“I love you.”
She closed her eyes and her shoes dropped to the floor. The sound made her snatch her eyes open and she dropped to her knees to pick her shoes up. Without looking at him she gathered them in her arms and said, “This is getting complicated. I have to go.”
He took a few steps toward her. “What’s so complicated about me loving you?”
She looked at him as she stood up. “Because I’m not sure how I feel about you.”
He reached out and pulled her to him again, making her drop her shoes for a second time. He picked her up in his arms and moved to sit on the bed with her cradled in his lap. His teeth caught her earlobe before he whispered huskily, “Don’t you? I’m betting my money that you love me, too.”
She pulled back and stared down at him. “Why do you think that? Because we enjoy great sex together? A lot of people enjoy great sex, Cameron.”
He shook his head. “We’re not talking about a lot of people. We’re talking about us. And we share more than great sex. You’re everything I want in a woman, Vanessa. You’re compassionate, honest, trustworthy and—”
“But I’m having doubts about you, Cameron. You take people’s companies away. What you do affects their lives. I read an article on the Internet a few weeks ago about what you did to that company in Texas, Global Petroleum, and how the people resent you for taking it over and that’s why you’re having problems there.”
Cameron moved her off his lap and stood, somewhat irritated and trying like hell to hold on to his temper. “You can’t believe everything you read, especially not off the Internet, Vanessa, and particularly not off that particular site. John McMurray had that site up and running for a while mainly to discredit me.”
“But—”
“But you have to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
“But I don’t. My family could have been in the same boat that Global is in now had you succeeded in taking over the Steele Corporation.”
“No, the circumstances are different, Vanessa.”
“I don’t think that they are.”
Cameron inhaled deeply. He loved this woman with all his heart and soul but more than anything, he wanted her to believe in him and trust him completely. “I’m leaving for Texas tomorrow and will probably be gone for a week or two. When I get back, let’s have dinner and talk. There are a few things I think we need to clear up, okay?”
She slowly nodded and then stood and slipped into her shoes. “I have to go. If I don’t see you or talk to you before you leave, I hope you have a safe trip.”
And then she was gone, hurrying out of the bedroom and down the stairs to leave his home.
“So, Vanessa, how do you think things went at the party the other night?”
She glanced up from the document she was reading to see Morgan in the doorway of her office, a silly grin on his face. He knew better than anyone that she had missed most of the party while she was in this very office playing hanky-panky with Cameron.
Even now the memories were still vivid. She wished she had gone to church on Sunday to hear Reverend Carrington’s sermon. She glared over at her cousin. “I have a bone to pick with you, Morgan.”
He smiled. “What kind of bone?”
“Not a juicy rib-eye, that’s for sure. I don’t like being set up.”
“And you think you were set up?”
“Yes.”
“Umm, I don’t recall you complaining about it that night when you came back downstairs. In fact, you looked rather giddy. Like the cat who’d gotten the canary.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is the point?”
She inhaled deeply and decided to use another approach. “What is it with Cameron? Other guys have tried dating me, and you, Bas, Donovan and Chance have always been overly cautious, checking them out to make sure they don’t intend to run off with the family china. Yet, Cameron is a man known to take over companies and it seems like the four of you, especially you, Morgan, are all but handing me to him on a silver platter. Hell, let’s forget about silver, let’s even try a gold platter.”
“We like Cameron. He had a rough life with the way he lost his parents, yet he made it. He’s a survivor.”
“But look at what he’s doing to those companies,” she implored.
Morgan rolled his eyes. “Name one company where the employees haven’t benefited from Cameron’s takeover.”
“What about that one in Texas? Global Petroleum.”
“That’s personal for Cameron.”
Vanessa arched a brow. “And how is it personal?”
“He had a score to settle with the owner.”
“And for that reason he took over an entire company? What about the employees?”
“Like I said, they will end up in better shape. A lot better than Cam’s grandfather did over twenty years ago.”
Vanessa frowned. “What about Cam’s grandfather?”
Morgan came into her office and closed the door behind him. “You know about him?”
She shrugged. “Only what Cameron shared with me. I know he was fired from his job of forty years less than a year from retirement, and he lost all his benefits.”
“And did Cam tell you the name of the company responsible?”
“If he did, I don’t remember. Why?”
“Because Global Petroleum is the same company that fired not only Cam’s grandfather but five other men who were about to retire. None of them had a grandson like Cam who was willing to drop out of school to help make ends meet. Two of the men died within the first five years, the others still living are destitute. They’re old men, in their late eighties. One is in his nineties. Cam took over Global Petroleum not only for revenge, but he’s taking the company’s first five years of profits to give to those remaining four men so that they can live out the rest of their lives without wanting for anything. All the profits will be split among the survivors and their families.”
Vanessa leaned back in her chair, amazed. “He’s actually doing that?”
“Yes. And in my book that’s a pretty nice gesture for a guy you think is nothing more than a jerk.”
