Tempting Cameron

by Karen Erickson

  She slipped them beneath his shirt, smoothed her hands up his back, scraping his skin lightly with her fingernails. A shiver stole over him and he groaned, kissing her, devouring her, and then she was trying to tug his shirt off, her little whimpers of frustration arousing him.

  Pulling away from her, he tore his shirt off and it fell to the floor. Her eyes lit with pleasure as she drank him in, a soft sigh escaping her when she finally met his gaze. “You have a beautiful body,” she admitted, her cheeks immediately turning pink at her confession.

  He loved that she still blushed. That she wasn’t some blatant, bored, jaded woman, which had been his usual type. The ones who had little expectations beyond their own sexual satisfaction, they were easy.

  Thankfully he’d discovered being with Chloe was the best kind of complicated.

  …

  Chloe was completely surrounded by Cameron, consumed by him. His strong arms came back around her, his mouth fused with hers. The days without him had felt like a lifetime. She’d thought a lot about what happened between them during that time. How hurt she’d initially been at his deceit. Never would she want Cam to feel sorry for her or spend time with her out of some sense of guilt.

  But within that short amount of time came clarity. All those words exchanged in the parking lot at The Tree had come tumbling back. She’d pushed and he’d pushed back. Tremendously.

  Painfully.

  Dealing with Cam was like trying to tame a wild animal, she’d discovered over the course of the summer. Get a little too close and he’d snarl in warning. But patient consistency eventually tamed him. Calmed him.

  And those last few days with Cam before she discovered the truth, she knew she’d had him eating out of her hand.

  She could forgive him for wanting to protect her—and yes, protect himself. He was human, after all, and full of flaws. So was she. She’d built up this illusion of Cam. That he was bigger, greater, more perfect than any other man in the world. All constructed since she was a teen, when she’d idealized him.

  Spending time with him made her realize he was fragile. And most definitely not perfect. She loved all those imperfections. He was too impulsive, a bit rash, could lash out for no reason other than he felt attacked. Stubborn too, and not necessarily open with his feelings, which left her confused more often than not.

  Then there were all those good things. His protectiveness, his wry humor, how sweetly romantic he really was, though he’d never admit it and she wouldn’t call him out on it, either. Let him think he was a macho, pushy man—which he could be, too. She’d never disagree with that assessment.

  But she knew the truth. Cameron McKenzie was a softie when it came to her. How she loved that about him.

  More than anything, she loved him.

  She trailed her fingers down the center of his chest, his stomach, until they landed on the waistband of his jeans. She curled her hand around the soft denim, her knuckles brushing against his stomach, and she felt him shiver at the seemingly innocent touch.

  It wasn’t innocent, though. She knew exactly what she was doing. With nimble fingers, she undid the button, slid down the zipper. He broke their kiss, his breathing frantic, his eyes blazing with unrestrained heat. “Let’s take this to the bedroom.”

  Chloe frowned. She’d kinda hoped they would get a little carried away on the kitchen counter, but he had a point. Her bed was much more comfortable. “Carry me there,” she murmured, wrapping her arms and legs around him tightly. “Hurry.”

  He swooped her into his arms, his big hands cradling her backside as he walked through her tiny house with determined strides. She pressed her face against his strong neck, breathing in his masculine scent, and she closed her eyes against the tears that threatened.

  She didn’t want him to go, had no right to ask him to stay. This was his career he was leaving for. It was important to him. She wasn’t about to become one of those demanding women who made ultimatums. That sort of behavior didn’t work on Cam.

  So she would do her best to be agreeable but not a pushover. Supportive but not clingy. It would be the hardest challenge she’d ever face. But she knew Cam was worth it.

  The two of them together were worth it.

  He stopped at the foot of the bed, relaxing his hold on her, and she slid down his body slowly, savoring the hard, delicious feel of him. With a smile, she pushed him so he went sprawling onto the bed. All big and muscly as he lay there with a shocked smile on his face, his jeans undone, revealing a hint of his lower belly, his feet bare, since he’d just kicked off his shoes.

