“I think you’re deluding yourself, but if you say so.” Alesha adjusted the volume on the baby monitor.
“I do,” Angela firmly reiterated. “I don’t want to get serious, and we’re just friends.” At Alesha’s knowing smile, she was compelled to add, “We are!”
Alesha remained silent. Angela sensed her friend knew there was no need for her to say anything further. Angela might not want to get serious, but despite her best efforts, she knew it was already much too late to prevent that from happening.
* * *
The barbecue broke up early that evening because Mabel had to be at the airport to catch her flight out. Cam and Angela drove her to National Airport and waited until the boarding call for her flight sounded.
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Angela,” Mabel said.
“You, too, Mabel.”
“Cam, I expect you to bring Angela for a visit soon.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, I guess it’s time for me to board.” At the second call for her flight, Mabel stood, hugged and kissed them both. “I expect to see you both soon.” At the gate, she turned, smiled and added, “Maybe you’ll have some good news to share.”
“Oh, Mom.” Cam chuckled and waved her off. After she disappeared up the ramp, Cam grabbed Angela’s hand as they walked away. “That’s my mom.”
“She’s a treasure.”
“Thanks.” He released her hand and placed an arm around her shoulders. “She liked you.”
“I like her, too.”
“That’s important to me.”
“Why?”
He smiled but didn’t answer her. There was no need to. “How about going back to my place for some dessert?”
“I’d love to.” She had to go back to his place anyway to drop him off, since they had taken her car to the airport, but in her heart she knew she was going with him because she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. She wondered if she would ever be ready for that distasteful prospect.
* * *
When they arrived back at Cam’s place, they decided to skip dessert in lieu of some intimate alone time in his bedroom. After a satisfying feast of each other, they snuggled together in bed, listening to jazz, occasionally kissing and caressing.
Angela’s face was snuggled into the crook of his neck, her open mouth taking love bites out of his flesh, and Cam was in heaven. His fingers ran through her hair and pressed her mouth tighter against his humming flesh. She fit in his life and his world, and he wanted her to always be right where she was—in his arms.
“As good as this feels, babe, I think we need to talk.”
“About?” Her voice was muffled against his skin.
“Us.”
She tensed in his arms and was silent for several deafening seconds before responding. “Do you really want to talk right now?”
“Yes.” He forced her mouth away from his neck and glanced into her carefully guarded eyes. “Let’s talk about our relationship.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” She nipped at his jaw and promised, “I’ll bet I could make you change your mind.”
“Could you now?” Despite his desire to talk seriously, he smiled when she crawled on top of him and provocatively slid her satiny body against his hard one. “You think so?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She smiled confidently. “I can make you forget everything except loving me in just three easy steps.”
“Oh, this I have to see.”
A perfectly arched eyebrow rose. “Is that a dare?”
“It is.”
“Okay.” She scooted down his body until her lips were level with his smooth, muscled chest. “Here’s one.”
Her hot, wet mouth opened over his nipples, nipping, tugging and laving each bud with her capricious tongue, scraping his disks with her strong teeth until they became hard and distended. When satisfied with the results, her mouth moved down his stomach, where the muscles contracted under her targeted manipulations. Her tongue delved in and out of his belly button before trailing wet kisses across his lower abdomen.
He groaned, and she removed her lips from his tasty skin to smile up into his tense face. He raised his head, and his eyes opened and met her confident gaze.
“How am I doing?” she whispered.
“Keep going,” he ordered hoarsely.
“My pleasure.” Her hard nails trailed up his sides before moving to the front, working their way down his chest, scraping his nipples and lower abdomen. “That’s two.”
“Uh-huh.” He ground his head into the pillow as she moved even lower. His skin was on fire.
“And this.” Her hands moved up and down his hard outer and inner thighs, followed by her mouth. “This is three.”
Her mouth attached to him with wet, hot suction, and she mercilessly treated him to heaven, sucking hard and twirling her tongue around and around his rigid flesh. He hissed in approval before breathless groans vibrated from his constricted throat. His body squirmed as Angela refused to stop her sweet torture, even when his hands moved to the back of her head, trying to pry her away from his overstimulated flesh. Finally, after endless licks, sucks and nibbles, she released him and crawled back up his body until her smiling lips were inches from his.
“Do you still want to talk?”
“No!”
She smiled cattily and gasped when he rolled her beneath him.
“I win,” she proclaimed smugly.
“We both do,” he hoarsely corrected her, crushing her mouth with his for long moments in a voracious kiss. His hands were shaking so badly he couldn’t put the condom on, so she took it from him and did the honors, almost sending him over the edge with her slow, tortuous movements. “You’ve pushed me too far.” His voice was raspy with desire.
