Chapter Twenty-Six

Colton apparently thought he still had a chance with Reese.

Cam stood at a high-top cocktail table and tried not to stare across the room at the damn sheriff and Reese having a perfectly normal conversation. Reese looked amazing in her little black dress and Colt definitely noticed. To kill time until she returned to him—that’s right, she was his date—Cam ran through various story ideas in his head… Small-town sheriff is kicked in the nuts by a horse on the run. Small-town sheriff catches two teenagers in the hills shooting BB guns and is hit on the nose by a pellet. Small-town sheriff is called to a house for a burglary in progress and while arresting the perpetrator, who is nervous about being caught, the perp throws up all over the sheriff.

These ideas weren’t personal or anything.

“Bro, you look like you want to punch Colt in the face,” Gael said, coming to stand beside him with a beer in each hand. He handed Cam one and took a sip of the other. “You need to relax. She’s conducting some research, not getting his life story.”

“Research?”

“For her screenplay. Remember?”

“That’s right.” He took a pull of his beer and relaxed. The cold liquid cooled his body temperature and his imagination. She’d given up on their writing competition due to her finger injury and workload, but she’d told him she wanted to finish the screenplay anyway, once again surprising him. She started and never finished many things, but since beginning work at CTC, she’d turned her aptitude for change and fair-weather habits into purpose and a plan for the future.

The problem with her doing so tonight was he had more wooing to do and he couldn’t do it from the other side of the room.

“So, things are getting more serious between you two?”

“We tried to ignore it but it didn’t work,” he said, eyes still on the other side of the party.

“How hard did you try?” Gael prodded.

“Whose side are you on?”

“Yours, which is why I want you to be sure about this. I love Reese like a sister, but you are my brother.”

Cam scrubbed a hand across his jaw and turned his head to look at Gael. “I know it’s complicated. We know it’s complicated. But the feelings I have aren’t going to fade away no matter how hard I continue to try.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“She thinks we can do this and then go back to being friends if things don’t work out. I agreed because I’m a selfish prick.”

“I heard you guys were licking each other’s fingers this afternoon. That’s not selfish.”

Cam grumbled, shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Nash talks too much.”

“He’s just reporting the facts.”

“Is there a reason you’re standing here annoying me?”

“Two, actually. The first is to rescue you from the scowl on your face.” Gael gave him a good look, at which point Cam relaxed his facial muscles. “Mission accomplished there. And the second was to suggest you stop glaring at Colt like you want to snap his head off.”

Cam took a breath. “You’re right.”

“This is a cocktail party, gentlemen, not a therapy session,” Nash said, arriving at their table with a plate full of appetizers. “Stuffed mushroom?”

“Thanks.” Gael popped a mushroom into his mouth.

The food gave Cam an idea. “I’ll be right back.” He visited the lavish buffet table filled with small bites and loaded a plate.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” he said to Reese and Colt, “but I thought you might be hungry.” He handed the plate to Reese and made a motion like he was simply delivering it and walking away. (Otherwise known as a fake out.)

“Thank you! I’m starving.” She accepted the pile of appetizers then put her free hand on his arm. “Stay.” (Thank you fake out.) “Colt was just giving me some background information on police work. Procedures and stuff like that.”

“You went into the academy straight after college, right?” Cam asked, genuinely interested.

“After I got my associates degree, actually. That was enough school for me.”

“That’s more than I got,” Reese said easily, taking a bite out of a mini crab cake.

Colt regarded her with understanding, which rubbed Cam the wrong way. No one understood Reese like he did. “College isn’t for everyone,” Colt said.

“Right? It took me a while to make peace with that.”

Colt’s phone pinged with a text. He read the message then tucked the phone back in his pocket. “I’m sorry, but duty calls. It was nice talking with you, Reese. Let me know if I can help any more with your research.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“You know the internet is a great place for research,” Cam offered when Colt walked out of earshot.

Reese put her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand and looked at him under long eyelashes. “Are you still jealous of the Sheriff? Because you do not need to be.”

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look in that dress?”

“You did, but if you want to tell me again, I won’t object.”

He bent his head to look her straight in the eyes. “You’re gorgeous, Reese.” The black dress molded to her breasts but otherwise draped her body to the mid-thigh, leaving much to his imagination. He liked that. A lot. Along with the hot pink heels on her feet.

