Riya jogged from her car toward the back door of the diner.
Shit, my first day back and I’m almost late, because I was too damn comfortable in bed.
She’d just returned the day before from her vacation. A word that she swore was a misnomer because while it had been a blast, she now needed to recover from it. So now, a vacation was needed to recover from the very thing which was supposed to give you rest. She rolled her eyes at her brain’s train and hopped over the puddle in her way. The rain had momentarily stopped but she had no doubt, given the dark clouds floating around, that it would be in downpour status soon enough.
Jiggling the handle, she stepped through into the back and just as she closed the door behind her, the skies opened up once more.
Thank God, I’m inside now.
She yawned and smiled at the dishwasher, Martin.
“Hey, hon. Glad to see you back. We missed you around here.”
She shrugged out of her coat and patted him on the shoulder as she moved past. “Thanks, Martin. Missed you too.”
“Did you have fun?” he called out over the spray of water on the plates as he rinsed.
“I had a blast. Didn’t want to come back.” She threw him a smile and ducked around the corner to hang up her things. When she walked back out, she was tying on her apron and trying to get more in the mindset of taking orders instead of being a visitor in places. “How are things here?” She ran her gaze over him, noticing he looked a bit older than when she’d left. She loved everyone here and they were family to her. “How are you doing?”
“Had a bit of the flu for a while, so that’s why you are looking at me like I aged ten years. I’m fine, promise.”
“Holding you to that,” she said, blowing him a kiss. Pushing through the door, she waved at Todd, the owner and fry cook of the joint.
The relief on his face nearly made her laugh.
“Thank God,” he said when she neared him. “No more vacations for you.”
Riya smiled. “Missed me, huh?”
“That Molly is okay but she’s definitely not you. And your boyfriend was having a hard time without you. I’m positive he’s here today. Maybe you should take his food out to him and cheer him up.”
Riya didn’t even bat an eye. There was only one man who Todd called her boyfriend and that was octogenarian Emmett McGinty. With his tufts of white hair sprouting out at all angles, he reminded her a bit of just a crazy old loon, but she loved him. He never failed to make her smile and laugh.
“You know, you could just say you missed me, it would be okay.”
Todd narrowed his eyes at her and gestured for her to get moving. Chuckling, she stepped out into the diner and swept it with her gaze, locating Emmett in the back.
“I missed you.”
With those three words, her world slowed. The entire thing. Her heartbeat grew loud in her ears while everything else faded. No matter where she went, or what she did, who she met in her life, this one voice had the power to render her into a pile of mush.
And the man who owned it…Cameron Liaci.
She didn’t have to turn to see him beside her. This man she felt all the way to the marrow of her bones. He’d ingrained himself into her, her skin, blood, everything. Especially, her mind.
She may not have had to look, but being the glutton for punishment she was, she did. Then her breathing grew difficult. Being away for all this time from him had her resistance to him worn down more than she’d care to admit.
Riya cocked an eyebrow at him and blinked slowly. “Excuse me,” she said prior to moving by him and heading straight for the man in the diner, she knew she could handle without any problems. As she moved, his gaze bore straight into her back, but she refused to turn.
God dammit, she’d missed him. More than she would ever admit aloud to anyone other than herself. And only then, when no one can hear me cry out his name.
Shoving the desire Cameron created within her to the back of her mind, she pasted a smile on her face, not hard to do since she enjoyed Mr. McGinty, and touched his shoulder as she angled her body to his booth seat. “How are you today, Mr. McGinty?”
He gazed up at her, blue eyes sparkling. With a nearly toothless smile, he gripped her hand and squeezed hard. “About time you got back here, child. This place hasn’t been the same without you around. That new girl, well, she’s just not you. I missed seeing your smiling face.”
Squeezing his hand in return, she smiled wider. “I missed you too, Mr. McGinty. Have you put your order in yet?”
He shook his head. “No. I was just sitting here thinking about how nice it would be if you came back to work and then you walked up.”
“Wishes do come true. Let me go put it in for you and I’ll be back with some more coffee.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Good to see you again,” she said.
With a final pat to his shoulder after he released her, she walked back to the window where Todd worked to put in the order. She noted the back table where Cameron sat, his gray eyes latched onto her without any sign of wavering. If she were to head in the back, she would have to pass him once more.
Molly was on the other side of the diner, flirting with Garret Michaels.
Riya didn’t begrudge anyone their happiness. However, she did wish the girl would work more instead of flirt.
Cameron sat up as she neared and slowed her walk. Mentally preparing herself for both his scent and voice, she waited. He remained silent and she slid her gaze to his cup. “Could I get you some more coffee, Mr. Liaci?”
“Will you stop calling me Mr. Liaci and call me Cameron, sweetness? Has it been so long since you’ve said Cameron?” His deep voice pitched even lower so this conversation would be between just the two of them.
