Page 9 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

“Kennedy right?” he finally asked. “You’re the one who won the trip on a game show.”

“That’s me,” she said, smiling at him. “And it’s already been the trip of a lifetime. You’ve done something really special here. I probably won’t want to leave when the trip is over.”

“That’s good to hear,” Max said, smiling at her. If you need anything, let me know. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.”

She watched him walk away, wishing she could question him about the island, but she knew better and let him go with only a thank you. After grabbing something to drink from the carts, she headed for the beach where the bonfires were being built, pleased with her progress on the island story and hoping that she’d run into Cameron. She ignored the little thrill that rushed through her when she thought about him, reminding herself that the man wasn’t all he seemed and it was her job to expose him.

CHAPTER 6

***CAMERON***

Cameron looked up and down the beach, hoping not to see Kennedy, but he wasn’t surprised when he spotted her down by one of the bonfires. It looked like the entire island was gathered next to the water. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, and he could tell by the wide expanse of sand between the fires and the water that the tide was going out. There was a line of tiki torches stuck in the sand further down the beach, sending up happy flames, and he knew it would be a pretty picture once it got dark and the piles of driftwood were lit.

Deciding that it wouldn’t be that hard to stay away from Kennedy in the big crowd, he made his way over to where drinks were spread out, got a big glass of iced tea, and then went in search of Max. He found him chatting with Keith and Stella, but it wasn’t long before he put the three of them to work helping set up the huge pots for the crab boil. After lugging the pots over to where the fires were just being lit, they filled them with little red potatoes, ears of corn on the cob, and a spicy sausage made right there on the island.

“No one told me this was going to be work,” he said,wiping the sweat from his face. “I thought this was supposed to be a vacation.”

Keith laughed. “There’s no sitting around on your butt and being waited on around here,” he said. “Besides, this is fun, even if it is a lot of work, and don’t forget the reward is fresh crab. Once you taste it, you’ll forget how much work it was.”

“It was a good distraction, if nothing else,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I can’t stop thinking about our conversation the other night. I have to prove to Max that all he’s got is a bunch of coincidences. It’s killing me that he believes this island is magical or something.”

Keith and Stella exchanged a look. “Cameron, I know you’ve always been the most…logical and rational of all of us, but this is real. Everything Max told you about really happened,” he said. If you don’t believe him, maybe you should make a few phone calls. What I can tell you is that we’ve experienced it. I promise you that it’s real.”

“And there has to be a logical explanation,” he said, stubbornly. “There’s no such thing as magic; everything can be explained if you look deep enough, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. And I can promise you something: I’m not going to fall in love while I’m here; I’m not even sure that love is a real thing, so if nothing else, that should put an end to all this talk.”

Keith and Stella exchanged another look. “Have it your way,” his friend said. “But I’d be careful what you say. The island seems to love a challenge, and I think you might have just issued one.”

Cameron made his escape as quickly as he could after that. His friends had every right to believe what they wanted to, but that didn’t mean he had to stand there and listen to them. He wandered through the crowd, sipping his now warm iced tea and keeping an eye out for Kennedy, ready toflee if he saw her, but she was nowhere to be found. He was both surprised and annoyed at the rush of disappointment that flooded him but shook it off, telling himself that it was for the best.

“It’s almost sunset,” the man standing next to him said to the woman with him. Let’s go down to the water; the view will be better from there.”

The woman laughed and pointed to the groups of people slowly making their way over to the water’s edge. “It looks like everyone else had the same idea,” she said. “Come on, let’s go find a spot.”

He watched them walk away, wondering if he should follow. That was when he finally spotted Kennedy, and he braced himself, prepared for the wave of desire he knew was coming. But standing there watching her laugh and smile at the handsome man standing next to her, another emotion slowly began to build inside him, leaving him slightly breathless and the creature inside him slowly awakening again.

Rooted to the spot, he could only stand there staring at Kennedy and the man, jealousy making irrational thoughts pop into his mind, the urge to stomp over to them and stake his claim to her one of the strongest. When the man wrapped his arm around Kennedy and pulled her close to him, it was all he could do not to follow through with the urges now thundering through him.

To his relief, Kennedy slipped out of the man’s arms and put a little distance between them, making it clear that the man’s attention wasn’t wanted. The jealousy faded to a manageable level, but he still didn’t move, couldn’t walk away from the scene in front of him, even though he kept telling himself to escape while he had the chance. She wasn’t his and would never be. It was impossible and forbidden, and it was another reason to stay as far away from her as he could.

When the sun finally slipped out of sight, the man standing next to Kennedy walked away, and the last of the jealousy drained away. He expected to feel normal again, but under the jealousy, he discovered desire still smoldering deep inside him, and before he could stop himself, he was walking over to her. She turned and looked over at him. A big smile spread across her face, and he knew that he was in trouble.

“Wasn’t that beautiful,” she said with a big sigh. “Sunset is one of my favorite times of the day.”

“Yes, beautiful,” he said, unable to drag his eyes away from her face. “Very beautiful.”

To his surprise a blush spread across her cheeks. “I didn’t picture you as a watching the sunset kind of guy,” she said, her voice a little shaky. “I thought you never left your lab.”

“I wasn’t watching the sunset, something else caught my eye,” he said, surprised to find himself flirting with her. “I’ll have to try and catch it tomorrow night.”

***Kennedy***

Kennedy was a bit stunned when she realized that Cameron was talking about her and not the sunset, and even more unprepared when he began to flirt with her. “Well, I think it happens every night,” she said. “And you don’t even have to do anything.”

“So, there aren’t any rules about watching the sunset?” he asked. “I mean, I’ve never really done it before, so I wouldn’t want to screw it up. Maybe you could give me a couple of pointers.”

She laughed. “You might be able to convince me,” she said. “But I promise you it’s not that hard.”

“Relaxing doesn’t come easy to me,” Cameron admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “But you and Max both seem to think that it's important, so maybe I’ll give it a try.”

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