Текст книги "Both of Her"

Автор книги: Kathy Coopmans

Соавторы: Alisa Mullen
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

FIFTEEN

“Stunning,” I immediately say when we walk into the grand reception area of the Ritz. Marble floors decked out in the most intricate earth tone colors, a decorative water foundation in the center as the main focal point. Luxury at its finest. Colin never said one word when he dropped us off and I’m worried. I know our brother and sister relationship will never be broken, but he’s hurting at my hurt, that much I’m sure of. I love him even more for being so protective, as he’s always been. While Camden checks us in, I back away, digging my phone out of my purse and call Colin. Suddenly at ease when I hear his voice on the other end.

“Need me to turn around?” he clips, answering my call.

“Funny,” I say, all smart ass like, in hopes to bring back our normal banter. Instead there is nothing but silence from his end. I grovel my way through the conversation with him. His attitude lightens when I promise him he will be the first person I call if I need anything or if the police find out who’s doing this.

“I appreciate you, Colin,” I say, keeping my eyes glued to Camden’s back. I don’t want him to get the wrong impression from the call.

“I know, Luca. I’m worried about you, that’s all.”

I toss back a small laugh, although there is nothing remotely funny about any of this. It’s just here I am, staying at the Ritz, miles from my home and office, realizing I have no clothes, no toiletries, nothing. Colin is so used to my aloof behavior he ignores my laugh.

My thoughts wash away as Colin responds, “I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing with this gut of yours, Luca. If he so much as gives you a papercut, I swear to you I’ll gut him, granted, I’m too busy to come back now, if you know what I mean.” I can hear the smile behind his words.

“Colin, I’ve had a day from hell, and trust me, there’s no one else who I’d rather end this shit day with. I care about him and he cares about me. I trust him.” I turn my attention back to Camden, who is now smiling at me. “I have to go now.”

I mouth Colin to Camden so he knows I’m not disclosing our location to anyone else. Camden rolls his eyes. I know neither of these two men can fully decipher what the other one really means to me.

“Ready?” Camden holds out his hand.

“Yes and thank you for this.” I take his hand into mine, relaxing to his touch. It’s not until we ascend up in the elevator that I begin to shake, wondering if this time with Camden will be cut short. I really have to tell him all about how I know Heath.

“The Presidential Suite.” Camden’s breath brushes against my ear, the heat from his body radiating through my coat. I lean against him, burying my back into him. I memorize the feel of his body against mine, hoping it won’t be the last. I’m going to hurt him when I completely come clean. The man has his been hurt enough and now I’m sure to break him. For him to find out about his partner and me may send him away from me for good.

I need him.

I want him.

Losing him would destroy every bit of sanity I have left, which isn’t much, but I have to be honest with him. I close my eyes, listening to the light click of the door as it opens. When I open them, the view in front of me takes what bit of oxygen I have left in my lungs.

“My god.” I spin around in the huge foyer.

“Christ,” Camden mutters.

“I thought my view of the lake was impeccable, but this, this is a dream, Camden.” I frown and spin in his direction. “You really didn’t have to do this.”

Our eyes meet, he diverts them to the view of the partially iced over lake. What’s left of the late afternoon sun seems to be trying to decipher whether it wants to stay buried under the gloomy winter clouds or peak its way through any opening it can find.

“I did it for the both of us. I did it to keep you safe. Besides, we both need to work and there’s plenty of space here.”

My excitement diminishes with his gloomy attitude. “What’s wrong?” I grimace at the way he’s standing away from me. His shoulders are slumped forward, hands burrowing deep into his pockets.

“At the station you mentioned Heath’s name,” he states. I laugh to myself. There is absolutely no humor in the conversation we are embarking into. What I find funny is how well the two of us are able to read the other. It’s like the ten years apart never existed between us. Ironic really.

“I did,” I respond, wishing I could avoid this conversation all together. As much as I would prefer to spend a quiet evening with him, this needs to be done.

“And?” he prompts.

“I slept with him.” On impulse, the words stumble out of my mouth. How badly I wish I could shove them back, take them back, to make them not true.

“I know.” He sounds diverse somehow from just a moment ago, relieved almost.

“How do you know?” Boggled up inside at how this man seems to know my every move.