“I never said he was a jerk. I just never understood him, until now.”
Morgan shook his head. “And you still don’t understand him, Vanessa. The man loves you. That’s why I don’t worry about what may or may not be happening between the two of you. One thing I’ve discovered since becoming Cam’s friend is that true friendships are important to him, and because of it, he picks his friends carefully. And the reason he loves you is that he truly believes you’re more than worthy of his love.”
Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and met her gaze. “The big question of the hour is whether you’re going to prove him right or wrong.”
That night, after taking her shower, Vanessa slipped into bed with Morgan’s words from earlier that day on her mind.
“…And the reason he loves you is that he truly believes you’re more than worthy of his love.”
She shook her head. If Cameron did think at one time that she was worthy of his love, chances were that after what she’d said to him their last morning together he didn’t feel that way now. She had told him that she doubted him, and now he probably wouldn’t want to see her.
She sighed deeply, knowing she would go stark raving crazy if she had to wait another week before he returned to Charlotte to find out. She quickly reached across the bed for the phone.
A sleepy feminine voice answered after three rings. “Hello, Lena, how are you? May I speak with Morgan for a minute?”
It took another minute for him to get on the phone. “Vanessa, it’s almost midnight. What is it that can’t wait until you see me at the office in the morning?”
“I hope to be on my way to Texas by then.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to Austin and I need Cameron’s address. Hold on, let me grab a pen.”
A few minutes later, she ende
d her call with Morgan. She believed she was worthy of Cameron’s love. Now she had to make sure he still believed it, as well.
Chapter 18
“Cam?”
Cameron glanced up from the papers he’d been reading and saw both Xavier and Kurt standing in the doorway to his office. It was late afternoon and the three of them were working at his Austin home. So far, since his meeting with McMurray a few weeks ago, things had been running smoothly at Global Petroleum and he hoped they continued to do so.
“I thought the two of you were leaving to pick up dinner.”
Kurt cleared his throat. “We were, but you got a visitor.”
Cameron frowned, wondering who it could be. Very few people knew about the small ranch-style home he had inherited from his grandfather. He had to assume his visitor was one of the neighbors. Lately, more than one had come forth offering to buy his house mainly to get the land, which consisted of over ten acres. “Tell whoever it is that I’m busy.”
“I don’t think you want us to do that,” Xavier said with a smirk on his face.
“Why not?” Cameron asked, not understanding just what was wrong with his two friends.
Kurt grinned. “Maybe you ought to see for yourself and then I think you’ll understand.”
“Fine,” Cameron said angrily, tossing the report on his desk. He stood. “Where’s this person?”
“In your living room.”
Cameron left the office with Xavier and Kurt right on his heels. He’d taken a few steps and then turned around with an arched brow. “Just what the hell has gotten into you two?”
Kurt gave a sly chuckle. “Ask us that after seeing your visitor.”
Cameron frowned, thinking he really didn’t have time for this.
He walked into the living room and stopped dead in his tracks. The first thought that came into his mind was that he did have time for this. Vanessa was standing in the middle of his living room wearing that black skirt he didn’t like, the one she had purchased in Jamaica. His throat went dry and his gaze traveled the full length of her, up and down her legs, her thighs…Speaking of her thighs, the skirt barely covered them.
Their gazes connected. He felt the heat. It didn’t matter why she had come, all he cared about was that the woman he loved was here in his place, invading his space, affecting the very air he was breathing.
“Now you understand what we meant, Cam?”
He blinked, suddenly remembering Xavier and Kurt. He quickly turned to them. “Leave!”
Kurt, being the smart-ass, said, “Are you sure? She could be an enemy. Maybe we ought to search her first.”
“Touch her and I’ll have to kill you,” he said through clenched teeth. “Leave and don’t come back.”
Xavier raised a curious brow. “I thought we had a lot of work to do. You said we’d be working well into the night.”
“Out!”
He watched the two men make a beeline for the door, and, as soon as the door shut behind them, Cameron turned his attention back to his visitor.
He took a couple of steps forward. “I never liked that skirt on you.”
Vanessa met his heated gaze and said, “Then take it off me. But I need to warn you it’s the only thing I have to wear.”
He frowned. “You wore that all the way from Charlotte?”
She shook her head. “No, but I did wear it from the hotel in downtown Austin. I had that full-length raincoat over it,” she said, indicating the yellow slicker tossed across a chair. “A lot of people stared since the sun was shining outside.”
He released a deep sigh. “Thank God for that.”
“For what? That the sun was shining outside?”
“No, for that full-length raincoat.”
She nodded. “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here?”
He shook his head as he crossed the distance of the room to stand in front of her. “You can tell me later. Right now I can only concentrate on one thing.”
“And what are you concentrating on?”
“Taking that damn skirt off of you.”
Vanessa’s body reacted instantly to Cameron’s words. Blood rushed through her veins, every cell seemed sensitive. The tips of her nipples beneath her top tightened and a warm pool settled between her thighs. He was the only man who had the ability to do this to her. With just words and an intense look, he could put an achy need within her so compelling and deep that she knew of only one way to soothe it.
