It seemed to Cameron that he and his friend had more in common than he had originally thought. Vallon had never made a fool of himself over a woman, either. Not until Lily. What could that mean for Cameron? Was he drawn to Marty because she was beautiful, or for something deeper?
He found a part of himself desperately wishing that there was more to his attraction to her. He wasn't immune to the love he saw between Vallon and Lily and between Vallon's employees, Loki and Marlena Hartwick.
Cameron wanted that, too ... someday.
"I'm going to head back inside. She'll probably be on her way any minute now,” Lily told him with an indescribable look upon her face.
He hoped she was right. He watched her walk back into the parlor and pull Vallon aside, and he wondered what she whispered to him as he watched his friend's dark brows draw together in a concerned frown.
A minute later, Marty came into view. Her dark brown hair was twisted up in a messy knot, and she wore a simple, black halter dress and black stilettos. She wore no jewelry, and he doubted she would ever need any, for her beauty shone through without the added glitter of cut stones or precious metals.
"You look beautiful,” he whispered.
Marty shyly smiled and gave a little pirouette, the skirt of her dress billowing out and giving him a teasing glimpse of shapely thighs. “So where are we going to eat? Your uncle's restaurant?” Marty asked him and linked her arm with his.
"Yes. My Uncle Jimmy's restaurant is down on North St. Peter's Street near the French Market. It's called Jimmy's Southern Soul and Seafood, and they have great food there. Wait until you try it,” Cameron answered in a flustered rush and led her to where he had parked his car. It was an old black Caddy that had belonged to his mother before she went into rehab. Again.
* * * *
Marty smiled as he opened the door for her. She scrambled in as gracefully as she could, but she strongly suspected she may have flashed a little too much thigh by first date standards. Not that she cared overly much. This man could look as much as he wanted.
Marty asked him about the menu even though she knew she could read it when they arrived at his uncle's restaurant. Mainly, she just wanted to listen to that voice.
"...lobster, shrimp, crab, and prawn. Any kind of fish you can think of, really Uncle Jimmy barbeques steaks, ribs, hamburgers, bratwursts. There's fried chicken, fried catfish, and fried green tomatoes. You can get just about anything fried there. My uncle believes any food can be improved just by deep frying it, and he proudly states that he has the gut to prove it.” He listed a few more of the items on the menu.
Her stomach growled loudly.
"Am I making you hungry?” Cameron asked, and he looked over at her with an amused grin.
"Very much so,” she answered, and she didn't mean just for food. Marty stared at thick thighs filling out the soft-looking black leather of his pants. She bit her lip to stifle a moan as she noticed the outlines of a rock-hard six-pack under his snug-fitting T-shirt.
"Well, here it is. Don't let the humble appearance fool you. I'd lay money on the line you'll never taste ribs like they have here,” he told her as they both got out of the car. It was a rather simple looking building, painted white with bright blue shutters. It looked more like a cozy cottage than a restaurant.
"Hey, Cameron, my boy! What brings you out here tonight? You smell the barbeque on the wind?” his uncle asked him from the front porch of the restaurant where he sat in a weathered rocking chair with a glass of iced tea in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He resembled Cameron but older and with graying hair. He had a thick mustache and wore wire-framed glasses.
"I followed it home. This is Marty Cassidy, Uncle Jim. Marty, this is my uncle, James Lucas,” Cameron introduced as they climbed up the creaking porch steps and stood before his uncle.
James ‘Jimmy’ Lucas stubbed out his cigarette and stood to his full height, only being slightly shorter than Cameron. He clasped Marty's hand warmly and gave her a wide smile.
"Nice to meet you, young lady. Cameron been telling you about my food? I know he can't stop once he gets going. Grew up on this food, he did."
"He has indeed been telling me about the food, but in all fairness I did ask."
Her stomach growled again, and Jimmy Lucas laughed, gesturing to the front door. “Y'all head on inside and order. I'm due in the back. Ribs should be about done by now."
