CHAPTER TWELVE

Camille

 

Dalton had enough to sense to visit the gift shop for sunscreen and water before we went walking the grounds.  It was possible to keep somewhat to the shade and avoid constant exposure but we were both Arizona kids born and raised. We understood the power of a desert summer sun. 

“I haven’t been here since I was a kid,” I commented as we wandered among the towering cacti. 

“Field trip?” guessed Dalton. 

“Yes and also my parents had a membership so we used to visit often.”   

Dalton gazed out at the brown peaks of Papago Park that loomed in the background.  “The first time I came here was on a sixth grade field trip.  On a dare, Anna Burke and I broke from the group and kissed for five seconds underneath that ramada.” 

“Ah, so this is where you bring all the girls?”

“No. I haven’t been back since.”

We walked in companionable silence for a while.  Given the fact that it was summer the place was far from crowded.  Directly ahead of us an elderly couple held hands as they ambled slowly along the path.  When they noticed us they moved to the side so we could pass.  They smiled when we nodded our thanks. 

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was half hoping Dalton would make some kind of move but so far he’d kept his hands to himself.  There wasn’t so much as a seductive shoulder nudge to fire up my imagination. 

Yesterday’s lunch episode had been on my mind a lot and when I woke up this morning the ache between my legs reminded me that Dalton had been starring in my dreams again.  I was surprised when he wanted to pick me up at home rather than meeting somewhere.  Not many men would volunteer to be subjected to an overprotective family for a girl they’d known for less than a week. 

The silence stretched on and I tried to think of something to say.  Usually words weren’t a stumbling block to me but there was something intimate about being out here among the flowers with no one else in sight.  Dalton had been very candid when I asked him about his ex-fiancée even though the topic had to have been painful.  He’d told me enough about his family yesterday at lunch to lead me to the conclusion that wasn’t really a good subject either.

So since I didn’t want to sadden the mood by prying into Dalton’s family I talked about my own. 

“Uncle Chase asked about you yesterday,” I said. 

“Did he?  I wondered why Thomas wasn’t at baseball practice.”

“Because of my cousin Jacob’s high school graduation. It was last night.  Every Gentry in the state was in attendance.  I’m sure he’ll be back next week.”   

“I guess that depends on what you told Uncle Chase about me,” Dalton said in a teasing tone. 

I looked up to see his face but the sun hit me in the eyes.  For a second it seemed like the sun was shining right out of his smile.  I blinked and the effect disappeared. 

“Don’t worry, we had a mutually agreeable conversation about you,” I said, failing to mention how my uncle had joked about how his fondness for Dalton wouldn’t stop Chase from killing him if the necessity arose.  Anyone who knew Chase Gentry knew he wasn’t capable of hurting a chipmunk but I still thought it best to leave that part of the conversation out. 

“Glad to hear it,” Dalton said and paused to examine a particularly stately saguaro cactus. 

The weather forecast must have been wrong because in another hour the temperature felt downright sizzling. 

“You feel like going somewhere with air conditioning?” Dalton asked a little while later. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and managed to look absurdly sexy doing it. “Don’t know what the hell we were thinking opting for an outdoor activity.” 

“I like air conditioning,” I said.  “What did you have in mind?  Movies have air conditioning.” 

“So do museums.”

“And shopping malls.” 

Dalton pivoted suddenly and cupped my face in his hands.  “Do you know how fucking bad I’ve wanted to kiss you this whole time?” 

My heart was a jackhammer.  My legs were jelly.  Dalton brought out a sexual boldness in me that no one had ever touched before.   

“Then do it,” I whispered. 

Dalton didn’t hesitate.  I moaned at the feel of his lips.  Our tongues collided and I felt myself falling against his hard body.  Dalton’s strong arms held me up and crushed me against him.  One hand tangled in my hair and the other slipped inside my shirt, stroking my lower back.  I was panting when he broke away and fastened his lips to my neck, sucking just hard enough to make me shiver.  His hot tongue tasted the hollow of my throat for a moment before his head ducked lower, my nipples tingling and aching as he teased them through the layers of shirt and bra. 

I didn’t give a damn that we were outdoors in public with nothing stopping us from being discovered.  I arched my back and pressed his head and thought I might not mind if he pushed my shirt up and sucked my nipples until I came right here and now. 

We couldn’t have been all tangled up in each other for more than a few seconds when there was the sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel path and a shocked voice saying, “Oh my goodness.”  

After breaking away from Dalton with extreme reluctance I saw the old couple we’d passed on the path earlier.  They were standing a few yards away, gaping at the spectacle. 

“Excuse us,” Dalton said,  “I was just helping my friend remove something from her eye.”   

The man was amused.  “Son, most women I know don’t keep their eyes down there.” 

“My mistake,” Dalton chuckled but he took a polite step back and waited for the old couple to pass.  I wanted him to kiss me again. I wanted him to back me against the nearest broad tree and show me what he could do with the considerable bulge in his pants. 

“What are you thinking about, Cami?” Dalton asked with amusement and I realized I’d been staring unabashedly at his crotch. 

“Just you,” I said. 

He smiled and took my hand, leading me slightly off the path into some nearby shade.  I wondered if I was about to get my recent wish about being screwed right here against the nearest tree.  I decided that would be just fine. 

It was a minor disappointment when Dalton didn’t immediately tear my clothes off.  Even though I knew that the most sensible thing we ought to do right now is NOT fuck like rabbits in the middle of the botanical gardens. 

Dalton tipped my chin up and stared earnestly into my face for a moment, like he was trying to read my thoughts.  He must have been satisfied with what he saw because a small smile tilted the corners of his lips.  His knuckles brushed my cheek and I shivered in the heat as a wave of brazen lust surged through me. 

“I want to know,” he said in a low, sultry voice.  “Tell me, Camille.” 

“What?” I whispered and let my tongue dart out to touch his thumb when it ventured close to my lips. 

He sucked in a breath.  “Tell me about what you’re thinking.” 

I was lightheaded.  “I already told you.” 

“Tell me again anyway.” 

My voice was nearly inaudible.  “I’m thinking about you.” 

He looked thoughtful.  “When did we meet?”

“Five days ago.” 

“Five days.”  He nodded with approval.  “Five days and I’ve already imagined fucking you about seventy different times.”

“Oh.”  It was more of an involuntary squeak than a word.  I couldn’t believe this conversation was happening.  I wanted to record it. And then replay it a thousand times. 

Dalton considered before asking his next question.  “Why do you think that is, Cami?”

“What?”

“Why can’t I stop thinking about you?”

I shook my head slightly.  “I don’t know.” 

He bent forward and touched his forehead to mine.  “Let me tell you then.  It’s because I like you a hell of a lot more than I ought to. You’re smart and you’re sexy and I really want to get to know you a lot better. I meet a lot of women all the time and not one of them has kept me up at night like you have this week.  But if I take you home and fuck you right now it’s gonna be nothing but filthy.”  He took my face in his hands and looked me in the eye.  “Is that okay?”

I was dizzy.  No guy had ever talked to me like this before.  I didn’t know there were guys out there who did talk like this.  The idea of being filthy with him was absolutely okay.

“Yes.”  I pulled him to me.  I slid my hand low and cupped the bulge in his pants, reveling in his low moan.  “That’s more than okay, Dalton.  I like you too.  And I want you.” 

He pressed my hand against his cock harder, more insistently.  “How much?”

“So much,” I whispered. 

He grinned.  “You ready to show me, college girl?”

I didn’t waver.  “Yes”