Samson

by Marie James

  His mouth freezes on my neck before he pulls his mouth away from my skin.

  “You and Kennedy.”

  “Excuse me?” This really isn’t the time to bring her up. Just the mention of her name makes me feral, and that makes me pissed because I don’t get territorial over guys.

  “You and Kennedy are the only girls I’ve dated.” I tilt my head, giving him a look that’s easy to read as ‘bullshit, I don’t believe you.’ “Don’t look at me like that.”

  He pokes a finger into my cheek to make me stop looking at him the way I am.

  “I had fun in college. I hooked up with a bunch of girls.” My frown returns quickly. “But I have only dated you and Kennedy.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s true. So don’t get bent out of shape. I don’t think having only two girlfriends in a lifetime is too many.”

  I snort at his ridiculous statement but don’t call him on it. I don’t need him to profess anything to me. Besides, it’s much too soon for things like that. I lick my lips, hoping to change the insane direction the night has taken us, and it works like a charm.

  I’m reminded that I’m lying the full length of his body when he begins to thicken below me. He smiles when I wiggle on top of him.

  “This dimple.” I brush my finger over the indention on his right cheek. “I think this is what made me finally give in to you.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Or maybe your pretty eyes. The way your hips move when you dance. It’s not very common to find a man who knows what he’s doing on the dance floor. It made me wonder what you’d be like in bed.”

  “Did I meet your expectations?”

  My brow furrows as I tap a finger to my chin. “I can’t really remember.”

  “There’s a cure for that.”

  I squeal when he suddenly flips me on my back. I don’t have to wonder anymore about his state of dress under the blankets because he’s hard, hot, thick, and totally in the buff as he settles on top of me.

  “What’s the cure?” I pant when his thumbs drag my scrub top up my stomach.

  “You’re about to find out.”

  Chapter 27

  Samson

  “Stop.” Camryn swats at my hand when I use a piece of her own hair to tickle her nose. “It’s a requirement to sleep late on days off. It’s written in every medical journal.”

  “I need you.” I lower my voice, whispering directly in her ear.

  She smiles but doesn’t open her eyes. “You had me three times last night.”

  “I need you to get out of bed, or you’re going to ruin my plans for your days off.”

  “The only way to ruin my plans would be to get out of this bed,” she argues.

  “We can’t stay in bed for the next two days,” I argue, but my cock jolts at the possibilities.

  “Watch me.”

  “Camryn.”

  “The sun isn’t even up,” she grumbles. “We were up late last night.”

  “I haven’t forgotten about last night, and I don’t imagine I ever will, but you’ve got to get up. Camryn,” I warn again when she makes no move to get out of bed. “As fine as you are lying here naked—”

  She wiggles her hips against my already hard dick, I’m beginning to change all of my plans in my head. When she lifts her leg to give me easier access to the perfection I’ve been worshipping for the last couple of days, I don’t care that I made plans for us with my friends. Any of the guys would understand why we didn’t show up. She’s too fucking irresistible.

  “Mmm,” she moans when my fingers trace up her thigh to her slit. “Deeper.”

  My fingers toy with delicate flesh at the apex of her thighs, but I refuse to delve any deeper. Torturing both of us, I merely trace her with the tip of one finger, reveling in the way she begins to glisten. This woman is nothing short of a miracle, always ready for me, always begging for me, always needing me as much as I need her.

  “Are you guys ready yet?” Charli bangs on the bedroom door.

  Camryn reaches down and covers herself with the sheet I tossed off us to gain easier access to her body.

  “What is she talking about?”

  “I invited her to join us.”

  “What?” That gets Cam moving. She sits up on the bed and clutches the thin sheet to her chest. The outline of her nipple through the fabric makes my mouth water. “You invited her to join us? What the hell, Samson? I’m not into that shit.”

  “Well, that ruins several fantasies for me,” I lie, rubbing my hand over my erection. I stop pretending when her eyes widen, and she looks at me like she’s going to be sick. “I’m joking. Well, not about inviting her. I did invite her to join us on our trip today.”

