Love,
Mitch
I rolled my eyes again. It was easy to recognize his game, and I wasn’t willing to play along.
Cami,
What the hell? You sent the police to my house? I’ve never threatened you. I didn’t hit you. Why would you do this to me? Can you even imagine how embarrassed I am by this entire situation?
You owe me a big apology.
Mitch
“What an asshole,” I muttered before reading Xander’s response to my text.
Xander: I’m all yours today, babe. Just let me know when you want me to come over. How’s your head?
Cami: My head is much better today. I slept great, and I’m ready to start the day. How about noon?
It was just after nine, and I still needed to shower and let the police know about Mitch’s emails. Mitch had been much nastier in the last email. He might just be upset about me suggesting to the police that he could be a suspect. If I was innocent and someone told the police I might have tried to seriously injure them, I’d be angry. That explanation would work better for me if Mitch hadn’t already been harassing me.
Xander: Sure. Are you up to going out tomorrow night? Harley wants to go to the VIP room at The Project to hang out with the new security team members. Everyone will be there.
Cami: Sure. It’s my Saturday at the office. I have patients until eight, but I should still make it there before anything exciting happens. I deserve a night out. We can go over details later.
Xander: I’ll see you soon.
I looked at the emails again and decided to shower before calling the police. It was unlikely the detective who’d given me his card was sitting at his desk, waiting for me to call. I figured I might as well get ready before I had to wait for a call back from the police.
Chapter 35
Xander
Cami had a small package sitting on her front porch when I arrived, so I picked it up and rang the doorbell. I was a little late, having met with the private investigator on the way over to Cami’s place. He’d taken all the information I had on Mitch and agreed to look into him, after I paid his retainer, of course. I wasn’t sure he’d find anything the police didn’t, but it made me feel better to do something.
“A present for me?” Cami asked when she answered the door and saw me holding the small box.
“Not from me,” I told her as I handed her the package.
“Ugh,” she grumbled on her way into the condo before tossing the box on the sofa. “This must be the present Mitch was talking about in his email.”
“What the fuck?” I eyed the package with disdain. Why was he still sending her gifts? “This guy can’t take a hint, can he?”
“Maybe he’ll finally get it now that the police have talked to him,” she muttered.
“When did they talk to him?” I asked. “Is he a suspect?”
Cami responded on her way to the kitchen as I trailed along behind her. “They talked to him since he’s been harassing me. The talk with the police made him angry, and I’m sure he’ll be beyond pissed when he realizes I sent copies of his emails to the police. Maybe he’ll even be so pissed that he’ll stop bothering me. I don’t think he’s dangerous, but he is annoying.”
“What are you going to do with the gift?” I asked.
“Send it back,” she replied. “If the delivery person had rung my bell, I would have refused to accept it.”
“That’s good thinking,” I agreed. “I never liked that asshole, but I had no clue he was this fucked in the head.”
“He hid it well,” she replied as she began taking out the waffle ingredients. “While we were dating, he never lost his temper, but that could be because things always went his way. Maybe he’s always a pain when he doesn’t get his way. Let’s not talk about Mitch anymore.”
“Fine with me,” I agreed as I moved up behind her. Mitch was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I’d been struggling with my arousal all day. She hadn’t said yes to the idea of us exploring our mutual desire yet, but I was pretty sure she was going to. There was no denying she wanted to say yes. “Have you made any decisions about us?”
I was close but not touching her. I wanted her to feel my breath on the back of her neck and know all she had to do was turn to touch me. I intended to make sure Cami was thinking about having my hands and mouth on her. If I had to play a little dirty to win, I was game. After all, it was more fun when you played dirty.
“It’s hard to think with you this close,” she said with a strained laugh.
“Good,” I murmured, pushing her hair to the side and leaning in to brush my lips against the back of her neck. “I don’t want you to overthink this situation. Why fight it?” My lips were close to her ear. “We both want each other.”
“Oh, God,” she uttered as a shudder of desire ran through her body.
Chapter 36
Cami
How was I supposed to think with Xander right behind me? His lips on my neck sent jolts of desire through me. Maybe Xander had it right, and I shouldn’t think. I’d been thinking the whole thing to death, and no matter what conclusion I came to, my subconscious refused to let the fantasy of Xander go.
Turning, I found myself pinned between the counter and Xander’s hard body. My eyes moved to his face, and I saw one corner of his mouth kick up in a knowing smirk. He was fully aware of what he was doing to me.
“You’re not playing fair.” My complaint sounded weak and breathy. Fair or not, I wasn’t sure I wanted Xander to play this any other way. It wasn’t like I needed convincing. I’d had enough erotic dreams about Xander recently to know I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to experience some of that hotness in real life. I probably should insist we keep things platonic. All my arguments were still valid, but it was hard to think straight when my body was humming with need.
“Do you want me to play fair?” He leaned in until his chest was nearly touching mine. My nipples hardened, and my breathing became shallower.
