"We've got a fundraising dinner coming up next week," Grant said. "Just for close friends and family."
Cameron brightened.
"You won't be there, of course," Grant continued blithely.
Cameron stilled. The look on his face nearly shattered my heart. He clenched his fist, his eyes going flat, his expression blank.
"But Lily is more than welcome to come," Sharon added, oblivious. She turned to me with a smile. "I'll text you the details, sweetie. Just let me know if you're free."
I was too shocked to answer.
I had thought Cameron was just mistaken when he told me his parents didn't want him anywhere near their colleagues. When he told me Sharon and Grant were ashamed of him and kept him from the public eye.
But they had disinvited him from a family event right in front of me.
His parents talked through a few more details about his mother's campaign. I listened with half an ear. My attention was on Cameron.
He nodded and agreed and chuckled at all the right times, but that emotionless look was still on his face.
Only I caught the pain behind that blank gaze.
Immediately after his parents left, the strained smile left Cameron's face. It was replaced with a twist of his lips. His dark blue eyes turned almost obsidian.
"I'm gonna go work out."
I grabbed for his hand before he could storm off. "Cameron, I'm sorry."
He cast his eyes down to the floor. "I should have known it was coming."
"You should talk to them about it."
"What difference would it make? They clearly don't want me anywhere near this whole political campaign thing." Cameron gave a sort of half-hearted shrug. "I get it. I'm not exactly wholesome-family material."
But the hurt on his expression was heartbreaking. I threw my arms around him, squeezing tight.
"It's wrong of them to treat you this way."
"I've dealt with this my whole life. It's nothing new."
"Still. You don't deserve being treated like that. You're a wonderful son. And a wonderful boyfriend. And a wonderful person in general."
He wrapped his arms around me. He buried his face in my hair. "You're the only one who thinks so."
"No, I'm not. Everyone loves you."
He let out a sick laugh. "Even Noah? That's why you won't tell him about us, right? He thinks the worst of me."
I shook my head. "It has less to do with you, and more to do with me. I don't think he'd take my dating anyone very well."
"I'm just so fucking sick of being everyone's dirty little secret."
I pulled away to meet his eyes. "I'll tell him."
Cameron stilled. "About us?"
"Yes. The next time I see Noah, I'll tell him about us."
The relieved look on Cameron's face eased my worries. Maybe I couldn't make what his parents did feel any better, but I could do this for him.
Then that relieved smile turned into something darker. Something heated.
"If you're going to tell your brother, I guess that means I can do this."
He leaned down and nipped on my neck. I gasped. He placed his lips on my skin and sucked.
I pushed him away. "No hickies!"
"You're no fun."
"At least not anywhere people can see," I conceded.
His eyes held an evil glint. Cameron bit down on my bottom lip.
I gasped, then moaned. He licked a healing path along that lip, tongue seeking entrance to my mouth.
I parted my lips, allowing his tongue to play with mine. The moment I tasted him, a wave of need crashed into me. Any reservations I had flew out of my head. His scent filled my nostrils, warm and sunny and so very Cameron.
I tangled my hands in his hair, pulling him closer. I threw myself at him so fast, our knees and hips bumped together awkwardly. We almost lost our balance. Cameron caught me by the waist. He slowly lowered us onto a nearby sofa, settling me onto his lap. We never broke our kiss as we nipped and licked and crushed our mouths together.
His hands wandered under my shirt. The roughness of his calloused fingers burned deliciously into my soft skin. They skimmed a line down my back to deftly unsnap my bra. They continued tracing a path to my front. His thumb brushed my nipples under thin cotton fabric. He tweaked one, then the other. A jolt of electricity shot through me at each light pinch.
His lips left mine to trail kisses down my neck to my collarbone. I took the moment to peel my shirt off and toss it to the floor, along with my bra. With a hand on my shoulder blades, he leaned me backwards, angling my chest until his lips found my nipples. He latched onto one, a heated suction that shocked me to my core. I tugged on his hair, urging him closer.
As his mouth teased at my breasts, his hands searched beneath my skirt. He ran a path up and down my inner thighs, stopping just before he hit the apex, teasing me. Liquid heat pooled in my center. My inner walls clamped down on nothing, already wet and aching and needing his touch.
I was a shaking, panting mess when he lifted his head. I whined and wriggled at the loss of his lips on my breasts.
"You've got the most fucking beautiful tits," he mumbled against my skin. The cool air of his breath made my nipples tighten even further.
Cameron met my eyes. His fingertips found the elastic of my now damp panties. My breath hitched. Slowly, he hooked his fingers underneath and tugged down. I shifted, helping him draw them down my legs.
I settled back down on his lap, naked except for the skirt pushed to my waist. He was still dressed, still in his t-shirt and jeans. My core pressed against the stiff length still trapped in the thick fabric. I palmed him through the rough material. He stifled a groan. I pulled down the zipper and took him out. He was burning in my hand, silken smooth over a heavy, solid weight.
I brushed my thumb over the weeping tip. He twitched.
My inner walls were throbbing, the emptiness inside me turning into an almost painful ache. I needed to be filled, and I needed to be filled by this man alone. I rolled my hips and said the words that I knew were his undoing.
