Tempting Cameron

by Karen Erickson

  He lowered onto her, his big, strong body covering her completely, pressing her into the mattress. “You want more?” His mouth whispered over hers, his hands buried in her hair, keeping her in place.

  She nodded, opened up to him when he deepened the kiss. God, she could drown in him. Just like that her skin heated, her body softened, dampened for him. She spread her legs, his hips nestled close to hers and she tilted her head back, moaned when he licked his way down her throat.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered, kissing her again. “We’re gonna have to make a run for the store to replenish our condom supply soon if we keep this up.”

  Chloe pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “I refuse to buy condoms at Hillside. Everyone will know what we’re doing.”

  “So?” He brushed the hair out of her eyes, away from her face. His green gaze was dark, fathomless.

  Her breath caught in her throat. “I thought you didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “They all know.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “And if they don’t, they’ll figure it out when they see I can’t keep my hands off you.”

  They stared at each other, didn’t say a word, the moment charged with…a strange tension, fraught with emotion. So much left unsaid, and she wished he would finally open up to her completely. She savored every little truth he’d given her, but she wanted more.

  She wanted it all.

  The doorbell sounded, startling them both, and she blinked up at him, completely frozen.

  “Who the hell could that be?” he whispered.

  Chloe shook her head. “I—I don’t know.”

  “Hmm.” He kissed her for long, delicious seconds. “Maybe if we don’t answer, he or she will go away.”

  “What if it’s Jane looking for you?”

  “I’ll call her later.” He thrust his hips against her, slow and easy, showing her exactly what he wanted to do instead of seeing who was at the door.

  Whoever it was started knocking. Waited a second then knocked again. “I know you’re in there, Chloe! I see your car in the driveway.”

  “It’s Ali.” She shoved at Cam’s brick wall shoulders, trying to push him off her, but he wouldn’t budge. “I need to see what she wants.”

  “Let her go. You can talk to her later.” He nuzzled her face with his, so sweet and warm. She sighed, breathing in his heady scent.

  She wanted to give in to him. If she had her way, she’d stay in bed with him all day. Naked and sleepy, making love, napping together, eating together, making love again.

  But real life intruded. And she needed to see what her friend wanted, make sure everything was okay.

  “Just give me a few minutes.” Rearing up, she kissed him on the cheek. “Please?”

  “Well, since you asked so nicely.” He rolled to his side, letting her go. She leapt from the bed, went to the dresser, and pulled out a pair of black stretch cropped leggings, then grabbed her favorite bright pink sports bra, slipping it over her head before she threw on an old oversize T-shirt.

  All the while Cam watched her, lying on his side, elbow pressed into the mattress, head propped on his fist, smug smile curving his lips.

  She paused while pulling her hair back into a sloppy ponytail, breathless at the sight of him lying there, the sheet low on his hips, his hair a mess from her hands, his mouth swollen, his face scruffy with who knew how many days’ worth of stubble. She wanted to climb back into bed and hold him close. Forget about everyone else.

  “Changing your mind?” His brows rose in question.

  Chloe shook her head. “No. I can’t. I’ll be right back.” She started for the door but turned around, went to him so she could give him one more kiss.

  He sat up, cupped the back of her head and kissed her again, his lips lingering when she slowly pulled away. “You sure I can’t tempt you to stay with me and ignore her?”

  Oh God, he could tempt her. He already was. “Just give me a few minutes. And stay in the room. I don’t want her to know you’re here with me.”

  “You don’t think she’ll figure it out?” He frowned.

  “Your truck is still at The Tree. And I need to tell her first. Not have you sauntering out there in your underwear looking like you do.”

  He chuckled. “Like I’m going to saunter in front of Ali only in my underwear. And what do you mean, looking like I do?”

  “All relaxed and loose with that satisfied grin on your face.” She pulled away from him completely, went to the bedroom door.

  “You’re wearing the same look, babe,” he said softly, causing her to glance back at him. “And you’re real pretty with it, too.” The heat in his gaze told her exactly what he was thinking and with a groan she escaped, shut the door behind her.

