by Rita Sawyer
“Shit, me too. She’s always so neat and tidy I just can’t help trying to fluster her.”
“She’s not going to be an easy nut to crack.” Victor was right, but Cam was going to have fun trying.
Sooner or later, it was going to happen, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it. “I know, but she’s worth it.”
“You hurt her, even a little, and her sisters will tear you apart.” There was more than a warning in his voice. Maybe Cameron heard a little encouragement, too.
“Got it,” he said. Victor started walking down the hall, and Cameron hustled to keep up with him.
Chapter Eight
Joey drove them straight through town to his cabin. Neither of them spoke until she parked the car in front of his porch. Even then, they just sat there for a few minutes. She wondered what wayward thoughts were rolling around his brain.
“Before you even say a word, just remember I warned you.” That should take the wind out of his sails.
“It wasn’t as bad as you implied it would be.” His laughter had her twisting in the seat to face him. “Your family is actually really nice.”
“In a few days, I’ll be sure to remind you that you said that.” That would give her sisters had time to process what they learned about him and decide what direction they want to go in when it came to him.
He managed to get out of the car, walk around, and open her door before she even had the keys out of the ignition. She got out and stepped toward the back door to retrieve her laptop, but he was there first. He slid the bag onto his shoulder, reached in, and hefted the box. Joey stood there and watched as he turned and walked toward the house leaving her to close the door and follow.
He really couldn’t have thought her family was nice. She closed the door a little harder than she meant to. Her sisters had been their nosy selves, asking him anything and everything that popped into their minds. He’d answered, but it wasn’t like they gave him much of a choice with the way they put him on the spot. She was smart enough to know that much of what they asked was to see if they could get a rise out of her. Even though she’d tried to play it cool, she knew there were a few seconds where she may have slipped.
Hopefully, the slips hadn’t been too noticeable. Joey felt the heels on her shoes dig into the soft dirt of the walkway that led to his porch. If it was up to her, she’d make sure that laying some paving stones was on Victor’s list of things to consider in his designs. Maybe if she could find a way—without sounding too bossy, of course—she would bring up the subject with Cameron and let him take it from there. There were a few other things he should consider, too, like expanding the kitchen and putting in a real office along with the studio. She knew he was going to need if he really planned on sticking around.
She caught up to Cameron in time to open the door for him. “I’m glad we had a chance to grab lunch because we’ve got a long afternoon ahead of us.”
“I’m willing to give you my undivided attention.” From the husky timber in his voice, she knew he meant more than work.
Joey did her best to ignore the way his voice made her tingle and got right down to business. She led the way to the makeshift office, not even sparing a look over at Mrs. Whiskers, who let out meows for Cameron’s attention. He murmured a quick hello as he walked through the room, and she instantly quieted.
“Mrs. Whiskers still isn’t happy with me for leaving and then taking her to the vet,” he explained as he headed for the kitchen.
“She’s getting pretty attached.” Joey knew just how hard it was not to succumb to Cameron’s charms.
“I like having her around to talk to.” He put the box on the table a slid her laptop bag off his shoulder.
“Hasn’t Alec been stopping by to keep you company?”
“Yeah. He has, but he’s not the type for curling up on the couch with me to watch a movie.” He turned and looked at her, and her whole body got hot.
Instantly, Joey began to wonder if the couch was wide enough for her to join him. “Your relationship with Mrs. Whiskers has moved to that point?”
“I think she feels sorry for me. So, if I find someone else to cuddle with, I don’t think she’ll mind.” Oh, he was so wrong about that.
“No female of any species likes being replaced. It won’t happen as easily as you think.” She fought back the cringe that crawled up her spine.
If he read too much into her words, he might think she was talking about herself. She wasn’t. Once her job was done, they were going to go their separate ways. Maybe if he stayed in the area, they’d be the type of acquaintances who nodded and waved when they saw each other but probably nothing more. Sooner or later, he’d find a woman to spend his free time with. Joey wasn’t going to acknowledge that the more she considered that possibility, the less she liked it.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to find someone to spend time with that Mrs. Whiskers likes.” He had to know that left her out because, though the stubborn little beast was at least tolerating her presence, they were far from being on friendly terms.
“More like someone who’s willing to put up with Mrs. Whiskers.” She laughed not because she thought finding a woman like that was going to be hard to do—she knew it was—but because they were talking as if it was all that mattered.
Joey didn’t think Cameron was the settling down type of guy, so everything they were saying was hypothetical. She wasn’t going to debate something that would never come to be. In a few weeks or months, there was a good chance Cam would be trying to find a good home for Mrs. Whiskers. She made the decision right then to try to get along better with the cat just in case she got stuck with it. Unless Cameron made some other friends or was able to con Alec into taking it, that was probably what would end happening.
“You two seem to be getting along better.” His smile echoed her thoughts.
“Mmm…” She shrugged, ignoring the jibe and focused on booting up her laptop.