"Fuck me, Cameron."
His gaze went dark. He gripped my hair in his hand, fisting the strands. He tugged my head back and crushed his lips to mine.
"The things you do to me, Angel…" he murmured into my mouth.
Cameron made a move to reach into his jeans pocket. I knew what he was going for.
"Wait." I put a hand on his wrist.
He paused with a questioning noise.
"I want to feel you," I told him, cheeks burning.
His eyes blazed with heat, understanding my meaning. "You sure? 'Cause I would fucking kill to come inside you. But—"
"I'm on the pill," I reassured. "I mean, as long as you…" I trailed off.
"I'm clean." He ran a soothing hand up and down my hip. The touch sent shivers through my spine. "I made an appointment to get checked right after our first time."
"Then I'm sure. I want to feel you inside me, skin to skin."
I angled him towards my entrance, nestling the tip between my folds.
He cursed, falling forward until his forehead touched mine. "You're so fucking wet."
"It's all for you."
"I don't think I can go slow."
"I don't want you to."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You want it hard and fast, Angel?"
"God, yes," I breathed.
He nudged my thighs wider. The tip brush my clit. I almost came instantaneously from that touch alone.
With a thrust of his hips, he drove himself into me. My wet walls stretched around him. I let out a choked cry. He captured it with his mouth.
He held himself there, letting me get used to his size. My insides fluttered around him. That sweet ache began building again. I arched my back, trying to take more of him.
Despite his words, he moved slowly at first, with smooth deep strokes. A universe of sensations gathered between my legs. I locked my legs around his hips and writhed shamelessly, urging him to go faster.
Cameron gripped my hips in his hands and lifted me up, until the head had nearly left me. He snapped his hips at the same time as he pushed me down, impaling me on his cock. Then he did it again, and again. I cried out, a continuous series of gasps and moans. He didn't try to quiet me. The look of utter concentration on his face, the trembling of his muscles, told me he was fighting for control.
"More," I urged breathlessly.
His eyes glinted darkly. He lifted me up and shoved me back down again. I moaned. He picked up the rhythm, grinding into me before pulling out and slamming in. My mind was sent reeling. The dig of his fingers in my thighs was going to leave bruises. I relished the thought. I wanted evidence of his passion, of his need for me.
He drove his cock deeper and deeper inside me. I felt it swell even further. The hardening length rammed into me, hitting me in just the right spot. I let out a choked breath as a powerful orgasm rose within me.
Cameron crushed his mouth to mine and pressed a thumb into my clit. He ignited an inferno inside me, fanning the flames higher and higher. I clung to his shoulders and lost myself in him. Those skillful lips and tongue and fingers and cock unraveled me from the inside out.
My mind was still soaring through the clouds when I heard him grunt and felt him pulse inside me. He spent himself into me, twitching and throbbing. His thighs were straining, his jaw clenched.
The pleasure slowly abated. I found myself collapsed against his chest, panting heavily. His arms were wrapped around my waist. His face was buried in my hair. We leaned into each other, catching our breaths.
After long moments, my hips began to ache. I shifted uncomfortably.
"Did I hurt you?" Cameron immediately asked.
"No." I was slightly achy, but in that wonderful, amazing, life-altering way. "This is just an awkward position to be in for too long."
Cameron reached for a box of tissues on the closest end table. He helped me clean up as I gingerly lifted myself from his lap.
When we were clothed, Cameron pulled me in for another kiss. He traced a line down my cleavage, to my breasts.
"See? No visible hickies," he said.
"I'm astounded at your restraint." I traced the lines of his chest through his t-shirt. We hadn't even stripped down completely in our haste.
"What was that thing you wanted to show me?"
"How about I show you tonight? We're doing a small concert. I can show you, and then we can tell Noah."
Clearly that was still weighing on him.
"We'll have the rest of the band around us." Cameron smirked. "He can't kick my ass if we're supposed to go on stage right after."
I paused. I wasn't so sure about that. Tonight was so soon. I'd been hoping to have more time.
I nodded slowly. "We'll tell him tonight before the concert."
Cameron placed a soft kiss on my mouth. "No more secrets. We'll tell him we're dating and that we're going to be living together."
"Right," I said hesitantly. "No more secrets."
Chapter Thirty
The club venue Darkest Days was playing at looked only slightly bigger than the club Jen had booked for my welcome home party.
"It's a special VIP event to help promote the new album," Cameron explained. "Exclusive tickets were only sold to super fans. Management wanted to keep it low key for now, since the album still isn't released. We're going to be playing a few new songs."
"Aren't you worried people will take video and leak it?"
"That's the whole point. We want to hype people up."
"So it's all sneaky marketing."
"That's how the game is played, Angel. I'm just happy it's not me who has to worry about all that shit. All I need to do is show up and play."
Cameron led me to the back entrance of the club, away from all the fans lining up.
"Don't want to cause a stampede by just walking in the front doors," he said.
We passed by a bouncer, who nodded to Cameron in greeting and opened the door for us. It was much easier getting into the concert with a rock star by my side.
