Kiss This (20 page)

“He’s got too much to lose,” Teague replied.
“How long has that prick been selling drugs out of his house?”

She slowly shrugged. “As long as I’ve been
here, I guess. Eight months, at least. And how would you know this?
This is only the second time you’ve been here.”

“You mentioned he’s got cars coming and
going all the time. That didn’t mean anything to you?”

“I didn’t say that I was
unaware
of
it. I’d rather not know what he’s doing over there. But how did
you
know?”

“I saw it when I brought you home last
night. And he had another customer right when I was leaving.”

He wanted to add that he didn’t like her
neighborhood one bit, but that might be crossing the line. There
was only so much a person could do sometimes, and shitty neighbors
was often a given. He didn’t want to make Camryn feel like she was
responsible for living near garbage like that.

A horn honked from the driveway and Camryn
hollered for Melanie. She came breezing by a few seconds later with
her purse and a larger bag. “Bye, kiddies. See you Sunday.”

“Be safe, Mel. Please?”

She paused at the door and blew Camryn a
kiss. “I will.”

When Melanie left, Camryn let out the breath
she was holding. “God, I wish she didn’t run around so much.”

“Where’s she headed?” Teague asked, joining
her in the front room.

“San Diego. Her friend McKenzie is having a
welcome home party for her brother who returned from Iraq. Melanie
was just going to stay for a few days but… I know it’s kind of a
wild bunch. I’m a mother hen,” she smiled guiltily.

Teague pulled her close to him and they sat
on the couch together. Camryn leaned against his chest and took his
right hand in hers. Pressing the reddened skin against her lips,
she kissed his knuckles softly.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing.”

She leaned away from him so she could look
him in the eye. “It appears like we
both
have a bit of a
boxing history,” she spoke matter-of-factly. “You knew exactly how
to black him out.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line and
then nodded his head. “Yeah, I’ve been in a ring a few times.”

She slowly nodded. “Hmm. Just boxing?”

He ran his fingers through her hair to keep
a casual air. “I kind of got into a lot of fights as a kid. And I
wrestled in high school. I don’t know, I dabble with a bit of MMA
too, I guess.”

“What else? Tell me what your interests are.
What kind of jobs have you had in the past? What’s your family
like?”

“Ah, so it’s a get-to-know you Q-and-A. Can
we do one like you and your sister do?” he chuckled.

With a smile she shrugged. “Sure. But just
this time. Details will come later.”

He bit the inside of his lip. Well, that’s
what he was here for, he supposed. “Sure. Okay.”

“Hmmm…favorite color?”

He smiled. Leaning forward to kiss the
corners of her eyes he answered, “Green.” He loved that she
actually blushed. It was fucking adorable.

“Favorite food?”

“Anything digestible.”

Laughing she replied, “That’s scary.” He
only grinned and she asked, “Family?”

“Ridiculous.”

She seemed to consider that for a moment and
slowly nodded. “College?”

“Too rebellious to go.”

“Surfing?”

“Since I was a baby.”

Chuckling, she pretended to imagine it.

“Hey, I was deft from the start,” he
shrugged.

“I can only assume,” she winked.
“Girlfriends?”

He froze and gave her a playful frown.

“Oh come on, too much to tell?” she
joked.

“Maybe.”

“Hmm, we’ll save that for the detailed
conversation then.”

“Oh, God,” he groaned. “I already told you I
haven’t had the best luck with women.”

“Well it’s a good thing your luck is due for
a change.”

When she leaned forward and kissed him, a
silent prayer raced through Teague’s heart. He surely hoped his
luck was going to change. This woman practically owned him already
and that was a hard thing for him to digest.

“Are we done with the speed questions?” he
asked with a smile. “Because I really want to skip some of this
talking and move on to the action.”

He pulled her down on the couch with him as
he opened her mouth with his kiss. They spent several minutes in
this position, enjoying the basics of kissing and being close. Then
her hand slid to his groin to feel the hardness that was pressed
against her and she whispered, “Looks like there’s an eager
participant among us.”

