by Joss Wood
If the choice was between luxury and warmth, space and coziness, Vivi’s house would win hands down. It was a home, while his place was just a richly decorated space.
Vivi opened the door to the small bedroom and gestured him inside. There were stuffed animals in Clem’s bed, and the curtains were printed with tiny farm animals. A chest of drawers stood in the corner of the room and a battered bookcase held a wide variety of children’s books.
Cam’s attention was pulled from the room when Vivi bent over to toss the stuffed animals to the bottom of Clem’s bed. God, she had a perfect ass. His eyes drifted down and Cam could easily imagine those long legs wrapped around his waist, her breasts in his hands, her sexy mouth on his. God, he wanted her. As much—no, far more than he had three years ago.
Vivi straightened and turned, and their eyes collided. Moments passed as electricity arced between them, and neither of them moved, each knowing that the other was remembering, wanting, craving. Memories of that night occasionally surfaced, along with mild regret, and he accepted that making love with Vivi was one of the best sexual experiences of his life. But Cam knew that if he made love to her now, tonight, nothing would ever be the same.
It was almost enough to make him walk away. If it weren’t for Clem, he would.
Vivi wrenched her eyes away and gestured to the bed. “You can just lay her down. She won’t wake up. She sleeps like the dead.”
Cam stepped up to the bed and Vivi moved away, as if scared to touch him. He didn’t blame her; they had the ability to go up in flames. He held Clem gently, releasing his breath when she was on the bed, her cheek on her pillow. Vivi, still taking care not to make contact, tugged her tiny shoes off her feet and then her socks, revealing perfect, perfect toes. Everything about Clem was perfect...
And Clem’s mommy wasn’t too bad, either.
Vivi placed the shoes and socks on top of the chest of drawers, crossed her arms and rocked on her heels. “So, again, thanks for your help. But if you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave.”
He wasn’t ready for go, not yet. He could stay here. This could be his place.
Cam closed his eyes and shook the fantasy away. Just because you have a daughter doesn’t mean you have a family. It doesn’t work like that. Not now, not ever. You’re projecting, fantasizing, McNeal. That isn’t something you do, something you’re allowed to do.
You deal in facts, cold and hard.
Cam jammed his hands into his pockets, his eyes on Vivi’s extraordinarily lovely face. So, deal in the cold and the hard, he told himself.
He wanted Vivi. Wanted her more than he wanted to take another breath.
He wanted to be part of Clem’s life. He would be part of her life.
And that meant not allowing Vivianne to hustle him out of her house, her life. That meant sticking. And staying.
Cam tipped his head, considering a plan of action. He could seduce Vivi. It wouldn’t be hard. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Within a minute, maybe two, they would be swept away by lust and need and want, oblivious to anything but how they made each other feel. It would be easy, effective, efficient.
But sometimes easy and effective wasn’t right, wasn’t honorable. Vivi had had a hell of day and she looked wrung out. He knew that she was physically sore, bruised and battered, and she had to be as confused and wary about his reappearance in her life and Clem’s as he was about her.
And he wanted Vivi willing and eager and hot and wild. He wanted her fully engaged, utterly focused on him and how he made her feel. He wanted all of her, every lovely mental and physical inch of her.
He should leave, give her some space, but he didn’t want to. Not yet. But he didn’t have a good enough reason to stay.
“It’s been a crazy day, huh?”
Cam released a quick laugh at her understatement. “Crazy is one word for it,” he admitted, pushing his hand through his hair. Suddenly noticing that his throat was dry, he gestured to the door. “Got anything to drink? I’m parched.”
Vivi wrinkled her nose, as if trying to remember what was in her fridge. “I have some white wine... Maybe a beer?”
“Beer would be good,” Cam replied. He sent Clem another look—God, he had a daughter!—and followed Vivi down the hallway and toward the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles, watching as her head disappeared into the fridge, leaving him with a view of that ass and those legs again.
