Tempting Cameron (15 page)

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.”

“So…did you tell her how you felt?” she asked carefully. Trying to dig for answers but in a polite way, making him smile.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Oh, Cam.” Mindy sighed, kept her gaze locked on the road before her though she was practically bouncing in her seat.

“‘Oh, Cam’ what?” He frowned, ran his hand along his freshly shaved cheek. He’d kinda grown used to his I’m-depressed-don’t-screw-with-me beard.

“You know what this means, right? Now that you’ve told her you love her?”

“Um, why don’t you enlighten me?” He was exhausted, he wasn’t thinking straight, and it felt like Mindy was talking in circles.

“It means you’re coming back.” She smiled. “You know you can’t stay away from her.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” His own smile grew and he glanced out the window, watching the pine trees disappear as they drove down the mountain. “I can’t stay away from her.” He couldn’t imagine living without her.

“I’m so happy for you,” she murmured. “We’ve finally got you back.”

He finally got himself back, too. All thanks to Chloe.

Chapter Fourteen

Cameron wasn’t gone for two weeks. He’d been gone for more than a month. The first assignment led to another one. And then another one. But he swore when the last one finished, he was coming back to Lone Pine Lake. He’d reassured Chloe of that just last night on the phone.

“We should be wrapping up everything soon,” he said in that familiar, rich deep voice of his. The one that made her whole body tingle, especially when he said something sweet or funny or even better, sexy.

He was in Florida, on assignment for another magazine. Some article on the Miami nightlife. Images of beautiful women throwing themselves at him flitted through her mind at the weirdest times.

Like always.

How she hated feeling like a jealous shrew. But Cameron was so handsome, an irresistible force when he wanted to be. More than anything, though, she worried he might not ever come back. Once he left his hometown, he stayed away. Was she important enough to make him want to return? Thinking of that now left her with moments of despair late at night, when she was alone in her bed and missing him like crazy.

But he called her as much as he could. Texted her more often, quick little notes that made her smile when she received them. And she saved them all, sometimes reading over them when she was feeling low after not hearing from him for a day or two. He’d warned her it could be like that. He got so busy, he had no time to think, let alone call her.

He admitted it was a fault of his. That he let his work consume him so much he thought of nothing else. She tried her best to be brave but it was so hard when she went a few days without hearing from him.

Just when she thought the worst, he would call. Or send her a photo. Sometimes of the local scenery where he was, and sometimes, he included himself in the picture.

Those were her favorite of all, to see his handsome face, smiling as he took a self-portrait with his phone. She sent him photos of her bathroom’s renovation progress, her classroom and students, and occasionally one of herself, especially when he would request it. She had a hard time denying him anything.

She wore his shirt to bed almost every night. She knew it was sort of gross, that she hadn’t washed it since he left, but she couldn’t help it. His scent still lingered, spicy and masculine.

She was pitiful.

At least she was back at work and that kept her mostly occupied. She’d set up her classroom that first week Cam had been gone, then launched right into the school year. Her class was sharp, mostly sweet with a few troublemakers, but she knew how to handle them.

She was handling them now, a whole bunch of them, since she tended after school bus duty. Lining the kids up for the two different buses that serviced the school. The younger grades needed the teachers to round them up, or otherwise, they’d be all over the place.

So every day she dismissed her class a few minutes early, walking with the ones who rode the bus after dispersing the others to either the after-school program or the pick-up line. It was a Friday, the afternoon cool and breezy, forcing her to slip on the black cardigan she kept on her desk chair to protect against the sudden chill. Summer was officially over but the warmth had still lingered on stubbornly, which was why she’d worn a dress that day. Thankfully, a storm was predicted for the weekend and she was eager for the break.

She caught a glimpse of Ali in the near distance, handing off her kindergarteners to the parents who lingered outside her classroom door. Their school had all-day kindergarten, which was always an adjustment, especially for the little ones who didn’t attend preschool, and Ali was usually pretty exhausted the first month of school.

They were supposed to get together this weekend for lunch, something they hadn’t done lately. Their relationship had taken a semi-hit after the Cam disaster and Chloe regretted that. But they were working on it, easing back into that friendship she cherished so much. Though she had the oddest feeling that Ali was keeping something from her…

The last bell rang, meaning children would flood the front of the school in mere seconds, especially since it was a Friday. Chloe picked up her step, calling out, “Let’s go, guys!” to get her little group motivated to hurry to the buses before others started showing up and getting in line.

