Lifting his lids, his eyes locked with hers and he smiled. “You’re a mind reader.” Reaching out, he touched her, skimmed his finger beneath one of the thin straps, loving that he could feel her shiver. “I leave in a few hours, Chloe.”
Her eyes widened, she pressed her lips together. “For Sacramento? To the airport?”
Slowly he nodded, nudged the strap off her shoulder. Pushed at the hoodie so she shrugge
d it off and let it fall onto the counter, the zipper clattering against the tile. “Mindy’s driving me there.”
“Oh.” She nibbled her lower lip. Which of course, meant he wanted to nibble it too. “Do you want me to drive you?”
“No.” The disappointment on her face was obvious and he leaned in close, brushed her mouth with his. God, she tasted sweet. “I wouldn’t want you driving back home alone. I’d worry about you.”
“But not your sister?”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her toward him so her bent legs bracketed his hips, her breasts brushed against his chest. A wave of possessiveness swept over him. He didn’t like the thought of Chloe alone anywhere. “Mindy can take care of herself.”
“And I can’t?” Her delicate brows rose, her expression challenging.
“Oh, you definitely can.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But I’d worry about you the entire flight. And if we’re about to do what I’m hoping, then I’m going to need to get some sleep on that plane.”
The slow, sensuous smile she gave him read that she approved of his unspoken idea. “What would you like to do, Cam?”
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I don’t know. Maybe talk? Watch a little TV?”
“Are you teasing me?” She tilted her head. “Is stoic, grim Cameron McKenzie actually joking around?”
“I can have a sense of humor.” Leaning in, he angled his head, his mouth so close to hers he could practically taste her. “Though I don’t feel much like laughing at this particular moment.”
Lifting her chin, she pressed her lips to his, a simple, downright chaste kiss that he felt to his very depths. He cradled her face in his hands, their lips still connected, cherishing her, wanting her to know how much she meant to him.
Hoping she knew how much he would miss her when he was gone.
He deepened the kiss, desperate to convey all the love he felt for her with his lips and tongue. Words didn’t come to him easily, they never had. She’d complained over his lack of communication skills the night of Jane’s reception.
But he could show her. Oh, how could he show her…
“Touch me,” he urged minutes later when he finally broke the kiss, his mouth on her fragrant neck, his breathing ragged. “I need to feel your hands on me, Chloe.”
She slipped them beneath his shirt, smoothed her hands up his back, scraping his skin lightly with her fingernails. A shiver stole over him and he groaned, kissing her, devouring her, and then she was trying to tug his shirt off, her little whimpers of frustration arousing him.
Pulling away from her, he tore his shirt off and it fell to the floor. Her eyes lit with pleasure as she drank him in, a soft sigh escaping her when she finally met his gaze. “You have a beautiful body,” she admitted, her cheeks immediately turning pink at her confession.
He loved that she still blushed. That she wasn’t some blatant, bored, jaded woman, which had been his usual type. The ones who had little expectations beyond their own sexual satisfaction, they were easy.
Thankfully he’d discovered being with Chloe was the best kind of complicated.
…
Chloe was completely surrounded by Cameron, consumed by him. His strong arms came back around her, his mouth fused with hers. The days without him had felt like a lifetime. She’d thought a lot about what happened between them during that time. How hurt she’d initially been at his deceit. Never would she want Cam to feel sorry for her or spend time with her out of some sense of guilt.
But within that short amount of time came clarity. All those words exchanged in the parking lot at The Tree had come tumbling back. She’d pushed and he’d pushed back. Tremendously.
Painfully.
Dealing with Cam was like trying to tame a wild animal, she’d discovered over the course of the summer. Get a little too close and he’d snarl in warning. But patient consistency eventually tamed him. Calmed him.
And those last few days with Cam before she discovered the truth, she knew she’d had him eating out of her hand.
She could forgive him for wanting to protect her—and yes, protect himself. He was human, after all, and full of flaws. So was she. She’d built up this illusion of Cam. That he was bigger, greater, more perfect than any other man in the world. All constructed since she was a teen, when she’d idealized him.