Page 11 of The Last Bachelor Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #8)
CHAPTER 10
***MAX***
A fter shutting down his computer, Max pushed his chair away from the desk, lifted his arms above his head, and stretched with a groan. Looking up at the clock, he realized that he’d been sitting at his desk for three hours without moving, and he forced himself to his feet. It hadn’t taken long to get his friends mobilized, and thanks to a mixture of modern technology and magic, they had surveillance video of Adaloni’s compound and a fairly accurate count of the well-armed men he employed.
They all agreed he would come at them with a full-on assault, try to overpower them, and take the island by force. The man wasn’t known for his finesse after all. That would be his first mistake. His second would be underestimating them, assuming they’d just give in without a fight like the rest of the islands. He’d die before he let Adaloni take his island or hurt any of his people, and it was that willingness that gave him power. Just thinking about it made his dragon stir deep within him.
Now it was just a matter of playing the waiting game. It had been almost a week since Juliet’s brother had shown up on the island. Adaloni would strike soon, but they would know when he was coming. Almost looking forward to the coming confrontation, he headed for home to get some sleep. He’d been awake for too long, his eyes felt gritty and dry, a sure sign he’d pushed it too hard.
Unable to stop himself from checking on the village before he went home, he made a quick detour, pleased to see that everything was quiet. He was just about to turn for his cabin when he saw Nora slip out of the clothing boutique and head toward the trail to her cabin. It had been three days since he’d kissed her, three days of both regretting it and wanting to do it again. Aware that the smart thing to do would be to go home, he found himself following along behind her anyway, the need to be close to her more than he could resist.
Feeling like a stalker, he followed her through the village, knowing that he was making a mistake, that being near her would only reawaken the feelings he’d managed to bury over the last few days. He’d discovered by accident that being nice to her helped tamp down the flames of passion that had been consuming him, and he’d been sticking carefully to that plan since then. The only problem was being nice to her had backfired. She’d warmed to him, which only made him like her more, and now he was following her home like a lost puppy.
When they reached the cabin, Nora climbed the steps slowly, collapsed into a rocking chair on the porch with a huge sigh of relief, and then kicked off her sandals They landed with a small thud on the wooden porch, and he watched, still unable to break free as she lifted her dainty feet up onto the railing and wiggled her toes with another sigh of relief.
All thought of leaving fled his mind and he stepped out of the shadows. “It looks like you’ve had a long day,” he said, walking up to the porch. “Did you just get home?”
Nora pulled her feet down with a grimace of pain, a suspicious look on her face. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “You’re a bit off the beaten path.”
“I was on my way home and I saw you leaving Marie’s,” he admitted, realizing that he couldn’t lie to her, well not completely. “You looked tired, so I followed you to make sure you got home okay.”
She studied him for a second, then relaxed back in her chair. “Well, as you can see, I made it just fine,” she said, gingerly putting her feet back up on the railing. “You can go home now.”
“Aren’t you going to go inside?” he asked, studying her face and noticing the dark circles under her eyes for the first time. “You look tired.”
“You think?” she asked, then took a deep breath. “Sorry, but I am exhausted. I’ve been working two jobs all week. I’m worn out, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
Climbing the steps, he took a few seconds to absorb the fact that she’d just apologized to him, a first in their relationship. “You don’t have to work so hard, you know,” he said, picking up her legs and stepping around her. “I wasn’t really going to make you pay rent.”
He could see that the admission surprised her. “Oh, well, I thought you were serious,” she said, watching as he dragged a chair over near her. “But I still can’t quit, I have to save up money to…”
Her words died away when he sat down and pulled her feet into his lap, then began to massage them. “Max, what are you doing?” she asked, then let out a low groan. “Never mind, I don’t care, don’t stop doing that. My feet are killing me.”
“You should be wearing better shoes,” he said, nodding at the sandals abandoned on the porch. “Those things are pretty to look at, but can’t be good for your feet.”
“Those are the only shoes I have,” she said. “It’s not like I can go shopping for new ones.”
He opened his mouth, but she interrupted him. “And don’t you dare say it’s my choice, that if I just tell you who I am you’ll take me to Bermuda,” she said. “I’m too tired to fight with you tonight. I just want to hobble inside, find something to eat, and then collapse into bed.”
“I’m sorry about the shoes, I didn’t think about it,” he said, then got to his feet and swept her up in his arms before he could question the impulse. “But maybe I can do something to help.”
Nora let out a little squeal of surprise but didn’t try to get away, and he stood looking down at her for a second thinking how right it felt to hold her in his arms. “I’m going to make you some dinner,” he said. “And then we’re going to talk about you not working so hard.”
