by K. Street
“Tucker,” Camryn whispered. “Tucker.”
“Hmm?”
Fingertips grazed my bicep. I blinked a few times and then finally focused on Camryn’s face.
“I have to pee.” She pointed to the sleeping body on her lap.
It was a beautiful sight.
“Tucker,” Camryn whisper-yelled, “I have to pee!”
Realization finally set in. “Shit, I’m sorry, babe.”
Carefully, I stood and then leaned down to lift Shayne off Camryn. We managed the task without waking her. Camryn scurried to the bathroom while I snagged another beer from the fridge. A few minutes later, she wandered into the kitchen. I set my beer down and pulled her into my arms.
“You know, it wasn’t cool that you sided with the little tyrant. The song about Gaston gets stuck in my head for days. What is the obsession with that damn movie?”
“It’s an incredible love story, and the Beast gives her a library,” she said matter-of-factly.
“And?”
“Haven’t you heard?” she asked with a laugh. “Bitches love libraries.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
We stood in a wordless embrace. Her head rested over my heart, and my chin rested on her crown. Several long minutes passed, and I needed to know what she had been thinking earlier. She’d had more than a minute. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I broke the silence. It was time to demand answers.
24
Camryn
Tucker captured my chin between his thumb and index finger and tilted my face upward to meet his gaze. “Talk to me.”
Such a simple command, but there wasn’t anything simple about it. So many feelings collided within me, and I wasn’t sure I could put them into words. His lips met mine in a soft, tender, coaxing kiss.
“Talk to me,” he repeated.
Maybe, if I told him, it would be easier.
“I’m scared.” My confession sounded weak, even to my own ears.
His hands found my waist, and he set me on the island. He stood between my legs, large palms on either side, caging me in. Waiting for me to elaborate. When I didn’t, he pushed further. “What are you afraid of?”
You. This. Us. Everything.
“Because what if this”—I waved a finger between the two of us—“doesn’t work out? People leave. And I’m always the one left behind.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, and I hated how pathetic they made me feel.
He bent his lips to mine and tenderly kissed me. Every swipe of his tongue against mine was an unspoken promise I clung to. When he pulled back, his gaze was intense.
“Camryn, I know you’re scared, and you’re not alone in that, but you’re worth the risk. I’m not going anywhere. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said, trying like hell to let his words reassure me. I gripped the belt loops on his jeans, tugging him closer, and then I kissed him like my life depended on it.
He groaned against my mouth. “You’re killing me, woman.” His low growl sent tingles down my spine. “I’d love nothing more than to take you on this counter, but since that’s not an option”—he looked to the living room where Shayne lay, sleeping—“meet me on your back porch in ten minutes.” His arms came around my waist, and he lifted me off the countertop and set my feet on the floor.
“Where are you going?”
“Home to take a shower, and then I’m coming back to have my wicked way with you.”
“But—”
He pressed a finger to my lips, cutting me off. “She’s asleep. Ten minutes.” He headed out the back door.
I crept down the hall to the bathroom and took the fastest shower of my life. Afterward, I threw on a button-down nightshirt and ran a comb through my towel-dried hair. On my way back into the kitchen, I peeked at Shayne. She was sleeping soundly, and I offered up a silent prayer to every known deity that she’d stay that way.
The cupcakes called out to me, and I snatched one from the platter on my way out the door, leaving it slightly ajar in case Shayne woke up. Tucker rearranged the patio furniture, positioning the cushioned chaise lounge in the shadows where he was waiting for me. He wore a smile on his face and a pair of athletic shorts around his hips.
“Slide that in front of the door.” He gestured to the small, round bistro table.
“Good idea.” I laughed. Apparently, stolen moments required creativity and booby traps.
“Come here, baby.” That deep, gravelly voice tiptoed over my skin.
He extended his hand and pulled me down to straddle him.
I swooped a finger through the creamy frosting, but before I had the chance to lick it off, Tucker seized my wrist.
“Hey, no fair.”
I pouted, but then he brought the tip of my finger to his lips and sucked. I was sure I could get off just by watching him. His hard length, coupled with the cool, slinky material of his shorts, had my bare center on sensory overload.
Tucker worked the buttons of my shirt to expose my breasts, and then he stole my cupcake and swirled the remaining frosting over my nipples before casting the cake aside. His mouth was on mine in a flash. Hot, hungry, and so full of need. Just when I thought I’d come from his kiss alone, he ghosted his lips over my jaw to the tender flesh below my earlobe.
Heat pooled in my core. Anticipation thrummed in my veins. “Tucker, please.”
“Hold on to the chair.” His whispered demand burned hot against my skin. “Don’t let go.”
An incoherent sound somewhere between a mewl and moan escaped me.
Tucker trailed his finger through the saccharine substance and brought it to my lips. While I sucked his finger clean, he lowered his head and circled his tongue over one nipple and then the other. Teeth scraped, whiskers rubbed. My body blazed with need as he slowly withdrew his finger and trailed it down my body to circle my aching bundle of nerves.
Every second, my need grew more frantic. I cried out as he inserted a finger inside me and added another. “Right there, Tucker. God, yes.”
