Chapter 9 #2
“Guess we should grab some candles before it runs out, then.”
“Great plan, only I have no idea where they’re stashed.”
“Can’t you call someone on your staff?” I asked.
“Everyone is off duty at this house since I insisted they clock out at dinner time. The only reason chef remained a bit later was because I made a special request for our feast.”
“Well, if I were to guess, most likely there’s candles or something in your kitchen.” Just as I spoke, his phone died and the gloom returned with a vengeance.
“Kitchen sounds like a good place to start.” I heard a rustle of movement. “I’d say follow me, but I can’t see a damned thing.”
Lightning illuminated the room in a brief flash, showing he stood but two paces from me. I shuffled forward, hands outstretched, until I touched him. Not his arm as I’d planned, but his abdomen—his rock-hard belly.
Good thing he couldn’t see my heating cheeks in the dark. “Um, how about we hold on to each other and see if we can’t stumble our way in the right direction?”
“And hopefully avoid any walls,” he said as his hand wrapped around mine.
I let him lead, one because he knew the house, two because better his toes or nose getting smashed into a wall than mine, and three, my flustered ass was overreacting to our linked fingers. What was it about this man that had my libido awakening, and more disturbing, demanding I feed it?
“I think we’re in the dining room,” Jameson murmured as he tugged me left, likely to skirt the table and chairs.
Thump. Rattle.
“Guess I’m not as close to the wall as I thought,” his sheepish explanation.
“Put your hand on the table and we can follow it around,” I suggested.
“Beautiful and smart.”
Wait, he thought my grungy ass beautiful?
We moved more quickly with my trick, leaving me little time to process his claim. Most likely he said it because I’d called him handsome.
“We’re going through the swinging door. I’ll hold it so it doesn’t hit you.”
How chivalrous, a thought that almost had me giggling for a second time. What was wrong with me?
“Okay, we’re in the kitchen,” he announced. “Where do you suggest we start? Island? Upper cupboards? Lower?”
“Pantry, actually. It’s where Lulu kept ours.”
“Pantry, that would be to our left.” He guided us in the dark, and I knew we’d entered the walk-in storage space by the fact it somehow got even darker.
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen the inside of your pantry?” I asked as I began groping the nearest shelf.
“Yes, but I didn’t exactly memorize its contents. I was looking for snacks.”
“Most likely the commonly used goods are on the easiest to access shelves. Since candles are rarely needed, they might have been stored on a top shelf.”
“Is that where your grandmother kept them?”
“Yup. Since you’re tall, you check it out while I see if they didn’t tuck them on the bottom.”
I crouched and reached, pursing my lips as I tried to guess what I touched. Jug that I’d guess held oil. A tall paper bag of flour. Mesh one of rice. Before I could explore some more, Jameson exclaimed, “Aha!”
“You found candles.”
“Not exactly, but I think this will be even better.”
Click.
The sudden light had me blinking. I rose to my feet to see a grinning Jameson holding an electric lantern.
“Nice work.”
“Team effort,” he declared. “Hold this. There’s another.”
I grabbed the lantern from him as he reached to snare the second.
“Now we needn’t fear bruising ourselves going to bed,” he stated.
“Speaking of which, I should probably head up.”
Rather than argue or cajole me into staying up later, he said, “I’ll guide you.”
I might have protested I didn’t need his help, only I wasn’t entirely sure which door led to the guest bedroom.
I’d hate to accidentally end up in his bed because, despite his request we have dinner, he didn’t really seem interested.
Unlike me, who couldn’t stop eying his ass as he went up the stairs in front of me.
This evening definitely didn’t go the way I expected. I had to wonder, if Tigger hadn’t derailed the initial dinner invitation by inviting himself, would things have gone differently? As in, would Jameson have tried to seduce me? Would I have let him?
We reached the upstairs landing, having been silent to this point, so I startled when he murmured, “I really enjoyed our evening.”
“You enjoyed watching a dragon scarf all your food, claim your money, declare you his slave, your car getting hit by lighting, and the power going out?”
His lips quirked. “It made for a memorable first date.”
“This was a date?” A dumb thing to ask seeing as how we’d not once discussed his order with the shop, or business whatsoever, but he’d also not tried to get in my pants.
“Hopefully the first of many. I had a lot of fun.”
Surprisingly, “Me too.”
He paused by a door that looked like all the others. “Here’s your suite.”
“Thanks.”
“Guess this is good night.”
“Guess so.” He didn’t leave, and I didn’t make a grab for the door. We stood frozen, gazes locked, as if waiting for something.
Should I make the first move? What if I misread the moment? Did I really want to get involved with this man? What—
He dipped his head and brushed his mouth against mine. A soft feathery touch that might have ended if I’d not leaned in to turn it into a true kiss. A kiss that left me breathless and weak-kneed.
Had he invited me to his bed in that moment, I might have said yes. Instead, he withdrew and uttered a raspy, “Sweet dreams, Iolana. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He left, and I stared, tempted to tackle him, wishing I had the guts to make the next move.
Instead, with my body tingling with arousal, I entered the guest suite, texted Tutu before I forgot, and went to bed. But forget sleep. My mind whirred with warring emotions, and I slept only in fitful spurts.
When in the wee hours, I did finally fall into a deep slumber, I dreamed. Dreamed we’d kept on kissing, and let’s just say clothes were shed.
I woke feeling sticky and gritty-eyed, a situation not helped by the bright sunshine bathing me in the bed.
A bed too big for one person. A bed lacking Tigger.
Where was he? He’d been snoring on a pillow when I’d lain down the night before.
