Page 24 of The Last Bachelor Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #8)

Max woke to the sun streaming through the window and looked around in confusion, not sure where he was for a second. Then, the night before came rushing back at him. Taking a deep breath, he felt the sting of the wound but not the searing pain of the night before. Reassured, he started to sit up, then saw Nora sleeping in the chair beside the bed and lowered himself back down, warmth flooding him when her words came floating back to him.

A second later, she opened her eyes. saw that he was awake, and a smile spread across her face. “Good morning,” she said, sitting up. “How do you feel?”

“Like I deserve a kiss,” he said, grinning at her. “Get over here.”

Nora got up and carefully leaned over the bed to give him a chaste kiss on the lips, but he wanted more and pulled her into bed next to him. “That wasn’t much of a kiss,” he said. “Let’s try that again.”

He kissed her until they had to come up for air. “Max, that can’t be good for you,” Nora said, trying to get out of bed. You’re supposed to be recovering.”

“I am, I just needed a little sugar to help me along,” he said, determined to keep her right next to him. “Shouldn’t the patient get what he wants?”

“Well, yes, but you just got shot last night, Max,” she said, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “You can’t be up for that. Besides, someone could come in any time.”

“Then go lock the door,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Then no one will bother us.”

Before she could protest, the door swung open, and Dr. Hernandez came strolling in. She took one look at the two of them and started shaking her head. “I guess I don’t have to ask you how you’re feeling,” she said, walking over to the bed. “But it was pretty close there for a while last night. Maybe you should think about taking it easy for at least a couple of days.”

Nora slid out of bed. “You’d better listen to your doctor.”

“Well, if I can’t have sex, can I have some food?” he asked. “I’m starving.”

The women laughed. “As a matter of fact, breakfast is waiting right outside for you,” the doctor said. “I just wanted to check on you first before I let anyone in.”

“Bring it on,” he said. “I could eat a horse.”

After Carla had left a huge hamper of food, his other friends stopped by to check on him, and by the time the morning was over, he was ready for a nap. “Come up here with me,” he said, patting the space next to him in the bed. “I’ll behave myself, I promise, I just want to take a nap with you.”

Nora eyed him warily but climbed up next to him and snuggled up against him with a sigh. “That’s better,” he said, letting his eyes drift closed.

It was dark when he woke again, Nora still sleeping next to him. He smiled as he watched her, wondering if she knew that she snored. Her eyes popped open a second later, and she looked up at him. “What?” she asked. You’re staring at me. Was I snoring or something?”

“As a matter of fact, you were snoring,” he said, grinning at her. “Cute little ladylike snores.”

“You’re lying,” she said, scowling at him.

“Nope, it’s the truth,” he said. “But don’t worry, I think it’s cute.”

A knock on the door interrupted them before Nora could say anything. Harrison’s face appeared a second later, worry lines etched on his face. “What’s wrong now?” he asked. “I know that look.”

Harrison stepped into the room carrying a laptop. “We’ve got a storm brewing out in the ocean, and it looks like a doozie,” he said. “They’re predicting it will turn into a hurricane in the next twelve hours, and it’s headed straight for us.”

“How long do we have?” he asked, reaching for the computer. “We need to implement the evacuation protocol right away. The staff knows what to do.”

“It’s already done. Mateo made the call a few hours ago,” Harrison said, handing over the computer. Max, it’s going to hit and hit hard. We’ve got about eighteen hours to shut the island down and get everyone off.”

He’d known that this day would come but had hoped that there would be a few more years before they had to face a storm of this size. Watching the radar, his heart ached when he thought about the damage the storm would do, but he took a deep breath, reminding himself that he could mourn later. It was more important to get everyone off the island safely.

“Well, I think my recovery time is over,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do before the storm hits. ”

“Are you sure that you’re ready?” Nora asked, her face full of concern. “Maybe we should ask the doctor what she thinks.”

“I’m fine, sweetheart, I promise,” he said, ignoring the little twitch in his side when he got out of bed. “I have a responsibility to the guests and the staff. I can’t stay in bed and let everyone else handle this, I have to get up.”

“Just promise me that you’ll be careful,” Nora said. “And no breaking your promise this time.”

Just then, the doctor came back in. “I almost forgot,” she said, handing Nora a sheet of paper with a little smile on her face. Here are the results from the test we ran.”

He sent Nora a questioning look, saw the blush on her cheeks, and turned to Harrison. “I’ll meet you in the conference room,” he said. “We should use that as our headquarters.”

Harrison looked between the two of them and a smile spread across his face. “Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll give you two some privacy,” he said, grabbing the computer. “Congratulations.”

When he was gone, he walked over to Nora. “Well, what does it say?” he asked, smiling down at her. “Are we pregnant?”

She thrust the paper at him. “I can’t look,” she said. “I’m too nervous.”

He unfolded it, read the few words on the page, and then looked down at Nora. “It looks like we’re going to be parents,” he said, then crushed her to him. “I love you, Nora.”

“I love you too,” she said, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe it’s true. I’ve already been given so much.”

***Nora***

Nora stood at the end of the dock, her feet planted against the wind, rain managing to find its way under her rain slicker, and helped the last staff member into the boat. “We’ll see you when this is all over,” she yelled over the storm. “Be careful, and let us know when you’re safe.”

She waved the boat away, relieved that the island was almost empty. Exhaustion pulled at her, but she took a deep breath and waved the next boat over. Much bigger than the last one, it took all her limited skill to get it tied down to the dock, and her shoulders ached from the effort. Looking back up the dock, she signaled to Max, who was waiting with the other couples in the shelter of the Marina office. He came out first, leading the other couples, and she smiled as she watched them all approach, the feeling of connection warming her from the inside out.

