Cameron groaned, the news probably adding to his headache. “Here, how about I hide?” he offered and threw the sheets over his head so none of
his body showed, except for the obvious outline he made under the covers.
Olivia growled and ripped the sheet off his head to glare at him. “Get up. Now!” When he didn’t budge, she spun away and started scurrying for his clothes, tossing them at him as she found each article.
Cameron merely lay there, pushing his pants off his face when they slapped him in the cheek. “Livy,” he whined. “I think it’s physically impossible for me to move right now.”
Outside the door, Vivian Donavon’s voice railed at an employee who obviously had the nerve to argue with her. “I paid for this room! Open the goddamn door.”
Olivia heard a key in the lock and gasped. The bitch had known Cameron was in here last night when she’d talked to her through the door. She wouldn’t be in such a hurry to get in if she thought nothing was up.
With no time to think about that, Olivia spun desperately toward Cameron. “Please.”
He looked up at her with eyes that seemed to see right into her soul. Without another word, he nodded and gathered his clothes in one swipe. Jumping out of bed, he started for the bathroom.
But it was already too late.
He’d just made it to the lavatory when the entrance of the suite swung open. Vivian shoved a quivering bellhop aside and stormed inside like a raging bull. Nolan skittered in behind her, looking excited. When Vivian saw Olivia partially blocking the view of Cameron, who was now frozen in the bathroom exit and wrapped toga-style in the bed sheets, she sent her daughter a gloatingly triumphant, approving smile.
Olivia’s vision dimmed. Her mother was happy. But of course she was happy. This was exactly what she’d wanted to see. She’d whored her own daughter out to the richest prospect, and Olivia had fallen right into her web. She suddenly felt light headed and feared she might pass out.
This was it. It was all hitting the fan. Vivian shoved her aside so she could glare dauntingly at Cameron, her hands on her hips and her feet braced apart like a gunslinger at a standoff. The performance actually appeared real, too.
The employee, with a master key clutched in his hand, looked scared spitless. He backed from the room and quickly shut the door, leaving the four alone inside. Nolan crossed his arms and legs as he leaned across the closed portal, looking perfectly at home as he prepared to watch the show.
Vivian frowned. “What in the hell are you doing in my daughter’s bed?”
Cameron, brave man that he was—or foolish, Olivia couldn’t decide which—didn’t cower. “Morning, Mrs. Roark,” he greeted Vivian pleasantly. Then he yawned and scratched at the five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “And Mr. Roark, I assume.” He nodded toward Nolan.
“Banks,” Vivian growled.
“Hmm?” He glanced her way. “Oh, right. What am I doing in your daughter’s bed? Well, actually, ma’am, I’m technically not in her bed. I’m standing in this fine doorway here.”
“Just answer my question!” Her roar caused Olivia to jump and Cameron to wince and grab his no-doubt pounding head.
“Heard ya,” he muttered and scrubbed furiously at a spot on his temple as if he could scratch the pain away.
“Then answer me,” Vivian growled, lowering her tone, but not her fake anger. In truth, she probably was steamed. Olivia knew how she hated snippety responses. And Cameron was throwing them out like candy at a parade.
“I was sleeping,” Cameron muttered the obvious and sent Vivian his own irritated scowl. “Until you woke me.” Then he folded his arms over his chest as if he expected an apology.
Vivian’s face turned a deep purplish red. “How dare you defile my daughter?”
Cameron laughed and glanced toward Olivia. “She’s pretty good at that performance, isn’t she? She really does look like the pissed-off mother.”
“Why, you rutting little bastard,” Vivian thundered, stalking forward.
“Cameron!” Olivia cried out in fear.
She could already picture it: Vivian was going to claw the skin off his face, and then Nolan would stomp the remains into the ground, and it would be all her fault for dragging him into this mess. She cringed, already steeped in guilt.
But Cameron’s eyes narrowed as he glanced her way. He didn’t seem to like the anxiety in her voice, because he straightened and uncrossed his arms as he turned back to Vivian. “Stop,” he commanded.
