Page 68 of Love in the Wild

“Everything is going to be fine, Ms. Matthews. The article you wrote was perfect. Give it time. We know this is a bit of a waiting game. The fellow we’re after will be smart, after all, to have been hidden all this time. He won’t just walk up to our gates and announce he’s looking for you or Thorne. What we need to focus on now is helping Thorne integrate back into society and the good we can do with the international attention this situation has brought us. This is our chance to help the jungle and the life inside it.”

“Yes, I know you’re right. I just can’t help but worry,” she confessed quietly. “What if this does more harm than good? You didn’t see the bodies. Whoever this is we’re dealing with, if he gets desperate, who knows what he might do to cover his tracks, or to steal whatever he can before the net closes on his operation.”

Cameron’s cell phone suddenly buzzed, and he checked it as he sipped his tea, then lifted his gaze to hers. “I understand your worries, my dear. Have a little faith. You of all people should know that nothing creates change faster than a cause célèbre. I’m getting all sorts of texts and messages and alerts. Everyone wants to know about Thorne. They all want his story.”

He set his coffee down to read through a few of the messages. Eden held her breath when Cameron suddenly smiled.

“I believe it’s time for the next part of our plan. Thorne’s welcome party. Isabelle has made all the arrangements for tonight. All we need do is send out the guest list.”

“Will people really come to a party at the last minute like this?” Eden tried to focus on her toast. If she didn’t eat something, she would be nauseated all day.

“If there’s one thing I know, my dear, it’s British society. Everyone in my immediate social circle will be dying to attend tonight and see the living myth, especially since we haven’t allowed him to make any television appearances. All they have are a few blurry photos from the paparazzi and the documents we filed in court.” Cameron offered a smile. “It’s a temptation they won’t be able to resist, to come and see him for themselves. This will be one of Thorne’s hardest tests, to deal with society.”

Eden was concerned, but not just because she was worried that his exposure to the media would overwhelm him, or that they’d eat him alive looking for some angle to exploit. She was all too familiar with the darker side of journalism. That was something she could protect him from, so long as she was able to control who had access to him. She and Cameron had both agreed that TV interviews were not good for him, not yet.

She was worried about those hunting for the treasure cave in Uganda, those who were responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people. She imagined some super-powerful man in the shadows, an archvillain right out of a comic book, with a mustache he twirled while he bathed in a bathtub of stolen gold and ordered the deaths of anyone who stood in his way.

Okay ...That was definitely not a realistic scenario, but Eden was convinced that whoever was behind this hadn’t given up on his hunt. And that meant that Thorne’s jungle was still in danger. And depending on how powerful or desperate this person was, Thorne himself was possibly in danger too.

Cameron set his phone aside and cleared his throat. “Ms. Matthews, I believe it’s time we had a talk about Thorne and his future.”

“Okay.” They’d already had a few of these talks, so she wasn’t sure what was left to say.

“Actually, what I meant was, we should have a talk about your place in it.”

Eden felt the toast she had just eaten surge back up her throat. It took everything inside her not to throw up.

“Oh. I see.” She’d been expecting something like this the moment Thorne had said Eden was his mate. She squared her shoulders, ready for a barrage of unpleasant and probing questions.

Cameron steepled his fingers and studied her, his face a mask of inscrutability. “Thorne told me yesterday that he loves you. Are you aware of his feelings?”

“Er ... yes, I am.”

“And do you return such feelings, to the extent that you love him as well?”

“I ... Lord Somerset, how I feel about him isn’t the real issue. Thorne feels things for me because I’m thefirstwoman he has seen since he was a child. I imagine any woman he’d rescued would have earned his devotion and interest. But I don’t want to hurt him, so I haven’t .. .” God, she was rambling, and honestly she didn’t even know what she was trying to say. She drew in a steadying breath. “Something happened between us in the forest. I can’t explain it, and I know that this is all new to him, so he deserves the right to make a true choice about who he spends the rest of his life with. If that isn’t me ... it will break my heart, but I won’t stand in his way. He has lost so much already—I could never hurt him.”

Cameron remained silent, and she felt compelled to continue. “I know he’ll be the Earl of Somerset someday and that you plan to renounce the title to him. I know that there are better women out there who would make a better countess. I only know that Idolove him, but if he decides he wants someone else ... I will respect that decision.”

Lowering his hands into his lap, Cameron leaned back in his chair.

“Ms. Matthews, Isabelle and I are perhaps the two people in the world who understand your feelings the most. I never wanted this life.” He waved an arm around at the grand old house. “Jacob was the earl, and I didn’t want to have the pressure and responsibilities as he did. Isabelle and I didn’t crave the power or wealth. We crave happiness. We’ve had so little of it in the last twenty-two years, until now.” Cameron’s blue eyes softened, and faint lines crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Now, we are overcome with joy. We couldn’t have children of our own, and Thorne ... He is like a long-lost son to us. I simply want to be sure that both you and Thorne have thought everything through. It is as you said—he knows nothing else save the life he lived in the jungle, and it’s possible he may yet change his mind on many things. But for whatever it’s worth in a modern age like this, you have my trust and my approval.”

Eden swallowed thickly, trying her best not to think about a day when Thorne might change his mind.

“I pray he is like his father. Jacob loved only once and greatly, with all his heart.” Cameron patted her hand. “We will trust and have faith that you and Thorne are destined for the same.”

Eden tried to smile, but her mind was clouding with worries over the future, not to mention the party tonight.

Thorne found her an hour later working on her computer. He came up behind her to grip her waist and kiss her ear. The aroma of him—male sweat, leather, and hay—was intoxicating.

“Were you at the stables?”

“Yes. I was enjoying the ride, so we stayed out longer than usual. You should have come.”

“Sorry, I was working.”

He leaned over and closed her laptop, preventing her from typing. “You work too much.” He trailed his fingertips down her throat as he kissed her neck, and she relaxed into his attentions with a contented sigh. He was getting really good at this. “I will distract you.” He began to pull her off the bed and toward the shower.

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