Cam jammed his hands into his pockets, his eyes on Vivi’s extraordinarily lovely face. So, deal in the cold and the hard, he told himself.
He wanted Vivi. Wanted her more than he wanted to take another breath.
He wanted to be part of Clem’s life. He would be part of her life.
And that meant not allowing Vivianne to hustle him out of her house, her life. That meant sticking. And staying.
Cam tipped his head, considering a plan of action. He could seduce Vivi. It wouldn’t be hard. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Within a minute, maybe two, they would be swept away by lust and need and want, oblivious to anything but how they made each other feel. It would be easy, effective, efficient.
But sometimes easy and effective wasn’t right, wasn’t honorable. Vivi had had a hell of day and she looked wrung out. He knew that she was physically sore, bruised and battered, and she had to be as confused and wary about his reappearance in her life and Clem’s as he was about her.
And he wanted Vivi willing and eager and hot and wild. He wanted her fully engaged, utterly focused on him and how he made her feel. He wanted all of her, every lovely mental and physical inch of her.
He should leave, give her some space, but he didn’t want to. Not yet. But he didn’t have a good enough reason to stay.
“It’s been a crazy day, huh?”
Cam released a quick laugh at her understatement. “Crazy is one word for it,” he admitted, pushing his hand through his hair. Suddenly noticing that his throat was dry, he gestured to the door. “Got anything to drink? I’m parched.”
Vivi wrinkled her nose, as if trying to remember what was in her fridge. “I have some white wine... Maybe a beer?”
“Beer would be good,” Cam replied. He sent Clem another look—God, he had a daughter!—and followed Vivi down the hallway and toward the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles, watching as her head disappeared into the fridge, leaving him with a view of that ass and those legs again.
Cam rubbed his hand over his face and forced his thoughts out of the bedroom. God, he hadn’t thought this much about sex and a woman’s body since he was sixteen. Time to get a grip, McNeal. And maybe, dammit, it was time for him to go.
He could pick this up tomorrow, the day after... Maybe he should give himself, and Vivi, some time to come to terms with this turn-their-lives-upside-down day.
Vivi straightened and closed the fridge door before spreading apart her empty hands. “Sorry, no beer. And my wine is also finished.”
Cam suspected that she was lying and that like him, she’d had a bit of a talk to herself while her face was buried in the fridge. He didn’t like lies—couldn’t stand them, in fact—but he’d let this one slide. “No problem.” He stood up straight and pulled his car keys from his back pocket. “Can I do anything else for you before I go?”
Surprise flashed across Vivi’s face, suggesting that she wasn’t used to offers of help. And that pissed him off. Where were her friends? Her family? “Do you want to use my phone to call anyone for you? Your mom, a friend?”
Distaste jumped in and out of her eyes and her expression cooled. “No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine on my own.”
And he thought he was proud and self-sufficient. Miss Vivianne almost had him beat. “You sure?” he pushed.
“Very.” Vivi snapped out the word.
Whoa, fierce. Cam lifted his hands, a little amused. His daughter’s mom had fire in her veins and he liked that, liked that she wasn’t a pushover, that she was independent and feisty. God help him when he got her back into bed. They’d both spontaneously combust.
Because that was exactly where they were going,
And if he didn’t leave this house right now, that was going to happen sooner than later...
Cam heard the discreet beep from his phone and pulled the device from his back pocket. Like many other Houstonians, he’d set up a series of alerts on his phone to keep abreast with the flood situation. Now he was suddenly glad he had. He read the Tweet once, then again, just to make sure before releasing a quick, sharp curse.
Vivi snapped her head up, immediately realizing that something was very wrong. “What is it?”