Outspoken Angel (18 page)

He cursed and pried her hands loose before he
sat up to shuck his pants and boxers. In the next second, he was
naked and positioned over her with his cock fisted and stretching
to be inside her warm heat.

“There’s no going back, Princess.”

She draped her long, slender legs across his
hips and fastened them around the small of his back. Holding him
hostage with her baby blue eyes, she untangled his fingers from his
cock, pressed her heels into his ass, and forced him deep inside
her.

“Dammit, Cameron!” Max squeezed his eyes
closed and grasped her hips to keep his hands from shaking. “Do.
Not. Move.”

He fought to drag air into his lungs. Her
body held him in a tight vise so hot and snug that moving even a
millimeter would completely unwind his reserve. He took another
couple breaths, opened his eyes, and prepared to issue another
order. Cameron met his gaze with another smirk and rolled her
hips.

Max released a heavy breath and slapped her
palms against his shoulders. “Slow and easy will have to wait.”

Cameron groaned as he began to piston in and
out of her with fast, hard strokes to show her exactly how crazy
she made him. “Max,” she murmured.

Sweat coated the back of his shoulders as he
kept his tempo, her heels pressing harder against his muscles. His
balls drew tight and he leaned to kiss the top of her shoulder.

“Tell me you’re close,” he moaned.

Her curls whipped the air as she squirmed.
“Doesn’t matter. Just do it, Max.”

He paused only a heartbeat and then reached
between them to slow his strokes and press his thumb against her
clit. “Oh but sweetheart, it matters a whole lot.”

“Max,” she hissed.

His thumb moved her slippery flesh in
circles. “Let go, baby.”

He gave her clit a pinch and then thrust into
her one more time. Cameron’s scream tortured his cock as she found
her release and rippled around him.

Max resumed his earlier furious pace, his
fingers hard on her hips, thighs tense, teeth gritted.

“Awww God, Cameron.” His balls burnt as they
slapped her baby-smooth ass, his dick suffocated in her tight, wet
grip. He was out of control, an addict with an insatiable sweet
tooth. Screw control. Screw his heart.

“Oh fuck yeah,” he groaned as he pulsed
inside her.

For several seconds he lay on top of her,
kissing her forehead and then whispering his satisfaction in her
ear. Buried deeply inside her, he felt complete. He knew then no
one else could ever take her place. She muttered a sleepy
unintelligible mumble when he rolled next to her and pulled her
back against him.

Max smoothed Cameron’s curls from her
forehead and placed a feather light kiss there before he rolled
beside her. While his heart beat a jungle rhythm, his soul remained
rooted firmly inside hers.

She sighed softly as he molded her against
him and pulled the sheet over them, resting one arm across her hip.
He listened quietly as her breathing began to slow. Satisfied she
was sleeping peacefully, he shifted to tuck a wayward curl behind
her ear.

“I love you, Angel,” he whispered.

“I love you too, Max,” she mumbled, snuggling
deeper into the warmth of his body.

He exhaled a long sigh of contentment as he
sank back into the pillow. Even in sleep Cameron had a response to
everything. Sassy little witch. She’d flown in on a lightning bolt,
cackled at the top of her lungs, and cast a spell over him to pry
the heartfelt words from his lips.

His eyes darted around the bedroom. He
would’ve said them anyway. Being the dutiful soldier he was, he
didn’t waste energy on trivial matters. If something needed to be
done, he did it. If something needed to be said, he said it.
Honestly, bluntly and finally. And he loved her. Just because. No
explanation necessary. Consequences be damned.

He tossed his arm across his forehead and
shifted his thoughts to Calvin Thomas’ disappearing act. Why didn’t
he show? Thomas scheduled the appointment himself. Did Cameron
misunderstand? He snorted. Unlikely. There were two major things
Cameron understood: interior design and designer shoes. No way
would she risk not meeting a client on time and dressed in one of
her best pair of stilettos.

He rolled his head to the side and glanced at
the sleeping seductress beside him. His heart warmed as a faint
smile played at the corners of her mouth while she slept. His
forehead wrinkled. Something wasn’t right. If Thomas hired her, why
didn’t he meet her? Bothered by that thought, he eased himself out
of bed, slid into his pants and quietly left the bedroom.

