“What the hell is going on? Who is that?” he shouted.
“It’s Vivian,” he tried to shout but nothing came out.
By the time Daniel reached him, he was sure that he was going to drop Vivian and collapse onto the deck, but Daniel swept her out of his arms just in time. His chest heaving with the effort, he managed to get to his feet, leaning on the boat for support.
“She needs medical attention,” he panted, “a bullet wound. I think it’s infected.”
Daniel shot him a dirty look but took off up the beach toward the house he could see in the distance. He started to sink back onto the deck, but Daniel yelled, “Help him up to the house.”
The guards all but carried him up to the house, and as he watched Daniel give orders to everyone around him, he realized that they were safe. Daniel would take control of the situation now, take care of Vivian, and he could rest. But when they got into the house and Daniel carried her one way and the guards took him another, he stopped them.
“I need to go with her,” he said, pulling out of their grasp and stumbling after Daniel.
Daniel stopped and turned around, “I’ve got her, Adam. I’ll see that she’s taken care of. In case you missed it, you don’t look so good yourself.”
“But...” he trailed off as the world started to shimmer then went dark.
***Vivian***
Vivian came slowly awake but didn’t open her eyes, instead braced herself for the pain she knew would come. When it didn’t, she slowly opened them to find that she was in a room she didn’t recognize and that it was dark outside.
She lay there a long time, trying to dredge up her last memory, but only found a vague memory of being on a boat with Adam in a storm. Then she remembered her arm banging against the wall and grimaced at the memory of the pain, but then she realized that her arm didn’t hurt like it had.
Lifting her head, she peered through the darkness in the room, which was sparsely furnished, and wondered where Adam was. The thought that he might be lying hurt somewhere or worse made her try to sit up in bed, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.
She was just about to call out when she heard voices outside her door. Relieved, she lay back against the pillows and waited. “It’s the middle of the night, Adam; you’re going to wake her up,” Daniel said, and Vivian couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at the sound of his voice.
“I don’t care, I need to see her,” Adam said.
“You need to be back in bed,” Daniel said, then sighed. “If I let you look through the door, will that make you happy?”
Adam made a noise of frustration. “I guess.”
Vivian wasn’t sure why she did it, but she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She could sense Adam in the doorway, could feel his eyes on her, and almost smiled. Then he turned away and said, “She looks better.”
“I told you, she’s going to be fine,” Daniel said. “Some antibiotics, a few fluids, and she’ll be good as new.”
“Thanks,” Adam said, then there was a long silence.
“What are you doing now?” Daniel finally asked.
“I’m just going to sit down here and wait until Vivian wakes up,” Adam said.
Daniel made a sound of frustration then asked, “Am I going to have to order you to go back to bed?”
“Order all you want,” Adam said, “I’m not moving.”
Daniel blew out a frustrated breath. “You don’t understand,” he said.
“Don’t understand what?” Adam asked.
“This is not supposed to be happening,” Daniel said, then there was a long silence. “You and Vivian, it’s not supposed to happen,” he added.
She heard Adam get to his feet. “What does that mean?” he asked, his voice too calm.
Daniel sighed again. “Dad and James decided a long time ago that a romance between you and Vivian was a bad idea and the council agreed.”
Vivian gasped at his words, and there was silence outside her door, but she was quiet then, the memory of the last time she’d seen Adam suddenly clear in her mind. It had been at dinner the night after he’d kissed her in the woods. They’d been glancing at each other all through dinner, her cheeks pink from both embarrassment and pleasure when her father had abruptly announced that they were leaving.
It had taken her months to forget that kiss, but life had moved on, and eventually another boy had caught her attention. But now, looking back, she realized that all her life she’d been searching for the same feeling she’d had that day, a feeling that she now knew only Adam could make her feel.
Chapter Thirteen
***Adam***
Adam opened his mouth, then closed it again, so angry that he wasn’t in control. He turned and walked down the hallway and outside, taking huge gulps of the cool night air, hoping to banish the fire in his veins.
He heard Daniel come out behind him, but held up his hand and let his anger cool. “Explain that to me a little better.”
Daniel walked over to a bench and sat down, “You’d better sit down,” he said, then waited until Adam had joined him. “First, I want to say that I had nothing to do with this; it was already done when I found out about it. Maybe I should have told you, but it didn’t seem like that big of a deal at the time.”
Adam scowled at his brother. “I’m getting really tired of secrets, but fire away,” he said.
“It was pretty clear from the time we were little that there was something between you and Vivian, even the other kids saw it; we joked about it behind your backs. But that last summer dad said that it really blossomed, that it was clear that left on your own, the two of you would have fallen in love,” Daniel said, then paused.
“But?” Adam prompted, thinking back to the last time he saw Vivian, the memory popping into his tired brain and leaving him shocked. “I kissed her, and then James packed them up, and they left,” he mumbled to himself.
“Yes,” Daniel said, “they didn’t want a relationship between you two, a dragon shifter and human; it wasn’t really forbidden, but under the circumstances, it seemed like a bad idea.”
