Page 17 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

“What was that?” she asked, letting him push her back over to the trail. “Cameron, that sounded like a growl.”

“It was,” he said, trying to get her to move faster. “I promise I’ll explain later, but we need to get out of here right now.”

They had only gone a few more steps when there was another growl, and a tiger strolled out of the bushes, its eyes locked on the two of them. Shocked, she could only stare for a second. “That’s a tiger,” she finally said. “What is a tiger doing here?”

“I don’t know, but he’s not very happy to see us,” he said, giving her another shove. “Just keep moving, but don’t run. He’ll just chase you.”

“Cameron, this can’t be real,” she said, stumbling a little. “There can’t be a tiger on the island.”

Before he could answer, the tiger growled at them, showing a set of razor-sharp teeth, then closed the distance between them in only a few strides. Trying not to scream, Kennedy clung to Cameron’s arm, taking deep breaths to keep the panic at bay, her brain still rejecting what her eyes were telling her.

“What are we going to do?” she asked, then let out a little cry when the tiger took another step toward them. “He’s going to attack us, Cameron.”

Cameron pushed her back a couple more steps. “I’m going to distract him while you go for help,” he said. “Step away slowly and then run as fast as you can. Don’t stop no matter what you hear.”

“I can’t leave you,” she said, shaking her head. “That thing will kill you.”

“No, it won’t. I promise, I know what I’m doing,” Cameron said, a strange look in his eyes. “I need you to trustme, I’ll be fine, but I need to know that you’re safe. Can you just do this for me, please?”

She started to argue, started to tell him that she would be devastated if something happened to him, but the tiger growled again. “Please, Kennedy, just go,” he said. “I care about you. I may not be able to have you, but dammit, I won’t be able to live with myself if something happens to you.”

Mouth hanging open she could only stare at him for a second, thrills rushing through her, a strange warmth filling her. “This discussion isn’t over,” she said. “You better come back to me alive, or I’m going to kill you.”

He leaned down and kissed her, then gave her a little shove before turning to face the tiger again. His body tensed for a fight she knew he couldn’t win. She only made it a few yards down the trail before she heard the tiger growling and turned to look back at Cameron, but he was already out of sight. Taking a few more steps, she told herself that he would be fine, that she was only doing what he asked, but visions of the tiger tearing him apart while she slunk away filled her mind.

She turned and started back toward the clearing, the growling getting louder. She came to a sliding stop when she saw Cameron facing the tiger, a scream trying to break free from her chest. Sure that the tiger was about to pounce, she looked around for a weapon, but before she could find one, the clearing began to fill with electricity, the air began to shimmer, and a second later, Cameron was gone.

Standing in his place was a huge dragon, its wings slowly unfurling from a feather-covered body, a hiss coming out of its mouth as it advanced on the tiger. The air came whooshing out of her lungs, her legs turned to rubber and she plopped down on the ground just as the tiger let out a roar of fear, then turned and fled back into the jungle. When the tiger was gone, the dragon slowly turned to face her.Their eyes met, and she let out a little gasp, the brown eyes looking back at her so familiar that she couldn’t breathe for a second.

She finally managed to fill her lungs, then got slowly to her feet, her heart breaking when she saw the look on the dragon’s face. “Cameron, is that you inside there? She asked, taking a couple of steps toward him, but he backed away from her. “I’m not scared, just…well, I’m not sure…maybe the other you could come back so that we can talk about this.”

CHAPTER 11

***CAMERON***

Cameron’s protective instincts were still thundering through him, making it difficult to control the dragon as he stood staring at Kennedy, but the urge to chase the tiger down finally began to fade. With it went some of the power that fueled his change, and he could feel himself begging to shift; then, he was suddenly back in his human form, staring at the only regular human who had ever seen him in his other form. Not wanting to scare her even more than he already had, he didn’t move, didn’t rush to her side like he wanted to. Instead, he waited her out, wondering what her reaction would be.

She let out a little gasp and put her hand on her chest, but she didn’t move either, and the seconds slowly ticked by until Kennedy let out a little sigh and started to crumple to the ground. He caught her before she hit the dirt, swept her into his arms, carried her over to the shade, and carefully lowered her to the ground. Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t open her eyes, and he started to panic, then took a deep breath and tried to put himself in her place.

Leaving her only long enough to grab one of the packs, heknelt next to her and pulled out a water bottle and then a sweatshirt. Wadding up the sweatshirt, he lifted her head and shoved it underneath, then opened the water bottle and dribbled a few drops on Kennedy’s lips. She opened her eyes a second later, let out another gasp, then closed them again, and he was afraid that she’d fainted again.

“It’s okay, Kennedy. I would never hurt you,” he said, stroking her cheek. I’m sorry I scared you, but I didn’t know how else to get rid of the tiger. Please wake up; you’re scaring me.”

“Scaring you?” she asked, her eyes fluttering open again. “After that little stunt you should be scared. When I can get up from here, I’m going to make you pay for that. What was that? What did you do?”

He was so relieved that she was okay, even if she was threatening him with violence, that he scooped her up into his arms and kissed her. She fought him for only a second before she curled her body around his and kissed him back, sending waves of pleasure shooting through him and awakening the passion between them. He groaned deep in his chest, threaded the fingers of one hand through her hair, then flipped her onto her back, and crushed her under his body.

Waves of pleasure, unlike anything he’d ever felt before, washed over him one after another, quickly followed by a throbbing need between his legs that threatened to take over all rational thought. He wanted Kennedy naked under him, wanted her writhing with pleasure, crying out his name as he claimed her, and he knew instinctively that he could have her right then, that he could take what he wanted and she wouldn’t fight him.

Instead, he broke the kiss and looked down at her, his body growing warmer when she looked up at him with pleasure-filled eyes. But the passion slowly faded away and shesat up, gave him a big shove, then scrambled away from him, a touch of fear in her eyes, her lips red from his kisses, her hair a wild halo of curls.

He knew in that instant that everything had changed; they’d crossed a line and there was no going back. The truth was, he didn’t want to go back, he wanted the woman sitting in front of him. What he was supposed to do next, he had no clue, but he was sure of one thing: nothing mattered but keeping Kennedy in his life, not what his parents wanted, not what the clan demanded. He’d give it all up and take banishment with a smile if she was by his side; he just had to figure out how to make that happen.

Wondering if he’d lost his mind, starting to believe the rumors and stories about the island, he got slowly to his feet. Deciding that the first test was the simplest one, he held out his hand to help Kennedy up off the ground, holding his breath when she just studied him for a second. She finally reached up, placed her much smaller hand in his, and let him pull her to her feet, but he could feel the tension radiating from her.

“I’m guessing the hike is over,” he said. “You probably want to head back now.”

“You promised you wouldn’t kiss me again,” she said. “You can’t keep doing that.”

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