The interior instantly gave her a feeling of home. The atmosphere was very casual, very down to earth, and filled with the smells of home cooking. There were wooden tables all around with red and white checkered tablecloths. The pictures on the walls, she assumed, were photos of family and friends. There were a few notable jazz and blues musicians, as well. A small stage was tucked into the corner where there sat five wooden stools and an upright piano.
"They have live bands every once in a while. A lot of jazz and zydeco. My uncle likes to sing the blues on some nights,” Cameron explained.
"Maybe we could come back up here some night to hear?” Marty asked and swung her gaze around from the stage to his face. She could see the pleasant surprise on his face.
"I'd like that, Marty."
"Cameron, come on and sit over here. I'll take care of you tonight."
"Hey, Leda, how are you tonight?” Cameron asked as she waved him over to an empty table near the kitchen doors. It seemed a dangerous place to sit as they were sure to be tormented by the smells wafting out of the kitchen every time someone opened the door.
"I'm doing well. Working my butt off. Like always. You see Dad yet?” she asked. Marty took a moment while Cameron and Leda talked to observe the woman. She was gorgeous with her smooth, caramel-toned skin and golden brown eyes. Her hair fell in long, tiny braids to her waist, and she wore slender gold hoop earrings.
Leda balanced a tray of appetizers on her curvaceous hip and gestured wildly with her free hand while she talked.
"Well, I have to get these wings over to table three. I'll be back in a minute to take your order when you are ready,” she told him and was off with her tray of hot wings.
"That was my uncle's daughter, Leda. She's working her way through college right now. She wants to be a nurse,” Cameron explained and pulled out a seat for Marty.
"She's very lovely,” Marty answered as Cameron took the seat across from her.
"Okay, I'm back. Well, excuse my manners. You have a guest. Hi, honey. I'm Leda, Cameron's cousin. Would you like a menu?” Leda said, and as she talked with her hands, the gold bangles on her wrists tinkled prettily, accenting the jazz that spilled from the jukebox.
"Nice to meet you, Leda. My name's Marty, and yes, I would like to see a menu—although I have a pretty good idea already of what I want.” She couldn't get over what a nice family Cameron had. Of course, she had good family now, too, but it had taken fifteen years.
"I'll give you a minute to go over the menu.” Leda went over to another table where a group of old men flirted good-naturedly with her.
"Do your parents work here as well?” Marty asked as she idly scanned the menu.
"Um, no, they don't actually. My mother used to but...” he trailed off, and she looked up into his eyes and immediately knew that somehow she had just managed to ask the worst possible question.
"I'm sorry, Cameron. You don't have to answer...” she started to tell him, but then he smiled at her.
"It's okay, really. My mother is in rehab, and my father was never a part of my life. My uncle and his wife pretty much raised me. My mother would go off for days or even weeks at a time. We never really knew where. I was a parent figure to her more than she ever was to me. At least I was whenever she was actually around. Don't be sorry you asked, Marty,” Cameron reassured her, and she smiled weakly back at him.
Maybe I can go out back and put myself on the barbeque pit, or maybe go hang out for a while in the freezer? How could I have asked him that? But at the same time, it was reassuring to know that his childhood hadn't been perfect
, either. Marty felt closer to Cameron having learned all that.
"I can relate in a way, you know. My mother died when I was little, and my father—Ben—is in and out of jail for stealing and breaking into people's homes. Even once or twice for armed assault. Foster families really are nice people, but sometimes something just doesn't work out or they already have kids that ended up hating me. But all that is behind me now. My adoptive parents are the best. My dad's name is Bryce Cassidy, and my mom's is Hope.
"They never had any children. They were unable. So they adopted me,” she told him, surprised at how easy the words came. It was not a story she trusted many people with. If you tell someone your dad is in jail, they look at you like you might pull a gun on them or try to steal their purse or wallet. Not to mention that her adoptive parents were actually changeling vampires, and they adopted Marty when she was seven-and-a-half and already as grown as a human fifteen-year-old. Not that he'd be hearing that from her at the moment.
Cameron just looked at her for a full minute and she felt as if her lungs were being compressed.
