Millie covered the mouthpiece of her phone and cussed at someone. I suspected that Ledo would not give up so easily.
“I told you he’s being a dick.” I rolled my eyes at myself, my voice sounded just like my cousin Poppy‘s.
“He‘s pretty adamant that you‘re hiding something. He‘s got this crazy idea in his head that you’ve got Excalibur now.” She laughed awkwardly. “That‘s crazy, right? The sword has been missing for hundreds of years. You couldn‘t have just randomly stumbled on it. “
I held my phone to my ear with my shoulder and began typing Eric‘s info into the tracking software on my laptop. “Nope, no sir. No randomly stumbling.”
“What are you doing?”
I silently waited as the software calibrated his location, praying to whoever would listen that he wasn‘t where I suspected him to be. Wishing that, for once, things could be normal and calm and not get so stupidly fucked up.
The program beeped and a map popped up on my screen. I took a breath, leaned over and looked at it.
“Goddammit!” I yelled. Waving my hand in the air, the contents of my desktop except my laptop went flying across the room.
“What?” Millie asked.
“He’s at fucking Ren.”
“What? Why the hell would he be at Ren?”
“I gotta go. I’ll call you back if I need help.” I tossed my phone on the bed, holding my head in my hands. That horrible sinking feeling that consumed so much of my life came back with a vengeance, and all I wanted to do was lie down and close my eyes. I figured with Jesse dead and buried I would never feel this feeling again.
Maybe he wasn’t the problem all along.
Maybe it’s me.
The bottle of pills felt heavy in my pocket, the invasive thought drilling a hole into my mind. Take two more. You won’t feel a thing. If I did that all along, if I succumbed to the temptation that seemed to be always around me my life would have gone down a very different path, regardless of the direction someone else tried to push it in.
Thinking briefly of my Mom, I pushed her out of my thoughts. The last thing I needed to do was summon her unprepared. With so many questions that only she could answer, when would be the right time? Who else would have to die before I felt ready to face her?
Shaking my head, my fractured mind hoped the bad thoughts would just somehow fall out. Like they would scatter similar to how leaves fall off a tree during a windstorm. Now was a time I truly needed to be alone with my thoughts without any ghostly intruders.
Right now I needed to dial back and think logically. There was no guarantee that he went to Ren to talk to the Bliss demon. We’d just seen Meg, maybe she bamboozled him.
And he went back to get sex eaten by a succubus? Ew.
That particular line of thinking could easily be solved by calling Meg. But if she bamboozled him she would lie about it. Did I really want to threaten her over something that might not involve her at all? I could also call Bliss’s phone and talk to the demon. Not that I think it would be honest.
Closing my eyes, I attempted to calm myself. As I took in a big breath, the computer beeped, and I opened my eyes to see that the little dot began to move on the map.
Even now, knowing that he could be in serious trouble, I felt like an asshole watching that little blip move. The only person, or people, that I trusted more than Eric were Ted and Cuddy. Deep in my very core I knew that he would never do anything like the shit Jesse pulled. Not in a million years. It wasn't because I was so special and whatever but Eric just wasn't that guy.
Watching closely, the blip seemed to speed through the city in the direction of Eric’s house. Secretly I wished that he came here, but knowing now that he went somewhere safe I felt a bit better. As soon as the blip stopped for longer than a few seconds my phone rang, and I believed he parked at his home.
“Hello?” I answered on the second ring, trying not to sound too overly eager.
“Hey.” Out of breath, he practically panted into the phone.
“You ok? Sounds like you’ve been running.”
He continued to breathe heavily, and something inside me wanted to scream. A primal part of me, maybe the part of Nimue and Merlin that were linked so long ago, went into beast mode and I became so caught up with emotion I started to cry.
“Camille?” He began to speak normally, his confused tone becoming clear and direct. “Camille, what’s the matter? Are you alright?”
“Are you?” I took a few cleansing breaths, attempting to calm myself. Some therapist long ago tried to teach me breathing exercises to help calm anxiety. That shit must be good for something.
“Absolutely. Why? What happened?”
“You dropped me off then you were gone, and I called you earlier...”
“Sorry. I had to go take care of something for Lewis that I forgot about. I’m such an idiot I passed out in my car during a stake out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come with.”
“I would not have expected you to sit in a vehicle with me for hours while you’re in pain. That’s a dick move.” He stopped, listening to my shaky breaths and I calmed down. “Look, you’re going to have to trust me or this is never going to work. You can’t freak out every time I’m not there.”
My head lowered. “I know. It wasn’t just that. Millie called earlier saying she was worried about you.”
“And it sent you on some shit spiral? You should know better than that, Camille.”
“I know. I’m sorry. This is all new, and I’m trying.”
“Ok. And I will try to be more forthcoming.”
“Thank you. Oh hey, Ted said something about us all having dinner here one day with the Maritza girl.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“And fucking Ledo was bitching at Millie in the background when she called, he wanted to know if we went to Thesauri and he thinks I’m hiding something.”
“Did you tell her about the sword?”
“No.”
“Then you're hiding something.”
“I just got it. I don’t want to report back to them like they run my life somehow.”