“Not really,” I whispered as I gave in to the temptation to reach out and trail my fingers along his cheek. “You understand I’m not looking for a boyfriend, right?”
He nodded and leaned in even closer until his lips hovered just above mine. “You don’t have to give anything you don’t want to. I’m dying to touch you. You have no idea how much I want you. We can do this—enjoy each other in ways that will leave us both very satisfied—and we can still be friends. Just say the word, and I’ll take away that ache I know you have.”
I might have accused him of being presumptuous in assuming I had an ache he needed to take care of, but he’d merely stated the truth. I was tired of dealing with my own arousal when it came to Xander fantasies. I wanted him. “Which word do I need to say?”
“Please,” was his reply.
The word left my mouth on a shuddering breath. “Please.”
Xander immediately claimed my mouth. I’d been expecting a kiss to match the intensity of our interaction. Instead, it was a soft kiss, just a feathering of his lips against mine before his tongue stroked my lower lip. My hand moved from his cheek to the back of his head, pulling him closer. I needed more. His kiss deepened while he kept some distance between us.
He broke the kiss and our gazes locked. He was feeling the same lust I was. Still, he managed to pull back, and his voice sounded only slightly strained when he spoke. “Let’s make some waffles.”
I blinked twice. Waffles? He wanted to make waffles? I’d been expecting a much different response.
“I can see that I’ve confused you,” he began. “You’re probably wondering if my waffle obsession is worse than you suspected.”
“I was wondering why you were so eager to make waffles when we could be doing other things,” I admitted.
His lips curled up into a sexy grin. “Make no mistake, babe. I definitely want you more than I want waffles.”
“Then why did you stop?” I asked.
“I fucking love the anticipation,” he ut
tered. “By the time we finish our lunch, we’ll both be ready to rip each other’s clothes off.”
I was already close to that point, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to know how I’d feel at the end of our lesson. It also irritated me a little that Xander seemed perfectly in control of his lust, whereas I was about to lose my mind. It was time to turn up the heat a little and see how long Xander maintained his composure.
“All right,” I said with a smile of my own. “We’ll have our lesson, but how about if we add an interesting twist to it?”
Chapter 37
Xander
Cami’s smile told me she was up to something very naughty. Since I like naughty games, I was willing to play along.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked as I stepped back to put some more distance between us. It was hard waiting to have her, but I had a lot more self-control than most people gave me credit for.
“Let’s see how much you remember from our first lesson,” she began, still looking pleased with herself. “You watched me make the waffles, and you heard all the ingredients I used, so you must remember some things. I’ll ask you which ingredient or step comes next in the process. For every wrong answer, you have to remove an article of clothing.”
“What do I get if I answer correctly?” I asked. The game had potential.
“I’ll remove an article of clothing,” she cooed.
It took me a moment to answer, mostly because I was doing my best to keep from swallowing my tongue. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it wasn’t much of one. When Cami decided to put on her kinky chef hat, she went all out. “It’s a deal.” The strain in my voice was to be expected under the circumstances.
Cami’s grin widened as she walked across the kitchen to pull out everything we needed and set it on her counter. “What’s first, Mr. Rock Star?”
I thought for a moment, not sure if I was hoping to get the answer right or wrong. Either seemed like a win to me. “Combine the dry ingredients and sift them.”
“Good answer,” she praised as she kicked out of her shoes.
“Hey!” I complained. “That answer deserves more than a look at your socks.”
“Loser decides which article of clothing to remove,” she told me.
“When did you come up with that rule?” I asked.
“When I lost just now,” she replied with a grin.
“It should have counted as five steps,” I argued. “There are four ingredients to remember and then the sifting.”
“Too bad. You called it one, so it only counts as one. Besides, you didn’t include the names or amounts of each dry ingredient in your answer.”
I laughed at her response. She made a good point. I’d have to slow down with my next items. The rest would be more guess than memory, so I wasn’t sure how they’d play out, but I was looking forward to finding out.
Chapter 38
Cami
Xander had a bad memory when it came to cooking, but he more than made up for it with his impressive body. I definitely didn’t mind him answering questions wrong. As he poured the batter into the waffle maker, he only had on his black boxer briefs. Xander had the lean, muscular build of a long-distance runner and an impressive amount of ink covering his arms, chest, and upper back. I’d seen Xander shirtless many times, but it was much different having him standing, almost naked, in my kitchen. If I said I hadn’t looked down to check out everything, I’d be lying. There was no missing the outline of Xander’s erection, and I suspected it was to blame for some of his wrong answers. He’d gotten two more right, leaving me barefoot in my bra and jeans.
After he closed the waffle maker, Xander turned toward me with a predatory grin. “I still feel like we’re both overdressed, especially you.”
I laughed and shook my head as I backed away. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Think about what?” He was trying to look harmless, but it appeared he was going to pounce.
“The waffles need to come out in five minutes,” I reminded him. “Less than five minutes now. If you tell me you don’t need that long, I will have to reconsider this friends-with-benefits situation.”