“So are you,” she said with reverence that made him ache to get her back to the guesthouse.

She suddenly straightened, the thin dress strap on her right shoulder slipping down her arm. She fixed it without taking her eyes off him. “I love this song.”

Background music played through wall speakers in the community center. Music he hadn’t really heard until she brought attention to it.

“Dance with me?” she asked.

“There’s no dance floor.” He looked around the large room. “And no one is dancing.”

“They will.” She stepped away from the table and reached for him. “Please?”

He could never deny her when she said “please.” He took her in his arms, one hand on her back, the other holding her hand in the air. She put her free hand on his shoulder, and they swayed to the slow song—Michael Bublé’s “Everything.” He switched to a two-hand hold, glad she placed her hands in his grasp with ease, allowing him to lead.

“I love that you know how to dance,” she breathed after he twirled her and caught her right back in the perfect hold.

“It’s easy with you as my partner.” He had moves on top of moves, depending on the music. His birth parents had loved to dance, and so did Pixie and Paul. They’d all taken dance lessons over the years, too, for family weddings or anniversary parties. Pixie used any and every excuse to get them all together.

“You say the nicest things.” She glanced around the room. “Don’t look now, but we’re not alone.” Her lips twitched in satisfaction.

Sure enough, other couples had joined them in dancing, including their parents. Both couples were wrapped in each other’s arms, their feet staying in place as they rocked back and forth.

Cam stepped back slightly and took Reese in a one-hand hold as the song’s final notes played. He twirled her one more time, ending their dance with her laughter the only thing filling his ears.

She put her hand on his chest. “Thank you. That was fun. Whoa.” She swayed and her eyelashes fluttered.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I just had one of those déjà vu moments.” She focused back on him. “We were right here dancing, and…”

“And?”

“It was exactly where I was supposed to be. Like my whole life had led me to right here, right now, and you and I were always meant to dance together tonight in this exact spot.”

A twist of fate.

That thought had him thinking about his main characters: from sorrow and unimaginable loss came an exceptional kind of love.

He released her hand, cupped her face, and planted a quick kiss right on her lips. That was the final piece his screenplay was missing. “You’re a genius,” he said.

“True.” She grinned. “What brilliant thing did I do now?”

“Helped me realize how my screenplay should end. You ready to get out of here?” He practically shook with the need to sit down with his laptop. He’d been unsure whether to end on a happy or sad note and now he had his answer.

She took his hands in hers. “You go. Write your ending and I’ll see you in a little while.” She nodded toward their parents. “I’ll hang out with our family so I don’t distract you.”

That was probably the better idea, given the high level of sexy interference she caused him. “Okay. I’ll meet you at the guesthouse when I’m finished.”

“You better or I’ll come find you.”

“I’ll be there.” In fact, as he left the cocktail party he decided he’d grab his laptop from his bedroom and take it over to the guesthouse to write in his favorite chair. He’d be there when she got home, ready to celebrate.

…

Light illuminated from inside the guesthouse. The clue that Cam was already inside waiting for her sent a rush of flutters to the pit of Reese’s stomach.

She was so happy that he’d written the screenplay he wanted to write. She wasn’t sure how to minimize the damage that might cause, but she knew in her heart if Leo dropped Cam as a client, Shay—or another agent—would pick him up. Talent like Cam’s didn’t come along every day. And if Leo did get her fired, she’d figure out a way to bounce back. After all, finding a new job after a few months was her jam.

She rubbed away the ache in her chest. She’d miss Shay and the agency a lot.

The main reason for the butterflies, though, was anticipation. She wanted this night with Cam. Wanted to find out what it felt like to be with him and share her body in the most intimate way possible.

She stepped inside the guesthouse and found him on his laptop at her kitchen table rather than his favorite chair. She watched him from the entryway, the way his long fingers typed on the keyboard in fluid motion. The way he concentrated on the screen, like the words were moving pictures already, coming to life as he worked. She wasn’t sure how much time went by before he noticed she’d entered, a genuine look of pleasure smoothing the creases in his forehead.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi.”