“I know. But it would be good to keep them in the loop.” He yawned. “I just walked in the door though. I'll call you back in a bit.”
“OK. Bye.” We hung up and I cried as I put my phone on the bed.
Stop, you dumbass. Why the hell are you crying? You’re the one acting like a baby. How could you forget that Lewis is the reason your dumb ass went to Ren in the first place. Why would he not send his fucking protégé there? You’re upgrading from limp noodle to bottle of mush.
Standing up, I jumped up and down and tried to shake off the shitty feelings. It'd been a while since I’d stayed home and hung out with Ted and Cuddy, so I would do exactly that.
A quick change into some sweats and an old t-shirt and I immediately felt comfortable. I headed downstairs to help Ted with dinner, hanging out in front of the TV with him when everything finished. It felt good to have a quiet night at home. Cuddy announced to us both that Maritza would be coming for dinner tomorrow, so I texted Eric that it was on like Donkey Kong.
The next morning I woke up in a haze. Whatever Ramona gave me worked for pain but played hide and seek with the rest of my brain power, I prayed a hot shower and some coffee would wash that away.
With a normal, regular business as usual morning, I felt good walking into the office. The two Percocet I took with breakfast of course helped with the smile on my face. Eric wasn’t there when we arrived so I decided to wait in his office with coffee as he often did in mine.
As I walked down the hallway towards his office, I noticed Chris Lewis's door sat open and he seemed to be getting organized for the day. He walked past the door, dressed to the nines in a perfectly tailored navy blue suit. He turned when he saw me, smi
ling and nodding as I walked by. I did the same, as he went out of sight Shae Rielle's words bounced around in my mind. I'd always known Chris Lewis wasn’t perfect, no one pretended he was. But I never would have believed at his core he wasn’t a good man. It seemed very strange to me that Ted would align himself with someone who wasn’t good, but maybe I was being naïve.
Maybe Ted had no clue who Chris Lewis really was.
With the chair angled so the door didn’t hit me, I put the coffee cups down on his desk and waited. After a few minutes I took out my phone and began mindlessly scrolling to pass the time. I knew he would be here soon.
But time ticked on and he didn’t appear. Drinking my coffee slowly, when I finally heard his footfalls in the hallway it felt almost cold.
I smiled brightly when Eric appeared, trying my best to hide my annoyance. “Good morning sunshine!”
He smiled when he saw me; a different kind of warmth came to it when he saw there was coffee. Shutting the door behind him, he dropped his stuff into a heap on the ground.
“It's probably cold by now.” I said as he went straight for the mug. “I could go heat it for you if you want.”
He grabbed the mug and took a big swig, gulping most of it back in two or three big sips. After setting it down on the desktop, he turned his eyes to me.
In that moment they looked so blue and clear, like water in an undisturbed stream. Grabbing my arms, he pulled me to him with such force it took my breath away.
“I missed you.” He said in a low voice, deep and primal from the pit of his belly. He kissed me hard and my body reacted, my fingers and toes clenching in excitement.
“I'm sorry about yesterday.” He said quietly. He leaned his forehead on mine.
“That’s cool. My family is having a dinner tonight that you need to come to. This Maritza character will be there.”
He started kissing down my neck. “Before that, do you want to go for a ride and park somewhere? We could fool around for a while before the dinner.”
Ruh roh. Do I take this as fun and exciting or should I be worried?
“I thought you said there wasn’t enough room to fool around in your car?” I said. His hand slid under my shirt, then into my bra. He started kissing farther down my neckline and I knew where he headed.
“While I very much enjoy this, I don’t know if it’s a good idea right now. We're at work.”
“Mmm. I can’t make you scream my name while we're supposed to be working.” He leaned down and licked my nipple, squeezing it softly. My breath caught, and I really wanted him to do more.
“I…I…” I could barely form words, a string of excuses for us to leave played through my mind. “I just got here. I can’t bail yet. Maybe after lunch?”
He growled, his lips gently touching my neck, the sound rumbling through my body. Pinching my nipple softly as he removed his hand from my shirt, he kissed my lips, gently touching my cheek as he pulled away.
“Later then?” Something in his eyes looked different for a split second, and then it was gone. Trying to ignore the fucky feeling in my stomach, I reached out and touched his cheek.
“Absolutely.” Quickly leaving the room, I squeezed out the door and dashed back to my office.
18.
Did I call Meg and accuse her outright of fucking with my boyfriend?
You stupid cow. You can’t possibly believe that he’s acting like a man who's horny and not a pathetic little boy?
That was it. As usual my stupid brain decided to assume the worst, because God forbid he actually liked me. I bopped my forehead a few times, then an extra two when I realized during my quick exit I left my coffee in his office.
Now I just needed to find a way to avoid him for a little while so we didn’t do anything dirty at work.
In the P.I business there is always paperwork that needs to be done, so I busied myself with that for as long as I could. Anyone who still believed that this business was all hiding in dark alleys and taking clandestine photos needed to come sit in my office and fill out some forms for an hour.
