Текст книги "Down London Road"

Автор книги: Samantha Young

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

17

‘I was thinking we should both get checked out so we can stop using condoms. You’re on the pill, right?’

My hair whispered across the pillow as I turned to look at Cam lying next to me, his skin glistening with a faint sheen of sweat. I was still panting from our exertions and it took me a minute to process what he’d asked. ‘Yeah. I’ll get checked this week.’

‘Me too. I should be fine. I got checked before Becca and she and I always used protection.’

‘A little friendly advice.’ I sighed, looking up at the ceiling. ‘Don’t talk about your sexcapades with another woman seconds after having sex with your current woman.’

‘No need to be jealous, baby. You’re a ten – she was a five. Maybe a six on a good day.’

I rolled my eyes, pretending not to be satisfied that Cam thought I was a better lay than Becca. ‘And definitely don’t score them.’

Cam laughed, rolling on to his side so he could pull me to him. He tried to kiss me, but I was still slightly pissed off that he’d mentioned Becca, so I covered his mouth with my hand. He kissed it and said something, but it was muffled against my skin.

I pulled my hand back. ‘What was that?’

His eyes roamed my face, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘I said I’m sorry.’

‘Good.’

Dipping his head, his eyes serious, Cam spoke, his lips grazing mine. ‘You ever try to keep this mouth from me again and I’ll find very creative forms of use for it as punishment.’

I shivered. This side of him in bed was a real turn-on. ‘It’s my mouth. It’s up to me who gets near it.’

‘True,’ he acquiesced, his hand trailing down my hip to wind up between my legs. I jolted involuntarily at the press of his thumb on my clit. ‘But last night you agreed that we were together, and being together means that mouth belongs to me. I don’t like people hiding my things.’ He ended that pronouncement with a roguish grin. His thumb circled my clit and I gasped, clutching his wrist, urging him on.

I wanted to call him on his crap, but I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think. My body had already been treated to a tremendous orgasm and was now positioned on the precipice of another.

I came quickly, I came hard, and I came with a cry that Cam quieted against his mouth. His kiss was wet and dirty, and its purpose was to swallow my climax and stamp me with his ownership.

The bastard was lucky I was feeling equally possessive.

Gripping his head tight, I kissed him back just as voraciously and when he moved to catch his breath, I nipped his lip. Hard.

He hissed, his eyes widening, his tongue flicking out to lick the hurt.

‘If mine is yours, yours is mine.’

He liked that. I could tell by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘Deal.’

I liked that too. I liked that I felt comfortable enough to be myself with him. My thumb caught the nip in an affectionate gesture of halfhearted apology. ‘I need to go.’ I moved to roll away from him, only to be drawn to a halt by his arm across my waist.

‘Stay. Just for a little while.’

Worry immediately caused my whole body to tense, obliterating all my happy thoughts about us as a couple. This felt an awful lot like déjà vu – me hurrying home to Cole, leaving an annoyed man lying in bed. Before, it had mattered on some level that I not upset my relationship. With Cam it mattered on every level. My brows drew together in confusion and anxiety. I’d assumed things would be different with Cam. That he understood. Only seconds ago I was ‘Miss Comfortable’ and now I was back to being who I was suddenly very sick and tired of being.

‘What?’ He tugged on my waist, trying to urge me closer. ‘What’s causing this?’ His fingers traced my frown lines.

‘Nothing.’

‘It’s not nothing.’ With an effort, he forced me to turn completely back to him. ‘Your muscles are locked up tight. Why?’

On the one hand, I wanted us to be okay. To be open. To be real. On the other hand, I didn’t want him to think I was questioning him so soon into this. I didn’t want to leave his bed pissed off at him and vice versa.

I chewed my lip, taking far too long to think it over.

‘Jesus, Johanna.’ He pulled back before I had a chance to say anything, his eyebrows dipped in anger. ‘I’m not bloody them.’ He threw the sheets off of us as he moved to leave the bed.