He laughed and moaned at the same time as
she made him even harder. He took his time kissing her mouth and
sucking her tongue and lips. “Don’t mind that. It’s my natural
reaction to you, beautiful. You just need to take your time. I’ll
wait.”

Camryn pulled away from him and her eyes
were narrowed. “What are you talking about? Why do I ‘need’ to take
my time?”

“Just…with that kind of relationship. I
don’t expect anything from you, Camryn. I thought I made that
clear.”

She shook her head at him and sat up. “You
say that in a way that sounds like I’m the one that has issues
about having sex when it’s actually
you
.”

“I definitely don’t have issues, but excuse
me for trying to be thoughtful.” He sat up too, and scooted away
from her holding up his hands. “Fine, if I can’t win no matter
what, maybe I shouldn’t even touch you.”

“And what is it you’re trying to win?” she
challenged.

“Oh my God,” he groaned. He rubbed his face
with frustration. “I’m not trying to ‘win’ anything except your
respect, Camryn. What, are you waiting for me to say that I’m dying
to fuck you and walk away?”

“So that’s what you want to do? Fuck me and
leave?”

“Do you hear yourself? It’s like all you
hear is what your own fears are shouting at you.”

“You know nothing about my fears,” she said
evenly.

Teague sighed and raked his fingers through
his hair. “Camryn, here’s the truth. Your mom told me about Zach,
okay? I was trying to be sensitive to your situation until you were
ready to tell me yourself.”

She stiffened instantly, and Teague couldn’t
tell if she was totally pissed off or just surprised.

“Get out,” she finally whispered.

He blinked his astonishment. “What?”

“I said…
get out
.”

Chapter Nineteen

Camryn was having a hard time distinguishing
the emotions that were jumbled inside her. Teague already knew
about Zach and it caught her off guard. Moving on had been her own
personal struggle until now; she hadn’t planned on allowing the
past and present to mingle just yet. Was she willing to tell Teague
about Zach? Yes, eventually.
If
their relationship was
deemed worthy of such enlightenment. But now she was somewhat
blindsided by the unexpected arrival of the conversation, and she’d
resorted to her usual defensive tactics.

She had told him to get out of her house,
but Teague had remained where he was, seeming to silently process
her command. Finally he shook his head defiantly. Folding his arms
across his chest he answered, “No. What the hell is happening,
Camryn?”

“You made me think that you came down here
just for me. What do you expect me to say, Teague? You lied to me.
You never told me that you actually
live
down here! I saw
your driver’s license when you paid for our food last night.”

His face fell and he closed his eyes
briefly. “I didn’t lie to you, Camryn. Yes I’m from California, but
I was currently living in Oregon. Just because I had to come back
down here—against my fucking will to chase
you
down—doesn’t
mean that I’ve moved back here. I’m here because of you, Camryn.
You
. And what the hell do you think I’m doing right now,
huh?” he asked, holding out his arms. “I’m trying to open up to
you. This is what I wanted to talk to you about. My past, your
past… I wish you would do the same but you and your
kiss
-
this attitude is making it hard.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at
him. “Who’d you hear that from?”

He tipped his head with confusion. “Hear
what from?”

She continued to stare at him until she
finally asked, “Who else have you gone behind my back to speak
to?”

He groaned as he clasped his hands behind
his neck. “Fucking hell, I can’t do anything right,” he shook his
head.

“
Rawk
! Fucktard.
Rawk
,
rawk
!”

Teague dropped his arms to his sides and
turned around to stare at the bird. It was such a stupid
sight—seeing him slide side-to-side on his perch, bobbing his head
up and down—that he laughed. “Oh my God,” he murmured, shaking his
head again. “I totally thought you were kidding about the Fucktard
thing.”

Camryn finally smiled, and then she laughed
too. “No, I wasn’t kidding. And if you don’t stop saying fucker,
fucking hell, and fuck all the time, he’s going to start shooting
those off, too.”

Teague softly laughed and then took a deep
breath. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, but he’s been picking up
words—”

“No, I’m sorry about
arguing
with
you. This idiot just reminded me of how pointless some things can
be.” He sighed and came across the room again. “I’m sorry for
upsetting you about Zach. I just wanted you to know that I knew
and…” He shrugged. “I just wanted to tell you I knew.”

