by N. Raines
Her eyes widened. "Purple?"
His grin was all teeth. "Purple's hot. Got one in every color, little Layla. We're gonna ride the rainbow." He reached out and snatched down her panties. She stepped out of them and kicked them away.
He patted his thigh, inviting her to climb on board. "Come here."
She took her time, slowly fitting herself onto him.
"Easy," he murmured. He played with her breasts as she eased herself down. "I love these."
"I love that you love them." She sighed as he toyed with her nipples, tugging and tweaking them. His warm, wet mouth enveloped one, causing her to curl against him as he sucked. A hot wire of electricity stretched from her breast to her pussy, and each time he drew on her nipple, her sex pulsed in response.
"Move," he urged, just bossy enough to trip her switch. He helped her, too, holding her hips to lift and bring her down to meet him. With each downward plunge, she felt him deeper and deeper.
"That feel good? Huh?" He ground the words between clenched teeth.
It was always good. Always good with Cam. Though her brain was muddled, a tiny flicker of concern sparked somewhere in the mush. He was different today. He was pushing her and holding himself back. Why was he trying so hard? Why today?
That worry lasted only a moment before it disintegrated. "Oh." Her toes contracted as the orgasm built, then burst upon her. "Ohhh…"
Cam still hadn't come. He must have been aching for relief, because he hardly gave Layla time to recover before he stood, hoisting her up with an arm around her waist.
Before she knew it, he'd bent her over the back of the futon and she was staring at the nubbly cushion cover. Her heart gave a bump of excitement and fear. He'd never been this intense before. Again she felt that flicker of worry. What was he trying to prove?
He stood behind her, the tip of his cock nudging between her thighs. Then he trailed his fingers down her ass cheek to her thigh. "You okay?" His voice was gentle.
Her chest expanded with love. There he was, her Cam. Her sweet, sexy guy.
She reached her hand around to touch his. "I'm good. Come on. It's your turn now."
He took her at her word. Layla grunted in surprise when he entered her in one hard thrust. She let herself go soft and relaxed, happy to be along for the ride. After all, she'd already come twice and didn't expect another encore. Why be greedy?
But Cam was having none of that. Gripping her hip with one hand, he snaked his other hand around to tease her clit. "Come on, baby. Come for me one more time."
How could she resist, with his cock pumping into her and his fingers playing so wickedly? Her pussy squeezed him like a velvet glove, then rippled around him as she tumbled into a third orgasm. He pressed deep, coming hard, groaning, and digging his fingers into the soft flesh of her hip.
After catching their breaths, they lounged together on the futon. Cam held Layla close while she snuggled against him. As minutes ticked by, she shifted uneasily. She had no complaint about the mind-blowing sex they'd just shared. But the timing, now that she thought about it, was a bit too convenient. "So. That was intense."
He slid his hand from her shoulder to her waist, tugging her closer. "Yeah."
"Guess I'm hotter than I thought, the way you can't keep your hands off me."
He gave a brief laugh. "Totally hot, babe."
"Or maybe it was just a way to distract me." The doubts she'd had earlier, blown away by the incredible sex, were now back to gnaw at her.
"Huh?"
His stillness and the fake innocence in his tone only confirmed her suspicions. "To keep me from asking too many questions."
He stopped pretending to misunderstand her. "About Paige."
"Yeah. When you saw her, you looked like…I don't know, like someone hit you with a brick or something."
"Yeah, well." He huffed a breath. "It was a surprise."
She shifted to gaze up at him. "So I gathered."
He was doing that thing again, avoiding her gaze. "What'd she tell you while she was here?"
"That you were like a big brother to her."
Cam snorted, which was not the response she expected. "No?" she asked. "She said you always looked out for her."
"Uh-huh." He rolled his eyes. "I looked out for her real good."
Layla was frustrated by his cryptic remarks. "What is it?"
