Preston (Members From Money Book 28)

by Katie Dowe

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said harshly as he stopped for a moment.

  “Don’t stop!” she gasped as she looked down at him.

  She bent her head and nibbled at his nipple. “Addie,” he groaned. Switching positions he came over her without getting out of her and increased the rhythm as she wrapped her legs around his waist. His breathing shallow and his heart hammering inside his chest he felt the orgasm beating at him and joined her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and they both gave in to the maelstrom that shook them to the very core.

  *****

  He waited until she was sleeping and then he slowly and quietly slipped out of bed. The emotions had swamped him and he hadn't been able to make sense of what was happening. He'd always been very careful and methodical and he'd never before experienced anything like what he'd experienced with her. It made him confused. He went into the kitchen and sat at the counter. He smiled as he realized that she'd started to make dinner and had abandoned the effort. The pot was still on the stove top and a bowl of salad was on the counter. Apples were in a basket. He picked one out and bit into it, crunching thoughtfully. He'd told her that he wanted a relationship and he meant it. No one had ever meant as much as her and he wanted her in his life. He swallowed the apple and stared down at the rest of it. He just hoped he didn't screw it up.

  Chapter 10

  He got to know her well over the week and two days that they stayed at the cabin. She stayed up late and wrote, ensconced in one of the deep sofas inside the room and would become completely absorbed by her work, only surfacing when he went to get them something to eat. During the long, lovely evenings they would sit on the porch and eat or just sit there admiring the lovely sunset or cuddling together. She insisted on going on runs very early in the morning before they ate and would sometimes prepare them breakfast.

  “I think we should leave in the morning,” she said to him Friday night. They'd gone into town to have dinner at the diner and had headed back to the cabin.

  “You're finished?” he asked her in surprise.

  “I have enough to work on when I get home.” She went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. “I have to tell you something.”

  “I'm listening,” he sat on one of the stools and looked at her, his heart hammering.

  She put the kettle on and took out mugs and the sachet to make the tea. “When I went back after you left I went to the doctor.”

  “And?”

  “He took me off contraceptives because I asked him to.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked her, his brows furrowed.

  She took a deep breath and sat facing him. “It means that we've been having sex without protection.”

  His brows cleared. “That’s what you're worried about?”

  “You're not?” she looked at him in surprise. “I could be pregnant.”

  “I strongly doubt that but if so we'll deal with it.”

  “Just like that?” she turned the fire off and poured the water over the pouches.

  “Look Addie, I already told you that I want a relationship with you. I guess that’s a part of it.”

  “You guess?” she passed him the cup. “You've skirted around the issue of the kind of relationship we should have Cameron.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, is this permanent or just something you want for the time being?”

  “I thought I was clear,” he sipped the herbal tea and put it back with a grimace. “I want something that will eventually lead to marriage.”

  “Are you proposing to me?” she asked him with lifted brows.

  He looked away from her for a little bit. “I'm not quite there yet,” he told her quietly.

  “Okay, so you want a girlfriend and boyfriend relationship for now?”

  He considered for a moment and then replied. “Something like that,” there was a tinge of amusement in his deep voice. “I'm not much on going to parties and all that. Parker was the one who had that down pat but now that he is no longer—” he shook his head and then continued. “Now that he's not around I have to play both parts.”

  “You miss him very much,” she said softly.

  He nodded, his expression bleak. “I'll probably be missing him for a long time.”

  “He was quite a character,” she murmured.

  He looked at her sharply. “You knew him personally?” his voice was light but she could feel the underlying tension there.

  “Everyone who has a television or access to the internet knew who Parker Sinclair was. He was very visible.” She stared at him curiously. “You don’t have to be jealous, Cameron. Even if he was alive he would never be my type.”

  “You said I wasn't your type,” he reminded her.

  “I said that to hurt you.”

  “It worked.” His eyes held hers. “I thought you meant it and I thought that if it had been Parker you wouldn't have said that to him.”

  She put her cup aside and reached for his hands. “Look at me,” she said softly. When he did she continued. “I'm into you in a big way. When you touch me I dissolve and I've never felt that way about anyone before.” Her fingers tightened on his hands. “I was practically engaged at one time. I was so involved in my writing that I never noticed that he was turning to my best friend for comfort and conversation and everything else that I hadn't offered. When I look back I realize that even though I blamed them both that I was at fault too. It wasn't so much the work but there was no sense of commitment there, no pull of attraction, not like I feel for you. I want you to believe that.”

  He stared at her for a moment and then with a groan he pulled her over onto his lap and sought her lips with his.

