Tempting Cameron (9 page)

“This is nice,” Chloe said after he threw the anchor into the water. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been here before.”

“My dad likes to fish in this spot.”

“Mine was never much of a fisherman.” She wrinkled her nose and laughed. “Living right on the lake and he’d rather toss his line over the railing at Mitchell’s. Catch little trash fish so he could throw them back out.”

“How about you? Have you ever fished?”

Shaking her head, she laughed. “Not really.”

“Jane and Mindy used to go with us. But they’d always squeal and complain when Dad told them they had to take their fish off their own lines.” Cam chuckled, shook his head. “We stopped bringing them.”

“That’s funny. I can imagine what a pain Mindy and Jane would be to you guys,” she said softly, her eyes glowing as she watched him. She had this way of making it easy for him to recall long-stowed-away memories with fondness.

The moment he’d left Lone Pine Lake, he’d abandoned all those warm, happy thoughts. He’d been sullen, a grumpy, supposedly misunderstood teen with a chip on his shoulder. Believed his parents just didn’t understand him and what he wanted to do with his life. Knowing he would go absolutely nowhere in this nowhere town, he’d left.

And proved his parents wrong.

They were proud of him. He knew that, had heard it enough over the years to believe it. But he still felt like he had something to prove. What with Patrick a financial banking success and Mac the owner of his own business for the love of God, he still had to fight the feelings of inadequacy.

Chloe helped combat that, too. Her easy acceptance of him, the adoring gleam in her eyes that had irritated him when they were younger, now filled him with pride.

Filled him with lust.

“You should take your cover-up off,” he suggested casually, feeling anything but. Having her close always ratcheted the tension within him a few million degrees. The sneaking around bit aided that as well.

She sent him a look. “You just want to see me take my clothes off.”

His blood heated. Well, yeah, that was a given. But since he knew nothing like that was going down, he at least wanted to ogle her. “I figured you’d want to take a swim.”

“It looks cold.” She glanced down, leaned over the edge of the boat to trail her fingers in the water. “It
is
cold.”

“It’s refreshing,” he corrected, tugging his old T-shirt off and tossing it on the bow seat. “Come on. Jump in with me.”

Her eyes widened when they settled on his chest, her lips parting a little bit, as if she liked what she saw. Perfect. She needed to return the favor so he could do some ogling. He hadn’t seen her in a swimsuit yet and they lived by a lake, for Christ’s sake. “You’re going to jump in?”

He rolled his eyes, smiling. “Yeah.”

“I’m more of a wader.” She nibbled on her lower lip, contemplating him.

“You asked for an adventure, right?” Reaching for her hand, he tugged so she had no choice but to stand. “Take off the dress, Chloe.”

She pulled her hand from his and reached for the hem of her dress, stripping it off so she stood before him in a tiny two-piece that made his eyes bug out of his head. Bright green with white polka dots, it was sinfully sweet on Chloe’s bangin’ bod. Held around her neck with thin strings, tied on either hip with those same strings, Cameron was filled with the urge to untie it all…

And have his wicked way with her.

“Put your tongue back in your mouth,” she murmured, invading his heated thoughts.

He snapped his jaw shut. “You’re going to jump in with me?”

Nodding, she let him take her hand again. He led her to the front of the boat, where they stood on the bench seat, making the boat rock gently. “On the count of three,” he said, his gaze unerringly going to all those luscious curves. Her flared hips, her nipped-in waist, and those breasts that were the stuff of dreams.

His lusty, sex-filled dreams…

Clearing his throat, he counted down, squeezed her hand before he said three and they jumped in together, Chloe yelping as they flew over the calm lake. The water sucked them under, cold as she said, but it cooled his heated thoughts, the shock of the temperature wilting his burgeoning erection.

Thank God.

She popped out of the water with a shriek, coming for him as if she meant to do him bodily harm. “I think my lungs are frozen,” she sputtered, water streaming down her face, her hair slicked back. “It’s sooo cold.”

He dodged her, swimming out of reach, which frustrated her more. “You’ll be fine. Don’t be such a wimp.”

