by Joss Wood
Ryder rolled his eyes as he settled in behind the wheel. “I’m not a damn taxi service,” he grumbled.
“I know.” Cam looked Ryder in the eye. “I’m also relying on you to not let me chicken out at any point between here and her place.”
Ryder started the pickup and the engine rumbled. “No problem. I’ll just keep slapping some sense into you.”
Tough love, Ryder style. Cam smiled, knowing that he wouldn’t need it.
He only needed his lover, the love of his life, and his daughter.
* * *
Sleep evaded her. It seemed sleep was only something she’d done before her accident and before meeting up with Cam again. So she was awake when she heard pounding on her front door. It was way past ten. Who the hell would be banging on her door at this hour?
Vivi flung back the thin sheet covering her thighs and wondered if it might be another flood warning. Panic caught in her throat and she hurried through her small house to the front door, jerking it open without checking the peephole.
Cam, looking—oh, let’s be honest here, simply wonderful—stood on her front porch.
“Check before you open, Viv. I could’ve been any random dude out to rob or rape you.”
Okay, he looked great but his attitude could use some work. “Did you come over here at this crazy hour to harangue me about not taking safety precautions?”
“No, but it’s an added bonus,” Cam muttered. He pushed a hand through his hair and scowled at her. “Are you going to make me do this outside?”
“Do what?” Vivi asked, confused.
Cam answered her by placing his hands on her hips and pulling her into his hot, strong body, wrapping his arms around her and capturing her mouth in a searing kiss she felt right down to her toes. Her hands found their way to his face—the face she’d missed so much—and she groaned softly. It would be so easy to boost herself up his body, wrap her legs around his hips and allow him to carry her to her bedroom. Judging by his intense kiss and the hardness pushing against her stomach, he’d have no problem with that idea.
One more time, for old times’ sake.
And then the pattern would be set. She’d push him away, he’d come back, they’d sleep together, and she’d realize it wasn’t enough and she’d end it again. No, she had to be strong and stop this in its tracks.
She didn’t want to be strong, though. She wanted to keep kissing Cam under her dull porch light.
Strangely, it was Cam who pulled away, Cam who stopped the craziness. He rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “I see you and my brain shuts down,” he said.
Was that a good or bad thing? She had no idea.
“Can we please go inside?” Cam asked her, his sweet breath warm on her face.
Vivi nodded and stepped back into her house. Cam closed the door behind him and flipped the lock. Vivi shook her head; she lived in a safe neighborhood and she wasn’t concerned about crime. But then she remembered that Cam had seen the darker side of life, had rubbed shoulders with some not very nice people, and remained silent.
“How’s Clem?” Cam asked, rocking on his heels.
He’d asked her the same question earlier and nothing had changed since then. “She’s asleep.”
Cam whipped around and walked down her short hallway to Clem’s room. Opening her door, Vivi watched as he walked inside to stare down at his daughter. She watched his face soften and his expression turn tender. His love for his daughter was indisputable and Clem was lucky to have such an amazing dad in her life. He’d protect her, love her, tease her and laugh with her. He’d be her first love, her shelter in any storm.
“She’s so beautiful, Viv. So amazingly perfect,” Cam said, running his finger down Clem’s cheek.
She really was. Vivi couldn’t help placing her hand on Cam’s back and leaning her head against his shoulder. “We did good work,” she agreed.
“I want her,” Cam said, keeping his voice soft. Then he turned to her and his eyes blazed with conviction, determination sparking in those deep blue depths. “I want you, us. Together. All the time.”
Vivi felt her knees soften and gripped the edge of Clem’s cot to steady herself. She stared at Cam, not sure whether she’d imagined his softly spoken words. “Sorry?”
Cam’s smile was soft and tender. “You heard me, Donner.”
“I think I heard you, I’m just not sure I heard you correctly,” Vivi replied, idly noticing that her words sounded breathless. Not a surprise, since she was sure that all the air in the room had disappeared.
“Well, let’s get out of here and I can say it louder and with more emphasis. As much as I love our daughter, this next conversation is between her momma and me.”
Vivi looked at the big hand Cam held out to her, felt her heart pumping and her stomach swooping, the rest of her organs abuzz. Could this be happening? Really? To her? There was only one way to find out. So Vivi placed her hand in his and followed him out of Clem’s room. She expected him to turn left to go to her bedroom but instead he turned right and led her into the kitchen, pulling out a chair from under her small wooden dining table. “Sit.”