  Ali was still pounding away. “I’m going to break this door down if you don’ t answer it,” she yelled, sounding positively fierce.

  “Oh my gosh.” Chloe opened the door, startling Ali and she leapt back. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

  Alison looked incredibly irritated. And worried. “I’ve been trying to call you. Hoping you’d go on a walk with me. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Chloe pressed her lips together. She felt bad for ignoring her friend. “I’m sorry. I think my phone shut off and I forgot to charge it.”

  “Uh huh.” Ali rested her hands on her hips, clad in her usual let’s walk around the lake gear. “Where have you been? I haven’t talked to you in days. Weeks.”

  “Busy.” She shrugged. Lamest excuse ever. She wasn’t even working—they were both on summer vacation. They usually spent most of it together.

  “With whom?” Ali arched a dark blond brow. “Cameron McKenzie?”

  She’d told Alison hardly anything, guarding her fragile relationship with Cam close to her heart for fear something could go terribly wrong and she’d look the fool. “You want to take that walk, then?”

  “It’s sort of hot out here now,” Ali protested but Chloe stepped onto the front porch, shutting the door behind her. “All right, if you want to.”

  “Great. Wait here for me. I need to go get my shoes on.” She hurried back into the house, slamming the door behind her and running to her bedroom so she could tell Cam what was up.

  He was right where she left him, lying on his back now, his linked hands resting low on his flat belly. He snuck one eye open when she entered the room, watching her as she grabbed a pair of socks and her shoes. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving.”

  “I’m sorry.” She sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him, pulling on her socks. “Ali said she needed to talk so we’re going on a walk. I can’t abandon her now. I’ve ignored her enough these last few weeks.”

  “You’re a good friend.” She heard the sheets rustle, tensed when she felt him draw near. “How long will you be gone?” His finger traced a path down the back of her neck, sent tingles scattering all over her skin.

  “I—I don’t know. An hour at the most.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, surprised by all the emotion she saw swirling in his eyes.

  “I’ll miss you.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Hurry back,” he murmured.

  She’d make sure of it, just to see that look in his eyes again.

  They walked silently for at least five minutes, making the occasional mundane weather remark until finally, Alison gave in first. “What’s going on?” she asked. “And tell me the truth. I know something’s up.”

  “Nothing’s going on.” At the look Ali threw her, Chloe sighed. “Fine. I’m seeing Cameron.”

  “No kidding,” Ali muttered, shaking her head. “I don’t know if I approve, Chloe. He’s not…the best guy for you.”

  “Oh, come on. You don’t even know him.” Chloe stared out at the lake, which was packed full of boaters, jet skis, and people swimming at the lake’s edge. Having fun on a hot summer day while she was being interrogated. She wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation. More than anything, she wi
shed Ali would just stay out of it.

  “Mac’s told me some stuff.” Chloe stopped at that and so did Ali. “He’s worried about you. He’s afraid…”

  Chloe snorted. “Afraid of what?”

  Ali’s concerned gaze met hers. “That Cam’s using you.”

  “For what? We’re hanging out, nothing else.” Chloe resumed walking, Ali following her. Yeah, that had been the truth up until last night. “I’m a big girl. Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”

  “He was with you, wasn’t he? You left him back in the house.”

  Chloe hurried her steps but Ali kept up, grabbing her arm to stop her. “You had sex with him, didn’t you,” Ali accused.

  “So? Who are you, my mother?” Chloe threw up her hands. “Since when do you care so much about my sex life?”

  Ali flinched, as if Chloe’s words hurt her. “I’m your friend, and I’m concerned about you. Cam isn’t what he seems.”

  “If all your information is coming from Mac, then I wouldn’t put too much stock in it,” Chloe retorted. “They’ve always fought. And it’s been worse lately.” Because they fought over me, she thought, but she wasn’t about to mention that little fact.

  “I’m not talking about what Mac says. This is from my own personal knowledge,” Ali said, her voice, her expression deadly serious.

