by Melody Anne
Yes, Grace could see that he was trying to help her, but he was royally ticking her off. The thing was, though, that she didn’t really know where to go, and the only place in Sterling was a down-at-the-heels motel.
If she had the choice to stay there or in one of Cam’s spare rooms, though, she would probably choose the motel, because staying at his house left her open to temptation that would be hell to fight.
She had practically begged him to take her this morning, and as much as he’d wanted her, he’d said no, not unless she gave him all of her. She just wasn’t able to do that. If she did, she knew where she would be left standing—if she were still standing—when it all came to an end.
And she had no doubt that it would come to an end. He’d left her before. He would leave her again. This time, though, she was weaker. There weren’t enough pieces of her left to pick up, not after the stuff that had happened with her mother and then with the guy in New York. He’d used her. Gotten what he’d wanted and then left her broken. It seemed to be the story of her life. She’d been kicked back down too many times to be able to keep getting back on her feet. A person could only withstand so much before they were completely broken.
But even having those thoughts upset Grace tremendously. She wasn’t a quitter. Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, she drove on doggedly toward Cam’s house. If he wanted to play games with her, she wouldn’t just sit idly by while he held all the ace cards up his sleeve.
Cam had no right to try to take over her life, to try to tell her how to live and what to do. If only she were able to get that point across to him, she’d be a very happy woman. As she pulled up in front of his house, she threw back her shoulders and put her player’s face on. He would listen to what she had to say.
“You drive like a grandma, you know,” Cam said as he approached her at the car, holding two of her suitcases.
“I drive safely, unlike most of the cowboys in this area,” she replied, going to the back of his truck and climbing on the tire to reach the last bag.
“I’ll get that,” he told her with a frown.
“I am more than capable of getting my own bags. Just leave those in the foyer. I’m not unpacking here.” With that, she led the way up his steps.
“Nah. I don’t like things cluttering up my entry hall. We’ll just take them to your room—unless you want them in mine,” he said, ascending the stairs as well.
“You don’t perform to my satisfaction. I’ll take my own room,” she told him with a smirk.
“Ah, baby, you know that isn’t true. When you pull your head out of your cute little arse and admit how much you want me, I’ll perform all night and all day,” he told her, opening the door directly across from his own bedroom.
“Don’t you have a ton of spare rooms in this monster-sized house?”
“This is my favorite guest room, reserved for only the most elite of visitors.” He proceeded through the doorway and set her bags in an amazing walk-in closet.
“No one needs this much space,” she scolded him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the way she was salivating at the floor-to-ceiling shoe racks. “Especially in a guest room.”
“I like big spaces. It comes from a time when two other boys and I shared a room that was smaller than the average linen closet.”
His tone may have been joking, but she heard the underlying pain.
“I’m sorry, Cam. I always forget that your life didn’t start out as well as it’s ended up.” She turned to him and held his arm for a moment.
“My life is great, Grace. But it doesn’t matter how good it is now or how good it’s been for the past twenty years. There are some things that will never be forgotten.”
“You know, Cam, you can talk to me about it anytime you want.” Grace was almost surprised when those words popped out of her mouth.
“I might take you up on that offer, Grace. But I’m far more worried about what’s going on in your life right now.”
He walked from the closet and moved toward another door. When he opened it, she had a hard time holding in her gasp. The bathroom was the size of her last bedroom, which she’d considered pretty dang roomy. A soaking tub sat in the middle of gray granite, and the double vanity was a woman’s wet dream come true. The shower looked big enough to fit ten people, with multiple spray heads and smooth granite walls.
“Wow. I’ve never had a chance to see your bathroom. I can’t imagine what it looks like if this is the guest one,” she said, unable to keep the awe from her tone. Maybe she had been a little too hasty in building such a small home.
No. This was more than any person needed. Her new house certainly wasn’t too small. It was more than enough space for a single person. She hated cleaning, and couldn’t imagine how long it would take to clean this house. Not that a guy like him would clean it himself.
“I’ll show you my bathroom right now,” Cam said, holding out a hand.
“I think I’ll pass. It’s been an eventful day. I’m going to shower and go to sleep.” She turned away from him, not wanting to be tempted once again that day.
“Grace, it’s early yet—only six thirty—and before we drove out here, you said you were hungry. Take your shower and come downstairs. I promise not to attack . . . for tonight, at least.”
He didn’t try to cajole her any further, just turned around and walked from the room, leaving the decision to her. She appreciated that more than anything else at the moment. Even if she had just half an hour to gather herself together after having so much thrown at her in one day, she might begin to feel a little more human again.
Grabbing a pair of her most unsexy flannel pajamas, she went into the bathroom. She took a little more than half an hour, though, because after the heavenly shower, she couldn’t resist soaking in the giant tub, and to get out before sitting there for an hour would be a waste of good water.
She wasn’t going to admit even to herself that she was putting off the inevitable. Cam was downstairs waiting for her, and her resistance was zilch. Would they finish what they’d begun that very morning?