  ******

  He told her about growing up with his brother. “I followed him around like an adoring puppy,” he told her with a rueful laugh as he laced his fingers with hers. “And even though I knew he was annoyed at times he never showed me that he was. I admired him, the quick way he had of making friends and making people want to do things for him.” He looked down into her eyes. “I was a geek with his head buried in the pages of a book”

  “I would never have guessed,” she teased.

  He used a finger to flick at her small nose. “I was fascinated with the workings of a vehicle and spent most of my time at the company with Dad. Parker didn't have the patience for anything like that. He just wanted to get behind the wheel of a car, especially a fast one.” He glanced at her and answered her unspoken question. “I own several sedate cars. I prefer to cruise and enjoy the ride than to be in a hurry to get where I'm going.”

  “So do I,” she told him honestly.

  “Something we have in common,” he told her with a slight smile. “I want you to meet my mother.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I'm sure.”

  “I figured you would want us to take it slow,” she said slowly. She was beginning to learn more about him. Somehow along the years he'd lived in his brother’s shadow and believed that he was second best. She intend to change that along the way.

  “Why would we do that? Do you not want this?”

  “Cameron, stop second guessing everything I say.”

  “I'm sorry. I'm trying to give you what you need.”

  “You know what I need,” her tone was suggestive.

  “Apart from that,” his eyes gleamed as he looked at her. “I don’t want to pull you in a direction that you don’t want to go.”

  “I'm an independent black woman honey, no one pulls me where I don’t want to go.”

  He laughed at that. “I can see that.”

  She told him about her sister.

  “She's me.”

  “What?” she looked at him, puzzled.

  “She's me and you are Parker,” he explained.

  “What—” her expression cleared as she understood what he was saying. “It’s not like that with us.”

  “Isn’t it?” he asked her lifting his brows. “I was nev
er overtly envious of my brother but it was always there. He was the one who got all the attention because he demanded it. He was the one with the blonde hair and deep green eyes and the build that had women looking at him more than once. He had the personality that drew you to him whether you liked it or not.”

  “I'm not like that,” she told him quietly. She lifted her upper body and pressed her arms on his chest. “Annmarie and I are close and she loves me.”

  “She's always looking out for you and wanting to do things for you even when you forget to do things for her.”

  She opened her mouth to deny it but closed it as she realized that it was true. She did things for her sister like getting her expensive birthday and Christmas gifts but apart from that she was always absorbed in her work and really didn't have time for her much. It was always Annmarie reaching out to her, not the other way around. Her eyes met his. “She never complained or say anything to me.”

  His fingers twisted around her tangled hair and he stared at the shiny strands in fascination. “She wouldn’t.” he murmured softly.

  “You're making me feel like a selfish bitch, Cameron.”

  He smiled at that. “Never my intention.”

  She sighed and climbed on top of him. “I'm going to make it up to her when I get back.”

  “She won’t expect you to.” He pulled her thick hair to one shoulder and watched as the thick dark strands curled against her breasts making an impression against her skin. “You are who you are, no one wants you to change.”

  “Sure?” she whispered.

  “Absolutely,” he told her huskily.

  *****

  “Annie, this is Cameron.”

  “Preston, I'm afraid that Cameron is reserved only for Addie,” he said a quiet smile.

  “I understand,” Annmarie told him with a smile of her own. “I'm happy you two found each other again.”

  “So am I.” He wrapped his arm around Addison’s waist. Addison had called her sister as soon as they'd arrived at her apartment. She had stopped by after work. “You're an ER nurse?”

  “Yes, I am. She couldn't help but stare at the quiet, attractive man. And you are the billionaire whose company revolutionizes sport vehicles.”

  “I am,” his expression was amused. “Can I interest you in a burgundy Thunderbird, spruced up with leather seats and an engine that purrs at the touch of a button?”

  Annmarie laughed, realizing that under his sober exterior he was a very interesting man. “I'm afraid that even when I sold my apartment and take out several loans I would never be able to purchase it.”

  “I could give you half price because of my relationship with your sister,” he told her teasingly.

  “You are too astute a businessman to do something like that,” she told him.

  “And I'm beginning to feel left out,” Addison interrupted.

  “And we wouldn't want that,” he looked down at her. They were sitting near to each other on one of the sofas. Annmarie jolted at the expression on his attractive face. He was in love with her, she thought with a pang of envy.

  She got to her feet. “I have to get going. I'm feeling grungy and I have an early shift in the morning.”

  “Honey, thanks for stopping by. I'll call you tomorrow,” Addison told her as they both got to their feet.

  “And it was nice to meet you Annmarie,” Preston told her.

  “Nice to meet you too Preston.”

