Cam had done nothing but think about Blue and the kiss they’d shared all afternoon. Hell, he’d been on a different planet and couldn’t say shit when Nash told him to get his head out of the clouds. Even Tawny told him he was acting weird, and she was just a little kid.
He’d obsessed about every inch of the woman, and now that she stood in front of him, he wanted to grab her close and not let go. But she was skittish, and he needed to take his time or he’d scare her.
Blue’s hair was pulled back in a loose bun, and her makeup-free skin glowed. She was dressed simply: jeans, a pale pink blouse, and cream-colored sweater. He liked her like this. She was more real. Attainable. “You want a drink?” he asked, watching her closely.
“No.” She licked her bottom lip, a nervous gesture that tugged at his heartstrings—just a little—but tug it did. “I’m not actually sure this is a good idea.” The words fell out of her mouth so quickly, she seemed out of breath after she’d spoken them.
“Having a drink? Or being here with me.”
“Both.” She paused and looked around. “Where’s Tawny?”
“She was in bed and asleep by seven. Today tuckered her out. She didn’t even want to continue with our book.”
Her head shot up at that, and a ghost of a smile played on her lips. “You read to her?”
Cam liked that he’d surprised her. “I do. My mom used to read to me every night, so I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
“What book are you reading?”
“I don’t know if I should say.” He flashed a smile, watching her warm up to him. “I don’t want you judging me.”
She laughed and slid out of her sweater. “How could anyone judge you for reading to a child?”
Cam walked over to the small end table beside the sofa and grabbed up a paperback. He looked at it for a few seconds and then, with a shrug, handed it over. The cover featured a busty redhead, arms entwined around a swashbuckling, bearded giant of a man. He was bare-chested and she may as well have been.
She gave him a look before turning it over and reading the back. When she was done, she looked up at him. “You’re reading Tawny a book called Pirate’s Treasure?”
“Mrs. Eddy left it here, and Tawny liked the girl on the cover.”
Blue glanced at the cover again. “So, let me get this straight. You’re reading this clearly inappropriate book to a five-year-old because she likes the cover.”
“No.” Cam flashed a grin. “I’m reading it to Tawny because she thinks the woman on the cover is a princess.”
Cam knew what Blue was thinking. How in hell could a little girl look at a picture of a woman with ruby-red lips, eyes that shouted sex, and breasts nearly busting out of her green velour dress and think she looked anything like a Disney princess?
“It’s her ring,” he said, pointing to the book.
“Her what?” Blue’s eyes crinkled as she studied the cover once more. “It’s big and on the gaudy side.”
“Tawny thinks it’s magical, and I didn’t want to tell her she was wrong.”
“You’d rather read a romance novel to her instead.”
Cam moved closer. “I’ve changed a few things.”
“Have you,” Blue murmured, a smile toying with the edges of her mouth.
“First off, he’s not a pirate but a prince, and she’s obviously a princess.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And instead of kidnapping her, the prince invited the princess out for a boat ride.”
“Really?” Blue’s eyes widened. “Around the world?”
“Nah.” Cam moved closer still. “Just a month or so in the Caribbean.”
“And her family didn’t miss her?”
“Her family is in heaven, which is why the bad prince is in the picture. He’s trying to steal her fortune by stealing her V card and forcing her to marry him.” Cam’s grin widened. “I don’t mention the V card. But that’s why this guy here…” Cam reached over Blue’s shoulder and tapped the novel. “Is keeping her safe. Turns out he’s an old family friend.”
“How convenient.”
“He’s on the run from the law.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And while he’s protecting her, they’re having all kinds of adventures.” He leaned in, so close he could feel her warmth. “Like finding a map and treasure and a flea-bitten dog.”
“The story sounds intriguing.”
“It is.”
“Are there any parts you skip?” she asked lightly.
“Yes,” Cam murmured, watching her closely. “The spicy ones.” He winked. “Tawny’s a bit young for that, don’t you think?”
“How spicy?”
“Do you want me to read to you?”
She laughed and handed him back the book, though her laughter died when their eyes met. God, she was beautiful.
“You feel a movie?” he asked.
“A movie?”
Cam scooped up the remote and turned on the large flat screen. He handed Blue the remote. “I’ll make popcorn.”
“You’re going to let me pick the movie.” She flashed a devilish smile. She was already perusing the choices as he grabbed a large pot, a bag of kernels, and the oil from under the counter.
“Just don’t with the Fifty Shades. I don’t think I can take it.”
“I thought you liked the romance and the sex and the chick-flick thing.”
He poured oil in the pot and nodded. “Oh, I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
He heated up the pot and turned to Blue, keeping as straight a face as he could. “I’ve already seen them.”
Her mouth fell open.
“All of them,” he added for good measure.
“You’ve watched all three of the Fifty Shades movies?” He could tell she didn’t believe him. He added the kernels to the sizzling oil and put the lid on.
“With my mom.”
“You’ve watched all three Fifty Shades movies with your mother?” Again, her mouth hung open.