A glance at it showed the indent of his body and skin.
He’d already shed again. Gross. I stripped the bed, but couldn’t remake it since I didn’t know where to find spare linen—or my dragon.
Rather than panic, I hit the bathroom for a quick wash and pee, a new toothbrush being welcome for my scummy mouth. The hairbrush just about ripped out my rat’s nest of hair. I’d slept in my bralette and undies and quickly donned my clothes before heading downstairs.
Where had my dragon gone? I didn’t hear anything. Stupid big house. As I reached the main level, I glanced to the side into the living room. Empty. I passed through it to the dining room, the surface cleared and still no sign of my Tigger—or Jameson.
A shove of the swinging door led me into the kitchen, where I found a much larger Tigger standing on a stool at the kitchen island, eating from a stack of pancakes cooked by none other than Jameson. He stood at the stove wearing low-slung track pants and a form-fitting tee.
How dare he look so good when I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Guess I’d been the only one affected by the kiss. Or not… Jameson turned around, and I noticed hollows under his eyes as if he’d not slept much either.
Good. Call it vain if you liked, but I enjoyed knowing I’d had an effect.
“Morning, Iolana,” he rumbled. “Pancake?” He held up a fresh one on a flipper.
“I don’t know if I should eat any of your cooking. It seems to be quite fattening because is it me, or did Tigger double in size overnight?”
“I molted,” my dragon proudly stated.
“I know. I saw the results on the pillow. Is it normal for you to get bigger each time you shed?”
“Yes. A few more times and I’ll have my wings.”
A comment that led me to running my fingers down his back, noting the humps that hadn’t been there before. “You’ll actually be able to fly?” I couldn’t help but sound doubtful. Birds tended to have hollow bones to keep them light, making flight possible. But my chunky dragon? He was no lightweight.
“Why else would I have wings?” Tigger’s indignant retort.
“Other than size and wings, what else will you get? Stories claim dragons breathe fire.”
“That is but one of many myriad abilities we can inherit.”
The thought of my arrogant Tigger capable of blasting flame chilled.
“We should get going before Tutu has a fit,” I stated.
“Didn’t you call him last night to mention you’d be spending the night?”
“I texted him, yes, but I didn’t expect to sleep in. I’m usually up at the crack of dawn.”
“Did something keep you awake?” Jameson drawled.
“Just the storm,” I mumbled, dipping my head as if that would hide the heat rising in my cheeks.
“Mm-hmm,” he hummed, a knowing sound that had me shooting him a look. He winked.
I blushed so hard my face almost exploded. Dammit, he probably thought I liked him, which I did. Dammit.
“I should call a taxi.” I yanked out my phone, only to sigh. “Dammit. I didn’t charge it overnight, and it’s dead.”
“No need to call for a ride. I’ll drive you. Just give me a second to grab last night’s desserts for you to bring home.”
“Thanks, J—” I started to say Jameson but halted because, given the evening we’d spent, it seemed rude to refuse to address him by his proper name. “Apollo.”
“Is this a bad time to say to infinity and beyond?” He arched a brow.
“What is it with you and movie quotes?” I groaned.
“If the situation fits…”
I laughed, something I did often around him. “If you’re ready, mind if we head out?”
“I just need a few minutes to grab my wallet and some shoes.” Also a huge plastic container full of treats that, thankfully, would mostly be eaten by Tigger because all that sugar would go straight to my ass.
Within ten minutes, we were on the road, not in the ruined sedan because Apollo, of course, had another car parked in the garage, a sporty and shiny red convertible. Tigger practically drooled on the leather seats and, no surprise, claimed it as his royal vehicle.
Apollo collapsed the roof of it before we took off, meaning wind whipped free strands of hair from my ponytail, but I didn’t mind. It felt kind of liberating to be driving so unfettered, or was it the company that had me in such a good mood?
Whatever the reason, when Apollo murmured, “May I see you again?” I nodded instead of telling him to take a hike.
“When?”
I almost blurted out “tonight,” but then didn’t have to because Tigger did.
“We’ll have dinner at your abode again. This time, have your chef make me some pizza. It seems to be a popular dish.”
“Sounds like a date. I’ll come grab you around six?”
I asked said why, until I remembered no car.
I nodded.
We arrived at my place, and before I could get out and grab my dragon, Apollo had already snared him and placed him on the ground. He would have carried the box of treats inside, but hearing a crash from within, I snared it from his grasp.
“I’ve got it. See you tonight.”
“It’s a date,” he promised before speeding off.
Tigger and I watched with the former stating, “I would not be upset if you and Apollo became involved.”
“Oh really, and why is that?” I expected him to say because then I’d have to move in to the big luxurious house, but instead… I choked.
“Because your children will likely make excellent servants.”
Kids? With Apollo? “Whoa, we’re still trying to figure out if we even like each other.”
Tigger snorted. “You really shouldn’t lie. The sexual pheromones wafting from you both is almost enough to make me lose my appetite.”
“God forbid that happens,” I muttered, wincing as I heard another crash inside the house.
Time to see what had Tutu in a tizzy. We entered to chaos.
My grandfather stood in the kitchen, a mess of dishes all over, his hair standing on end.
Upon seeing me, he bellowed, “About time you got here! I had to make my own breakfast.”
“Oh no, the horror,” I gasped.
His gaze narrowed. “Not funny.”
The rant that followed didn’t ruin my mood. I spent the day in a bit of a daze, thinking of Apollo, wondering what the evening would bring.
Hint. It didn’t end up being as romantic as I’d hoped.