Vivi, for the first time ever, obeyed his order and sat. Mostly because her legs were about to go on strike. Cam moved to stand by the counter, his hands gripping its edge with white fingers. Good, maybe she wasn’t the only one who felt off-kilter.
“I’m going to stand here because I’ve got things that I need to say. It’s far easier to kiss you than to talk, so I’m going to keep my hands off you for a few minutes, if that’s okay?”
Not really, but if he was about to say what she thought he was about to say, she could live without him touching her, just for a little while. “Okay.”
“I was as mad as hell with you for not telling me that I had a child, but I get it now, I do. I’m so glad you put me as your emergency contact, but most of all I’m grateful you didn’t drown in that damn flood.”
She did, too, but that went without saying.
“I’ve known you for two weeks and a day, if you count that night we spent together three years ago. My feelings for you should scare me because really, who falls in love in two weeks?”
He was in love with her? Her heart jumped and Vivi tried not to wiggle in her chair as he continued his speech.
“I didn’t believe in love, not until you fell back into my life, wet, bedraggled and mud stained.” Cam released the counter, flexed his fingers and resumed his hold. “I fought you. I fought what I’m feeling because it scares me stupid. You were right, I did arrange the nannies and the loan as a test. I wanted to prove to myself that you would run, that you are as unreliable as my parents, that you couldn’t be trusted.
“I used your hot buttons—your independence and hatred of being controlled—to manipulate the situation to force you out of my life.” Cam pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and shook his head. “It was a stupid move, Viv, and I’m so sorry. I will always regret it.”
Vivi started to protest that he was being really hard on himself and she’d already forgiven him. But Cam held up his hand, asking for her patience. When she didn’t speak, he nodded his thanks.
“But you called me on my BS,” he said. “You saw right through me. I should’ve realized right then that you were right and I was wrong, but I can be a little stubborn.”
She couldn’t resist a comment. “A little?”
“A lot.” His lips kicked up. “Just like you.”
Fair.
“So, basically, I’m here to ask you, to beg you, to give me another chance. I can’t promise to always agree with you, but I can promise that I will always listen to you. I can’t promise to never make a decision on your behalf, but I promise to try and talk everything over with you. I can’t promise to change overnight, but I promise to try. If I give you stuff it’s to make your life easier, or because I think i
t’ll make you happy, not to control you. I promise to be a better man, Viv, for you and our daughter. And I promise, with my hand on the Bible, that I will be a good dad to Clem.”
Of course, he would. She didn’t have any doubt about that. Vivi crossed her legs, rested her hands in her lap and cocked her head. She waited a beat and a tense silence filled the room. Cam stood up straighter and she knew that he was wondering whether he was going to be rejected again. She couldn’t let him think that, but she had a few things she had to say first. She took a deep breath and tried to smile.
“You’re not that controlling, Cam. I’m just ultrasensitive to it because I was controlled and bullied. Sorry to be the one to inform you of this, but I think you are pretty normal for an alpha male with a wide, protective streak. I’m not saying I won’t rebel, but I’ll try and tone down my instincts. I don’t need your money or your gifts. Having you in my life is enough. I absolutely know you will be a good dad to Clem, and our other children, because you are already a good dad.”
Was that a glint of moisture she saw in his eyes? Vivi felt her throat tighten and told herself that she couldn’t cry. But one tear broke free and then another. She tossed her head and blinked, holding up her hand when Cam stepped her way. “Stay there. Not done.”
She wiped away the tears with the balls of her hands, and when she looked at Cam again, she managed a wobbly smile. “One more thing...”
How was she going to say this without bawling? How could she tell him everything that was in her heart, share her deepest conviction? She just had to blurt it out.
“You don’t have to be a better man, Cam, because you already are pretty damn spectacular. I am in awe of what you’ve done, how far you’ve come. I admire you and respect the hell out of you.” Vivi released a wobbly laugh. “I’m so in love with you, McNeal.”
“Aw, baby...”
Then Cam was in front of her, lifting her out of her chair and holding her to him. Somehow Vivi found herself in his lap, her fragile wooden chair creaking under their combined weight. The chair could break, the floor could open up and swallow them, and she wouldn’t care. Cam was with her and her life finally made sense.
She didn’t need him to say the words. He’d shown her that he loved her by opening up, by coming here, by exposing himself. The words would come.
Cam placed his hand on her cheek and tipped her face to look at him. She smiled as she stepped into the happiness that radiated from his eyes. They’d be okay, today, tomorrow, forever. She knew this. She did.
