by Aurora Rey
Lauren’s teeth scraped lightly along her neck. The juxtaposition of teeth and tongue sent Cam into overdrive. She dug fingers into Lauren’s hips. Lauren worked her way down Cam’s torso, continuing the delicious torment. When Lauren nipped her inner thigh, Cam arched off the bed.
“Shh. Relax. Let me enjoy you.”
Having her words flipped back on her was perfection. She dropped back to the mattress, made an effort to ease the parts of her tense with anticipation.
“Better.”
Lauren pressed featherlight kisses all around where Cam wanted her, avoiding her center. Despite her efforts to relax, Cam’s body tightened again. “Please.”
Lauren’s tongue slid over her, into her. Whether it had to do with just how badly she wanted it or the emotions swirling around inside her, she didn’t know. But the orgasm tore through her like a dam giving way. Immediate and intense, it left her battered and soaked.
“Lauren.” Cam practically panted her name.
Lauren looked up at her and smiled. “Oh, no. You’re not getting off that easy.”
She wasn’t sure she could handle another, but Lauren started slowly. Lazy circles, a gentle massage. Lauren eased into her, the strokes soothed as much as they wound her up. The pleasure was different, but no less exquisite. Lauren’s touch felt both new and familiar. Cam’s body knew exactly what to do with it, even if her brain was busy tripping over itself.
As if sensing she’d started thinking about it, Lauren shifted gears. The thrust of her fingers picked up force, more command now than invitation. Again, Cam’s body stayed a step ahead of her thoughts, keeping up with wherever Lauren wanted to lead.
Cam lifted her head and found Lauren watching her. Her eyes were intense, no longer playful. There was a challenge there, not to yield, but to match. Cam accepted, pushing herself harder, higher, closer to the release she was suddenly desperate to find.
There was nothing quick or sneaky about the orgasm this time. It built, gathering magnitude like an avalanche hurtling down a mountain. It swept up everything in its path, carrying her with its sheer force into the unknown.
When the roaring in her ears finally stopped, when her limbs felt like rubber and each breath no longer felt like fire in her lungs, Cam lay sprawled on the bed, sweaty and spent. She blinked up at the ceiling, like a skier who’d just survived a near-death tumble might stare at the sky, and realized exactly what she’d been hurtling toward. Release, yes, but something much bigger and far more dangerous. She’d barreled herself past feelings and right into love. All the way in love. The kind that could lead to happily ever after. Or heartbreak.
“You okay?”
Lauren smiled down at her. Cam hadn’t noticed her crawl up the bed to join her. Cam nodded, not trusting herself to form words.
“Just checking. You look a little shell-shocked.” Lauren kissed her, then curled against her side, draping an arm over Cam’s ribs.
“I’m good.” Cam wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in a little closer. Terrified, maybe, but good.
Lauren reached over and shut off the lamp then settled right back in. “Good. God, I’m exhausted.”
“Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”
Lauren mumbled agreement and then grew silent. Her breathing slowed and Cam thought she’d drifted off to sleep already. Cam stroked her hair and stared into the darkness, trying to acclimate to the shift—or, perhaps more accurately, the revelation of the shift—in her feelings. What she was supposed to do about them. And whether Lauren felt anything close to the same.
“I’m glad I came here.” Lauren’s words were muffled, a combination of near-sleep and being nuzzled into Cam’s shoulder.
Cam took a deep breath, let it out slowly. She pulled Lauren a little closer, placed a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m glad you came here, too.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Thanks to Lauren’s relationship with Alejandro, along with her ability to deliver the photos ahead of time, the issue of Traveler featuring the Rose & Crown came out only a week after the grand opening. The copies had come express, and she’d had them delivered around town to everyone who’d had a hand in the relaunch.
She fingered the magazine page—glossy and beautiful and better than any press she could have paid for. Anja’s photos of the rooms and the pub, of her, and of Cam at the distillery complemented the story perfectly. The write-up was smart, charming, and highly flattering.
At this point, it didn’t even feel like revenge. It just felt right.
Paired with the buzz from the grand reopening, the Rose & Crown would have more business than she knew what to do with. And not just the Rose. The inn was booked to capacity. Cam’s distillery and the shops in town—all of them would see a huge boost in traffic and, in all likelihood, revenue. Not like the village was on the brink of collapse, but the infusion would go a long way to helping its businesses stay afloat.
She’d done that. Her ideas, her hard work, her sheer force of will to make it happen had done that. Alone, and to herself, she could admit how much more satisfying it was than any advertising campaign she’d ever launched. Lauren shook her head. It didn’t hurt to admit it. It didn’t mean she was going to put herself in the business of rehabbing old hotels and pubs. It meant she had a better handle on the kinds of clients she wanted when she opened her own agency. And it proved she could take a vision from its earliest stages and see it through execution, launch, and promotion.
She practically floated from her office into the pub, where Charlotte stood behind the bar with a copy of the magazine in her hands. “What do you think?” Lauren asked.
Charlotte turned to her and beamed. “I can’t believe they used a picture of me. I’m in a magazine.”