When Grace was all out of thoughts about how to avoid him, she sat up in the tub, an evil idea taking place in her mind. He’d left her reeling this morning. Wasn’t payback a bitch?
Cam sat on the couch trying to read a legal thriller he’d had lying around for the past four months, but he just couldn’t get into the story. Was Grace ever going to come back down, or hide out in her room? He knew she had to be hungry, and although his meal of sandwiches and chips wasn’t the best dinner ever, it was still food and it was sitting on the coffee table, waiting.
He would have had his cook, Mrs. Bateman, come out and fix up some meals, but he’d been in and out so much that he’d given her a few days off. Bad timing.
Cam finally tossed the book aside. Why even pretend to read? He leaned back and tried to listen for the sound of Grace’s footsteps.
He shouldn’t care if she didn’t come down tonight. They would talk tomorrow. Well, they would if she climbed out of bed before he went in to the office. He had meetings and couldn’t play hooky all day—although he’d like nothing better than to lie around with Grace, eating his meals off her delectable body.
The first creak of the staircase had him sitting up straight. He shouldn’t be this anxious around a woman, but after this morning, his body was still hurting. What in hell had possessed him? Why had he tried to get more from her than just the pleasure of the moment? She’d wanted him, and he’d been a fool to want more.
And now he was paying.
When she came in, Cam felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the living room. “Grace?” His voice was little more than a croak as he watched her saunter toward him.
“Yes, Cam?” she asked with far too much innocence.
“What are you doing?”
She smiled the smile of a woman who knew who she was, and knew exactly what she wanted, and what she was going to get. Her long, dark hair hung down her back; her eyes—
so dark, so exotic—were bright and enchanting. Hell, even her toes were turning him on as she moved closer and closer.
She stopped a few feet from him, her short silky robe held together only by a slim belt that looked a little too loose. Yes, he’d seen her naked—that very morning, in fact—but her peaked nipples poked tantalizingly through the thin fabric and were making him pant like a dog.
Raising her arms, she ran her hands through her hair; her head fell back, and she sighed. Cam couldn’t have spoken if his life had depended on it. She had him in a trance, and if this was the show, he prayed it would never end. Maybe he’d really just fallen asleep and this was his fantasy invading his dreams.
Reaching down, he pinched his leg, sending sharp pain shooting through him and proving he was actually awake. Thank the powers that be, he thought as she finished running her fingers through her hair, brought them to her neck, and began playing with the lapels on her robe, slowly sliding her fingers up and down the edges, opening the robe just a little bit more with each pass.
He’d been holding his breath, but it all rushed out in a gasp when she pulled one side of the robe open, revealing a perfectly round breast with a dark, pointed nipple. Then she revealed the other side, ran her hands across both those treasures, and moaned as she felt the pleasure from her own caress.
He was afraid he might actually explode without a single touch from her if she continued her jaw-dropping performance. “Grace . . .” he gasped again.
She pressed one finger to her lips and shook her head, those sensational eyes twinkling as she took another step toward him, her other hand trailing between her breasts, down the line of her toned stomach.
Cam had dated Grace for only one year, made love with her for months, and had thought he’d seen and done it all. But she had never stripped for him, not once, and she’d never looked as gorgeous as she looked now.
The breath escaping his lungs felt like fire, and his erection was so hard, he had surpassed the point of pain.
“Grace, I can’t take a whole lot more, not after this morning,” he groaned. To hell with commitment. They would fight about that another day. Right now, he just wanted to feel her body take him within its warm grasp.
When he reached out to her this time, she undid the robe, freezing him where he sat, and then surprised him when she stepped forward and then climbed onto his lap. Without a word, she pressed against him, took his hair in her hands, and leaned forward, connecting their mouths in a clash of power and hunger.
Cam immediately opened up to her as she rocked her hips against the denim of his jeans and moaned into the kiss, her fingers tightening in his hair and pulling hard, anchoring him exactly where she wanted him.
He wound his arms around her back, slid his hands beneath the short hem of her robe, and gripped her bare ass, groaning into her mouth at the realization that the only thing stopping him from plunging into her right now was his jeans. And, dammit, he couldn’t get to them right now.
Breaking away, he gasped before attempting to speak again. “Let me deal with the jeans.”
Instead of granting his wish, she grabbed the edges of his shirt and yanked it apart, making buttons fly in every direction. Then she bent down and sucked on the skin of his neck before moving farther downward. Now his hands found her head, and it was his turn to anchor her.
She twirled her tongue across his nipples as her hands found the front of his jeans. Cam groaned as her deft and delicate mouth moved down the planes of his stomach, his arousal pleading for freedom as she took her own sweet time unbuttoning him.
“I need to be inside you, Grace,” he cried, tugging on her hair as he tried to pull her back up.
Slipping from his grasp and kneeling on the carpet in front of the couch, she undid the final button on his pants, reached inside, and pulled him out, the touch of her fingers nearly sending him over the edge as she gripped him. Pushing herself between his thighs, she looked up at him and licked her lips before focusing entirely on the bead of moisture welling up on the tip of his arousal.
“Please, Grace. Please.”