Letting loose an irritated growl, she slipped beneath the water, headed straight toward him. With a laugh, he took off. Keeping ahead of her by a few strokes, he took her around the boat, closer to shore, then farther out, until they were right at the entry of the cove and he finally let her catch him.

Her breath coming in quickened spurts, she looped her arms around his neck, pressed all that wet, soft skin against him. “You’re hard to catch.”

The story of his life. “You’re pretty determined.” He slipped his arms around her waist, his fingers resting along the thin band of her bikini bottoms. Only had to slide a few inches and his hands could slip beneath them…

“I guess you were right,” she conceded reluctantly. “The water is refreshing.”

“Invigorating,” he agreed, his gaze zeroed in on her lips. They were wet, a droplet of water clung to the corner of them, and he leaned in, licked it away.

She gasped. “Cameron.”

He kissed her this time, tightened his arms around her, letting his fingers slip just beneath her bottoms so he was touching chilled, bare skin. “Chloe,” he whispered, unable to say anything else, he was so consumed with her.

They treaded water, kissing, hands wandering. He leaned into the water, floating on his back and taking her with him.

He wanted to break all the rules. Forget the sweet summer romance deal. There were too many curves on display in that little bikini, too much skin. All he could think about was how he could get his hands on all that flesh. How he could get inside the pretty little body and show her just what he could do for her.

Without a word he led her to the back of the boat, urging her to climb up the short ladder. She did so while he waited behind her, eyeing her sexy backside, the bottom curve of her cheeks exposed when her bottoms rode up, making his head spin.

Like a man obsessed, he climbed into the boat, grabbing the towels out of his backpack and handing one to her. She dried off, as did he, but he was impatient. Scrubbed the towel over his skin haphazardly before he tossed it aside and reached for her.

Drew her into his arms and kissed her, drowned in her.

Never wanted to let her go.

…

Chloe melted against Cam, their damp bodies plastered together, their mouths fused. He slid his hands along her sides, fingers toying with the ties that rested on her hips and she wanted him to undo them. Wanted to feel those masterful hands touch her in her most intimate places. Wanted to know what it was like to really make love to Cameron.

Her mind shouted stop but she ignored it. Let him lead her to the seat at the front of the boat where he pushed her down, then followed after her. She lay back on the thin bench cushion, her legs spread, Cam nestled in between them. He kissed the length of her neck, her throat, along her shoulder and her collarbone. His mouth was warm, his tongue wicked, and she shivered, her entire body trembling. He cupped her breast with a large, rough hand, impatiently tugging at her bikini top so he could shift the fabric out of his way.

And expose her for the very first time to his gaze.

Now this was the stuff of her adult dreams. Wet and aching for Cam, his hands all over her, his hard, hot body pressed into hers. She’d let him take her like this. Right here, on his dad’s boat in a secret cove on the lake. With the warm summer air caressing her skin and the melting sunset casting his harshly handsome features with gold.

“I want you, Chloe,” he whispered as he touched her with shaking hands. “I want you so damn bad it’s killing me.”

She wound her legs around his hips, ready for him. Beyond ready. “Yes. Take me, Cam,” she urged.

He reared up on his knees, reaching for his backpack, when suddenly a ringing sounded, startling them both.

They stared at each other, their breaths coming quick. “Yours or mine?” he finally rasped.

“Mine.” She scrambled for the bag she’d brought and yanked her phone out, saw who was calling, and tossed the phone back inside.
Great.

“Who was it?”

Shaking her head, she reached for him. Wanted to forget. Wanted to focus on the two of them and no one else.

“Chloe. Who was it?” His voice was tight, his eyes dark. He didn’t look so aroused anymore.

“It was Mac,” she admitted, her voice small.

The mood was broken, just like that.

Clenching his jaw, he climbed off her, started pacing the boat, making it sway. “Maybe you should call him back and see what he wanted,” he snipped, surprising her.

“Maybe you should stop being so jealous,” she offered instead.

He turned on her, his eyes wild, his expression…angry. Like she’d never seen him before. “I’m not jealous.”

“You are so jealous it’s ridiculous.” She stood and thrust her face in his as best she could, considering he was a giant compared to her. “I don’t know how many times I have to explain to you that Mac is my friend. That’s. It.” She poked him in the chest for emphasis.