“I might be the face of the business, but you’re the face customers see when they come in for a meal or a pint. And it’s an incredibly lovely face.”
Despite the compliment, Charlotte’s smile faded. “Are you planning to stay the face of the Rose & Crown?”
Lauren sighed. Alejandro had played up her plan to sell the place and move on to her next adventure more than she’d expected. She’d let him ply her with questions about it, though. It was the sort of angle that would up her professional brand, not to mention put a bug in the ear of potential buyers. Yes, the thought of selling at this point felt less appealing than when she arrived, but it still needed to be on the table. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life running an inn and she couldn’t start a business with the alarmingly low amount of money she had on hand.
“I’m not jumping on the next train out of here, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“But a future train? If someone comes along and the price is right?”
Now that she was being pressed, Lauren hesitated to own that part of her plan. Not because Charlotte was guilting her about it, but because the thought of walking away left her with a knot in her stomach and a tightness in her chest that reminded her way too much of the day she got fired from KesslerAldridge. “Selling is an option. I think for me professionally, it has to be. That doesn’t mean I’m going to unload the place on the first offer that walks in the door. Or even the highest offer.”
“All right.” Charlotte nodded. She seemed reassured, if not entirely convinced.
“Just putting it out there is good for business. We’ll get some developers, people who fancy themselves real estate flippers. If they want to book a room and buy a pint, I’m not going to turn them down.” Even as she said it, it sounded a bit like rationalization. Lauren shook it off. She wasn’t going to let anything bring her down today.
“Does Cam know that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Does Cam know that you’re considering selling, or that the article was going to focus on that?”
Lauren frowned. “I wouldn’t say focus.”
Charlotte merely raised a brow.
“I didn’t know exactly how it was going to be written, so no. Do you
think she’s going to be mad?” In asking, she already knew the answer. “Let me rephrase. How mad is she going to be?”
Charlotte raised both hands defensively. “It’s not my place to get involved one way or the other.”
“That bad?” Why hadn’t she thought of that when she was doing the interview? Would it have made a difference?
“I just think it’s going to be a shock. It was to me.”
All the elation of the last hour evaporated. Lauren set the magazine down on the bar and looked Charlotte right in the eyes. “I’m sorry you felt blindsided.”
She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “We all thought that might happen before you got here, but then you did and, I don’t know, you seemed so invested.”
“I am invested. I just—” What? “I just have this whole other life, all these other plans and goals, you know?”
“I do. I get that it’s not all about us.” Charlotte’s smile returned. This time it was encouraging. As much as Lauren appreciated it, the fact that she needed an encouraging smile didn’t sit well.
“But it is about you as much as about me. I’m not heartless.”
“You aren’t. I’ve not thought that once about you.”
Great. Now she was getting a pep talk. The day had taken a turn real quick. “I suppose I should go track down Cam.”
“I didn’t mean to get you upset.”
“No, I appreciate the warning. Hopefully, she’ll understand what I was going for.” She shrugged. “And maybe be glad for the free publicity. That was the whole point.” Surely Cam would get it. She had her own brand, her own business, to think of.
Charlotte nodded, but didn’t say anything more. Lauren picked up the magazine and brought it back to her office. She used the moment alone to steel herself for whatever was to come and tried not to be annoyed that she needed to steel herself in the first place.
* * *
Cam set the magazine down. The betrayal wasn’t personal, but it sure as hell felt like it. Lauren’s face smiled back at her from the page, radiant and perfect. The accidental innkeeper, the beautiful entrepreneur. The woman who’d swept into her life like a tornado and turned everything upside down. Who’d made everything seem possible, but who had her eye on the exit the whole time.
“The phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning. Do you know what’s going on?” Sophie stood in the doorway, looking more amused than perturbed by the situation.
Cam picked up the magazine and strode toward her. She slapped it into Sophie’s hand and said, “I need to get out of here.”
“Kind of the opposite of what I was going for there.”
“Page thirty-six.”
Without offering anything else by way of explanation, she left her office. She had to walk past the tasting room on her way out. The fact that it looked to be near capacity gave her no satisfaction. Like winning after cheating. The victory was hollow and left a bad taste in her mouth.
She avoided eye contact with anyone and didn’t risk looking up until she was well clear of the building and the parking lot. She cut across the field that led toward her house, but made a wide circle around it, picking up the road that led south toward Nottingham. Even the short walk through the grass had her feet soaked. She should have changed into boots before storming out.
Feeling like she’d successfully dodged having to talk to anyone, she slowed her pace, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking up at the pale gray sky. What a colossal idiot she’d been.
That was the worst of it—not that Lauren had ulterior motives. Cam had suspected as much from the very beginning. No, the worst part was that she’d let herself forget all those suspicions. She’d fallen for a pretty face and a gorgeous body and an infectious laugh, like some hormone-crazed teenager. It was a mistake she’d managed to avoid for the last fifteen years and, in the matter of a couple of months, it was like she’d never learned her lesson at all.
