Page 24 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

“She thought I was doing something illegal in the lab,” Cameron said, shaking his head. “I told her the truth. She knows everything.”

“I see,” Max said, studying her. “I hope we can trust you, Kennedy. You know secrets few regular humans know. It would be devastating if the world found out about shifters; it would be the end of our way of life.”

“I would never betray Cameron; I care too much about him,” she said, looking Max directly in the eye. “It’s probably going to cost me my job, but that’s a small price to pay for what I’ve gained since I came here, and I’m not going to risk any of it for a newspaper story. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

Max sat back in his chair and let out a long sigh. “This island is giving me grey hair,” he finally said. “I have a feeling this isn’t over, so you two better hope this thing between you is strong enough to weather what’s coming.”

His words sent a shiver of apprehension through her, but she kept the smile on her face. There were still a lot of obstacles in their way, and she knew that there were some big choices in their future. Their love was so new, so fragile, she couldn’t help but remind herself it might not be enough to get them through what was coming. Happily ever after rarely happened, especially not when everyone in Cameron’s life except Max would be against their love.

As if sensing where her thoughts had gone, Camerontook her hand under the table. “We’re going to fight to be together. I’m willing to give everything up for Kennedy if that’s what it takes,” he said. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, I hope you’ll be in our corner.”

“We’ll all be there for you if it comes down to that,” Max said. “The eight of us are family, and we’ll support you to the end.”

“Good, because I think we’re going to need it,” Cameron said. “Now, if you’re done grilling us, I think we’d both like to go take a nap. We didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Cameron,” she hissed, feeling her cheeks turning pink. “That was too much information.”

“I agree,” Max said, then shooed them away with his hand. “Go on, you two, I have to make a phone call and listen to Mateo tell me I told you so a million times before he goes to look for a tiger that he won’t find. I don’t know why I opened this resort in the first place.”

CHAPTER 15

***CAMERON***

Cameron woke with the first rays of sunlight but didn’t move. Kennedy was curled up next to him, and he didn’t want to disturb her yet. He’d laid awake for several hours the night before, desperately searching once again for something that would allow him to step away from leading the clan without disgracing both himself and his family. He’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep full of disturbing dreams, then woken a couple of hours later, shaken and even more worried than he’d been before.

Forcing himself not to think about losing her, he let his mind drift back to the cave and the time they spent there, reliving every moment. Then it hit him. He held his breath, thinking about it for a second, then let out a little whoop of excitement, the possibility bringing with it a ray of hope. Finally able to fall asleep, he’d fallen into a deep slumber and awoken to the birds singing in the trees and the sun shining in through the window.

Easing himself out of bed, he went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, then looked through the refrigerator for something to make for breakfast. After pulling out eggs,cheese, butter, and milk, he started cooking, hoping to surprise Kennedy with breakfast in bed, then see where things led. He knew that he was a bit like a kid with a new toy and he should probably control himself, but just thinking about Kennedy in the next room sent waves of desire rushing through him.

When he finally carried the tray into the bedroom, he nearly dropped it when she opened sleepy eyes and looked at him from across the room. “Well, good morning, sleepy head,” he said. “You look so appetizing. I don’t think I even want to bother with breakfast, but I thought you might need your strength.”

Kennedy sat up in bed and pushed her hair away from her face. “Food first,” she said, grinning at him. “Sex afterward, but there better be some coffee on that tray if you think that you’re going to get lucky.”

“Only the finest the island can grow,” he said, then looked down at the cup on the tray. “Maybe it’s the coffee; maybe that’s what makes people fall in love.”

Kennedy laughed. “Then wouldn’t everyone on the island be falling in love?” she asked. “Now, wouldn’t that be something? Max would really have some grey hairs!”

It was mid-morning before they got out of bed and got dressed. “I have to call Steve, and I’m not looking forward to it,” Kennedy said. “He’s going to fire me for sure, and I don’t blame him. He’s going to be in a lot of trouble for authorizing this trip for nothing.”

“I’m sorry, Kennedy,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I wish there was something I could do, a way to make this all okay.”

She looked up at him. “You do just by being here,” she said, resting her head against his chest and soaking up his warmth. “But this is something I have to do alone.”

“Well then, I’ll give you some privacy,” he said. “I want tocheck in with the lab anyway. There’s something I thought about last night, something that might help us.”

“What is it?” Kennedy asked, her eyes filling with hope.

“It’s not the whole answer, but it could smooth the way for us to be together,” he said. “But I don’t want to say anything until I know for sure.”

Kennedy gave him a dirty look. “You know how much I hate secrets,” she said. “Don’t make me wait too long.”

“I’ll be back later this afternoon. I’ll fill you in then, I promise,” he said. “I need to run my idea by my assistant first. He’s almost as smart as I am. If it’ll work, he’ll know.”

He left Kennedy sitting in front of her computer, her phone in her hand, a nervous look on her face, and wondered if he should stay, but she shooed him out after blowing him a kiss. Max was in his office staring at his computer screen when he walked into the clubhouse. A look of fury was on his face, and he almost turned around to leave, but his friend saw him.

“You’d better come take a look at this,” he said, a hard edge to his voice Cameron had only heard a few times before. “I don’t know which one of us is the bigger fool.”

A bad feeling in his stomach, he walked around behind the desk, then staggered back a step when he saw a full-color picture of him in his dragon form filling the screen. “What the hell?” he asked. “Where did that come from?”

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