“I don’t know if I deserved it, but I certainly needed it.” She tilted her head thoughtfully and asked, “Why are you so good to me?”
“Because nothing gives me more pleasure.” His words caused her heart to skip a beat. This man was simply too good to be true, and he was hers—for the time being, she forced herself to amend. “You always look fabulous, but today you’re absolutely glowing.”
“Thanks to you and the spa.” She sighed happily at the memory. “They did things to my body that are beyond description.”
“Better than I do?” Her fingers smoothed the frown from his mouth, and she kissed his lips softly.
“Baby, nobody is better than you.” Her fingers caressed his lightly hair-covered jaw.
“Really?” His eyes lit up, and she could tell her assertion pleased him.
“Really.” Unable to help herself, she pressed her mouth to his again for long seconds, only pulling back to ask, “Let me make you dinner?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “This is your day and night to relax. I’ll take you out.”
“I thought you’d say that. If you won’t let me cook dinner for you—” she switched to her backup plan “—then I insist you let me take you out to thank you properly for my wonderful day.”
“If you really want to thank me—” his mouth captured hers again, quick and hard “—I know the perfect way.”
“Cam, behave.” She pushed out of his arms, trying to return her heart rate to normal. “You’re always doing things for me. I want to do this for you.” She gave him a smile designed to melt any resistance. “Please.”
“Okay,” he relented, as she had hoped he would. “Where are we going?”
“That’s for me to know,” she said, fighting a groan when his arm encircled her waist and pulled her close again.
“And me to find out?”
“Yep.”
“How about a hint.”
“No chance.”
“I bet I could coerce it out of you.” His mouth played with hers.
“You definitely could.” She pressed closer to him and whispered, “But I’d be disappointed if you did.”
“Okay.” He appeared to give in, and glanced down at his jeans and then at her red dress. “Give me a few minutes to change.”
“You can have all the time you need.”
He grinned. “Wanna help me?”
“I’d love to, but if I did, we’d never make it out of the bedroom and you know it.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “And that would be a bad thing?”
“No, it wouldn’t, but it would ruin my surprise.”
“Okay, I don’t want to do that.” He paused and added, “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
“You can try again later,” she promised, and shivers raced up and down her spine as he growled appreciatively. “But for now, go change.” Before her resolve crumbled, she gave him a gentle shove toward the stairs.
“How should I dress? A suit?”
She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. “I think a nice sports coat and slacks will suffice.”
“I’ll be back in a flash.” He treated her to that gorgeous dimpled smile of his before ascending the stairs two at a time.
Those ever-present warning bells were going off in her head again, signaling that she was beginning to care too much about him. The dreamy expression on her face slowly fell away as she watched him disappear around a corner. She silently tried to convince herself that she simply wanted to thank a friend for being extraordinarily nice and generous to her.
She failed miserably in that endeavor.
Chapter 11
To start things off, Angela treated Cam to dinner at his favorite steak house. Next, they arrived at Bennie’s Jazz Club, and she was thrilled when Cam’s eyes lit up in happy surprise, informing her she had made the right choice.
“First the steak house and now this.” Cam glanced fondly around the medium-sized club with its low, intimate lighting and cozy, well-dispersed seating comprised of booths and tables. “This is one of my favorite places.”
“I know.” She smiled as they were shown to a secluded booth to the right of the stage.
“How do you know?”
“I wanted to do something special to thank you for my wonderful day, and just in case you refused my invitation to cook for you, I called Alesha and Derrick to find out where we should go, and here we are.”
He grinned. “You know you’re going to get their tongues wagging more than they already are about us, don’t you?”
“I know, but I needed some input.” Angela had already endured merciless teasing from Alesha, but she had wanted to do this for Cam. She refused to allow herself to dwell on why pleasing him was so important to her.
“Well, remind me to thank them on Saturday.”
“I will.” She snuggled close to his side as the band took the stage and began playing. They were silent and enjoyed the music for a few minutes before she asked, “Are you having a good time?”
“No.” He smiled at her. “I’m having a great time.”
“Good.” She ran her hand up his hard thigh and grinned when he groaned. “But save your strength, because the night’s far from over.”
“I can’t wait to see what comes next,” he growled into her ear, pulling her closer to his side.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I just spotted an old friend in the audience,” one of the band members was saying. “Cam, get up here and let’s see if you still remember how to play.”
Angela’s eyes widened and she glanced at Cam, who smiled and waved his hand but made no move to go up on stage. “You play?”
“Just for fun,” Cam admitted. “I haven’t done it in a long time.”
“Come on, Cam, don’t keep us waiting,” the band member continued cajoling him onto the stage.
“Go on, I’d love to hear you play.”
“I don’t want to ruin our evening.”
