He watched as she walked out of the room, hips swaying gently. Cursing under his breath, he closed his eyes, willing his erection down. It felt like it took forever for it to deflate enough for him to get his jeans on, but when it finally did, he dressed in a hurry, already anxious to see Cammie again.
Shoving his feet in his shoes, he hurried down the stairs, coming to a stop just inside the kitchen. Cammie was standing in profile to him at the open back door, her lips curved in a smile as sunshine bathed her in its glow.
His whole body felt like it was standing at attention, every molecule straining for her. Something in his chest stirred, and mine whispered through his mind. It was just beginning to sink in that she really was his, and nothing could have prepared him for how it made him feel.
She glanced over and caught sight of him, her smile widening. “Why are you just standing there staring at me?”
Clearing his throat, he moved forward and kissed her, unable to help himself. “Sometimes it hits me. That you’re really willing to do this with me, I mean. This was one of those moments.”
Her eyes softened, and she went up on tiptoe to kiss him back. “Grab the basket on the table, and follow me. I want to show you my favorite spot.”
He did as she asked and followed her out, wondering about the flash of uncertainty and worry he thought he saw in her eyes. Deciding not to bring it up, he took her hand in his and walked with her through the forest, until they came upon a small clearing by the creek.
“This is one of my favorite places in the world,” she said softly as she took the blanket out of the basket. “I come here a lot, when I need to think, or want time alone.”
He helped her spread the blanket, shooting little glances at her as he did. She looked nervous about something, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her nervous. Once the blanket was laid out, they both took a seat, but when she started to reach for the basket, he put his hand on hers.
“Cammie. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
She twisted her fingers together, inhaling deeply. “I forget how preceptive you are. Nothing’s wrong, per se. I just thought it was time to tell you the truth. We’ve grown so close in the past few days, and as much as I don’t want to live my life in what ifs, I’ve still been doing it. What if you can’t handle what I need to tell you, what if you leave, what if… you can see how they never end. I need to tell you, not only to end all of that, but because if you’re going to leave, I need you to do it soon—”
Shaking his head, Alex reached up and put a finger to her mouth, halting her rapid flow of words. “Sweetheart. Stop. There’s nothing you can tell me that will make me want to leave you. But I agree about knowing what’s going on. So tell me, but don’t be nervous about it. It’ll be okay.”
She searched his eyes and nodded, closing her eyes briefly and taking another breath. When she opened them again, they were a lightened blue and pale orange, not her normal denim blue. Not letting on that he saw anything different, he nodded at her encouragingly.
“What I’m going to tell you might sound really strange, and impossible, but I promise, it’s true,” she began softly. “I’m not… well, I’m not a normal human. I’m a shifter. I share my body with an animal, and I can switch forms. There aren’t a lot of us out there, but probably more than you think there are, in a variety of animals. Wolves, big cats, birds, and so on.”
She paused and he nodded at her. “What are you?”
Brow twitching with a frown, she searched his eyes. “I’m a… well, I’m a dragon.”
He nodded again, trying to keep his face impassive as he searched for something to say. In all his wishing that she’d open up to him, he never gave a thought to what he would say in response, and he was drawing a blank now.
“How the hell are you not freaking out right now? Calling me crazy, running away, something?” she demanded.
Blowing out a breath, he scrubbed his hand over his face. He’d just have to tell her the truth, and hope she didn’t freak out. It’s not like he could lie to her anyway, and pretending he hadn’t known would be just that.
“I kind of already knew. Well, not about your dragon. I only suspected that’s what your animal was.”
Her frown deepened. “How did you know? And remember, if you’re lying to me, I’ll hear it. Which you should already know if you know about shifters.”
He glan
ced at her in surprise. Actually, he hadn’t known that, and he was suddenly grateful for the quirk in his personality that wouldn’t let him lie to her. They wouldn’t be here now if he’d ever tried, he knew that as much as he knew the sky was blue.
“Honestly, I don’t know. The knowledge of shifters was just always there. I didn’t recognize it in the very beginning, but the more time I spent with you guys, the more I knew instinctively that’s what you were. I don’t know how I know what I know, just that I do.”
She nodded thoughtfully as she stared at him. “And the dragon part?”
Fighting back an uncharacteristic flush, he glanced away before locking gazes with her again. “I kind of eavesdropped. I knew at the fight what those two guys, Zane and Kian, were. Well, I knew they were shifters, at least. And I knew it bothered you. When we got back to the house, I was taking a walk, and heard voices in the barn. My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped to listen. I overheard what Ian said about them not having elongated pupils, so you had no reason to worry. I actually thought he was talking about a snake or lizard,” he said with a wry smile. “And then when I called you Camilla, your eyes changed, became this sort of kaleidoscope of light blue and orange, with an elongated pupil. After that, I don’t know… it just came to me that you might possibly be a dragon.”
Hoping like hell she couldn’t hear a lie of omission in his voice, Alex forced himself to sit calmly as she took in what he told her. He didn’t want to talk about his weird dreams yet, at least not until he figured out what they were, or what they meant. He felt guilty, because she was coming clean to him, but he didn’t see a reason to bring them up right now.
She briefly closed her eyes, exhaling softly. Blinking them open, she smiled at him. “I should probably be upset you never let on you knew, but I only feel relief that you’re not freaking out on me. I worried it would be too much for you.”
“There’s nothing you can tell me that would be too much for me. Unless you tell me you put ketchup on your eggs. That might be a deal breaker,” he said, relishing the sound of her laughter washing over him as he scooted closer to her on the blanket and wrapped an arm around her. “Now tell me the rest. The people you’re hiding from are obviously your kind. Why are they after you?”
Snuggling into his side, she sighed, hesitating for a moment. “Dragons are on the verge of extinction. We’ve been hunted by other shifters for as long as anyone can remember. We’re nearly indestructible in our animal forms, and something about us draws some shifters. Who can say why. Bragging rights, maybe. Being able to say they killed an almost un-killable dragon. Fear of an apex predator that’s so powerful. Whatever the reason, they almost succeeded in wiping us out.”