by Palmer Jones
“Yeah? Well, I asked her, and she said yes. I guess that makes her my date now.” He dropped a large arm around Addie’s shoulders. “Ain’t that right, sugar?”
Using two fingers, she picked the guy’s tree-trunk of an arm up by the cuff of his shirt and let it drop as she moved away. “No, Rusty. I enjoyed the dance, but I’m here with Cameron.”
“Not sure why you’d waste your time with a scrawny, small-town hick like him.”
Cameron shifted, barely a step but enough that it put Addie a little behind him. His muscles tightened.
Rhonda, the owner, appeared at his side. “Howdy, Chief Deputy. I see you met Rusty. He’s my nephew. Came in from Texas today.” She smacked her gum, looking between the two men, and talking fast as usual. “I don’t want my two favorite fellas gettin’ in trouble now. I could see all that testosterone shimmering between the two of you from the other side of the room. I still haven’t replaced the mirror in the men’s bathroom from your last fight.” She popped Cameron on the shoulder. He hoped he didn’t flinch from the harder-than-necessary jab. A warning. “Besides, if you get in a fight, who would we call?” She cackled at her joke.
“A cop?” Rusty spit out. “Figures.” He leaned to the side, tipping his hat to Addie. “Rhonda’s got my number. Call me if you’re ever in Texas, beautiful.”
“Thanks again for the dance.”
As Rusty walked away, Rhonda eyed Cameron a moment.
“Thought I’d traveled back in time with the way you looked at little Rusty. I needed to come to save him.” She shifted her gaze to Addie. “Ain’t never seen Rusty in a fight, but I’d still put my money on this one.” She hitched her thumb in Cameron’s direction. “Called his daddy on him plenty of times back in the day. Fastest fists I’ve ever seen. Laid men out before they knew what’d happened.”
Addie threaded her fingers with his. “I remember him and my brother talking about the fights at football camp. You always said you won.”
“Never saw him lose.”
Addie leaned closer to Rhonda. “Tell me what happened to the bathroom mirror.”
Cameron grimaced. “Let’s not drag all my bad decisions into the light of day, please.” He made sure people obeyed the law. No one respected a law enforcement officer that had won a few barroom brawls.
Rhonda, leather pants, purple sparkly top, and hair teased higher than gravity allowed, gave him a solid shove. “Get your girl out there on my dance floor. Hold on tight. I saw Cummings over there looking her way several times. He wouldn’t return her in the same condition he left with her in. Need steel-toe boots to dance with that old coot.”
The music changed again, even slower. Cameron slid his arm around Addie’s waist, torturing them both as he slowly pulled her to him. The way she looked at him felt like it meant more than a simple dance.
She ran her hands up his arms, over his shoulders, and linked them behind his neck.
Only one beer but it seemed more like twenty the way she threw him off kilter. Made him think things, hope for things, that didn’t make sense. Things that could never happen between them with the distance that would be there in a matter of days.
Her head dropped on his shoulder, her breath brushing across his neck. Her sweet scent, light and fresh, clung to her hair.
He’d lose Addie soon. She’d have the charges cleared and leave Statem. It was too small a town for her.
Just like last time. But, with Jennifer, he’d felt duped. He’d planned his life around one idea that shifted, changed on him without warning. Now, with Addie, he knew up front that she would leave. This wasn’t her life. A small shred of panic began to form in the back of his mind. If he got any closer to her, let her in any further, he’d never want her to leave. Or else he’d have to go with her.
“You’re a good dancer, Cameron.” Her soft words vibrated against his skin. The atmosphere had mellowed out as one song melted into another one. The party people, the ones who like to whoop and holler, had left, leaving two dozen or so couples clinging to each other, swaying on the dance floor.
Rhonda moved through the bar, saying goodbye to the other guests, clearing empty bottles.
Addie nestled her head against his shoulder. Twirling a strand of her hair through his fingers, he watched the golden hues change colors as the Christmas lights undulated above them.
The night was almost done. His one date with Addie finished. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, gathering every ounce of restraint he could muster to pull away.
“It’s time to go.”
Her body pressed a little closer against his. “Okay. But I’m not ready to say goodnight, though.”
He sure as hell didn’t want to say goodnight either, but they didn’t have another choice. He was responsible for her. It went against every code of conduct book ever written to take her back to his place. No matter how much he wanted it.
“I’ll try to see you tomorrow.” The offer resulted in silence on her end. He held up his hand in a goodbye wave to Rhonda. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you back to my parents’ house.”
She cupped his face in her hands, her face void of anything other than open honesty. “Are you sure you want to take me back to your parents’ house?”
God, the matter-of-fact way she asked him punched him harder in the gut than any of her sexy routines he’d seen before.
No. He wasn’t sure he wanted to take her back to his parents’ house. Taking her anywhere else, including his house, wouldn’t result in the distance his job required.
She huffed and turned, walking off the dance floor ahead of him.
He hated exactly two people at that moment. The first was himself, for not being able to shake his strict, by-the-book attitude with the same easy disregard as Addie seemed to do.