***Nora***
Nora was speechless as Max carried her into the cabin, put her down at the little table, then turned and began rummaging around in the cabinets. “I hope you didn’t throw it away,” he mumbled to himself. “It must be here somewhere.”
She was just about to ask him what he was looking for when he shouted triumphantly. “Here it is,” then held up a big cook pot.
He took it over to the sink, filled it up with hot water, and then carried it over to her. “This will make your feet feel better,” he said, setting it down in front of her. “It shouldn’t be too hot, go ahead.”
Still wary of this Max, she picked up her feet and set them in the water, unable to hold back a sigh of relief. “Thank you, that feels nice,” she said, closing her eyes for a second, then opened them and looked up at him. “Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?”
He looked down at her, and when their eyes met, she was filled with the familiar warmth, making her wish she hadn’t asked. “Fighting with you wasn’t getting me anywhere,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I thought I’d try a different approach.”
It was so nice not arguing with him, and she was so tired, she decided not to tell him that it wouldn’t work and that she was never going to tell him her name. “Well, it’s nice,” she said. “I think I like you a little more.”
“Then it’s working,” he said, smiling at her. “Now let’s see what I can find for dinner. You do have some food in this place, don’t you?”
“Max, you don’t have to do that,” she said. “My feet feel much better, you don’t have to wait on me.”
“I don’t mind, and I haven’t eaten yet either,” he said, going to the refrigerator. “I’m not exactly a gourmet cook, so don’t get your hopes too high.”
She watched as he rummaged through the tiny refrigerator, pulling out milk, eggs, cheese, and butter, then did the same to the cabinets until he had everything assembled on the counter. A few minutes later, the eggs were sizzling in the pan and the smell of toast filled the cabin, making her stomach begin to growl with anticipation. He split the omelet onto two plates, added the toast, and brought it all over to the table. Then, he sat down across from her.
“Dig in,” he said, handing her a fork. “You don’t want to let it get cold.”
She took a bite, surprised at how good it tasted. “It’s amazing how something so simple can taste so good,” she said, then took another bite and let out a sigh. “Thank you, Max, this is wonderful. You really seem to know your way around a kitchen.”
“I’ve had some practice since I moved to the island, I didn’t really have any choice. There weren’t any servants to take care of me,” he said. “It was hard at first, but I like being able to take care of myself, and it’s nice not to constantly have someone hanging around me.”
“I know what you mean. There are a lot of things I’m still trying to figure out how to do on my own. I wasn’t really prepared to take care of myself, which is embarrassing,” she said, then realized how much she’d just revealed. “Not that I had servants or anything, I mean most of us don’t, you know.”
Max studied her for a second, “No, most of us don’t,” he said. “So, it must have been your parents who spoiled you when you were growing up.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” she said, not wanting to outright lie to him, desperate to change the topic of conversation. “Thank you for making dinner. I’ll clean up the dishes when we’re done.”
Max looked a little disappointed but to her relief didn’t push her. “We can do them together,” he said. “I was thinking that maybe you should take the day off tomorrow. You’ve been working really hard, you deserve a break.”
She stared at him in shock. “I can’t believe you just said that,” she blurted out, then sighed. “Sorry, this side of you is going to take some getting used to. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I don’t blame you,” he said, smiling at her. “I haven’t been very nice to you, Nora.”
“We haven’t been very nice to each other,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I can’t really take the day off though, I have to help Carla get ready for the pig roast tomorrow night. ”
“Well, you don’t have to serve us breakfast or lunch. We’ll just eat with the rest of the guests tomorrow,” he said. “I hope you’re not working tomorrow night. I thought we were bringing in some temporary help so the staff could join in the fun.”
“We are, but there’s a lot to do during the day tomorrow,” she said. “I need the experience. Everything new I can learn could lead to a job once I get to Bermuda.”
“So, you’re still set on going?” Max asked, a look of disappointment on his face. “I thought maybe…well, never mind…I don’t want you working tomorrow night, boss’s orders.”
She hated the way her heart started to pound a little harder and the kiss they’d shared popped into her mind, but she reminded herself how much was at stake. “Yes, sir,” she said, smiling at him. “I’ll eat roasted pig until I feel like I’m going to explode.”
Max laughed, a sound she rarely heard, and the warmth was back and settling over her like a fuzzy blanket wrapping her in comfort. She realized with a start she was going to miss the feeling and, for a second, almost changed her mind. It would be so easy to tell him right then, so easy to put her trust in him. Cursing her tangled feelings, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly until the urge to do something stupid passed.
“We should probably do the dishes,” she said. “We both need to get some sleep.”