She laughed and shook her head. “No, but maybe we can find out who he was some other way.” Looking closer, she saw the signs of weariness in his face. Resolutions about her conduct and her heart went out the window. “You know, you really do sound as if you’ve had a rough day.”
He figured she’d find out soon enough. He wanted to be the one to tell her. “I need the file back. Olson found out that you had it and went off the deep end. I think he took it rather personally. He doesn’t want me nosing around the case anymore. He probably figures it looks bad for him. I think he’s planning to run for office in the fall.” That would explain his reluctance to having anything he was involved in dragged out again, especially when the case had supposedly been solved, Cameron realized.
The news unsettled her, but she resigned herself to it quickly. She hadn’t expected much help from anyone when she began this, not even Uncle Dan. “All right.”
He’d expected something else from her, not placid acceptance. That belonged to the old Serena, not the exciting woman he’d made love with last night, and then again this morning.
“All right?” he repeated.
What did he want her to say? That she didn’t care if this ruined his career? Of course she cared. Her parents’ death had ruined enough lives already, without his being added to the tally.
“I don’t want you to get into any trouble on my account.”
Her answer made him angry. He wasn’t quite sure at what. Maybe it was because part of him was afraid she was trying to push him away again, despite last night.
“Then I’ll get into trouble on mine. Serena, there’s something really not right here. Now, whether Olson’s just upset because we’re doubting his word, or because he doesn’t want his record thrown in doubt, or if there’s some other reason behind this, I don’t know. But something is definitely going on, and I want to find out what. It wasn’t a ghost who left those dolls here for you to find, and it wasn’t a ghost who killed Edda. Somebody is hiding something, and I’m not letting them get to you first.”
She knew she shouldn’t let him make this sacrifice. And she shouldn’t allow herself to be even the slightest bit dependent on him. But she couldn’t contain the glimmer of happiness sparkling within her. “Then you’ll go on helping me?”
“I’ll go on helping you,” he agreed. Then, forcing himself to lighten his tone, he asked, “All right, now, what’s for dinner?”
It was such a normal question, it made her laugh. “I didn’t have time to get anything.” Serena reached for the telephone. “But I can call out.” She glanced around. She knew she’d put the telephone directory somewhere. “What’s your pleasure?”
He came up behind her, his arms encircling her waist, and nibbled on her ear. “You.”
Tiny tongues of desire darted through her ear, spreading quickly to previously charted territory. The telephone slid from her fingers, and she turned around in his arms.
“I think I can serve that up. Hot or cold?”
His arms tightened around her, just as desire tightened around him. “Surprise me.”
Chapter 12
He had no idea how much he craved her, until she gave herself to him. He’d had no feeling for how empty he was, until he filled himself with her. The sight, the scent, the very feel of her, poured through him like honey, coating everything it passed.
It was as if this morning had never happened, as if he’d been judiciously fasting all these years. And she was his reward.
His feast.
Pressing her against him so that he could feel the warmth of her body pass to his, Cameron pleasured himself by trailing his mouth along the length of her neck, reacquainting himself with tastes he’d already sampled, delicate curves he’d already skimmed.
It did no good. Instead of satisfying him, it only made him want more. More of her, more of the dizzy sensations that relentlessly battered his body whenever his mouth touched hers.
Over and over again he kissed her, as his hands molded her to him, possessing and yet not completely believing that she was really here, really his, to love as he chose.
Her clothes got in his way. Cameron was only half-conscious of pushing them aside, tugging them off. All he knew was that his body was burning and only she could quench the fire.
She was lost from the first. Lost and found at the same time. Lost in him, and found because he brought out things within her that lay sleeping. Only he could make her feel so wonderful. Lighter than air. Eternal.
How could she have ever existed for so long without this?
And how would she be able to go on once it was only a memory again?
The sadness surprised her, opening up within her like a black abyss and threatening to swallow her. Frightened, she pulled away from it, like a child running from the dark.
He felt her stiffen, felt the involuntary jerk as it seized her body. Cameron drew his head back to look at her.
“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”
Even as he asked, he cursed himself for not going more slowly. For letting his passion rule his common sense. But it was so difficult to maintain restraint. He needed her so badly, he’d practically ripped the halter top off her body. Regret assaulted him with the force of a broadsword wielded by a gladiator.
“No.” Embarrassed, Serena shook her head. “It’s just that...”
He hated when she hesitated like this, as if she were afraid to share things with him. Maybe it wasn’t fair of him, but he wanted her to share her feelings, he wanted to know every thought that was in her head. And to be part of her life in every way. The way he’d once been.
“Just that what?” he asked coaxingly, when she made no effort to continue.
“Nothing.” If she talked about it, that brought the inevitability of it that much closer. And she didn’t want to think about that now. To think of them being apart again.
She wanted him to make the abyss go away. To wipe her mind clean of any thoughts, save those of him.