Cam rubbed his hand over his face and forced his thoughts out of the bedroom. God, he hadn’t thought this much about sex and a woman’s body since he was sixteen. Time to get a grip, McNeal. And maybe, dammit, it was time for him to go.
He could pick this up tomorrow, the day after... Maybe he should give himself, and Vivi, some time to come to terms with this turn-their-lives-upside-down day.
Vivi straightened and closed the fridge door before spreading apart her empty hands. “Sorry, no beer. And my wine is also finished.”
Cam suspected that she was lying and that like him, she’d had a bit of a talk to herself while her face was buried in the fridge. He didn’t like lies—couldn’t stand them, in fact—but he’d let this one slide. “No problem.” He stood up straight and pulled his car keys from his back pocket. “Can I do anything else for you before I go?”
Surprise flashed across Vivi’s face, suggesting that she wasn’t used to offers of help. And that pissed him off. Where were her friends? Her family? “Do you want to use my phone to call anyone for you? Your mom, a friend?”
Distaste jumped in and out of her eyes and her expression cooled. “No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine on my own.”
And he thought he was proud and self-sufficient. Miss Vivianne almost had him beat. “You sure?” he pushed.
“Very.” Vivi snapped out the word.
Whoa, fierce. Cam lifted his hands, a little amused. His daughter’s mom had fire in her veins and he liked that, liked that she wasn’t a pushover, that she was independent and feisty. God help him when he got her back into bed. They’d both spontaneously combust.
Because that was exactly where they were going,
And if he didn’t leave this house right now, that was going to happen sooner than later...
Cam heard the discreet beep from his phone and pulled the device from his back pocket. Like many other Houstonians, he’d set up a series of alerts on his phone to keep abreast with the flood situation. Now he was suddenly glad he had. He read the Tweet once, then again, just to make sure before releasing a quick, sharp curse.
Vivi snapped her head up, immediately realizing that something was very wrong. “What is it?”
“Water has spilled over the wall of the Addicks Reservoir, and the Barker Reservoir is very close to its limits. The Army Corps of Engineers are going to open the gates to the reservoirs. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued. You need to get out of here.”
Vivi just stood there, her forehead wrinkling. “But those reservoirs are supposed to help with the flooding.”
“I think they are in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation,” Cam replied. “But we don’t have time to argue about the pros and cons of the engineers’ decisions, Viv. Your house could be flooded. I need to get you and Clem out of here. Let’s go.”
Vivi nodded and all but ran out of the room, Cam hot on her heels. “Can you grab Clem while I pack a bag?”
Cam grabbed her arm and spun her around. “We don’t have time for you to grab anything, Viv, except Clem. We have to go now!”
“Some toiletries, a change of clothing,” Vivi protested.
Because he understood how hard it was to walk away from everything you’d struggled to earn, he wanted to give her that time, but her life and Clem’s were far more important than clothes and things. He forced himself to ignore her pleading eyes, her sad expression. “Clem. That’s it.”<
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He didn’t give her a chance to answer, spinning on his heels to return to Clem’s bedroom. Gathering her in his arms, he released a frustrated grunt when Vivi darted past him to pick up a stuffed monkey toy, well-loved and battered. He tasted panic in the back of his throat, not knowing how much time they had. Holding Clem against his shoulder, he grabbed Vivi’s hand and tugged her through her house. He ushered Vivi into the front seat and took a moment to place Clem in her car seat, quickly figuring out the clasp that held her in place. She was still asleep, thank God. A screaming, crying child would make this situation that much worse.
Running around the hood of his car, he noticed that the neighborhood was suddenly alive with activity. A car farther up the street was pulling out, another on its tail.
This wasn’t a drill, this was real life and it was as scary as hell. Would he be this worried if he was only worried about his own hide? Probably not. Being responsible for Vivi, and Clem, increased his anxiety by a thousand degrees.
He would not let anything happen to them...