Instantly, Vivian came to a halt as if Cameron’s words had thrown up an invisible force field she couldn’t cross. But she snorted a rush of hot air through her nose as she glowered at him. “You will marry her for this.”
Cameron grinned. “Sorry. Afraid I can’t do that.”
Olivia focused on the bulging vein in Vivian’s head. She’d seen it only three weeks ago and knew exactly how much anger her mother wielded behind it.
“What do you mean you can’t?” Vivian demanded, balling her fists as if she would strike any moment. “You damn well will marry her, and you’ll do it today.”
But Cameron simply said, “Sorry, sweetheart. Still can’t. Polygamy’s illegal in this state.” Then he frowned and glanced at Olivia. “Isn’t it?”
Vivian’s face drained of color. “What?”
Cameron shrugged. “It’s legally impossible to marry someone when you’re already hitched,” he clarified, drawling out his words.
Olivia gasped. Holy God, he was already married. But she’d just spent the entire night with him. And in Vegas, she’d—
Wait a second. Did this mean their marriage was void? For some reason, that thought made her want to cry.
She turned Cameron’s way, but he never once glanced in her direction. He was too busy having a stare-off with Vivian.
“How could you do this to my little girl?” Vivian demanded and, for once, she looked upset, as if she actually cared that someone had turned her baby into a cheating—
Cameron finally seemed to lose his cool. Still swaddled like a drunken Greek god, he stepped forward and inhaled a large breath through his nose. By the look on his face, Olivia thought he might shoot fire from his nostrils when he exhaled. “How could you pimp your daughter out to a complete stranger?”
Olivia’s eyes popped open wide. Oh, Lord, no. He wasn’t going spill everything she’d confessed to him, was he?
“What kind of mother whores out her ‘little girl’ to the richest, fastest rising man she can find?”
Vivian glanced at Olivia with a stunned expression. Her face colored, and Olivia knew the little slap her mother had given her after Vegas would be nothing compared to what she had in store for her now.
Olivia backed up a step, bringing a shaking fist to her mouth.
Vivian turned back to Cameron, looking cautious. “Excuse me?”
Cameron snickered. “Oh, yeah, she told me.” He grinned cruelly. “In Vegas.”
That stopped Vivian in her tracks. She spun back toward Olivia, looking confused. “Vegas? You met him in Las Vegas?”
Light-headed, Olivia’s face grew pale as she watched the room swim between them. She was going to pass out, she could feel it.
Slowly, Vivian returned her attention to Cameron and studied him skeptically.
“That’s right,” Cameron said softly. “She spilled it all, right after we were married.”
It seemed to take a moment for those words to sink into Vivian’s brain. She whipped her head toward Olivia.
Nolan stepped away from the doorway, surprised. “Married?”
Olivia shook her head like she could deny the truth, but no one paid her any attention because all eyes returned to Cameron, who had become the ringmaster of this insane circus.
“So, you see why I can’t marry her today,” he explained. “I’ve already been married to her for what…three…four weeks now, honey?” Then he grinned proudly. “Elvis married us.”
Olivia backed against the wall to support herself. Sh
e wondered how she was still standing. Every cell in her body felt like someone was poking her with a hot pin. She was so stunned and scared. What was Vivian capable of doing now?
“You two are already married?” she asked slowly, zipping her confused gaze from Cameron to Olivia.
“Yes,” Olivia admitted hoarsely
“So you can save yourself the angry, concerned mother act,” Cameron added. “And get the hell out of here so I can put some damn clothes on.”
Vivian whipped around to nail him with another menacing look. “What did you say to me, you little cocksucker?”
Cameron sighed as if tired of dealing with her. Olivia couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t intimidated at all. “I told you to get out,” he repeated calmly. “And take that creepy old man with you.”
Clearly insulted, Nolan thundered a menacing step toward Cameron. Vivian’s face clouded with that mad, purplish-red hue again. Olivia’s eyes shot wide; she just knew someone was going to die, right here, right now.