“I told you. I’ve kept tabs on you, Luca.” He suddenly turns to face me. His eyes are full of so many emotions. Remorse. Hurt. Confusion. The one thing that’s not there is anger. Granted, he shouldn’t be angry with me. Humiliated yes. Angry No. What happened before he walked back into my life is none of his or anyone’s business.

“I don’t know what to say.” My heart is thrumming so hard it physically hurts as I take a step toward him.

“Say anything you want. Just spare me the details, please. It’s all I ask.”

I nod my head. “Of course.” I only have one question to ask him and then I would love for nothing more than to put that sordid life behind me and move forward with Camden. To move past the life that I thought I couldn’t live without before he came back. That is assuming he still wants me.

“Why didn’t you stop me if you knew?” My voice barely audible for my own ears.

“I didn’t know it was you at first, not until Heath said your name. I was furious at him. He of course, didn’t know the real reason why. He thought it was because I had been investigating your firm. The whole, do not mix pleasure with business, before it even got started.”

Guilt and shame rush through me. All of the pain I caused this man. I cannot lay emphasis on this. Not today, maybe not ever. I don’t owe him an apology, but I will still give him one and mean every word of it. I never again want to be the cause of any pain to him. All I want from this moment forward is to make him happy, to be the woman he wants, even if I don’t think I am her.

“I’m sorry,” I express truthfully.

“I’m sorry, too. I would have come for you and stopped it if I hadn’t been across the country. That’s why I called and made an appointment with your office right away. I’m also sorry you were so uncomfortable when Heath showed up. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away that I knew. I just… I wanted to know if you truly wanted me. If we could make this work between the two of us.”

He pauses and I take full advantage of it. I will say what he cannot. “You wanted to know if you could trust me. You wanted me to tell you first.”

“Yes,” he replies without hesitation. For the first time since I heard the word trust, I finally knew what the meaning behind it meant. To trust someone with your heart.

And I trust Camden Steel.

***

“Where in the hell is Heath?” Camden throws his phone down on the bed, where I’m resting up against the headboard. I just got done calling Mitch, letting him know the office is closed while the police investigate. In attempt to lighten the situation, Mitch jokes about the fact we cannot go to the office, which gives him days to spend fucking his wife. I swear, the man has no filter.

“He’s still not answering.” And eerie silence falls between us. Do I finally tell him about my suspicions of Heath? Throw everything out there all at once. Get it done and over with so we can move on with our personal life together.

“I called his restaurant and they haven’t heard from him since he left to come here days ago.”

“What?” I ask in shock, sitting up straight in bed.

“I’m worried. This isn’t like him. I mean what the hell? Where could he be?”

Hiding out, destroying my life is what I think and want to say. I don’t though. I tread carefully with my next choice of words.

“Come here.” I pat the spot next to me on the bed. He graciously accepts, plopping down with a weary thud. “Look, obviously you know Heath better than I do. Have you given any thought to the fact it could be Heath who’s behind all of this?” Seriousness cast a shadow over his gaze. I swallow hard, my own words stifling in the air, casting their own gloomy shadow.

“I have, but I’ve also suspected everyone else in your life and I will continue to do so until they find out who it is. But Heath? He has no reason to do this, Luca. What could he possibly gain by trying to demolish you? To taint your reputation.” His voice low and raw.

“I don’t know what anyone has to gain from this, Camden. What I do know is if someone has their own reasoning for doing this, I have no clue as to why. My co-workers are my family, they would never do anything like this. And I don’t let anyone else in.” I close my eyes to feel his presence and warmth before turning back to face him. His features are so torn, yet he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever set my eyes on. He’s mine and I want him to stay that way. I want him to want to stay that way.

“Do the police know about your extra-curricular activities?”

I look away from him at the question, embarrassment flooding my face. Shame courses its way through the thickness of my blood in my veins for some of the things I have done. I shouldn’t feel this way; I enjoyed every second of it, even my time spent with Heath, yet here I sit ashamed of the things I’ve done. The only thing about me I never want my parents to find out about is this. And if this was to become public, they surely find out. I would never be able to forgive myself if I hurt them. They wouldn’t understand the lifestyle choices I’ve made in my past.

