Page 15 of The Last Bachelor Dragon

Just then, Max came in followed by three new couples and the room was suddenly filled with noise and laughter. “I’ll help you,” Stella said, grabbing a water pitcher. “This is too much work for one person.”

“Stella, I’m fine,” she said, taking the pitcher from her hands. “But you could tell me who everyone is, I’m a little confused.”

“Okay, let’s see…you already met Simon and Kira, they’re standing next to Theo and Eden,” Stella said. “That’s Archie and Felicity standing with Harrison and Juliet, and right behind them are Blake and Wren with their little boy, whose name is Theo. Did I miss anyone?”

“Just Cameron and Kennedy, but I met them this morning,” she said, then noticed that Max was giving her a dirty look. “Thanks, Stella. I’d better get lunch going before Max has a hissy fit.”

Serving fifteen people was no small task and it didn’t help that Max was watching her the entire time, a look of confusion on his face as if she was a problem that needed an answer. By the time she brought him his food, her hands were shaking and she nearly dumped it on his lap. She expected him to explode on her, but he just thanked her and began eating.

Thrown off balance, she barely managed to serve the rest of the meals, and it was a relief when she could finally fade into the background, but she was more aware than ever of her attraction to Max. Something had changed after thatkiss. She just wasn’t sure what or if it was a good thing or a bad thing, or how to deal with a Max who was being nice to her. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was a trap and promised herself that she’d stay on her guard around him from then on. She couldn’t afford to let herself trust him, even if it had been the best kiss of her life.

CHAPTER 10

***MAX***

After 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 upon 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 ofthe 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 atthe 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.”

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