She took a deep breath, cursed herself for forgetting not to do that around him since his masculine scent wove deep into her, and propped one hand on her hip. “You want me to call you Cameron, sweetness?”
He smiled, those firm lips turning up in an inherently seductive manner. “I love my name on your tongue. Why’d you walk away when I said I missed you?”
“My job is to serve food and take orders. You made a statement, so I didn’t see anything to respond to. Would you like more coffee or not?”
He steepled his fingers but never released her gaze. “I would like that and more. Can I put in a breakfast order?”
She fought the urge to grind her jaw. “Of course, you can. What can I get for you?” She had his lunch down pat but Cameron didn’t usually come in and eat breakfast, so she wasn’t sure what he wanted.
As he gave her his order, her mind wandered to the memory of his hands along her skin. The work roughened palms, teasing her with his calluses as he caressed her, touched her, memorized her. The scruff on his jaw and the teasing way it abraded her skin, especially the tender bits between her legs. Her nipples tightened behind her bra and her slit grew slick with cream as her body reminded her it had been far too long since anyone had touched her like that. Her own hands and plastic didn’t count at all.
It took her a moment to realize Cameron had stopped talking and she was just standing there like an idiot. Blowing out a sharp breath, she tapped the pencil against the side of her leg. “Anything else?”
“You know what I want, sweetness.”
She bit back her sarcastic response and shrugged. “I’ll get this order right in.” Then walking away before she did something stupid like kiss him, she pushed into the back and put the orders up by Todd.
“You alright, kid?”
“I’m fine, not quite back on this time zone yet, but I’ll be okay.” Especially if Cameron leaves me in peace. Exiting out the door, she ducked behind the counter and swiped the coffee pot, both Cameron and Mr. McGinty took regular, so she didn’t bother with the decaf. In fact, the only ones who were in the establishment who drank decaf were on Molly’s side.
“Here you go, Mr. McGinty.” She topped off his mug and made sure he had enough cream and sugar.
With a final fortifying breath, she headed back to where Cameron waited for her, lounging back looking all too inviting with his devil may care attitude. He didn’t move his cup closer, so she bent over to pour it. His eyes glued to her chest and more heat spiraled through her.
Focus damn it. Focus. It wouldn’t do to spill coffee all over his lap, he’d probably be more than happy to have me use a towel to get up the excess liquid though.
“There you go,” she muttered. Manners dictated she be polite to him but damn it, she didn’t have to like it.
All good and well, now if only her body would agree to cooperate on that front. Her life would be so much easier.
“Thank you, sweetness.”
“Have I told you to go jump in a lake yet today, Cameron?”
Heat flashed in those gray eyes of his as he nudged her foot with his heavy boot. “Nope. Want to escort me there and hold my clothes while I jump in?”
Asshole! It dangled on the tip of her tongue to say yes.
“Surely I’m not needed for that. I can provide the washcloth if you’d like something to cover up with when you’re finished however.” She clenched the handle of the pot to rein herself back in.
His tongue flicked out at the corner of his mouth and she nearly whimpered.
“You know from firsthand knowledge and experience that a washcloth won’t work for me.” He leaned forward and reached for the sugar. “But, perhaps you need a refresher.”
“You’d like that wouldn’t you,” she retorted.
“Of course, I would. Have a feeling you would as well. What do you say?”
“I say I’m fine for a while. They took wonderful care of me over in Europe.”
Dark eyebrows slashed together and his gray eyes narrowed to slits.
Satisfied, she stood up and walked away.
Let him stew in that jealousy she’d had to endure for the past years watching him with woman after woman, all the while flirting with her as if their one night together had meant a damn thing to him.
She made a new pot of coffee slamming the parts around until Todd looked over at her with his eyebrows up. Riya held up her hands and sighed. “Sorry,” she mouthed and continued in a much more contained manner.
Leave it to Cameron Liaci to come in and get under her skin her first day back, swiftly, and firmly wiping away any remaining buzz she had from her vacation.
αβ
Cameron watched Riya tend to other customers as he ate. How she’d managed to deliver his piping hot food the second he was on the phone with his brother, he’d no idea. Regardless, he hadn’t had the chance to tease her further.
Riya Hendrickson. A woman he had a one night stand with two years ago, and still couldn’t forget. However, in that time she’d definitely not lost her touch to set his blood aflame. Her smooth, silky brown skin that never failed to give off the scent of her…of lemon, grapefruit, and blood orange. The only reason he knew this was when he’d noticed the bottle in her bathroom.
That and it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t know what scents those wore, they work on her so perfectly.
When she’d bent by him, the scent was faint, encouraging him to bury his nose in the crook of her neck and indulge. He made a fist and swore under his breath. This had to end. He had to stop waiting for her to come back to him.