Dammit! ‘I’m just worried,’ I huffed, feeling my cheeks heat at the coming confession.

Cam grew still, twisting his head to look at me over his shoulder. ‘Go on.’

I made a face at his bossiness and sat up, drawing my knees to my chest in a subconscious need to protect myself. ‘I’m worried you’ll get bored with the fact that I can’t … accommodate you. Because I have Cole and’ – I braced myself, wondering how he’d react to my next piece of brutal honesty – ‘he’ll always come first.’

In seconds I was flat on my back, Cam looking down at me, his eyes soft again, and better yet, they were filled with understanding. ‘You never have to worry about that. I get it. I understand. Cole comes first. Of course he does. He’s a bloody kid who needs you. I’m not going to get bored or pissed off. And frankly if I do, you should dump my ass.’

Something shifted in my chest, something huge and overwhelming and scary. That something was my feelings for Cam. They were settled inside me now, held in place by an immovable anchor. ‘Are you for real?’ I asked, giving him a weak smile, trying to cover how emotional I felt.

Cam smiled back at me as he placed a soft kiss on my mouth. ‘Completely real, baby. But if you need proof …’ He pressed his knee between my legs, nudging them open, the wicked look in his eyes telling me I wasn’t going anywhere just yet.

After everything Cole and I had been through, it was almost difficult allowing myself to feel this happy. I was high on Cameron MacCabe, and although most of me loved it, this small part of me, the small part that couldn’t let go of the past, was terrified by it. Fortunately for us both, I’d watched Joss almost destroy her relationship with Braden over that exact thing, and I had no wish to follow in her footsteps. It was only two days in, and I was guessing it would take a small miracle to make me walk away from Tattoo Guy.

What it would take for him to walk away was a different story, but I was determined to try to kill that kind of negative thinking before it spoiled everything for me. I was also resolved not to rock the boat, so when Malcolm texted me on Monday morning while I was at work, I didn’t tell Cam.

So of course I also didn’t tell him that I texted Malcolm back.

Malcolm had proved himself to be a good guy. A gentleman. A friend. It didn’t matter if he’d found solace in the arms of Becca. All that mattered was that he’d been kind to me when we were together. I wasn’t sure I was ready to lose that, so when he asked if I was okay, I told him I was. I apologized again, and I asked him how he was.

I’ll be fine, sweetheart. I miss you. I’m glad we can still talk. x

There was no measuring my feelings of guilt when I read that text.

Friends?

Of course. Let me know if you need anything. I hope you’re happy, Jo. x

Cut me to the quick.

Yeah. You too. x

Cam may or may not have been okay with Malcolm texting me, but I thought it was too soon to broach that subject, especially after the night before and my little confession and all its drama.

I saw him later before he had to go to work and I didn’t say a word.

Tuesday night was our first night working together as a couple. We agreed at the outset that we wouldn’t curb our flirtations with customers, since that increased our tips. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it made sense for us both. Tuesday night was one of the quietest nights we’d ever had. No flirtations, no incidents.

Thursday night was a little different.

It started off with Phil working the door.

Just as he had done Tuesday night, Cam held my hand all the way to work and all the way into the club when we got to work. He led us down the stairs to the entrance, his warm hand tight in mine, and the first thing we heard was, ‘You’re with this idiot now, eh? I’ve got more money than him.’

While Phil thought this was funny, I tried desperately to ignore the hurt.

My hand slipped out of Cam’s and with a small smile at Brian, I went on into the club, Cam’s harsh voice echoing down the hall as he growled at Phil. ‘You. Watch it.’

I didn’t wait for Phil’s reply. Sufficiently pissed off, I hurried past Joss, ignoring her greeting.

‘What’s wrong?’ she called after me, her light footsteps following mine into the staff room.

Shrugging out of my coat, I tried to turn the seething down to a simmer.

‘Jo?’

‘You can blame Cam,’ I replied sourly.