“No,” I say softly. They don’t even know your business partner threatened me or touched me, either. Too many questions will arise that I would much rather not answer. I would be financially ruined. And not only me, but those I care about would go down for my escorting.

“You need to tell them, sweetheart. It could be one of those men. This is something the police need to know.” His words play on repeat in my mind. I can’t tell them. I won’t.

“Those men, none of them know my real name, where I’m from, or anything else. Nothing. That’s a life that doesn’t exist to anyone outside of Carl and myself. The only way you found out was by following me that day after you recognized me on the plane.” I inhale deeply, trying to find my baring.

“I’m glad I did.” He brushes the wayward hair out of my face.

“Everything is buried so deep. The contracts, all of it. And Carl would die before he would leak any information to anyone. I can gamble my own life on that.”

I hear him sigh next to me. Unable to look at him yet, I stare out the window to the lake. The dark night seeps its way into my dark soul. “If you trust him then I do too, Luca.”

“I do.” A cold chill cradles me tightly as exhaustion overtakes me. I need to call Leo and Annie and let them know about the office. The urge to order a bottle of champagne and soak in the giant tub in this grand suite to wash away the dirty events from today outweighs the desire to make the call.

“Well, I trust Heath just as you do your friends and business partners.” Camden lifts my chin, turning and embracing me in his stare.

“Then I will, too.” If I expect him to trust those I trust, I need to offer the same to him, even though Heath doesn’t deserve my trust. The instant we come to an agreement, there is a huge weight lifted between the two of us.

“Let me order up some dinner,” he suggests

“Something light for me please. I’m not really hungry. I would much rather drink.” Sarcasm is good for the soul and all that, so I lace my words with it.

“Champagne or wine?” he asks, leaving me to decide.

“Champagne, please.”

“Done,” he says, as he places a light kiss to my lips.  Swinging his legs around the bed, he extricates his glorious body from beside me. I all but whimper at the loss of his warmth. My eyes stay glued to his tight ass and I jitter all over the place when he twists around, his arms flexing, his jaw ticking. His eyes are producing a sex filled stare that could make me come on the damn spot.

“Since I can’t fuck that tight ass up against your apartment window, be prepared for me to take you here, Luca. I’m claiming your ass, I’m claiming your mouth, and I’m claiming your pussy.” He winks at me before heading away to order dinner.

After those heated parting words, I can’t concentrate on calling Leo, Annie, or taking my planned bath. The only thing I’m about to work out in my cognizance is that I’m about to be royally fucked – in a good way. Everyone else can wait.

“You do realize the only clothes I have with me are the ones on my back.” Camden and I lay flush against each other on the couch in the living room. A fire blazes in the gas fireplace behind me. My stomach is full from the spread of appetizers ranging from fruit to chicken wings Camden ordered for us.

Resting my head against his chest, I let the relief of being able to overcome all of the hurdles we’ve already have, before really beginning, wash over me. So much of this could have easily broke us, yet it didn’t and that reality engulfs me with complete bliss. It’s a sign that we’re starting this right by opening up to each other. All of our secrets bared. All but one, Luca. You need to tell him Heath threatened you! You need to tell him that he very well could be dangerous. I want to bat those crazy voices talking in my head away, no matter the truth they tell.

“Yeah, well, the things we will be doing tonight don’t require clothes. Tomorrow we will worry about getting you clothes, along with everything else you need.” Camden doesn’t seem to have an ounce of care whether I have clothes on or not. And those voices. Gone. Poof, just like that.

This insanely sexy man’s face grows more mischievous with each passing second.

“Mmm,” I moan.

The taste of his lips linger on mine from his kiss. I let my lips roam down his bare chest. His chest rises and falls under my touch, groans escape his mouth. As my lips and teeth peruse his chest and stomach, my fingers undo his belt, unbutton his slacks, and ease the zipper down to free his already enlarged erection. God, I want him in my mouth. I dance my lips south with more kisses, until my tongue swirls across the head.

“Fuck,” he growls.

“You did say you wanted to fuck my mouth.”

He stills himself, then without any forewarning at all, he grabs a handful of my hair, jerking my head up to look at him. “I’m not in the mood for gentle.”