  “Trip?” She still looks confused, and I realize that’s my fault because I was so distracted last night once she came back to the room, that I completely forgot to mention the plans for Colorado Springs today.

  “I need you to get dressed.” I climb off the bed, needing no skin contact with her if I have any chance of making it out of this room without ending up inside of her again. “And pack a bag. We’re going to Colorado Springs.”

  “I love Colorado Springs.” A wide smile crinkles her eyes in the corners.

  “I know you do.”

  “And just how do you know that?”

  I’m mesmerized as she climbs off the bed. Her naked body calls to me on a caveman level. I’m obsessed with the curve of her hips and the feminine lines of her breasts.

  “Samson?” she calls my name when I don’t respond.

  “What?”

  “How do you know I love Colorado Springs?”

  “Charli told me when I went to get coffee earlier.”

  Her brow furrows in confusion — mine furrows when she grabs a bra and covers her perfect tits.

  “You already had coffee?” Her face falls even further as if I just delivered horrible news.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I tried to wake you up, and you growled at me. There’s still more in the pot.”

  “I don’t growl,” she mutters as she tugs on black panties and then a pair of jean shorts.

  “Maybe we should stay here.” I reach my hand out to keep her from zipping the shorts, my fingers teasing dangerously close to her clit.

  She slaps my hand away. “Enough of that. We’re going to Colorado Springs.”

  “It’s a six-and-a-half-hour drive. Don’t think I’ll spend that entire time without putting something of mine in something of you.”

  “That’s dangerous while driving.”

  “Good thing Griffin is driving, and we’ll be in the backseat.”

  Her cheeks flush. “I’m not some sex-crazed teen, Samson. Adults don’t behave like that.”

  “Like hell they don’t.”

  “Who are you hanging around with?”

  I shrug. “Just the usual folks.”

  She laughs, a throaty sound still from having just woken up. She opens the bedroom door, walking toward the kitchen and the promise of coffee.

  “I can only stay one night.”

  “Two,” Charli says with a spoon covered in peanut butter near her mouth. “I called and switched with Kayla, and then asked Ryan to switch with you. We get to stay for two nights.”

  Cam walks across the room and kisses her friend on the cheek. I hear a whispered ‘thank you’ before she pulls away and arrows toward the coffee pot.

  “I’ll make your coffee,” I tell her, grabbing her shoulders and turning her back toward the bedroom. “You need to get packed. Bring boots because we’ll be hiking tomorrow.”

  She yelps when I smack her on the ass, but she goes to her room.

  “Travel mugs?”

  Charli points to a cabinet and then tells me exactly how Cam likes her coffee.

  ***

  “I’m not riding with that fool,” Charli says when we pull up outside of the clubhouse and find everyone beginning to pack their things into two different SUVs.

  Ca
nnon narrows his eyes as we pull up, but then a stupid grin spreads across his face when he sees Charli sitting next to the passenger side window of my truck.

  “He’s harmless,” I assure her.

  “Same goes,” she mutters before she climbs out.

  “We’re riding with Griffin and Ivy. Cannon is with Hound, Amelia, Gigi, Lawson, and Delilah since they have the third row,” I explain as I grab their bags out of the back of the truck and carry them to the vehicle we’re taking out of town.

  “Where’s Izzy?” Delilah asks as she walks up and hands Lawson one last suitcase.

  “She’s staying with Kincaid and Emmalyn,” Hound grunts. “Says hiking isn’t her thing.”

  “I think she feels like she’s the third wheel,” Gigi adds.

  “Cannon is the third wheel,” Griffin adds.

  “Cannon is who I’m worried about,” Hound grounds out. “She’ll be fine staying here.”

  “Dude.” Cannon sounds genuinely offended. “I’d never lay a finger on your daughter.”

  Hound stands to his full height, which is impressive on any day. “I saw the way you were looking at her yesterday.”

  “What?” The one word is a screech. “She wanted me to judge her form on the diving board. That was it.”

