Chapter Six Forging the Bonds
Deverick
After he settled in his cottage, Dev hoped that his sunglasses hid his eyes as he took in Maci.
He wasn’t sure who the guy was that she was talking to, but she hadn’t seen him yet.
He felt stirrings that he hadn’t experienced before as he watched her.
Her long legs, hourglass shape, and long dark hair clipped up on her head.
He wanted to run over and grab the chairs out of her hands and just move them all for her. Hell, he’d move mountains for her. He almost stopped in his tracks. Dude, when did you start reading romance novels? Move mountains? Are you going to lasso the moon, too?
The guy said something and she suddenly spun around before he reached her, a strange expression on her face. I wonder what that dude said to her to make her look at me like that. Her deep brown eyes made his heart skip a beat. I wonder if she feels the mate in me.
“Can I help you?” Her tone was all business-like, nothing personal at all.
Guess that’s a no. “No, thank you, Ms. Moynahan. I was just taking in the sights,” he replied. “Getting acquainted with the lay of the land, so to speak.”
She folded her arms as she regarded him. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were a firefighter?”
A question he hadn’t anticipated. “I...umm...we haven’t…”
The other man saved him. “I’m Liam, head groundskeeper around here.
You’ll have to excuse Maci. I think she breathed in too much of that smoke last week before you rescued her so her brain is a little rattled.
” Liam looked over at Maci and gave her a wide-eyed warning.
Dev had to suppress a grin as she suddenly appeared property chastised.
He worried a bit about Liam’s words, though. “You saw me?”
“I did. You were carrying Maci up by the garage before you took her to the hospital.”
“Ah.” Dev breathed a sigh of relief that Liam hadn’t referred to his dragon form. He had shifted rather quickly once he had Maci far enough away from the flames because her breathing was labored and he’d been afraid she needed mouth-to-mouth to get oxygen. Not that he would have minded.
He watched Maci take a deep breath and walk toward him. “I’m sorry I’ve been snappy. I’ll use the old cliché - it’s not you, it’s me.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He laughed. “I applaud your tenacity. Maybe if we had spoken more than a few words to each other, I would have. I’m going to be here for at least a week, so there was no reason to rush into telling you that I was your knight in shining armor.”
She rolled her eyes. “And here I’m worried about using clichés.”
“How about you make it up to me by showing me around?” He raised his brow and smiled. He watched her mull over her options.
Just when he started losing hope that she would agree, she smiled. “You’re right. I owe you at least one tour guide session. Come on. You want to see the gardens or the beach first?”
“Beach,” he answered without hesitation. He had a strong yearning to see her hair blow free in the wind as she waded in the waves.
“Beach it is.” She motioned with her hands. “After you.”
“Have fun, you two,” Liam called after them. Dev smiled at the aggravated glare Maci sent at him.
She remained silent as they strolled along. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but it also wasn’t what Dev had in mind.
“So, do you come here often?”
Maci shot him a look. “I live here. I have my entire life.”
“Married?”
“Nope.”
“Single?”
“Irrelevant.”
Come on, give me something. “Live here with your parents?”
He regretted the question instantly when she cringed. Stupid question when Xavier told you that her mother was murdered. If he hadn’t had enhanced hearing, he would have missed her answer.
“Grandparents.”
“Sorry,” he started, “I shouldn’t ask personal questions and was just going down the list of most common icebreakers. Usually when you’re getting to know each other it’s just easier to get it all on the table right from the start.”
They reached the beach and she sat down in the sand. He followed suit, and they stared out over the ocean. The wind was blowing just enough to create little whitecaps on the waves, and sea gulls hovered in the wind currents as they searched for their next meal.
“My mother died when I was just a baby.”
“I’m sorry.” He touched her arm. “I really am. I stick my foot in my mouth more times than you’ll ever know.” He tried to ignore the electric current that ran through him as they connected.
She frowned and pulled away. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” She rubbed her skin where he had touched her. “My father took off right after and never looked back. My grandparents raised me here.”
“He did what?” The question burst out before he realized he was speaking.
Her brows shot up. “Left? It’s not all that unusual when fathers don’t want their kids.”
Xavier abandoned his daughter? That didn’t sound like his commander at all. He stayed quiet for a second as his thoughts reeled. The whole situation was peculiar, so maybe it wasn’t so unusual.
“Sorry. Just hard for me to comprehend.” He tried to cover his outburst. “Was your mom sick?” He didn’t want to ask, but putting a puzzle together required all the pieces. He knew the answer, but he needed her to tell him herself, especially before he slipped up.
Maci rubbed her face. “She was murdered.” She ignored his sharp intake of breath.
“We didn’t live here at that point. I was out with my father when it happened; we had run to the store or something.
He found her when we got home. Home invasion or robbery gone wrong.
That’s all I really know; truthfully, it’s all anyone knows.
No one was ever caught. I guess it messed him up pretty bad.
I got dumped off here, and he disappeared. ”
He had so many questions, but she wasn’t the one he wanted to ask right at the moment, so it was a change of subject. “It’s really beautiful here.”
She smiled and his heart did another jerk. “It is. This part of the beach is my favorite.”
“Very romantic.”
She side-eyed him. “If you’re into that sort of thing.”
“You said you’re not married, but you must date. Living here, you must meet dozens of interested guys.”
“I do, but I don’t.”
“You don’t?”
“Date. Love, happy endings, kids, picket fence. Not in my future. Definitely not my thing.”
He snorted. “You sound pretty positive about that.” And I am totally positive that you’re wrong. I get one true love, and you’re it.
She sighed. “From what I’m told, my parents were in love. Very much so. I was a product of that happiness. But I was disposable as soon as things went bad. I don’t ever want to put myself in a situation where it can all go so horrible in an instant. I’d rather just live without it.”
“Well, since you like clichés, don’t you believe that it’s better to have love and lost, than to never have loved at all?”
She stood and brushed the sand from her shorts. “Not even for a minute. I can’t miss what I don’t know, and I’m perfectly happy never knowing it.” She took a last look over the water. “I have to get back. Do you want me to show you anything else really quick before I do?”
“Nah. I’m good here. I think I’ll just sit a spell and enjoy Mother Nature.”
He watched her walk off. His best experience with true mates and happy endings was his parents.
He had heard their story his entire life, about how their attraction had been immediate, both of them recognizing that they were mated and had spent their entire lives together in happy bliss.
Obviously, he wasn’t going to have that same initial spark.
Maci had sworn off relationships so hard, she didn’t see, or feel, what was right in front of her.
He contemplated flying back to Isle d’Asile and demanding answers from Xavier, but he knew he’d put the man in too much risk, especially after he had already divulged the information that he had.
Besides, Dev didn’t want to go off half-cocked until he had all the questions ready that he needed answers to.
Then there was the issue of danger. Someone had set the fire, and it wasn’t a far stretch to think Maci had been an intended target. He needed a list of suspects before he sought out Xavier.
His entire life was about to become wrapped around one woman. It was clear that he needed to be patient and gentle with his courtship, or she was going to spook and run away. He didn’t want to lose her forever.
He watched a pelican dive for a fish and let out a deep sigh. Nothing about this was going to be easy.