Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Dragons Secret Society Book 2)

by Serena Meadows

  He didn’t say anything for a long time, and she wondered if she’d said something wrong. “Not really,” he finally said. “I think I always kind of knew.”

  She thought about that, tried to remember if she ever felt anything off about Daniel being her brother, but couldn’t. “It just seems strange to me that you wouldn’t notice your baby looked different,” she finally said.

  “It happens,” Adam said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Yeah, to strangers, but our families knew each other,” she said. “I asked my dad once how he didn’t notice, and he said that all newborns look alike and then wouldn’t talk about it anymore. It just doesn’t make sense to me; I wish my mom were here; maybe she could explain it to me better.”

  Adam was silent, looking out over the blue water, and she didn’t think he was going to reply, but then he said, “Sometimes we can’t know the reason something happens; we just have to accept it.”

  Vivian wasn’t sure why she was pouring all this out to Adam, but now that she’d started, she couldn’t stop. “I can’t help but feel like there’s more going on than my dad is telling us about. I mean, first Daniel disappears from his own birthday party, then he shows up with Natasha, and before I can even get used to her, he’s off living on an island in the Caribbean, and I can’t see him.”

  “Sometimes life can be confusing,” Adam said, taking her hand and making goosebumps break out on her skin, “and all we can do is hold on until it makes more sense.”

  Vivian looked at their joined hands and realized that what he’d said hadn’t helped at all and that his hand in hers only confused her more as desire raced through her body. Now was not the time for romance, and Adam Carlson was not the man to have a romance with.

  Chapter Six

  ***Adam***

  Adam hated the empty answer he’d been forced to give Vivian, especially since she was right: they were hiding things from her and her sisters. He still didn’t agree with the council’s decision not to tell her, but it wasn’t his call to make. It also wasn’t his place to tell her.

  Which left him in a terribly uncomfortable situation; being forced to lie even if by omission didn’t sit well with him. But he realized that even the strongest and most capable person might not be able to take the truth. Even Daniel had struggled with the truth and it directly affected him.

  If he started talking about dragon shifters and The Opal Society, she might freak out, might run away, might even tell someone else about his crazy story. The society had kept themselves a secret for centuries because they never told anyone about themselves, and Adam could understand why, now that he really thought about it.

  The sad truth was that there was no way he could win; his only choices were lying to Vivian or exposing the society to a regular human. At this point, lying seemed the best choice, but he wished more than anything that he could tell her. Then he wouldn’t have to ignore his attraction to her.

  Which was turning out to be the hardest thing he’d ever done, he thought, walking up the path from the beach behind her later that afternoon. Her hips swayed in an enticing way, and his hands itched to touch the exposed skin on her back, but he made them into fists and reminded himself that love couldn’t be built on lies.

  It occurred to him as he pulled out her chair for lunch that he’d been thinking about love and wondered when he’d begun to associate the emotion with Vivian. But then he looked across the table at her, and his heart went crazy, and he knew that it didn’t matter when it had happened, just that it had. He was falling in love with the wrong woman, and he’d have to put a stop to it, and fast.

  After lunch, he walked her back up to their room, but as soon as they stepped inside, he knew that he’d never be able to keep his hands off her if he hung around. “I need to make some phone calls,” he said, “cancel a few plans I had for the week.”

  “Oh, I can leave and give you some privacy,” Vivian said, heading for the door. “I wanted to poke around anyway.”

  He stepped in front of the door; that was the last thing he wanted. “No, that’s okay; you stay here. I’ll just go out onto the terrace or something. Take a nap if you want; I’ll be gone for a while.”

  Vivian looked a little disappointed. “Well, okay. But don’t forget that tonight is black tie only,” she said.

  “I’ll be back in plenty of time to change; it doesn’t take us men as long as it does you women to get ready,” he said, but he made sure she knew that he was teasing by flashing her a big smile.

  “Humph, if I had my way, I’d go in jeans and tee-shirt,” Vivian said wrinkling her nose. “It’s a lot of work to get all dressed up.”

  Adam’s heart went crazy in his chest, and he knew that he had to get out of there. “Well, I’m going to leave you to it then,” he said.

  When he was out in the hallway with the door closed behind him, he leaned up against the wall, not sure he really was strong enough to resist Vivian. But he pushed himself away from the wall and headed downstairs, knowing that putting some space between them was the best plan.

  He did have phone calls to make, plans to cancel, but he could have done it just as easily in the room. What he needed was something to take his mind off Vivian and what she was doing in their room right that minute, so he headed for the game room, hoping he wasn’t the only man trying to kill an afternoon.

  By the time he left the game room, he was feeling much steadier, ready to cope with a night of wanting Vivian and knowing that he couldn’t have her. He hadn’t left himself much time to get ready, but it didn’t take long to put on a tux. Feeling a bit foolish but not wanting to catch Vivian undressed, he knocked on the door to their room but got no response.

  He opened the door and peered inside but saw no sign of her. For a second, he started to panic, but then he saw the closed bathroom door and heard her call, “Adam is that you?”