Grow a pair Cameron and get her, since you want her so much.
He wasn’t appreciative of his brain’s commentary but he couldn’t deny how truthful it was.
She moved by the front window while he watched her black hair gleam in the morning sun, as it streamed through the glass. Never without a smile on her face, she livened up this place merely by being in it.
He’d missed her while he was gone to Dallas and when he’d found out she was in Europe upon his return, his heart had ripped open. He’d finally been faced with the prospect that she was moving on.
In their smallish city, he had lookouts on his side that let him know if she was dating and who. Not that it was an issue for she kept to herself. Come to think of it, since he’d been with her, he didn’t know of a single time she’d gone out with anyone else.
Until of course, her comment earlier to me about Europe taking good care of her.
His blood boiled at the thought of another man touching her hourglass body.
He berated himself, hell he wasn’t sounding any better than his older brother Carter, when it came to Gina, his ex-wife. Now girlfriend and soon to be wife again, as the man had been an ass and she left him.
Cameron had been an ass and walked away from Riya after their one night stand and had regretted it ever since. But his ego was too big to let him apologize, so he’d reverted back to elementary school where you picked on a girl when you liked her.
Did he feel proud of that behavior? Hell no, but he was apparently incapable of changing. He finished up the bacon and wiped his mouth just as his cell vibrated against his ass cheek in the back pocket of his jeans.
Digging it free, he took the call without looking at the screen, eyes fixated on the woman refilling coffee across the diner. “Liaci.”
“We’re rolling.”
His commander’s voice pushed everything from his mind except the job ahead of him. Cameron jumped to his feet. “On my way.” He swiped his keys and moved to the door as he ended the call. Cameron stopped by Riya who had just finished pouring someone else a drink.
“Called up?”
He held her gaze and nodded. “Can you put it on my tab?”
“Go, don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks.” He took two steps and spun back to her. She waited there and he witnessed a bit of fear in her gaze. While he didn’t have the time to properly vanquish it from her face, he could do something.
As if the two of them were the only ones occupying the room, he curled an arm around her waist, drew her flush to him, and kissed her. It wasn’t a long kiss, not nearly long enough, but it was proprietary and possessive.
Sweeping his tongue throughout her heated mouth, he set her away from him amid the cheers and catcalls from the patrons around them. Riya appeared a bit stargazed. With the hand not around her, he tapped the tip of her pert little nose. “I’ll be seeing you around, sweetness.”
Releasing her, he walked out and hopped into his truck. He raced through town to get to his fire station and parked by his chief’s truck. Cameron dashed inside the station and within moments was on the truck, dressed in his turnout gear as they headed toward the fire.
αβ
Tired and sore as he walked up to his apartment, Cameron wanted nothing more than to shower and crash. Nothing else, he’d eat later. Muscles screamed as he slowly made progress. While they were putting out the fire on a tall building, part of it gave way and he had to grab one of his falling fellow fireman. The move saved Tyler’s life, so he was grateful but it had also wrenched his shoulder out. So, after they finished, he had to get patched up and had his arm in a sling.
Pissed off and in pain, he unlocked his apartment door only to swear. “I left my jacket at the diner.”
He didn’t have it in him to go back out and grab it. Hopefully, they had it for him and someone didn’t walk off with it. He loved that jacket, dark charcoal gray worn leather, it had been with him since he’d first become a firefighter.
Dropping his keys by the bowl on the table near the door, he kicked the wood barrier shut behind him and progressed straight to his bathroom. More cussing happened while he stripped off his shirt and pants. He reached into the large shower and turned the water on to hot. Once he had stripped naked, he stepped beneath the streams of water.
Cameron didn’t dally in the shower and was soon shoving into a pair of dark blue sweats. His phone rang and he went over to snag the receiver off the base. “Liaci,” he said.
“I heard what happened. Tried calling you before, you okay?” Carter’s voice crossed the line.
Cameron grunted and sat on his bed. “I’ll be fine. Good news is we didn’t lose Tyler.”
“Shit bro, I was worried, why the fuck didn’t you call me?”
“I just got home and snagged a shower. That’s why I didn’t answer when you called. I’m assuming you called before and that’s why you’re sounding so snappish now.”
“I didn’t want to call you,” Carter snapped at him.
Cameron smiled. He loved his brother even with his interfering ways. “It was Gina who told you to call and check on me. I knew it! She loves me more than you.”
“Shove off.”
He’d been glad his brother and Gina had worked things out. They made a good couple in his mind. “I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow but right now, I need to sleep.”
“Okay, call if you need anything. And, Cameron…I’m glad you’re okay.”
Carter hung up the phone and Cameron killed the call and flopped back on the bed. Exhaustion owned him and he closed his eyes, inching his body up along on the platform bed until his feet no longer hung off.
