Page 13 of Dragon Daddy's Second Chance

It was a bit of a surprise to find that she was disappointed the night was over. She wasn’t ready to give up the feeling of Blake’s arm around her, and she didn’t want to lose the warmth of their connection. He must have sensed what she was feeling. Instead of getting up, he pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair, sending waves of warmth coursing through her.

“I think you still owe me a goodnight kiss,” Blake finally said, turning to face her. “That was our deal, wasn’t it?”

Her heart began to pound when he gathered her in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers. Waves of pleasure instantly spread through her, and she let out a little sigh, opening her mouth to him. Blake slipped his tongue into her mouth with a sigh of his own, pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, the years slipping away.

It was like the six years they’d been separated had never happened. She was lost in his kiss again, drowning in the sensations that rushed through her. When he finally released her, it took a while for her to come back to the present. She was in deeper than she’d ever been, her love for him surging to the surface, and she hoped that she hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

CHAPTER 8

***BLAKE***

Blake was doing his best to listen to the instructor, but the sight of Wren in a bathing suit was so distracting he was only catching every other word. “Now that we’ve got the basics down, I’m going to let you all head off on your own,” the young woman said. “If you’re not a strong swimmer, I’d suggest you stay close to the marina, but for those of you with more experience there’s some great rock formations on the island's south side that are great to explore. Just be careful of the tide. It come in quick over there. As soon as the water starts rising, get out of there. The riptide is dangerous.”

There was some murmuring among the students, and they began to split up in groups. “Let’s go check out the rocks,” Susan said, then nudged him. “If you can stop drooling long enough.”

He realized he was staring at Wren. “Sorry, it’s just hard to believe that she’s standing right there,” he said, shaking his head. “I thought I’d never see her again, but now here she is. I’m afraid I’m dreaming.”

Susan rolled her eyes at him and made a face. “Gross,she’s my best friend,” she said. “I don’t want to hear all that sappy stuff.”

“What sappy stuff?” Wren asked, joining them. “Are we going to go check out those rocks?”

Ignoring her first question, he nodded. “Susan’s already been bugging me to go,” he said. “I’m in, but we should grab some lunch to take with us. It’s a bit of a hike over there.”

An hour later, they emerged from the jungle on the other side of the island, hot and sweaty but rewarded by the sight of a rocky coastline filled with lots of potential. “Oh, look, tide pools, I want to explore them after we swim. I bet there’s all kinds of cool stuff in there,” Susan said, dropping her backpack onto the sand in the shade. “But first, I want to cool off. Last one in is a rotten egg!”

“I haven’t heard that since I was a kid,” Blake said, laughing. “Come on, she’s right. A swim would feel amazing.”

They frolicked in the water like otter pups, then grabbed their snorkeling gear and explored the underwater world just off shore, finally emerging from the surf, tired and hungry several hours later. After collapsing onto their towels, all three lay looking up at the blue sky and listening to the waves until the worst of the exhaustion passed. Then Wren sat up and grabbed her backpack.

“I’m glad you thought about lunch, I’m starving,” she said, flipping the bag open. “I could eat a horse.”

He laughed, “I’m afraid they were fresh out of horse,” he said. “But I did manage to secure a delicious seafood salad. They were just putting it out when I came in.”

“Even better,” she said, pulling the sandwich out. “I’ve never eaten horse, I wonder if it’s tough.”

“Gross, you’re ruining my appetite,” Susan said, rifling through her backpack. “Can we change the subject?”

Instead, they just ate in silence, the sound of the waves washing up on shore and the wind in the palm trees in thebackground. “Okay, I’m stuffed, I didn’t know seafood salad could taste that good,” Wren said, stuffing the wrapper back in her backpack. “There’s a big cookie in here, but I think I need a nap before I eat anything else.”

“A nap sounds pretty good,” Blake said, then polished off the last bite of his sandwich. “Then maybe another swim before we head back.”

“I’m going to skip the nap and go explore the tide pools,” Susan said, zipping up her backpack. “Don’t sleep too long. We’ve only got a couple of hours before the tide comes in, and you heard what the instructor said about the water over here.”

Wren stretched out on her towel and closed her eyes. “I just want a few minutes,” she said. “We’ll come find you when we’re ready to go swimming again.”

With his stomach full of food, Wren lay with her head on his chest, her even breathing telling him that she’d already drifted off, it wasn’t long before he fell asleep. The cool breeze from the ocean and the sound of the waves rushing to shore kept them deeply asleep for much longer than a few minutes, and the sun was already sinking in the sky when he finally opened his eyes.

It took him a second to remember where he was, but a smile broke out on his face when he saw Wren in his arms. Unable to resist, he kissed the top of her head. She stirred, then opened her eyes and looked up at him. A slow smile spread across her face and she sat up, stretching her arms over her head before looking up and down the beach.

“Blake, how long have we been asleep?” she asked, her face slowly filling with concern. “Susan should have been back by now, don’t you think?”

He sat up, looked at the sun’s position in the sky, then got to his feet. “She probably just got distracted,” he said. “Let’sgo find her. The tide is going to start coming in soon. We probably don’t have time for another swim.”

After helping Wren to her feet, he took her hand and they started toward the tidal pools, but he noticed that the water had already begun to rise on the shore. Not wanting to alarm Wren, he slowly increased their pace, his eyes scanning the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pretty blonde. But ten minutes later, they still hadn’t found her, and he began to get a sick feeling in his stomach that something was wrong.

***Wren***

“I don’t see her anywhere,” Wren said, a bad feeling in her stomach. “We never should have let her go alone. What if she fell in? What if she hit her head and got washed out to sea? I’ll never forgive myself if something horrible happened to her.”

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