  “Next time she asks, you tell her no.” Hound looks like he’s about to blow his top.

  Griffin takes a step closer, not really getting between Hound and his brother, but preparing to intervene if things go south.

  “I will.” Cannon holds his hands near his ears. “I swear it, dude. I don’t see her that way.”

  Hound glares at Cannon, but he must understand the boy is telling the truth because he nods, his demeanor changing almost instantly.

  “You want him to ride with us?” I ask Hound when Gigi runs back inside to get the baby.

  Charli grumbles something unintelligible, and I know it won’t make her happy, but I don’t need drama in their vehicle for the entire ride.

  “There’s no room,” Hound says. “We’re good.”

  “Charli, want to ride with me?” Cannon looks hopeful. Charli looks unimpressed.

  “Naw. I’m good with my girl here.” Charli loops her arm in Camryn’s and says something into her ear.

  Cam swats at her friend’s arm but doesn’t let her go until they climb into the SUV I indicate once the others begin piling into the other.

  “You can sit up front with Griffin if you want,” Ivy offers. “I can ride in the back with the girls.”

  “No, thanks,” I decline before leaning my head close to Cam’s. “It’ll be too hard to keep my promise if I’m way up there.”

  We head out, Hound in the front SUV and Griffin following behind. We talk about everything and absolutely nothing as we travel. I didn’t have the foresight to bring a blanket. Why would I? It’s like a million degrees right now in New Mexico. So, I don’t have any way to cover my wandering hands, and Camryn won’t stop swatting my hands away when I try to reach between her legs.

  I wouldn’t actually finger the woman while others are so close, but she doesn’t seem to know that, and toying with her is fun. Okay, maybe I would, but I wouldn’t do it in broad daylight, and never with Ivy around. Her father would kill me if he found out I was acting so brazen around his daughter. Forget the fact that she practically lives in Griffin’s bedroom with him. It wouldn’t matter to Kincaid.

  “So Izzy is staying with my mom and dad since the Cerberus guys are having a party tonight,” Ivy says, wrapping up some conversation I haven’t been paying attention to.

  “Did anyone invite Jasmine? I feel like an ass. I didn’t even think about her,” Griffin asks as we hit Highway 285 in Center.

  “I didn’t,” I answer.

  “I did.”

  Of course, Ivy did.

  “She said she had too much stuff to get ready for her class that starts next week. She couldn’t leave town without having it done.”

  Conversation continues, and we’re nearly to Colorado Springs before I realize that Charli has hardly said a word since we left Farmington.

  Chapter 28

  Camryn

  “Where did she go?” Samson asks after we all settle into our chairs at the restaurant.

  “The hotel,” I answer. “She said she had a headache and wanted to lie down.”

  “Cannon begged off, too. Do you think—”

  “Not a chance.” I interrupt.

  He grins wide, and not for the first time, I wish we were alone.

  It’s not that I have a problem with anyone here at dinner with us, but this man sets my body on fire. I never imagined I’d want someone so much and so often as I do Samson, but I think I’ve met my match because he can’t seem to get enough of me either.

  “Has anyone eaten here before?” Ivy asks as she stares down at her menu. “It all looks so good. I need help deciding.”

  No one has been before, and I see what she means when I open my own menu.

  “I could eat the entire left side,” Hound murmurs.

  “And I’ll order the right side, and we can share,” Lawson says.

  So that’s exactly what this crazy bunch does. They don’t order the entire menu, but a hefty chunk of it and when the food comes, Delilah asks for a stack of extra plates, and everyone grabs a little of everything. It’s like a potluck, and no one misses out on trying something they wanted.

  Conversation is light and playful during the entire meal. Delilah and Gigi tell me stories about their men, which I haven’t spent much time with and everyone else in the group shares stories about when I used to babysit them. I put a quick end to the topic when Griffin hints at some devious inappropriate thoughts that Samson had when he was younger. I don’t have a problem with his age any longer, but I draw the line, even jokingly, at stories of him masturbating to me when he was a teen.

