be obvious. I came here to see you, Camille.”
“You wha... Why? I don’t unders—”
He didn’t wait for her to finish whatever it was she was going to say. He closed the distance between them and didn’t hesitate to place his large, warm hands on either side of her neck, using the pads of his thumbs to gently stroke her cheeks as if coaxing her to comply with his unspoken demand.
Shock, lust, confusion and longing snaked into every crevice of Camille’s body. The overwhelming sensations made her dizzy. She was so busy trying to figure out what was going on that she had not even realized that it was already happening. His lips had found hers and he indulged in helping her remember times past.
When she started to respond with soft moans, his fingers curled tightly into the hair at the nape of her neck. Remi pulled back, but only a fraction, leaving their lips achingly close.
“Hey, babe, did the pizza get here?” Charlie said as he walked back into the room, obviously not realizing they had a visitor. “I had a hell of a time trying to find the bottle opener. You know you could’ve just left it on the counter.”
Camille couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten Charlie was in the house. She jerked back and when she nearly lost her footing, both men came to her aid before she ended up with her body parts intermingled with the wood of a nearby table.
A large, strong hand landed under each elbow. She was practically lifted from the floor when they righted her. Camille yelped a little and then stepped away from the men. They glared at one another before Charlie spoke first.
“I knew it wouldn’t be long before you showed up.” Charlie took a protective stance next to Camille, folding his arms over his bulky chest. Giving a welcoming look to Remi wasn’t an option for Charlie. He didn’t really care for Remi’s more conservative, good-guy nature. He felt a man who was so loyal and “perfect” had something to hide, though Camille did not agree. Remington Krane was exactly who everyone believed him to be. He was that nice.
She had not even considered that Remi would seek her out. He had not done so in all these years and there was no doubt he had the means and time to do it. She figured he’d gotten over her pretty quickly and had moved on without much thought to what had happened. But, if that kiss and the look on his face was any indication, she was completely wrong. Not that she’d had much time to think clearly in the past few moments. Her brain was still trying to catch up to Remington Krane actually being here and on top of that, acting as if no time had passed between them. His behavior suggested that he was no longer angry with her for the way she left, but now Camille was left to decipher what it all meant. However, her traitorous body was telling her it didn’t care about any of that.
Reeling in her libido, Camille stood tall and mimicked Charlie’s stance. “Why are you here, Remi?” she asked again. She desperately wanted to have his lips on hers again, but that wasn’t what she needed. She needed him to leave. She needed him to stay far away from her. He’d only reawaken feelings she’d kept hidden. She’d left for his sake—for their sake. Her leaving was supposed to be her liberating act—one that left them both free to realize their dreams.
“I’m here for you, of course.”
Had Camille been expecting that response? No. Should she have expected nothing other than the confident man she knew he’d become? Probably.
“We don’t know each other anymore, Remi. That was ten years ago and we were stupid teenagers. Stupid teenagers who made stupid promises they could never have kept. I left, Remi. Obviously you haven’t heard. So, you should probably just...go.”
Tears were forming and threatening to spill by the time she got out the last word. She didn’t think saying the words would hurt her so much. She wanted to turn away so she could experience the full range of her emotions, but she needed to know if she’d hit her mark. Pushing back the tears, Camille squared her shoulders and waited.
“Know you? Well, that is a joke, isn’t it? Of course I don’t know you, Camille. I don’t know the person who lied and said she would stand by me. I don’t know the person who left without so much as a call or a note. You have some nerve, you know that? I should be angry with you. I should never want to speak to you again and here I am trying to—”
“Leave,” Camille said in a low voice. Charlie was her best friend and Remi was nothing more than an ex—an ex whom she still needed to protect despite her true feelings. “Leave, Remington! Get out now,” Camille said and balled her fists at her sides. She then looked at Charlie and he nodded his support, knowing why she had to do this to Remi.
Remi noticed their eye contact, and he glanced from one to the other. “You two together now? Is that what this is about? You finally get her into bed, Charlie?”
Slap.
Camille could not believe she’d just done that and stepped back shaking her hand while Remington held the side of his face in astonishment. Although she had to admit it had worked out perfectly. She’d provoked him to anger and surely he’d leave now and forget about her. It was why this whole act was necessary.
“I deserve that,” Remi admitted. “I shouldn’t have said that and I’m sorry.”
“I said leave, Remington, especially if this is all you came here for.” He really needed to remove himself from the premises because she could almost feel herself slowly giving in. “Maybe...maybe we can talk...”
Had those words fallen from her lips? She’d meant to think them, not say them aloud. Thankfully Remington said, “Forget it,” and turned to walk toward the door. “And just so you know... I forgave you a long time ago,” he said not looking back at her and then walking out the door without another word.
Was this what gum on the bottom of someone’s shoe felt like? Probably pretty close to it. She’d known this encounter would happen, but she didn’t think it would be this soon and she hadn’t expected him to do that when he first saw her.
Camille didn’t know what had driven Remington Krane to go through the trouble of actually stopping by, but he’d left her with a simple, sweet, memorable kiss that had so much power and meaning behind it. It would take a while to get over this, but she knew it was for the best.
* * *
What had come over him, he wasn’t quite sure. Remington had gone over to that house to simply let Camille know that he was aware she was in town and that this time she wouldn’t be hiding from him. He also wanted to tell her that he was sorry about her father and to offer his help in any way she needed.
But the visit had not gone that way.
She had opened the door before he’d had a chance to knock, catching him off guard. He’d planned to give himself a little pep talk before ringing the doorbell but seeing her had made him forget all that.
He’d looked down at her standing there with her mouth opening and closing like a cute little guppy and his little friend down below had started to throb as if asking him if they were both seeing the same thing. They were. Camille had stood there in a pair of sexy little lounge shorts and a tank top with no bra. He even guessed that she might have been panty-less since the shorts left little to the imagination.
His groin had done the moving for him as it took over and propelled him in her direction. He’d not intended to kiss her without even saying hello but other parts of him had other plans and he’d not been in control of his actions.
That