My hands dived into his hair, and I bucked against him. Then, he pulled his mouth away.
“No. Please don’t stop,” I whimpered at the loss.
“I’m going to take care of you, I promise. Where are your hands supposed to be?” he chided.
The chair … right, I’m supposed to hold on to it.
With each arm positioned back in place over his shoulders, my fingers gripped the edge. “I won’t let go again. Please, Tucker,” I begged, writhing against him like some wanton creature.
“I’ve got you.” He started the sweet torture all over again. Nipping, licking, and sucking. Once again, he slipped his hand low between my legs.
My back arched into him. “God, you feel so good.”
The pad of his thumb rubbed slow circles over my clit. Sounds I didn’t even recognize as my own fell from my lips.
“You like that, don’t you? You’re so wet for me.” He strummed over my clit. “I need you to come for me, baby.” His hot, hungry words hit my ears. One hand moved to the back of my neck while the other continued the most divine torture.
“Oh God,” I moaned.
He sucked my nipple hard between his teeth and pinched my clit at the same time. I detonated in his hand. My hands gripped his biceps, nails biting into his flesh. He crashed his mouth over mine, swallowing my screams as the orgasm rocketed through me. Stars burst behind my eyes. A sheen of sweat covered my body, and I knew I would never look at cupcakes the same way again.
25
Tucker
Camryn remained on my lap. Hair disheveled, moonlight spilling over her bare tits, a smile on her face, post-orgasmic haze in her eyes. She was absolute perfection, and I wanted to bury myself inside her for days.
I lightly kissed her, our frenzied movements from minutes ago replaced with tenderness. My tongue slipped past her lips, dipping into her mouth. Every stroke of my tongue against hers was an unspoken confession. I tightly wrapped my arms around her, breaking the seal of o
ur lips, hugging her to my chest. My lips pressed against her hair, and I wanted to say the words, to tell her how much I loved her. That I’d never been in love like this, and that was the truth.
Holly and I had both been young, desperate to get out of this town and see the world, but the love we had once shared wasn’t the kind that held on when everything fell apart. As much as I loved Dani and missed her every single day; she was gone. Dani was my past, and I wanted Camryn to be my future. She was selfless and kind, and she loved with her whole heart even though it scared her to death.
“We should go inside,” I told her.
“But you didn’t …” she stammered. “I mean, I need to take care of you.”
Damn, this woman was killing me.
“Baby, it’s not about tit for tat. Tonight is all about you.” I squeezed her ass. “Come on, let’s go inside and clean up.”
Reluctantly, Camryn got off my lap and stood, buttoning her nightshirt over her bare chest. I grabbed my T-shirt I’d thrown over a chair earlier, and together, we made our way inside the house. Shayne was snoring softly on the couch as we walked by. Once inside the bathroom, I closed the door, pitched my shirt on the sink, and started the shower.
“You’re taking a shower? Now?” She raised a brow.
“No. We’re taking a shower.” I stalked toward her, and my hands went for the buttons on her nightshirt. Slowly, I began undoing them one by one. My knuckles skated along Camryn’s warm skin as I worked my way down.
“But what if she wakes up?”
“She won’t,” I assured her.
“But what if—”
I cut her words off with a kiss. “She won’t.”
I stripped out of my shorts and then eased the nightshirt from Camryn’s shoulders, down her arms, letting it fall to the tiled floor where it pooled at her feet. My cock grew hard at the sight of her bare before me. I took her by the hand and tugged her under the warm spray of the shower.
With her back to my front, I moved her hair out of the way, dipped my head low, and nipped the sensitive skin on her neck.
She arched her neck and moaned. “That feels so good.”
I wanted her lips, so I turned her to face me. A strand of black hair streaked with pink clung to her cheek.
“You have frosting in your hair.” I chuckled, brushing it away before dropping my mouth to hers.
The water ran in rivulets over us while I kissed her long and slow, growing stiffer by the second. If I didn’t pull away, I’d end up taking her against the wall of the shower, which would be fine, but the shower wasn’t exactly huge, and I knew from experience that it took some maneuvering. Not to mention, I wanted her in her bed.
I ended the kiss, reached for the bottle of soap tucked into the nook, and grabbed the netted puff beside it. I poured the liquid onto the thing she used in place of a washcloth and worked it into a lather. The smell of honey and orange blossoms filled the air. I gripped her hair, gently tugging it back, exposing her neck, and nipped the sensitive skin before washing it.
Camryn’s fingers dug into my biceps. I released her hair, working my way down her body, paying special attention to her breasts, rubbing circles over her pert nipples. Her hands went to my shoulders as I lowered myself to my knees, soaping up her stomach before moving on to each leg. I skimmed the sponge between her legs before planting a kiss to her wet center.
“Tucker.” The desire was evident in her voice. She gripped my hair, trying to gain purchase, as I nudged her legs apart, spread her wide, and dragged my tongue over her heated core, reveling in her sweet taste.
I wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her while I brought her to the edge. She pressed her hips against my mouth, seeking friction. I could feel how close she was, but I wanted to draw it out, so I backed off and stood.