The second was whoever invented blue jeans. The vision of Addie’s butt walking away from him would only grind salt in his open wound as he tried to go to bed tonight. Alone.
19
Propped up against the side of the truck bed, Addie crossed her arms against the cold night air and waited for Cameron. She thought the phrase “slow as molasses in January” fit his pace. Slow, steady steps that frustrated her more and more each second that passed by. A sloth looked like a rabbit compared to Cameron at the moment.
She hadn’t had any real intentions of inviting herself to stay with him tonight. Although, the thought of staying with him all night appealed to her. She dreamed to wake up next to the one person in the world who knew her. Knew all about her.
After an eternity, he reached her side and opened her door.
“Cameron,” she whispered as she grabbed his shoulders. Her lips pressed against his.
She wanted to prove that he wanted her as much as she wanted him and tip his decision in her favor.
It worked.
For a moment.
He tilted his head sharply, breaking the kiss. Pinching the bridge of his nose, his voice sounded as frustrated as she felt. “Let me take you home.”
“Is that what you really want?” Her hands slid down his biceps and back to his shoulders. God, she loved his shoulders.
Pain and longing registered in his expression before he cupped the back of her neck and gave her a long, deep kiss. The kind meant for goodbyes. That wasn’t happening yet.
Maybe in a few days.
But not tonight.
As he lifted his head, Addie realized a few of the last patrons leaving Rhonda’s slowed down to watch the exhibition. Making a scene, and making a fool of herself, for the right reasons was worth it. Giving everyone in this too small of a town something to gossip about forced her to climb into the truck and let him drive her away.
Cameron had another thing coming if he thought she’d roll over and play the good girl and do what she was told. She already warned him she would fight dirty to get what she wanted. The dirtier the better when it came to Cameron.
The silence in the truck strained between them as he drove down the dark, two-lane count
ry highway. He glanced at her every couple of minutes.
“Other than this part, I had a nice night.”
“Me, too,” she mumbled. Addie crossed her arms and looked out the window. The smell from the bar lingered on her clothes and in her hair. At this point, two things were clear. It really was dark out in the woods in the country without streetlights, and Cameron needed a strong push to make him get past his rules and procedures. A shove that sent him beyond his boundaries. Something he couldn’t walk away from.
He pulled in front of his parents’ house. All the lights were off. The Sheriff worked the night shift, but his mom’s car wasn’t parked in its usual spot.
Cameron put the truck in park. “I don’t know where Mom could be.”
“Do you want me to call her?” Addie pulled out her cell phone. “I have a missed text. She said to tell you that she had to go to Ms. Iris’s, but that you should have keys to the house.” She failed to mention the winking smiley face and thumbs up she’d added to the end of the text. Mrs. Dempsey understood.
“I’ll have to drive down to my house to get them.” He pulled away from the house she would not be staying in tonight. She’d made that decision, and Cameron would have to get used to it.
But that left her getting past Cameron’s defenses. She’d never cared much for arbitrary rules. Order and pattern, she enjoyed. Programming strings made sense to her. But Cameron’s logic about her being in custody was irrational to her. They both knew that after the court date that she’d be released. Pushing her away because a piece of paper says she was under the Sheriff's Office’s custody this week and next week she’ll be free…that didn’t make any sense.
His strict, tight control might be a necessity at work, but in their relationship, she didn’t have any plans on accepting it. After being so stifled by Brian and not even realizing it, she refused to be polite about what she wanted in life any longer. Right now, she wanted Cameron to let go.
He pulled into his driveway a few minutes later, putting the truck into park and opening his door.
She climbed out after him.
“You don’t have to get out.”
Sticking her nose in the air, she ignored his statement and followed him to the front door. The move might qualify as the pushiest thing she’d ever done. Rude, in fact. She’d write him an apology letter later.
He’d never said he didn’t want her. All his reasons were based on irrelevant logic.
“The spare keys are right inside.” He fumbled with his keys and unlocked the door. She moved in right behind him, closing the door as he said, “Got them.”
In a swift move, she pressed his shoulders back against the wall. A faint trail of moonlight came in from a window on the other end of the house, illuminating the small foyer enough to show her that he held his hands up in the air like someone surrendering. Lacy whined from her crate somewhere in the house. Lacy would have to wait.
“Addie?”
“You don’t get to tell me what’s best for me, Cameron.” She nipped at his bottom lip. Her fingers found the top button of his shirt and slid it free. “Tell yourself whatever you need. Lie again. Plead temporary insanity. False imprisonment.” She undid the next two buttons. “This is what I want. You do, too.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts.” She smiled and reached around to give his butt a squeeze. “Well, maybe one butt.”
“We can’t.”
“We can’t?” She sighed. “Or you won’t?”
“I want to. Really. But, you know we can’t let this go that far.”
She made quick work of the rest of his buttons before running her hands along his bare chest and down his abs. Her fingers rested on his buckle. “I once had a math teacher tell me I can do anything I put my mouth to.” His muscles clenched tight as she pressed a kiss to the center of his chest. His warm skin, his scent, confirmed her desire to make it the night.
