As Grayson turned to leave, he noticed a mop leaning against the door that must have led to the back storeroom of this place. He grabbed the mop, and quickly walked around the store, sopping up the wet trail he’d made as he shopped. Then he replaced the mop and turned to leave without another word. He could have left the mess for Ralph to clean up. The man had no shortage of time. But Grayson wanted to make one last, silent statement: I’m a better man than you.
Satisfied that he’d had the last word, Grayson turned to leave. The rain had lessened somewhat. It was still coming down steadily, but it no longer looked like a monsoon outside. He popped his new umbrella open and managed to get back to the cabin without getting his new t-shirt wet.
Zoe wasn’t back yet, but Grayson decided to get changed into dry pants and get started on dinner. By the time he was done with everything, she would hopefully have returned. He was a bit surprised she wasn’t back already, but he supposed that women took longer showers than men, and, besides, it probably felt good to stand under a steaming hot stream of water after flying all day, let alone flying in cold, rainy weather.
Grayson slipped into a pair of gray cotton sweatpants, but left on the t-shirt. He was curious to see Zoe’s reaction when she saw the shirt. Besides, it was actually a fairly comfortable shirt, even if it was rather gaudy.
Grayson got to work on dinner, and in record time he’d placed oven roasted steaks, baked potatoes, and a colorful salad on the table in the small dining room, along with two glasses of red wine. He surveyed the spread and decided that being in an oversized cabin instead of a tent definitely had its perks. Then he suddenly thought that the meal looked quite romantic, and he panicked. Would Zoe think he was trying too hard? Not trying hard enough? Should he try to find some candles to add to the table? What was the appropriate thing to do when you had just slept with a woman in a rush of passion and then realized you were actually in love with her, but didn’t know whether she loved you back? For a dragon who was always so sure of himself, Grayson felt entirely unprepared to deal with the intricacies of the dance of romance.
Before he could spend too much time worrying about what to do, though, the front door to the cabin opened, and Zoe was back. It was too late to change anything now, so he’d just have to go with things the way that they were.
The dining room and kitchen together formed the whole front room of the cabin, so when Zoe walked in she immediately saw the table. Her eyes widened and a smile lit up her face.
“Wow,” she said, letting her bag slide to the floor. “This looks amazing.”
“So do you,” Grayson couldn’t help but saying. It must have stopped raining completely by now, because Zoe didn’t have a single drop of water on her from the walk back, as far as Grayson could tell. Her hair had been washed and blow-dried so that it hung in loose waves around her face. Grayson rarely saw it down, since she always pulled it back into a tight bun when working. Now, he couldn’t stop staring. She’d put on a little bit of makeup, too, and had changed into a fresh pair of jeans and long-sleeved navy t-shirt. She looked incredible.
Zoe smiled over at him, her way of acknowledging his compliment. Then, she raised an eyebrow at him. “Nice shirt,” she said.
Grayson looked down and laughed. “I was hoping to get a reaction from you by wearing pink, but I forgot all about what I was wearing when you came through the door.”
Zoe laughed, too, and the sound of it instantly made Grayson relax. What was he worried about? He and Zoe were friends, and they worked well together. Yes, last night had changed things between them in ways neither one of them understood yet, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t sit down and enjoy a nice dinner together.
And that’s exactly what they did. They sat down and ate, savoring the steak and baked potatoes, and completely polishing off the salad and the wine. They told stories about their lives before the war, and Zoe laughed heartily at all of Grayson’s stories about his clanmates and their antics. They talked a little bit about their current mission, but not too much. There wasn’t much to say. They had been delayed slightly by the rain, but they would try to make up the time as best they could. If they couldn’t, well, a day or two wasn’t likely to make much difference in the grand scheme of things. As far as they could tell, they had not been followed by anyone. There had been no signs of pursuit, and the Falcon Cross spies who were watching Saul’s movements hadn’t noticed anything unusual. Saul and his army appeared to be sitting as still as ever. Grayson hoped that this meant that Saul had no idea that he and Zoe were hot on the trail of the dragon ruby.
Well, Grayson hoped they were hot on the trail of the dragon ruby, at least. There was always the possibility that the ruby had been moved again, or that his research was not correct. There was no way to know, though, until they got to Shadowdale.
After a dessert of chocolate chip cookies, which were surprisingly delicious and tasted homemade, Grayson and Zoe decided to go to bed. It was after nine o’clock now, which wasn’t terribly late—but they wanted to get as early a start as possible. Although there were two bedrooms, they both chose to sleep in the same one. Grayson took one of the bottom bunks, and Zoe took the other.
Grayson wanted so badly to be in the same bed as Zoe. He wanted to slip in beside her, slip her out of her soft cotton pajamas, and make love to her. Not just sleep with her out of pure passion as he’d done last night, although that had certainly been wonderful. No, he wanted to move in her slowly and tenderly, to truly make love to her. But for someone who was never frightened by anything, Grayson was admittedly frightened by how in love he felt. He felt panic rising in his chest once again, the same way it had right before Zoe had returned to see the somewhat elaborate dinner he’d made. Grayson didn’t know how to handle the overwhelming feelings of affection he was feeling right now, so he decided to talk about something else in an effort to distract himself. There, in the darkness of the cabin, with the rain once again falling outside, he turned to look at the dark silhouette that was Zoe.