  “Yeah, I came back to change. Are you ready?” he called through the closed door.

  “I just need a few more minutes,” she said, her voice shaking a bit.

  “I’m going to change into my tux out here, so you might want to stay in the bathroom,” he said, going over to the closet.

  Vivian laughed, then called out, “Okay, let me know when the coast is clear.”

  It didn’t take him long to change. “Okay, I’m decent,” he called, bending to pick up his shoes.

  He heard the bathroom door open but didn’t look up right away, one of his shoes had slid under the bed just out of reach. When he finally got his hand on it and stood up, it fell to the floor again when he saw Vivian.

  She looked so beautiful, it took his breath away, and all he could do was stare as she crossed the room toward him. Her dress, which at first had looked white, shimmered in the light as she walked toward him. Little sparkles of blues, greens, reds, and pinks that reminded him of an opal, and made his heart stop when he made the connection.

  He knew that she never could have known what choosing a dress like that would do to him; he hadn’t known himself. But it was doing something, and the urge to take her in his arms became almost overwhelming.

  Instead, he said, “You look incredible; that dress is amazing.”

  Vivian smiled, and her cheeks turned pink, making her eyes look all that much greener. “Thank you; you look pretty good yourself,” she said, letting her eyes roam over him. “But as usual, I see that your tie is undone.”

  ***Vivian***

  Vivian could barely breathe, she was so nervous, and none of the things she’d been telling herself all afternoon were doing any good. It might have been easier if Adam hadn’t looked so good, if he’d just been wearing a suit. But there he was in his tux, his tie undone, looking good enough to eat, and no matter how many times she’d told herself that afternoon that she didn’t want him, she did.

  She’d reminded herself over and over that afternoon that Adam was only here because of some misplaced sense of duty. That he didn’t really want to be here, that she didn’t really want
him here, but looking at him now, none of that mattered.

  For the first time in her life, she considered doing something reckless, and it gave her a thrill to think of what that might be. Wondered if she was brave enough and strong enough to take the chance and see where it led, then realized what a mistake it would be.

  “Don’t blame me, blame the tie,” he said, grinning at her. “It refuses to be tied.”

  Heart pounding in her chest, she crossed the room and stood in front of him, then reached for the tie. “Here, let me try,” she said, her voice shaking.

  Hands trembling, she managed to get it tied, but it was a little crooked. “Oh, it’s crooked; let me try again,” she said, reaching for the tie.

  Adam caught her hands in his, and when she looked up at him, she couldn’t miss the desire in his eyes. “I think it will be fine,” he said, his eyes locked on hers.

  Desire flared to life deep inside her and spread through her body, and she licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry. Adam groaned, cupped her face with his hands, then leaned down and kissed her. His lips were warm and firm, and when she parted her lips with a sigh, his tongue dipped into her mouth, sending a wave of pleasure surging through her.

  She slid her arms around his neck, and he pulled her up against his body, crushing her to his hard chest. Then he kissed her, his tongue tasting and exploring until they were breathless and forced to break apart. Chests heaving, Vivian still in his arms, they stared at each other for a long time.

  Finally, she found the strength to pull away. “I think we’d better go to the party,” she said, not able to meet his eyes, her face flaming.

  She crossed the room on shaking legs, grabbed her wrap, and threw it around her shoulders, wishing that Adam would move. Finally, he seemed to come back to life. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea,” he said, crossing to where she stood and offering her his arm.

  There was a charged tension between them as they descended the stairs, but as soon as they walked into the ballroom, it was replaced by awe. The room had been transformed into a tropical paradise, complete with palm trees and a waterfall in one corner of the room.

  The doors to the terrace had all been thrown open, the tables outside lit by a single candle, and the sound of the sea could be heard over the buzz of conversation. Vivian sighed with pleasure. “I usually hate these things, but it’s a little hard not to get caught up in this,” she said, looking up at Adam.

  But Adam wasn’t looking at the ballroom; he was staring at her with an expression on his face that made her heart go crazy. “It’s amazing,” he said, “amazing enough that I’m glad I’m here.”

  Vivian felt the blush spread across her cheeks and wished that she could throw caution to the wind, go with her instincts, and start something with this man. He made her feel things she’d never felt before, made her like having someone worry about her, but that scared her.

  That felt too much like caring, and that wasn’t something she was free to do right now; she had a job to do. But for the first time since she’d become Ms. Briceson, she was beginning to think that it was time to retire, to actually take pictures of shelter animals or something equally boring.

  She pushed the thought away; she’d worked too hard to get to where she was, and after this story was published and she went public with her real identity, she wouldn’t have to hide anymore. If her publisher fired her, that was fine; there would be plenty of people willing to publish her pictures, and they’d be in her name.

  Taking a deep breath, she broke eye contact with Adam and said, “Let’s find our table. I’m starving.”

  She saw the disappointment on his face but steeled herself against it and began wandering through the tables until she found theirs. “Here we are,” she said when she found their table. “I wonder who else is going to be sitting here with us.”

