Page 52 of The Stone Survival
The room reeks of sex. The female, Cameron, is fast asleep on her side. I quickly undress and slip beneath the covers before my consciousness is pushed down into the gray place and his surfaces, still asleep but dominant now.
I curl into a ball and wait. My time will come. Meanwhile, I have my own memories to keep me company.
But when I try to focus on them, on my people and my home, all I see is Cameron’s face. All I hear is her voice and her guttural moans of pleasure.
No…This is bad. Fire and ash, this is bad.
CHAPTER 27
CAMERON
Nervous dread was the theme of the day. Depending on what we discovered tonight, we could be going up against the faction soon. Honeymoon period would be over. Cut short. Too short.
It was selfish to think it, but I would have liked a week or so more to float in bliss.
“Cameron? Are we going to spar or not?” Shar asked.
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
She stood hands on hips, head tipped to the side. Her hair was up in a braided ponytail today. Her eyes were ringed in kohl, and gold bangles glinted at her wrists. She looked badass and beautiful.
“I get it; you’re worried about tonight,” she said.
“I’m worried about finding the faction. About going head-to-head with them. We know so little about their operation.”
“And hopefully Ulrickson might know more.”
I huffed. “Yeah. Probably.”
We wandered over to the bench by the wall and sat down. “How are things with you and Derek? Did you do the mate bond thing?”
Her cheeks went pink. “Yeah.”
Wait a minute. “Shar, look at me.”
She buried her face in her hands. “Argh.”
Oh. My. God. “Did you two?—”
“Shut up,” she growled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
They’d done the deed. “I’m so fucking happy for you. Wait…You are happy, right?”
She nodded and dropped her hands to her lap. “I’m so happy, Cam. So happy that it’s scary.”
We locked gazes, and my stomach tightened. “I know. I feel it too.” The fear that everything would be taken from us. “It’s the calm before the storm.”
“I wish we could stay in it.”
“Me too.”
Derek materialized holding a tray with two Stone Comfort coffee cups. “You finished training?”
Shar arched a brow my way, and I nodded. “Yeah, we’re done.”
We’d never really started. “You know what I fancy? A board game afternoon. You guys want to play?”
“Fuck it,” Shar said. “Why not?”