‘What did I do?’ Cam marched into the staff room, heading for his locker. His expression was as dark as mine as he turned to face me. Joss sidled up next to him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

I glared at them both. ‘You were right before.’ I directed my words at Joss. ‘I let people think the worst of me. And I could handle it. But Tattoo Guy came along and told me to ask more of myself, and suddenly snide comments from people I thought liked me – but it turns out they thought exactly what you said they thought of me – hurt me. So, thanks, Cam. Now I’m a bloody walking open wound.’

There were a number of appropriate responses to my rant. Joss grinning at Cam and then smacking him heartily on the back was not one of them. ‘You are my new favourite person.’

I gave points to Cam for looking at her like she was nuts. I gave him some more for pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, finding the feel of his hard, solid, safe body soothing. I breathed him in and snuggled deeper when his arms tightened around me.

‘Why all the long faces? This is good news,’ Joss insisted, completely serious.

Moving my chin so I could rest it on Cam’s shoulder and glare at her, I warned, ‘I am this close to ending our friendship.’

Nowhere near intimidated by my threats, Joss’s expression turned mulish. ‘I’m sorry someone hurt you. Point me in their direction and I’ll give them a beatdown they won’t forget in a hurry. But this is good, Jo. Cam has done what I’ve been trying to do for a year. He woke you up.’

Cam pulled back, smirking at her. ‘That’s a little cheesy, Joss.’

It was like he’d told her she’d stepped in dog poo. Her nose wrinkled and she shuddered, a look of absolute self-disgust falling over her pretty features. ‘I have got to stop letting Ellie choose what we watch on movie night. It’s causing me to acclimatize to heartfelt emotion.’ She turned on her heel, muttering something under her breath about Jason Bourne.

‘Nicely done,’ I murmured to Cam, impressed at the way he’d so easily dispatched Joss. His lips brushed my cheek in response and I turned to look into his eyes. ‘You sure you want to be seen with a girl everyone thinks of as one step above a paid escort?’

It was clearly the wrong thing to say, as evidenced by the tic of the muscle in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He gripped my chin so I couldn’t look away. ‘Don’t. Don’t even consider thinking of yourself in those terms. And don’t ask me stupid questions. If anyone ever says anything like that to you … tell me. They’ll not be saying it for long.’

Cam had gone all alpha male on me but I wasn’t even processing it. Despite his portrayal of the overprotective boyfriend, I couldn’t forget that only weeks before, he’d accused me of the same thing Phil had. I wanted to forget. I really thought I had. But it seemed it was still there, niggling away at me under layers of denial.

Eyes dimming of their anger, mouth slackening to exasperation, Cam sighed as he let go of me. ‘Is this about me? About before?’

I shrugged, not wanting to lie outright.

‘Are you ever really going to forgive me for what I said when we met?’

I shrugged again. Cole would have been so proud. ‘It’s forgiven.’ Just clearly not forgotten.

‘But not forgotten.’

Mind reader.

Heaving another sigh, Cam took hold of my hips and pulled me close, dipping his head to kiss me softly. His right hand coasted up under my tank top, his cool hand on my bare skin sending shivers rippling over me. I felt my nipples pebble as his hand cupped my bra, his thumb tracing the swell of my breast. My knees shook and I gripped Cameron’s waist tightly. ‘You’ve not forgotten,’ he repeated roughly. ‘But you will.’ He crushed my mouth against his, his kiss almost painful in its demand. I didn’t care. It was fair to say that at this point I was absolutely addicted to the taste and feel of him.

‘Customers!’ Joss yelled from behind the bar.

We jolted apart, Cam reluctantly pulling his hand out from under my top and smoothing it back in place. ‘You go out first.’

I glanced down at the bulge in his jeans and grinned. ‘Take your time.’

He growled at me playfully in response as I passed him, adding a taunting swing to my hips.

After the first two come-hither smiles Cam sent to customers I stopped looking at him. I was aware of him, as I was always aware of him, but determined to shut out actual hard evidence of the flirting.

Combating it with my own flirting might have worked, but every time I attempted to flirt with a customer, I could feel Cam’s eyes burning into my skin, and it put me off my game.