“Do you really not want any recognition for your powers, Zoe?” he asked. “Even if you only acquired them through luck, you are doing a lot for Falcon Cross. What’s wrong with being recognized for that? If you’re going to have to deal with being followed around like a celebrity all the time, you might as well get some perks and recognition for it too, don’t you think?”
There was a long silence, and then a soft sigh from Zoe’s bunk. Grayson strained to see in the darkness, but there was no moonlight tonight. It was impossible to see the expression on Zoe’s face, but he imagined her brow was probably furrowed in concentration as she thought carefully about what to say.
“It doesn’t matter to me that much who gets the glory,” Zoe said. “People are more important than glory. The meaning of the mission is more important than who gets the praise.”
“But someone is going to get recognition. Someone is going to get medals and awards. It might as well be you, don’t you think? I care about people, and about the meaning of the mission. But I also know that being recognized means more chances to get exciting missions in the future. And heck, if I work hard, I deserve a little praise, don’t you think?”
Another long pause.
“It’s alright to enjoy recognition when you receive it, I think,” Zoe said. “But chasing after it can be dangerous. It can make you lose sight of the important parts of the mission, of the people we are trying to help to protect. Better to focus on doing the best work you can for the sake of the people, and let recognition come if or when it does.”
Grayson was silent now, thinking. He wasn’t sure he entirely agreed with Zoe. She had noble intentions, sure. But he’d realized lately that the more you tried to let your work speak for itself, the quicker life passed you by, and others received the credit for work that you had done. He might be a good man and a hard worker, but if he didn’t get some credit here and there, he would soon be forgotten amongst the ranks of hundreds of other soldiers. No, he needed to make sure that
this mission to the dragon ruby counted. He needed to achieve their goal in such a spectacular way that everyone in Falcon Cross and in the Redwood Dragons clan would know that he, Grayson Pars, had been instrumental in winning this war, and that he had mattered.
Zoe had fallen silent, too. Grayson wondered if his comments about needing fame were building an invisible wall between them. She hadn’t said anything about how they’d slept together last night. She’d been as courteous and friendly as ever, but there had been no indication that she felt a spark of love, like he did. She was so hard to read sometimes. Or perhaps she was waiting for him to say something, to step up and be a man. To be the first one to acknowledge that there were feelings between them that should be explored. Hadn’t Grayson just told himself, after all, that he needed to go after the recognition he wanted? Was love any different? If he wanted Zoe to recognize him as a worthy lifemate, and someone to love, then he needed to make some moves, and be a bit aggressive. He at least needed to talk to her about how he felt.
Mustering up all his courage, Grayson peered over at Zoe’s silhouette on the bunk across the room.
“Hey, Zoe?”
No answer.
“Zoe?”
Again, no response. Grayson was quiet for a moment, then, and could hear the soft rhythm of Zoe’s breathing. She had fallen asleep. Grayson had missed his chance, at least for the night.
Sleep did not come so easily for him. He lay awake a long time, staring at the ceiling and trying to formulate the right thing to say to Zoe to make her realize that they belonged together. But dragons aren’t so good with words. They’re better at actions. Which is why Grayson finally stood up and walked across the room, slipping into Zoe’s small bunk with her. His act of lying next to her would say so much more than his jumbled words ever could. When she woke up in the morning, she would surely realize how he deeply he felt for her.
Or would she?
Chapter Nine
Zoe stood outside her cabin in the early morning light, running a pre-flight safety check on her broomstick for the tenth time. She’d already eaten a quick breakfast of cereal and sliced bananas, and had repacked her backpack after carefully drying all her soaked clothes with a drying spell. Now, she was out here under the guise of getting ready to leave, when really she just wanted to avoid speaking to Grayson.
She didn’t know why it had freaked her out so much when she woke up to find him curled up next to her in bed, his arm gently draped over her as his chest rose and fell with his dreams. Perhaps it had been in that moment that she realized that what was happening between them amounted to more than just a quick fling. It was more than just a physical passion, more than just an itch to scratch.
She’d realized this the first night she and Grayson had given in to their desires on that bearskin rug. Her heart had warmed in ways she’d never felt before, and the next day she hadn’t been able to tear her thoughts away from Grayson even for a second. She’d gone to take an obscenely long shower at the campsite just so she could get away from him. She spent the whole time convincing herself that he didn’t have feelings for her beyond a purely physical passion, and she had come to peace with that. But walking in to their cabin and seeing that he’d cooked such an amazing dinner set her heart to racing once again. She thought that surely he was going to make another move on her after dinner, but he never did. Instead, he settled into a separate bunk, and proceeded to interrogate her—again!—about why she never wanted any special recognition for her exceptional work as a soldier.
Zoe knew then that she and Grayson couldn’t work. They were too different, and besides, he hadn’t even mentioned sleeping with her. It hadn’t meant anything to him. She told herself once again that there was nothing there, and forced her mind to go quiet so she could sleep. Then, she’d woken up to find him in her bed and promptly freaked out.