When my eyes started to feel like they wanted to go cross eyed I knew I'd done enough. I hesitated, getting up and running back to Eric’s office like a puppy wanting to go to the park seemed silly to me. If Ted and Ramona asked where we were going, I’d say out to lunch then let Eric handle it if we didn’t return.
Was I really going to blow off work to go have sex with my boyfriend in the middle of the day?
Gathering up my stuff, I straightened my office a bit before grabbing my things and heading to Eric's office. He typed furiously at the computer when I got to the door, his eyes quickly turned when I knocked.
He smiled wide. “Hey. Are you ready to go?”
“Absolutely.”
We told the powers that be that we were going out for lunch and made a quick exit. Eric seemed determined, focused. We got in the car and he sped off.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Home.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke. Not that I would admit it but I felt relieved he didn’t want to go to a park somewhere.
“Wanna hear something weird?” I asked after some time in silence.
“Sure.” He finally glanced at me quickly, his eyes remaining forward.
“My cousin Kiera called. Apparently they have arrested this whore that Jesse was pimping for multiple murders.”
“Really? That is weird. Why would she tell you that?”
“They found some of Jesse's personal effects at her house. She is under the impression this girl could have killed Jesse.”
“And did she?”
I eyed him curiously. “My mother’s immediate family killed him to jumpstart my prophecy.”
“Sure. Ok. But how did they go about doing it?”
I thought about that for a moment. “I have no idea.”
“Did you consider the notion that they spelled someone else into doing it? Maybe that’s what happened with this girl. She was their instrument. But they are still responsible.”
I stopped, thinking about what he suggested, “No.”
“Well, maybe you should. Either way, they are in the wrong. Not you. I hope you know that.” His serious expression never changed, and part of me regretted saying anything to him. What a dumb moment to bring up Jesse.
“Sorry, it was just on my mind. I figured I should mention it so it wasn’t a surprise if it came up at the dinner table.” My eyes lowered, and I felt his warm hand reach out for me. Without thinking I grabbed his, holding his one in between my two hands on my lap. His energy felt good as our skin touched, it still hummed with the same vibration from earlier. Any worry faded; the world outside seemed so far away.
In a blink his townhouse appeared, and we parked and gathered our things. The anticipation felt as if I could crack at any moment. Piling my bags neatly by the front door, I carefully took my shoes off and put them on the mat.
Within a minute we were kissing, fumbling at each other‘s clothes. Buttons came off first; I loved the feel of his bare chest pressed up against mine. Sliding his hands under my butt he lifted me up and pressed me against the wall.
I felt that rumbling growl again as he kissed down my neck and he finally said, “Upstairs or living room?”
“Certainly not the hallway.” He linked his hands under my butt as I spoke, and I hung on to him tight as he started up the stairs. Lifting me that far appeared easy and he didn‘t put me down until he lowered me onto his bed.
He ran his hands over my skin, quickly unhooking my bra. He kissed down my neck, my fingers twining in his hair, and slowly licked around my nipple with the tip of his tongue. I couldn‘t hold back the moan, and he chuckled as he started pulling my pants down.
“Why is that funny? “ I asked, my words barely audible.
“I love how you react to my touch.” His hand
ran over my body again, this time working its way to removing my clothes, grabbing my panties with his index finger and pulling them down my legs and completely off.
“Hey now.” I pushed him back a little. “How come you‘re not undressed?”
Just as he went to spread my legs he stopped, stood and began unbuckling his pants. I pushed myself back up into a sitting position so I could help. He smiled down at me as I undid his belt buckle and the buttons of his jeans.
Backing up a little, I lie down and pat the bed beside me. He took his pants the rest of the way off then joined me in the bed. Using my right hand, I traced the lines of his pectoral muscles, thin lines of white began to spread up my arms and through my body. I leaned in and kissed him while taking his hardness in my hand. His breathing changed as I began to stroke.
My magic felt as if it seeped out of my hands and into his skin, and it searched for that part of him that previously connected. The last time it happened immediately, now it took a little longer to find it. Once it did it flared like a freshly lit fire and everything seemed to move into hyper speed.
Every time he touched me, I wanted more. He felt smooth and solid in my hand, like polished stone.
“I love the way you react to me.” I said in his ear, continuing to kiss down his neck. He growled again, that low rumble made my toes curl. Quickly he shifted and I lost my grip on him, but now he was on top of me. Our kiss deepened, the warmth of his skin on mine sending a quiet moan from my mouth into his. His hand went down between my legs, where he quickly put one finger inside me, then two. I was ready, the action spreading my wetness, making for easy entry as he moved into me with one fluid thrust.
Condoms immediately flashed through my mind as he idled, and I wondered if I should make him stop to put one on. But everything about it felt so right; I took birth control and I trusted him. I’d never done it without a condom before; I’d never trusted anyone enough to.
Eric leaned down and licked my earlobe. “Is this ok? “
“Yeah. I trust you.”
He caressed my cheek with one hand, nuzzling into my neck. “You can. I promise.”
He thrust into me slowly at first, and I matched every movement with my hips. The spark of our powers melding together felt like they were twisting and braiding, pushing out to our edges. Running my fingers through his hair he kept kissing around my neck and shoulders.
Rise (Camille Bishop Book 3) Page 10