He chuckled. “Ah, babe, I need a lot more than five minutes for what I want to do to you. Maybe we should finish making the waffles later.”
I liked the way Xander thought, and I was tempted to agree with his suggestion. If we cooked all the batter up first, it would be at least twenty minutes until Xander’s hands were on me. If we started anything before then, we’d end up with burnt waffles.
“What’s it going to be?” Xander’s voice was like velvet sliding along my skin, raising goosebumps in its wake.
I cleared my throat and tried to sound unaffected. “Are you honestly telling me there are things you want more than waffles?”
My kitchen wasn’t big, so backing away involved moving around corners. When my ass hit the counter, Xander moved quickly to trap me. “I’ve got you.”
The waffle maker timer went off, saving me from having to come up with a witty response. “Waffles are done!” I announced as I wiggled out from my spot against the counter.
As I removed the waffles, Xander put the batter in the fridge. When I turned, he was grinning again.
“Maybe we should talk more about ground rules,” I said after unplugging the waffle maker.
“You can talk all you want,” he replied as he approached. I let out a squeal of surprise when Xander tossed me over his shoulder. Using one hand to keep me in place, he reached out with the other to grab a waffle on his way out of the kitchen.
“Put me down.” I was trying to sound stern, but it was hard to pull off when I was laughing at the same time. Even turned on, I couldn’t miss the humor in being carried off to my room by a nearly naked man while he ate a waffle.
“I’ll put you down in just a minute,” he assured me on the way into my bedroom. After finishing off the last of his waffle, he set me on my feet in front of him. Not giving me a chance to say anything, he kissed me. His lips moved hungrily against mine as he pulled me closer. My nipples hardened under the lace of my bra. His tongue explored my mouth, and his hands moved to my ass to lift me. I wrapped my legs around his hips and whimpered when I felt his hard dick pressed against me.
As the kiss grew more frenzied, I rocked against him. I suddenly wished I’d lost a little more clothing in our game. The denim from my jeans was an annoying barrier. I needed to be naked with Xander. Another voice in my head—a very irritating voice—was telling me I needed to insist we talk about boundaries. The stupid logical voice wouldn’t shut up, so I broke our kiss.
My breathing was labored, and it took me a minute to get my mind focused enough to speak. Focusing might have been easier had Xander’s lips not moved to my ear. I shuddered when his teeth bit down on my earlobe, but I still managed to say, “We haven’t discussed boundaries.”
Our position seemed a little awkward for the discussion. With my legs still wrapped around Xander’s hips, I felt his dick pulsing against my core.
“Like sexual boundaries?” He didn’t give me a chance to reply. “Are you going to tell me your hard limits? No spanking? Is suspension bondage out? Tell me your boundaries.”
I whimpered because it wasn’t easy to talk when Xander kept bringing the conversation back to sex. “Spanking is fine. Do you know how to do suspension bondage? I’ve seen it done, and it looks hard. Never mind. I need to stay focused.”
Xander shook his head. “Unless you’re asking to talk about boundaries for what’s going to happen in this room, we don’t need to talk.” His lips curled up as a mischievous twinkle lit his eyes. “On second thought, you go ahead and talk all you want, but first, I need you to slip out of those jeans for me.”
“And then you’ll let me talk?” I wasn’t sure what answer I wanted. We really should talk, but I was so turned on, my legs were practically shaking.
“You can talk all you want once you slip out of those jeans.” His promise raised my suspicions. X
ander was definitely up to something, but I had a feeling I’d enjoy whatever it was.
Chapter 39
Xander
I’m usually reasonably sure of myself when it comes to women, but I honestly wasn’t sure what Cami’s response to my request would be. She wanted me, but she still seemed determined to talk about emotional boundaries. She had to realize how crazy that was. You could control a lot of things in the bedroom. She could tell me she didn’t want me to smack her ass or pinch her nipples too hard, but neither of us had that much control over what we felt.
As I watched, Cami’s hands went to the button on her jeans. My eyes were glued to her fingers with the pale pink polish on them. First, the button came undone, and then the zipper, before she slid the jeans down over her hips. As I’d expected, she wore lacey teal boy shorts that matched her bra. She kicked out of the jeans and stood before me looking sexy as fuck in her bra and panties. My gaze took a leisurely tour of her magnificent body. Cami was slim with small, pert breasts and narrow hips.
“Now, can we talk?” Her voice shook slightly with arousal when she asked the question. I knew I’d find her wet for me.
“Go right ahead,” I told her, gesturing for her to sit.
Cami was a smart girl who eyed the bed with suspicion. She had good reason to be suspicious.
“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “I’m not planning to join you on the bed yet.”
My assurance eased her worries, and she sat on the edge of the bed before looking up at me. When her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, I had to remind myself that I’d just agreed to stay off the bed. I was very tempted to ease her back and kiss her. Instead, I dropped to my knees in front of her and placed a hand on the inside of each knee.
Rocking Perfection (Reckless Release Book 3) Page 10