“He doesn’t act like your friend. More like a possessive boyfriend.” Cam shook his head. “Bastard has this way of getting under my skin and irritating the shit out of me at the worst possible moment,” Cam muttered, almost to himself. He rubbed his chest absently, as if her poke had hurt. Good. “It’s like he knows what I’m about to do and interrupts me every single time.”

She couldn’t recall Mac interrupting them before. Oh wait, at Jane’s wedding reception when Cam asked her to dance, but that felt like a lifetime ago. “What exactly are you talking about?”

“My entire life.” He kept his back to her but she knew he was still angry. “Everyone adored Patrick because he was the perfect oldest child. The heir apparent and all that shit. And then there was Mac. The baby. The cute one everyone indulged. I won’t even bother mentioning my sisters. And then there was me. Classic middle child, I was screaming for attention so I chased after it any way possible, including getting in trouble. I was such a pain in the ass, I’m sure they were relieved when I finally left.”

“Better than being the afterthought,” Chloe said softly, not about to feel sorry for Cam. He had no idea how much his family loved him. Needed him.

He’d been too busy ignoring them to realize.

He turned to face her. “Is that what you think of yourself?”

She shrugged, not really wanting to discuss her issues, but it was too late now. “My sisters are so much older than me. I was barely out of elementary school and they were both gone to college. Never to return until they absolutely had to. I always felt like I was some sort of accident. Like, my parents’ last chance to try for a boy and they thought they might get lucky. Instead, they had me.”

His face softened, lost some of that angry edge. “I really doubt that, Chloe.”

“Just like I doubt what you think, too. Everyone loves you, especially your family. You’re the adored brother, the favorite uncle, the one who left, traveled the world and really lived your life. You share only a small part of yourself and leave everyone wanting more.” She’d always wanted more from Cam. Still, she wanted more. “I stayed here like a coward. It’s safer. But boring.”

He sat beside her, nudged her wet hair away from her shoulder so he could lean in and press a kiss there. His lips were cool, soft, sending shivers trembling throughout her already achy, needy body. “You’re definitely not boring.”

“And you’re not underappreciated.” She touched his bristly cheek. “I always thought you had such tremendous bravado and strength. But you’re just as insecure as the rest of us, aren’t you?”

He furrowed his brows. “I’m not perfect, that’s for damn sure.” Pausing, he exhaled sharply, as if gathering strength. “Something happened to me there. In Afghanistan.”

She frowned. “What do you mean? What happened?” Her heart raced, scared to hear what he was about to reveal.

“I was hurt. Riding with a special ops group across the desert, we ran over a bomb and it sent the vehicle flying, threw me out of the truck. I landed more than three hundred feet away from the car.” His gaze got a faraway look, like he was reliving the accident. “Everyone died but me.”

Shock coursed through her, chilling her blood to ice, but she did her best to keep her reaction calm. Neutral. Tentatively, she stroked his cheek, tried to bring him back to her. “How badly were you hurt?”

His turbulent gaze met hers. “Broke my leg, screwed up my knee. Scratched and bruised to hell, kinda like you were from your accident.”

Nothing like what happened to her. It was a stupid car wreck she couldn’t remember. Cam had suffered through a bomb that might’ve blasted him into bits. He could’ve been killed. The idea of losing him… “Why did I never hear about this?”

He shrugged those broad, capable shoulders. “I didn’t tell anyone. I thought…I don’t know. I just wanted you to know.”

Surprise rendered her speechless. She struggled to find words, too shocked that he’d never told his family, the people who loved him more than anyone else in the world, what happened to him. She glanced down at his legs, noted the scar peeking out from beneath his board shorts. Reaching toward him, she touched him there, traced the length of the long, jagged scar. She couldn’t believe she never noticed before. “Is this the wound?”

“Surgery scar,” he said, his voice tight.

She dropped her hand. “Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”

“I didn’t want to burden them with my troubles.”

“So you kept them bottled inside you instead.” She drew him into her, wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Oh, Cam.”

He slipped his arms around her, pressed his face against her neck where he remained for long, silent minutes. He tightened his grip on her, holding her so close she could scarcely breathe.