“Why did you stop?” She pouted in frustration.
“So greedy, baby.” I kissed her hard, letting her taste herself on my tongue. “Let’s finish up before the water gets cold.”
“I sort of hate you right now,” she said, squirting shampoo into her palm.
You love me. The thought reverberated in my head, and I hoped like hell it was true.
“Keep telling yourself that,” I joked, trying to cover up everything I was feeling.
Camryn rinsed her hair and then reached for the soap. Foam-covered hands roamed over my body, trailing down to my very erect cock. She gripped my shaft, her fingers not quite long enough to meet as she stroked up and down.
I placed a flattened palm against the wall to brace myself. “Damn, baby.”
Water cascaded over my body. She licked the droplets, her mouth moving lower as she bent, taking me inside. With her hands on my hips, I fisted her wet hair, guiding her movements. She hollowed out her cheeks, humming around me. When I was seconds away from coming undone, Camryn withdrew her mouth.
She righted herself, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “You know what they say … payback’s a bitch,” she said, reaching for the bathrobe hanging from a hook just outside the shower and then stepping out.
I turned off the water and pulled back the curtain. “Baby, you have no idea.”
Camryn held two towels. She passed me one and used the other to wrap her hair, turban-style. I stepped out of the tub and fixed the towel around my hips. Steam filled the bathroom, fogging up the mirror.
My eyes bored into her. “I’ll give you a head start.”
“For what?”
“To run.”
She took a step back. “But Shayne.”
“I guess you’d better be quiet then.”
“Tucker”—she smiled and shook her head—“this is a really bad idea.”
“One.”
“Wait.” She held up a finger.
“Two.”
She opened the bathroom door, and her bare feet slapped against the hardwood as she raced down the hall and into her bedroom. I grabbed my clothes and went after her. Once inside her room, I closed the door and listened to make sure our antics hadn’t woken Shayne. When I didn’t hear anything, I stalked across the room to Camryn. Her eyes moved over the space, looking for somewhere to hide.
I lunged for her, picked her up, and dropped her on the bed. She shrieked, and I pressed a hand over her mouth.
“I believe you said something about payback.” My hands went to the belt that cinched her robe, untying it. “You have to be quiet,” I reminded her, lifting my hand away. Then, I tickled her.
“Tucker. Tucker, stop.” She giggled, trying to get away from me. Her robe fell open as we rolled around on her bed, both laughing like fools. “Mercy. Uncle,” she cried.
I pinned her wrists over her head. Camryn’s eyes lit with happiness. Her cheeks were pink, and I knew it had nothing to do with the hot shower. She squirmed against my hold, that gorgeous smile of hers possessing me.
The words, “I love you,” fell from my lips.
She stopped moving. Stopped smiling. “What?” she whispered.
“You heard me. I love you, Camryn Parker. I’m in love with you, and I have been for a while now.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You love me?”
I freed her hands from my grasp to cup her face. “Yes. So fucking much, it hurts.”
I nipped her bottom lip before sucking it into my mouth. I kissed her slow and deep, feeling her tears against my skin, tasting their saltiness on my tongue. Leaning my forehead against hers, I waited. Until this moment, I’d had no idea how badly I wanted to hear those words from her.
“I love you, too,” she said through her tears.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. So fucking much, it hurts,” she repeated my words back to me.
“God … baby, what you do to me.” I rotated our bodies, so she was on top and rid her of the robe; my towel was already gone. “I need to be inside you.”
“Yes, please.”
I rolled us back over, stretching to the nightstand for a condom. My smile grew when I saw there were more than a dozen.
Good, because I planned on spending the next few hours buried in the woman I loved.
26
Camryn
Darkness blanketed the room, and Tucker was sleeping peacefully beside me. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light. I held my breath as I slowly slid from beneath his arm. Once I had my bearings, I crept over to my dresser, grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts, and then eased the bedroom door open. After I used the bathroom, I tiptoed into the living room to check on Shayne.
Her head was dangling nearly half off the corner of the couch, one arm slung over her eyes while the other hung down, practically touching the floor. How the hell the kid slept like that was beyond me. Since she’d kicked the cover off at some point, I draped it back over her, and after grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and noting the time on the microwave clock, I returned to my room to crawl back into bed with Tucker.
Just as I replaced the cap on the water and set it on the nightstand, Tucker stirred but didn’t wake. I slid under the covers and tried to fall back to sleep, but I couldn’t shut my brain off.
“You heard me. I love you …” The gravelly words he’d spoken earlier repeated in my head.
He had been buried so deep inside me, I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began. He’d loved me from the inside out until there were no walls left between us. I’d given him all of me, let myself fall wholly in love with him.
And I knew, way down in the cavernous place where my soul resided, if Tucker ever walked away … it’d do more than break me. I’d be so irrevocably ruined, there’d be nothing left. A sense of foreboding settled over me. As much as I tried to shake it, to convince my head and my heart to get on the same page, the part of my brain where my memories were stored reminded me of all the reasons to run. When you’d been let down as many times as I had, when the people who were supposed to love you were the ones who abandoned you, it made it that much more difficult to trust your heart.