Page 17 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

“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, shediscarded 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.

---