Standing on her toes, Serena laced her arms around his neck, her breasts pressing against his chest. She saw the look in his eyes and knew that he wasn’t thinking about probing her mind anymore.
“Take me, Cameron. Make me forget everything but you. Make love with me,” she whispered urgently.
The smile on his face bordered on the mischievous. “Am I going about it wrong? I thought that’s what I was doing.”
“No, not wrong.” Serena nipped his lower lip gently between her teeth and ran her tongue along it. She could feel his desire grow. “You’re doing everything right. Just keep on doing it. Please.”
The smile faded, and he bridled the urgency in his veins. “Serena, what’s wrong? Is there something else? Something you need to tell me?” He used the word need, rather than want, because he knew that what she wanted was to keep her own counsel. But he couldn’t help her if he didn’t know.
Instead of answering, or giving him a chance to ask more questions, Serena sealed her mouth to his. She kissed him with such force that it swept everything else from his mind, except that he had to have her.
She gave him no opportunity to summon control. With urgency cheering her on, she raced her mouth over his face, his chest, his torso. Kindred feelings, kindred needs, spawned within him. And reinforced her own.
It was a race from that moment on, a race to see just how much she could goad him, how much he could ignite her. How much they could pleasure each other.
Hands fumbling, getting in each other’s way, they undressed one another as if they were fighting the hands of some unseen clock. Clothes were shed, scattered without regard, without thought or notice, until they were both completely naked. Each of them clothed in the other’s desire.
The frenzied ritual continued as they used lips, tongues and hands to explore one another again and to reaffirm the mind-numbing power they each held over the other.
He loved to hear her moan when he kissed her, loved to feel her twist and turn when he touched her. It filled him
with a sense of triumph, and at the same time humbled him, that someone so perfect was his.
Pushing her gently down on the floor, Cameron indulged himself in the fantasy he’d thought of this morning. Slowly, languidly, he began forging a path from her toes up along her legs to her thighs, then straightened the path momentarily, so that it only lightly touched the very essence of her before dividing again just above her navel. He laid claim to each breast in turn, to each shoulder, to every part of her, until it was his, irrevocably and without question.
Almost whimpering, Serena quivered and twisted beneath him, encouraging him to go faster, pleading with him to linger. He did both, retracing his movements until the trail was one again. And then, with deft movements, his tongue as skillful as the tip of a brush used by an inspired artist, Cameron brought her up and then over the first crest.
The gasp of surprise tore from her throat as her hips moved urgently, pressing deep into the heart of the explosion. When it finally faded, she went slack, falling back to earth. Exhausted, she felt a bittersweet sadness seep through her, and mourned the fact that it was over.
And then, suddenly, it wasn’t, as Cameron began all over again. Her eyes flew open, and she was stunned that the feeling could return so quickly, holding her so powerfully in its grip. She wanted to absorb it, to let him take her on the breath-snatching journey again.
But even stronger than that was the desire to make him feel what she did.
Her heart pounding wildly, Serena managed to rise and catch him off guard. With a quick movement, she reversed their positions.
Finding himself flat on his back, Cameron propped himself up on his elbow, only to have her push him down again.
“What are you doing?”
“Payback” was her only answer.
Her only verbal answer. But her message was communicated loud and clear as Serena forged paths of her own, giving in kind what she had received, and glorying in the fact that Cameron was her prisoner as much as she was his.
With each quick intake of breath she heard, she became more emboldened. More caught up in what she was doing. She could taste him on her tongue. Deep, dark, manly tastes that would always stay with her, long after this night was over.
“You don’t want to do that,” Cameron warned suddenly, shuddering as he felt her tongue stroke over the length of him. He gripped her shoulder to make her stop.
Confused, she raised her head to look at him. “Why not?”
“Because.” His voice was tight, husky, as he struggled valiantly for control. “I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out, and I want to see your eyes when I make love with you. I want to know that you’re mine.”
“You don’t need to see my eyes for that,” she told him softly. He had only to feel her heart to know. But she stopped and dragged her body seductively over him until her face was once again level with his. “Is this what you had in mind?”
“No, this is.” And he was over her in less time than it took to say it.
His hands were laced and locked with hers, as if each were one-half of a prayer, and his mouth fused to hers when he entered her. Serena arched to receive him, drawing him in even farther. He felt her wrap her legs around him, locking him in place as they took the last part of the journey together.
Just before the final volley, he thought he heard her cry out his name. Cry out that she loved him. But he wasn’t certain.
Someday, he promised himself, he would be.
His breathing torn and ragged, Cameron felt as if his lungs were bursting. He slumped against her, vainly searching for a scrap of strength. There wasn’t any to be had. She’d completely, utterly drained him.
He could feel her heart pounding against his. It brought a smile to his lips. Cameron knew he would always want it to be this way, to feel her against him. To know he had only to reach out to find her.
It was the same wish he’d had eleven years ago. But this time, he meant to make sure it would come true.