Joey couldn’t get past the feeling that he was baiting her. In many ways, she found dealing with him was a lot like dealing with her sisters. Being on guard all the time was exhausting, but she figured it was better than having people think they knew her every thought. The only person she really felt she could let herself relax with was Georgie, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her other sisters. She could tell them anything and knew it wouldn’t go any further than between the five of them and maybe her brothers-in-law. They’d never hold anything against her or throw it in her face later, but she couldn’t remember a time from her entire childhood where she’d let anyone all the way in except for Georgie, who refused to be kept out. She probably would be a very private person if her parents hadn’t given her such nosy sisters.
“Do you think I passed inspection with your sisters?”
“In what sense?” She knew what he meant, but it was kind of fun to let him squirm.
Cameron walked up behind her so close she could feel his breath on her neck. If he was even slightly tuned in to her body’s reaction, she would’ve been in big trouble. Since he didn’t try to make a move, he must not have noticed the hitch in her breathing. She’d like to think she was strong enough to reject his overtures if he did try something, but she wasn’t so sure. Joey quickly slid out from between him and the table and moved to the box of files. He followed, stopping next to her, letting their shoulders brush each other.
Joey kept her gaze locked on the files. The more time they spent together, the harder his impact felt. Maybe she should just give into the building attraction and hope once they burned the flame out it would stay that way. It was a silly notion because there would be no way she could work with him after sleeping with him.
“You’ve been doing a lot of silent thinking since we left the lodge.” The soft yet deep tone of his voice made her stomach drop.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do.” She wasn’t lying, but that wasn’t the only thing on her mind.
“That’s a good excuse,” he held up his hand when she opened her mouth to argue, “mostly because it’s true. Still, I can tell it more than that. Now, back to my question. How would your sisters react if I took you out to dinner?”
“I guess they’d be fine with it. I have lunch and dinner with clients on occasion.” She knew he meant as a date, but playing dumb might buy her some time to decide how she was going to deal with him.
* * * *
Cameron could tell she was being deliberately obtuse. It was her way of deflecting when he got too close, and he’d had about enough of it. He inched closer to her, pretending to be looking into the box. A simple shift of his body had his shoulder behind hers and their hips touching. Joey made that sexy little noise he wasn’t even sure she knew she made whenever he got really close like this. He wasn’t going to let it go to waste anymore.
“I wasn’t talking about as a client. I was thinking more along the lines of a date.” There. He couldn’t be any plainer than that.
“You’d have to ask them.” The shrug of her shoulders only brought them closer together.
“If I can take you out on a date?” He could be just as dense as she pretended to be, when he wanted.
“No, I can answer that.” But she didn’t. Hell, she didn’t even look at him. “You’d have to ask them how they’d feel about it.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back and felt her shiver. The room was hot and stuffy already and being this close to her just made him hotter. Cameron slid his hand up her back slowly, giving her ample time to pull away. If she so much as inched away, he would let his hand drop, but she didn’t, so he kept going until his fingers were under her long hair.
He wanted to wrap the soft, silky strands around his hand and pull her head back so she had to look up at him. Since he knew that would be pushing her too hard too fast, he fought the sensation and kept his hand on her back between her shoulder blades. Cam could feel the short breaths she was taking under his palm. On one hand, he could completely understand why she was fighting the attraction between them, but on the other he wanted to be the one to make her throw caution to the wind.
“How about we say screw work and you take me for a ride?” He smiled, hoping she’d take his offer the right way. Hell, for him either way would be the right way.
She tilted her head to look at him and in her eyes, just for a few seconds, he saw the want. “That would be totally irresponsible.”
“I know, but you can charge me for the time, so it’ll be a business expense.” He was just kidding, but he must have hit a nerve.
She spun on him and slapped her hand on his chest. “Jerk.”
Surprised, Cameron barely stopped himself from taking a step back. He looked into her face, and his breath caught. Her cheeks had a blush pink tinge, and her eyes sparkled. She was furious, but if anything, it just made her more irresistible.
“Joey, it was a joke.” He covered her hand with his keeping her from getting away.
She let out a huff and tried to pull her hand away. “Sure, it was.”
“Okay, part of it was a joke. The billing me part.” Still holding her hand against him, he took a step forward, and she took one back, keeping a good foot between them. “But I was serious about taking the rest of the day off and going for a ride.”
For every step he took, she took another. Soon, she had her back to the wall with nowhere left to go. “Wh–why do you want me to go for a ride with you?”
Her slight stutter gave him a sense of control. After everything he’d tried, he’d finally gotten a positive response. After all the smooth talking, friendly teasing, and even kissing her, nothing had flustered her until now. Finally, he’d gotten a reaction worth a damn. Maybe not the one he wanted, but if he pushed a little harder it might come his way.
“I need someone who knows the area, and knows me, to show me what I want to see.” He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb as he spoke.
Her eyes widened and lost some of the fire, but something else replaced it. “You think I know you.”
