopped.

I felt a presence behind me, and I squinted my eyes.

"He is behind me, isn't he?"

They nodded.

"He heard what I just said, didn't he?"

They nodded again.

I turned around on Dimitri and saw him standing there six feet seven tall, towering over me with his arms crossed and a scowl his face.

"So you done with dinner Comrade? I am starving."

He just shook his head and walked away. But I could see the smile tugging at his lips. I turned around to the boys and winked in triumph.

A hot meal was just what we needed, and afterwards, I could hear contented sighs all around, instead of tired whines.

The sun was already setting although I didn't think it was that late. But in the North the days were short and the nights long, and for fire Dragons such as ourselves, that wasn't ideal.

But the sky was clear tonight and the stars shone bright and the moon was almost full giving off a nice bit of light. I could feel the light of the sun reflected on the moon and could even feel the fire emanating from the stars.

I moved a little closer to Dimitri, snuggling up to keep warm. His body was relaxed and I felt his hand stroke my hair and back as he was talking to someone else.

It wasn't long before Dimitri said it was time to sleep because apparently we were having a long day tomorrow and needed to get up early.

We laid down on the ground. The others seemed to be used to it, but I didn't really know how to sleep without a blanket. But as soon as Dimitri pulled me close to him and spooned me as the big spoon, I felt at peace. It wasn't long before the glittering darkness made way for complete darkness as I fell asleep.

I woke up to Dimitri smooching my neck. I looked around but saw everyone else was still asleep and snoring loudly. He couldn't possibly want to take this any further here? But I did feel his hand moving over my stomach and in between my legs. I gasped as his hands rubbed me through my pants.

"Dimitri?"

"The stream is fueled with some hot water. It isn't too cold to bathe in. I thought we could take bath together."

Oh, thank god, somewhere slightly away from other people. I was relieved, but truth be told, if he had kept rubbing me, I would have consented to pretty much anything, including having other Dragons watch. As a matter of fact, the thought of someone watching was oddly thrilling, but then I thought about Stan and Mason watching, and I was over it.

Dimitri got up, and I followed him towards the stream. We were shedding our clothes along the way. But it was freezing. Dimitri didn't seem to be bothered by it, but I suppose my internal flame hadn't been set for subzero temperatures.

He seemed to notice that and took me in his naked arms.

"Just breathe in and out. Imagine a small ember inside, and by letting more air in, the ember glows hotter, but don't let it ignite to a full flame."

I did as I was told, and felt my skin heating up a bit. He smiled down at me as he let me towards the stream.

I dipped my toe in and shivered. I imagined the embers burning a little brighter still and felt the cold being chased away from my body.

He slipped in first and stretched his hand out to guide me in.

Step by step I followed him into the water. Once we were both in, I started to enjoy this bath. The water wasn't too cold. I actually think the air was colder than the water, and it was reflected by little puffs of steam coming off of the water in the morning sun.

He pulled me close and kissed me. At first gentle and sweet, but soon it heated up. His tongue was rubbing on my lip, begging entrance. The heat from his tongue and his skin ignited heat from within me, and I was no longer cold. In fact I think the only thing that kept me from bursting into flames right now was the cold air and water around us.

His tongue played with mine for a bit, while his hands roamed my body. When we both needed to come up for air, he started to lick my neck and suck on the spot where my neck connected to my shoulder. I think I would have a hicky afterwards. But it wasn't what his tongue was doing that really intrigued me. It was his hands and more precisely his fingers that were traveling to certain places that had me whimpering.

He was just playing around the edges, stroking my folds, and circling my clit without moving inwards. I could feel him growing rock hard against my stomach and decided if he could tease me, I could tease him.

I started to play with his balls, and I heard him groan. I moved my fingers slightly back, simply rubbing his taint and feeling his erection continue even there. Funny I always thought it started at the base of the balls, but I could clearly feel his shaft emanating from a place further back. And it was sensitive if his gasps for air were any indication.

I think I might have broken him, because he violently ripped my hand away from the spot, lifted me up and plunged deep inside of me.

The water made the movements slow and steady, but he certainly made up for it by plunging deep. The water also had another added advantage. I was lighter in the water, and he didn't need to spend so much energy supporting me. And I didn't need to clamp my legs around him so tight to support myself. The movement was almost equal in energy as when we were horizontal.

"I thought you might have taken me right there where we slept, with everyone around."

I felt him chuckled against my neck.

"I almost did. They sleep like babies - nothing wakes them up. I could just imagine me slipping down my pants just far enough to free my cock. I would do the same to you. Just slip down the back of your trousers far enough for me to reach your warm folds. If our bodies were pressed together enough, no one would even be able to see it. I would have had to move gently and only make small strokes."

And as if on cue he thrust up hard and deep, instead of the shallow and small strokes he promised if we had stayed behind.

"You wouldn't have been able to make much noise. Even the slightest whimper could have alerted someone to our activities."

I let out a loud moan, grateful we were far away from the other Dragons.

"And when you would come, you couldn't do anything but look serene. No O-face, no moaning, or sighing or anything. You'd just have to keep a neutral face as I make you come."

Honestly, the way he was describing, it did sound hot. Something about having to restrain the almost unrestrainable was very appealing. But as my moans were getting louder and my movements more erratic as I felt the desperate need for release, I knew I wouldn't have been able to do this if we had stayed with the others. It would have been torture, delicious torture.

Dimitri's groaning increased both in frequency and in amplitude as he was pounding into me as hard as the water allowed, displacing a good amount of water.

"You wouldn't have been able to move like this, or groan like this; you would have to stay quiet as well."

He buried his face in my hair as I felt his body tighten in preparation for his climax.

"I am much happier with this choice."

I was almost there, I actually imagined a restrained Dimitri, releasing his hot seed inside of me while nobody was none the wiser. His General mask was on, but I could tell by the slight twitch of his eye and the fact his lips were parted. I imagined the pure pleasure I saw in his eyes. Pleasure I saw in his eyes now, except his face was strained and he was gritting his teeth, hanging on by a threat, trying to last as long as possible to make me come too. Now I loved Dimitri's orgasm face. It was one of the few moments he let himself go and he seemed oddly vulnerable when he did, but the moment before it was amazing, too. The desperate need to come inside of me, to complete the pleasure my body was providing him. I imagine I had a similar face and was relishing in the pleasure he was giving me.

I saw the moment the string snapped, and he had to let go. I felt him flood me and it was like his seed set off a chain reaction inside of me, making me come with him.

My body relaxed against him. He was breathing heavily against my neck and nuzzling my ear.

He pulled me close and kept us there for a while, just enjoying the moment. Although the blood had drained from his member, he was still nestled inside of me.

"Maybe next time, we can try it where we sleep?" I said only half joking, but Dimitri growled possessively.

"I am not having other people watch us, watch you having sex. You are mine."

The words warmed my heart, but I saw something else come over Dimitri I hadn't expected based on those words. Shame and fear. I didn't understand those emotions at all.