Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

T he route back to her cabin took her through the central square. At this time of night, all the main buildings should have been dark and empty—yet a single light glowed from the office.

Paige stopped in that narrow strip of light, debating with herself. Then she went inside.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stand there staring at the door.” Conleth didn’t look up from his laptop. “Something wrong?”

“No.” She glanced around, but Zephyr’s chair was empty. “You’re working late. I thought the director was handling the paperwork this summer.”

Conleth’s fingers never paused, moving with supernatural speed over the keyboard. “Our glorious leader has many talents. Financial forecasting, alas, is not one of them. Under no circumstances is he allowed to touch my spreadsheets. And it keeps me busy.”

“Don’t the campers do that?”

“Easily drifting off into peaceful slumber isn’t one of my talents.” He glanced at his phone, casually flicking at the screen with one hand while still typing with the other. “I’d rather be here doing something useful than lying in the dark while my brain attempts to claw its way out of my skull. Speaking of being useful, I assume there’s some urgent reason for this unexpected visit?”

She crossed the room to perch on the edge of Zephyr’s desk, watching the quick, precise movements of those agile hands. “I went out with Leonie tonight.”

A pained look flashed across Conleth’s face, though he didn’t take his eyes from his screen. “Did she tell you the apple story?”

“No. She took me to meet your brother.”

Conleth’s fingers paused. “I really need to stop underestimating Leonie. Particularly her capacity for vengeance.”

“He’s not what I was expecting.”

He grimaced. “My apologies for not warning you in advance, but I really didn’t expect you to run into him. It’s somewhat difficult to find the right moment to mention that you’re part of a matched set. Plus, you and I haven’t exactly been having a great deal of conversations lately.”

“I didn’t mean his appearance.”

At that, he finally looked up, one eyebrow lifting. “Oh?”

“Back when we first met, you said you understood what it’s like to have a brother like Archie, but I can’t picture Callum as a wild, impulsive kid. Or dragging you to unicycle lessons, for that matter.”

“Ah.” Conleth leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “That would be my other brother, Connor. Also identical, just to warn you. If I ever appear to have gone completely insane, please feel free to hit me over the head with the nearest heavy object. Trust me, it won’t do him any harm.”

“You have two identical brothers?”

“Yes, that’s the tone of voice most people use when they discover that particular fact,” Conleth said, his own bone- dry. “To answer the inevitable next few questions—yes, we are completely identical. Yes, our parents have always been able to tell us apart, though my father has something of an advantage there, being a pegasus shifter himself. No, we can’t read each other’s minds, at least not beyond the usual mythic shifter telepathy. We can’t feel each other’s pain, either. Something for which Callum and I are both profoundly grateful, as otherwise we would have a permanent hangover.”

Paige was still boggling over the mental image of Conleth in triplicate. “I can’t imagine even having a sibling my own age, let alone two literal clones.”

“I can’t imagine having a brother almost two decades younger than myself.” He shrugged. “Nothing’s strange when it’s all you’ve ever known. And the three of us are less alike than you might think. In some ways, at least.”

“I noticed.” Paige winced at the memory of how she’d berated poor Callum. “Though not quickly enough.”

Conleth winced as well. “I take it there was an amusing misunderstanding. Amusing for everyone else, at least. If it’s any consolation, it’s far from the first time people have gotten us mixed up. Dare I asked what happened?”

“I yelled at him,” she confessed. “I thought you’d arranged the whole thing with Leonie. It was kind of the last straw.”

“So that’s why we’re having this conversation.” Conleth returned to his work, fingers settling into place on his keyboard. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. Whatever you said, I’m sure I deserved it. Or would have, had I actually been present. In any case, thank you for the warning. Now I know to put my fingers in my ears when Leonie attempts to relay all the delightful details to me later. I doubt I want to hear your unfiltered opinion of me.”

“That’s not why I wanted to talk to you.” She hesitated, but she had to know. “Conleth, why did you invent that prophecy about meeting your mate at camp?”

Conleth went very still.

“Ah,” he said after a long, frozen moment. He shut his laptop, pushing it away. “So you also met Joe.”

“Yes, though he wasn’t the one who told me. Callum did. Or hinted, at least.”

“Callum?” Conleth sounded genuinely startled. He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised. He knows me too well. Though possibly the reverse is less true than I believed. And here I was thinking I’d been so very clever.”