My muscles tense. “I’m not either.” Fisting the base of his cock, I watch him watch me take him into my mouth, sucking as much as I can. My hair is pulled tight in his hold. His hips thrust up and down, fucking me wildly in my mouth.

“Fuck me. I want nothing more than to come in your mouth right now. But not yet. There’s plenty of time for that.” Letting go of my hair, he sits straight up, his cock angry when it’s removed from my mouth.

I’m panting like a bitch; eager for him to fuck me anywhere and everywhere he wants.

“Strip and make it fast,” he demands.

I go to undo the top button, and again without any warning at all, he grabs my silk shirt and rips it wide open. The small pea like buttons go flying.

“God damn, Luca, you are the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.” He licks a trail from the center of my breast to the tip of my ear where he growls. “Take off the rest and when I come back, you better be naked and that gorgeous face of yours better be plastered against the window with your ass waiting for me.”

I bite my lips and tug at my clothes, relentlessly stripping myself until I’m left naked and wanting.

The cold window does nothing for my blistering pussy. My breasts are achingly sore.

“Touch them,” he calls out behind me. “Touch those tits and stroke your pussy. Make yourself enticingly wet.” I do exactly as I’m told. I’m not bashful at all when it comes to taking matters in my own hands. I swiftly glide my hand down my stomach, seeking relief when my finger starts to rub my clit. I’m already wet for him. I just want to come. My nipples perk up even more when I pinch their points.

“Enough.” Damn. I love the demanding side of Camden. I’m so turned on and ready to tumble over the edge. It’s maddening.

“The fact that you can wear anything from a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to a tight skirt makes you amazingly stunning. When I visualize your ass in my head, the thought has me harder than I’ve ever been in my entire life. But you wearing absolutely nothing, standing there, waiting for me makes you absolutely pure fucking perfection, Luca.”

Jesus Christ. He’s there, right behind me. Stroking my sex, biting my shoulder, and kneading one cheek of my ass. His long digits travel to the tight hole in my backside from my pussy, coating me in my own wetness. He’s using it as lube to loosen me up, to prepare me for him. I’m so miserable, in a good way, ready to explode from the ministrations of his fingers. “Oh Camden.” Taking full advantage, he presses a finger inside of my ass. The intrusion a threat for what’s to come.

I cry out.

Moan.

Flex my ass high.

Needing more than what he is giving me.

He senses it.

His finger sliding in and out.

Torturing me in preparation of his cock.

How he manages to do it, I will never know, but while his finger is stretching me, his cock is rubbing up and down my smooth dripping heat. Then his cock is gone, as is his finger. The tip of his cock is perfectly lined up with my ass, his free hand digs into my hip.

“Fuck,” he roars, slipping just the head of his cock into my ass.

God the pain. The pain is almost too much. I’m pulled back to him, my face flat against the cold glass. I want to scream when he moves farther into me. I’m struggling to breathe from the intensity.

“You okay?” Camden’s raspy, deep voice filters in my ear.

“Yes. Please move. God, move.”

He buries himself all the way in. The force from his hips slamming into me has me screaming again.

“Fucking hell,” I scream.

He pulls out, slams back in again and again, pumping furiously into me. His cock expanding, pulsing, and twitching in and out of me. I’m shaking uncontrollably. My pussy screaming for more attention. I tug my clit between two fingers and rub my nub until I’m coming. At the same time, he’s coming. Our breathing is erratic as we both fall from our climatic high.

Camden Steel has managed to strip me bare.

Fuck me into oblivion and rendered me speechless.

SIXTEEN

I wake to the bleep of a voicemail from my phone. Ignoring it, I stretch and yawn, trying to wake up my overly exerted body. Camden was right, I’m sore everywhere. The way he can channel an untamed vibe inside of both of us and fuck me until our options are practically endless. Then the next time, love me so sensually he magnifies every one of my senses, just as he did last night in the bathtub. Squeezing the warm water over my sensitive nipples, then turning around and lavishing it up. Both of us massaging each other’s feet, until he tugged me to his end of the tub and had me riding him slow.

I smile when I smell coffee. Flashing my eyes open, I see the Starbucks cup next to my phone. I smell caramel. Oh, that’s heaven.

