“Wait.” Grinning, she walked right up to him. Nothing but confidence—this one—and, by her body language, he knew she had more on her mind than sharing a drink. Lucky for him, because after the encounter he just had, he needed to blow off some steam. “Hang with me for a minute,” he said, leading her back the way she came and toward one of the rooms on the second floor.
THREE
Jarret was a scary jerk and Raine didn’t have to be told twice. Bolting from the room, she didn’t stop running until she was standing outside Camron’s car, struggling to compose herself. I never should have come here, she chastised herself. Marylyn was right. Raine didn’t fit here. Never had, never would.
Finding the doors locked, she climbed onto the hood of Camron’s Jeep and settled in to wait.
It took him nearly two-and-a-half hours before Camron finally found her. Raine shook her head as he wove a drunken path to her. Sliding her legs open, he fit himself between them, wrapped his arms around her hips, and dropped his head in her lap.
Combing her fingers through his short hair, Raine looked back at the still raging party, and compared it to this moment. Marylyn had to be wrong. If Camron was playing some kind of game, why would he be here with her now, like this, with no one else to see it? Where was the fun in that?
It didn’t make any sense, but that didn’t take the bite out of the words. She couldn’t very well punish Camron for her own insecurities though. “Are you ready to go home?”
It took a moment for him to answer, and when he did, Camron’s words were slurred. “I’mtiredlet’ssleephere.”
She laughed. Lifting Camron’s head from her lap, she held his face in her hands. “I have a curfew, remember? My dad would kill me, and you, if I’m a minute late.” And they were already running dangerously close to that deadline.
“Butit’sprom,” he whined, and Raine dropped a kiss to his lips in hopes of placating him.
“Come on, I’ll drive,” she told him, pushing him back far enough so she could jump down. “Where are the keys?”
“Inmypocket,” he slurred, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Comeandgetem.”
Shaking her head, Raine guided Camron to the passenger door. “Are they really in your pocket?” Sticking out his hip, he patted the left one. Rolling her eyes, Raine slipped her hand into his jeans. “Cam, where’re the keys?”
Throwing his head back, he burst into laughter. “Idon’tknow. Trytheotherone.”
Suspicious of the game he was playing, Raine humored him and shoved her hand into the right pocket. Seizing her wrist, Camron forced her hand deeper into his jeans, and there was no missing the hard bulge of his erection. “Camron,” she complained, tugging her hand back.
He groaned at the loss. “You’re no fun,” he pouted.
Irritated, Raine held out her hand. “Give me the keys, Camron. Now.”
Holding them up, she snatched them away and rounded the Jeep. He could figure out how to get in by himself, and if he fell on his ass in the process, it would serve him right.
***
Guiding her through the night-darkened streets, Raine pulled into a long paved drive and followed it up to a fairytale made of brick. “This isn’t a home,” she muttered, gaping up at it. When she told Camron she’d drive him home, she’d expected to find a house, not… this. “This is a palace.”
Camron snorted as he flung open his door. “Trust me, it’s neither.” No longer slurring every word, it seemed the alcohol was beginning to wear off.
Raine gaped up at the two-story colonial, admiring the black shutters framing tall windows, the ivy trellis, and immaculate flower beds. She was so enamored by the view that she almost didn’t realize her door had been opened.
“If you like the outside, you’re going to love the inside. Come on,” Camron said, holding out his hand to her. Closing her mouth, she took it and he led the way, only stumbling over his feet a few times.
Camron wasn’t kidding. The inside was magical, nothing she had ever seen before. White, gleaming marble floors, dark wood furniture, expensive artwork hanging from every wall—even a crystal chandelier hanging overhead in the entry. But what really captured her attention was the staircase. Not one, but two stood before her, wrapping both walls to her left and right and curving up to a Juliet balcony overlooking the foyer.
“God, Cam, this is beautiful.” It must have been amazing to grow up here. Her parents weren’t rich, but they weren’t poor either. Compared to this opulence, though, she might as well be living in a cardboard box.
