he’d craved from the first moment he’d seen her in his shower, her long legs wet and warm, her breasts firm and round. He wanted her with a fervent passion he hadn’t felt in months, maybe years. Maybe since the last time he’d been with her.
He ravaged her mouth again and again, sweeping and plunging and reveling in her heated depths. She wrapped her arms around his neck and raised herself so that the apex of her thighs pressed against his burgeoning erection. He held her there with one hand while he shifted his other hand up to cover her breast. She moaned and he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
His body shouted at him to take her here, now, against this wall. Tear off her clothes and plunge into her over and over again until they both slid to the floor from sheer exhaustion. He couldn’t remember feeling like this, couldn’t remember ever needing a woman this much, as much as he needed another breath. Maybe more. She was his. Now.
Julia broke away to take a deep breath. “Oh, Cameron, I can’t …”
“I know.” He ran his mouth along her exposed jawline and down her neck, sucking and nibbling his way to her shoulders. He began to unbutton her blouse, pulling the fabric back to feast on her soft skin.
“Cameron, please,” she murmured. “I … I’m sorry.” She pushed away. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”
He groaned. “You can. You did. Watch. I’ll show you.”
She pressed her hand against his chest. “I know how it’s done. I just …”
His brain clicked into gear and with great reluctance, he shifted back a step. “You mean you’re not ready to do this.”
“Oh, I’m ready,” she said with a contrite smile. “But I’m not stupid. I know how you feel, Cameron.”
“I think it’s pretty obvious how I feel,” he said, carefully pressing himself closer.
It was her turn to groan. This felt too good, but she had to stay strong. “I mean, how you feel about me. You think I’m lying to you. You think I set you up and I’m trying to trap you into fatherhood.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do,” she said calmly. “You have rules. I have Jake. We need to get through the blood test before we can even think about … well, I should go to bed.”
Crap, he thought. The damn blood test. He really was a dolt.
“Julia, listen to me,” he said with all the sincerity he felt in his heart. “I do believe you. I know Jake is my son. I haven’t ordered the blood test because I know you’re telling the truth.”
Her shoulders sagged a little. “You’re just saying that because we’re this close to jumping into bed together.”
“I’m not just saying it,” he insisted, then gave her a sideways glance. “But is it working?”
She smiled softly. “I would love to be with you more than anything tonight. But it won’t help matters at all. In fact, it’ll just complicate everything.”
He studied her for a moment and saw in her wide, expressive eyes a mix of storm clouds and uncertainty. And more than a remnant of passion. “I say we go with the complications.”
Now Cameron could see a touch of sadness there in her eyes. It felt like a punch to the gut.
“I don’t want to be with you simply because I happen to be the woman staying in your hotel suite.”
“But you are the woman staying in my hotel suite.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Which makes me convenient, that’s all.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He swept his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m saying all the wrong damn things. Let’s start over. I believe you, Julia. Jake is mine. I know you weren’t lying. And I want you. I desire you. You. Not some woman sleeping in my suite.”
She stared up at him, searching his face for answers.
“I want you, too,” she said finally. “And I’m glad you believe me. But I know you have your rules. I know that once we leave here, you won’t want me anymore. And I can’t go through that. I won’t. Not again.”
Staring back at her, he saw the resolve. He also saw that if he continued his tender assault, he could melt away her reserve. But at what price? It wouldn’t be what she wanted, what she needed right now. With great reluctance, he stepped back. “You’re wrong, sweetheart. But I’m not going to convince you of that tonight, am I?”
She slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry.” “You and me, both.” He couldn’t help but lean over and kiss her full, ripe mouth once more. “Sweet dreams, Julia.”
Five
His freaking rules.
Talk about being hoisted by his own … whatever. Cameron punched his pillow, knowing once again that he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight. It was just as well, because he needed to spend some quality time mentally kicking himself. And he really needed to rethink a few things. Like those rules of his. It’s not that he would change them because, frankly, they worked. But he certainly wasn’t going to talk about them anymore. Especially not to a woman who might’ve been lying in his bed this very minute, were it not for him and his big mouth.
Screw the rules, he wanted Julia.
How could he convince her that he believed her? He should’ve told her immediately that he knew Jake was his son. He’d known it almost from the first minute he’d seen the handsome little kid. But hell, that wasn’t even Julia’s point, was it? He smacked the mattress in disgust.
Whatever her point was, he still wanted her. Rules be damned. But if he tried to tell her that, she would think he was just saying it to get into her pants. And while that may be true … no, damn it, it wasn’t.
He liked her. He liked her mind, and her sense of humor, and her integrity. Okay, he liked her pants, too, and everything inside them. Nothing wrong with that.
And besides, she was the mother of his child, so they’d be seeing each other at least once or twice a week for the foreseeable future. And since he’d be coming by to see Jake all the time anyway, why shouldn’t they have a … a what? A relationship? An understanding? A regularly scheduled booty call?
Sounded good to him.
Oh, right, he thought. Even Cameron was smart enough to know she would kick his ass into next week if he suggested that scenario.
But she wouldn’t keep him from seeing Jake. No way. Cameron would let her know in the morning they would need to work out a custody arrangement.
And now that he thought about it, he would have to make sure his house was baby-proofed. He made a mental note to call Housekeeping the next day and tell them to take care of it.
But just baby-proofing the house wouldn’t make it a home for Jake. He would have to transform one of the bedrooms into a room for the little guy. A bed shaped like a race car. A computer. And toys. A football.