Pacing the floor downstairs, he dialed his
cell phone.

“Steele,” he said, lowering his voice.

“Sterling?”

“Yeah,” Max answered impatiently.

“Doesn’t sound like you. Were you
asleep?”

“No, why?”

“You sound different. Almost...”

“Almost what?”

Steele snickered. “I don’t know, relaxed? Any
particular reason you might be relaxed?”

“No, I’m anything but relaxed. Especially
since Cameron discovered your investigation in the trees.”

“I needed to scan the whole
neighborhood.”

“Uh-huh. You needed to scan the whole
Holly.”

“I don’t know how Cameron saw me,” Steele
said defensively. “I’m the king of camouflage.”

“A regular Rambo,” Max taunted. “You probably
gave yourself away thinking about snakes.”

“You know why I hate snakes.”

“It was a boa constrictor, Steele, and you
were in a jungle. There aren’t boa constrictors or jungles in
Arizona.”

“Did you call me for a reason?”

“Yeah, we need to investigate at Holly’s
gym.”

“We do?”

“Calvin Thomas may be a member.”

“Do you think he and Stone are working
together?”

“Don’t know.” Max sighed in frustration. “All
I do know is that he arranged to meet Cameron, didn’t show up, and
then someone tried to nab her.”

Steele snorted. “Maybe Cameron’s reputation
as a maneater precedes her.”

“Steele,” Max warned through gritted
teeth.

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Can you manage to keep the investigation
quiet?”

“Is Holly going to be naked?”

“Holly can’t know about either of us.”

“Relax, I won’t compromise your
position.”

Max snickered despite himself. No way could
anyone compromise his current position. And anyone who tried would
have hell to pay.

Satisfied Steele would get some answers, he
climbed the stairs and crept back into Cameron’s bedroom. After
undressing, he slid between the heated sheets, draped one arm
across her hip and molded his body to hers.

Fingers of unease tickled Cameron’s spine as
she awoke. Did Max tell her he loved her? The Man in Black finally
gave in to his heart and said something intelligent. Her heart flip
flopped. She told him she loved him too. Although it was the truth
and she didn’t doubt her feelings, the reality was a bit scary.
Would he attempt to tame her?

Absolutely.

Would he succeed?

Absolutely not.

Her lips curved. But what a rush it would be
to watch him try.

She opened her eyes and bit her lip as she
looked beside her to see her lazy, fat cat wrapped around the top
of Max’s bald head, swishing his tail contentedly in sleep.

“He’s been there for hours,” Max said behind
closed eyes.

She giggled. “Why didn’t you move him?”

“He’s comfortable.” He opened his eyes and
lifted a hand to tweak a wayward curl. “Besides, I didn’t want to
wake you. This is the first time you’ve slept all week.”

A loving curve creased her lips. “This is the
first time you’ve slept beside me.”

As if he sensed the intimate moment between
them, Maxwell stood and stretched before he jumped off the bed.
Positioning himself in front of the bedroom door, he meowed
loudly.

Cameron sighed. “He’s hungry.”

Max’s eyes flashed. “Me too.”

“Cat food first.” She stepped into her shorts
and pulled a tank top over her head.

Max reached beside the bed for his jeans and
stood to pull them over his hips. He watched her nipples tighten
inside the fabric stretched tightly across her breasts.

“Hurry, Max.” She opened the door. “He gets
demanding when he’s hungry.”

He grinned as he followed her downstairs. The
cat wasn’t the only one grumpy.

She quickly fed the cat then turned to him
with a twinkle in her eye.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

He folded her into his arms, closed his
fingers around her firm ass, and kneaded the soft flesh as he
pulled her closer.

“You,” he murmured, kissing the top of her
head.

She stepped back to look into his eyes.
“Okay, but first we talk.”

With lethal calmness, he studied her
thoughtfully for a moment, not surprised at her request. Scooping
her up, he set her onto the center island and stepped between her
legs.

“Shoot.”

“You really love me?” she asked directly.

“Yes.”

“When did you know?”

“The first time you rubbed my head.”

“I lifted my top at the same time,” she
reminded him.