“So, they separated us, kept us apart,” Adam said, anger rising at all they’d missed.
“It wasn’t just dad and James; the council wanted it that way too,” Daniel tried to defend them.
Adam looked over at him, looked him right in the eye and said, “I’m beginning to think that the council sticks its nose into people’s business just a little too much.”
Daniel was silent for a long time, then he said, “I’m sorry, Adam, I can understand how you feel and I’m going to give this a lot of thought. But when you get right down to it, none of that matters; you found each other again, and I have a feeling nothing is going to tear you apart this time.”
A huge sigh escaped Adam’s chest as Daniel’s words sunk in. “I don’t know about that. Vivian’s mad at me because I didn’t tell her about us being shifters when I had the chance; she says she can’t trust me anymore. I’m not good at this stuff, Daniel,” he said.
Daniel laughed and slapped him on the back. “Don’t look at me; I’m no expert myself. But one thing I have learned: telling the truth never hurts, and I think we all need to start doing more of that ourselves. I still haven’t heard how you two ended up in that storm on the way to see me.”
Adam felt exhaustion creeping up on him again. “I think that story can wait until tomorrow,” he said, then yawned. “I’m going back to bed.”
When Adam got up and headed back inside to Vivian, Daniel started to stop him, but instead got to his feet and headed home himself. His new wife was waiting for him in their bed, and nothing sounded better to him right then than cuddling up to her. So, he let his brother go, hoping that tomorrow was soon enough to sort out what they’d gotten themselves into.
***Vivian***
Vivian woke to the feeling of Adam’s warm body pressed up against hers and felt pleasure spread through her. She’d fallen into a deep sleep after he and Danie
l had left the night before, but he must have come back later and gotten in bed with her.
Lying there, she took stock of her body, noticing that the pain in her arm was almost gone and that she could move it if she tried. The throbbing headache was gone as well, and she no longer felt like she was burning up. Her stomach growled loudly, and she realized that her biggest problem right then was hunger.
Adam stirred next to her, opened his eyes, turned his head, and smiled at her. “Good morning,” he said, “How do you feel?”
She grinned at him. “Hungry,” she said.
Adam sat up and stretched. “Then I’ll go find us some breakfast. I feel like I could eat a dozen eggs.”
Before he could get out of bed, Natasha came through the door, followed by a woman in a pair of scrubs, Daniel, and finally, a woman pushing a cart. “I don’t know if we brought a dozen, but I’m sure there are some eggs in there,” she said.
“I told you he’d still be here,” Daniel said, giving Adam a dirty look. “I hope you didn’t keep her up all night.”
“I slept like a baby,” Vivian said, grinning at Daniel. “Now, I’m starving.”
Natasha laughed. “I guess that means you’re on the mend,” she said. “Breakfast is just minutes away; just let the doctor take a look at your arm first.”
A few minutes later, she was free of the IV and scooping heaping mounds of food into her mouth. After a few bites, she slowed down and looked around the room. “Are we on your island?” she asked, Daniel.
“Indeed, you are, and the first thing I’d like to know is how you found it,” he said.
Natasha frowned at him, but he shook his head. “We need to know why they’re here, and better sooner than later,” he said.
Between the two of them, they explained the events of the last two days, finishing with their wild ride in the storm. Vivian watched the emotions play across Daniel’s face and knew that he was more than a little angry with both of them. When silence fell over the room, she braced herself for what she knew was coming.
But before Daniel could say anything, there was a quiet knock on the door, and the doctor popped her head inside. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone out here to see you, Daniel,” she said.
Daniel got up and gave them both a hard look, then walked out the door. He was back only a few minutes later, and the look on his face wasn’t good. “Well, looks like you two have really gotten yourselves into some trouble,” he said, then threw a black disk on the bed.
Vivian knew what it was before it stopped bouncing and her heart sank. “That’s a tracking device.
Daniel nodded. “It was on that boat you took from the dock at Lucas Davenport’s.”
Vivian’s heart fell; she’d been so sick; it had never occurred to her that the boat might have its own tracker. “I should have known,” she said.
“No, it’s my fault. You were too sick to worry about something like that; I should have checked,” Adam said. “The question now is who is on the other end of that thing.”
Vivian’s heart froze. “If it’s Lucas, he’s going to know exactly where we are. Oh, Daniel, I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you,” she said, close to tears.
Daniel got up and walked over to her, put his hand on top of her head. “It’s not your fault, Vivian. Lucas has been after me for two years; maybe it’s time we met again.”
But she wasn’t ready to let herself off the hook. “If I hadn’t been so set on getting those pictures, I would have listened to Adam, and none of this would have happened.”
“And if you’d been told the truth from the beginning, you would have known to steer clear of him,” Adam said. “I’m just as much to blame. Promise or not, I should have called Daniel when I knew what you were planning.”
“He’s right,” Daniel said, and she could tell that Adam was surprised. “I think it’s time we loosened up a little, time the society came out into the light, so to speak. But now isn’t the time to deal with that; we’ve got bigger things to worry about.”
