Page 53 of The Dragon Recruit
Once she was on the road, heading back toward Lesmahagow near Birkwood Castle, Max spoke again. “So, does my brother drop his mask around you?”
She raised an eyebrow but kept her eyes on the road. “I could refuse to answer.”
Max grinned. “You could, but I don’t think you will. Because I can go on about the mural found near Dragon’s Court, the hidden secrets, and how we found it. I mean, some of the mosaic-like art was bloody amazing. It must’ve taken forever to?—”
Iris sighed. “You’re playing that part again, are you?”
“Hey, you said you missed it.”
Iris gripped the steering wheel tighter, released her fingers a little, and gripped it again. Her dragon spoke up.Think of it this way—you can also learn more about Antony by telling Max a wee bit.
Aye, I know, dragon. But that means talking about myself.
He won’t use things against you, like our ex-arsehole. Max has always gone on about how brilliant a flyer we are.
Of course you remember that.
Just talk with him.
Iris glanced over at Max, who was studying her. He said, “You were talking with your dragon. You have a tell.”
She frowned. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“Your mouth twitches up and down, depending on whether you agree or disagree. Or, at least, that’s my theory.”
For all that she’d been told about how Max had once worked for his brother, she’d never really believed it. Until now. “I’m not sure about that, but I’ll have to be more careful in the future.”
He waved a hand in dismissal. “We’re nearly family, and I would never betray you like that.”
Panic surged in her chest. “Listen, I don’t know what Antony told you?—”
“No, no, nothing like that. You and I have spent a lot of time together over the years, is all. And now we’re working together again. If not family, then I’d like to think we’re friends.”
A year ago, Iris would’ve snorted at the concept. And yet, she’d let down her guard bit by bit with the formerly clueless human. And now that she knew him a wee bit better, and sort of fancied his brother, she didn’t want to push Max away.
“Friends. Sort of. But don’t expect me to bail your arse out in the middle of the night.”
“Oh, I have a mate and we’re rather busy at night. Well, until the baby arrives, at any rate.”
“That’s right, I forgot about that. I’m surprised you would leave Lavinia alone.”
He snorted. “Lavinia doesn’t want to stay in bed and be pampered. It drives her mad. But Antony has people watching over her on Skyhunter and at the dig site, so I know she’ll beokay for a few days. She’s the one who convinced me to come to Scotland.”
That’s right—Max and his mate had moved to Clan Skyhunter, in the south of England. “Seeing as we’re friends now, tell me about Dr. Turner and your brother, aye?”
“Not the most deft change of topic. However, I truly don’t know Antony’s secret plans, or team members, or projects. So, sorry, I can’t help you. Dr. Turner is nice enough. She even told us we’re having a daughter, despite the silly dragon-shifter tradition of waiting.”
She could push, but decided not to. Max was trying to be her friend, and she needed to stay on topic and not constantly change it. However, she wasn’t good at chatting about bairns, and she blurted the first thing she could think of. “A female bairn? Well, the theory of a human male father and a female dragon-shifter mother having a greater chance of producing females seems to be true.”
“Seems so. So if Antony ends up your true mate, you’ll probably have a daughter as well. If you hurry, they’ll be close in age!”
She gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I can’t determine who’s my true mate, as you well know. And I’m certainly not planning out bairns.”
“Either way, you’ll need to help train my daughter. Given me and Lavinia are her parents, she’ll probably have an adventurous spirit, and I’d rather she be able to defend herself.”
Iris smiled. “Aye, maybe I can do that. If you convince other dragon parents to let me do the same.”
“Out to change the world, I see. I’ll work on it. Now, ask me.”