He’d unbuttoned the second button of his light blue dress shirt, exposing more smooth skin at the base of his neck, and rolled the long sleeves up to his elbows. And even though they’d only been apart for a couple of hours, he’d somehow cultivated more sexiness than she remembered.

“How’s it going?” She closed and locked the door behind her.

“Good.” He grinned at her. “It’s done but I’m reading over it.”

“Congratulations!” She put her small purse on the entryway table, slipping her phone out to take with her to the bedroom. “Find me when you’re ready.”

Cam stood. “I could take a break now.”

Her pulse sped up. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He took a step toward her. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. They played our song after you left.” She took a small step toward him.

“I didn’t know we had a song.” He moved closer.

She kept one eye on him and scrolled through her phone. She pressed the musical note icon and pulled up “Can’t Hide Love” by Earth, Wind & Fire. “We do now.” Then she tossed the phone onto the couch, lifted her arms into the air, and swiveled her hips. She closed her eyes and let the slow, hypnotic music take over her body. The hem of her little black dress brushed the tops of her thighs. The smell of the extra body lotion she’d rubbed into her elbows floated to her nose.

Opening her eyes, she found Cam rolling his hips, swinging his arms, and dancing toward her. They leisurely closed the space between them, the air in the room ripe with desire…and love. She felt it in her bones and it made what they were about to do that much better. She’d worry about the consequences later.

She pulled the clip from her hair, shook out the long wavy strands so they fell down her back.

They inched even closer.

His dark, hungry eyes touched on every part of her body as they played the final round of this push and pull toward surrender. Tonight, actions would speak louder than words. Tonight they’d give in to temptation.

“You feed my heart, Reese, and you are so unbelievably sexy.” He danced within touching distance, his heavenly scent and pure masculinity within reach. “How did I get so lucky?”

“Cam,” she whispered. So overcome with gratitude and emotion, she almost turned away. Instead, she chose bravery and stopped dancing in order to start unbuttoning his shirt.

He held perfectly still, arms at his sides, and let her do her thing. Her hands shook with nervous anticipation and deep-rooted love and affection for this incredible man whose words meant everything to her.

“I’m nervous, too,” he said, his voice rough, and once again reassuring her that they were in this together.

“You’re everything to me. You know that, right?” she asked.

“I do.” He covered her hands with his much larger one, giving her a minute to settle her nerves. “And we can stop right now if you want. No hard feelings.”

She glanced down, evidence of his desire clearly outlined in his dress pants.

“That’s not a feeling down there, so it doesn’t count,” he said cheekily.

And she laughed.

“Just what a guy wants. The woman he can’t wait to be with laughing at his dick.”

“You know that’s not—”

“I know. I’m just teasing.” He pressed her hands against his chest, his heart beating strong and fast. “But in all seriousness, I can leave right now and go take care of myself in the shower.”

Her breath hitched at the thought of him naked, water sluicing down his body and his hand bringing himself pleasure. But she wanted to be the one to get him off. “Do you do that a lot?”

“More so lately.”

She liked what that implied: because of her.

“What about you? Do you ever masturbate?” he asked, releasing her hands so she could continue undressing him.

“On occasion.” The tingling between her legs right this minute? Epic. She was almost certain he could take her all the way with his words alone. For their whole lives, they’d talked about everything, including sex, but never like this. Not anything this intimate, this revealing. “And to answer your question, I don’t want you to leave.”

“Thank God.” His relief was palpable.

She finished with the last button of his shirt and then swept her hands over his bare shoulders to push the cotton down his arms and off his body, where it fell to his feet. She wet her lips as she took in his muscled torso.

“I’ve seen your chest a hundred times, but this time it looks different.”

“Because we’re different,” he told her.

Raising her eyes back to his, she leaned forward and kissed his pec. Goose bumps popped up on his warm, smooth skin. She reached for his belt, worked it free from his slacks. Kissed his other pec. “We are,” she agreed.

“My self-control is about to snap, Nuzzle.”

Hers, too. “Let it.”

He moved faster than she’d ever seen him and swept her right off her feet, lifting her into his arms.

“What are you doing?” she half-giggled.

“Carrying you to the kitchen counter.” He placed her atop the granite, lifting her dress as he did so. Her bare bottom hit the cold stone. “You’re not wearing any underwear.”