Camron just shrugged, the grandeur lost on him. “Do you want anything to drink?” Still gawking at her surroundings, Raine shook her head numbly. “Good, then there’s something I want to show you.”
He led her up the staircase to her right to a carpeted hallway lined with doors. Each one stood open, revealing stunning room after stunning room, each outfitted in rich fabrics, muted paint, and heavy furniture. Everything was in its place, shining like new. Raine frowned. Maybe Camron’s comment wasn’t so far off. This wasn’t a home or a palace, but a museum. Perfectly kempt, right down to the dust-free baseboards.
She couldn’t deny that the opulence called to her. Fantasies of what it might be like to be Camron’s wife played in her mind. What would it be like to live there, to have the kind of security their wealth provided?
“Welcome to my humble abode,” Camron said, ending her ruminations. Pushing open a door, he stepped inside.
This room wasn’t anything like the rest of them. Oh, it held the same heavy furniture and muted beige walls, everything neat and tidy, but this room was lived in. The shelves were full of trophies and knickknacks, posters of half nude women covered the walls, and snapshots of him and his friends in various states of fun, all sporting smiles, gave the space life that the rest of the house lacked.
“I like your room,” Raine said casually, as she moved around, inspecting her surroundings. Her words sparked a memory of being in his brother’s room and saying the same thing to him, but before she could start comparing them, she forced them away. She had no business thinking about another guy, let alone her boyfriend’s brother. “It’s very you.”
She stopped in front of his dresser and picked up a frame that caught her eye. In it was a photo of Camron wearing a pair of bright yellow board shorts, water dripping from his hair into his eyes as he smiled wide. As wonderful as he was to look at, she couldn’t take her eyes off the man next to him—Jarett. His black hair shined wet in the sun, dripping down his face and neck to his bare chest and stomach. He was stockier than Camron, his muscles thicker and stronger, defining him as a man whereas Camron’s thinner, more chiseled look spoke of his youth and athleticism. Unlike Camron, Jarett’s smile was more subdued. It didn’t strike her as genuine, as if he’d rather be somewhere else. Touching her finger to the glass, she traced the outline of his face, wondering what had caused that look.
“That’s my brother.” Cam’s voice jerked her from her thoughts. Reaching over her shoulder, he took the frame from her hand and placed it face down on the dresser. “He’s one of those brooding types. Girls trip over themselves for that crap,” he said with a roll of his eyes. Turning her around, he clasped her hands and began pulling her across the room. Walking backwards toward the bed, his smile was teasing. “Don’t tell me you’re into that sort of thing.”
Raine felt her skin heat. “Nope, not even a little bit.” Lie, the little voice inside her head spoke up. Shut up.
“Not even if I were the brooding type?”
“If you were, I might make an exception.” Turning them so her back was facing the bed, she let Camron guide her down onto the pillows. He climbed on top of her, fitting himself between her open legs, and framed her head in his hands.
“Might?”
“Definitely,” Raine answered. “You said you had something you wanted to show me?”
A mischievous smile sprouted on his face as he removed her glasses and set them on a nearby table. Instant
ly, her world turned blurry. “Yep, it’s right here,” he murmured, his beer soaked breath hot on her face. He kissed her, his soft lips caressing as his hips rocked into her, pressing his hardened cock against her moistening core. Raine’s breathing deepened as her body responded to his, the need for more that had steadily been growing with each encounter almost too much to deny.
Slipping his hand up her skirt, Camron groaned against her lips when his fingers encountered her soaked underwear. “God, Raine, I want you.”
She almost said the words, but somehow managed to hold them back. She wanted Cam, too, but she knew he wanted more, and she still wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. But they could do other things… Lifting her hips in silent invitation, she relished the feel of his questing fingers as they pushed the wet material aside and plunged into her body.