“Mmm. Who’s begging now, Cam?” she murmured. Before he could even try to comprehend her words, she leaned forward and circled his thickness with her hot mouth. That almost sent him shooting off the couch.
Any and all thoughts fled Cam’s mind as she held the base of him in her hand and slid her lips up and down his length, letting little moans of pleasure escape her throat. He was fighting desperately to avoid releasing too quickly.
Cam had almost forgotten what it felt like to have Grace’s hands all over him, her mouth taking him to other worlds, her body telling him she was his and only his. How could he ever have forgotten the magic only she could bring him?
Her touch was unlike any other woman’s, and he desired her, and only her. And from the way she was touching him, tasting him, he knew she felt the same. There was no reason for them to fight this any longer.
“Climb on me, Grace,” he begged, reaching for her hair again and tugging.
She shook her head and stayed right where she was, sucking even harder. He felt the pressure building, felt the inevitable explosion coming on. No. He wanted to be buried in her core when he came, not in her mouth. He had to stop this.
But her hot satin mouth moved farther down around him, and when his sensitive tip touched the back of her throat, he nearly lost his mind.
“Gracie . . . your touch . . . it’s . . . I can’t . . .” He couldn’t even get coherent words to exit his throat as she moved faster, her mouth sucking him hard while one hand squeezed his flesh and the other ran up his stomach and glided over his nipples.
And then she looked up, their eyes connecting as she slid her mouth down him, then slowly back up, letting him pop out so she could lick her lips and then lick the fluid from his tip. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever watched.
His entire body tightened as he tried frantically to withhold the orgasm that threatened. Sweat beaded all over his body and he tugged on her once more. But then she took him into her mouth again and sucked while her tongue circled his tip, and the battle was over.
It felt like fire ripping up and through him as wave after wave of his hot pleasure spilled into her mouth. His entire body locked up as he felt himself pump over and over again, and with her lips clasping him tightly, she swallowed his essence.
Shouting her name, he gripped her hair and shook until the last drop slipped down the delicate curve of her throat. Their eyes connected again as the last of his ecstasy began to ebb.
“This isn’t over, Gracie. I still need to be inside you,” he sighed, suddenly weak from the pure pleasure she had just given him.
She sucked him once more, her red lips holding him until the very last second, and made him jump from the sensation of it. Cam tried to gain his breath, tried to move, but he needed just a moment. He hadn’t had that powerful an orgasm in . . . not since he’d been with her eight months earlier.
“Only you, Grace. You’re the only one who can make me so weak,” he told her as he reached for her.
Before he could take hold, she backed up and then stopped, tying her robe and looking down at him with satisfaction.
“Was that good, Cam?” Her question was so sweet.
“It was amazing. Let’s go to my room. It’s not nearly over,” he said, already feeling his body stirring again.
“Good. We’re even.”
Cam sat there a moment, totally baffled. She was halfway up the stairs before he figured out exactly what was happening. Payback from this morning.
“Grace!” He caught up to her and pinned her against the railing, his arousal already growing again. “I just said this, and I’ll say it again: This isn’t over.”
“Yes, Cam, it is. You can be the one to suffer now. I wanted you inside me this morning, and now you can think about the fact that you could have had that.”
She leaned in and kissed him hard, her lips demanding against his, making him forget what
they were talking of or fighting about. He didn’t seem to know anything anymore, she had his mind so messed up.
Surprising Cam once again, she pushed away from him and climbed to the top of the stairs, and the last thing he heard was the click of her door shutting and the sound of the bolt slipping firmly into place.
He moved to her door and leaned against it. “You’re going to suffer just as much as I will tonight,” he called out to her.
“It will be well worth it,” she called back.
With a groan, Cam crossed the hall to his room. Hot damn if she wasn’t the sexiest woman he’d ever known. There was no way in hell he was letting her get away from him.
Grace should have felt better, should have felt some sense of peace. After all, she’d finally gotten one up on Cam. But her victory was hollow. She’d spent just as much time as she was sure he had in just the same way—aching, lonely, needing to feel something.
So her victory had been short-lived. There was now no doubt in her mind that she was on a fool’s errand, trying to fight against the man who had stolen her heart so long ago. But what did time matter, when it seemed so endless?
After throwing on some clothes, she made her way down the stairs of his impressive home, all the while listening for the sound of his voice. It was soon obvious that she was here alone. Her shoulders sagged in relief as she walked into the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee.
After a few hours, she paced Cam’s place restlessly. This was ridiculous. She certainly wasn’t a prisoner. Just because he’d insisted on her coming there, that didn’t mean she had to stay. Her best friend would soon be home, and she could go there if she couldn’t return to her apartment.
For that matter, she was sure that Sage would let her stay at her place even though she wasn’t home. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? Putting on a jacket, Grace stepped onto the front porch and looked at the sky, seeing clouds gather in the distance.
A spring storm seemed to be brewing. No matter. She’d been through many of those before. After making her way to her car, she slipped her key into the ignition and turned. Nothing. She tried again. Again nothing.