“I don’t think anyone else suspects the truth. Though Joe really did have a vision about us, you know.”

“Well, I do now.” Conleth’s fingers tapped a rapid pattern against his desk. He abruptly stood, going over to a shelf of neatly labeled files. “At the time, it never occurred to me he might have had a genuine vision. In my defense, it was remarkably ironic timing, given that he saw exactly what I’d just instructed him to fake. Or almost exactly. The suit really wasn’t my idea.”

He’d put his back to her, so she was free to watch him without getting caught. “I don’t get it. Everyone assumes you stayed at camp because you were waiting to meet your mate, but that’s not true at all. Why would you want people to think you’re here for selfish reasons?”

“So no-one questions why I stay.” He fidgeted with the files, tweaking their positions so they lined up perfectly with the edge of the shelf. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this, by the way. Especially Zephyr. He can’t find out I didn’t believe Joe’s prophecy.”

“Why not? He might feel betrayed at first, but he’s your friend. I’m sure he’d forgive you.”

“Yes. He would.” Conleth’s shoulders fell in a sigh. He turned around, crossing his arms. “And he’d feel tremendously guilty for not spotting my deception earlier. When I was helping him start the business, I made it clear that I had no desire to be involved with the camp after it opened. Hence why I had to come up with the damn prophecy scheme. It was the only way to convince him to let me fill the position of camp manager.”

“But if you didn’t want to work here in the first place, why did you go to such lengths to stay?”

He shrugged, as though this should have been obvious. “There are significant challenges to turning a profit when the true nature of your business has to remain a strict secret. Without expert supervision, this camp wouldn’t have lasted more than a single summer. If that. Keeping this place running is like juggling live sharks.”

“You could have found someone, surely.”

“No one who could do the job as well as myself.” The corner of his mouth quirked. “Egotistical, I admit. But also true.”

It was, not that it explained anything. “But… why? I mean, I can understand you wanting to help Zephyr, but you’ve sacrificed years of your life. Without anyone even knowing. Even for you that seems over the top.”

“Never underestimate my capacity to commit to an objectively terrible idea beyond the limits of all reason.” He looked away, voice softening in a way she’d come to recognize. “Besides, it wasn’t really for Zephyr.”

Now she understood. “Beth. You did it for her, didn’t you?”

He dipped his chin in the briefest of nods. “Even before she was old enough, she wanted to come to camp so badly. I had to make sure it would be here for her.”

“Right.” That was so perfectly, maddeningly Conleth. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or throw something at him. “So clearly the only option was to get a sea dragon prince to pretend to foresee that you’d meet your mate here, so that Zephyr would have no choice but to let you take a job you didn’t want to do in the first place. And then wear a suit every single day so no one would realize you didn’t believe your own fake prophecy. That’s exactly the sort of thing you’d do.”

He shrugged again, light and self-deprecating. “You know me too well.”

She looked at him; this quick, complicated man. Her chest ached.

“Yes,” she said softly. “That’s the problem.”

Conleth’s brow furrowed. “What is?”

“Nothing.” She slid off the desk, cursing herself for letting that slip out. “I should go. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.”

She made for the door, only to find herself trying to walk through solid shifter. Conleth barred her way, as abruptly as if he’d teleported across the room.

“Paige.” He was right up in her personal space, one arm braced against the wall to block her path. “What did you mean?”

She swallowed, pinned by those intense green eyes. She knew she should step back, yet she couldn’t bring herself to look away. “It’s not important.”

He didn’t move. “Yes. It is. I don’t want to be a problem for you, Paige. I cannot stand the thought of you having any problem, let alone myself.” His voice roughened. “So if I am—if I’m failing you that badly?—”

“No!” She didn’t want him thinking he was at fault here. Bottled emotion broke free, spilling out at last. “I just—it would have been so much easier if I didn’t know these things about you. If I could have gone on thinking of you the way I once did. I wish you really were an arrogant, self-centered, scheming asshole.”

Conleth blinked at her.

“Huh,” he said after a moment. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever accused me of not being enough of a devious bastard. Why is that a problem?”

A hot rush of mingled exasperation and embarrassment broke her paralysis. She pushed at his chest, but she might as well have tried to move a brick wall. “Oh, don’t give me that. You know perfectly well why.”

“I really don’t.”

He was standing so close, she had to raise her chin to glare at him. “Then you’ll have to use your imagination.”