  “Planning to have your way with me?” He spread out his arms like some sort of offering and a shiver moved through her.

  “If you’ll let me.” She slowly approached, crawling onto the bed, crawling over him so she could straddle his hips, rest her hands on his hard chest.

  His eyes glowed with a sincerity that almost frightened her. “I’ll let you do whatever you want. I’m all yours.”

  Only for the next few hours. She pushed the distressing thought from her mind and concentrated on the here and now. Bending over him, she put her face up to his, memorizing those handsome features that were so dear to her. His hot green gaze burned into her and he lifted his hips subtly, letting her know how much he wanted her.

  He gripped her by the waist, his hands sliding the hem of her camisole up, and she glanced nervously at the lamp. Pausing, he followed her gaze and shook his head. “No way am I turning that off.”

  Now who was the mind reader? “But…” She felt self-conscious. Vulnerable. This was her last night with him. And yes, she appreciated admiring his body as much as he might appreciate hers, but she felt too raw tonight.

  What if this was it for them? He said he wanted to come back for her but what if…

  What if he forgot all about her while he was gone?

  “I want to see you.” With a strength that startled her, he flipped her over so she was the one on her back. “I want my last memory of you before I leave looking like this. Naked and flushed in the middle of your bed just before I—”

  “Cam.” Her cheeks caught on fire.

  “Shhh.” He linked their hands together, held them above her head so she was stretched out for him. “No complaints, no embarrassment. Let me enjoy you. Let me make this good for you.”

  She melted when he kissed her, her insides turning to liquid. The gentle way he touched her, the reverent glow in his eyes when he studied her as he stripped her of her clothing. He skimmed her with his fingers, kissed her with that decadent mouth everywhere, all over, and when they finally made that connection she so desperately needed, she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the flow of tears that threatened.

  He noticed and paused. Touched her cheek so that she had no choice but to open her eyes and meet his gaze, her vision blurred by the gathering tears. “Chloe.” His voice came out as a raspy plea. “Don’t cry.”

  She sniffed, the tears falling anyway, streaking down her cheeks. “Sorry,” she croaked, feeling silly and small and incredibly foolish.

  He frowned, his brows furrowed in what looked like pain. With infinite tenderness, he kissed her tears away, which only made her cry harder. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You’re not hurting me.” She shook her head, her hair rustling against the pillow.

  “My leaving is hurting you,” he countered and she didn’t answer.

  Couldn’t when he spoke the truth.

  She didn’t expect promises or declarations of love. Not really. But when he kept his gaze steadily on her, his expression full of such unguarded emotion, she didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what to say.

  “Chloe.” He kissed her, buried his face against her shoulder, turning so he could kiss her neck. “I’ll miss you when I’m gone.”

  “I—I’ll miss you, too,” she stammered, her breath hitching when he licked her skin. “So much.”

  Her words seemed to spur him on and soon they were lost in their pleasure, mi
ndless with it. She tried to focus, etch this moment in her memory so she could cherish it later, but soon she was consumed, lost within Cameron’s embrace.

  There was nowhere else she’d rather be.

  …

  Cam pulled on his jeans, his movements slow, sluggish, reluctant. Chloe leaned against a pile of pillows as she watched him, her expression filled with so much sadness it killed him to look at her too long.

  Damn, this sucked. Had it been a mistake, coming here, making up with her? Making love to her? He didn’t regret it, but he’d made her cry. That couldn’t be good.

  Slipping on his shoes, he glanced around the floor, looking for his T-shirt, belatedly remembering it was still in the kitchen. He did spot Chloe’s tank top, though, and snatched it up, turning to offer it to her.

  “I’ll make you a trade,” she said softly. When he frowned in confusion she continued. “You can keep my tank if I can keep your shirt.”

  “Why do you want it?”