Cam stood, went to pick up his pants. His back turned so Layla couldn't see his face. "She was a neighbor kid, a few years younger than me. At first she was just this pest who was always hanging around. Always tagging along after me in the neighborhood, on the playground, no matter how much I ignored her. I don't know why she glommed on to me, 'cause I wasn't very nice to her at first. She never seemed to want to go home. Later on I learned she had good reason for that."
Layla swung her feet to the floor. "Her parents were—"
"Her parents were shit." He stepped into his jeans, zipped up, and turned to face her. "Her father was a drunk and a bully, her mom was always out of it. Zoned out on pills. Never stood up for her kid. Paige felt safer on the street than in her own home."
"She must have felt safe with you."
"Maybe. I was a kid, didn't pick up on it, but my mom did. She took Paige under her wing. Paige ate dinner at our house more than at her own place. Mom explained how it was to me, told me I should be nicer to the kid. I felt bad, you know? So I started looking out for her more."
"Child Protective Services never got involved?"
Cam's smirk was cynical. "Her parents were a waste, but they weren't stupid. They could get it together long enough to put on a good show when a social worker knocked at the door. And Paige would lie for them. They might have been shitty parents, but they were hers. She didn't want to go into foster care."
Even as a mandated reporter, Layla knew that plenty of children fell through the cracks in the social welfare system.
"She moved out when she was old enough to get on her own. I helped her get a job at the Shamrock. And I could kind of keep an eye on her that way, too. After all that time, I guess I was used to looking out for her. I stepped in a couple times when some douchey customer got handsy with her. And once when her landlord tried to pressure her into sleeping with him."
"She still depended on you."
He sighed. "Yeah."
And had he depended on Paige, too? Had the mantle of protector become part of his self-image? Or were his feelings for the girl even more complicated?
"Thing is, she always seemed to hook up with these losers." Cam snatched his shirt off the floor, then returned to the futon to sink next to Layla. "Guys who didn't hold jobs, just wanted to mooch off her, stole money from her, talked down to her. Total jerk offs. I just didn't get it."
It made sense, though, in a twisted way. Paige had no role model for a decent relationship. Her parents certainly hadn't provided her with one.
"After she broke it off with the last loser, she was moping around, so I thought I'd do her a favor. Introduce her to this guy I knew. A bartender at another establishment. Seemed like a good guy, had a steady job, you know. Turns out they got along like gangbusters, started dating, even moved in together. Man, I was patting myself on the back for that one. Until she started showing up for work covered in bruises."
Layla's stomach twisted. "Oh my God."
"Oh, she always had an excuse. She walked into something, she tripped and fell. You'd've thought she was the world's biggest klutz. Except I knew her and I knew when she was covering for somebody. Just like when she covered for her parents.
"One day she didn't come in to work. Called in sick. And I just had this really bad feeling. Down in my gut, you know. So I went to her place. She talked to me through the door, didn't want to let me in. Said she was contagious. I told her if she didn't open the door, I'd bust it down. Finally it opens and she's got a black eye, a swollen jaw. He really worked her over."
"God." Layla had no other words. She felt sick for Paige, and for Cam.
; "Yeah. She gave me all the excuses, how it looked worse than it was, it was her own fault, he was sorry… Same old shit. I brought her to my apartment, told her to stay there, then went back to her place to wait for the asshole. When he showed up, I kicked the living shit out of him and told him if he ever touched her again, if he ever so much as came near her, I'd kill him."
Layla smoothed her hand down his arm and spoke softly. "You saved her."
He swung toward her, his features twisted with contempt. "Saved her? Are you crazy? I put her there. If it wasn't for me, none of that would have happened."
He glared as though he hated her. That and the scorn dripping from his voice had her stuttering. "Y-you didn't know."
"What the fuck difference it makes? I got the two of them together. It was my fault she hooked up with that douchebag in the first place."
"It wasn't your fault."
He went on as if he hadn't heard her. "That wasn't the worst. A few weeks later she discovered she was pregnant. In spite of everything, she wanted to keep the baby. I told her I'd have her back, no matter what…"
She waited for him to finish, and when he didn't, asked softly, "What happened?"