“I sincerely hope so,” she purred as he nestled intimately against her.
Without another word, he plunged into her. She arched up to meet him. She scratched his back, he bit her shoulder; they were ferocious and neither apologized. Because of Angela’s previous ministrations, when the moment of gratification came, Cam went over first. When he moved a hand between their bodies and massaged her aching clit, Angela quickly followed him into madness.
Chapter 13
Lying in Cam’s strong arms felt like heaven to Angela. She wanted to stay right where she was, and she intended to do just that. Carefully tilting her head, she stared at Cam’s closed eyes and relaxed face. He was so handsome, and he was hers. Her fingers froze before making contact with his face. Her fingers trembled slightly as her heart slammed against her ribs.
Is that how she thought of Cam—as hers? Her heart arrested as she realized it was. Part of her was happy about that fact, and part of her was apprehensive. She liked her life the way it was, uncomplicated, career oriented. She loved not having to please anyone but herself—or at least, she had until Cam had so easily insinuated himself into every nook and cranny of her life. She hadn’t meant for this to happen, but it had. Now what was she going to do about it?
The vibration of her phone drew her attention away from Cam’s relaxed face and roused her from her disturbing thoughts. She snatched the instrument from the nightstand, groaning when she recognized the phone number on the display.
“Hello?” she whispered, trying not to wake Cam. She listened and responded, “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Sighing, she replaced her phone on the nightstand and turned to face a wide-awake Cam.
“Who was that?” Cam sleepily asked.
“The hospital.”
“Oh, no,” he groaned.
“I know. I’m so sorry.” She bent down and kissed him, got out of bed, stepped into her sundress and stated the obvious. “I have to go.”
Cam pulled back the covers and sprang out of b
ed in his naked glory. “Can’t someone else handle this?”
“I’m the head nurse,” she reminded him. “One of the surgeons whose O.R. team I’m on has an emergency surgery, and he wants me there. It’s my responsibility. I have to be there.”
“Of course you do.” He frowned, bent down, picked up his pants and stepped into them.
She sported a frown of her own. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Nothing.”
“No, it’s not nothing.” She regarded him with a raised eyebrow and informed him, “My career is just as important to me as yours is to you.”
“I know it is.”
“Do you?” Her eyes narrowed and she challenged, “Then why are you acting like it’s not?”
“That’s not what I meant to imply. I just wish...” He tried to find the right words to de-escalate what was quickly evolving into an unnecessary argument.
“What?” She zipped her dress up as far as she could and presented her back to him. He quickly pulled the zipper up and then dropped his hands from her instead of pulling her close as he normally would have done. “Spill it, Cam.”
He sighed heavily and stated, “There’s nothing to spill.” He took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry if I sounded jealous of your career. I’m not.”
She studied his expression and realized he really wasn’t jealous, but he was also still upset. “You’re not?”
“No.” He gave her a slight smile. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.” He waited for her to don her shoes and pick up the remainder of her belongings before following her out.
“Cam...” She paused at the front door, unsure of what to say.
“Look, I’m not angry, okay?”
She studied his seemingly calm face with skepticism. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m not.” He took her hands in his. “I’m just disappointed that our night is being cut short.” Before she could interject, he continued, “I understand it’s your job, but I don’t want you to leave. For once, I’d like to wake up with you in my arms.”
“I don’t want to leave, either,” she stated truthfully. “But I have to.”
“I know.” He opened the door and then turned to face her again. “We have to sit down and talk about what we both expect and need from this relationship, Angela.”
She sighed heavily. “Why do you feel the need to complicate things?”
“I’m not trying to—quite the opposite, in fact.” He paused as if trying to choose his words carefully. “We’re more than friends, Angela—much more.” Determined eyes stared into hers. “I think we both realize that, and we need to talk about what comes next.”
She ran fingers through her bangs. “I can’t deal with this now.”
“You’re going to have to sooner rather than later.”
Her shoulders stiffened at his softly delivered ultimatum. “Good night, Cam.”
“Good night.”
They stared at each other for several tense seconds before she broke eye contact and walked toward her car. She knew he was right. She couldn’t expect him to live in limbo with her, but she didn’t know if she was ready to completely let him into her heart, thus risking the devastation that would follow if they couldn’t make a go of it.
She started the ignition and exited the driveway. She shook her head to clear her jumbled thoughts. She needed her wits about her. She’d think about what she was going to do about her relationship with Cam tomorrow.
* * *
Cam swiveled in his chair and stared out the glass wall of his office at the beautiful view of downtown Washington. Grabbing his phone from the desk, he dialed Angela’s number and waited impatiently for her to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hi, babe. How are you?”