“A little, but I want you to get to know me better.” It would have been so easy to close the tiny space between them and cover her mouth with his.
“Cam, I really don’t think that would be a good idea.” She looked down at the floor.
Cameron used his index finger to tip her chin up, forcing her to look at him. Her teeth were biting into her bottom lip. He used his thumb to tug it free. Unable to stop himself, he ran it across her lip. Joey gasped and her fingers curled into the soft fabric of his shirt.
“Good idea or not, I don’t think we have much of a choice because, sooner or later, it’s going to happen.”
“And if I don’t want it to?” The waver in her voice should have answered her own question, but he’d answer her in his own way.
“If you don’t, then you shouldn’t make those sexy little noises whenever I get close.” Even without the noises, there were so many other signs she unwittingly gave him.
The light pink color slashed across her cheeks turned a deeper red, but she didn’t bother to deny it. “You should have kept your distance.”
“I told you before that I can’t. Do you have any idea how hard it is to ignore the way you make me feel?” He slid his hand along her jaw to her neck. “Now you’ve pushed us both past the point of no return.”
“Not yet.” She shook her head, tossing her hair from side to side. “We can stop this now.”
Cameron needed to prove just how wrong she was. Acting on pure primal instinct, he covered her mouth with his. The kiss was far from gentle. She opened her lips under his assault and kissed him back. Their tongues dueled in a passionate dance. He pressed his body against hers, loving the way the softness felt against his body.
His legs slid between her thighs, and she widened her stance as far as her skirt let her. It wasn’t enough. Cameron couldn’t take it anymore. He had to have her. He reached down, grabbed her skirt, and yanked it up to her hips. Joey pulled her mouth from his, and he thought she was going to protest, but instead she let go of his shirt and helped him tug her panties down. If that wasn’t brazen enough, she quickly undid his belt and helped him free his aching cock.
That was all the encouragement he needed. Cam bent his knees and grabbed Joey’s thighs and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his shoulders, holding tight. He tried to keep some space between her and the wall as he slid inside. Her hot, wet heat gloved his dick and he knew going slow would be impossible. He withdrew slightly then surged back in. Joey rocked her hips, meeting his thrust. They were both breathing hard and making lots of noise, probably scaring the cat.
Joey screamed his name as she came apart in his arms. He held her shaking body, and he kept driving in and out. Every muscle in his body tensed in anticipation of his release. Cameron didn’t want it to end, but he couldn’t hold back either. He came with a force that was so strong he almost dropped her.
“Holy fuck.” He eased her feet to the floor but didn’t let her go completely.
She wiggled and mumbled something he couldn’t make out.
“We’re not done.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her upstairs to his room.
Chapter Nine
Joey sat across from Georgie and listened as she rambled on about a new plan she came up with for one of the local business owners for a fun summer contest. Her mind wasn’t there, though. It was replaying every minute of what happened yesterday afternoon at Cameron’s place. Was it a mistake? Probably, but only time would tell, and Joey wasn’t ready to wait and find out. She needed to come up with a plan on how to deal with the situation.
She’d been right about one thing. Now that they crossed the line, there’d be no going back. He wasn’t going to pretend it never happened. She just hoped that, unlike other people she knew, they could keep this from leaking out before she decided how to handle it. Most people didn’t broadcast that they were having an affair. It was
the slight little changes that others noticed that gave them away. She’d seen it happen before.
Innocent touches that brought on come-hither smiles and lingering looks that, more often than not, got caught by others. Those were things she could nip in the bud on her side, but she couldn’t control him. She’d asked him to keep this between them for now. Though he had agreed, she didn’t think his silence was going to last very long. She had learned over the past few weeks that he wasn’t the type of guy to hold his tongue. He said and did what he thought he had to, so hiding whatever their strange relationship was wouldn’t feel right. If things turned serious, which she really doubted they would, he would find their agreement an unreasonable restraint and break it.
Maybe it would be easier to just break things off now and find someone to take him off her hands. That sounds like a good idea. She’d need a plan, though, because there was no way she was going be able to work with him after this. That meant she’d have to find someone to handle his account, too.
“Well, what do you think?” Her sister’s cheery voice snapped her out of the confusing fog she was wading through.
“I’m sorry. I kind of zoned out.” Jeez, the distraction was just the first sign of her getting in too deep.
“Is it Cam?” Georgie asked.
Joey nodded, but stuffed a French fry in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer.
“Do you know what I’d do if I were you?” Georgie’s smile told her it was probably something wicked and naughty.
She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What?”
“Just enjoy him.” Joey felt her chin drop, and Georgie laughed.
“Get serious.”
“I am. Look at it this way. He’s probably going to get bored and go back wherever he came from as soon as you’re done straightening his shit out. So, for the rest of the time he’s here, why not enjoy his company and body if you get the chance.”
Joey couldn’t believe her sister was actually suggesting she have a fling. “Georgie, I can’t go into this knowing there no future in it.”