She didn’t expect promises or declarations of love. Not really. But when he kept his gaze steadily on her, his expression full of such unguarded emotion, she didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what to say.
“Chloe.” He kissed her, buried his face against her shoulder, turning so he could kiss her neck. “I’ll miss you when I’m gone.”
“I—I’ll miss you, too,” she stammered, her breath hitching when he licked her skin. “So much.”
Her words seemed to spur him on and soon they were lost in their pleasure, mi
ndless with it. She tried to focus, etch this moment in her memory so she could cherish it later, but soon she was consumed, lost within Cameron’s embrace.
There was nowhere else she’d rather be.
…
Cam pulled on his jeans, his movements slow, sluggish, reluctant. Chloe leaned against a pile of pillows as she watched him, her expression filled with so much sadness it killed him to look at her too long.
Damn, this sucked. Had it been a mistake, coming here, making up with her? Making love to her? He didn’t regret it, but he’d made her cry. That couldn’t be good.
Slipping on his shoes, he glanced around the floor, looking for his T-shirt, belatedly remembering it was still in the kitchen. He did spot Chloe’s tank top, though, and snatched it up, turning to offer it to her.
“I’ll make you a trade,” she said softly. When he frowned in confusion she continued. “You can keep my tank if I can keep your shirt.”
“Why do you want it?”
She shrugged, her hair spilling over her shoulders. “So I can sleep in it while you’re gone.”
Okay, that nearly did him in. Without a word he left her bedroom, went into the kitchen, and grabbed his T-shirt off the floor, bringing it back to her like some sort of offering. “Deal,” he said solemnly.
She took the shirt and pulled it on, then climbed out of bed and went to him, wrapping her arms around him. “You don’t mind driving home shirtless?”
“No way. Now that I have the image of you in it and nothing else, it’ll carry me through all those long lonely nights I’m gonna have.” He kissed her because he couldn’t keep his lips off her. She was as addicting as any drug.
Stashing her tank in the front pocket of his jeans, he walked out into the living room, Chloe following him. Mindy would be at his place in less than an hour, which barely gave him enough time to finish packing and take a shower. How he regretted the idea of washing Chloe’s scent from his skin…
“Be safe,” she said, turning to face him. This was it. They stood in front of her door and he reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. “Call me when you get to New York? So I know you’re all right?”
He nodded, secretly pleased that she cared about his safety. “I will.”
She hugged him, her slender arms wrapped so tightly he could hardly breathe. Or maybe that was from the thought of being without her. “I love you,” she whispered against his chest, so softly he barely heard her.
Slipping his fingers beneath her chin, he tipped her face up. His girl was trying so hard to be brave but he caught the subtle tremble of her mouth, the dark sadness in her eyes. He pressed his mouth to hers, his lips lingering as he whispered, “I love you, too.”
She smiled against his mouth, no doubt because she knew how momentous this was. He didn’t say those words lightly. More like, rarely at all. But he had to let Chloe know how he felt before he left. She deserved at least that much.
Finally, he extracted himself from her embrace and left, refusing to look back as she stood in the open doorway and watched him go. Only when he pulled out of her driveway did he wave, then tore through town to get to Patrick’s cabin. Showered for all of five minutes, he threw the rest of his clothes in his bag, not giving a shit if they were folded or not.
Mindy showed up at their earlier agreed time, punctual as always. He slammed his way out of the house, handed Mindy the key for safe keeping when he climbed into her minivan. Leaned back against the headrest with an exhausted sigh as she drove them out of Lone Pine Lake and onto the dark, isolated highway.
“Didn’t get much sleep?” she asked, her voice full of motherly concern.
“I’ll sleep on the plane,” he muttered, his thoughts filled with Chloe.
“What happened? Did you talk to her?”
“Yeah, I was with Chloe,” he admitted.
She sent him a quick glance. “You talked to her?”
More than talked. But his sister didn’t need to hear all the dirty details. “Yeah.”