by Lisa Shelby
Thank Christ this is what she meant.
“Group yoga? Really?”
“Liam, they’ve all been together for years and have kids or are having kids. Couples outings are everything to them.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the truth of her words.
“I love our little family of friends, but I’m not ready to miss out on time alone—like tonight—with you. You feel me?”
I feel you, Cami. I also feel like a fucking insecure tool who just made an idiot of himself.
“I feel you. Sorry I freaked out.”
She walks away from me and climbs on all fours to the center of my bed—still wearing nothing but my t-shirt. Now that is a view.
“No worries, big guy. But why don’t you come over here and make up for your little temper tantrum.”
With pleasure, Cami. With pleasure.
Chapter 13
Cami
I should be getting ready for the day but the performance taking place in my shower right now is not something I can stand to miss. We’ve got the music up nice and loud, and my big man is in the shower shaking his ass to the tunes bouncing off the bathroom tiles.
Very well, I might add.
He’s singing along too—and he can actually carry a tune—but when a body as fine as his is soaking wet and moves as smooth as his does, well, who really cares about whether he can sing or not. He is so damn sexy I could spend my day watching him read a book so the fact that my man is naked and dancing in my shower is not something I can ignore. His chiseled abs, his muscular legs and arms, and the kind of ass you see posted on all of those romance book pages that I’m a part of on social media deserve to be admired.
My heart still skips a beat when I remind myself that, yes, in fact, he is my man. It’s only been a week and a half, but we have spent every moment possible together. Every minute of those moments is spent with a smile on my face. We have sleepovers every night, and each night is hotter than the next as we explore each other and what turns us on or off. Even when something doesn’t work for one of us, it’s okay. We usually end up in a fit of laughter.
We’ve done the mundane like grocery shopping and running errands. We’ve also done the less mundane like dinner out, dinner in—I much prefer the dessert that comes on the menu when we eat in. We’ve had lunch dates, and we even went to a Blazer game. No matter what we do, we laugh. He is so much fun to be around, and he gives me something to look forward to every single day.
Who would have ever thought I would be with him.
I always knew that he was a sweet guy who was fun to be around—and let’s face it, he was always hot to the point of dreamy—but I didn’t think I would ever be here.
For a short time, I did see him as a bit of a drunk idiot. Now…well, now he’s sort of everything. He is the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think of when I go to bed at night. Lucky enough for me, he is usually lying next to me when I do both of those things.
By the time he’s out of the shower, I’ve pulled myself away from the steaming hot bathroom, and I’m on the floor working at the coffee table with my dream book out to try to draw some sort of inspiration for my Avenue of Dreams project I’m working on with Gabe.
Why did I ever agree to this project?
“Watcha got there?” Liam asks as he takes a seat behind me on the couch. “Wait a second…is that the infamous book?”
He starts massaging my shoulders, and it feels really good. I didn’t realize how tense I had been trying to design the interior of this damn house.
I moan in pleasure. “That feels good, thanks.” He kisses me on top of the head. “It is the infamous book. I was hoping it would inspire me.”
“Is it working? Because if it’s not I can try to inspire you another way.”
“It is working but as much as I like the way your mind works, I have to focus. So, be good!”
“Promise. I have a question, though. I thought the book had everything that you’ve wanted for your dream house. You aren’t going to give those things up for this project, are you?”
“Nope, but I was hoping it might give me some inspiration.” I hop up onto the couch next to him and close my book that I’ve never shown anybody else. Gabe knows about it, but he’s never seen it. “Wanna see?”
He moves a piece of my hair behind my ear, and the sincere look on his face tells me he knows it’s a big deal for me to share this with him.
“Now, I know you build for a living, and I am an amateur, so don’t judge me too harshly,” I say as I open the three-ring binder with all my ideas and inspirations. My very own living, breathing dream book I started years ago before people did all of this online for the world to see. It’s always been very private for me and not something I ever imagined sharing.
“I promise not to judge, and I appreciate you sharing it with me.” His promise comes with a gentle kiss.
He scoots closer so our thighs are touching, and he stays engaged as we flip through page after page of designs and samples of tiles, marbles, paint swatches, and fabrics. All of them meticulously labeled and matched to the room they are meant for. He asks questions and seems legitimately interested.
“Cami, this is crazy good.”
I can feel myself blushing—which I rarely do. “Really?”
He takes the book from my lap and gingerly sets it on the table like it’s the holy grail itself.
“As someone who works with clients to make their dream homes come to life, I couldn’t mean it more. Not only do you have everything planned out perfectly, but you know exactly what you want. It’s all right here. You could literally hand them this book, and they would have everything they need. You are a builder’s dream client, and I would love to build your dream house. Not to mention, your ideas are fucking brilliant.” He lifts up his coffee cup and says, “Here’s to dreams, baby.”
I clink my very appropriate mug that says, Don’t Quit Your Daydream on it with his pink, I’m Sorry for What I Said Before I Drank This Cup of Coffee mug and take a sip of my now lukewarm cup of joe.
