Page 92 of The Stone Secret
I wish that those moments with Curi were a blur, and that I could claim I didn’t remember what I’d said or how I’d acted, but that would be a lie. I recalled every moment of it, and there was no expressing how grateful I was that it was Curi who’d been with me when the heat hit and not some random goyle who might have taken advantage.
“We need answers,” Selas said to Willowman.
“I’ll do my best to get them for you. I leave at dawn, and I’ll do my best to be back before the cadet exams. In the meantime, you need to stay close to the people you trust and do what needs to be done to assuage any flares.” He gave me a pointed look.
Any flares? He meant any bouts of intense arousal. My cheeks heated, and I dropped my gaze as the room went silent.
Great, now everyone was thinking about me getting off.
“It’s getting late,” Selas said. “The sun will be up soon, and Cameron needs her sleep before the field test tomorrow.”
The field test I’d been looking forward to suddenly felt like a chore. I needed to recharge and get my oomph back.
Serath took a step toward me, but Selas moved to block him and held a hand out to me. “Come on. I’ll tuck you in.”
I allowed her to haul me to my feet and made sure to hold my breath as I passed Serath. The last thing I needed was his scent in my head when I fell asleep.
If I couldn’t have him in real life, then he needed to stay out of my dreams.
CHAPTER39
Everyone looked up from their breakfast when I walked into the dorm kitchen. My neck grew hot beneath all the scrutiny. Curi wasn’t here yet, thank the gods. It gave me time to prepare myself to face him after I’d tried to rip his clothes off. Urgh.
“Hey.” I raised a hand, feeling suddenly awkward. How much of my wanton behavior had everyone here seen? Fuck, this was uncomfortable, and I still had explanations to do.
Derek crossed the room and put his arms around me, pulling me against his shadowy yet solid chest.
“You okay now, my Cameron,” he said. “You okay. You not hurt. You safe.”
He was right. I was okay. I was safe. These were my friends, and they didn’t give a shit how I’d acted. I was being a dick.
“Thank you.” I closed my eyes and allowed him to hold me for a few moments longer.
“Now you eat breakfast and be strong for the test.” He pulled away and looked down at me with his bright diamond eyes. “Today we work together.”
I smiled up at him. “Yes, we will. Are you excited to get out there and test your power?”
He grinned, flashing fang. “I’m excited to protect my Cameron.”
“And kick some ass?”
“And kick some ass.”
I joined the others at the table, taking the only vacant seat next to Sharniza. Touron passed me a mug of coffee. I grabbed some bacon and toast.
“Feeling better?” Palia asked from across the table.
“Yeah. I…We’re not sure what happened.” I filled them in on what Willowman had said and how we’d ruled out the possibility of a drug, leaving the explanation to strange developments.
“Do you think it might happen again?” Touron looked worried.
“I don’t know. But Idoknow that as long as I stay with you guys, I’ll be safe.”
“You should speak to Curi,” Sharniza said.
My stomach quivered. “Yeah, I owe him a huge thank you. He could have taken advantage, and he didn’t, and believe me, I begged him to. Urgh.” I covered my face with my hands. “I can’t even…” I took a breath and sat up. “I’ll just tell him the truth about my weird episodes and that Willowman is looking into it and—”
“He knows,” Shar said.
