Maybe that was why this ponytailed innocent with a huge pile of shit to deal with had gotten to him. He had to get it together before what he was feeling got out of hand. Men like him shouldn’t mess with girls like her. He was damaged. Broken. Nothing could ever change that.
Cautiously hauling to his feet, Cam made for the small bathroom shutting the door behind him with a distinct snick. Upon catching sight of his reflection in the mirror he was shocked to realize how ravaged he’d been by his bout with the flu. “Some warrior,” he snorted aloud. He looked strung out with cheeks that still bore the flush of the raging fever that had consumed him. Hair that no doubt had been drenched by sweat was either slicked to his head or wildly sticking out. The several days’ growth of beard he sported made him appear rather menacing. In short, he looked like death warmed over.
It didn’t take long to use the toilet and wash up as best he could without actually taking a shower. Although he felt he was getting his strength back with each passing minute, he knew that unless he wanted to end up sprawled on the floor in a heap, he needed to take things slowly.
About the last thing he expected when he opened the bathroom door was to find Lacey standing on the other side with a worried frown on her face. “Are you alright?” she asked in that warm, sexy female voice he rather enjoyed. And just like that he was back to fighting off the erection that had a mind of its own.
Lacey roused from a deep slumber the moment she heard the bathroom door click shut. Accustomed to being alert, she immediately sat up and scanned the room for Cameron’s presence. Apparently he was awake and had made it as far as the bathroom. Getting up she tugged his old sweatshirt to the tops of her thighs and hurried across the room to stand outside the bathroom door. Hearing the sound of running water she felt relieved and let some of the anxiety leave her once she realized he must be feeling somewhat better if he was seeing to his own needs.
Pacing back and forth she waited for the door to swing open and when it did she immediately stepped forward to help him. “Are you alright?” Uh oh! Was that husky voice coming from her? She was in no way used to being so affected by someone of the opposite sex. This particular man was making her experience feelings and sensations that until now had been a complete mystery to her.
His look of surprise at her obvious worry pierced her brain making Lacey pretty damn sure that her hero was rarely, if ever, on the receiving end of someone else’s concern. She moved closer to him, placing an arm around his waist to steady him while the other hand instinctively came up to rest against his chest. That he let her help him was testament to his weakened state, or so she thought. Guiding him cautiously back to the bed she helped him sit down and then snagged a second pillow to place behind his back so that he could recline.
Cam was all but speechless when he found her on the other side of the bathroom door and was thrown by the adorable woman’s attempts to be his angel of mercy. When she curved an arm protectively around his waist and laid the other hand against his chest, emotions he didn’t know how to describe overcame him. That he could have performed cartwheels across the room didn’t stop him from acting the invalid and allowing, and actually reveling in, her concerned ministrations.
Walking toward the bed, Cam slowed their approach so he could enjoy the way her warm hand felt on his skin. He remembered with crystal clarity that it was the sight of her delicate hands as he observed her in the diner that first snagged his interest. He didn’t want her to ever remove that hand and was intrigued by how potently male he felt with her gentle fingers resting against his skin. His growing erection was voting on the issue as well, Cam grimly realized as the warmth spreading through his groin turned firm in more ways than one.
Guiding him gently to the side of the bed, his brain went blank when she reached across the mattress to grab another pillow and in doing so revealed the long, lithe thighs his oversized sweatshirt had been covering and a quick mouth-watering glimpse of her plain, white panties. Just like that he was fighting the pounding need racing through him to tumble her down upon the bed, spread her glorious thighs and bury his throbbing cock in her hot, wet depths. Only through a hard-won sense of grim willpower was he able to gain control over his rampant need to fuck her senseless and claim her for his own. Clearly, she had no idea what was going on in his head or with his body.
“You’re finally getting some color back. Can I get you anything?” Lacey asked, laying her palm against his forehead. Though he was no longer hot, she had difficulty pulling her fingers away. She liked touching him; she felt little sparks of delicious awareness shooting through her each time they made contact. Before she knew what was happening she ran her fingers through the tumble of hair falling toward his eyes and pushed it back so she could see him better. Self-conscious at the tactile liberties she was taking, Lacey tried to yank her hand away. But to her surprise he reached for her at the same moment and actually threaded his fingers through hers, bringing their joined hands against his chest.
“Thank you Lacey. Thank you for staying with me. Couldn’t have been pleasant,” he murmured as his eyes bored into hers. There was something about the way he looked at her; being so close to him was scattering her thoughts, making her want to melt against him. She stared in silence, fixated on his mouth, while answering words fled her mind. She wondered what it would feel like to have those lips pressed against her own and whether he would taste as wonderful as he looked.
Cam knew he was flying without a net, acting on impulses he’d long ago decided could have no place in his life. He didn’t want to examine the rush of need that was pushing back against years spent in a carefully constructed emotional wasteland. Suddenly, he wanted more than polite conversation from the freckle-faced girl that was looking at him with big eyes filled with questions. Maybe it was the aftermath of the fever that had taken him down or maybe it was that crossroads where he’d been stalled at for some time. Whatever. All he knew for sure in that moment was that he wanted, no hungered for, a simple human connection with this woman. His heart skipped a beat when his mind, or maybe it was his heart, screamed that he needed her.