My growing irritation finally came to a head when there was a lull at the bar. I threw a dishcloth at Cam. ‘Our tips jar is suffering because of you, buddy.’

Cam had caught the cloth before it hit him and was now laughing as he wiped up some spillage on the bar top. ‘What did I do?’

‘I can feel you watching me. I can’t flirt with you watching me.’

His deep chuckle tickled all my good-for-nothing places and I hated that I found the cheeky grin he gave Joss so bloody hot. ‘Was I doing anything?’

Joss shrugged. ‘I have no clue what you were doing, but keep it up. The fake giggle’ – she gestured lazily at me – ‘has disappeared, so I’m happy.’

Another tag team? I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping my body language was a warning to back off. ‘The fake giggle is not that bad.’

My friend grunted in disagreement. ‘It sounds like Miss Piggy has a machine gun stuck in her throat.’

Roaring with laughter, Cam didn’t even feel the heat of my glower. But watching him laugh as Joss’s apt description took hold of me, I had to stifle my own amusement. I couldn’t encourage them or I’d have Cole and Cam against me at home and Joss and Cam against me at work.

Harrumphing at them both, I turned to greet our next customer. He was male. Tall. Pretty cute. As I poured him a draught, I asked him about his night, laughing and flirting with him for a good five minutes before his friends called him back to their table. I will note that I did all this minus the fake giggle.

Since Cam had already provided evidence that he was a fairly possessive guy, my intention was to piss him off and put him in his place.

I spun on my heel, expecting to face his annoyance. Instead he was leaning back against the bar, smirking at me. ‘Nice try.’

Damn. I was dating Mr Unpredictable. The bloody idiot did not respond to any situation the way I expected him to. How on earth was I meant to navigate these waters if I didn’t know the depth of them?

Bugger.

This really was going to be a relationship unlike any of my others.

The next words out of Cam’s mouth just reinforced that realization.

‘Let’s go to my mum and dad’s for a weekend.’

I blinked rapidly, taken aback by the suggestion, ignoring Joss, who was hovering on the edges of our conversation, pretending to fix the napkin holder.

‘What?’

‘Three weeks from Saturday, it’ll be my Saturday off work. We’ll go then. Stay the night. You, me and Cole.’

‘Dude, he wants you to meet the parents,’ Joss said under her breath. ‘Think carefully before you give him an answer. The parents. Already.’ She shuddered at the thought.

‘Jo?’

I glanced back at an expectant Cam. ‘I can’t leave Mum.’

‘I can check in on her,’ Joss offered loudly.

My mouth fell open as I stared at her in total bafflement. I whispered to her, ‘I thought you just said to think carefully about meeting his parents.’

‘I did. You didn’t say you didn’t want to. You offered up an impediment and I offered up a solution.’ When she turned away I caught the start of a sly grin on her face.

‘You’re twisted,’ I hissed.

Cam flicked the towel at me, bringing my attention back to him. ‘Well?’

I smiled tremulously. ‘Sure. Why not?’

Fuck.

18

For weeks after discovering Mum had hit Cole, I couldn’t go near her, could barely talk to her, and I swam in a muddy pond of bitter resentment and guilt. However, spending my nights with Cam when I could, whether that time involved the best sex of my life, or quiet time reading a book while he and Cole worked on their graphic novel together, changed me. It chipped away at my bitterness.

The weight I’d always carried on my shoulders hadn’t disappeared completely, but it was lessened. When I walked down the street my steps felt lighter, my breathing easier. I no longer felt old and tired.

I felt young. Excited. Charmed. Almost … content.

I’d also decided to try to relax more about our financial situation. As difficult as that was, I did give in to the expense of sending Cole to judo lessons with Cam. It meant the boys were out on a Saturday morning, one of the few times Cam and I could actually spend time together, but I didn’t care. It sounded so cheesy, but seeing Cole come through that door, smiling at Cam, being happy and having a guy to talk to … it gave me a kind of peace I never thought I’d have.

