Page 33 of The Last Bachelor Dragon

“We’re ready here, the guests are all settled in. From the way the air smells, Carla has dinner almost ready,” she said. “We should be just fine over here until it’s all over. I just wish I could go with you.”

“I know sweetheart, but we talked about this,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen to me, I’m a dragon shifter, remember?”

“Just promise me that you’ll be careful,” she said. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much you mean to me. My life would be empty without you.”

Max reached up and stroked her cheek. “You and this island are the most important things in my life; if you told me right now to let Adaloni have the island, I would give it up,” he said. “I promise that nothing is going to happen to me. We have a long and happy life together in front of us, wejust have to get through this. You’ll see, by tomorrow morning it will all be over.”

“And then we’ll steal away together,” she said, making herself smile up at him, knowing her worrying might distract him. “I’ll be waiting right here for you when it’s over. Come back to me in one piece.”

“That’s a promise,” he said, smiling down at her. “Now, I don’t have much longer before I have to be back, so let’s not waste any more time talking.”

He captured her mouth before she could say another word, kissed her until the passion between them flared to life and she forgot where they were and what they were facing. But a voice broke through the haze of pleasure, a voice she’d hoped to never hear again, and her heart began to race with fear instead of desire, making Max suddenly become tense.

“What the hell is going on here?” her father demanded. “Nora, get away from that man right this instant. You’re an engaged woman, stop acting like the little slut that you are.”

Every muscle in Max’s body tensed, and she felt the waves of anger pouring off him before he gently pushed her behind him. “Well, look who’s here. This is rather unfortunate timing for a visit,” Max said, his voice deadly calm. “I would welcome you to my island, but frankly, you’re not welcome, especially when you speak to my wife that way.”

CHAPTER 21

***MAX***

“Your wife, that can’t be, Nora is already engaged to be married,” Steven Price sputtered, then narrowed his eyes. “Maxwell St. Clair, I demand you explain yourself at once. That’s my daughter you were just kissing.”

“She’s my wife now. I can kiss her whenever I want, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said, enjoying the look on the other man’s face. “Go bully someone else, Nora is beyond your reach now.”

Anger made Steven Price’s face turn a bright shade of red. “Have you lost your mind?” he demanded. “Do you know who I am? Do you know what I could do to you?”

Max didn’t blink. “I could ask you those same questions,” he said. “Trust me, you wouldn’t want to know the answer.”

“Young man, I’m done playing games with you, step aside,” Nora’s father demanded. “I’m taking my daughter home so she can fulfill the promise she made. She’s going to marry the man I’ve chosen for her.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you, I didn’t make any promises, you did that,” Nora said, stepping out from behindhim, her face scarlet with anger. “I’m not one of your possessions, Father, you can’t force me to marry someone I don’t want to. You don’t own me.”

“You mouthy little bitch, I’m tired of this attitude,” her father said. “I think it’s time to teach you a lesson about who is in control.”

Steven looked behind him at the guard standing at the ready. “I want her on the boat in five minutes,” he barked. “And don’t worry if she ends up with a few bruises, just don’t break the skin. The wedding is in six weeks, and I want her to look perfect by then.”

“I’d rather die than go with you,” Nora spat at her father, then walked over to him and got right in his face. “I have bad news for you, you’re not in control here. Try to touch one hair on my head, and you probably won’t live to see another day.”

Her father began to laugh. “Nice try, but I don’t see anyone stepping up to stop me,” Steven Price sneered at Nora. “It’s your choice; come along quietly, or we’ll take you by force, and let me remind you that if you fail to cooperate, I have ways to convince you. There’s a nice little hospital not far from home that would be a good place for you to have some quiet time to think about your choices in life. Your mother enjoyed her stay there immensely, that is, until she died.”

Nora gasped, then staggered back a couple of steps and Max was right there, putting his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “But you told me she left,” she said, her voice full of pain. “You told me she hated being a mother and ran away.”

“That was more convenient than the truth. After all, what child wants to be told their mother is in a mental institution,” her father said, with a shrug of his shoulders. “They tell me that she died with a picture of you two girls clutched in herhand.”

“You bastard, you’re a monster, I can’t believe that you’re my father,” Nora said. “You stole my mother from me. You took away the one person who might have loved me.”

“Your mother was not a good influence. I had to eliminate her,” Steven Price said. “I did you a favor if you want to know the truth. She was too headstrong for her own good. I thought that by removing her from your life, you wouldn’t pick up her bad ways, but I was wrong. Now I’m tired of all this talking. It’s time to leave. Be a good girl, and come along quietly.”

“You’ve got to be kidding, I’m not going anywhere. This is my home, and the people on this island are my family,” Nora said, lifting her chin up in the air. “You can’t touch me here, you can’t touch me anywhere, not now, not ever again.”

“We’ll see about that,” Steven Price said, nodding to his man. “Finish this. We need to get home and reassure Nora’s fiancé that everything is fine.”

Nora braced herself, then looked over her shoulder at Max. “Get rid of him, and I don’t care how you do it. The world would be better off without him in it,” she said, her voice completely calm. “I never want to see him again.”

When Nora stepped behind Max, he took a couple of steps toward Steven Price. “You heard my wife, she wants you off the island, and I’m just the man to see that happen,” he said, nodding to the men who had crept up behind Steven’s guard. “This is my island. You have no power here. I would suggest you walk away quietly now. Nora is staying right where she is. Your empty threats won’t work.”

“They’re not empty threats, I’m a very powerful man, I’ll have you both committed,” Nora’s father said, but he was beginning to look a little unsure of himself. “You wouldn’t dare touch me, I know your father. I’ll tell him what you’ve done. You’ll never get away with this.”

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