“Ruin it? If you play half as good as you sing, I’m in for a treat.” She was rewarded for her words with a grin. “Go on,” she urged again.
“Don’t make me come down there and get you, Cam,” the man with the microphone threatened, and received laughs in return from the audience, many of whose eyes were glued on Cam and Angela.
“All right, James.” Cam finally stood. “I’m coming.”
“Well, come on, then.” James laughed as Cam approached the stage. “Ladies and gents, you’re in for a treat now.”
Cam shook his head at James as he walked onto the stage, exchanging handshakes and hugs with the six band members before taking a seat behind the piano. After talking with the group for a few seconds, they started to play. Cam played three songs with them and had a lengthy solo in one song, which had Angela’s jaw dropping in amazement. He was fantastic! She didn’t know why she was surprised. He was top-notch at everything he did.
Of course, in standard Cam fashion, he did something that completely threw her for a loop. He dedicated Erroll Garner’s jazz hit “Misty” to her. He stared directly into her appropriately misty eyes while he played, and everyone except the two of them disappeared from the room at that point. Angela was lost in Cam’s expressive eyes and hypnotized by the sweet, seductive music he played just for her.
When he finished the song, Cam left the stage to applause and pats on the back. When he returned to the table and sat beside Angela again, she was valiantly fighting back tears.
“You were incredible,” she said as he took a gulp of his drink. “I’ve seen the piano at your house, but I had no idea you played.”
“Yeah, Mom insisted I take piano lessons growing up.” He screwed up his face in distaste and she laughed, glad she had a handle on her threatening tears. “I hated them back then, but I have to
admit I learned to love the instrument later in life—but don’t tell her I said that.”
“I won’t.” Angela winked conspiratorially. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“Babe, you don’t know the half of it—” he paused and purposefully added “—yet.”
“Mmm.” She brought her mouth within centimeters of his. “I’m looking forward to finding out more, Mr. Stewart.”
“And I’m so looking forward to enlightening you, babe.” They kissed briefly and unsatisfactorily before sitting back, but they remained close.
The look he gave her could have sparked a forest fire.
Without removing her eyes from his, she picked up her nonalcoholic strawberry daiquiri, hoping the coolness of the drink would douse the flames of desire licking through her body. Cam’s grin widened as if aware of her aroused state, and he draped an arm behind her.
“How did you like my solo?”
Her eyes grew dreamy at his whispered reminder of the highlight of the evening, as far as she was concerned. “It was my favorite part of your performance.”
“It was just for you.” He gazed into her overwhelmed eyes and softly questioned, “Do you feel the way I do about us—that nothing and no one else matters?”
She was too full of emotion to speak, and he smiled at her tenderly, pulled her close to his side and thankfully allowed his question to go unanswered.
They stayed at the club for a few more hours, enjoying the music and being with each other. All of the acts were really good, but Angela didn’t enjoy any of them as much as Cam playing with the band.
“As fantastic as this evening has been...” Cam whispered in her ear during an intermission, sending shivers dancing up and down her spine.
“Yes?” She glanced up into his burning, seductive eyes.
“Why don’t we take this party back to my place?”
“That is an excellent idea.” At her acquiescence, he took her hand and led her out.
When they arrived back at his house, they were kissing and laughing because he was trying to unlock the door, and she wouldn’t release his mouth so that he could see what he was doing.
Finally, the lock gave way and they fell into the entryway, slamming the door behind them. They kissed and danced their way to the bedroom, shedding clothes along the way, creating a trail. Once they reached their destination, they fell onto the bed in a tangled mass of clinging arms and legs, clothed only in underwear.
“You were going to show me a few more surprises.” Angela spoke against his mouth. “Remember?”
“Think you can handle them?” Cam took her earlobe between his teeth while deft fingers unhooked her bra.
“Try me,” she groaned as his hands cupped her breasts and his teeth took love bites out of her neck.
“You asked for it.” Raising his head, he smiled into her passion-glazed eyes and nipped at her lower lip before promising, “I’m going to show you the remarkable things I can do with just my tongue.”
Her eyes widened, and her heart somersaulted in her chest. He grinned wickedly and started a thorough, mind-blowing exploration that had her writhing in ecstasy as he painstakingly moved from her head to her toes until she thought she would die from the exquisite pleasure he tortured her with—until they went insane together.
Oh, God, did he ever have a talented tongue!
* * *
Angela made it home from work, showered and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She was cooking dinner for Cam tonight. Before she could begin cooking, the doorbell rang.
“Cam, hi.” She greeted him gaily. He seemed a little tense, like something was on his mind. “You’re right on time.”
“Hi, gorgeous.” He gave her a quick kiss and handed her a bouquet of lilacs.