“Don’t concentrate too hard,” she heard herself saying.
He didn’t.
The next instant Cameron reached out and with a flick of his wrist he undid the fastener at her waist and the skirt dropped to her feet. Just that easy. Just that quick. She was left wearing her top and a silky strap of barely nothing that was meant to cover her feminine mound. He thought it wasn’t doing a very good job and he licked his lips in anticipation of tasting her. Without wasting any time, he removed her top and then got down on his knees and eased her thong down her legs.
He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, and then he dipped his head and tasted her, right in the juncture of her thighs.
“Cameron.”
He sucked in a deep breath when he rose to his feet. Every muscle in his body ached for her. God, he wanted her. He wanted to make love to her all day and all night. And he didn’t intend to waste any time.
He swept her into his arms and strode quickly to the bedroom where he placed her on his bed. He drew back to remove his own clothes but she caught hold of his collar and pulled him back to her and began nipping at his bottom lip, licking it from corner to corner with the tip of her tongue.
Sensations within him intensified, making his need for her monumental, nearly insane. He was so fully aware of this woman—his woman—and he intended to leave his imprint all over her. He pulled back again and this time he swiftly removed his clothes, then rejoined her on the bed. He wanted to erase whatever doubts she had about him. He wanted to fill her with his love, so much that it would spread to her own heart. He had enough for both of them.
“Cameron.”
When she opened her arms, he went into them, and when she captured his mouth, he surrendered all. Something akin to desperation swept through him, and he ran his hands everywhere on her body, needing the feel of her beneath his palms and fingers.
A distant part of his brain told him to take things slowly, but he couldn’t. He needed this session to be fast and quick, deep and hard, and he needed it now. He eased his body into place over hers and entered her, and the moment she arched against him, he felt a climax coming on. But he held it back, needing the connection a little while longer.
It was a challenge when every cell in his body was electrified, every pore open to sensations he felt only when he was inside her. And when he felt her own orgasm rip through her, his heartbeat accelerated and his pulse kicked up another notch. He was too far gone to hold on any longer and when the world seemed to explode all around them, he felt it. It seemed the bed rocked, the ground shook, the lights in the ceiling began falling….
“What the hell!”
He jerked up. He was not imagining things. He pushed Vanessa out of the way before a layer of plaster fell down on her.
“Cameron, what’s going on?”
Instead of answering her, he snatched her wrist and handed her his shirt as he quickly slipped into his pants. “Hurry up and put it on so we can get the hell out of here.”
It didn’t take long for him to figure out that someone was outside firing explosives into his home with the use of a handheld missile launcher. He dropped to the floor and pulled Vanessa down with him when all the walls seemed to start tumbling down.
When they crawled to the living room the place was in shambles, and he jerked her head down as a missile flew past her head. He cursed. The damn thing had barely missed her. He knew whoever was on the outside expected him run out through either the front or the back entrance, thinking that they had him cornered.
“C
ameron, what’s going on? What are we going to do?” Vanessa whispered.
He glanced down at her. She didn’t deserve to be involved in this. The person on the other side of that door had a beef with him and not her. He needed to get them to the part of the house that he knew was safe. The storm cellar his grandfather had built right after Hurricane Gilbert.
He glanced down at her. “I need you to trust me, Vanessa,” he said meeting her gaze and gently rubbing her cheek. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
She nodded. “I do trust you, Cameron, and I love you. That’s why I came all the way to Texas. I couldn’t wait to tell you.”
Her words touched him and he wanted to kiss her, but time was not on their side. He needed to get them out of there. They made it to the kitchen and he pushed open the cellar door. It had been years since he’d been down there but this would be their refuge until help arrived. Someone had to have alerted the authorities by now that his ranch had become a war zone.
He led Vanessa down the stairs and except for a little dust and a few spiderwebs here and there, the place was okay. He took them as far back into the cellar as he could and then pulled her into his arms. This was a waiting game and he only hoped whoever was out there would eventually assume he had succeeded in what he came to do and haul ass.
In the meantime…
He turned Vanessa to him and leaned down and kissed her, needing the taste of her, the assurance she was all right and they were together. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
Cameron wasn’t sure how long they huddled down there before he heard someone call his name. He placed his fingers to Vanessa’s lips, not yet certain whether the person beyond the cellar door was friend or foe.
A smile touched his lips when his name was called out again and he recognized Xavier’s voice. “Stay put for a second while I let him know we’re down here.”
Vanessa watched as Cameron raced up the wooden stairs and responded to his friend’s call through the door.
“Stand back, Cam!”
He did and then she saw the head of a huge ax slice through the door frame before it was kicked in. And then those two men stood there, the ones who had let her into Cameron’s house earlier. The expressions on their faces showed they were relieved to see he was okay, but they were mad as hell.
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