"Oh." He shook his head as though to wake himself from a dream. "She, uh, she lost the pregnancy. Then she left town. This is the first I've seen her since."
"She just disappeared?"
"Yeah. The first few weeks she'd text every once in a while, let me know she was doing all right. Then she stopped. I figured she was trying for a fresh start. Wanted to leave the past behind."
And leave Cam behind, too? After everything he'd done for her? What a shitty way to treat a friend. "She shouldn't have done that, just leave you hanging."
"She did me a favor. I love Paige, but she's always surrounded by drama."
I love Paige. The words, needle sharp, jabbed Layla.
Chill, she told herself. There are lots of ways to love someone.
But how did he love Paige? Like a friend or a kid sister? Did he only feel responsible for her, or was there more to it?
A chill prickled her skin while a sick feeling fluttered in her throat. "Is that why you told her your phone wasn't working? Because of the drama?"
Color rose in his cheeks. He stood abruptly, as though angry he'd revealed too much. When he bent to retrieve his socks from the floor, for once Layla didn't think to admire his fine ass. She was too busy trying to decipher his true feelings.
Cam balled the socks in his fist and gave her with a lopsided smile. "We missed lunch. You get dressed, I'll take you somewhere."
Slick change of topic. But she wasn't fooled. Paige weighed heavy on his mind, and Layla was determined to help him shake off his misplaced guilt, if only for a little while. Rising from the futon, she returned his smile, then snatched his socks and tossed them over her shoulder. "Or you could get naked and fix us something here."
"Mmm, even better." He scooped her close and palmed her butt. "I like how you think," he murmured between hot, dirty kisses.
"You inspire me." She broke free and clapped her hands as happiness fizzed in her blood. "Okay, mister, get those pants off. Chop chop. Only naked people get to eat lunch around here."
"You got it." Just as he touched his zipper, his phone dinged, signaling a text. "Aww, shit. This better not be work."
She was closer to the side table, where his phone lay. As she picked it up, she couldn't help but see who'd texted. Paige. "It's not." She gave him the phone, her good mood collapsing like a soufflé gone flat.
His features went blank as he read the screen. "Oh. She wants me to meet her. Says she has something to ask me."
Resentment surged through Layla. "She couldn't have done it when she came by?"
Cam tapped out a brief text. "I'm asking her what it is." At the answering ding, he gave a heavy sigh. "Says she wants to ask me face-to-face." For a moment, uncertainty flashed in his eyes. Then his features hardened. "I'm not into these games. If she wants to ask me something, let her—"
"No," Layla heard herself say. "Tell her all right."
He gave her a look of confusion. "But we—"
"It's okay." Better to take care of it now than put it off and have them both wondering what Paige wanted. Layla and Cam might go through the motions, pretending to have fun, but the unanswered question would hang over them like a storm cloud, spoiling their day. "Go ahead, go meet her. We'll catch up later."
Round one went to Paige.
****
She'd been home a while when her roommate Kelsey entered the apartment. Layla greeted her with a wan smile. "Hi. What've you been up to today?"
"Oh, this and that." Kelsey gave a careless shrug. "Shopping." Though she had no bags with her. "Is it safe to come in?" She waggled her eyebrows. "I'm not interrupting any fun times, am I?"
"You're in the clear. Cam's not here."
"Damn. I was hoping to get a little glimpse of your guy's fine ass." Kelsey tossed her purse onto the coffee table and plopped herself on the sofa. "Why so down in the mouth, girl? I'd'a thought after sexing your boy toy, you'd be wearing a big goofy smile instead of looking like somebody ran over your puppy."
"Yeah. Something's up with him. I don't know what to make of it." She recounted the day's events to her roommate, who interjected comments throughout.
"What?"
"Oh, I'm sure."
"She said that?"
And finally, "You told him what? Have you lost your damn mind?"
"What?" Layla cried, startled when Kelsey jumped to her feet.
"Honest to God, Layl, sometimes I wonder about you. You're just so fricking…gah, naive or something. You told him to go see that bitch? My God, you're practically throwing him into her arms!"
