Page 11 of Dragon Daddy’s Second Chance (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #5)

CHAPTER 10

***BLAKE***

B lake found a comfortable place to sit while he waited for Wren. It had been a long day, and he was beginning to feel the effects of shifting after not making the transition for so long. Closing his eyes, he let himself float in that state between awake and asleep, sure that the day wasn’t over and preparing himself for the questions Wren was bound to ask. He got sleepily to his feet when she came out of Susan’s room and walked over to her, trying to judge what she was feeling by the look on her face, but all he saw was the same exhaustion he was experiencing.

“How is she?” he asked, pulling her in for a hug, relieved when she didn’t resist. “Do you want to stay here with her tonight?”

“She’s fine. She told me to go back to the cabin and get some rest,” Wren said, then looked up at him, her face full of regret. “I had to tell her, Blake, I’m sorry. She knew just enough to ask questions, so I couldn’t let her think she was going crazy.”

“It’s okay. I had a feeling that she saw me,” he said. “She didn’t freak out? ”

“No, in fact, she thought it was amazing that she was saved from drowning by a dragon,” she said, shaking her head. “I have a feeling she’s going to want to talk about it, so you’d better prepare yourself.”

“I’ll talk to her until I’m blue in the face as long as she doesn’t tell anyone else,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Honestly, it might be good for you to have someone to talk to who knows the truth. Secrets can carry a lot of weight, especially when you have to keep them from the people you love the most.”

“Susan won’t tell anyone. She knows what could happen if she did,” she said. “I’m not sure anyone would believe her anyway, but she won’t tell.”

“I wasn’t worried for a second,” he said, then gave her a quick kiss. “I happen to know that you have good taste in friends.”

Wren laughed. “Let’s get out of here. I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. It’s been a long day, and the sun hasn’t even set.”

“I’ll walk you back to your cabin,” he said, taking her hand and heading for the front door. “A good night’s sleep will help.”

“I’m sure that you’re right,” she said, then hesitated. “Will you stay with me tonight, Blake? I don’t want to be alone.”

He looked over at her. “Are you sure?” he asked. “I thought maybe you needed some time…you know, to process things…or something like that.”

“I think I’m processing things just fine, and there are still a few…umm…things we need to talk about,” she said, looking apprehensive. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between us anymore. I want everything out in the open.”

“That’s what I want too, Wren,” he said. “I promise we’ll talk. I just didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much at once. ”

“That’s not what I meant,” she tried to explain, but her words faded away when the smell of food reached them, and her stomach growled loudly. “Oh, something smells wonderful.”

“It sounds like you're hungry,” he said, laughing. “Maybe we should get something to eat before we go back to your cabin.”

Wren made a face, “I’m not really in the mood to be out in public. I’d need to shower and put on some clean clothes,” she said. “Maybe we could just get something to go and take it back to my cabin.”

“You look just fine to me,” Blake said, grinning at her. “And I don’t think you smell bad at all.”

“I didn’t say that I smelled bad,” she said, giving him a dirty look. “I just said I needed a shower.”

“Oh, I just assumed,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe I should get a little closer and find out for myself.”

Before she could stop him, he scooped her into his arms and began sniffing her neck, making her start to giggle. “Huh…you were right,” he said when he let her go. “You don’t smell bad at all. In fact, you smell pretty good.”

He thoroughly enjoyed the blush that crept up her cheeks, “Behave yourself,” Wren said. “We’re in public.”

“Oh, so I don’t have to behave once we’re not in public,” he said, a big grin on his face, then laughed. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman if that’s what you want, sweetheart, but it’s not going to be easy; I’ve been thinking about you for six years.”

Wren gasped, her eyes filled with desire, and he took advantage of the moment by sweeping her off the path under the shelter of a tree, then lowered his mouth to hers. There was only a moment’s hesitation before she slipped her arms up around his neck and began to kiss him back, igniting the passion between them. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting and teasing until they were both gasping for breath, and he was forced to let her go.

They stood staring at each other for several long seconds, need pulsing between them, but the sound of voices approaching on the trail broke the spell, and they stepped apart. “It’s probably a good thing that didn’t happen in the cabin,” he said, his voice hoarse with desire. “My promise to be a gentleman would have gone right out the window.”

“I don’t remember making you promise to be a gentleman,” she said, a little smile on her face. “I think that was all your idea.”

“Now I really want to get that food and go back to your cabin,” he said, the grin back on his face. “Be careful what you ask for woman, you just might get it.”

“I’m counting on it,” Wren said, taking his hand. “But I think you’d better feed me first.”

***Wren***

Wren knew that she should stop teasing and flirting with Blake as if nothing was wrong, but it was the only way she could cope with the fear and anxiety that were slowly building. She couldn’t put off telling Blake about Theo; the time had come, and a part of her was terrified that he would never forgive her for not telling him sooner. He might not understand that she was just trying to protect her son, he might not see how scared she was that his mother would try to take her son, he might not understand that Theo was her entire life, the only reason she got out of bed in the morning sometimes.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she thought about waiting to tell him. She was exhausted, and another emotional blow might be more than she could handle in one day. Looking over at Blake ordering them food, she discarded the idea. She was just making up an excuse. It was time to trust him, to put all her faith in him, and to hope that what she felt deep down wasn’t wrong.