She couldn’t handle this up and down. She needed to take her own advice and focus on the important work of her mission, and only on the mission. She was here to find the dragon ruby, not to find a boyfriend. She was here to help the people of Falcon Cross, not to indulge in lovemaking and be distracted by a dragon shifter. Even if that dragon shifter was the most handsome man she’d ever met.
Zoe was running her safety check for the fourteenth time when Grayson emerged from the cabin, his expression neutral. He was dressed, and his backpack was already slung securely on to his back. He did not give any indication that he was surprised or disappointed by the fact that Zoe had already been gone from the bed when he woke up. He was going to be all business this morning, and so was she. They were both going to avoid talking about what they had done together at Shafer’s house, or what it might mean.
Good, Zoe thought. Let’s just focus on getting the ruby. She should have felt relieved, since she didn’t want to talk to Grayson, anyway. So why did she feel so sad? Gritting her teeth, Zoe forced herself to smile brightly at Grayson.
“Morning. Ready to go?” she asked.
Grayson did not smile back, but he didn’t scowl, either. He just looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes, and nodded. “I cleaned up inside the cabin. We can check out and then be on our way.”
Zoe followed Grayson toward the main office in silence. She saw a few people give her curious looks, and she supposed that walking around with a broomstick must seem a bit odd. But unless someone knew about wizards, which was unlikely, they would just think she was a bit crazy. Last night, Zoe had put an invisibility spell on her broomstick as they walked into camp, but right now she was too worn out to care if anyone thought she was crazy. She needed to save her energy for flying and for casting invisibility and protective shields while she and Grayson were in the sky.
And not much later, they were preparing to launch into the sky. They hadn’t spoken much during their walk to the office, and then to a spot that was about a half mile away from the campsite. And even then, it was only business talk.
“Do you think we can make it to Shadowdale today?” Grayson asked.
Zoe shrugged. “If winds are in our favor, it’s a possibility. We have a lot of lost ground to make up from yesterday, though, and I don’t want to push our speed too much and compromise our invisibility shields.”
“No, definitely don’t compromise our shields. Just do the best you can,” Grayson said.
That had been the extent of their conversation. Zoe was flying as quickly as she dared, and the winds were indeed in their favor. But she still doubted they would make it all the way to Shadowdale tonight. They’d have to stop off again for the night somewhere. Grayson had made a list of alternate towns to stop in, just in case their schedule got off course. Zoe figured she’d see which of those towns was closest when later afternoon came, and they’d stop there. It would mean one extra night before they reached the dragon ruby, but so be it. There was no sense in rushing things too much and making rash mistakes that would lead to Saul’s soldiers discovering their whereabouts. Saul had eyes in a lot of places. Zoe had carefully scanned the campsite last night for any sign of magic, which would indicate nearby wizards. And Grayson had used his keen dragon sense of smell to make sure no shifters were present. But Zoe and Grayson could not be constantly scanning and sniffing while they flew. They had to rely on their shields. If Zoe messed up those shields it would mean big trouble for them.
And so, Zoe flew slower than she wanted to. She wanted the flying portion of this trip to be over just as badly as Grayson did. She knew he didn’t like sitting idly behind her for the journey. But she also didn’t enjoy the mental stress of flying. She was good at it, sure. But it was far from her favorite task. Some soldiers loved nothing more than zooming around on their broomsticks. Zoe preferred to have two feet on the ground, where she could fight without having to worry about maintaining flying spells as well.
Nevertheless, flying was necessary. There was no sense in wasting time or energy complaining about it. Zoe flew on, flying straight through lunch as she usually did. She and Grayson would both be st
arving by dinner, but they hated stopping. They just wanted to get the journey over with.
As the shadows started lengthening, Zoe made the decision to stop in a town that was thirty miles outside of Shadowdale. She probably could have flown the last thirty miles tonight if she really pushed herself, but she was tired and would rather finish off the last tiny leg of the journey in the morning. She knew Grayson wouldn’t be pleased with this decision, but he would just have to get over it. Zoe started circling downward, her mouth already watering in anticipation of the big meal she was planning on having. She hoped there was an Italian restaurant in this little town. She’d love a nice big plate of lasagna right now. She’d even settle for pizza.
She descended slowly. Shields were always harder to maintain while descending, and, although Zoe didn’t think any enemy soldiers were around, it was ingrained into her to be careful when circling toward the earth. They were about a mile outside of the little town. Once they landed, they would walk in and find a hotel. And then food. Zoe could hardly wait.
She had completed about half the distance to the ground when she suddenly felt a lurch from the back of her broomstick, followed moments later by a yelp of pain. Her balance was thrown off, and it only took her a split second to realize that it was because somewhere between two hundred and two hundred and fifty pounds had dropped off from the back of her broomstick.
“Grayson!” she screamed, pulling the handle of the broomstick up to stop her descent, and swinging around to look for him. He was falling, away from her at what looked like an incredible speed.
Courage and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 9) Page 8