Inside, you could knock me over with a feather. I have never met a man so supportive of a woman’s dreams, and he is so sincere. Not only did he say he would love to build my dream house, but he said I was brilliant.
I try to play it cool when I say, “Well, one day I want to do just that. Hand my book over and make it happen. I think you’re out of my price range for the time being, but one day, Mr. Fanua, I may just hire you.”
“Oh, Miss Holsted, I am sure we could come up with some kind of arrangement for payment.
His lips connect with mine, and just as he starts to lay me back on the couch to work on the details of such an arrangement, his phone rings.
He holds the phone up and it’s Jonathan. He answers just like I would if it was Emily calling.
“What’s up, J?” he says into the phone but his eyes are back to mine and his big hand is slowly creeping under the hem of my shirt.
“Uh…um…yeah she’s here.” His hand retreats, and he pushes the button on his phone to put it on speaker. “Okay, you’re on speaker now.”
“Hey, chica,” Emily says into the phone, and my eyes go wide. I can feel them practically bulging out of my head.
“Hey,” I say sheepishly.
“Start talking, you two,” Jonathan demands from the other end of line.
Shit! They know! How do they know? Shit, shit, shit! Emily and Alex are going to kill me for keeping this from them!
I jump up from the sofa and start pacing back and forth across my living room floor. When I look at Liam and mouth they know, he just shrugs. He doesn’t seem worried at all.
“What exactly do you want to know, brother?” Liam says, kicking back deeper into the sofa and relaxing with his bare feet up on the coffee table in front of him.
“Liam, you know exactly what he wants to know.” Emily sounds irritated.
“I guess I must be slow then. You’re just gonna
have to come out and ask exactly what it is you want to know.”
“Dude, are you and Cami together? Cami, are you seriously seeing this guy?” Jonathan asks as though his mind can’t comprehend the fact that the two of us might be together.
“And what if we are together?” Liam questions back.
Wow, he seems much more laid back about this than I do.
“You know we wouldn’t mind, but it makes it seem a little suspect when you don’t tell your best friends about it. It makes us wonder what’s really going on with…”
In a move that I would not have hesitated to use, Emily pulls no punches when she gets down and dirty and interrupts her husband. “Are you exclusive?”
All I can hear is the slow pounding of my own heart in my ears. I know we sort of covered this topic last Thursday when we decided to try to be an us, but I have wondered if it was just the heat of the moment. We haven’t discussed it again and Liam is well…Liam. It’s not a secret that he likes to date.
I’m frozen to the spot I was wearing into my carpet and search his eyes to try and gauge what he’s thinking. But his words…his words erase all of my fears.
“Hell, yes! I’m not sharing her with anybody else. I don’t care what any of you have to say about it, we’re doing this. It’s right, J.” He lifts his eyes to mine. “So right. Nothing you can do about it.”
I walk my stupid self back to the couch, where he takes his legs off of the table, and I straddle him and kiss him quietly.
After a moment of silence from the other end of the phone, my sister from another mister asks quietly, “Why did you keep it from all of us? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, Cam.”
I can hear the pain in her voice but once again, Liam takes the lead. He guides me so that I am lying down on the couch—like I was before they called—and he answers Emily while he places the phone on the table.
“Because we wanted some time to ourselves. We love you guys, but we knew once you all found out we’d be doing all sorts of group dates and shit and right now we just want to stay home…if you know what I mean?”
By the time he’s answered them, he’s removed his shirt and mine, and they lie in a pile on the floor. He’s crawling all over me like simply talking about us being together stokes a fire inside of him. My heart is filled to the brim, and lying here on my couch with this giant of a man hovering over me, I am overwhelmed with love.
I know it’s too soon but I can’t help the strong feelings I have for him.
“Speaking of, I got to get off this phone, man. No offense.” He picks the phone back up and faces it in my direction. “Say goodbye to Emily, Cami.”
“Bye, Emmers! We’ll talk tomorrow. Love you, chica!”
“Love you back, and you better believe we are talking tomorrow.”
He hangs up his phone and starts to leisurely trace the curve of my breast with his fingers. I take those fingers and weave my fingers between his as I sit up. I slide up on my knees and my movements force him to move. With the element of surprise and a bit of curiosity on his part, before you know it, he’s the one lying down and I’m now straddling his lap.
Letting go of his hands, I casually drag my nails across his bare chest and make a point of hitting his nipples as I go by each one.
“Liam…” He doesn’t speak. Much to my delight, he actually looks a little scared. “…How did Jonathan and Emily know about us?”
He crinkles up his nose, and I know that he knows he’s been busted when his rarely seen sheepish smile breaks through the surface.
“Uh…I may have told my mom?”
I take one of his nipples between my fingers and apply just the smallest bit of pressure. There’s a panic in his eye because he knows what happens if I don’t like his answer.
“I know we said we weren’t going to tell anybody, but my mom knew something was up when we were visiting and wouldn’t leave me alone about it.”
