Chapter 8. “Are you completely off your nut?”

“Are you completely off your nut?”

Tess tried her luck playing dumb. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about him,” Riley seethed, jerking an angry thumb in Adonis’s direction.

Fear steeped her backbone in ice. “You know?”

“Yes, I know,” he bit out. “How could you shag that can of piss not once, but twice?”

Her eyes darted around them nervously for onlookers. “It was an accident.”

“I’ll have to be more careful walkin’ round here then. Don’t want to slip and accidently fall on a cock,” he said and immediately backpedaled when she recoiled from his touch. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry, Tess.”

“It’s a sad day when I can’t tell the difference between how he treats me and how my friends do,” Tess said stonily. “At least with him I get off.”

He winced. “I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you did. How the hell did you find out?”

“He all but came out and rubbed it in our face.”

Rage flash-fired through her. It was official. She was going to kill him. “And Cam didn’t catch on?”

His lips flattened. “It’s Cam we’re talking about. He hears only what he wants to hear.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered. “I was going to tell him tonight anyway.”

“Are you and Adonis…y’know, an item?” he asked brusquely.

“What? No! It was a mutually beneficially thing.” Well, for her this time around, a fact with which she was still grappling.

Riley massaged the back of his neck. “I’m sorry for attackin’ ya. I just worry.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“I hope so. You’re playin’ with fire.” He must’ve read her apprehension because he tugged her hair. “Cam’ll understand.”

She was betting on it. “I need more shots for this.”

He relieved her of the handle of whiskey. “I’ll lead the way,” he muttered.

_______________

Tess reappeared after a prolonged absence during a game of beer pong. Instead of booting his current partner aside, a glitter-eyed fairy, and reclaiming her usual place at his side, she skulked along the outskirts of the yard.

Drunk as he was, Cameron knew something was amiss. But whenever he tried to work his way to her, she dithered and dispersed, like some coy woodland nymph.

The thought made him frown. A mental note he’d ticked off before the party got underway brushed his consciousness.

A guy. She was seeing a guy. She’d told him that her sort-of boyfriend wasn’t going to make an appearance. Cameron knew better than to believe it.

Why couldn’t he meet her best friend face to face like a real man? What was this guy hiding? Why was she afraid of introducing them?

After spending a brief period convincing Jade to care for Lance, who was on the verge of puking up his liver beneath the deck, Cameron staggered back into the house.

At the mention of free jello shots, the herd of partygoers stampeded off to forage for more free alcohol. Only a few stragglers lingered in the backyard. Inside, soggy decorations, trampled Solo cups, and crushed beer cans littered the booze-slick floor. Someone had switched his playlist to something mellower.

Eyeballs aching, he went to cut off the music when he heard what sounded like crackling plastic. He followed shuffling noise to the foyer.

Garbage bag in hand, a barefoot and wingless Tess unsteadily collected trash from the floor. He took a moment to drink in the sight. Her skin glowed in the dim lighting like fresh cream. His eyes followed the smooth expanse of her exposed back to the twin dimples resting just above her ass.

Cameron felt the blood in brain surge to his groin. He didn’t understand how the guy she was seeing could leave her alone. "You don't have to do that."

Jumping, she spun and gracelessly teetered into the ancient coatrack. "Jesus, Cam. Say something before sneaking up on a girl."

"Next time I'll sound the trumpet." He smiled. “What’re you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Tess sluggishly hauled up the bag. “I’m helping with clean up. Now you can't say that I never contributed."

He angled his head toward the soft strains of classic rock. "Dance with me.”

Her eyes grew impossibly large. “What?”

Cameron offered his hand like a gentleman waiting for his lady's favor. Like a skittish colt, she reluctantly accepted. He led her to the empty living room and placed his hands on her waist. Almost shyly, she looped her arms around his neck.

A fresh, bright red mark marred her collarbone. Possessiveness blistered through him. He caressed the abused skin. “He was here, wasn't he?” he asked softly.

"Yeah." She fiddled with his collar and drew a breath. "Cam, there’s something you should know about him.”

“I don't care.”

“But I thought you wanted to know,” she said, desperate.

“It doesn't matter.” He drew her closer. "I don't have the right to ask you to stop seeing him. But if he's someone who lurks in the corners for a chance steal a hickey, then the tool’s not worth your time."

"You have no idea,” Tess mumbled, her gaze falling.

Although she tried to hide it, he read her shame. Rage ignited his gut. She had no idea of her worth. And the fact that she allowed someone to call that into question—to demoralize her—pissed him off to no end. Not when it'd taken her so long to reclaim the lost parts of herself and build up her self-esteem.

And all because of some moronic fuck who wasn’t fit to breathe the same air as her.

"Tess..." he trailed off, emotion thickening in his throat.

She picked up her head.

Cameron inhaled a deep, heady breath, rich with her scent. Her eyes were an implosion of earthy hazel, ringed by lush green. The depth of their earnestness and unwavering trust steamrolled past his armored levees, eroded by alcohol and instinct. For the life of him he couldn’t remember why he’d erected them in the first place.

It didn’t matter.

The douche she was seeing may temporarily hold possession of her body, but he owned her heart. Why deny her any longer? Why keep himself from this brave, wily, beautiful woman who wanted nothing more than to be with him?

From some far off region of his still sound mind, alarms jangled. It urged him that this would be a bad idea—that if he continued down this path there’d be no going back.

Maybe it would.

Maybe wouldn’t.

Wrong and right interfaced and gridlocked. He wanted her so bad it hurt.

Suddenly he couldn’t go another second without knowing.

__________________

Tess couldn’t believe this was happening. She wanted to cement this moment in her memory for the rest of her life. Riley had abandoned her early on, eager to snare his girl toy of the night. Left to her own devices, she summoned up the courage to face him.

But every time Tess tried to approach Cam, she froze up, her wits hanging her out to dry. So she started to clean to clear her mind, hoping the busywork and lack of laughing spectators would bolster her confidence.

It hadn’t.

And here and now, faced with the unthinkable, Tess didn’t know how to react. She watched as his head slanted lower. Oxygen became optional as his mouth rubbed against hers hesitantly at first, then firmer.

Cameron’s mouth was soft, pliant, and warm. Undemanding, he never took more than she was willing to give. That alone was enough to squash her misgivings.

The slow, sensual burn worked from her mouth down to the soles of her feet. Chills puckered the gooseflesh along her body as his tongue parted her lips, hot and mobile.

And then she hiccupped into the cavern of his mouth.

They broke apart, a strangulated pause lingering in the aftermath. Her face blazed.

Cameron’s lips were white as he pursed them together. But nothing could conceal the rumble shaking his torso.

She glared at him as he exploded into laughter and couldn’t help the twitch of her lips. “That’s not-” she hiccupped again, “funny.”

“I’m pretty amused,” he grinned. “Sit. I’ll be right back.”

She sank onto the couch as he disappeared into the hallway, returning a second later with a bottle of water. Twisting off the cap, Tess gulped it until the hiccups abated.

Cameron leaned forward and captured her mouth. Her toes curled and tried to keep herself from falling headfirst into the kiss.

Tess pulled away. “What are we doing? You only want me when you can’t have me?” she asked bluntly.

His eyes softened. He brushed the hair away from her face. “I’ve never not wanted you.”

“So…what are we?” she asked playing his collar.

“We’re whatever you want us to be.”

Дата добавления: 2015-10-16