He was standing right in front of her,
submissive and apologetic, and Camryn couldn’t deny the fact that
it was everything she needed at the moment. She knew how combative
she could be when trying to protect her heart, but instead of
Teague just walking out the door, he stayed to deal with it.

He was slowly converting her heart, bit by
bit.

“Finding out about Zach was not what
convinced me to come down here for you, though,” Teague added. “It
helped me
understand
you a little better, and why you chose
to keep your distance. But Camryn… I’m not going anywhere, okay? If
you’re afraid to get to know me because you don’t think it will
last…”

She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know
what my issues are sometimes, to tell you the truth. And I’m sure
that’s even worse than if I
did
know. I just… I thought
maybe I could move on without having to mix any of it together.
Meeting you when I did… It was unexpected, and what there was
between us was great, and how we met was just awkward and funny and
just…meant to be like that I guess,” she smiled.

He smiled too, most likely picturing their
full body meet-and-greet like she was remembering.

“Teague, I felt that meeting you was
already
helping me move on, so when you mentioned Zach…”

“I ruined everything.”

“Not everything,” she smiled. “Sorry I
overreacted.”

“You didn’t. I just thought I needed to be
prepared if, you know, being with someone else was going to be too
hard for you. I was making an assumption I should have talked to
you about first. I’m sorry. I guarantee I’ll say a shitload of
stupid stuff.”

“That was not a stupid assumption,” she
smiled gratefully. “Before I met you—and just the first couple of
times around you—yes, that is exactly how I felt. Just the idea of
moving on was hard and I’ve struggled with it but… Like I said,
you
are the difference. I feel like I’m going to be okay
now.” She paused and took a deep breath, thankful that those words
were at least out in the open now. “And it’s fine if you say stupid
stuff because you make up for it all the time,” she smiled, placing
her hands against his chest. She slid one to his neck and put her
lips on the other side, kissing a trail up to his ear and then
along his jaw. Her mouth grazed his and he smiled as she softly
nipped his lower lip. She pressed against him, kissing him deeply
as he returned the fervor.

“Don’t let me rush you,” he whispered in
between breaths of air.

“You’re not,” she replied. “This is what I
want. I’m ready to move on. With
you
.”

The heat built quickly, a blazing fire that
scorched them both. Teague slid his hands behind her, massaging her
ass as she pressed against his erection. All it took was for Camryn
to say, “I want you so bad,” and Teague had her legs wrapped around
his waist as he carried her to the bedroom.

He continued to kiss her as he carefully set
her on the bed. Camryn felt her eyes become heavy with desire as
Teague propped himself over her.

“You are so incredibly gorgeous,” he
whispered. “I’ve never met anyone whose inner beauty matched her
outer beauty. It’s overwhelming and absolutely mind-blowing.”

He crushed his lips against hers, and her
only response was to hold him tight and kiss him just as madly. The
fire burned even hotter as she slid her hands up his shirt and
pulled it up to remove it. He yanked it off and she couldn’t help
it when she actually licked her lips at the sight of him.

Holy beautiful eight-pack.

His chest and arms were firm and contoured
in all the right places, and the thought of his stomach muscles
working against hers heated her up even more.

“My turn,” he smiled, carefully kneeling
over her to slide her shirt up.

She laughed when he kissed her skin for
every inch her top moved until he pulled it entirely off and his
lips were against hers again. Camryn felt twinges of excitement
between her legs as her body relayed how badly she needed him
inside her. Her body seemed to be in carnal catch-up mode and she
didn’t want to stop. She reached down to undo his jeans and then
slid her hands over his waist and along his lower back, taking
pleasure in the feel of smooth skin and muscle.

Teague continued to kiss her, his tongue
searching deeper for those moans she was still bridling for the
time being. He unbuttoned her pants and traced his fingers along
the top of her panties as he propped himself up beside her. Camryn
raised her body slightly higher, encouraging his exploration, and
he smiled. He kissed her jaw and said, “Please tell me when to
stop.”