Page 70 of The Stone Secret
“You just had a weird look on your face.”
“Oh?” I take a sip of the coffee, reveling in the burn of it on my tongue.
“Yeah. Kinda like you licked a lime.”
“I’m fine.”
She shrugs and takes a seat at the table, but I settle against the counter, needing a moment to sort my head out.
I’ve been spending too much time with Cameron’s shield, that’s what it is. He’s sweet and charming without realizing it, and it’s messing with my head.
I need to focus on the tangible achievements we’ve made.
He’s quickly assimilating to being outside his wardrobe and developing a sense of self. Teaching him how to do basic life skill things will help with that, and once Yarrow gets stuck into training him, Derek will have the confidence to stand alone, if need be. It’s as if his growth was stunted for a long time, but now he’s flourishing.
I’m proud of him.
Pleased that I could help him.
That’s all.
He looks up sharply. “Cameron is here.” His eyes narrow. “She is upset.”
Cameron enters the room a moment later, eyes red-rimmed, hair windblown. She looks like shit, and smells…Oh fuck. Why does she smell like arousal and…Serath?
“What happened?” Derek demands. “I sensed no danger.”
She yanks out a chair and sits, elbows on table, head in hands. “Arghhh, I am such a fucking idiot.”
Derek takes the chair beside her and puts his hand on her back. “Breathe, my Cameron.”
“Tell us what happened,” Touron says.
* * *
I can’t believeSerath would hurt Cameron this way. It makes no sense because it doesn’t fit with the picture of the male I’ve built in my head. Derek strokes her back, his diamond eyes dulled by her sorrow.
“I’ll be okay,” she says. “I just…I need some time.”
“What you need is to get laid,” Ginia says.
Cameron’s jaw tenses. “I don’t want that. I’m not…I’m not ready.”
“You don’t have to do anything but heal,” Palia says softly. “He did what he felt he needed to, now you do what you need to.”
Cameron sighs heavily, then fixes a smile on her face. “I need to pass the cadet exams, that’s what I need to do. If I can do that, then I may just be good enough to be the elite the team needs to save my brother.”
“Your brother?” Curi says from the doorway.
“Mother!” Touron says quickly. “She said mother.”
Curi pays him no attention. “Cameron, what’s going on?”
Cameron looks to me. I know she doesn’t need my approval. This is her story to tell, but reassurance is another thing.
I nod.
Cameron smiles faintly at Curi. “You’d best sit down.”