“Vivianne, I didn’t want to fall in love or be with anyone. I didn’t want to need anyone. I wanted to skim through life. Every rule I made for myself, every promise I made to keep myself apart and safe, I’ve broken. For you.” Cam touched his lips to Vivi’s cheek, held himself there. “I love you so damn much.”
There. Finally. Vivi felt the last ice cube of resistance in her melt, felt herself sink into him. More tears slipped down her face and Cam kissed them away.
“Don’t cry. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
Vivi shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his strong, warm neck. “Hold me, Cam.”
Cam’s hands ran up and down her back. “I am. I will. You’re pretty much stuck with me for the next sixty years or so.”
Vivi sniffed and then laughed. She pulled her head back to see his tender smile, his soft eyes. “Does that comment come with a ring?”
“Maybe.” He rolled his eyes and grinned. “God, who am I kidding? Of course it does, I can’t wait to make you my wife.” Cam’s thumb drifted over her bottom lip. “Can I kiss you now? ’Cause I’m so much better at show than tell.”
“I don’t know about that. Your tell was pretty damn good. But sure,” she said, placing her lips a fraction from his, “kiss away.”
“Thank God,” Cam muttered before doing exactly that.
And best of all, they got to do all of that and more. Much more. For the rest of the night. And for the rest of their lives.
* * *
What does Angela discover about Ryder’s relationship with her mother when she visits the ranch?
Is he telling her the truth?
Find out in the next installment of Texas Cattleman’s Club: Houston
Read every scintillating episode!
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Keep reading for an excerpt from Marriage at Any Price by Lauren Canan.
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Marriage at Any Price
by Lauren Canan
One
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
There was a blur of motion to Seth Masters’s right as a woman on a large thoroughbred came out of nowhere. She gave a cue, and the immense muscles in the animal’s hind legs propelled the steed and its rider up and over the hood of Seth’s low-slung sports car. He fought to bring the car to a screeching halt, narrowly missing one of the pines that grew on both sides of the country road. The rider stopped as well, turned the chestnut around and headed back to the car. She didn’t look happy.
“You’re an idiot!” she said as she brought the horse to a stop a few feet from the car. “Didn’t you see the signs saying Slow Down, Bridle Path Ahead? Can’t you read? You almost got us killed! Who goes eighty on a one-lane backwoods road?”
“I wasn’t going eighty.”
“Couldn’t prove it by me!”
Seth was flooded with emotions: shock, relief that no one was hurt, an underlying sense of unease that he’d been driving too fast. But through all the self-recrimination, one thought stood out: the woman was magnificent. Rich auburn hair swirled about her almost angelic face, and though her green eyes sparkled with anger, they were stunning. Her slim, beautifu
l body seemed too slight to control the huge thoroughbred that tossed his head and pawed the ground, pulling air into its massive lungs. Obviously she was an expert rider, something Seth was enormously grateful for right now.
He opened the door and pushed out of the Ferrari. What could he say? He’d been so wrapped up in his own thoughts he hadn’t paid any attention to the signs.
“I apologize. Sincerely. I hope you weren’t hurt.”
“Just slow down. The riding path crisscrosses the road several times over the next few miles. Needless to say, the next time you might not be so lucky.”
Even in anger her voice was clear and attractive.
“Point taken.”
She homed in on his face and tipped her head as a frown crossed her fine features.
“You’re not from around here.” It was a statement as much as a question.
“Los Angeles.”
She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something else then must have thought better of it and shook her head.
“Could you tell me how far out I am from Calico Springs?”
“By the posted speed limit, about twenty minutes.”
“Thanks,” he replied, taking in her sexy-as-hell physique as she turned the stallion around and headed back in the direction they’d come, disappearing into the trees.
Seth returned to the car and started the engine. He hoped this wasn’t a sign of what was in store this trip. He had to remember this wasn’t LA—it was rural Texas, and things worked at a slower pace. Still not able to completely shake off the close encounter, he eased back out onto the narrow road and continued in the direction of Calico Springs.
Attorney Ben Rucker’s office, an old Victorian house just off the town square, was easy to spot. It fit in perfectly with the other buildings along Main Street. Calico Springs was quaint. Innocent. Like a town out of the past. There were planters filled with flowers and wooden park benches in front of most of the stores and shops. After parking the car, he made his way inside the lawyer’s air-conditioned office and gave his name to the receptionist.