  She shrugged, her hair spilling over her shoulders. “So I can sleep in it while you’re gone.”

  Okay, that nearly did him in. Without a word he left her bedroom, went into the kitchen, and grabbed his T-shirt off the floor, bringing it back to her like some sort of offering. “Deal,” he said solemnly.

  She took the shirt and pulled it on, then climbed out of bed and went to him, wrapping her arms around him. “You don’t mind driving home shirtless?”

  “No way. Now that I have the image of you in it and nothing else, it’ll carry me through all those long lonely nights I’m gonna have.” He kissed her because he couldn’t keep his lips off her. She was as addicting as any drug.

  Stashing her tank in the front pocket of his jeans, he walked out into the living room, Chloe following him. Mindy would be at his place in less than an hour, which barely gave him enough time to finish packing and take a shower. How he regretted the idea of washing Chloe’s scent from his skin…

  “Be safe,” she said, turning to face him. This was it. They stood in front of her door and he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. “Call me when you get to New York? So I know you’re all right?”

  He nodded, secretly pleased that she cared about his safety. “I will.”

  She hugged him, her slender arms wrapped so tightly he could hardly breathe. Or maybe that was from the thought of being without her. “I love you,” she whispered against his chest, so softly he barely heard her.

  Slipping his fingers beneath her chin, he tipped her face up. His girl was trying so hard to be brave but he caught the subtle tremble of her mouth, the dark sadness in her eyes. He pressed his mouth to hers, his lips lingering as he whispered, “I love you, too.”

  She smiled against his mouth, no doubt because she knew how momentous this was. He didn’t say those words lightly. More like, rarely at all. But he had to let Chloe know how he felt before he left. She deserved at least that much.

  Finally, he extracted himself from her embrace and left, refusing to look back as she stood in the open doorway and watched him go. Only when he pulled out of her driveway did he wave, then tore through town to get to Patrick’s cabin. Showered for all of five minutes, he threw the rest of his clothes in his bag, not giving a shit if they were folded or not.

  Mindy showed up at their earlier agreed time, punctual as always. He slammed his way out of the house, handed Mindy the key for safe keeping when he climbed into her minivan. Leaned back against the headrest with an exhausted sigh as she drove them out of Lone Pine Lake and onto the dark, isolated highway.

  “Didn’t get much sleep?” she asked, her voice full of motherly concern.

  “I’ll sleep on the plane,” he muttered, his thoughts filled with Chloe.

  “What happened? Did you talk to her?”

  “Yeah, I was with Chloe,” he admitted.

  She sent him a quick glance. “You talked to her?”

  More than talked. But his sister didn’t need to hear all the dirty details. “Yeah.”

  “So…did you tell her how you felt?” she asked carefully. Trying to dig for answers but in a polite way, making him smile.

  “Yeah. I did.”

  “Oh, Cam.” Mindy sighed, kept her gaze locked on the road before her though she was practically bouncing in her seat.

  “‘Oh, Cam’ what?” He frowned, ran his hand along his freshly shaved cheek. He’d kinda grown used to his I’m-depressed-don’t-screw-with-me beard.

  “You know what this means, right? Now that you’ve told her you love her?”

  “Um, why don’t you enlighten me?” He was exhausted, he wasn’t thinking straight, and it felt like Mindy was talking in circles.

  “It means you’re coming back.” She smiled. “You know you can’t stay away from her.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right…” His own smile grew and he glanced out the window, watching the pine trees disappear as they drove down the mountain. “I can’t stay away from her.” He couldn’t imagine living without her.

  “I’m so happy for you,” she murmured. “We’ve finally got you back.”

  He finally got himself back, too. All thanks to Chloe.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cameron wasn’t gone for two weeks. He’d been gone for more than a month. The first assignment led to another one. And then another one. But he swore when the last one finished, he was coming back to Lone Pine Lake. He’d reassured Chloe of that just last night on the phone.