I see my disheveled reflection in the mirror, across from me when I sit up, reaching for the coffee to inhale the rich aroma of my double shot caramel latte. I don’t even cringe at my current appearance. Make-up still on my face, my hair could easily double for a real life bird’s nest. I sip my coffee, taking in the sweetness; not only from the taste of my java, but from the things this wonderfully giving man does for me.

This over the top place to stay, the coffee, and the ring he gave me ten years ago. The ring that glistens so intricately in the sun, shining through the window. It’s way too soon to even think, but I wonder if the ring would look and feel the same on my other hand. I don’t get the chance to try it out before my phone starts to blare a ringtone I don’t recognize.

“What the hell is that?” Right as I sit the cup down, my phone stops ringing. I don’t even check to see who called. I go straight to my settings after swiping my screen, holding my thumb down to access entrance.

“Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry?” I ask to no one. My hearts begins to skip, beat after beat, and I can’t take a breath. Someone has access to my phone now? How the hell can this be? I drop the electronic to my lap, as if it’s burning my skin. I’m being violated in every way.

It rings again and I jump. Lola’s name flashes across the screen. Oh god, Lola.

“I’m in Chicago, god damn it, and you better fucking be alive, so I can kill you myself,” she belts into the phone.

“What? You’re here?” I pull my legs up to my chest, grabbing my coffee to take a sip.

“I’ve been going out of my damned mind, Luca. No answer at the office most of the day yesterday and when there was an answer, you weren’t there. Then, you never returned any of my messages I so politely left on your cell phone. I mean, what the fuck?”

“Calm your ass down. I’ll explain everything. But first, let me say how happy I am that you’re here. God I need you more than you know.” I settle back into bed, telling her everything that happened while she walks through the corridors of O’Hare airport.

With my coffee gone and my friend on the way, I hang up just in time to see a freshly showered Camden enter the bedroom. With his jeans slung low on his hips, a ball cap backward on his head, and a tight V-neck black sweater straining against his chest and arms, his appearance screams dangerous. He looks even more vicious when his eyes catch mine.

“What happened?” we simultaneously ask each other.

He gestures with his hand for me to go first, so I do. I show him the newly added ringtone on my phone.

“You have to turn that in to the police,” he says, taking the phone out of my hand.

“I need my phone, Camden.”

“And I need you.” He bends down to brush his lips gently across mine.

“This is all starting to piss me off more than it’s scaring me.” I cross my arms over my chest, the sheet slipping down to expose my nudity.

“Fuck. If the police weren’t on their way I would fuck those tits and smear my come all over them.”

Completely ignoring his sexual innuendo, I head straight for the comment about the police. “Why are they coming here? Did they catch whoever did this?” My entire body perks up. “Please tell me yes.”

“No,” he says dryly. “I., shit, I found something in my briefcase. Something so horrible. I don’t think I will ever get that image out of my head.”

“Wh… what is it?” Suddenly, I feel like recoiling back into bed, becoming a permanent fixture. God no. What did he find? Please say it wasn’t more pictures of me?

“Son of a bitch.” Camden pounds his fist on top of the dresser, his entire body shakes, a shudder ripping wide through him just as there is a knock on the door.

“That’s the police. Stay here.” He points his finger at me.

Fuck that shit, I’m not staying in this bed. Whatever he found in his briefcase has him so distraught he’s not thinking straight. This is about me and not him. And now… Oh no. What if it is about him? What if it’s not about me at all? What is someone is coming after him to get to me?

I slump to the floor, frantically searching for my clothes. “Where are they?” I holler out, as if someone is there to help me. “Damn it. They have to still be in the living room. Shit.” I tug the sheet off the bed and wrap it securely around my shaking body. Taking two steps, see my clothes are folded neatly on the chair in the corner. There he goes again, doing something so sweet for me when our lives are so fucking tangled in a web of deceit and danger.

In two minutes, I’m dressed, dashing down one side of the double staircase, trying to throw my silk robe over the ripped shirt from the night before. Deep voices echo from one of the two bedrooms down the hall. Taking a deep breath, I slow my run right outside the door. I recognize Detective Watts’s voice as one of the two officers firing question after question to Camden, not giving him ample time to answer one before they shoot off another. Idiots.