Starting the SUV, Cam pulled out of the driveway. He stomped his foot on the accelerator as his eyes flicked between his rearview mirror, the road in front of him and his speedometer. He grimaced as he geared down, taking the corner on something that was close to two wheels.
Thank God that catching drivers speeding through a residential area was the last thing on the minds of cops this afternoon.
Six
She’d trashed her car, nearly drowned, been admitted into the ER unconscious and forced out of her house thanks to a dam overflowing. And Cam McNeal was back in her life. It was fair to say she’d had a hell of a day. So when Cam pulled into the super exclusive neighborhood of River Oaks and then into the circular driveway of a French-château-inspired home, Vivi didn’t have any energy left to feel surprised.
She glanced into the back seat, saw that Clem was still asleep and looked past the house to the golf course that formed the back border to his house. She couldn’t imagine Cam playing golf, schmoozing it up with his business buddies on the links. Despite his designer clothes and luxury car, Cam looked too wild for the preppy sport. With his height and build she could see him playing rugby or water polo, hard, intense sports that required strength and stamina, determination and aggression.
Following a small ball across acres of grass didn’t seem his style.
But what did she know? She’d spent a night with the man three years ago; she’d barely scratched the surface of what made Cam tick. Vivi gestured to the golf course. “Do you play?” she asked, her curiosity demanding an answer.
Cam dropped his big hands from the wheel—long fingers, wide hands, hands that had caressed her with a skill she’d never known before or since—and released a short, sharp chuckle.
“Ryder Currin has pulled me onto the links more times than I’d like, and I hated every moment. He calls me a ham-handed philistine.” Vivi caught the note of affection in his voice for Ryder. Ryder, as she’d read, had been Cam’s first investor, and from their visits to The Rollin’ Smoke, she knew they were good friends. But the admiration and respect she heard in Cam’s voice, conveyed in only a few words, suggested he was more than Cam’s good friend and that there was a bond between them that went deeper than she’d suspected. Vivi wanted to pry and probe but forced herself to pull the words. The world had shifted under her feet a few times today. She didn’t need to complicate her life further by digging into Cam’s fascinating inner world.
And dammit, every aspect of him was fascinating. He was rough and tough and acerbic and controlling, but underneath it all he was also kind and considerate and generous. She didn’t know what to make of him. On her best day—and today was very far from being that—she’d find him challenging. He was still in top physical shape, but he felt harder, stronger, more capable than three years ago, more solid, like his feet were firmly anchored to the earth.
So were hers, Vivi admitted. They’d both come a long way in three years. They’d both worked their tails off, and while she wasn’t as financially fluid as Cam—few people were—she was proud of how far she’d come.
She was also proud of her child’s dad for what he’d accomplished. If only he still wasn’t so damn sexy, if only he still didn’t affect her. One look from him and she melted, envisioning him undressing her, those big hands skimming her body, his talented fingers finding her secret, long-neglected places, his mouth devouring hers. She still wanted him.
She really didn’t want to want him.
Cam’s gentle touch, his fingers brushing her hand, pulled her back to the present, and she realized that she’d been staring at him. Vivi felt her cheeks heat. “Are you okay?” Cam asked, his rough voice full of concern. How many times had he asked her that today? Far too many.
She had a damn good excuse for her inattention and she’d use it. After all it wasn’t every day that one could claim to have cheated death. “It’s been a long, tough day.”
“That’s an understatement.”
And as much as she wanted to fall face-first into a bed, she had a child to look after, to feed and bathe, who needed love and attention. And she could do that someplace else. She couldn’t stay here with Cam. It was all too much. “Can you take me to a hotel, Cam?”
Cam turned in his seat, rested his wrist on the steering wheel and sighed. “If I make you feel that uncomfortable, I’ll drive you two blocks over and book you into one of the guest suites of the country club. At my cost.”
“I can pay—” Then Vivi realized that she couldn’t actually pay for a damn thing. Her purse containing her identification and her bank cards was long gone.