Cameron MacCabe. You charmer, you. You’re changing my life.

I rested my hand on the parcel I’d just finished wrapping, smiling stupidly as I remembered last night. Well, technically this morning. Both Cam and I had returned from work, feeling more buzzed than tired, and he’d finally taken me against his desk like he’d been promising. It had been slow, sensual, teasing, bloody fantastic sex. I swear I was getting through my days on a rush of endorphins. I think that’s what made it easier to say goodbye to some very pretty things. I stroked the brown paper of the package. Inside was my favourite Donna Karan dress – one that Malcolm had bought me. It had sold well on eBay and it was time to send it to its new home.

Blowing air out between my lips in boredom, I eyed my eBay pile. I’d sold a few things but I still had to take photographs of a couple of items and post them on the site. The profits were paying for Cole’s judo lessons, so it needed to be done. I had to crack on. Next up, a pair of Jimmy Choos. Staring at them, I realized I was going to need one of the boys to help me with this. The gorgeous six-inch heels were made up of a lot of spaghetti ties. Off the feet, they didn’t look like much. On the feet, they looked sexy as all hell. I’d have to be wearing them in the photographs, which meant I’d need someone to take photographs for me.

Bundling them into my arms, I left Cole’s room and stopped outside Mum’s door. Loud snoring from within assured me everything was normal with her, and I headed out of the flat and downstairs to Cam’s. Cam and Cole had texted me after their judo class to let me know they were going to Cam’s to work on the graphic novel.

From the sounds of machine-gun fire coming from Cam’s flat I realized I’d been bullshitted. They were playing Call of Duty.

I walked in without knocking and slipped quietly into the sitting room. Cam, Cole and Nate were sitting on the couch, Nate and Cole holding the controllers. Peetie was in the armchair directly facing me. I’d met Nate and Peetie a couple of times since Cam had moved in, but I still hadn’t really spent that much time with them, mostly because when they were over they played video games, only really interacting with me when I took the time to feed them snacks.

Peetie saw me and waved, drawing Cam’s attention. He turned and flashed me a welcoming smile that hit me in the gut, waking up all those annoying little butterflies fluttering around in there. ‘Hi, baby.’

I raised an eyebrow at his flatscreen. ‘This is working on a graphic novel?’

‘Nate and Peetie came over with us after class.’ As if that explained everything.

‘Hi, Jo!’ Nate called over the sounds of gunfire, his eyes flicking to me briefly. ‘Did you bring sandwiches by any chance?’

That was me. Sandwich lady. ‘No.’ I held my shoes up to an inquisitive Cam. ‘I need you to take a picture of me wearing these.’

Cameron eyed them and then raised his eyebrows. ‘Whoa.’ He held up his hands, gesturing to his friends. ‘Not in front of the boys.’

I narrowed my eyes on him. ‘Not that kind of picture, you sex-craved pervert.’

‘Eh, before anyone says anything else,’ Cole interjected loudly, ‘remember her wee brother is in the room.’

Cam grinned and stood up. ‘Is this for eBay?’

Handing him my camera, I nodded, and then began taking off my shoes and strapping on the Jimmy Choos. Once they were on, I lifted my leg to eye them, turning my ankle to the side, feeling their loss already.

‘Baby, if you love them that much, keep them.’

I pouted. ‘I can’t. They cost a ridiculous amount of money. It would be stupid to keep them.’

‘Fuck, man,’ Nate breathed, his attention suddenly on the shoes and my legs. ‘Don’t let her sell those.’ His heated eyes devoured me. ‘Those are shit hot.’

‘I will seriously hit you,’ Cam warned him darkly.

Nate shrugged, threw me a cheeky grin, and turned back to the television screen. ‘Not my fault your girlfriend is so bloody fuckable.’

Cole slammed his shoulder into Nate before Cam could retaliate. ‘Dude, that’s my sister.’