“I don’t think that’s what they said,” he muttered. His head fell back against the wall with a thunk. “I’m trying to do what’s right for both of us.”
She pressed her lips against his chest again and muttered, “I don’t care about being in custody.”
He groaned, his voice sounding strained when he said, “You leave soon.”
She ran her hands up his abs, over his chest and back down his arms. “We need to get started. There’s a lot to explore.” He still didn’t get it. This was right for them. If he’d let go, he’d see it. She stepped away, far enough to pull her tank top over her head before tossing it somewhere into the darkness of his living room.
His breath sucked in through his teeth, his green eyes appearing black in the shadows, but he still didn’t touch her.
Interesting. How far could she push her strait-laced cop before he caved? She was in control. Of her life. Of this moment. Brian had stripped her of the power to make her own decisions for too long. But that had been her fault.
No longer.
She unsnapped the back of her bra.
He growled that way that drove her crazy.
She threw her bra into the same darkness where her tank top had ended up. “I think I need help getting out of these boots.”
“Damn it, Addie,” he mumbled as he dropped the keys onto the tile floor. He took over, drawing her close, kissing her until her head swam. She worked the rest of the buttons of his shirt loose, pushing it from his shoulders.
When his shirt dropped away, he scooped her into his arms, taking long steps to his bedroom and dropping her on the bed.
He pulled off the second boot. They locked eyes in the near darkness. This was it. That line he’d refused to cross. The line she hated.
There wasn’t any going back to the distance they’d maintained before. God, their future together was a mess, practically nonexistent, but how could she walk away from Cameron and not feel as close to him as possible?
Easy, she couldn’t. She needed this and so did he. For once, they needed to be with someone for the right reasons.
Cameron toed off his boots and tossed his belt to the corner before covering her body with his. His fingers skimmed down the side of her body, making her laugh as he touched her waist.
His lips smiled against hers. “Somebody is ticklish.”
“A little.” She stroked her hands down his back, letting her nails glide along his skin as he trailed his lips along the column of her throat.
“You won’t make me laugh. I’m not ticklish,” he mumbled as his lips trailed lower until they brushed near her breast. The warmth of his breath made a shiver race over her skin. She gripped his hips, tracing the top of his jeans along his hard waist.
Without hesitation, she flicked open and unzipped his jeans. “I wasn’t trying to make you laugh.”
She wanted to drive him crazy.
Make him want her at least half as much as she wanted him.
His hand finally cupped her breast and touched her the way she wanted. A deep moan vibrated from his chest.
Her eyes closed, and she pushed away any thought of their future.
That was the only sound she wanted to hear.
Addie was in his bed and under his body. Impossible.
Incredible. He took his time, savoring every inch of her with his hands. His mouth. Her sweet curves and scent pushed their reality to the farthest point in his mind. In his room, in the dark, his reality only consisted of her.
He finally couldn’t stand it any longer and reached for a condom.
Her lips looked swollen, and her body vibrated with the same need that flowed through his veins. He’d done that to her. Damn it if he didn’t want to be the man to put that look on her face every night.
“Cameron.” His name in her soft, breathless voice, pulled him back into the present. He slipped into her. The world around him shattered.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t breathe.
He couldn’t, not with his heart suddenly engulfed in flames. And he was supposed to walk away
from her?
He swallowed down the surge to hold onto her forever, kicking the heartbreak away and focusing on how good she felt. Control became elusive and, in a few strokes, their bodies synced. And, while he could, he held onto Addie. For the moment, she was his.
Cameron reached out an arm, finding the other side of the bed empty. He sat up. The sound of the shower running in the bathroom squeezed into his foggy brain.
Addie.
He fell back face first into his pillow. Calling last night “unplanned” was a massive understatement. He’d steeled himself against taking her to his bed since their first kiss, making several mental lists why it would end up a bad idea. She was his responsibility. He lived clear across the country from her. Trevor would have his ass. Then, there was her boyfriend. Or her recent break-up with the boyfriend. He’d never call last night a mistake.
It’d been amazing.
Every inch of her.
She’d want coffee, no doubt. Rolling from the bed, he pulled on a pair of gym shorts and headed to the kitchen. He winced at the sink full of dirty dishes. He hadn’t expected company. He poured soap into the dishwasher, already full, and started the load. At least if it was full of clean dishes, he had a little excuse for the pileup.
Pulling out the coffee, he measured out his usual serving.
Smooth hands wrapped around his torso.
“I hope I didn’t wake you up.” Addie pressed her lips against the center of his back. She scooted under his arm to face him, wrapped in a towel. “A good cup of coffee right now might rival last night.”
With her makeup washed off, her lips unpainted, and hair damp from the shower, she looked too innocent for how he thought of her. Or the things they’d done.
He kissed her, and the same surge of want soared through his body. He’d never make it out of the house if he touched her. Now that he’d had a taste of her, the consequence of destroying his heart didn’t matter.
He stilled her hands at his waistband before she derailed his morning. “Let me fix the coffee, and then, I’ll jump in the shower.”