“Listen here, boy,” Vivian growled. “Don’t ever think you can tell me what to do. I paid for this room. I can come and go as I please.”
Cameron rolled his eyes and let out another exhausted sigh. “Fine,” he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. He shuffled toward the bed, moving slowly because he was still mummified by the sheet. Then he lifted his pants, draped across the mattress. After digging inside for a moment and fishing out a wallet, he extracted all the cash he had on him. “There.” He flung the money at Vivian. “I’m paying you back for the room.”
Olivia swallowed. She saw at least two hundred-dollar bills, a couple of twenties, tens and fives and ones galore. She had no idea how much cash he flashed, but it more than doubled the cost of the room. Vivian greedily stared at the cash and went to pluck it from Cameron’s fingers. But once she tried to take it, Cameron tightened his grip.
Vivian’s eyes shot to his.
In a steely soft voice, Cameron hissed, “Enjoy it while you can, bitch. Because this is the last money you’ll ever see from me. I’m one son-in-law you can’t control.”
He let go of the cash, making Vivian fall back a step. She stared down at the money with parted lips. Nolan moved to her side, taking her elbow as if he wasn’t sure how to help his wife and sought her instruction. She sniffed and jerked her arm from his grasp.
“You may be excused now,” Cameron said and turned away to pull his shirt off the floor.
The cash had somewhat mollified Vivian. She continued to stare at it a moment and then, without speaking another word to Cameron, she turned and looked at Olivia. Her eyes cast blame. Then she snapped her fingers and glanced at her husband as she pointed toward her daughter. Nolan instantly marched toward Olivia and grasped her arm, hard.
As her stepfather dragged her toward the door, Olivia’s life flashed before her eyes. She had no backbone, she realized. She never would’ve been able to stand up to Vivian the way she’d just seen Cameron Banks do. And now her entire existence felt over.
Vivian was probably going build a basement under their house when they got home, just so she could chain Olivia to a wall down there for the rest of her life.
Olivia swallowed, trying to hold back the tears as Nolan yanked her behind him. When he opened the door, her heart gave a leap.
Barely aware she was resisting, she dug her heels into the floor and braced herself, already wincing at the assault she knew her mother was going to give her for balking.
“Come on,” Vivian hissed, pushing her from behind.
“No,” she said in a voice that was a hundred times stronger than she felt.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Cameron turn. “Hey!” he called. “Hang on there, Bonnie and Clyde.”
As Nolan looked back over his shoulder, Vivian paused and slowly turned around to glare at Cameron.
Cameron looked undaunted. “Where do you think you’re taking my wife?”
Olivia’s spun around. She couldn’t believe her ears. It sounded like he was going to help her. Oh, dear God. Was he going to help her?
“What?” Vivian growled.
Cameron shook his head. “I don’t know where you think you’re taking her. But she’s not going with you two.”
Vivian laughed. “Boy, this is my daughter. She does what I tell her.”
Cameron caught Olivia’s eye. He studied her a moment until he must’ve seen all the desperation inside her because he softly answered, “Not anymore. She’s my wife now. And she’s not going with you. Livy,” he said, making her jump. “Do you want to go with them? Or do you finally want to be free?”
Olivia glanced at her mother with wide eyes. Stunned that she was going to do this, she pulled her arm free of Nolan’s grip. When he reached for her again, Cameron let out a growl, and Nolan immediately yanked his hand back. Vivian’s eyes widened. Olivia stepped toward her husband, her back brittle but straight, all the while fearing Vivian would come charging at her, claws extended.
“There. You see,” Cameron murmured, slipping his arm over Olivia’s shoulder. “She doesn’t want to go with you. Now say goodbye to your ‘little girl’ and get the hell out.”
Vivian stared at Olivia. “You traitorous little bitch,” she hissed. “You’re just like your father.” Turning, she ran smack into Nolan. Calling him a dirty name, she pushed him into the hall, then stalked out, slamming the door behind her.
“And good riddance to you too,” Cameron murmured.