“You don’t want to know.” He wasn’t lying about that. But it had been under protest and extreme duress, and only because he’d been laid up with a broken leg at his parents’ place.
“Oh, but I do.”
He shrugged. “My mother and her girlfriends decided to have a girl’s night and watch all of them while I was high as a kite on pain meds with my leg elevated on her sofa.”
Fifty Shades one.
Fifty Shades two.
Fifty Shades three.
Cam. His mother. Her girlfriends. And all that sex. The only thing more cringe-worthy than watching a guy go down on a girl in front of your mother is listening to said mother and her pals laugh about. Hell, they even critiqued it. Cam sure as hell didn’t need to know his mom preferred what she called “a different approach in the bedroom.” Something she called the “bop and go.” What the hell? He’d zoned out after that, downing more pain meds than he probably should have.
He got busy with their snack while Blue checked out their options, and by the time he joined her with a big bowl of dill-salted popcorn, she’d settled on the sofa. He glanced up at the television and grinned.
“I knew you were my kind of girl,” he growled, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Seriously. Any movie with Bruce Willis in it was okay in his books. She was a keeper.
They watched the movie, and as it neared the end, Blue had crept into his arms, and they sank together into the soft leather. As the credits began to roll, Cam reached for the remote and turned off the television. With only one lamp in the corner, the room was dark and full of shadow.
“When was the last time you made out with someone?” he asked, studying her carefully.
“Made out?” She squirmed in his embrace. “You mean like…”
But he was already trailing kisses along her neck, and he smiled against her when she gasped.
“Yeah,” he murmured, “I mean, just like this.”
His hands sank into hair, and he slid his mouth along her jaw, loving the way she shook ever so slightly in his embrace.
“I don’t remember,” she said breathlessly, arching her body a bit as he moved closer to her mouth.
“Then it’s been too long.” With one deft move, Cam had her on top, every long, delicious inch of her pressed against him. He held Blue for a few more moments, enjoying the play of shadow against delicate features that couldn’t hide her thoughts. She was aroused, he knew that, but there was a part of her that still hung back. It was that part he was after. That part that he’d need to treat with kid gloves.
Bluebell Barnes was a woman made up of many layers. And if he wasn’t careful, some of them would rip.
“You can say no at any time.” His voice was gruff, his chest tight, full of something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. But it was a heavy something. A strong something. And the woman in his arms played a part in that something.
Cam held her gaze as he urged her mouth toward his. And when he claimed her lips with his own, she opened fully, kissing him back with a passion and ferocity that should have surprised him but didn’t. He knew her cool façade was just that. Fancy packaging to hide the flesh-and-blood woman underneath.
They kissed long and hard, their mouths hungry, feeding the need each of them felt but maybe didn’t quite recognize. Hands wandered, finding new treasure beneath cotton and denim and silk. Heated palms touched scorched skin, and when they finally came up for air, Blue’s mouth was bruised, her cheeks were rosy, and Cam wanted nothing more than to sink inside her.
But he didn’t.
Carefully, he pulled her top back down, though he couldn’t help himself and trailed his fingers along her collarbone, and then up to that soft skin beneath her ear.
She shivered.
He smiled.
“If we’re going to do whatever this is that we’re doing…” Blue looked away for a moment, a nervous tic pulsing beside her mouth. “Can we take things slow?” she whispered.
Cam eased away from her, his body tight, hot, and hard. He reached for her and gently turned her head back so that she faced him again. Those blue eyes shimmered, heavy with fear and uncertainty.
“We can go as slow as you need. You’re in the driver’s seat, Blue. I’m happy with you calling the shots.”
She offered a tremulous smile, and something inside Cam shifted. In that moment, he realized that “this” wasn’t casual for him. That Blue was more than a woman to take to bed.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m not used to men being so…” She exhaled raggedly. “Nice.”
Cam pulled her back into his arms, and they settled onto the sofa. He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Every woman deserves nice in their lives.”
She leaned into him, the silence of his home and the heat of their bodies covering them in a blanket of comfort. Cam closed his eyes, liking the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her in his head, and the taste of her lingering on his tongue. Eventually, she relaxed and her breathing slowed. And when she was asleep, he picked her up and took her to his room. He covered her and made sure she was comfortable.
And then he left her. Alone. In his bed. Tucked between his blankets.
Cam closed the door and then checked on Tawny. The little girl was splayed on top of her covers like a Raggedy Ann doll, arms flung over her head, body totally relaxed. He tucked her back in, closed her bedroom door, and headed for the living room. He flopped onto the sofa, and now that Blue was gone, Rufus jumped up beside him.
Cam scratched the dog behind the ears, and Rufus moaned in pleasure as he wiggled his body as close to Cam as he could.
“Just you and me tonight, buddy.”
This right here was a new situation for him. Cam had never brought a woman back to his place without sleeping with her.
Huh. He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep with a smile on his face and a yearning for tomorrow.