  Chapter Seven

  ***Adam***

  Adam was relieved to find that their dinner companions weren’t boring stuffy old people and he actually enjoyed dinner. He discovered that the environment wasn’t all that Vivian was passionate about, and it wasn’t long before he understood that although she’d had everything growing up, money didn’t matter to her that much.

  She had firm opinions and backed those opinions with hard facts, never hesitating even when her belief wasn’t popular. Of course, it didn’t escape his attention that it was the men who did all the talking; the women simply nodding their heads in agreement when their husbands and boyfriends talked.

  Once, one of the men looked at Adam and asked, “Don’t you have an opinion, Vince?”

  He could hear the sneer in the man’s voice, but didn’t take the bait, “I think Vivian is doing a pretty good job of talking for the both of us,” he said, grinning at her.

  She turned and looked at him, her face turned pink, but she smiled back at him. “I’m sorry, I just get wound up about this stuff,” she said.

  “Well, then how about a dance to wind you down,” Adam suggested, holding his breath.

  Vivian looked out at the dance floor, which was just beginning to fill up with couples, then back over at him. “I think that sounds like an excellent idea.”

  Adam let his breath out in whoosh, relief spreading through him, quickly followed by alarm. He shouldn’t have asked her to dance, he realized too late; holding her in his arms was going to be pure torture. But he couldn’t retract the invitation, so he got to his feet and held out his hand, taking a deep breath when she put her hand in his and a thrill passed through him.

  When he pulled her into his arms, she fit perfectly, and it wasn’t long before they were gliding across the floor, in step with one another. “You’re a good dancer,” he said after a few minutes.

  “Thanks, just one of the many talents my father thought I should possess if I was going to do well in society,” she said, then grimaced. “Along with dancing lessons, I took painting, piano, ballet, and of course I can ride a horse. My tennis skills are a little rusty but I’m pretty good, and we mustn’t forget all the charitable works I did growing up.”

  Her voice had taken on a hard edge, so he studied her for a second, the anger flashing in her eyes igniting something deep inside him. “You didn’t enjoy all that?” he asked, digging a little deeper, searching for the anger.

  “I hated it. I hated trying to be something I wasn’t. I hated trying to compete with the other girls, the backstabbing, the need to always be the first or the best; it’s exhausting when you really don’t care,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t care about makeup or clothes; I don’t care how much money someone’s daddy or husband has. I don’t care about those things.”

  Listening to Vivian and hearing the passion in her voice broke something lose inside him, her words touching him in a way no woman he’d ever met had ever touched him before. But then she looked up at him and crushed the feeling with her next words.

  “What I hate most of all is the lies. These people don’t hesitate to lie if it will get them what they want; it’s like they’ve been trained from birth to do it. They’re all just a bunch of fakes, and I don’t want to live my life surrounded with people like that.”

  The word lies echoed through Adam’s head, and he knew that what he’d just been thinking about Vivian was forbidden territory. When the song ended, he escorted her back to their table, relieved to see that everyone was gone and they had the table to themselves.

  Adam hoped that Vivian couldn’t see all the emotions tumbling around inside him. He hoped that she couldn’t tell how desperately he wanted to unleash the passion between them, how much he wanted to ignore what she’d just said. But sitting there, he knew that he couldn’t ignore it, that she’d just put up between them the biggest boundary that she could have.

  They sat at the table in uneasy silence, the passion between them hanging in the air. Several times Vivian took a breath as if she was going to say something, then closed her mouth again and went back to watching the dancers as they floated by. H
e was so focused on her that he didn’t see Lucas approaching them until he was standing right in front of them.

  His first instinct was to jump up from the chair and step in front of Vivian, but he stayed seated, trying to keep his face neutral. Lucas hardly seemed to notice him; his entire focus on Vivian, whose eyes had gotten big when she saw who was standing in front of her.

  “I wonder if I could steal your date for a dance?” he asked, not even looking at Adam.

  Before Adam could answer, Lucas took Vivian’s hand and pulled her to her feet. As they walked over to the dance floor, she looked over her shoulder at him, and he could see the excitement and a touch of fear in her face.

  He was tempted to go after them, to stop was about to happen, but knew that Vivian would be angry with him. So, he sat back, his eyes never leaving the couple as they made their way onto the dance floor. When Lucas swept her into his arms and put his hand on the small of her back, jealously flared to life, and he was powerless to stop it.

  Then Lucas leaned over and whispered something into Vivian’s ear, and she laughed and smiled up at him, and it was all he could do not to come out of his chair. Dark spots appeared in his vision, and anger surged through him, along with a protective instinct so strong, it left him breathless.

  Cursing the situation he’d gotten himself into, he leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and took deep breaths until the anger and jealousy became manageable. One thing was clear: he had to get Vivian out of here and soon, or he was going to completely lose it.

  ***Vivian***

  Vivian’s heart was hammering in her chest as Lucas pulled her into his arms on the dance floor, the fear that he knew who she was making her brain race. But then he leaned over and whispered, “You’re the most beautiful woman in the room tonight,” and she breathed a sigh of relief: this was something she could deal with.