Olivia shook so hard she couldn’t even breathe. She slipped from Cameron’s grasp and backed away from him, her mouth moving though no words came out. He tugged the toga off his shoulders and stepped into a pair of briefs. After slipping them up over his hips and snapping them into place, he glanced her way.
Olivia couldn’t maintain her composure any longer. She crumbled. Right to the floor.
Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh God. She began to hyperventilate.
“Livy?” Cameron’s voice came from a great distance. But when she looked up, he was moving closer instead of farther away. He grasped her shoulder and pulled her up, looking concerned.
“Olivia,” he said softly, sitting her gently on the edge of the mattress. “Just relax, okay?” Gentle fingers cupped her cheek; she wanted to close her eyes and sink into his warm comfort.
But she shook her head instead. “You…Oh, God, Cameron. You have no idea. You just…Oh God.”
He dropped his hand and quickly reached for his pants, yanking them on. “What?” he said softly, sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “Did you want to go with them after all? That’s okay, you know. I’m sure you can still catch your mom.”
She shook her head emphatically.
He smiled as if satisfied. “Okay, then,” he answered. “Let’s pack, and I’ll take you wherever it is you’re going and…” He paused and eyed her quizzically. “Where do you want to go?”
She looked up. “If I had somewhere else to go, I would’ve gone there a long time ago,” she cried out, her voice an octave higher than usual.
He placed his hot palms on her temples, burying his fingers in her hair. “Don’t panic,” he instructed softly. “Everything will be okay. I’ve got plenty of guest bedrooms at my place. We’ll just fly to Cali, pick up your things, and then you can—” He broke off when she shook her head.
“All my things are gone,” she murmured almost to herself. “She’ll never let me go back to get them. I don’t have anything now, except what’s here in this room. I don’t have any money. She’ll freeze all my accounts and credit cards and close my savings. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t…”
Her voice broke. A tear wavered at the corner of her eye and she realized she was on the edge of a panic attack.
Cameron leaned forward and kissed her tear, licking it away with his tongue. “Olivia,” he whispered. “Listen to me, okay? I put you in this position, so I will help you get out of it. We’ll go home to Kansas City until the Bos-man can work on those ann
ulment papers. Once they’re all filed and done, I’ll help you start your life; I’ll help you find a job, go to school, whatever you want to do. Okay? Nod your head, Livy. Tell me that’s what you want to do.”
Olivia shook her head from side to side instead of up and down. “No,
you don’t want to help me anymore than you already did. She’s mad enough at you. You don’t want her for an enemy, Cameron. She’s going to come after you now. She’s going to—”
“Shh,” he crooned and pulled her tight against his chest. “Why don’t you let me worry about me. Let’s focus on you right now.”
“But why would you want to help me?” she said, pushing him back to meet his eyes. “I tricked you into marriage. What do you want from me? You don’t even know me. There’s no way you’ll just bring home some stranger and start throwing money at her, promising her you’ll hand her a new life, completely free of charge.”
Cameron dropped his hands from her as if shocked. “You’re right,” he finally said. “I don’t know you. But I do know you just stood up to a woman you’re deathly afraid of, and you got away from her. That kind of shit impresses me. Besides, I caused a majority of this to happen, so I feel pretty responsible for you right now. Plus, there’s also the fact we’re married and that makes us a team for the time being. Not to mention, you’re amazing in bed and I’d like to stay on your good side in the hopes you’ll let me sleep with you again.”
Hearing that last remark, Olivia snorted and turned away from him, starting to pack. “I agree,” she said with her back to him and she stuffed clothes into her case. “This is your fault. If you’d just left me alone last night, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Yeah, well, what did you want me to do?” Cameron said in self-defense. He pushed to his feet and scowled. “Keep our marriage a secret and let the crazy broad come after me with a shotgun? No thanks.”
Olivia turned and glared at him. “How about you not following me to my room in the first place and coaxing me into bed, huh? Maybe not doing that would’ve prevented this.”
Cameron grinned, his frown gone as fast as it had come. “Maybe,” he agreed. “But in my opinion, it was worth it.”
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