Knock. Knock.
Are you fucking kidding me? Who the hell is here?
Sure, he’d brought women here but this wasn’t one of those nights. Rolling to his feet, he padded out to the living room and yanked open the door. “What?” he snapped only to have his breathing halt at the sight before him.
Riya.
His body hardened just from the pure proximity to her. Instantly, his pain fell away.
She stumbled back from the ferocity in his voice and she put the jacket up to her chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. You left this. I just wanted to return it to you.” Riya held it out to him.
Cameron didn’t take it. Instead, he smiled. “You, sweetness, are no disturbance. Come in.” He stepped back and stared at her, waiting for her to come inside his place.
“I don’t think I should,” she began.
“You should, you wouldn’t think of letting an injured fireman be all alone, would you?”
Her gaze flickered to the sling cutting along his bare torso.
He didn’t miss the questioning look in her eyes. “I’m fine, beautiful. Come in.”
She made her way by him, careful not to touch him then stopped just inside the door.
He pushed the door shut and bent his head in to whisper in her ear, “Welcome to my home.”
“Where should I put the jacket?”
“Are you trying to pretend you don’t want to look around this place?”
Riya tossed his jacket on the back of his brown microfiber sofa. “You would be wrong.”
God help him, he longed to undo her hair and sink his fingers into the silken curls that would tumble down her back. Wrap those same tresses in his hand and angle her head to where he could easily plunder her mouth until she sagged against him. “Care to put a wager on that, sweetness?”
She whipped around and glared at him, sparks shooting from her eyes. “I’ve had enough of your wagers, Cameron. I don’t need any more, nor do I want to be part of anymore of them. We’re done here.”
That wasn’t expected. He didn’t believe they’d made any wager in the past. Spinning with her as she stomped past, he reached for her and groaned when his shoulder reminded him—for a very good reason—why it had been put in a sling.
She froze and glanced back, concern immediately on her face. “Are you okay?”
Sure, he was, but was he going to say that and let her think so? Hell no. If this was what it took to have her stay with him a bit longer, he had no qualms about milking it for as long as he could. “A bit lightheaded. You go, I’ll be fine.”
Riya scoffed and came closer. “I’ll help you to the couch.”
Somewhere in the back—far, far back—of his mind he knew he should have regrets for using her good nature like this. But with her curves pressed against him and her arm around his waist, that regret was shut up like a fat kid with cake.
Cameron gave her some of his weight and allowed her to assist him.
“What happened?”
“A part of the roof we were on collapsed and my arm got dislocated when I grabbed Tyler to keep him from falling.”
Her body stiffened but she kept moving until he was sitting on the sofa. “That’s from today, the Merchant’s building that was on the news?”
“That’s the one. You watched it?”
“Heard it, Todd had the news on in the back.”
“And here I thought you were worried about me.”
“I always worry about all of you.” She covered him with his blanket and stood, gazing down at him. “You have a dangerous job.”
“It can be, but we’re good at what we do. Stay with me a bit?” Cameron put a bit of pleading in his tone and nearly held his breath to see what she would say and do.
She took a swift peek at her watch before claiming an oversized chair across from him.
Not where he wanted her, but better than her leaving all together, so he’d take it. Plus, she’d never been in his place before and he would be lying if he said he didn’t like her here, in it with him.
“Is there something else you need?” she questioned, however this time there was no snark in her tone. “Can I get you something to drink? Eat?”
“I didn’t want you here to serve me, Riya. I just wanted some company.”
Her gaze shuttered and he had the deepest belief he’d just said something wrong again, but she didn’t elaborate on what had upset her.
Quite the opposite, she settled back in the chair. “I’ll stay for a bit, but I have to get home. I still have some work to do.”
“Work? You do more things once you leave the diner?”
She nodded and ran her fingers over the arm of the chair, matching his sofa in hue. “I’m in school as well and have homework to do.”
“School here? Or online?”
“Online for my masters in cyber security.”
He whistled. “Impressive.”
“Thought I was just a waitress didn’t you?” Her voice held no anger in it, she just made it a statement.
“Well, to be fair, it’s not like we have lots of conversations. I mean, you’ve never been here before.”
“No reason to. You fucked me at my place and walked away. What possible reason could I have to come here? This is where you bring females who have more than one shot with you, otherwise you do as you did with me, go to their place.” She got to her feet. “I think I should be going.”
“Damn it,” Cameron bit off as the door shut behind her.
So, it was true, everything she said but it’s not what he wanted it to sound like. He’d gone with her to her place because he didn’t want her where those others had been. He wanted it special and had thought of it as such since.
Apparently, she didn’t.
Just another thing Cameron needed to make up for in regards to Riya Hendrickson.