Page 13 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)

Chapter 13

B ridget yawned and stretched, feeling like she’d never slept so well in her life but also feeling like she’d run a marathon the day before. She blinked her eyes and looked around. Right, so, Vaughn, dragon, amazing sex, shadow people, check. Wow. Jorrie is never going to believe this. She bolted upright. Jorrie , Gabriel! Oh no , she panicked, thinking she needed to get Gabriel to school. What time was it?

She looked around for a clock and finally saw it was already 8:30 a.m. “Shit!” she whispered; oh, she was never going to live this down.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

She turned as the delicious male voice chimed and saw Vaughn leaning against the bedroom door. He was dressed in jeans and an unbuttoned shirt, looking entirely too handsome for this early in the morning. He held two mugs in his hands. Steam from the contents wafted into the air.

“Tea?” he motioned with one cup. “I remembered how you take it.” He walked over to the bed with the mug, holding it out to her .

She gladly accepted it and blew on the hot liquid while she refocused. “I’m so sorry, Vaughn, but I’ve got to get home. I need to get Gabriel to school!” she started to get out of bed.

“Relax, I’ve already got it covered,” he replied, putting his hand on her shoulder to keep her there. He admired the way she looked in his bed with her hair all tousled from sleep. “I sent Liam over this morning to get him there. Jorrie already had him up and ready; she was going to take him, but he opted to ride with Liam once he saw the car. Also, um, apparently, Jorrie sends congratulations.” He grinned at her shocked expression.

“Well, uh, thanks. That was very kind and thoughtful of you,” she replied. “I bet he loved that, going to school in a Rolls.” She rolled her eyes, imaging how her son would have reacted to such an opportunity.

He smirked, “Oh, Liam didn’t take the Rolls. I thought that was too ostentatious.”

Bridget eyed him carefully, “So what did he take that Gabe was so excited about?” she asked slowly.

Just then, Liam popped his head around the door. “Morning, Bridget!” he announced cheerfully. “Glad to see you’re awake and he didn’t eat you. How do you take your eggs?” he asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world to make breakfast for a woman he’d just met, sitting in his boss’s bed.

“Over easy, thank you, Liam. What did you take my son to school in?” she asked suspiciously.

Liam grinned at her, “Oh, just a car miss. Drake said not to take the Rolls; it would be too ostentatious. ”

She glared at him; she had a feeling she wasn’t getting the whole story.

“Wow, Drake, you weren’t kidding. She does the Mom Look really well.” Liam laughed.

Vaughn snorted. “You might as well answer her. She’s not going to let it go. My Bridget is very tenacious.”

Liam shook his head. “No, I don’t think she will. Okay, so it’s not a big deal. I just thought, if I was a teenage boy and I could pick the car, what would it be? So, I took the Lambo. No big.” He shrugged.

Bridget stared at him open-mouthed; her skin prickling. “You took my son. To school. My teenage son. To high school. In a Lamborghini?” she demanded. “I’m never going to hear the end of it. Never, ever, ever. Do you understand this? Never!”

She started laughing, and Vaughn took her cup back before she fell back on the bed and put the pillow over her face.

Liam looked a little disconcerted. “Yeah, well, he really liked it!” he said, in his most helpful voice. “His friends were really impressed, too. They all gathered round, and I gave them a look,” he added hopefully.

Bridget sat up and threw the pillow at him. “Out!” she shouted.

Liam took off like a cat with its tail under a rocking chair, cackling the whole way.

She eyed Vaughn suspiciously as he was obviously trying not to laugh. “Never,” she said, as she got up and stalked to the bathroom. “Never,” she said again and slammed the door.

When Bridget came out of the bathroom, Vaughn was sitting in the chair she’d spotted the night before in the corner by the bookcases. He was slouched down, looking very relaxed, with his long legs crossed casually at the ankles.

Her gaze trailed up those legs that she had reason to know were very well-muscled, continuing up to his stomach and chest where she noted he had now buttoned his shirt. Dang, she bemoaned the view that was no longer available. She looked at his face and saw he was watching her with a sultry look.

“Soo…” she started and pulled at the hem of his t-shirt as it skimmed her thighs.

“So,” he repeated quietly.

“Well, this is nice and awkward. Um, I guess I need to get dressed. I’m not quite sure where you threw my bra and my panties,” she trailed off, blushing.

Vaughn slowly lifted his frame from the chair. “Ah yes, those.” He pulled the remnants of the panties out of his jeans pocket, “Those met with a rather, tragic end.” He smiled sweetly at her as he put them back in his pocket.

Bridget’s neck joined forces with the heat in her face. “Okay, stop that!” she chided, “You can’t go around destroying my underwear. What am I supposed to wear home?”

He tossed his head lazily towards the bed, where she saw her overnight bag sitting on the end.

She turned and looked back at him, one eyebrow raised in query.

“Jorrie apparently anticipated your needs and sent that back with Liam this morning. She gave him instructions to give it to you with the following phrase: ‘You go, girl, and now we are even for Cabo, 2000’. A phrase I’m sure has meaning to you, but I am certainly intrigued. What happened in Cabo in 2000, my sweet little Bridget.” He stalked over to her, grinning ear to ear.

