Page 14 of No Room at Dragon's Landing

“What did I say last time you apologized?” He sat on the edge of the bed and reached for my hand.

“Not to?”

“Exactly. You could have been in my bed the whole time. Remember, I wanted to take the couch.”

“I couldn’t let you do that. Your feet would have hung over the end.” Not something I had known until I saw the couch, but even if it were longer, I’d have refused. “Would it sound two-faced if I said I really am not sorry I did it? I mean, I don’t want you to be inconvenienced or feel like I’m stepping on toes, but—”

“Boen…” His tone held warning, shutting down my ramble. “I like you in my bed. A lot. Preferably with me. Now, be a good boy and kiss me so I can go to work.”

As I tipped my face up for his kiss, the thrill of the moment shot down to my toes and back up again. What would it be like to do this every day? Kiss him before he went to work and then get up and settle in to do my own job?

Bliss.

But, for today, I did not plan to do any writing. Like the morning before, I didn’t rush right out to the festival. When I came downstairs, I just slipped right into the role of B&B helper, having learned enough the first day to do it without too much supervision. There weren’t any guests checking in or out, so far as I could tell, but the position I took up at the front desk next to Cyrus’s aunt Gertrude was very busy nonetheless. Instead of setting people up with rooms, we were more of an information hub, helping people to figure out what they wanted to do and when and where it was occurring.

“So glad I spent yesterday wandering around town,” I told Gertrude when we had a moment’s rest. “Hopefully I learned enough to be helpful.”

“More than that. You’re like a local with all the knowledge you soaked up.”

I opened the fest’s website on my phone and scanned it. “Do you know when the drone show is? I don’t see it here anywhere.”

“Drones?” She shot me a puzzled look. “I haven’t heard of anything like that. Did you hear about it yesterday somewhere?”

“No, I…” Saw them practicing? Were they a surprise or something? Considering how early in the morning the rehearsal had been, it might be so. Or could it be something else? Not drones? Sure because dragons were real. I spent too much time with Silas and the others in my stories if I was starting to believe my own mythology. “I thought I heard something.”

“I don’t know a lot about such things, but we can ask around. We’ve had guests who brought those little plane things with them but they weren’t putting on a show or anything. Just flying them for fun. Did you know some of them have cameras? Might be a good way for hu—to get the layout of the land from above.”

“Yes, but…” Before I could ask what she was about to say and decided against, a guest came up asking for extra towels,and soon we were busy again. The morning flew by with most of those staying here heading in for brunch before leaving for all the other activities. Delicious smells met my nose, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t seen Cyrus in a while, either. Had he had a chance to eat?

“You’re missing all the fun of the festival.” Cyrus came in from somewhere and arrived at the front desk. “Why are you here working on your vacation?”

“Because I want to be near you.” The words fell out of my mouth like I’d taken truth serum, and I clapped my palm over my lips, cheeks flaming. “I mean…yeah that’s it.” It was the truth, and there was no way to take it back without lying. Which I had no desire to do.

He was going to think I was a stalker or something.

“Well, thank you. If you don’t mind waiting a bit, I have a few things to do and then I will take you.”

“Do you need help?” I blurted out. “Wait, I’m helping Gertrude.”

“I can handle things here,” she said. “The lobby is almost empty. Maybe these people have finally figured things out and can go about their merry way without us holding their hands.” She shooed me away. “Go help Cyrus and then the two of you can see the festival.”

“Don’t you want to go?”

“I’ll do it later. Maybe when those drones show up.”

“Drones?” Cyrus waited for me to come around the desk then started up the stairs. “What is she talking about?”

“Oh…you know.” For some reason, I didn’t want to get into it. “What jobs do we have on the agenda this morning?”

He had a minor repair to a showerhead and a few other things to get through, and as I stayed at his side, handing him tools and talking about what I saw at the festival the day before, I fantasized about what this would be like if it was every day…

Chapter Eleven

Cyrus

The festival had a soul of its own. We enjoyed it until well after dark, soaking in every bit of fun to be had.

It helped to be there and experience everything through my omega’s human eyes. Things we shifters took for granted, were new and exciting for him. He gasped and made noises of approval at the littlest thing, even down to the juggler. When he dipped down to tip the young man busking for tips, my heart melted a little bit more. He listened to the vendors selling handcrafted items and bought a few souvenirs for his trip home.

---