Finally, he scraped together enough energy to push himself up enough so that he could look at her. Overcome by the blush of desire on her cheek, he pressed a kiss to her temple.
The sweetness filtered through her, almost undoing her, even more than the ardent lovemaking had.
A smile curled along her lips. “You can do better than that.”
“Soon,” he promised on a sigh. “Very, very soon. If I live.”
Laughing, she hit his shoulder with the flat of her hand. “You’d better.” She tried to rouse herself and found that the thought of staying here another minute or so was infinitely more appealing. “Hungry?” she murmured.
He had enough strength to move his head from side to side. Once. “Too tired.”
So was she, she thought. Tired and completely contented. “You know, I think we might be on to something here.” She turned her head to look at him. “A new diet plan.”
What was going on in that head of hers? he wondered affectionately. “Come again?”
“Just make love first, until you’re too tired to eat. The pounds’ll just melt away,” Serena explained, then grinned. “What do you think?”
He slipped his arm around her and pulled her against him. Her hair brushed against his arm, stirring him. “I think you’ll have to do a lot of selling to get the idea across.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She turned her body into his. “Works for me.”
He felt her breasts move against him with each breath she took, and began to want her all over again. It struck him as incredible that he couldn’t seem to get his fill of her, even for a few minutes. When it came to Serena, he was like a bottomless pit.
“You know what works for me?” he asked her, tracing the outline of her lips with the tip of his finger.
Anticipation began to wiggle through her. “No, what?”
“You do.” He pulled her on top of him and felt himself growing hard. “Everything about you.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, framing her head. “Serena, I am so glad that you came back into my life.”
And would he be just as glad, in the end, to see her go? If things turned out badly, would he be glad to see her leave?
She didn’t want to think of that now. Not now when she wanted him so.
“So am I.” A smile filtered into her eyes. “I must have lost at least three pounds since yesterday morning.”
She was incorrigible, and he loved her this way.
He loved her the old way. Damn it all, Cameron thought, he just loved her.
“Care to try for four?”
Her mouth was already descending to his. “I’d love to.”
It was happening again.
She was standing in a dark place, with shadows closing in around her. Shadows that had voices.
Arguing voices.
She couldn’t tell how many, only that they were there and they were angry. The noise had begun like the sound of angry bees and swelled until she realized that the sound was human. That people were arguing.
This time, the voices were clearer,
Her mother’s voice.
And someone else’s. A man.
Her father?
Serena wasn’t standing in the dark anymore, a lone figure against a black-velvet canvas. The darkness had a shape. She was in her room.
The voices suddenly became louder, and then there was another sound, a horrible sound.
The sound of a gun being discharged.
She heard her father’s voice. Calling. Calling her mother’s name in terror. His voice sounded as if it were coming from a long distance.
From somewhere down below.
Her father’s voice sounded closer now, almost upon her. He was still calling for her mother.
The voice stilled. The silence was shattered by another shot.
And then nothing.
Until she screamed. Over and over again, screamed until there was no breath left within her.
Someone was grabbing her, holding her. She began to struggle, to fig
ht, but the arms tightened around her. They wouldn’t let go.
Another voice penetrated the terror surrounding her. A deep, gentle voice.
Cameron’s voice.
“Shh, Serena, it’s all right, it’s all right. Honey, you’re just having a nightmare, that’s all. Just a nightmare.”
Gasping for breath, Serena clutched at his arms, holding on to him as if she thought something terrible would happen if she let go.
Cameron’s heart quickened. Serena was shaking. This had to be what it had been like for her the night she discovered her parents. He hated that he hadn’t been there for her. That she’d had no one to turn to in her fear.
Rocking, holding her against him, he stroked her hair. “It’s all right, baby.”
“Cameron,” she whispered, as if saying his name would scatter the last remnants of the terror that had descended over her.
He could feel her breathing returning to normal. Relieved, he kissed the top of her head. “That must have been some nightmare. I’ve been trying to wake you up for the last five minutes. You were moaning and thrashing around in bed something awful.” He looked at her face. She was pale, as if something had terrified her. “Want to talk about it?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. She just wanted it to go away.
“It was about your parents, wasn’t it?” She didn’t have to tell him, he could see it in her eyes. “Have you had the nightmare before?”
“Yes,” she replied reluctantly.
“Often?”
“A few times.” She shrugged, looking away. She could still feel her heart pounding against her rib cage, fluttering in her throat. It made her feel weak all over. She hated that feeling.
With a deep sigh, she leaned against him. “A lot,” she admitted. “But it was never so clear before. I heard them. I heard what happened that night.” She twisted around to look at him. “My mother was arguing with someone, a man. She was calling him names, laughing at him.”
“Your father?” he guessed.
“I don’t think so. I heard the sound of a gun, and then I heard my father calling out her name. He sounded like he was far away. Downstairs.”
Serena Mckee's Back In Town Page 15