“Hi, Cam. I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m good. I’m sorry about last night.”
“You already apologized,” she softly reminded him.
“I know, but I want to assure you that I do know how important your career is to you, that I support you wholeheartedly and that I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”
“You wouldn’t?”
“No, you’re perfect the way you are.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” She laughed.
“Well, I do,” he insisted. “Listen, are you free for dinner tonight?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at seven. Is that good?”
“That’s great. How should I dress?”
“To kill.”
“Mmm.” She chuckled. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” It was going to be a surprise in more ways than one. He couldn’t wait to see her face tonight once he asked her what he was going to. He had decided he needed to show her how he felt about her. He didn’t think anyone had ever taken the time to show her how special she was, and he intended to remedy that travesty tonight.
“Okay, I like your surprises.”
“Good. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yes, you will,” she promised. “Bye.”
“Bye, babe.”
He smiled and replaced his phone on the desktop. Tonight was going to be a new beginning for both of them. He couldn’t wait to show Angela that he wanted her in his life permanently.
* * *
Cam watched Angela while her eyes slowly took in their opulent surroundings in one of the ritziest restaurants in town before returning her awestruck gaze on him. He held out her chair for her before sitting down across from her. Everything was as he had ordered. He smiled when she fingered the red roses in the table centerpiece.
“Did you rent out the entire floor?”
“I did,” he admitted with a chuckle when her eyes widened in shock.
“Cam,” she gasped. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Oh, yes, I should have,” he quickly countered, taking her hand and squeezing her fingers lightly. “I wanted you to know how sorry I am for last night, Angela.”
“Will you stop apologizing?” she chastised.
“Eventually.” He winked.
They dined on lobster and steak with baby potatoes and spring vegetables. Everything was cooked to perfection, and dessert was a decadent chocolate cake drenched in chocolate sauce and whipped cream.
“Oh, my Lord, I’m stuffed!” Angela sat back in her chair with a groan, and Cam laughed.
“Good, that means you’re too weak to resist what I have in store for you next.” Angela smiled at his mischievous grin.
“And what might that be?” When he continued staring at her without responding, she asked self-consciously, “What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” He shook his head and took a small black velvet box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. “This is for you.”
“Wh—what is that?” With wide eyes, she glanced at the small box lying in her palm before lifting apprehensive eyes to his sparkling ones again.
“Open it—” he grinned and rubbed his hands together in anticipation “—and find out.”
“Cam...” She made no move to open the box, but rather set it down on the table as if she was afraid of what it contained.
“Aren’t you going to see what’s inside?”
“You didn’t have to buy me anything.” She lightly fingered the box. Nervousness poured off her in waves, and he covered her hand in his, squeezing reassuringly.
“I didn’t spend any money on this.” He motioned to the box and laughed at her confused expression. “It’s nothing sinister or expensive.”
“Promise?” She slowly picked up the box again.
“Yes, I promise.” He grinned expectantly. “Open it.”
She released his hand, untied the white bow and carefully raised the lid, revealing a brass key. She picked it up and glanced at him in confusion. “What is this?”
“The key to my house.” He took her free hand in his and asked, “Move in with me, Angela.” She gasped and dropped the key as if it burned her.
“What?” she whispered.
“I said move in with me,” Cam repeated, bringing her hand to his lips.
“Well?” he prodded when she remained silent.
“Cam...” She picked up her glass and took a gulp of her water. “I—I can’t.”
His smile disappeared. “Why not?” he asked quietly.
“Because you’re moving too fast.”
“I don’t think I am.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Angela, we’re good together and I know you feel the passion and the rightness between us. I want you with me, and I think you want to be with me, too.”
“I...” She swallowed hard. She looked terrified, which was the last thing he wanted. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Look, I know you’ve had some bad experiences with men. They didn’t deserve you.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly and promised, “All I want is the chance to make you happy.”
“You can’t handle my career,” Angela blurted out, the first criticism that popped into her head. “Do you think it’s going to get any better if we move in together?”
“That’s not true, Angela.”
“Isn’t it? Last night—”
“I’ve apologized about last night,” he quietly reminded her.
“Yes, you did, but what happens the next time my job interferes with our plans?” She stared at him. “And it will interfere.”
“I’ll deal with it.”
“The way you did last night?” He had the feeling she was deliberately trying to pick a fight, and he wasn’t going to accommodate her.
“You’re not being fair.”
“Fair?” Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “I suppose it’s fair for you to spring something like this on me without any warning.”
He frowned at her accusation. “I wasn’t trying to spring anything on you or make you uncomfortable.”
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