“Yeah.” His eyes clouded with visions of her
persuasive tactics. “I remember.”

“Max!” She slapped his chest. “Be
serious!”

“I am.” He stroked her thigh with his index
finger. “I liked what I saw, but the head rub was even better.”

“Why?”

“Because you touched me.”

“No!” She rolled her eyes. “Why do you love
me?”

He sighed impatiently. She was going to talk
this to death.

“Can we –“

”Why, Max?”

“Because you aggravate the hell out of me.”
He placed her open palms on his chest, pushed her shorts down her
legs, and slid her to the edge of the counter.

“Because your touch makes me crazy.” He
unzipped his pants to free his raging hard-on. “And because I can’t
breathe without you,” he said, burying himself deeply to the hilt
inside her.

She gasped softly at his fullness.

“You have such a way with words, Max,” she
whispered, tossing her head back as he rocked against her, “but I
love you anyway.”

* * *

His blood boiled as he adjusted the focus on
his binoculars to clarify the activity in Cameron’s kitchen. The
x-rated show the two of them broadcasted made him physically ill.
He watched angrily as the bald guy slid his hands down her back to
squeeze her ass and rubbed himself against her.

He threw the binoculars to the ground next to
him, cursing as he ranted. Taking a deep breath, he became still as
his brain formulated another plan. It was time to convince her this
was not a game. She would be his, one way or another.

* * *

Cameron savored her intense sense of
satisfaction as Max lifted her from the counter and re-positioned
her clothing. “I just might learn to like the kitchen more.”

“I already do.” He zipped his pants and
glanced at his watch. “Hell.”

She frowned. “What?”

“We’re late.”

She snorted. “So? Rachel expects me to be
late.”

“Hawke knows I’m never late.”

She lifted a shoulder and kissed him lightly
on the cheek. “Blame it on me.”

“It is your fault.”

“How?” she squealed.

“You tempted me.”

“Uh-huh, and I made you take me on the
kitchen counter too.”

“You did.”

“I’m not ashamed, Max,” she said
off-handedly. “I enjoyed myself. I needed inspiration before I
paint all afternoon.”

“Can’t we stay here?”

“Sorry.” She began climbing the stairs.
“You’ve got a drummer to interrogate and I’ve got a nursery mural
to paint.”

“Fine,” he relented. “One pair of shoes,
okay?”

The sound of her mischievous cackling floated
on the air as she disappeared from view.

* * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Max heard Cameron’s lighthearted giggle as he
signaled to the guard at the gate outside the Hawke estate before
driving through. “What’s so funny?”

“Remember when we couldn’t get in and out of
here without being mobbed by reporters or half-naked groupies?”

He couldn’t help his own sly smile. “Weren’t
you a half-naked groupie?”

She snorted. “Ha, ha, ha. As I recall, you
took advantage of my groupie status.”

He snickered and parked in the driveway,
amused by her sassy response. “Groupies are generally willing to
follow my rules. You, Sweet Pea, are no groupie.” He helped her
from the truck and led her to the front door, lacing her fingers
through his as he entered Hawke’s security code and guided her
inside.

Rachel met them on the way to the den. “I
thought I heard - “ Her voice faded and her eyes dropped to Max and
Cameron’s intertwined hands. “Someone,” she finished with a smirk.
“Come on in.”

Cameron grinned. “Sorry we’re late, Rach, I
was running behind.”

Rachel gave Max a serene smile. “The guys are
outside in the studio, Max,” she said. “They want you to go on
out.”

Reluctant to release Cameron’s hand, Max
glanced at her. “You’ll stay here, right?”

“Yes,” she huffed. “I’ve got things to
do.”

Untangling their fingers, he nodded slightly
and fought his desire to kiss her. She quirked an eyebrow as if
issuing a challenge.

“Enough already!” Rachel squealed. “Just kiss
her, Max!”

Not waiting for further encouragement, Max
pecked Cameron gently on the lips before disappearing out the back
door.

“Ooooh, Cameron.” Rachel grabbed her hand and
pulled her up the stairs and into the nursery. “You’ve got some
major explaining to do!”

Panting from her hasty trip upstairs, Rachel
propped herself against the crib and buckled her arms across her
stomach.