He was the father of her son. He deserved to know the truth, even if it destroyed what they’d built over the last few days. “Hey, you look awfully serious,” Blake said, interrupting her thoughts. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m just tired,” she lied. “I’ll feel better after I eat something.”

He studied her for a second. “You’re an amazing woman, Wren,” he said. “You’ve been through so much today, and your only complaint is that you’re tired. Most people would still be freaking out about… well, you know.”

“I guess I’m a lot tougher than I look,” she said, managing to smile at him. “Come on, let’s go; the smell of that food is driving me crazy.”

Back at the cabin, they spread the food on the table out on the porch and began to eat. At first, Wren was so hungry that was all she could think about, but as her hunger was fed, her mind began to wander. Theo popped into her mind as he always did, but she chased him away and looked over at Blake, suddenly nervous again about telling him. But as she watched him as he ate, she noticed for the first time not only how much her son looked like his father, but all the other little things they shared.

Letting herself imagine the three of them a happy family, she felt tears stinging her eyes when a wave of hope washed over her. What she’d always secretly wished for deep down inside might be coming true. She just had to get through breaking the news about Theo to Blake. Searching her mind for a way to open the conversation, she set down her fork and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She’d waited long enough, it was time to jump in with both feet.

“Blake, I was wondering, well, how do you become a shifter?” she asked, hoping it was the perfect opening. “I mean, do you inherit the ability, or is it just random?”

Blake looked over at her, then set his fork down. “Are you done eating?” he asked, gesturing to her half empty plate.

She nodded, “I’m stuffed,” she said, her appetite suddenly gone. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”

He got to his feet and held out his hand. “Then let’s sit over in the swing and talk,” he said. I’ll take care of the dishes later.”

Without a word, so nervous that she thought her dinner might come back up, she let him lead her over to the swing suspended from the porch roof, and settled down in his arms, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time. They swung in silence for a few minutes, neither speaking, and she wondered if she was going to have to start the conversation again.

“The ability to shift is genetic. It’s usually passed down from fathers to sons. Female shifters are rare, but it does happen sometimes,” Blake said. “Not every male will become a shifter. I honestly don’t know what the percentages are, but I’d guess it’s something like one in four. I’m the lucky one in my family, not that my parents see it that way. To them it’s more like something to be ashamed of, even though all our wealth came from that ability.”

He paused to take a breath. “Wait, what do you mean?” she asked, forgetting about Theo. “You’re rich because you’re a shifter?”

“Sort of,” he said with a shrug. “Our gifts make us just a bit smarter, stronger, a little more cunning than regular humans; some of us, my ancestors, for example, used that advantage to get rich. My parents have conveniently forgotten that fact and are embarrassed by my ability; that’s one of the reasons I was trying to break free that summer, Wren. I don’t want the life they lead. I want to be me, I want to shift if I want to, and I want to spend my life doing something besides making money and trying to climb the social ladder. Most of all, I want to be with someone who isn’t embarrassed by what I am.”

“I’m not embarrassed, I think what you can do is amazing. I still have a lot to learn about what it means, but I would never want you to hide that part of yourself from me,” she said, aware that she might be having this same conversation with her son in a few years. “Blake, your gift is part of who you are. I wouldn’t want to change that for anything.”

“I should have told you sooner,” he said, pulling her closer, then hesitated. “There’s something else I should probably tell you. I wasn’t sure until we saw each other again. When we were together before, I didn’t really believe the stories that go around, but now, well…”

Suddenly a little alarmed, she sat up in his arms. “Blake, what is it?” she asked. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not going to be as big of a deal as you think it is.”

“Well, the thing is, there are these stories about shifters bonding with their mates, a throwback to the days when the world was a much more dangerous place,” he said. “That bond is supposed to last a lifetime, and coupled with our magic, it can be both wonderful and horrible, warm and comforting when we’re together, heartbreaking and awful when we’re separated.”

The implications of what he was telling slowly sank in. “And you think we’re forming that bond?” she finally asked. “That we’re becoming connected in some way?”

“I don’t think we’re forming it, I think it’s already there,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I think it formed six years ago, and it’s never been broken. I’m not sure anything can break it.”

Her mind was whirling, all the long, lonely nights when she felt like her heart was being ripped out, all the days of missing him until it was a physical ache, the times she’d looked into her son’s eyes and felt a powerful longing for something she couldn’t have flooded her. Anger quickly followed the burst of feelings, and she could only stare at him for a second as it bubbled to the surface, choking her for a second, and she fought to drag in a breath.

“So, we’re trapped, stuck together whether we like it or not?” she demanded jumping to her feet, suddenly feeling like there wasn’t enough air, her secret about Theo so much bigger suddenly. “Blake, you should have warned me, you should have…”

Her words trailed off as a huge sob pushed its way up from the depth of her chest; Blake was instantly on his feet, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. “I’m sorry, Wren, I really didn’t believe it back then,” he said. “I didn’t really believe it until I saw you again. I know this is a little scary, but I thought you wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with you. I love you, Wren. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you standing on the bow of your father’s boat.”

It was more than she could take. Pushing him away, she ran for her bedroom, closed the door behind her, and threw herself down on the bed, sobbing out her anger and confusion. Her life wasn’t her own; it belonged to Blake, and if he couldn’t forgive her for keeping Theo a secret, she’d be miserable for the rest of her life.