Max reached her first and put his arm around her. “You’re doing great,” he said. “We’re almost done, hang in there.”

She was more than ready to get on a boat and run from the storm, but first, she wanted to make sure her friends were safe. “We’ve got this,” she said, smiling up at him. “We’re going to beat the storm.”

They helped everyone load up as the wind began to howl and the storm intensified. Sheets of rain pelted them as the couples disappeared into the cabin of the boat. When they were all safe, Max helped her on board and untied the line from the dock. Then, he turned to look back at the island, a worried look on his face. Shaking his head, he turned back to the boat just as a huge gust of wind came howling in from the sea, catching the boat and dragging it away from the dock.

The line slipped through Max’s hand, and he stood watching her as they floated away. “Go back,” she screamed to the captain. We’re not leaving him behind.”

The captain tried three time to get back over to the dock, then shook his head. “It can’t be done,” he shouted. “The wind is too strong.”

“Go on without me,” Max yelled. “I’ll be okay. I’ll find somewhere safe to ride out the storm.”

She considered it for only a second, then shook her head. “Try again,” she shouted. “We’re not leaving him behind.”

The captain managed to get the boat a few feet from the dock, but a gust of wind hit, and she felt the boat pulling away again. Without thinking, she jumped onto the swim platform and launched herself at the dock, landing with a thud on the wet boards right in front of Max. Anger flashed in his eyes, then he grabbed her, hauled her to her feet, and pulled her up the dock as the boat’s engine roared to life.

“What were you thinking?” he screamed at her. “Now we’re both stuck on the island.”

“Last time we were separated, you got shot and you almost died,” she yelled back at him. “I wasn’t taking that risk again, you stupid man.”

“Stubborn woman,” he shot back. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, smiling at him as the rain poured down on them. “We should find some shelter.”

They ran back to the village, then paused, trying to decide where to go. Then a flash in the trees caught their attention. When the bright light appeared again, Max grabbed her hand and pulled her toward it. The flash in the trees moved as they approached it and soon they were following a trail into the jungle, fighting the storm every step of the way. Keeping her head down, she put one foot in front of the other, counting her steps to keep herself distracted from the falling branches and leaves whipping through the air.

When they reached the waterfall, Max looked over at her. “The cave behind the waterfall, that’s where it wants us to go,” he said. “Do you think you can make it? ”

“I’m okay,” she said. “Lead the way, I’ll be right behind you.”

They skirted their way around the pool of water, climbed over boulders, and slid on the mud until Max pulled her through the waterfall. The sound of the storm was instantly muted, and they stood gasping for breath for a couple of seconds, but then the wind started to howl and the waterfall began to spray them.

“We have to go deeper,” Max said, grabbing her hand. “That’s a category five out there, but we’ll be safe in here.”

She followed him deeper into the cave, relieved when he pulled a flashlight out of his pocket to light the way in the total darkness. “How far should we go?” she asked when Max stopped for a second to get his bearings. “It feels pretty safe here.”

“Let’s go just a bit farther. I think there’s a cavern up ahead, it won’t be so tight,” he said. “We’re going to be here for hours. We might as well be as comfortable as we can.”

They walked farther down the tunnel, the space shrinking as they moved forward. She was beginning to think they’d reached a dead end when she saw a glow coming from up ahead of them. “Is that a light?” she asked, pulling Max to a stop. “Turn off the flashlight.”

Max clicked the button and darkness fell over them, but a second later, she saw the glow. “Max, it is a light,” she said. “Do you see it?”

He nodded. “Let’s see what it is,” he said, taking her hand. “Do you feel the power in the air? I can practically taste it.”

The glow turned into a bright light as they walked toward it, “Look, there’s an opening in the rock,” Max said, pulling her over to it. “This must be where the light is coming from.”

They crawled through the rock and stood staring for several long minutes, then looked over at each other. “What is it?” she asked, looking back at the glowing stone. “What makes it shine like that?”

“Power,” he said, pulling her closer. “I think we found the source of the island’s magic, sweetheart.”

She gasped. “It’s beautiful,” she said, watching the light pulse like a beating heart. It feels like it's alive.”

“In a way, it is,” he said, pulling her close. “This really is the heart of the island, and I think we brought it to life with all the love we share; each time one of us fell in love, it got stronger.”

“I think it’s wonderful. I’m glad we could help,” she said, grinning up at him. “I love you, Max.”

“I love you too, Nora,” he said, laughing when the stone glowed a little brighter. “I guess Heart of the Ocean has a heart of its own.”

He kissed her then, supplying the island with just a little more power, and then they settled down together to wait out the storm, confident that the island would provide anything they needed.

When they finally emerged the next day and made their way back down to the village, the destruction was almost complete, and they both felt the loss deeply. Silently, they walked around the entire property but stopped when they got to the little cabin in the jungle, both staring at the little structure, shocked that it was still intact.

“Well, what do you know, it looks like I’m right back where I started,” Max said, then pulled her into his arms. “Except now I won’t be doing it alone. What do you say, Mrs. St. Clair, can I move in with you?”

“I can’t think of anything I would like better,” she said. “But we’re going to have to build an addition for the baby.”

“Sweetheart, before I’m done, we’ll have to have more than one extra room,” he said. “I’m thinking a nice even half dozen should do it. ”

“Now, hold on a second; we haven’t even had the first one,” she said, grinning up at him. “You might be getting ahead of yourself there, mister.”

“Well, we can sure have fun trying,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms. “And there’s no time like the present to practice.”