The moment we entered the club, butterflies took wing in my stomach.
This was it. I was going to tell my brother about me and Cameron.
"Hey, you okay?"
Cameron gave me a squeeze with his arm around my waist. He must have sensed how nervous I was.
"I'm okay," I said through a tight throat. My breathing was speeding up. It wasn't like my usual panic attacks. It was nothing that bad.
But I was definitely feeling anxious over the thought of confronting Noah with the truth.
"However he reacts, we'll deal with it," Cameron reassured me. His thumb brushed the hollow of my hip. "We'll make him understand."
"Even if he tries to murder you in public?" I asked, only half joking.
Cameron frowned. "I'm not going to let him get in the way of us being together."
The possessive tone in his voice chased away some of the butterflies, leaving only a gooey, sappy feeling in my chest. Cameron was determined to fight for us.
I wanted to be just as determined. I really did.
But the instant we stepped backstage and I saw my brother's tall form and dark messy hair, those butterflies returned full force, threatening to spew out of my mouth.
Noah began to turn.
"Here we go," Cameron murmured, tightening his hold on me.
I ducked out from under Cameron's arm in a panic.
Cameron turned to me, disbelief on his face.
I avoided his eyes, playing with the hem of my shirt.
Noah approached us, already dressed in his rock star best, leather pants and eyeliner included.
"Lily, Cameron. You guys came together?" he asked.
"We shared a taxi," I rushed to say. My heart pounded in my chest. "I was planning on coming to watch you guys anyway, so it just made sense to come together."
Noah nodded. "I should have thought to get you a staff pass earlier, sorry." He handed me a lanyard with a yellow card inside a plastic sleeve. I put it around my neck.
"It's cool," I said, my voice wavering. I was still avoiding Cameron's eyes. "So what time are you guys going on?"
"We've got about another half hour before show time. Sound crew's doing their last checks."
"Are the others here? August and the twins? It'd be cool to hang out with them again for a bit. It still feels like I've barely seen them."
I continued to babble nervously. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Cameron standing stock still. His eyes were dark. His face was blank.
My heart sank. I hadn't meant to dart away like that. It had just been instinct. I was so worried about Noah finding out. I thought I was ready, but now I wasn't as sure.
"Cameron, the guitar tech guys told me they needed to speak with you when you got here," Noah said.
Cameron nodded shortly. "Right. I'm off, then."
He stalked away without another look.
The panic in my chest that I'd felt when seeing Noah turned into a completely different type of panic.
I'd really hurt Cameron. I hated myself for it. I shouldn't have been so thoughtless, especially after the way his parents had treated him.
But the anxiety had taken over and I'd acted without meaning to.
I had to make this right.
I had to tell Noah.
"I've got something to tell you," I blurted out.
Noah was scanning the room, looking distracted. "What is it?"
"It's about me. And Cameron."
He nodded distantly, as if he were listening with half an ear. "Yeah, I really should thank him for letting you stay with him all summer." Noah's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out. "August says he needs to see me about changing the set list. Fucking perfectionist."
"Cameron and I—"
"Shit, he's really insistent this time." Noah's attention was still on his phone. "I'll see you after the show, okay?"
"But…"
"Go find Jen. She'll know the best place
to stand to get a good view." Noah hugged me briefly. "Make sure to stay away from the pit. It can get crazy out there."
Noah walked off, thumbs texting away, not waiting for my response.
My chest deflated. My chance to tell Noah was gone. I'd have to wait until after.
Cameron would have to play through the entire show thinking I'd rejected him.
I was still cursing myself up and down, guilt and self loathing swirling inside me, when my own phone went off.
I checked it half-heartedly.
It was Cameron's mom.
She was texting me the details for the fundraising dinner.
That only set off another wave of shame coursing through me. I was as bad as Cameron's parents.
He'd spent years being ignored in public by his mom and dad. Of course going through the same thing with me would cause him pain. If it hadn't been for them putting him through years of this, maybe he wouldn't have been so upset at my hesitance.
My anger began to turn outward.
If it wasn't for them, Cameron wouldn't have been so upset over the idea of keeping our relationship a secret.
I rapidly typed a string of messages before I could talk myself out of it.
Why did you disinvite Cameron from the fundraising dinner?
Why did you invite me but not him?
Why is he not welcome at your events?
Didn't you think about how that would make him feel?
I didn't get a response for several long minutes. I began to feel a little embarrassed at having gone off on Sharon. It wasn't my place to question their decisions. To pick apart their family dynamic. Maybe I'd be disinvited, just like their son.
When my phone finally buzzed again, I looked at the screen reluctantly.
I frowned as I read the first few replies.
My mouth dropped open as I continued reading.
By the last message, understanding finally dawned on me.
I thought quickly. I thumbed a rapid series of texts, trying to explain everything as fast as I could. The concert would be over in a few hours. I didn't have much time.
When Cameron's mother gave me her last reply, my heart finally felt light with relief.
I'd hurt Cameron tonight with my actions.
Maybe with this I could start mending that wound.
Hard Rock Sin: A Rock Star Romance Page 18