Conleth still looked distinctly nonplussed. “Well, I’d like to imagine it’s a problem because you’re having to fight deep carnal attraction to me, but given my performance so far, that seems wildly overoptimistic. Ragvald’s mud theory notwithstanding.”

He thought… she wasn’t fighting deep carnal attraction?

“Ragvald’s mud theory?” she echoed blankly.

“It seems wyrms consider it a powerful aphrodisiac.” He cocked his head, returning her stare with genuine bafflement. “But going back to the previous topic, how is my apparently insufficient assholeness a problem?”

He really didn’t know. And he wasn’t about to let it go, either. That was pure Conleth too. He never gave up. If he thought she was hiding some awful secret, he would pursue it beyond the bounds of all reason, unless?—

“Oh, you are impossible, ” she blurted out, and kissed him.

He truly hadn’t had any idea how many guilty thoughts she’d been repressing. He made a startled, wordless sound— Mhhf? —as her mouth found his. And then he was kissing her back, feverishly, with just as much pent-up desire.

All thought vanished. She fisted her hands in his t-shirt, pulling him closer. He growled in response, the sound vibrating through her tongue and teeth. He thrust deeper into her mouth, hard and demanding, one hand tangling in her hair.

Nothing had ever felt so right…and yet it wasn’t enough, either. Never breaking the kiss, she yanked at his shirt, pulling him backward until the back of her thighs hit the desk. As if reading her mind, he grabbed her hips, hoisting her onto the desk with effortless strength.

Oh God, yes. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and another feral sound ripped from his throat. His mouth left hers, trailing fierce, hungry kisses down her neck.

Some tiny inner voice was screaming that this was a terrible idea, but it was drowned out by pure bliss. Desperate to touch him in return, she slid her hands under his t-shirt.

Conleth jerked as her palms flattened against the bare skin of his back. His next kiss was more of a bite, and an unexpected jolt of pleasure rocked through her. She ground shamelessly against him, wet and aching with want, but the sensation was maddeningly muted through their clothes.

Why were they still wearing clothes? There was some reason, but she couldn’t remember it right now. It couldn’t be important, anyway. Not as important as the urgent need pounding through her whole body. She squirmed a hand between their bodies, reaching for the button of his jeans?—

Once again, his hand closed over her wrist. Conleth reared up, staring down at her with black, dilated pupils.

“Wait,” he gasped.

He wanted to stop now? She wriggled, trying to rub against him again. “Why?”

“For one thing, this is Zephyr’s desk.” His breath still came in ragged pants, but he pushed himself off her. “And I’d like to be able to look him in the eye tomorrow morning.”

“Your desk, then,” she said wildly, though she could already feel cold sanity creeping back. “Or the floor. Anywhere, as long as it’s now. I thought you wanted me?”

“More than you can possibly know.” Conleth took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Paige, you’re about three seconds away from being naked on all fours while I drive into you hard enough to make you see God. So before you strip me of the last of my control, I need to make sure that’s what you want.”

Oh, she wanted that. Wanted him . But it was too late. The moment of blind desire was gone, leaving her unable to ignore all the reasons she’d been trying to fight it in the first place.

Her body was still taut and trembling for release, but she slid off the desk. “Let’s just forget this happened, okay?”

“I can act like this never happened, if that’s what you truly want. But believe me, I’m never going to forget it.” Conleth raked both hands through his hair. “Paige, I thought you didn’t want me. But unless you have a very odd way of expressing complete disdain, you clearly do .”

She tugged her shirt down self-consciously. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”

“For God’s sake, it does! ” Conleth inhaled, visibly resettling himself. “Paige, I know you’ll sacrifice anything for your brother. And I also know you haven’t told me the real reason it’s so important he learns to control his shifting. But this current plan isn’t working. He’s no closer to mastering his bear. Whatever problem you’re facing, we need to find a different solution. But I can’t come up with alternative plans if I don’t know what the problem is . Please. I’m begging you. Tell me what’s going on. Let me help.”

At any other time, with any other person, she would have evaded giving an honest answer. Even now, her first impulse was to deflect him with a half-truth.

But this was Conleth. Conleth, who’d sacrificed years of his life simply because his niece had wanted to go to summer camp. Who kept his own secrets so well, even his best friends didn’t suspect the truth. If she could trust anyone—if anyone could understand—it was him.

“You can‘t help. Nobody can.” She had to force the words out, throat tightening. “Conleth, I need to tell you about my mother.”