  Chloe’s mind scrambled. What could she be talking about? “Are you making up stuff to try and keep me away from him? I don’t get it. Why does everyone not want me with Cameron? Is it me? Is it that hard for people to believe he wants to be with me?”

  “Chloe—” Ali started but she cut her off.

  “No. I don’t want to hear any more of this.” She turned, started heading back to her house.

  “Come on, hear me out,” Ali called after her but Chloe ignored her, kept her gaze focused on the ground. One foot in front of the other, taking her back to her home, to Cameron.

  “Fine, you won’t talk to me? Then ask him what happened the night of your accident.”

  Chloe stumbled, tripped over a rock, and fell to the ground, scraping her knees, hurting the palms of her hands. Ali ran to her, helped her stand back up, slinging Chloe’s arm over her shoulders to keep her upright.

  “What are you talking about?” Chloe whispered, dread filling her, making her nauseous. Her knees stung, she could feel the blood trickling down her leg, but she couldn’t move.

  The pain written all over Ali’s face was clear. She didn’t want to say this. “He asked me to keep it quiet. He promised me he was going to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?”

  Ali looked away, breathing deep. “I can’t believe you still don’t remember.”

  “Just tell me!” Chloe moved away from Ali, leaning against a nearby tree. The bark cut into her back but she ignored it.

  “You two had an argument. I don’t know everything that was said but I called you. It was right after Mike pulled you over.” Ali paused. “You were really upset. Sounded like you’d been crying.”

  “Mike pulled me over?” Chloe frowned, recalling the dream she’d had earlier. Maybe it hadn’t been a dream after all, but a memory. “Where did it happen?”

  “What, your argument? In the parking lot of the bar. I found Cam out there, all sullen, miserable bad boy. Then the next thing I know, you wrecked your car and he’s the one who pulled you out of it. You’re at the hospital and he’s walking out of your room, his face full of guilt.”

  Chloe tried to process everything Ali said but it was so hard. “When did he talk to you?”

  “At the hospital the day they released you. He asked that I not say anything about that night. That he would tell you everything when you were feeling better. He didn’t want to upset you. Said you were traumatized enough.” Ali pressed her lips together into a grim line. “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

  Chloe blinked. No, he hadn’t told her. He’d kept it from her. “Cam never mentioned it. He must have a reason, though.”

  “Sure, he has a reason. He knew you’d be mad once you found out. Whatever he said, you were really upset. Crying upset, Chloe,” Ali reminded her. “Distracted and crying and then you get into an accident. So he blames himself and becomes your hero. Why do you think he’s been at your beck and call ever since?”

  Ali’s words slashed at her heart like the sharpest knife, tearing it to shreds. She made it sound like the only reason Cam spent time with her was out of a strange sense of guilt.

  That couldn’t be true. Could it?

  She pushed away from the tree, wincing at the pain in her knee. It was the only thing she could feel. Otherwise, she was numb. Completely numb. “I need to go home.”

  “Chloe…”

  “I need to go home,” she repeated, ignoring the stinging pain in her knee, focusing on the numbness instead. “I need to talk to Cam.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Chloe walked into her house, her heart aching at the domestic scene before her. Cameron in her kitchen, wearing the shorts from yesterday and nothing else, a carton of eggs sitting open on the counter, a bowl in front of him and a whisk in hand. “Hey, you’re back earlier than I thought.” He smiled at her.

  She stood in the middle of her tiny living room, unable to move. Her entire body hurt, not from the scratches she suffered when she fell but from Cam’s deception. It felt like the worst sort of betrayal, especially when he had no idea she knew.

  Wiping his hands on a dishtowel, he threw it on the counter, his strides determined as he headed toward her, the sweetest smile on his face. The kind of smile she’d always hoped would someday be directed at her and no one else.

  Now it was all a lie.