"I've never had anyone to ‘relate’ to, Marty. Thank you for being so honest with me. My mother—her name is Caroline—is in rehab for perhaps the twentieth time. She keeps saying she wants to get better, but then she relapses and picks up another bottle. Caroline couldn't pay for her apartment or her car. The car belongs to me now, and the apartment belongs to a new family.
"I don't know where she'll go when she gets out again, but I can't keep bringing her back into my life. I've lived this life for so long already. I'm tired of it. I want to live my life on my terms,” he told her, and she reached across the table for his hand.
She heard his intake of breath, and then his other hand came to rest over hers. Cameron smiled and leaned over the table toward her. Marty leaned in to meet him, and as his soft lips brushed across her own, it felt as if sparks shot from the nerve ending in her lips straight down to her toes. Her free hand cupped his face, and she deeply inhaled the scent of his cologne.
Her tongue met his as she parted her lips for him. Marty sighed and deepened the kiss. She couldn't help herself. This was the most beautiful kiss she had ever experienced.
"Oh, excuse me. I'll just come back in five.” They heard Leda's low murmur, and they laughed while they gazed into each others’ eyes.
* * * *
"Those was the best ribs I have ever had! I was a bit worried about ordering them, to be honest. I didn't want to be covered in barbeque sauce on our first date, but that meat comes right off the bone,” Marty exclaimed as she sat back in her seat and took a long sip of her cold beer.
"I was hoping I'd hear those words,” Jimmy laughed from the kitchen.
"Best ever! If I had a blue ribbon, it'd be yours,” Marty joked, and he came out of the kitchen laughing and wiping his hands on a towel.
"Cameron, you be sure to bring her back. There's more on that menu than ribs, and my wife makes the best cakes you will ever taste for dessert. Room for it?” he asked, and she shook her head.
He laughed again and clapped Cameron on the back, nodding to him. Cameron knew his uncle liked Marty at that moment, and he was glad for it. He liked her, too. If ‘like’ was an appropriate word for what he felt for Marty. She followed him back out of the restaurant and to his waiting car with a happy smile on her lovely face.
How could it be that she was a musician, loved good food, had gotten on well with his family, and could even understand the childhood he had had? Marty seemed too good to be true.
Is it just my imagination or did her smile just slip a little? Cameron wondered. He opened the door for her and watched her climb inside. Once Cameron was in the car as well, he asked her, “Is there any place else you would like to go? I can take you home if you want."
Marty felt tears prick her eyes but fiercely blinked them back. She couldn't let him see her like this. But how could she explain to him who she really was? What she really was? When she had walked into that audition, Marty hadn't expected to fall so hard for Cameron. She had not expected to find the one man that would make her heart beat faster and make her future look brighter.
"I'd like to come by your place, if that's okay,” she told him.
Cameron's couldn't believe his ears. Then he blinked and covered his surprise with a his most beguiling smile.
"As you wish."
* * * *
While Cameron was in his kitchen making her a drink, Marty took the time alone to look around his living room. There were no pictures she could see of the woman named Caroline, his mother. But there were plenty of Jimmy and a woman who must've been his wife and, of course, Leda.
There were a few of his band, as well. Now also her band. The band she had heard was fronted by a vampire. She jumped a little when she heard Cameron's phone ring.
As she waited for his conversation to end, Marty continued to look around the living room. It was definitely a bachelor pad. The furniture was black leather. There was a huge, flat screen television and an entertainment center filled to bursting with all kinds of electronics any guy would lust after.
A few minutes later, Cameron joined her with two glasses in his hands.
"That was Vallon. He figured we could all get together tomorrow evening to get acquainted. Are you game?” he asked her handing her one of the drinks.
She took an experimental sip and licked her lips. “Not bad. I think I like Southern Comfort and Coke. Yes, I would definitely be up for it. I'm eager to meet Vallon,” she answered and took another sip from her glass.
"He can't wait to meet you either. Symphonic Dream has had it pretty rough lately,” Cameron told her and took a seat upon the black leather couch. She sat beside him.