Her back arched, her breasts pushing against Cam’s hard chest. “You like that, don’t you, baby?” He pushed a third finger into her, pumping them hard until she was writhing beneath him. “I want inside you. I want to feel your tight little cunt gripping me.”
Raine didn’t answer one way or the other. Instead, she let his dirty words fuel her desire. Already she could feel the orgasm building, coiling tight in her belly. Gasping, her head kicked back, her eyes closed tight. She concentrated on reaching the point of no return.
She and Camron had fooled around plenty. He’d been her first for everything. She’d never known pleasure that wasn’t by her own hand before him. She wanted him, desperately. The clarity of that thought wasn’t a stunning revelation. She’d known for some time that Camron would be her first. She wanted him to take her virginity. At eighteen and preparing to head off to college, she wasn’t sure when her next chance would be to do it. Would they last as a couple? She couldn’t answer that. It wasn’t something that was in her control, but this was. As his fingers moved inside her, rubbing over her G-spot and making her legs quiver, she was preparing to tell him the words she knew he wanted to hear, when she felt something harder and thicker than his fingers prod her entrance.
“Cam,” she muttered, her voice shaky with fear even as her body turned into a raging inferno of want and need. Her body tensed and the knowledge that she wasn’t ready for more hit like a fist to the face. “Cam, wait—”
“Shh, it’s okay, baby. It will only hurt for a minute.”
“Wait, Cam, I’m not—” The scream that ripped out of her was a combination of surprise, shock, and pain.
“Oh, fuck!” Camron’s face hovered over hers, twisted in a moment of pure ecstasy as he brutally plunged into her, ripping through her barrier and burying himself inside her. Hot tears dripped down her temples as Raine tried to overcome the blaze between her legs and adjust to his invasion.
It was the worst feeling ever. As if a hot poker had been shoved inside her, and she supposed that was sort of the case. Camron was big, hard, and felt nothing like the gentle, comfortable fullness of his fingers. She felt stretched beyond capacity, the searing burn unrelenting.
When Camron finally opened his eyes, he looked down at her with triumph instead of the warmth she expected and desperately needed. He grinned down at her, his smile predatory, as he withdrew his hips and slammed back in. “I knew you’d have the sweetest pussy.” She cried out with each thrust, feeling like she would die, hoping it would end. Camron didn’t seem to realize that she was in pain… or maybe he simply didn’t care.
This wasn’t the Camron she knew. He wasn’t being gentle or sweet with her. He was taking from her—stealing the only gift she had to give. Her father always told her that a man who was willing to wait for her was a man worth her love. Camron hadn’t waited. Not at all.
The confrontation with Marylyn came to mind, and Raine’s stomach turned sour. Camron wasn’t who she thought he was, and she suddenly needed to be anywhere but here, beneath him, in his room, in his bed, his house.
She began crying in earnest, pushing her palms against his chest. Her attempt to push him away was futile, his body too heavy for her to move, and as his hips slammed into her, driving his body into hers, harder and faster, she realized he wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted.
Turning her head away, Raine cried silently and prayed for it to be over.
FOUR
Marylyn was right. Raine was nothing more than a conquest. The night Camron took her virginity, he’d dropped her off at her doorstep and she’d never heard from him again.
Not that she wanted to talk to him.
The way he’d taken her wasn’t something she could shake. It haunted her. It disgusted her. Mostly, it left her feeling discarded and ashamed. How had she judged him so wrong?
Things had changed… considerably, and now, although she may not want to speak to him, she had to. She’d put it off as long as she could, but there was no hiding any longer. She had to talk to him, and it was now or never.
Her legs trembled as she worked her way through the milling crowd, her eyes focused on the purple and gold cap straight ahead. Camron had humiliated her in ways that no person should ever have to experience. She let the hatred inside her propel her forward, giving her the false sense of courage she so desperately needed.
Was graduation, in front of his friends and family, the right place to do this?
No. Probably not.
