The words were out of my mouth before I even knew I’d planned to say them. Cameron needed to hear it, though my timing could’ve been better.
Against me, he surged, coming hard. I held him tight, absorbing all he had to give. Unafraid of the crush, loving having him back in my arms.
By degrees, we cooled, and he inched back so he could see my eyes. I glowed at what I saw in his.
My smile broke free.
Cameron instantly grinned then gave a happy laugh. “How are ye here? Wait, let me rephrase. I’m so fucking glad you’re here.”
“Put me down and we’ll start over from where we left off.”
Instead, he kissed me. Then he carried me to the stairs and up to his rooms. There, we took a moment to tidy up, me once more in just his hoodie and him stripping his jeans and sweater. On his bed, Cameron sat back against the headboard, so handsome he made me dizzy.
I perched at the end, centring myself to give him a full explanation. “After you left, no, wait, before that, I suspected more was going on than met the eye. And I was right.”
Emotion flickered in his vision. “Did ye tell me to leave so I wasn’t impacted?”
I closed my eyes briefly. “Yes. My mother was going to have you arrested.”
Cameron swore. “The security chief threatened me with that. It wouldnae have mattered.”
“How can you say that? You would’ve been taken to the police station, delayed in the States for days, and that would just be a start. She made that very clear.”
“No, it wouldnae have mattered for two reasons. First, I had the protection of Gordain’s company, and second, my grandfather, my American grandfather, is high up in politics and desperate to be in my life. He was a shite parent to my mother, but she encouraged him to form a relationship with me, one she could manage where he couldn’t cause me harm. I wouldn’t have liked it, but if I’d been in trouble, he would have intervened.”
I swallowed bitter regret. “For the record, I’m sorry. I was trying to do the best thing. But there’s more to it. Mom was listening in on everything, and I was trapped. Those guards were there for me. Once I suspected it, the more afraid I became. I couldn’t allow them to hurt you. Then there was Derren.”
“What about him?”
I curled my feet under myself, then laid out how my mother and Janelle had concocted a plan to reconcile me with my ex, all in aid of the movie promotion. The more I explained it, the worse it became.
“Ye had to face him? How could she be so cruel?”
“Apparently pretty easily.”
I then outlined my failed plan to get Derren to speak, my escape with help from Guy, and how I’d found myself on the plane, knowing the only person I wanted to go to was Cameron.
“I arrived here only to find that you hadn’t made it home. Luckily, your mom let me in.”
“When was that?”
“Last night. I told them some of what happened, and they were lovely.”
Cameron rubbed his face, strain clear.
“I should never have let you go,” I said fast. “But I was so confused. First with the fact of realising I had feelings, and then the threat against you. It all became too big, too confusing.”
With a grumble, Cameron reached for me, then settled me in the bed beside him. He pulled the blanket over my legs and tucked me against his chest. “Your world was imploding. I should never have walked away.”
“You only did what I asked.” My brain caught up, and I clapped my hand to my mouth. “But why are you so long coming home? Don’t tell me you were arrested after all?”
“Naw. I missed my flight then a second one got delayed. I have spent far too many hours in airports denying my instincts. Even if ye wanted me to go, that didn’t mean everything was okay. Ye still needed help, but I reacted badly. I cannae forgive myself—”
I hushed him with a kiss. “No one is to blame here, or not in this room, anyway. My mom, on the other hand, and my manager, oh, and my ex-boyfriend. All of them have been acting against me. The only person acting for me is you.”
He rolled onto his back, bringing me onto his chest, an easy and familiar position for us. I got comfortable on top of him and rested on my forearms, gazing down at the man I was wholeheartedly in love with.
“Ye went through all that and then came to me.”
I swallowed. “I had to explain, even if you turned me away.”
“After everything, how could ye believe I wouldn’t want to see you?”
“You didn’t answer my calls.”
“I don’t have my phone. Your ma’s guard took it. Given half the chance, I would have set myself up with a new phone and called ye. My pride was dented, but there’s no way I would’ve let ye slip away.”
Both of us took a breath.
“I couldn’t let that happen either.”
“Why?” His stare took me to pieces.
I knew what he was asking, what he wanted to hear.
“I’ve fallen head over heels in love with you and I had to let you know. Just in case you feel anything for me, too.”
He stared at me with such devotion it almost stopped my bruised heart.
“I’ve always been in love with ye. At first, as a crush on the most beautiful lass I’d ever seen. Then hard and fast for a woman who stole my breath and trashed my car. And now…” He brushed a thumb over my cheek. “Wholeheartedly and without reservation. Even if ye didn’t have feelings for me, mine would never change.”