"Wait a minute, she's not a bitch. They're old friends." Layla stood too and had to sidestep to avoid getting smacked when Kelsey threw out her arms in exasperation.
"Old friends. Sure." Kelsey rolled her eyes. "Listen. That girl, Paige or whatever, is after your man."
"But she's marrying somebody else."
Kelsey blew a raspberry. "Like hell. She's either lying through her teeth, or if she is engaged, it's just to make Cam jealous. That's how it works. Tell the guy you want that you're with someone else. Get that old male competition thing going. When he thinks someone else wants you, then he wants you back. That's how the game is played."
"I don't think it's a game. I didn't get that vibe from her." But in the face of Kelsey's certainty, Layla doubted her instincts. Paige hadn't seemed like a conniver. But Cam's reaction to the girl had been so weird. He hadn't reacted happily to her sudden appearance or her news. He'd been shocked—stunned, in fact. Paige might not have noticed, but Layla had. And later, even his good humor in her presence had seemed forced and shallow.
Layla didn't know if Paige wanted Cam. What worried her was that he wanted Paige.
Kelsey was already taking charge. "All right, we've got to take care of this. Head it off before it gets out of hand. Let this bitch know your man's off limits."
Layla, dizzied by the doubts twirling in her brain, asked, "How am I supposed to—"
"We're going to see what this Paige chick is up to. Where's he meeting her?"
"He didn't say."
"And you didn't ask? Oh my God, Layla." Kelsey sighed and rolled her eyes as though Layla were a gullible child.
That set her teeth on edge. "I wasn't about to ask him a million questions. I trust him."
Kelsey's expression turned hard. "Fine." Her brown eyes shot angry sparks. "Trust him all you want. But don't trust her. Take it from someone who's been there. I don't want to see you played like I was."
Layla stopped short. "When did that happen?" She always thought her roomie called the shots with men and had more guys than she knew what to do with. Could it be that her friend was not quite the careless player she'd always believed?
Kelsey's mouth twisted. "Long time ago. Doesn't matter now. Look, I know I haven't always been the greatest friend,
haven't been around when you needed someone to talk to or whatever. But this time I've got your back, okay?" Her forehead crinkled as she zeroed in on Layla. "Now think a minute. When you left his place, did he give you any clue where he was headed?"
"No." Then Layla remembered something that made her stomach fall with a sickening thud. "Hold on. When he locked up, he had his skates with him."
"His ice skates?"
"Yeah. It didn't register at the time, but thinking back…"
Kelsey's eyes lit up. "So they're meeting at the rink? Okay, then that's where we're going."
Layla felt a stab of betrayal. He shouldn't be meeting Paige at the Water's Edge. It was their special place.
Don't be stupid. It's a public skating rink. Duh.
She didn't own Cam. She had no right tell him where to go or who to hang with, nor did she want to. But the thought of him and Paige together there, of all places, turned her stomach.
Kelsey's we suddenly clicked in her mind. "You mean you're coming, too?"
Kelsey grabbed her purse with one hand and Layla's arm with the other. "You bet your sweet ass I am."
****
This is a bad idea. A really bad idea.
The thought circled Layla's mind as she circled the ice rink with Kelsey at her side.
"Look natural," her roommate murmured. Kelsey skated as lithely as a fairy, as though she'd been born on skates. Layla felt clumsy and stiff, in spite of her recent lessons with Cam. Her nervousness didn't help. She was sure she looked anything but "natural."
"Remember, if we run into them, we just happen to be here. Total accident," Kelsey added. Her gaze swept left and right. "Do you see them?"
"No. Maybe they're not here," Layla answered, hope rising. Why had she let Kelsey drag her here? What would she do if she saw Cam and Paige? Storm over and cause a scene? What the hell would that accomplish?
Besides, Cam hadn't lied. He told her flat-out that Paige wanted to see him and it was she, Layla, who'd insisted they meet. Now she was having second thoughts. It was crazy. She'd lost faith in her own instincts. "This is wrong," she heard herself say. "Let's get out of here."