“Baby, please go. You don’t need to see this,” Camden says the moment he notices me standing in the doorway. The officers turn my way. Compassion, futile vulnerability, and an uneasiness I cannot explain is etched on all of their faces.

“What did you find?” Somewhere from deep within me, I manage to skate my way across the floor, before my knees begin to buckle. My body convulses and I scream at the sight.

“Who would do this? Oh dear god.” I cover my hands over my face. The sight of his suitcase will be forever ingrained in my memory. Blood, so much blood, all over all of his clothes, and there in the middle of it all, sits the diamond anklet I received from Heath.

***

I wake in the middle of the bed, remembering nothing of how I got there. I try and think back, but my mind goes to the bloody suitcase and I decide I must have passed out from the sight. I look around and see Lola, her big brown eyes are staring down at me, tears raining down her stunning face.

“Oh, honey.” She cradles me in her arms and I cry. I cry for a long time. It’s hitting me hard and I don’t know what to do, what to feel, or what to even think. She rubs my back, holding me and soothing me like only a best friend can. I’ve never been afraid for my life before. Not once, but now the fear is real. All types of circumstances set up in my head, playing out my potential murder. Waking used to be so fun and adventurous, now all I want to do is succumb to sleep and dream of anything, but what I saw today. The reality of it is too much. Someone wants me dead!

“The police are gone, honey,” Lola whispers into my hair.

“And Camden?” I squeak out through a fit of tears.

“He was in here a few minutes ago. I think he’s still trying to find Heath.”

I bolt up in bed, shaking my head violently. “It’s him. I know it is. It’s Heath. Camden wants me to trust him, but I know it’s him. He wants me dead, Lola. He hates me for some reason and he’s going to drive me crazy before he kills me. I know it. You… you have to help me! Get me out of here.” I start to hyperventilate, my chest squeezing tightly.

“Luca, stop this right the fuck now.”

I swallow from her harsh sound. My head continuing to shake. I can’t stop. It’s true. He wants me dead.

“The man you claim to be falling in love with is down there freaking out just as much as you are. He’s worried sick over you. He’s put out an APB on his friend, whom he’s also worried about. They are running the blood to see if it matches anyone in the system. Pull your shit together and fight, god damn it. Whoever is doing this to you will not win unless you let them. I cannot begin to imagine what it feels like to be you right now, but what I do know is YOU.”

She taps my chest with her bony little finger. “You are one of the strongest women I know. Whoever is doing this is a weak fucker. Their head has been dislodged from their inhuman body. The Luca I know has every right to be scared and freaked out, but sweetheart, if you don’t get a damn grip, then I’m walking down to the drugstore and buying you a pair of those big girl panties and putting those fuckers on you.” Lola Anderson’s face is blotched red, raw from her tears. I’ve never heard nor seen her say anything short of funny in all the years I’ve known her, yet here she is, trying to keep me afloat. Granted, she did add on the panties bit to the end of her big girl speech, which lowers her level of seriousness. If my life wasn’t so fucking whacked out, I would most likely be rolling on the floor laughing my ass off right now at her comment.

“You’re right,” I concede.

“Oh, I know I’m right. The two of you need each other. I need you. Mitch and Leo need you. Colin needs you and even though you feel like shit about Annie right now, she needs you too. Which reminds me, you haven’t told your mom and dad about this, have you?” Her face screwing into a fretted gape.

“God no,” I say through the last bit of tears. If they knew, they would be up here in a heartbeat. If they were here, they would get all the details. That can never happen. Ever.”

“Thank Christ,” she whispers.

“Hey. How you feeling?” Camden asks, leaning against the door frame.

I’ve never been in love before. I never thought I needed it until this beautiful, caring man re-entered my fucked up life. Now that he’s standing in the doorway of this room, with a sheepish troublesome expression on his face, I realize I love him. At twenty-eight years old, my life was complete the minute I heard his voice again. I don’t want to be without him. I want to hear that incredible voice every morning when we wake. I want to love this man with the heart I know I have. This amazing man is mine, and for him I will fight whoever is trying to do away with me and do everything I can to make sure they don’t destroy Camden in the process.