“Can you tell who’s on the other end of the tracker, trace it backward or something?” Vivian suggested.
“I’ve got my IT people working on it right now,” Daniel said.
Natasha got to her feet, “I think that’s enough for today. Vivian needs her rest, and so does Adam,” she said, then added, “In his own bed.”
Vivian felt the blush rising on her cheeks but didn’t care; somewhere along the line, she’d forgiven Adam and didn’t want to be separated from him for a second longer than she had to. Seeing the look on Vivian’s face, Natasha shook her head. “I’ll arrange to have you moved to a bigger room.”
An hour later, she and Adam were snuggled in a bigger bed, in a little bungalow not far from the main house, and for the first time in days, she felt secure. Her head was resting on Adam’s chest, and the steady beating of his heart calmed her, and as her eyes got heavy, she realized again that she only felt this way when she was with Adam.
***Adam***
Adam felt Vivian’s head getting heavy and smiled, thinking that nothing had ever felt as right as having this woman in his arms. When he thought about the council trying to keep them apart, anger surged through him, but he pulled her tighter against him and banished it.
They were together again, and nothing was going to break them apart. He hadn’t forgotten about Lucas and the threat he posed, but something deep inside him told him that he and Vivian were just pieces in a bigger puzzle. Now that the lies had been banished, they were free to love one another like fate had planned.
The future was an uncertain place, but one thing he knew for sure: fate had brought them together not once but twice, and he wasn’t going to throw that gift away. His love for Vivian was something special, something that would survive for the rest of their lives, and he wasn’t going to let Lucas destroy that.
He’d never been a fan of the Society, had never pledged himself to them, but right then, he wished they were there. Council or not, they could use the help, especially if Lucas was bearing down on them.
Feeling his heart rate beginning to rise, he pushed his negative thoughts aside and took a deep breath, inhaling Vivian’s scent and feeling it calm him. He needed some sleep, needed to be well rested before tackling the problem of Lucas and his determination to exterminate his family.
The man had been beaten once before; they’d beat him again. He just hoped that they hadn’t given him too much of an advantage. But he knew that Daniel hadn’t been idle, and had a system of spies in place and some of the best people working for him.
It was no longer a low-tech world, and Daniel had been using that to his advantage since he’d taken over the society. Lucas wouldn’t come to them unannounced; they’d know when he was on his way, be ready for him.
Finally, able to calm his wild thoughts, he let his eyes drift closed and filled his mind with visions of the future he’d share with Vivian when this was all over. There was nothing they couldn’t do; the world was open to them, and he was anxious to share it with her.
Chapter Fourteen
***Vivian***
Vivian woke to the sun on her face and Adam snoring softly beside her. She stirred, found that her arm felt even better, then slipped out of bed and walked a few steps over to the window. Looking at the beach, ringed with palm trees waving in the breeze, she took a deep breath of the salty air, hardly able to believe that she was here.
Turning back to look at Adam still sleeping soundly, her heart swelled, and she realized that none of what happened in the past mattered. They were here and safe. Lucas might still be a threat, but they were together.
She heard Adam stirring behind her, then he said, “Come back to bed.”
His voice was scratchy from sleep, his eyes creased, his hair rumpled, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him look so good. Climbing into bed, she felt a thrill erupt deep inside her, and when his hands found their way into the loose gown she wore, a gasp escaped her lips.
“Adam,” she said, grabbing his hands, “stop.”
He froze, and the happiness in his eyes died. “I’m sorry, Vivian. I know we have things to talk about, I just lose control when I’m around you,” he said.
She pulled his hands out of her gown, then kissed each palm. “I’m not stopping you because I’m still upset with you, I’m stopping you because someone might come in,” she said.
His eyes lit up, and a thrill rushed through her and settled between her legs. “Really?” he asked.
“Really,” she said. “I understand now that you were only doing what you were told to do. I remember the last time I saw you, Adam; that day in the woods you kissed me, and everything changed. Then suddenly we packed up and left. I never saw you again.”
Adam nodded. “It was so long ago, I’d forgotten too, but I remember now that it took me a long time to bury that memory, that for months after, all I could think about was you,” he said. “They kept us apart on purpose, Vivian. Your dad, my dad, and the council all decided that what we shared was too dangerous and they separated us.”
Vivian buried her face in his chest. “All these lies, Adam, where do they end?”
“I think we’re about there,” he said, holding her tighter.
A knock on the door broke them apart, and Vivian gave Adam a look that said I told you so. He got out of bed and opened the door, expecting Daniel and Natasha, but found the doctor instead.
“I thought I’d come and check on the patient this morning,” she said, pushing her way past Adam and into the room.
“I was against this,” she said, looking Vivian over, “but you look well rested, so I’ll admit I was wrong.”
Vivian smiled at her. “Adam always takes good care of me,” she said, then when she saw the look on the doctor’s face, she added. “But you did your part too, thank you.”
Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Dragons Secret Society Book 2) Page 8