Cam stopped walking. Her desire to escape evaporated. It its place, a burning desire to tell Lauren exactly what she thought of her photo spread and her fancy marketing ideas and her willingness to sell to the highest bidder. She turned on her heel and headed straight for the pub.
Instead of diffusing her anger, the walk only intensified it. Each step was a tiny “I told you so” echoing in her mind. She never should have trusted Lauren. She never should have taken her to bed. And, she realized with a sinking feeling deep in her stomach, she never ever should have fallen in love with her.
When she got to the pub, a good two dozen people were there. Copies of the magazine seemed to be in every pair of hands. Even if it felt like all eyes turned toward her, she told herself it wasn’t true. No one else had the personal stake she did. No one else had foolishly given their heart to the woman who saw everything as one more deal to close.
Cam searched the sea of faces for Lauren’s but didn’t find it.
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” Charlotte had appeared at her side and was now studying her with concern.
“Where is she?”
“She didn’t know it was going to be written that way. She’s not looking to sell to the first person who walks in the door.”
The fact that Charlotte was defending Lauren, trying to smooth things over, only made matters worse. “Is she here? Or off meeting with some broker?”
Charlotte sighed. “She’s in her office.”
Cam nodded once and headed that way. She didn’t mean to be an ass to Charlotte, but she didn’t trust herself to speak without exploding. And if she was going to explode on someone, she didn’t want it to be Charlotte.
Lauren’s door was closed. Cam took a deep breath and knocked. Maybe she’d manage not to explode at all.
“Come in.”
Cam entered and found Lauren standing behind her desk. She at least had the decency to look worried. Cam made a point of closing the door behind her and taking a breath. Yelling wouldn’t get her point across any better. “I think we need to talk.”
Lauren nodded. “Charlotte said you might be upset.”
It added insult to injury that she needed to cite Charlotte. “Do you understand why?”
Lauren let out a sigh of what seemed like exasperation. “Because the article talks about me flipping the pub, selling it.”
“Or maybe because you are flipping the pub and selling it. Because that’s been your intention all along.”
“I let Alejandro angle the story that way. It’s a good marketing strategy. It builds buzz.”
The muscles in her jaw tightened. “That’s what it comes back to for you, isn’t it? Everything is one big marketing strategy.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Lauren’s eyes darkened. Cam had never seen her angry and had a flash of thinking how beautiful the ferocity made her.
“It is when it’s my life.” How could she not see the difference?
“Don’t get self-righteous with me. Your work is just as much a part of your life as mine.” The anger in Lauren’s eyes gave way to defiance, daring Cam to push back.
“I do my work with integrity. I don’t pretend to be one thing and then do the opposite when I think no one is looking.”
“You know, I had half a mind to apologize.” Lauren shook her head.
“Save your breath. I wouldn’t believe you anyway.”
She thought Lauren might yell, or maybe throw her out. Instead, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “What, exactly, are you angry about?”
A half dozen answers leapt forward. That you came here and changed everything and now I kind of like it. That you made me fall in love with you. That you’ll sell the inn and leave and I’ll never see you again. Cam opened her mouth, then closed it. Of course she couldn’t say any of those things out loud. “You pretended to care. You said whatever you had to say to get me, to get the whole damn village, on board with your plans and it was all a lie.”
“That isn’t fair and it isn’t true.”
“
Are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you have no intention of selling?”
“I haven’t decided. It’s complicated, Cam. The reasons I came here are complicated. I had a—”
“Stop.” Cam lifted a hand. “It’s one thing to leave out parts of the truth that suit your purposes. I won’t have you stand there and lie to my face.”
Without waiting for a reply, Cam walked out. Lauren didn’t call after her, or chase her out the door. She didn’t utter a single word. As far as Cam was concerned, Lauren’s silence was the most damning thing of all.
Chapter Twenty-six
Lauren told herself for the hundredth time she wasn’t running away. But as the plane taxied to the runway and sped toward takeoff, that was the feeling she couldn’t shake. Even though she only had a few days of avoiding Cam before leaving. Even though she’d booked a return flight not two weeks out. Even though she was going to New York for the specific purpose of giving a deposition about Philip and her firing.
It was the look on Cam’s face when she said everything between them had been a lie. That look, and Cam’s words, haunted her. The resulting tension sat in her stomach like lead. It was chicken shit to leave without telling Cam, but she didn’t think she could take one more second of the disdain or, worse, the betrayal she saw in Cam’s eyes. Did it count as running away if the person in question didn’t care if you stayed or left?
Half an hour into the flight, she caved and took a sleeping pill. She’d regret it when the plane landed and she felt like she’d been hit by a bus, but that seemed preferable at this point to spending seven hours stewing over the mess she’d left, or the one waiting for her.
Why did Cam have to be so fucking stubborn? It was like she’d spent the whole time they were together just waiting for some reason to blow it all to hell. As evidenced by the fact she had absolutely zero interest in Lauren’s explanation, an explanation that made perfect sense for what she was trying to accomplish for the Rose & Crown, and for Carriage House. It was like she didn’t want either of those things to succeed. She sighed. Maybe the more accurate statement was that Cam was set on their relationship not succeeding.