She shook her head with a coy smile. She’d been half turned on all night, waiting for this moment.

His gaze collided with hers. “I’ve imagined you here countless times the past few weeks.” He gently spread her legs. “I need to taste you. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” she breathed out.

A second later his mouth was on her. His wide shoulders kept her legs open as he bent to bury his face between her thighs. He licked and sucked, his lips and tongue making her ridiculously wet. The sounds of her arousal filled the area around them.

She gripped the edge of the counter with both hands, pushed against his mouth, seeking more. Needing it harder, faster. Pressure built as she dug the back of her heels into his lower back. She threw her head back, started chanting “God” and “yes” and “don’t stop.”

She’d never felt anything this good. She glanced down at his head between her legs. He looked up at her, his tongue lapping, and sweet agony combined with intense pleasure. His hot, intoxicating gaze set her blood on fire.

He slid a finger inside her and that was it. She went off like she hadn’t had an orgasm in years.

With unhurried control, he saw her through to the very end before slowly lifting his head. His lips glistened. His eyes glowed with satisfaction and hunger.

“Better than I imagined,” he said before completely losing his composure and taking her mouth in a searing kiss. She kissed him back with equal enthusiasm and need.

“Want you inside me,” she murmured against his jaw.

His hands moved everywhere at once—lifting her dress off her body, unclasping her bra and flinging it over his shoulder, removing his pants and boxer briefs, a shoe landing somewhere with a thud, sliding her heels off her feet and kissing the inside of her ankle.

Then he thankfully gave her a moment to admire his naked body. Perfect. Even the scar on his side from a fall when he was a teen.

“I know you’re on the pill, and you know I always use a condom.”

“Uh-huh.” Did she mention how glorious he was naked? He had a four-pack stomach, and a V at his hips, and strong thigh muscles, and broad shoulders and—

“So, I was wondering if I could come in you without—”

“Yes. God, yes. Do it already.” She trusted him implicitly.

He lined himself up with her and with one smooth thrust, buried himself inside her. A satiated groan escaped his lips and he stopped moving, like he wanted to enjoy the sensation of simply being connected like this. He touched his forehead to hers, looked deep into her eyes.

I love you.

She bit her lip. Concentrated on how full he made her feel. She wrapped her legs around his thighs and she started to grind her hips against his. He got the message, and took over, pumping in and out, the friction the hottest sensation she’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her chest to his.

He brought her even closer, standing almost erect, and cradling her butt in his hands. They moved in perfect rhythm, the synchronicity incredibly romantic and arousing. She didn’t want it to end. Once again she told him, “don’t stop.”

Until she couldn’t make it last any longer and moaned through another fantastic orgasm. He followed right behind her with one last powerful thrust before he grunted through his own release.

They held each other.

Their breathing slowed.

Cam kissed underneath her earlobe then lifted his head to look at her. “We need to do that again.”

She smiled at him. “Tonight?”

He kept hold of her and carried her out of the kitchen toward the bedroom. “Yes. Only next time, you’ll tell me what you want and I’ll do all of it and more.”

If she hadn’t already been cradled in his arms, she would have jumped into them. “If you must.”

“Oh, I must a lot of things.”

She buried her face in his neck. “Okay.”

Reese woke with a delicious ache between her legs and a smile she was pretty sure was permanent. She reached across the bed for Cam, but found the sheets cool to the touch. Opening her eyes, she discovered the tiny opening in the curtains showed a sliver of darkness outside. Still night time. He’d left without a goodbye. Disappointment flooded her, until light from underneath her bedroom door and the faint sound of typing clued her in to Cam’s whereabouts.

She pulled on a T-shirt and padded out into the main room.

Cam sat in the armchair in his boxer briefs and nothing else, his computer in his lap. She took a mental picture to add to her memory bank.

“Hey,” she said, not wanting to startle him, and so very happy he was still here.

He stopped typing, lifted his head. “Did I wake you? I shut the door so you wouldn’t hear me.”

“You didn’t wake me. How’s it going?” She took her usual spot on the couch, grabbing a throw pillow to put in her lap.

“I’m just making a few minor adjustments and then it’s done.” Relief and happiness colored his handsome features.

“When do I get to read it?”