  His hair was damp, curling about his neck in a way that made her ache to touch him there. She loved his hair, loved his handsome face, loved everything about him. That he’d gone and done this, held some stupid argument from her, spent time with her out of a twisted sense of guilt…

  “What happened to you?” He stared at her bloody and scratched knees. “Did you fall? Where’s Ali?”

  Chloe swallowed hard, collapsed onto the couch behind her. “I left her back on the trail.”

  “Let me get something to clean you up.” Before she could protest he was back in the kitchen, running a clean washcloth under the tap, squeezing all the water out of it until it was damp. He came back into the living room and knelt before her, her knight in shining armor as he gently tended her wounds. She hissed when he touched a particularly sore spot and he sent her a sympathetic glance. “Sorry. You really scratched yourself up. Got any Band-Aids? Antiseptic cream?”

  “Cam.” Her voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, and his gaze met hers once more, his brows furrowed. “I don’t need a Band-Aid.”

  He cocked his head, looking confused. “Are you okay?”

  She slowly shook her head, her entire body trembling. “No. No, I’m not.”

  He touched her leg, rested his warm, reassuring hand on her thigh, and she jerked away from him. “Chloe. Tell me what’s wrong.” He sounded worried.

  Well, he should be.

  “What happened the night of my accident? When we were at The Tree?”

  Cam blinked slowly. “You know what happened.”

  “I’m not talking about when we were in the bar, me flirting with you and making a fool of myself.” She closed her eyes briefly, breathing deep before she continued. “I’m talking about out in the parking lot.”

  He remained silent for long, tense moments. Too long. “What did Ali tell you?” His voice was tight, his expression grim.

  That he even asked devastated her. Proved that Ali was right. “She told me only what she knows, which isn’t much, since according to her, I was a babbling mess when she called me.” She kept her gaze level with his. “Tell me, Cam. Tell me what you said to me.”

  A harsh sigh escaping him, he looked away from her, kept his gaze trained on the floor. “I was an asshole.”

  “Tell me.”

  �
��I was trying to cut you off quickly so I wouldn’t keep on hurting you. That’s what I do best, you know.” He lifted his lids, his glimmering green eyes meeting hers once more. “You were so determined to get past all my barriers. You always have been. And you almost had me. But I knew then, I wasn’t good enough for you, Chloe. I’m still not.”

  “Tell me. What you said.” He was talking in circles when all she wanted was cold, hard facts.

  “I turned you down. You were adorable, flirting with me, asking for an adventure and I wanted to give you one. So damn bad.” He laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I bailed on you, went out to the parking lot, and you followed me there. Offering me a ride because even after all that, you wanted to make sure I was safe and I’d get home okay.” He shook his head. “That pissed me off. Why couldn’t I shake you? Why couldn’t you leave me alone?”

  Tears formed in her eyes, rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away. “Say it, Cam. I don’t want to ask again. Tell me what you said.”

  The memories were there, hanging on the edge of her mind. Harsh, terrible words meant to inflict pain, which they had. The dream came back from earlier. The words he’d said to her.

  It was pretty obvious, what with the way you were always there, like a little pest. Giving me those puppy dog eyes all the time. Like you’re doing right now.

  “Honestly, I can’t remember exactly what I said.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you. I was just being a callous asshole that night, but you’ve…changed me. You know that, right?”

  He was a liar. “Just…fucking…say it.” She rarely cursed, and she never said that word. She was a second grade teacher. The entire town expected her to always be on her best behavior. But she couldn’t take it any more. She had to hear the truth.

  No matter how much it hurt.

  His eyes wide, he finally, finally blurted it out. “I called you a pest. Told you we all knew about the crush you had on me, that you’ve always been blind to my faults because you couldn’t see beyond your adoring puppy dog gaze focused only on me. Or some shit like that.” He hung his head, sounded positively gutted. “I feel cornered, I attack. That’s how I’ve always operated. And you were cornering me, Chloe. Trying so damn hard to get me to let you in.” He paused. “The minute you walked away from me, I felt awful. And then, when I was walking home along the lake road and heard your car flip, saw that it was you…”