  ******

  He took Addie home to meet his mother. Paige Sullivan had been visible, maybe not as visible as her older son but she'd been written up in the papers and had been seen on television and on social media due to her involvement with various charities and her active role in her company. She was an elegantly beautiful woman with enough grace to pass around and she greeted Addison like a long lost daughter. “My dear, come on in!” she linked her hand through the Addie's arm and led the way into the large and very attractive living room. A maid materialized out of nowhere with a tray of refreshments. They'd spent most of the morning in bed and then headed out. “It's so nice to meet you.” She looked at her son who was sitting opposite them and looking at the beautiful woman. “As soon as we eat I'm going to let Preston give you the tour. I understand that you're working on your latest script.”

  “Mother.”

  “It’s okay, Cameron. I can talk about it a little bit.”

  “You call him Cameron,” she commented.

  “She's the only one allowed to do so,” Preston told her swiftly.

  “Of course darling,” she looked at him thoughtfully. He was smitten and very sensitive about it.

  “It’s actually about the time Cameron and I spent at the cabin.” He looked at Addie in surprise. “I went to the cabin to get my life in order. I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with the people I had been dealing with anymore. I thought I would just start writing novels instead. But the idea came to me when we—when I left.”

  “I hear it’s a lovely, serene place,” Paige commented.

  “It is.” She looked over at him. “You never asked.”

  “You're right.”

  “I'm not writing about our experiences, Cameron. It’s based on that but the story takes a different turn.”

  “It’s your work Addie,” he inclined his head.

  “Okay let’s eat,” Paige said briskly.

  *****

  “Are we okay?” she asked him softly after he'd given her the grand tour and they were back at his suite.

  “Why wouldn’t we be?” He walked over to the large open closet and took off his shoes.

  “Because you've been silent ever since I talked about the script.”

  “I don’t own you Addie,” he told her coolly.

  “I cannot be owned Cameron and I didn't expect you to say something like that.” She stood inside the room and looked at him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “You're writing a script about the time we spent together?” he asked her, his green eyes flashing.

  “And what’s wrong with that?”

  “I thought you were pining—”

  “Pining?” her tapered brows lifted. “Were you hoping that I was wasting away after you left Cameron? Would that make you feel like a big man?”

  His eyes blazed at her and his fists clenched at his sides. “I don’t need anything to make me feel like a man. I just thought that what we shared was very special and very private,” he told her coolly.

  “I haven't included our names and I told you that the script is different from our story. What the hell is the matter with you?”

  “I'm a private person and don't like to call attention to myself,” he told her tightly.

  “When are you going to get the bug out of your ass and start loosening up?”

  He stared at her furiously and without responding he brushed past her and went into the bedroom. It was as if he'd deliberately tried to make himself appear of insignificant. His bedroom was done in cream and beige and the furnishings were subdued as well..

  “I'll take you back to your apartment,” he told her stiffly.

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean why?”

  “Yes. Why? Because we had an argument? Which is, by the way, not over by any means!”

  “We're different—”

  “And thank God for that!” she told him with feeling.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that if I was like you and you were like me then there would be a problem,” she sighed as she came towards him. “We're going to have problems and arguments and we're going to hate each other sometimes Cameron, but that doesn't mean that we throw in the towel and never see each other again.”

  *****

  He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him and felt something shift inside him. He'd been so determined not to be with any of his brother’s ex lovers that he'd avoided stunningly beautiful women. Then again his brother had never been very particular as long as they were from his
social circle. So he'd resort to asking them if they had been with him and that alone had put a strain on the relationship. For the first time in his life he was starting to trust a woman and a very beautiful one at that. “I'm sorry,” he muttered.

  “Can we have this conversation seated?” she asked him lightly.

  He nodded and gestured to one of the beige sofas strewn around the spacious room. He made sure she sat and then sat opposite her.

  “You are the most aggravating man I've ever met!” she almost laughed as his eyes narrowed. “I'm going to say this once and I hope it gets through your thick skull. I'm into you for you. I know you're a very private person, even though I will never understand how private a man like you can be!” He smiled at that. “We're going to have differences of opinions and we're going to work through them. I'm not going get up and leave just because of it and neither are you. Get it?”

  “Got it,” he said softly.

  “And we need to discuss this color scheme.”

  “What’s wrong with the color?” he asked her.

  “Beige and cream are not colors, honey,” she told him directly. “If I'm going to be spending time here—”she stopped as if worried she'd overstepped.

  “You will be,” he told her, his throat dry.

  “So it is when,” she said huskily. She went on her knees before him. “I'll be spending time here so I need color.”

  “As long as it's not pink or bright purple.”

  She crept between his legs and loosened his hands. “How about peacock yellow?” she teased. “Or orange?”

  He grimaced at that. “Please spare me.”

  “I'll come up with something that meets with your approval.” She traced his jaw. “You're going to stop comparing yourself to him.”