“Not anything I’m willing to share with you just yet.” She snatched the bag and walked back to the bathroom. Deciding to get a little revenge on him, she looked over her shoulder and said, “But it involved a wet t-shirt contest and a lot of baby oil.” She smiled in victory at the look on his face before the door closed. Yeeesss! Booty dance! She thought before doing a silly little wiggle she and Jorrie had made up that Spring Break.

Bridget set the bag on the counter then opened it to see what Jorrie had sent. She prayed it was practical and not Jorrie’s wicked sense of humor packing her things.

She was relieved to see shorts near the top, along with her favorite tennis shoes peeking out from underneath. Jorrie had come through; she really was an awesome friend! Bridget sent her a silent thanks into the universe, resolving to treat her friend to a girl’s weekend soon. She saw a piece of paper folded up under the handle of her toiletries bag and shook her head. She wasn’t sure what type of message awaited her but decided to just go ahead and get it over with. She pulled out the single sheet of notepaper she recognized as her own favorite stationery, with little black cats prancing across the top of the page. In Jorrie’s flowery, hand she read:

‘Bridge, I packed your sensible things so you wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame in last night’s outfit, just like when you helped me out in Cabo. You are the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’m going to give you some advice because I love you. Stop worrying that you aren’t good enough or you don’t deserve this. Get out of your head. This man obviously wants you for you. Take advantage of it, you’ve mourned long enough. Live a little. And tell me all about it tonight. I really hope you climbed that man like a tree, if not, I don’t know if I can look you in the face ever again. Love you bunches, kiss kiss, hug hug and all that.– J’

Bridget sat on the edge of the huge spa tub and stared at the note, tears welling in her eyes. Jorrie knew her all too well. She did tend to second guess herself and put off her own well-being. She hadn’t dated much and certainly had not been intimate with anyone since Brian had died. Becoming a widow so young had not factored into her life plan, and she’d had to scramble to rearrange things so Gabriel never lacked or wanted for anything. He’d become her whole world for a long time as she focused on that and that alone. She wiped away a few tears and folded the note again, holding it up to her heart. Jorrie was right, it was time for her to live.

Bridget wandered into the kitchen and found Liam and Vaughn sitting at a table, looking at some files scattered between them.

Liam saw her and jumped to his feet, pulling out a chair and ushering her to the table. Once seated, he grabbed a plate for her full of delicious smelling breakfast foods. It was all warm and fragrant, and she realized she was starving.

She waited for Liam to set down plates for Vaughn and himself before tucking into the most perfectly cooked eggs she’d ever had. She noted Vaughn watching her with amusement, a piece of bacon held lazily between his fingers and sparkle in his eye .

Liam was putting what smelled like fresh apple butter on a super fluffy, steaming biscuit with his elbows on some of the files they had been reviewing.

“Oh!” she said suddenly, “I must be keeping you from your work!” She was embarrassed at how quickly she had forgotten such responsibilities.

Vaughn smiled kindly and Liam grinned around his mouthful of biscuit. “It’s quite alright, my dear. One of the perks of being the boss.”

“Oh, right,” she said, “Well, if Liam wouldn’t mind terribly running me home after we eat, I’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to it.”

Vaughn stared at her for so long she thought maybe she had something on her face. She reached up to wipe her mouth with the napkin, trying to discreetly feel for any errant crumbs that may have stuck there.

He leaned towards her. “I’d hoped I could get you to join me at my office today. I mentioned to you yesterday I had a business proposition for you, but with all our,” he paused and grinned wickedly, “Activities last night, we never got around to discussing it.”

Liam snorted and said, “Activities,” under his breath.

She shot him a look that he returned with an innocent smile. She gave up and laughed, “Okay, Liam, you win. But Vaughn, I’m not dressed to go into your office. Do we have time to drop by my house so I can change into something more professional than shorts and t-shirt?” she implored .

He waved his hand and shook his head, “Not necessary. We aren’t going to Chesapeake. We’re going to my other company, the gaming business that Gabriel is so excited to see. That office has a much more relaxed dress code. The programmers thrive better in a casual environment. I find their creativity improves when they roam free. So, you’re dressed perfectly.”

Liam didn’t drive them this time, citing the need to run some errands. These errands were obviously the source of some contention as they were discussed in heated whispers down the hall.

She could make out snippets and knew it had something to do with the Shadow Claw. The conversation from last night echoed through her mind. Ancient magic, dragons, some dangerous quest to be undertaken, it all seemed like the plot of one of the video games Gabriel was so fond of. She turned thoughtfully towards Vaughn, Cloud Warrior, hmm, I wonder if…

“Ready to go?” Vaughn interrupted her thoughts and held up the keys. “Let’s see if we can get as much awe and interest as Liam did this morning.”

Driving a Lamborghini in Dallas wasn’t all that rare of a sight. There were a lot of large companies in the area and quite a few high rollers. Several YouTubers, young entrepreneurs and quite a few highly paid athletes. She highly doubted, though, that there were any others that were gold with black accents.

“Less ostentatious?” she hissed at Vaughn’s profile as he laughingly turned in the driveway of their destination.

As he whipped into his reserved spot, she noted that the employees she could see around the area were not paying him any attention, they must be used to the sight. The building was shaded by beautiful old oak trees. It looked like a peaceful place to have lunch, with a duck pond off to the side and lots of benches to enjoy the fresh air.

Unsure how to open the door, she waited until Vaughn came around and opened it with a flourish, holding out his hand to assist her from the car. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the warm, clear morning.