‘And, dude, watch your language.’ I tried not to blush. Ignoring Nate’s unrepentant smile, I turned my feet so Cam could get a good shot of the shoes. My eyes fell on Peetie, who was texting someone. From what Cam had told me, I figured it was probably his fiancée, Lyn. Peetie was wrapped around her little finger, apparently. He seemed like a nice guy. A balance to Nate’s unpredictable, blunt, Jack-the-lad persona. Nate was gorgeous – not rugged sexy like Cam, or rough-around-the-edges hot like Braden. He was movie-star stunning, with his thick black hair and even blacker eyes, and he knew it.

My gaze moved to Cole, who was starting to look more and more like our father every day. My dad may have been a brute and an asshole, but he’d been a good-looking one. Once Cole realized he was a good-looking kid, it would depend on the influences in his life as to how he would react to it and to girls.

I did not want him to become a Nate.

‘I hope you three aren’t corrupting my brother.’

Nate huffed. ‘You kidding? If anyone’s doing the corrupting, it’s him.’

Cole grinned at that and I felt a weird mixture of happiness and worry. Over the last few weeks I’d noticed a difference in him. He still grunted and shrugged a lot and was definitely destined to be broody, but he’d actually begun to converse with people other than Cam and me, and I took that as a good sign. Hanging around Nate, however, might turn him cocky. Or, hey, hanging around Cam might turn him cocky.

‘Done.’ Cam handed me my camera with a quick peck to the lips.

‘Thank you.’ I had just bent to unhook the strap at my ankle, when Cam’s mouth brushed my ear.

‘Be here tonight, waiting for me in nothing but those shoes.’

My skin flushed hot at the thought and I quickly glanced over at Cole and the boys to make sure they hadn’t heard. They were completely oblivious. My eyes met Cam’s dark gaze and I nodded in agreement.

A phone buzzed and we reluctantly broke eye contact.

Cole held up his phone. ‘Me. I’ve got to go. Guys are waiting for me at the cinema.’

‘We’re not finished,’ Nate complained.

Peetie chuckled. ‘Nate, mate, when you try to convince a teenager to spend time with you playing video games, it’s time to re-evaluate your life.’

We laughed, earning us the middle finger from Nate.

‘I’ll be home in a few hours,’ Cole informed me with a small smile before he left the flat. That smile warmed me up better than a mug of hot chocolate.

‘Actually, you guys should go too.’ Cam moved towards them, making a shooing gesture.

Peetie stood up with a knowing grin. ‘Sure, no problem. Lyn wants me to meet her on Princes Street anyway.’

Grumbling, Nate switched off the console and telly. ‘You’re both whipped.’

‘Did you see the shoes?’ Cam asked smugly, making me blush. If I didn’t know he had plans to screw me imminently, I did now. And so did his friends.

Nate did some more grumbling, making me blush harder with a ‘Lucky bastard’.

‘See you soon, Jo.’ Peetie nodded at me as he passed us.

Punching Cam on the arm, Nate advised, ‘Watch those heels on your back. Those fuckers can hurt.’

I groaned in mortification as Cam laughed.

‘Wear protection.’ Nate winked at me. ‘And have fun, kiddies.’

As soon as the door shut behind them I glowered at Cam. ‘We’re not having sex.’

His mouth fell open. ‘Why not? I threw them out. We have a couple of hours of uninterrupted sex time.’

‘Yeah, but now they know that’s what we’re doing.’

‘And what difference does that make?’

‘I don’t know. But it makes some kind of difference.’

Cam cocked his head to the side. ‘Female logic. It needs its own decipher code.’

‘We should invite Peetie and Lyn out for dinner with us.’

‘Okay, maybe it’s just Jo logic.’ Cam chuckled at me jumping topics on him.

I shrugged, heading towards the fireplace to pick up a photo frame Cam had on the mantel. It held a photo of him, Nate and Peetie dressed up as superheroes for Halloween. Cam was Batman. Of course he was. ‘I just thought it would be nice to get to know your friends better. They are like your brothers.’

‘Okay, that sounds good. I’ll talk to him about it.’