“Miss Dawson?” A little hand tugged on hers and she looked down to see Kendall Conti staring up at her with big brown eyes, her hair pulled into adorable braids that were a bit of a mess after running around all day.

“Yes, Kendall?” The little girl had taken a liking to Chloe since the first day of school and she felt rather protective of her.

“There’s a man who keeps staring at you.” Kendall kept her gaze on Chloe, pointing her finger over her shoulder. “He’s standing in front of the office.”

Frowning, Chloe glanced up, her gaze searching. The place was packed, parents and students and teachers everywhere. Kids yelling and laughing, parents chatting with each other, the sort of chaos only brought by a Friday afternoon. A soccer game was starting soon, the parking lot was packed, and there were so many people milling about.

“I don’t see anyone.” Chloe smiled down at Kendall.

Kendall screwed up her face, scanning the front quad with an assessing eye. “Right there!” She pointed, her voice full of glee. “He’s still looking at you, Miss Dawson.”

Chloe followed where Kendall pointed, her heart lodging in her throat when she saw him.

Cameron leaned against the brick front of the school, his hands in the front pockets of his dark jeans, wearing a charcoal gray pullover sweatshirt and a faint crooked smile. His gaze locked upon her, he pushed away from the building, and started toward her.

And all she could do was stand there and gape at him in disbelief.

“He’s coming right for you, Miss Dawson!” Kendall shook Chloe’s hand, getting her attention. “Do you know him?”

Chloe nodded, her eyes never leaving him. He looked amazing. Tall and broad and handsome, his eyes never leaving her either as he approached, that crooked smile still curving his beautiful mouth. The breeze blew his overly long golden brown hair across his forehead, giving him a boyish air she found desperately appealing. “Yes, I know him.”

He stopped a few feet away from her. Had to, since she’d come to a complete stop and was surrounded by children. “Hey.”

She loved those easy
hey
s he always offered her in greeting. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

“I’m home,” he said simply, his choice of words thrilling her completely. “And you look busy.” He flicked his chin, indicating her students.

Who had all grown very still, every single one of them watching Cameron, then looking at their teacher with confusion in their eyes.

“I have bus duty.” Oh, she felt silly, inept. She should’ve rushed to him, kissed him by now, but the kids were tangled around her like twelve puppies on different leashes, every single one of them twisted around one another. “Um, can you give me a minute?”

Chuckling, he stepped back, offering her pack a bit more space. “By all means.”

“Omigod,” she whispered under her breath, her heart racing. “Come on, let’s get on the bus!” She herded the children toward the two waiting buses as quickly as she could, corralling the rest of the kids who needed her assistance. All the while she sensed his presence, felt his eyes on her as if he physically touched her.

“Let me take over.” Ali appeared out of nowhere, a helpful smile on her face.

“What? Oh Ali, what about your students?” She guided another little one onto the bus, smiling tremulously at Candy, the bus-driver-slash-librarian.

“They’re all where they need to be. And I think you might have other plans?” Ali tilted her head in Cam’s direction. “Go to him, Chloe. He looks like he’s dying to touch you.”

Chloe hugged her friend. “Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled away.

Turning, she faced Cam, inhaling deeply for strength. Nerves clamored in her belly as she approached him, dissipating slowly as she saw the way his gaze lit with unmistakable joy.

“Hey.” She stopped directly in front of him, so close she could smell him, feel his body heat radiating toward her. “You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” He held out his arms. “Surprise.”

Glancing around, she saw fellow teachers watching them, more than a few parents, too. Most of them long-time Lone Pine Lake residents, who no doubt knew bits of her and Cameron’s story. They were probably just as surprised as she was at his return.

“Definitely a surprise.” She wanted to hug him. Kiss him with all the unrestrained passion and happiness she felt bubbling up inside her, but she couldn’t do it here. In front of everyone.

What would they think?

Cam snagged her hand, not giving her a moment to think. One minute she was standing there and the next she was in his arms, his mouth sealed over hers, his hand cupping the side of her face. It was a quick kiss, nothing scandalous about it, but it was full of so much tempered passion that when he finally released her, her head was a little woozy.