“Look, why not just stay with me? I have guest bedrooms. My housekeeper will be in in the morning and since she routinely moonlights as a nanny to some of the neighborhood kids, she’ll be more than happy to help me keep an eye on Clem if you want to sleep in or just take a break.” Cam turned his eyes from her face to look at his enormous house. “You’ll be safe here, and Clem will be safe here. Isn’t that the most important thing right now?”
He used the one argument she didn’t have a rebuttal for. Clem’s safety would always be her top priority. Vivi ran her fingers across her forehead. She wanted to tell him she was scared, that she felt uncomfortable being here with him. She was terrified he would be too good to them, that she would find herself falling under his spell, swept away by the fantasy of playing a happy family with the wealthy, sexy father of her child. Cam was magnetic and her desire for him hadn’t faded; she could easily imagine herself in this house, in his bed.
But Cam was a take-no-prisoners, my-way-or-the-highway type of guy, and she would never, ever allow him that amount of control over her or Clem. It was her life, and Clem was her daughter; she would sink or swim by her choices.
“I’m not asking you to marry me or to move in, Vivianne,” Cam said, sounding impatient. “It’ll just be for a few days, until you can return to your house.”
Vivi narrowed her eyes at him. “So you aren’t intending to seduce me, to find a place in my—Clem’s life?”
Cam flashed her a quick, rakish smile. “Of course, I am. Our chemistry is off the charts. And Clem is my daughter, so of course, I want to get to know her. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into marriage and moving in. Besides, I’m not cut out for family life in suburbia.”
Vivi looked from him to his big house with its elegant facade, sparkling windows and beautifully landscaped gardens. Raising both eyebrows, she said, “Then why the hell do you own this house in the trendiest suburb in Houston?”
Cam turned away from her, muttered something that sounded like “I have no damned idea” before tapping a button on his dashboard. The massive garage door opened and he drove his SUV into the garage. Vivi looked at the expensive super-bike, the powerful boat and a German-engineered, imported sports car and shook her head.
She’
d come a long way in three years—from broke and pregnant to stable and successful—but Cam’s success had been meteoric. Vivi looked behind her and smiled at her daughter’s peaceful, beautiful face. Cam had the money but she had Clem.
She’d got the better deal, no doubt about it.
* * *
“Shh, Clem, Mommy might still be sleeping.”
“I is hungry.”
Vivi, half asleep, wanted to tell Cam that nobody came between Clem and her food, but her eyelids felt heavy and the words stuck in her throat. She sighed and pushed her head into the soft down pillow, allowing her body to sink into the super comfortable bed.
Vivi felt the tiny hand patting her face. “Mommeee! I’s hungry!”
“I’m sure I have cereal, Clem. Let’s leave Mom to sleep and see what we have.”
Clem asked if he had a particularly sugary cereal that wasn’t standard fare in their household, and Vivi realized that sometime between yesterday and this morning, Clem had lost her shyness and was her normal chatty self.
“Your teeth will fall out, Clementine, if you eat that rubbish,” Vivi mumbled, still unable to lift her heavy lids.
Clem rested her lips on hers and Vivi smiled. Early-morning kisses from Clem were just the best thing ever. She opened her eyes and smiled. “Hey, baby girl. Did you have a good sleep?”
Clem nodded enthusiastically. “I trieded to wake you.”
Bad Mommy. Vivi pushed away the surge of guilt and stroked Clem’s cheek. “Sorry, baby. Give me ten minutes and we’ll make a plan for breakfast.”
“Am going to Charlie?”
Vivi forced herself to think. What was today? Friday? No, it was Saturday and that meant no day care. And because she had Clem with her, that also meant she couldn’t go down to The Rollin’ Smoke to help clean up the restaurant. But maybe they could take a drive down there and see if any progress had been made.
Then she remembered that she didn’t have a vehicle. Or a phone to arrange for one. Or identification.