Watching her while keeping their fingers entwined, he realized that she was fixated on his mouth. Completely caught up in his own inner turmoil, he hadn’t immediately picked up on the signals she was sending. As his tongue slid along his lips trying to bring moisture from an otherwise dry mouth, he felt a surge of satisfaction so deep it wrecked his composure when he saw her cheeks flush and nostrils flare at his provocative move. So, he wasn’t the only one feeling the attraction arcing between them.
“Is there any water around here I could drink? My throat feels kinda raw from the fever.”
His question dragged Lacey from her thoughts, making her jump into action. And in doing so she removed her hand from the warmth of his chest, bringing an unexpected rush of regret. She grabbed a bottled water, tore off the cap, and handed it to him. “You should drink as much of that as you can. You had a prolonged fever and are probably dehydrated.”
Her concern for his well-being was as charming as her encouragement to drink more fluids. Cameron was suddenly never so happy to have been sick as he was at this moment. They were strangers and yet this girl-woman cared for him. He felt light-headed from the upwelling of unfamiliar joy powering through him. Even though his conscience told him he shouldn’t, more than anything he wanted her to keep talking to him and touching him with those delicate, expressive fingers.
Accepting the bottle from her outstretched hand, Lacey felt fireworks tingle on her skin where his fingers touched hers. With widened eyes, she stared as he tipped his head back and drank deeply from the container of chilled water. The way he wrapped his lips around the bottle had her thinking about that beautiful mouth on her sensitive skin. When he swallowed, she marked the path of the water as it moved down his throat and almost groaned aloud when he finished with a low grunt of satisfaction.
Needing to do something, anything, besides acting like a teenager with a bad
case of hormones, Lacey moved to arrange the blankets and was immediately thrown for a loop at the sight of the prominent bulge in his shorts. He was watching her closely, something he seemed to do a lot. Far from being embarrassed by the obvious state of arousal he was in, Cameron challenged her with a quirked eyebrow.
Pretending nothing was amiss proved more difficult than she thought when he moved to take the blanket from her frozen hands. “Here, let me get that,” he muttered swinging the soft material over his hips. She blushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head when he rumbled out a very sexy, “Sorry ’bout that,” followed by a less than discreet rearranging of the covering so that his erection wasn’t quite so evident. Yeah, she thought, fat chance of that.
Lacey silently muttered, “I’m in deep doo-doo” at the pathetic way she was reacting. She had zero experience in the ways of men and here she was losing her cool with this guy. No, this man. An older man if she was judging things correctly. Men like the dark knight lounging by her side didn’t get involved with naïve innocents such as her. All this moony-eyed nonsense made her look like a fool. Men like Cameron Justice exuded an intoxicating maleness that undoubtedly made all women swoon. He probably dated supermodels and wouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever finding beautiful, sexy women to share his bed. She figured he was mid-thirties and so far out of her league it would be laughable.
Cam watched the play of thoughts and emotions on her face and noted them all. He didn’t think she’d be thrilled to know that he could read her like a detailed recipe. She’d obviously had little experience dealing with men judging by her complete lack of artifice when it came to hiding her reactions. The thought shouldn’t have been so deeply satisfying, but it was. Something inside him warmed at the notion that she was struggling with the same awareness for him that he was experiencing for her.
He could also plainly see that she was embarrassed and out of her comfort zone. Cam wanted to calm her before she panicked and ran. The last thing he wanted was for the Ponytail to vanish before his eyes. She intrigued him and shook up his cautious reserve. Made him see shadows of things he dared not dream of. Truth be told, he was also out of his comfort zone. The growing sexual tension sparked in the silence stretching between them. Say something you idiot, his mind screamed. Say something before she bolts.
Quickly standing, she snatched up her jeans and deftly slid them on with her back to him. Turning around as she worked her hands through the messy hair falling around her shoulders, she pulled it back and secured it with a band all without making any eye contact.
Get her talking, Cam thought. Get her talking and everything will be alright. “Come back and sit down, Lacey,” he rumbled as he moved his legs aside to make a space for her at his side. When she looked at him, clear surprise at his commanding tone etched on her face, he held out his hand and gestured for her. “Tell me what’s happened,” he said nonchalantly hoping his laidback questions would circumvent her impulse to shut down and run for the hills. “How long was I out?” he asked matter-of-factly and then waited expectantly for her next move.
Lacey looked everywhere around the room except at Cameron, from the drawn curtains to the TV by the sofa. She noted the container on the nightstand filled with cool water that she’d stroked over his burning skin. She saw her backpack on the floor. She considered his clothes piled on the floor and took stock of how his half-naked presence was wreaking havoc on her nerves.
She was drawn to him and though she had no idea what the heck she was doing, or why, Lacey let a thread of control slip from her hands as she responded to his command and moved silently to sit again by his side. She had to clear her throat twice before actual words came out rather than a raspy, self-conscious bark.