  “We should be wrapping up everything soon,” he said in that familiar, rich deep voice of his. The one that made her whole body tingle, especially when he said something sweet or funny or even better, sexy.

  He was in Florida, on assignment for another magazine. Some article on the Miami nightlife. Images of beautiful women throwing themselves at him flitted through her mind at the weirdest times.

  Like always.

  How she hated feeling like a jealous shrew. But Cameron was so handsome, an irresistible force when he wanted to be. More than anything, though, she worried he might not ever come back. Once he left his hometown, he stayed away. Was she important enough to make him want to return? Thinking of that now left her with moments of despair late at night, when she was alone in her bed and missing him like crazy.

  But he called her as much as he could. Texted her more often, quick little notes that made her smile when she received them. And she saved them all, sometimes reading over them when she was feeling low after not hearing from him for a day or two. He’d warned her it could be like that. He got so busy, he had no time to think, let alone call her.

  He admitted it was a fault of his. That he let his work consume him so much he thought of nothing else. She tried her best to be brave but it was so hard when she went a few days without hearing from him.

  Just when she thought the worst, he would call. Or send her a photo. Sometimes of the local scenery where he was, and sometimes, he included himself in the picture.

  Those were her favorite of all, to see his handsome face, smiling as he took a self-portrait with his phone. She sent him photos of her bathroom’s renovation progress, her classroom and students, and occasionally one of herself, especially when he would request it. She had a hard time denying him anything.

  She wore his shirt to bed almost every night. She knew it was sort of gross, that she hadn’t washed it since he left, but she couldn’t help it. His scent still lingered, spicy and masculine.

  She was pitiful.

  At least she was back at work and that kept her mostly occupied. She’d set up her classroom that first week Cam had been gone, then launched right into the school year. Her class was sharp, mostly sweet with a few troublemakers, but she knew how to handle them.

  She was handling them now, a whole bunch of them, since she tended after school bus duty. Lining the kids up for the two different buses that serviced the school. The younger grades needed the teachers to round them up, or otherwise, they’d be all over the place.

  So every day she
dismissed her class a few minutes early, walking with the ones who rode the bus after dispersing the others to either the after-school program or the pick-up line. It was a Friday, the afternoon cool and breezy, forcing her to slip on the black cardigan she kept on her desk chair to protect against the sudden chill. Summer was officially over but the warmth had still lingered on stubbornly, which was why she’d worn a dress that day. Thankfully, a storm was predicted for the weekend and she was eager for the break.

  She caught a glimpse of Ali in the near distance, handing off her kindergarteners to the parents who lingered outside her classroom door. Their school had all-day kindergarten, which was always an adjustment, especially for the little ones who didn’t attend preschool, and Ali was usually pretty exhausted the first month of school.

  They were supposed to get together this weekend for lunch, something they hadn’t done lately. Their relationship had taken a semi-hit after the Cam disaster and Chloe regretted that. But they were working on it, easing back into that friendship she cherished so much. Though she had the oddest feeling that Ali was keeping something from her…

  The last bell rang, meaning children would flood the front of the school in mere seconds, especially since it was a Friday. Chloe picked up her step, calling out, “Let’s go, guys!” to get her little group motivated to hurry to the buses before others started showing up and getting in line.

  “Miss Dawson?” A little hand tugged on hers and she looked down to see Kendall Conti staring up at her with big brown eyes, her hair pulled into adorable braids that were a bit of a mess after running around all day.

  “Yes, Kendall?” The little girl had taken a liking to Chloe since the first day of school and she felt rather protective of her.

  “There’s a man who keeps staring at you.” Kendall kept her gaze on Chloe, pointing her finger over her shoulder. “He’s standing in front of the office.”

  Frowning, Chloe glanced up, her gaze searching. The place was packed, parents and students and teachers everywhere. Kids yelling and laughing, parents chatting with each other, the sort of chaos only brought by a Friday afternoon. A soccer game was starting soon, the parking lot was packed, and there were so many people milling about.