“How pretty.” She smiled at the flowers. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He stared at her as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“Well, have a seat in the living room while I put these in water.” His hand halted her exit, and she glanced at him questioningly. “What?”
“Can we talk first?”
“Sure.” She preceded him into the living room and sat beside him on the sofa, placing her flowers on the coffee table. “What is it?”
“I have a great time with you, Angela.”
“I enjoy being with you, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I want us to be exclusive.” He came to the point. She grew a little uncomfortable under his penetrating stare.
“I’m not seeing anyone else,” she slowly assured him.
“But?”
“Let’s just enjoy being together without reading too much into things.”
“Meaning?”
“We enjoy each other’s company, so why can’t we just keep things as they are?”
“For how long?” When she didn’t respond, he took one of her hands in his. “Babe, I know why you’re hesitant to commit. You’ve been hurt in the past, but I’m simply asking that you give us a chance and don’t penalize me for the way other jerks have treated you. Is that too much to ask?”
It was a very logical thing to ask, but she didn’t know if she could do it. When she remained silent, he asked, “Angela?”
“Cam, I don’t want to hurt you.” That was the truth, and she didn’t want to be hurt, either. “I’ve been honest from the beginning when I told you I’m not looking for a serious relationship.”
“Yes, you were,” he agreed quietly.
“I thought we were enjoying being together without any strings attached. You said you were fine with that. Has that changed?”
“I know what I said.”
“But?”
“But we have a great time together, and I know you feel the connection between us. I hoped you’d changed your mind about letting me in.” He paused and asked hopefully, “Will you let me in?”
“As much as I’ve ever let anyone, you are in,” she confessed.
“Am I? Really? Or are you holding me at arm’s length?” She met his unflinching gaze and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
“It’s hard to get over being hurt, Cam.”
“I know.” He rubbed her arms, and his compassionate gaze was almost her undoing. “Let me help you.”
“Let’s just take it slow and see what happens.” She knew that wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but it was the best she was able to offer, and frankly, that little bit scared her to death.
“Okay,” he relented, pulling her close. She sighed in relief.
“I was about to start cooking dinner.” She pulled back and smiled into his guarded eyes. “Want to join me?” She thought he was going to refuse when he continued staring at her as if trying to figure out what to do.
“Sure,” he finally answered, smiling slightly.
“Good.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her. “You can chop the vegetables.”
“I’m an excellent chopper.”
His now-teasing tone cajoled a chuckle from her. “One of your many talents, huh?”
“One of them,” he agreed.
When they entered the kitchen, she motioned to the chopping board while she pulled fish out of the refrigerator and started to season it. Suddenly her hand was grasped, and she was pulled into Cam’s arms while his mouth simultaneously captured hers. This kiss was nothing like the one they had shared a few moments ago. This time he kissed her as if he were branding her as his, sucking all breath from her lungs and imprinting his lips onto hers while his tongue passionately stroked, teased and conquered until her knees were weak and she felt ready to faint.
“Just so you know,
I’m not giving up on you, babe,” he whispered against her mouth before releasing her.
She reached behind her and grabbed the counter to keep from falling to the ground in an undignified heap, and stared at his back when he started chopping the vegetables. She placed a hand to her thoroughly kissed mouth and continued to stare at him until he turned, gave her a grin and then turned back to his task.
Jesus! This man never did what she expected, and he was a master of keeping her off balance. Cam seemed more than willing to bide his time with her and methodically wear her down. She had to admit, he was doing an excellent job of it, and she honestly didn’t know how much longer she could continue clinging to the insane notion that they were just friends. She also had no idea how she was going to stop her contrary heart from lying down at his feet in absolute surrender.
* * *
Cam sipped his iced tea as he sat across the table from Derrick. This was just what he needed, some time with his boy to relax and unwind.
“By the way,” Cam began as he and Derrick waited for their lunch to be served. “Mom’s in town, and she told me to inform you she wants to see D.J. and Alesha soon. I’m having a barbecue for her Saturday, and you’re all required to be there.”
“We’ll be there, and I know she’s in town.” At Cam’s surprised expression he explained, “She came by the house last night to see us and...” Derrick trailed off with a wide grin.
Cam warily asked, “And what?”
“And to talk about you and Angela.” Derrick’s grin widened at Cam’s horrified expression.
“Please tell me you and my mother weren’t discussing my sex life.”
“Hey, man, Mama Mabel brought it up.”
“Just shoot me now.” Cam dropped his head in his hands. Derrick’s hoot of laughter echoed in the room, causing several curious glances to be thrown their way.
“When did you introduce her to Angela?”
“We all went to dinner a few nights ago when she got into town. It was nice, but Angela was a little uncomfortable.”
“Any woman would be, meeting your mother.”
Take Me in Your Arms Page 14