"First out, bassist and backing vocalist, Azure, is killed. God rest her soul. We finally find another to replace her but she inexplicably leaves New Orleans, and we were left without a bassist again. We were growing quite popular around here, and Azure's death was a hard blow to us,” he continued, and Marty could guess that he was hoping she would not abandon the band as the woman before her had done.
"I've lived in New Orleans all of my life. I have no plans to leave. I love music and always have. I'd like to think I'm in it for the long haul,” she told him, and Cameron nodded approvingly to her. He set his glass on the glass-topped coffee table, and Marty followed suit.
She sighed as his lips pressed softly against hers. Her mouth parted on a gentle moan as his tongue traced her lips, begging her to let him inside. Marty followed Cameron's lead. His mouth tasted sweet from the SoCo and Coke.
Marty's hands came up to grip his wide, hard shoulders and guided his body closer to hers. He leaned over her, pressing her back into the soft, leathery cushions. As he settled his hips between her legs, Marty's breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. Marty let go of Cameron long enough to untie the knot behind her neck and to peel the top from her breasts.
As the cool air struck her bared flesh, her nipples hardened, and Cameron's eyes devoured her.
"You are so beautiful,” he whispered, and she felt beautiful—for the very first time—reflected in his dark and sensual eyes. His impressive arousal bulged at the front of his leather pants, and Marty's fingers raced to free it from confinement. When his cock sprang forth, Marty's eyes widened.
Cameron laughed and then dipped his head down to her breasts. Marty's eyes rolled back as the pleasure slammed into her. His tongue stroked her like velvet, and the heat of his breath raised chills all over her skin. He gave her a devilish smile and plucked an ice cube from his glass.
"Oh,” was all she could say before he idly traced the melting cube over and around her nipples then replaced it with his burning lips and tongue. The torture was exquisite, teasing until the cube was nothing more but chilly rivulets trickling down her ribcage and onto the sofa.
Cameron peeled his shirt off and flung it onto the floor. The shirt was followed by the leather pants, his large black boots, Marty's stiletto heels, an
d her slinky dress. All that remained between them was a tiny scrap of cloth, her turquoise silk thong.
That piece of material seemed to fascinate Cameron, as he stared with a hungry expression and licked his lips in anticipation. His hands found the thin straps and slid them slowly over her hips and down her legs. He gently raised one of her legs and planted a kiss on her calf before dropping the thong on the floor with the rest of their shed clothing.
Cameron's lips teased a white hot trail of kisses and nibbles up her leg to her thigh. She held her breath as he hesitated, then she let loose a small scream of ecstasy when his tongue swirled over the sensitive folds of her sex. She bit her lip as one, and then two, long fingers entered her and started a devastating rhythm with his expert tongue.
Tendrils of white hot pleasure coiled in her belly, making Marty nearly mindless in her passion. He laughed huskily as her breath slammed out of her in harsh pants.
Her breasts bounced and her body quaked from the building pressure inside her, finally bursting as she came with a series of loud moans. Marty's hips jerked as Cameron planted one last kiss upon her throbbing clit.
Once Marty had gained enough of her senses back, she took control and gently pushed Cameron back into the soft leather of the couch. She had him sitting up so she could straddle him. Cameron let out a groan as Marty lowered herself onto him.
Marty bit her lip, feeling herself stretched to take him. She paused once she had him buried to the hilt within her.
* * * *
Cameron closed his eyes and took a few steadying breaths as the slick muscles surrounding his hard flesh throbbed rhythmically. He chanced a look at her face and sighed. Her head was tilted back, mouth parting on a soft moan. Marty's eyes flickered open and gazed deep into his own. It was as if Marty was looking deep inside him, and he prayed she liked what she saw.
Cameron's large hands settled on her rounded hips, and he lifted her—slowly—up and down. His cock burrowed in and out of her moist heat, and her thighs quivered against his. He watched through lowered lids as she leaned back, bracing her hands on his knees, pushing her breasts outward. Marty was beautiful.
Coming Together: At Last, Volume Two Page 17