‘I’d say we should invite Nate, but bringing a girl to dinner with his friends might be the kind of signal he wants to avoid sending out to one of his … companions.’

Cam grunted. ‘And you’d be right.’

Studying the photo of Nate dressed as Iron Man, I frowned. He really was incredibly good-looking. And there was something about him. Behind all the bluster there was something else. It was in his eyes. They were kind. ‘Is he completely against all relationships? It’s a shame if so.’ I turned to smile softly at Cam. ‘He really does seem like a nice guy.’

‘He is.’ Cam nodded, seeming very serious all of sudden. ‘But … he lost someone.’

An ache pierced my chest as I processed what Cam wasn’t saying. ‘A girl?’

Looking away, I could see that whatever it was that had happened had also affected Cam. ‘It was a while ago, but it changed him.’

Stunned, I shook my head, looking back at the grinning Nate in the photo. ‘You just never know what hurts people are living with, do you? We’re all so good at hiding them.’

‘You’re the master.’

Yeah, I wasn’t going to disagree with that.

Lost for a moment, staring at the photo, feeling a deep sympathy for Nate and for the love that had been taken from him, I didn’t hear Cam move until he was standing right behind me. The heat of him, the smell of him, drew me out of my melancholy thoughts and my fingers fell from the picture frame, my body growing hot in anticipation of him.

His hands rested on my hips for a moment and that was all I needed to feel a quiver of excitement low in my belly. Strong fingers curled into the hem of my jumper and slowly he began to pull it up. The movement demanded that I raise my arms above my head and I did so, the room silent except for our soft breathing and the rustle of clothing. Darkness descended over me for a second as he tugged the jumper up over my head, cool air whispering across my skin, kissing it into goose bumps.

I shivered, letting my arms fall slowly as my jumper hit the floor.

Cam’s warm hand grazed my back gently, sweeping my hair over my shoulder. Tenderly, his fingertips brushed my skin, following the strap of my bra down my shoulder and along my upper back.

I felt a slight tug and my bra loosened, descending to the floor with Cam’s slight nudging. Another shiver moved through me and my nipples grew tight with arousal. I shifted a little, my underwear rubbing against me, damp with excitement.

He tortured me with his touch, his deft fingertips skimming my waist, my ribs, the curve of my breasts. I moaned, my head falling back, my back arching, my breasts begging to be touched. My silent pleading was ignored as Cam’s gentle exploration moved down my stomach, his hands coming to a stop on the waistband of my skirt.

Taking a step closer, so that his front was pressed against my back, Cam hooked his thumbs in the fabric of my skirt and pants and pushed down. Rather than letting them drop, he kept hold of the material with his palms pressed against it, capturing it against my body, as his fingers trailed down my bare skin. He followed the movement, slowly lowering himself to his haunches, his teasing caress coasting down my outer thighs, past my knees, down my calves, until his thumbs brushed my ankles.

Struggling to control my breathing, I shakily stepped out of my clothes. His heat rushed back up my body as he stood.

He stroked the cheeks of my ass and I would have stumbled forward into the mantel if he hadn’t wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back into him. Something hard nudged my buttocks and I didn’t need his sudden stutter of breath to tell me it was his arousal.

Warm lips barely touched my shoulder, and then his arm was gone but not his warmth.

The sound of a zipper behind me made me slick with anticipation, my breathing growing louder in the quiet of the room. Clothes whispered and I saw his T-shirt fall to the floor out of the corner of my eye, and then the fabric of his jeans was gone against my behind, the throbbing naked heat of his cock digging into the curve of my butt.

And then that was gone too.

Confused, I twisted my head over my shoulder, my gaze dropping to the rug in front of his empty fireplace. Naked, hard, Cam looked up at me with searing eyes. He lay there, knees bent, arms behind him, palms pressed to the floor.

He held up a hand, not saying a word, and I turned to take it. Positioning myself over him, I blushed, trembling as I stood there with my feet on either side of his hips, so vulnerable and open to him.