Wait for you

Cam stretched into me, avoiding his sister’s flailing arms. He scowled. “Who’s Murphy?”

Mr. Hamilton shook his head.

“It’s none of your business! God,” Teresa snapped. “Give me back my phone.”

“I’ll give it back when you tell me who Murphy is? A boyfriend?”

Her cheeks flushed, and I figured Cam was a bit of the overprotective type. He held the phone away from her until she sat back, crossing her arms. “Mom.”

“Cam, give her back the phone.” When Cam still held it, his mother smiled. “We’ve met Murphy. He’s a really good boy.”

Cam didn’t look convinced, and I suddenly wondered if there was more to this. I looked over at Teresa and her eyes were starting to shine. I turned my attention back to my plate quickly.

“He’s really nice and I like him,” she said in a quiet voice.

Cam snorted. “That’s not a ringing—”

“He’s not Jeremy,” Mr. Hamilton said, suddenly very serious and somber. “Give her back the phone.”

He looked like he was going to hold onto that phone for the rest of his life and where there hadn’t been any tension in the house since I arrived, it was now very much in this room. I reached under the table and grabbed his upper thigh, startling him enough that he loosened his grip on her phone. I swiped it away from him.

“Hey!” His eyes narrowed. “That was so not fair.”

I gri

“Thank you,” Teresa said, and I was sure I made a friend for life with that move.

Cam’s look said there’d be payback later before he turned to his sister. “I want to meet this Murphy.”

Teresa let out a loud sigh. “Okay. Let me know when.”

Shock flickered through me. I would not have expected her to relent that easily to his demand. My gaze shifted between them two and while Cam seemed to relax, there was a tension in his jaw that hadn’t been there before. Conversation picked back up, but there seemed to be something simmering behind it.

Or it could just be my paranoia.

After the feast, Cam and I were alone in the dining room, stacking the dishes. “Is everything okay with your sister?” I asked.

Cam laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Everything is kosher. Let’s play,” he said, catching my hands and pulling me toward the stairs leading to the basement. “I bet you can beat me at pool.”

“I don’t know about that.” But I let him led me away.

“Oh, I suck ass at pool.”

I laughed. “What about the dishes and—”

Cam stopped without any warning, causing me to crash into his chest. His hands fell to my hips as he lowered his forehead to mine. “Forget the dishes. Come play with me, sweetheart.”

Crap. He had me a sweetheart.

#

I’d just changed into my pajamas and slid my legs under the covers when there was a soft knock on the bedroom door. I rose onto my elbows. My heart jumped as Cam opened the door halfway.

“Hey,” he said, a slight grin on his face.

“Hi.” The one word came out a half whisper, half croak.

That lopsided grin spread an inch. “I wanted to say goodnight.”

A flutter took up residency deep inside my chest and my lower stomach. My hand clenched the edge of the down comforter. “You already told me goodnight.”

“I did.” He stepped into the room and my gaze slipped down the length of him. Cam made a gray shirt and fla

Oh dear sweet mercy me…

Cam quietly shut the door behind him. The click of the latch catching caused my heart to pound with him being in here, while I was in bed in nothing more than a thin, long sleeve shirt and cotton shorts. That was all.

I held my breath as I watched him make his way to the bed. He sat beside me, his hip resting against my leg. In the dim light of the room, his eyes shone like dark jewels as they moved over my face and down, to my chest. Under his intense gaze, my nipples immediately puckered against my shirt.

His gaze flicked up to my face, and I sucked in a soft breath. The nest of butterflies were back in my stomach, trying to make their way out. “I’m glad you decided to come here,” he said, voice gruff.

I shivered. “I am, too.”

“Really?” Cam planted a hand on the other side of my hip. “Did you just admit that?”

“Yeah, I sort of did.”

He leaned in so that his upper body hovered over mine. “I wish I had my phone to record this moment.”

My gaze dipped to his mouth. A witty retort slipped out of my grasp. I wetted my lower lip and his parted. My chest rose sharply as I forced my eyes up to meet his. “I’ve… had a wonderful time.”

“So have I.” The look in his eyes softened just a bit, but there was still a heated edge to his stare. “So what do you think you’re going to do for winter break?”

Knowing that he’d overheard the conversation I had with his mom, I didn’t lie. “I don’t know. I thought about taking off for D.C. one of the days. I want to see the Smithsonian and the National Mall. I’ve never been.”

“Hmm, that could be fun. I could be your tour guide.”

A small grin pulled at my lips. “That… that would be fun.”

“It would be,” he said, his voice warm on my cheek. “Pick a date.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“January the second,” I said immediately, and then flushed. “Will you be available then?”

“I’ll be available whenever you want me to be.”

That delighted me to no end and my grin spread.

“Guess what, Avery?”

“What?” I wondered if he could see how fast my heart was beating beneath my shirt.

“Remember how you just said you were having a good time?” Cam lowered his head so that our mouths were scant inches apart. “It’s about to get better.”

“Is it?”

He shifted his head and his nose grazed mine. “Oh, yeah.”

“Are you not going to kiss me again?”

His lips tipped up. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Warmth slid through my veins as my body tensed in a welcomed, delicious way. My eyes fluttered shut as his lips brushed mine once and then twice, as if he was getting reacquainted with the feel of them. The slight, barely there touch was nerve racking.

Cam shifted his weight onto his left arm and with his other hand, he spread his fingers along my cheek. He placed a kiss to the corner of my lips and the other side before sliding his hand back around the nape of my neck. His lips moved along my jaw, trailing a fiery path to my ear. A shiver danced along my skin, eliciting a deep, husky chuckle from him. His lips pressed against the sensitive spot under my ear, and a moan crawled up my throat.

“Goodnight, Avery.”

And then he kissed me—kissed me like he’d had right before he’d left the night of our date. Kissed me like he was a man starving for oxygen and I was the only air he needed to breathe. The hand around my neck held me there, raised up on my elbows as his mouth devoured mine. And that was the only word I could use to accurately explained how he kissed me.

Cam devoured me.

My lips opened, needing almost no coaxing, and his tongue slipped in, teasing mine as his hand tightened behind my neck. He tasted like toothpaste and it had my senses spi

The moment my head hit the pillow, a tiny burst of panic kicked the air out of my lungs. Where was this heading? I thought about his sister being down the hall and his parents sleeping on the floor above, but then he kissed me again, a sweet tender kiss as he cupped my cheek. The panic eased off, the thoughts slipped away.

Cam hovered above me and I wanted to feel him onme, our bodies pressed together. Once that need took root, warring emotions rose inside me. Was this too much? Not enough? He caught my lower lip between his teeth, and a moan escaped me.

I was going to go with not enough.