But his refusal to answer her phone calls, his blatant brush-offs, and pretending she was invisible ended here. Cornered, he would have to listen to her.
He just had to.
Raine’s heart drummed violently against her ribcage and sickness rolled in her stomach as she approached the tight group. A well-dressed older couple, she assumed to be his parents, were laughing and smiling, so proud of their son, and there he was, a shining beacon among them, the center of attention.
If only she could say the same for herself. Thanks to Camron, her parents had cast her out of their lives, too ashamed of her to look at or speak to her. She was utterly alone, and a selfish, vindictive part of her wanted that for Camron, too. She wanted to take him down a peg, to see the light in his eyes wither and die, just as hers had.
Stepping into their intimate circle, Raine cleared her throat, doing her best not to back down from the curious looks all aimed in her direction. Camron’s fierce, cold gaze collided with hers and a tremor of fear and doubt dropped like stones in her belly.
“Camron, dear, is this a friend of yours?” The way his mother said friend, while looking her up and down as if she’d suddenly smelled something foul in the air, confirmed Raine’s knowledge of just how poorly she’d fit into his world little more than a month ago.
“Not likely,” Cam muttered as he marched up to her. His blue eyes burned into hers as he loomed over her. “What the hell are you doing here? Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Raine cast an unsure look around the group, her eyes landing on one set in particular she hadn’t noticed before. Jarret was here, and he was staring right at her, curiosity narrowing his eyes and an almost imperceptible frown pulling at his lips. In a dark suit and tie, his black hair tucked behind his ears, he was jaw-dropping amazing to look at.
Tearing her eyes away, Raine forced herself to focus. “We need to talk.”
Looking as if he’d like to murder her on the spot, Camron said through gritted teeth, “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Just because you say so, doesn’t make it true,” Raine whispered harshly. “Five minutes, Cam. After what you put me through, I think you owe me that much.” She let the silent threat speak for itself. Clearly, he didn’t want anyone in his tight little group to know that they’d dated or what he’d done, so how would he react if she aired all their dirty laundry right there and now? Her guess was not well.
Camron’s glare was enough to instill fear, but Raine held her ground, refusing to back down. Even though just looking at him made her break out in a cold sweat, she had to be strong and get through this. Finally, he hissed, “Five minutes.” His mother called after him as he m
arched off.
“Sorry I interrupted,” Raine apologized to his parents, purposefully avoiding Jarret’s gaze. “This will only take a minute.” She sped off through the crowd, searching for Camron. Spotting him just beyond the students in a quiet corner of the campus, she headed in his direction.
“You have some nerve,” Camron spat the moment she was within hearing range.
“I could say the same for you.” Raine’s teeth gnashed together as her anger threatened to burn her up inside. She had to get control of herself. Nothing good would come of them arguing now. “Look, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I just need to say my piece, and then I’ll let you get back to your family.”
Camron flipped his hand in the air in an impatient bid for her to continue.
Drawing in a deep breath, Raine steeled herself for the worst while praying for the best. “I’m pregnant.”
Dead silence met her. Camron’s head drooped down, his hands coming up to hide his face. Raine watched and waited for any reaction—fear, anger, irritation, disbelief. For the longest time, there was no indication that he had even heard her, until he lifted his head.
A droll smile played on his perfect features, and Raine instantly went on guard. “I should have known you’d play that card. What, you couldn’t keep me, so you thought you would try and trap me?”
“This isn’t a trap, Cam.”
Fury burned in his eyes as Camron leapt forward, placing them almost nose to nose. Through bared teeth he said, “Fuck you and fuck your lies.”
“It’s not a lie!” Angry tears burned the back of her throat as Raine held her ground. It was hard to do, considering the amount of hatred bearing down on her. How could he act this way? Had she ever meant anything to him at all? Of course, she knew the answer to that question, didn’t she? She’d never been more than a play thing to him. The truth was a hard, bitter pill to swallow.
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