  “Can we do the same thing for dessert?” Ivy asks, slightly timid around the entire group for some reason.

  They all agree again, tossing in their suggestions before the waitress leaves. She’s written down the entire dessert menu, doubling up on the cheesecake and turtle brownie.

  “Can you also bring a serving of the chocolate sauce in a to-go container?” Gigi asks before she can walk away.

  Lawson chuckles when Jameson, or Hound as the guys call him, licks his lips.

  “Actually,” Ivy interrupts. “Can you make that two side orders of chocolate sauce?”

  Griffin’s head nearly twists off as he looks at his woman, but then a salacious grin spreads across his face.

  “Makes me wish I told her three,” I murmur to Samson who shocks me by raising his hand to stop the waitress. “Don’t you dare!”

  I grab his arm before he can grab her attention.

  “If you want to suck chocolate off my cock, all you have to do is ask. We can order some up from room service back at the hotel.”

  I pinch Samson on that soft spot under his arm. The one moms always shoot for when you’re misbehaving in church. He doesn’t budge.

  “You need to be quiet,” I urge him.

  “Look around, baby. Everyone is planning their evenings. Not one of them has any interest in what we’re talking about.”

  True enough, when I look around, I see Lawson and Delilah with their heads close together. Griffin and Ivy are similarly close whispering to each other. Jameson and Gigi are on either side of the highchair holding Amelia’s infant carrier, but that doesn’t keep him from reaching over and caressing her face.

  After the desserts come and each one of us is nearing a sugar coma, Gigi looks up at Delilah expectantly.

  “Think you guys can watch her tonight?”

  Lawson leans in close to whisper in Delilah’s ear before she can answer, and Gigi looks crestfallen. We had discussed in the SUV on the way here that the Cerberus guys lost someone on their last time out, and I imagine Jameson may be having a hard time.

  “We can do it,” I offer before Delilah can tell her no. I turn to
Samson. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.” His answer is immediate. “I’m not changing diapers.”

  A round of laughs roll around the table.

  “You sure?” Gigi looks torn.

  “I’m a doctor, Georgia. I can watch a baby overnight.” She still doesn’t look one hundred percent sure, and I love that about her. It makes her a great mother. “I kept you alive when you were a kid.”

  “But Ivy got hurt. Remember? The night you had—”

  “If you bring up Rocco Benelli, the offer is off the table,” I warn her.

  “I dropped a bottle of shampoo on my foot, Gigi. It’s not like I had to go to the hospital.” Ivy sounds bored, like she has to remind her sister of things like this all the time.

  Gigi smiles wide like I’ve passed some sort of test. “Thank you, Cam. We really appreciate it.”

  “Hold up.” Griffin sets his glass of iced tea on the table and leans on his elbows. “You dated Rocco Benelli?”

  “We’re not talking about him,” Samson snaps at his friend before he turns his head in my direction. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  “I wonder where he is these days,” Griffin continues.

  “Prison,” Ivy answers before I can. “The teachers were talking about it in the lounge when I was helping with summer school. I think he stole a car or something.”

  “It was a patrol car,” I specify. “He was drunk at a party, and his friends dared him to take it when the cops showed up to bust up the party.”

  “That’s hilarious,” Gigi says, leaning in to hear better.

  “It was tragic,” I mutter. “He got twenty years.”

  “For stealing a cop car?” Gigi sounds appalled, and that surprises me since her parents and every adult she grew up around are law-abiding citizens.

  “For hitting and killing a man on the side of the road while he was changing a flat tire. What’s worse is his little girl was in the car when it happened. He got the max of fifteen years for the manslaughter and five years for the vehicle theft. They gave him consecutive sentences,” I add. I turn to Samson. “I didn’t date Rocco in school. We were best friends.”

  His hand squeezes my thigh as I lay my head on his shoulder.

  “That’s awful,” Ivy says. “And nothing like what the teachers were saying at school. I can’t imagine what either his family or the family of the guy have been through.”