“Soon.”

“What if I want to read it right now?”

“Right now, I’m thinking about that thing you did with your tongue to—”

She chucked the throw pillow at him. “Do not change the subject.”

He caught the pillow with one hand and dropped it on the floor. “Can’t help it. You walked into the room and my mind went to you naked.” He put his laptop on the coffee table and joined her on the couch.

“What are you doing?” Breathless. He had her breathless again and all he did was put his hand on her knee.

“Nothing.” He tiptoed his fingers up her thigh.

“That is not nothing.”

“Is there a problem?” His fingers dipped underneath the hem of her shirt.

She squirmed, feeling his phantom touch on other parts of her body. “Yes, I’m tired.” She faked a yawn large enough for him to see her tonsils, no doubt.

“Okay.” He withdrew his hand. “Let’s go back to sleep.”

“That’s it? You’re giving up just like that?” She gave a little pout.

“I don’t give up, Nuzzle, you know that. I’m just getting you back in bed.”

“Where you’ll have your nefarious way with me?”

They kept straight faces for exactly two seconds before cracking up. “God, you’re cute,” he said. His devilish grin slayed her as they walked to the bedroom, hand in hand. He removed her shirt, crawled up her body on the bed, and made her mix up his name with God’s while he did wicked things with his mouth. She returned the favor, and sometime later, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Needless to say, the next morning they were buried under the covers, exhausted like a pair of sloths who’d hung upside down for too long. Contentment filled her. She could stay curled up against Cam with her head on his chest all day.

She nuzzled his neck. “You awake?”

“I am now.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Depends. Do we have to move to get food, or do you have some squirreled away in the nightstand drawer?”

She lifted her head. “You’re not going to believe this, but I have a pack of mini Hostess powdered sugar donuts in the drawer next to you.”

Without looking or moving anything other than his arm, he reached over, opened the drawer, and pulled out the package. He dropped the breakfast treat on his stomach.

Reese sat up, found her T-shirt under the comforter (along with Cam’s boxer briefs), and slipped it over her head.

“Aww,” Cam said, disappointed she’d donned a shirt, his eyes on her now-covered chest.

“It feels weird to eat topless.”

“But not bottomless?”

“I’m covered there.” The sheet covered Cam below the waist, too, but lucky for her his chest was gloriously bare.

He laced his fingers behind his head, looking even more sexy and sinewy, and he totally knew it. “Should I put on a shirt?”

“Don’t you dare.” She lifted the donut package and tore into it. “I’ll feed you.”

“Go for it.” Cam Radcliffe was quite the shameless hottie when he chose to be.

She brought the first small donut to his mouth. He bit it in half, chewed, swallowed, then ate the other half. He watched as she licked the powdered sugar off her fingers.

“I think we should stay in bed all day,” she said. Sundays were like vacation days and she wanted to languish in this one.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position and leaned back against the headboard, adjusting the sheet so it still covered his hips and legs. “I could probably be persuaded to do that.”

She poked him in the stomach, where his muscles did a nice clench. “You’re supposed to want to be here as much as me.”

Catching her wrist, he brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. “I do,” he said, his tone turning serious. “You have no idea how much, and I didn’t mean to make light of this. Of us.”

She crawled into his lap. I love you. Three little words she’d said to him before, but they meant so much more now. She laid her head on his chest, contentment seeping into her bones. When they got home to L.A. she’d tell him. If Nash was right and he was in love with her, too, they’d make it official, not go back to just being friends. How could they?

“You’re very comfy,” she said.

“You’re very huggable.” His arms tightened around her. “How about feeding me another donut, though?”

She reached up and put a donut in his mouth, not caring if she got powdered sugar in her hair.

“I could make us pancakes?” he said.

She lifted her head. “I love pancakes.”

“I know you do.” He brushed a strand away from her face. “I believe you also love showers.”

Feeling brazen, she rolled off the bed and padded toward the bathroom. “Which one should we do first?” she asked over her shoulder.

He moved like he had a speed record to break and had her pressed up against the shower wall and breathing heavy in under five minutes. And for the rest of the day they were wrapped up in each other. Wrapped in a way she wished would never end. Because in the back of her mind, she had the sinking feeling Cam was about to slip through her fingers.