Max squeezed back and impulsively leaned forward to kiss her.
Even though they had little time to spare, she parted her lips and let him explore her mouth. She moaned and wondered why she hadn't asked him to kiss her again sooner. Because Max had kept his word not to touch her unless she asked. At least, until now.
He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. "I know I shouldn't have done that. But I just wanted to celebrate properly with you."
She touched his face gingerly and leaned back enough to meet his gaze fully. "I'm glad you did."
"Lavinia…" He trailed off and took her lips again, hauling her closer until she pressed against him.
They kissed, and nibbled, and all around devoured each other for a few minutes before Max pulled away again. "I hate to be the responsible one, and I'm tempted to say fuck the key until next year, but I can't risk them sending you back to Australia."
She wouldn't have to go if he offered to mate her, but Lavinia didn't say that.
No, they had more important things to worry about. After one last quick kiss, Lavinia stood, and Max did the same. She took the key from her pocket. "Then let's hurry, just in case we have to make any last-minute adjustments."
He gave a searing look—one that even her dragon took notice of and hummed at—before retrieving the specially cut pole they would place the key upon.
Determining the length and girth had been easier, thanks to a mosaic with subtly hidden dimensions.
Max took the key, affixed it to the top of the pole, and placed it into the twelfth hole—the bottom row started with the number one, so there was no guessing—the back of it to the east and the front facing west.
Now all they had to do was wait.
He put out a hand. "We should huddle together until the sun comes up for body heat."
Laughing, she put her hand in his. "That's a poor excuse. You could just ask me to cuddle."
Amusement danced in his eyes. "I didn't know if dragons liked to cuddle."
She snuggled into his side and loved how Max held her tightly against him. "Oh, you know full well some do. We did it before."
"Yes, but that was during the frenzy." He paused and added, "We could cuddle again later. Naked, if you want."
Her dragon came fully awake.Tell him yes.
Ignoring her beast, she looked up at him. Max's brown eyes were patient, and curious, and even kind. Before the frenzy, she'd never encountered those kinds of emotions from him before. And now? Well, she couldn't imagine thinking of him as cold-hearted and ruthless.
Most of the time, anyway. If someone tried to hurt her or their child or tried to steal something else important—such as the key—he would do anything to take out the threat.
But the most important thing was she didn't think he would abandon her. Probably.
And yet the probably part kept her from fully opening her heart. However, she was done pretending she didn't want to share their bed in truth. "As long as we don't have to rush off quickly for some clue or other, I want that. Very much."
He smiled, caressed her cheek with his free hand, and murmured, "Good because waking up every morning with you so close and yet not being able to touch you? It's been bloody difficult. I want you, Lavinia. So much."
Truth rang in his words, and she tilted her head just as the sun started rising. Max barely pressed his lips to hers before gesturing with his chin. "Let's watch, and then I can kiss you for as long as I like."
She nodded, and they both watched the sun come up.
Waiting was excruciating. She couldn't enjoy how the light played off the surrounding hills or water. No, she and Max stared at the key and the area in front of it, where an image would hopefully appear.
When the light finally hit in just the right spot, shining through the various openings in the key, a picture emerged on the flat, open rock in front of the stick.
They both rushed over. Max had his phone out, recording it, and Lavinia quickly took out a small notebook and sketched what she saw.
The shapes looked like a map, but time was limited. They could study it later. For now, she did her best to draw it, just in case something went wrong with Max's phone.
It seemed like hours but had to be minutes before the image slowly warped and finally disappeared.