She stumbled, Cam reaching out to steady her, and she laughed. “I need to go back to my classroom and lock up.”

“Let’s go.” With a smile, he eagerly took her hand and pulled her in for another quick kiss. “I can’t wait to get you alone,” he murmured.

Her heart fluttered. She couldn’t wait, either

…

The moment he pulled into her driveway, they both eagerly leapt out of the car like little kids. He chased her to the front door, chuckling when she could hardly slip the key into the lock, and when they finally burst into the house, he pushed her against the closed door and kissed her for long, delicious moments.

She felt so good in his arms. Her curves pressed against him, her arms wound around him tightly. She slipped her hand across his cheek, murmured against his mouth, “I miss all your scruff.”

“I’ll grow it back just for you.” He kissed her again. Hot, wet, deep. Plenty of tongue. Until she was clawing at the front of his sweatshirt and he was pushing the thin sweater from her shoulders. Revealing that her dress was sleeveless, a pretty little red and white floral print with delicate lace decorating the neck, the quintessential dress designed to appear demure but really drove him crazy with lust.

He couldn’t wait to get her out of it.

Cam did get her out of it. Pushing her into the bedroom, he undressed her, undressed himself, and had his way with her far too quickly. But she didn’t complain and neither did he, the two of them too eager for each other to linger.

“You have any plans this weekend?” he asked hours later, long after the sun went down and the only light illuminating her bedroom was the bedside lamp on its lowest setting.

She slowly shook her head, tracing her fingers over his chest. “Well, I was supposed to meet Ali for lunch, but I’m sure she’ll understand when I don’t call her.”

“Perfect.” He kissed her forehead. “We’re not leaving this bed. And we’re going to remain naked for the next forty-eight hours.”

“Cam,” she admonished, glancing up at him. “What about your family?”

He shrugged. “If they’re lucky, we’ll go to my parents’ house for an hour. But that’s it.”

“Your parents will want to see you.” She played with his chest hair and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her hands on him. “I’m sure they’ve missed you.”

“I never come home. They’re more used to me not being around,” he murmured, keeping his eyes closed.

“Your mom liked having you here this summer.”

He pulled away from her so he could look into her face. “When did you talk to my mom?”

“We’ve met for lunch a few times.” Chloe looked away, seemingly embarrassed. “We talk about you.”

In the past, that sort of admission would’ve made him horrifically uncomfortable. Now, he was pleased that his mom and his…girlfriend got along.

Cam swallowed hard. Girlfriend. That had a strange ring to it, almost not significant enough, what with the way he felt about her. She was so much more to him…

“How long are you here for, Cam?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.

He trailed his fingers down her soft cheek. “I don’t know.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t have any immediate plans.” He gathered her close, needing her near. Even with a few inches parting them, he couldn’t stand it. “I thought I would stay here for a while.”

“Where?”

“I’d like to stay with you, if I could,” he said, nerves jumping like fish in his gut. “I know your place is small but I really don’t want to go back to that cavernous house Patrick owns. It’s too much.” And he didn’t want to be away from her.

“You want to corrupt the town princess?” She smiled, reminding him what he used to call her.

“Hmm, I want to make the town princess all mine,” he whispered, sliding over her so he had her pinned beneath him. “If she’ll have me.”

“What are you saying, Cam?” she asked breathlessly, her entire body trembling.

What was he saying? He couldn’t stand the thought of them apart. She belonged to him whether she realized it or not. “I’m saying that I love you,” he admitted.

She offered him a tremulous smile. “I love you, too.”

“And I want to be with you.” He kissed her, his lips lingering. “Always.”

Chloe blinked back tears and he groaned, feeling like a complete ass. “Aw, damn it, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She laughed. “I’m crying because I’m happy.”

“Your tears do me in.” They were his absolute weakness. Nothing worse than knowing he was responsible for her grief. “Sad ones, happy ones, I can hardly stand to see them.”

“My sensitive, romantic Cam.” She kissed him and he drowned in her, her sweet taste hot and wet on his tongue. “Proving that you are a big ol’ softie after all, aren’t you?”

She’d called him that the night of her car accident, at The Tree. “When it comes to you, I guess I am.”

He didn’t give her a chance to say anything more, too busy kissing her senseless and reminding her of just how much he needed her.

Forever.