I give his nipple a full-on twist, and he yelps. “I am so sorry, baby. She’s my mom and of course she could tell. Besides I was too excited to keep it inside, and I had to tell somebody.” He switches our position so he’s sitting up and is cradling me in his arms. “I figured she was far enough away that it would be safe. I didn’t think she would tell Jonathan. Do you forgive me?”
Sitting in his lap like this, I find myself studying his features and running my hands through his ebony hair. He really is a beautiful man. His dark skin and deep espresso colored eyes. Eyes that when you look close enough are full of raw emotion that can tell you his story without him speaking a word. How could I not forgive this man?
“You were excited to tell your mom about us?”
“Is that the only thing you heard me say?”
“No, I heard it all, but that was my favorite part.”
He kisses me hard and long.
All is forgiven.
Chapter 14
Cami
“Here, take my hand.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got it. Patience please. I’m short,” I say sticking my tongue out at Liam above me where he stands already on top of the boulder I’m trying to climb.
“You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met, you know that, right?”
“Independent. There’s a difference.” I grunt as I find a crevice in the damp, moss-covered rock face. It feels slimy and is kind of grossing me out, but I will not be that girl. Ignoring my urge to squeal and gag like I want to, I dig my fingers into the crevice and pull myself the last couple of feet up to the top.
“You say independent, I say stubborn.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Tomayto, tomahto.”
“You wouldn’t want me any other way.”
He steps around me and wraps me in his arms with my back to his front and kisses the top of my head like he always does. The view of the Columbia River Gorge is ahead of us, and the cool mist from the waterfall to our right is leaving a refreshing sheen of springtime on our skin.
“No, I wouldn’t. There isn’t one thing I would change about you, or the view. Cami, this is amazing. It’s absolutely beautiful up here.”
He lets go of me and swings his backpack off his back and pulls out a water bottle for each of us. Being the gentleman that he is, he takes off his hoodie and puts it on the ground for me to sit on.
I know this wasn’t on my grandpa’s list of things a true gentleman should do for a woman, but it should be.
We’re quiet as we take in the beauty surrounding us. The powerful roar of the water cascading over the rocky hillside is almost deafening. My legs are crossed in front of me, my head is back, and my eyes are closed. I let the spray and the sound of the falls wash away the stress of the week and breathe in a deep, soul-cleansing breath.
“Hey, little lady. You okay over there?”
Releasing my breath, I smile, but my eyes are still closed. “More than okay. I love it up here. The sounds. The air. The view. The company. I couldn’t ask for more.”
“I agree. The sound of the waterfall, the fresh air and this view…it’s all pretty amazing. The company on the other hand…”
“I’m amazing and you know it,” I say as a bump my shoulder into his.
“Eh, you’re okay.”
“I’ll show you okay.”
I climb onto his lap and drag my hands up his chest and to his shoulders. His dreamy chocolate eyes never leave mine while I slowly trace his top lip with my tongue like I know he likes. The kiss is gentle, but once I feel his hands start to slowly glide up my legs, I take things further. When I deepen the kiss, I can taste the salt of his sweat mixed with the mist coming off of the waterfall. The taste of Liam mixed with the outdoors is heady.
His hands find their way over my ass, and he pulls me closer to him. He knows what he’s doing when the motion this creates rubs my center over him. I let out a moan of pleasure, and I can feel the lips that taste so good on mine, slowly turn upwards. I pull back, and he looks like the freaking Cheshire Cat.
Wasn’t I the one tryin
g to seduce him and prove to him how amazing I am? Of course, Liam, being Liam, has to use his sex magic on me. All he did was put his hands on my ass and pull my body closer to his—in just the right way.
I push his hands off my body. “I am showing you how amazing I am. I am in charge at the moment.”
His hands leave my body. He leans back on them, smiles his cocky smile but doesn’t say a thing as I drag my hands up his hard, broad chest, around his neck and into his short, black hair. But his hands are back on me as soon as my hands reach his head, and his fingers have found my waistband. His hand starts to dip into the front of my jeans, and I swat it away.
“You don’t play fair. Cheater.” Leaving his lap in a huff, I sit back down on his hoodie. “I was supposed to be seducing you.”
I can feel his eyes on me, and I know that grin is still on his face when he finally speaks. “Stubborn and competitive. Who knew?”
He scoots in behind me, and his big arms come around my chest, and he whispers in my ear. “I can’t help what you do to me, baby. How can you expect me not to touch you when you’re doing what you were doing to prove how amazing you are? It’s because you’re so amazing that I couldn’t keep my hands off of you.”
He peppers kisses up my exposed neck in between the words I can barely hear over the water hitting the pool below us. “You win, baby. I already knew you were amazing. No need to prove it to me, but I’m glad you made the effort.”
“Glad to hear you’ve had a change of heart because I am amazeballs, and there is no denying it.”
The feel of his warm breath on my ear when he chuckles heats a whole hell of a lot more than my heart.