“You were a mess when you got back last night. Judging by how bad things were when you came through the door, I’m astonished that you were able to drive,” she told him hesitantly. “Do you remember anything?”
“I remember feeling like fucking shit,” he ground out. She tried not to grimace at his coarse language. “Pretty sure I puked my guts up and then face-planted after that.” Twisting slightly to place the empty beverage bottle on the nightstand he turned back toward her. “The washcloth and water container tell me you had your hands full.”
Busted, her mind screamed. Yeah, she had her hands full all right. Full of touching him, stroking that wet cloth across his torso and along his neck and shoulders. Using her greedy fingers to push his hair back off his forehead, letting them linger against the stubble on his face. She’d all but given him a complete sponge bath and would have gladly done so with her tongue and hands, a thought that exploded in her head with a shocking bang.
Her pretty blush told Cam that she was remembering using the wet cloth against his skin and try as he might to find some remnant of awareness of her administering to him, the blankness that met his attempts frustrated him greatly. He knew he’d been sick, but apparently he’d also been completely out of it. Her lovely hands had been on his skin and he couldn’t remember any of it. Fuck my life, he thought.
Hiding her expressive baby blues from him, Lacey shrugged while carefully inspecting a spot on the floor that only she could see. He waited her out and her husky response obliterated the pathetic show of nonchalance she was trying to affect.
“Your fever got quite high so I had to use wet compresses to cool you down,” she began. The emphasis she placed on having to do what she did invaded his brain. She was clearly self-conscious admitting she had touched him. This was new territory for Cam. Despite displaying a serious, kick-ass attitude toward the life she’d been handed, she was apparently off the reservation when it came to dealing with the fact that she had run her hands along his body. The lady was embarrassed.
“Thank God you knew to do that, little Ponytail,” he muttered. He didn’t want her to feel awkward with what she’d done and frankly was hoping to get her to do it all again so this time he could remember.
Lacey’s eyes instantly snapped to his while her heart leapt in her chest when she heard him call her “Ponytail”. So he had been dreaming of her in his fever. Suddenly, the world slipped a tad off center and for a few seconds she thought she might have half a swoon coming on.
Shifting his big body, Cameron ran his fingers over her knuckles. “I don’t ever remember being that kind of sick. Like, ever,” he grumbled. Laying his head back against the pillows he added, “Thanks again.”
Keeping her hands passively in her lap was costing Lacey as the thin hold she had over her composure wavered under his light touches. She was drawn to him but old, self-protective reflexes scrambled her thoughts and brought her up short. What was she supposed to do? In the end, the only thing that made sense was just to be honest and see what happened.
Remembering the fever reducer she’d given him, Lacey hastily blurted out one big long sentence. “Nothing was working and you were burning up - I remembered the first aid kit so I went through it until I found a liquid fever packet.” Glancing at the clock she assured him, “That was about four hours ago and luckily there was no adverse reaction.”
Seeing her look at the clock reminded Cam he had no idea of a timeframe for how long he’d been out of it. “What time is it now?” he asked.
“Um, well…,” she mumbled while biting her lip, “it’s just past two in the afternoon. You came back around nine-thirty last night so I’d say you had a twenty-four hour virus.”
Cam ran the numbers and the whole scenario as best as he could in his mind. The craptacular way he felt yesterday afternoon, how he’d steadily gotten worse as the late afternoon and early evening came on. How he’d barely made it back to the motor lodge in one piece and how god-awful sick he was on the drive. That’s what she’d been presented with when he came stumbling through the door.
She’d been left to deal with a sick stranger who she nursed through what must have been one hell of a night. She’d put cold cloths on his fevered skin, had the presence of mind to search his bags for
a fever reducer, and had stood watch over him throughout the course of his fever. He saw glimpses of other things he wasn’t sure were real or just the fevered imaginings of a sick mind. Things like Lacey wrapping him in the warmth of her arms, sharing the heat of her embrace and the hushed sounds of her sexy purr against his ear. His hands remembered the feel of a succulent breast that he shaped in his mind’s eye with exquisite detail.
Next thing he knew, Lacey asked how he happened to come upon her predicament in the alleyway. Cam considered his answer carefully before deciding to be direct and wait for the fall-out. “I saw you at the diner. Noticed you actually,” he told her. “You were trying to blend into the woodwork and it caught my attention. I notice things like that. It’s sort of what I do for a living; I notice things.” He saw her look of confusion and just plowed on.
“Couldn’t help but piece together the pattern. When you arrived. How long you stayed. The fact that you put on a good show of pretending to get on a bus.” She looked slightly panicked at that particular reveal but he just kept on explaining, deciding it was best to go for broke.
“What I’m saying may sound a bit unsettling but really Lacey, it’s what I do for a living. Noticing that kind of shit. You struck me as being vulnerable and I guess my hidden inner hero came along for the ride.”
Broken Justice (Justice Brothers) Page 6