The rush of feeling was like nothing I’d felt before. This man, this good, decent, honest man loved me.
“I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
He slid his hand to the nape of my neck and brought me in for a kiss. Unlike how we’d attacked each other at the door, this was all gentleness and relaxed perfection. The broken pieces of me, jagged-edged through other people’s rough treatment, fixed together, and with Cameron’s name as the glue. He made me a better person, and I’d do everything to make him happy.
Though we were nowhere near done talking, I needed to be closer to him again. Breaking from his lips, I stripped the hoodie, followed by my T-shirt and bra. As I hadn’t put back on the rest of my clothes, I was now naked on top of him.
Cameron’s hands grazed over my ribs, his fingertips leaving trails of sparks.
He tipped his head at the adjacent wall. “I wish I still had my poster of ye over there from when I was a teenager.”
I couldn’t help my laugh. He used the distraction to sit us up then shed his shirt. In a second, his boxers were gone, too, and both of us were gloriously nude.
After that, it was all following of instinct.
Greedy grabs.
Desperate urgency.
Committed reciprocation.
I took time over his body, working him into a frenzy before he gave a growl and leapt from the bed. “I’ve been travelling for hours. I need a shower. You’re coming with me.”
He picked me up and carried me from his spacious bedroom into a slate-and-stone bathroom. Then the shower was on, and he was leading me inside. There, he sank to his knees and lavished me with his tongue while the hot water beat down.
It was cleansing in more ways than one. Not only was I getting rid of the strain of California, but I was making a start on everything I wanted. With this man.
He sucked my clit and worked me with his hand until I came with a loud cry, then he rose, spun me to face the wall, and thrust inside me. Still, he was careful not to crowd me, but like earlier, I drew him in until he was as close as we could be. I didn’t want anything between me and this man. If I panicked, I’d handle it. My new faith in trust would help free me from the past.
Cameron took his time with me, extracting another climax before he joined me over the edge.
Then we washed each other thoroughly, our kisses unending, marking a reunion. There was too much to think about. Decisions I had to make.
Being with Cameron was the easiest of all.
Once we’d dried off and dressed again, Cameron led me downstairs, his fingers gripping mine. Neither of us could stop touching the other.
“Are ye hungry?” he asked.
I segmented my damp hair into three and wound it together in a chunky design. “Yes to food. When was the last time you ate?”
“I had a burger at some point. Maybe this morning? It made me think of ye and the food we ordered in the beach house.” He tugged on the end of my braid. “I loved the blonde, but this is more like the real Elise.”
“Exactly why I had it done.”
In the kitchen, I told Cameron how, when his parents heard his car arrive, they informed me they’d be out for the night. Somehow, they took my word for it when I said I cared about their son and needed to talk to him.
He raised an easy shoulder. “That’s the thing about parents. They always seem to be one step ahead.”
“At least yours have your best interests at heart. Pity the same can’t be said about my mom.”
Cameron stilled in his investigation of the fridge. “We’re going to have a problem with her, aren’t we?”
“I am.”
He gave me a hard stare. “We are.”
And suddenly I was a part of ‘we’, no longer just me. I wanted to cry, but instead choked out, “Fine. Yes, we are going to have problems. My mother wouldn’t even hear me out. She had her own ideas on how to fix the problems, which pretty much just involved me moving on.”
“Fuck that.”
I raised my eyebrows in agreement then pushed away from the counter. “Can I help?”
He gave me a quick smile. “Let me look after ye. Once we’ve eaten, we can talk about what to do next. The priority is your safety, but I’m really hoping ye want to bring those fuckers down.”
“Oh, I do. I just need to work out the best way to do it.” I let a small smile broach my lips. “But believe me, I am not walking away from my home, career, and my life as I know it without taking casualties.”
My phone dinged from where I’d left it on the counter.
My pulse skittered. Since I’d left the States, only Janelle had pursued me with messages. I told her that I wasn’t coming back, but that was all.
I knew without a shadow of doubt that worse was to come. But I wasn’t hiding from it. Collecting the device, I steeled myself against what I’d see.
But as I scanned the messages, I gave a happy laugh instead.
Viola added you to the group: The Girls.
Viola: Just heard from Taylor that you’re back. That’s it, you’re one of the girls now. We’re here for you however you need us.
Cait: Welcome!
Casey: OMG yay!
I wasn’t alone anymore.
