Earth Dragon

Chapter Fourteen

The next day is more of the same. I flirt with Danae over breakfast, then retreat to my office to do what I can about finding out who's trying to kill my brother. Or get to me. I'm still not sure of the motive and that's not good.

I work through lunch because I'm finally making some progress and need to keep at it while I'm on a roll. I'm sliding my pen through my fingers and absently twirling it to repeat the process while I'm turning all the pieces of the puzzle around and around in my mind when a knock sounds on my door. "Yes?"

Aryna pokes her head around and looks at me worriedly. "You skipped lunch. Are you coming down for dinner?"

I glance at the clock in surprise. "I'll be right down."

She nods and closes the door softly. I hear her footsteps recede. Of course, now that I'm not focused entirely on my work, Danae comes to mind. It hasn't been easy to keep thoughts of her at bay while dealing with my investigation. I go down to the dining room and she looks up at me as I enter. She's so fucking gorgeous. I just want to drown in those perfect emerald eyes.

I take my seat and lightly rest my fingertips onto the back of her hand to get her attention when she's so busy staring at her empty plate instead of looking at me like I want her to. It's quiet without Lily here. She's at Mason's with Greta and Cooper for the day. Possibly the night, depending on how much help he needs. With the snow, there's a lot of things around the property that Cooper is doing for them. He's a good kid. "How was your day?"

"It was great, thank you."

I tap my fingers on the back of her hand for another few moments, then withdraw with a small sigh. I was hoping the workout would make her more open to me, not less. I want to confront her. I want to push her, but I promised her I wouldn't. I promised her we'd take this at her pace.

Her pace is going to kill me. I can only be grateful that we almost have the house to ourselves for the rest of the evening. I need to take advantage of that fact.

"Simon...?" I look at her and our eyes meet. "Thank you."

"For?"

"For giving me time and space to work things out in my head before something happens between us."

Oh, God, she's going to kill me with that soft little voice, that hint of uncertainty in her eyes. If it wasn't for that little bit of interest and desire I see there too, I don't know if I could give her another five minutes without kissing the uncertainty right off her face. "Anything for you."

She looks at me like she's not quite sure whether she can believe me or not, but I can tell she also likes what she hears. What woman doesn't want to know that their man will do anything for her? That she matters that much to him? I want her to know that she will always come first for me. She will always be my priority—even over my own wants and desires. If she's the woman for me, she'll want to reciprocate that and put me first in her life.

She clears her throat. "Uh, so, what did you get up to all day? I was kind of surprised that you weren't around."

I hope that means she was missing me. "I had some work to do, so I was in the office. I have a meeting here tomorrow morning after breakfast. I'll need to do some more work tonight to make sure I'm ready for it." I want to narrow that list of names even further, if I can. Without talking with Sharon and launching an official investigation and interviewing my suspects, I'm afraid I'm not far from a dead end.

"Anything I can help with?"

I smile at her, because her offer means a lot. "I'm afraid not, but would you like to do something with me when I'm done? Your pick?"