Cam

 

I was two seconds away from stomping over and ripping Vaughn’s goddamn hands off of Reese.

Then I was going to kill him.

I’d noticed her earlier in the night playing beer pong, but I’d forced myself to keep my distance. It was the right thing to do because Reese wasn’t the type of girl you hit and quit. She deserved more than that, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to give her more. It wasn’t the right time in my life to get serious with anyone. Not to mention the fact that I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to get serious with anyone. I’d been thinking about it a lot lately. Whether or not I was the right kind of man for her. The kind who would smother her with affection, devote all of my time to her, and never, ever hurt her.

I determined I wasn’t.

I should never have told her to come to this damn party.

But then she’d looked at me, her cheeks flushed with excitement, her smile bright, and it felt like a lead weight had plummeted to the pit of my stomach because I hadn’t been the one to put that smile on her face. When we’d made eye contact, all I’d wanted in that moment was to rush over and take her into my arms, and then lock us both away in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

And now she was dancing with that fucker Vaughn.

It wasn’t any of kind of dirty bump and grind. He wasn’t rubbing his dick up against her or groping her ass. But he was making her smile. And that was decidedly worse.

They’d been laughing and giggling for the past three songs, and the unbearable sight was grating on my last nerve. When she reached up and lifted her thick hair off her shoulders, her already short dress climbed up her creamy thighs, which, of course, drew Vaughn’s attention. I was done after I saw that look on his face.

This shit was over.

I slammed my beer bottle down on the coffee table and abruptly stood up. The chick next to me grabbed my arm and in a whiny voice said, “Where are you going, baby?”

I didn’t have a clue who she was. She’d boldly sat down next to me earlier in the night, and I’d been too tired to tell her to go away. Now, I was practically shaking with restrained anger. I yanked my arm out of her grip.

“Nowhere you’re going.”

I walked off in the direction of the dance floor.

I didn’t take my eyes off of Reese as the song ended and another one immediately started playing. She said something to Vaughn I couldn’t hear and pointed down the hall, in the direction of the bathroom. I followed her through the throng of people, never losing sight of her amid the multicolored flashing lights in the room. Her ass swayed in her black dress that was hot as shit, not to mention those damn red shoes. Not being able to touch her in that dress had been driving me fucking crazy all night. Some techno song was blasting through the speakers, but all I heard ringing in my ears was my absolute, desperate need for this girl.

I was right behind her when she turned the corner for the bathroom. Gripping her upper arm, I pulled her back, pushing her against the wall in the shadows of the narrow hallway. I heard her gasp and saw her eyes widen when she finally saw who it was that held her. The flashes of light allowed me to see her shock, her apprehension, but also her…interest?

She sucked in a breath. “Cam? What are you doing?”

“We need to talk,” I growled.

“Can it wait? I need to go to the bathroom.”

I leaned down, getting right up in her face, and caged her in with my arms. “No. It can’t fucking wait. What were you doing dancing with Vaughn?”

Her head reared back like I’d slapped her. “Excuse me? How is that any of your business?”

I clenched my jaw. “You damn well know why it’s my business.”

She raised her eyebrow in challenge. “You and I are not a thing, Cam. I can dance with whoever I want.”

“Are you fucking him?”

I don’t know what made me ask it. It was just something I had to put out there. I had to know for sure.

She laughed incredulously. “Are you serious? You think you can ask me that when you’ve had some random girl plastered to your side all night? Pot, meet kettle much?”

I narrowed my eyes. Is that what her deal had been? Why there had been a little spark of anger in her eyes when she’d looked at me earlier and why she’d turned away so quickly? Because of the no-name next to me? Satisfaction seeped through me at the realization.

“Jealous, sweetheart?” I asked smugly.

I brought our bodies closer together, wanting every inch of space between us gone.

She shifted on her feet. “I could give a shit what or who you do.”

Her tone didn’t match her words, so I pushed.

“I think you do, actually.” My gaze fell to her red lips, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss and suck on them until every bit of that lipstick was gone. “But if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t even know her name. She just sat down next to me, I guess thinking I’d be into that.”

“Can you blame her? What do they call you? ‘Wham Bam Cam’?” Regret flashed across her face for two seconds before quickly disappearing. “Is that what I was supposed to be to you? A quick little one and done thing? But since I didn’t let you fuck me in that stairwell you haven’t got your fill or something?”

My temper spiked. “You don’t know shit about me. So, don’t pretend you do just because you read the latest tabloid, sweetheart. And you’re damn right I haven’t got my fill of you yet. Hell if I know why, though. You do a better job of pissing me off than anyone I know.”

“Ditto.”

“My question is,” I whispered, our mouths only a hairsbreadth away, “how many of the other guys on the team are getting their fill, too?” Her small grin was instantly wiped from her face. “Me and Vaughn? What about Jesse and Colt? Or Boyd? You been giving all of them the same kind of attention you’ve been giving me?”

Her lips parted. “How dare you.” Her eyes blazed with her own fury now. “You don’t know shit about me if you think I would do something like that. You know what?” She threw her hands up. “I’m done with this. It’s not worth my time.”

She tried to sidestep me, but I blocked her path, crowding her even further against the wall until she could barely move. I was still pissed off, but I had to admit I was enormously relieved to hear that she hadn’t been hooking up with anyone else. I believed her when she said it.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. “Get off of me, Cam.”

She started shoving at my chest, but there was no way her skinny little arms were moving me. Hell, Dwayne Johnson couldn’t have pulled me away from her right then. I snatched her wrists up and pinned them to the wall on either side of her. The censure in her eyes flared brighter.

“Let me tell you something, Reese,” I hissed. “I don’t share. So, while we’re doing whatever the hell it is we’re doing, I don’t want anyone else touching you. I see the way the other guys on the team look at you. I know they picture you naked. Imagine you doing all the things to them that I’ve imagined you doing to me.” I squeezed her wrists tighter. “And I don’t fucking like it.”

She squirmed in my grasp, but I didn’t let up. “That’s your problem, then, not mine. Besides, I’m sure you’ve had other girls touching you since—”

“I haven’t been with anyone else since we met,” I cut her off.

That shut her up. Trust me, I was as surprised as she was. This was the longest I’d gone without sex since I got to college, and it was doing jack shit for my patience level. My hand just wasn’t doing the trick.

“I don’t believe that,” she said quietly.

“Believe whatever the hell you want but it’s the truth. And if you want to challenge me, go ahead. See what happens. But I’m warning you again.” I pressed my straining erection into her, my hardness digging into her belly. I heard the catch of her breath when she got the full effect. “I. Don’t. Share.”

She pursed her lips. “Of all the asinine presumpti—”

Her words were cut off when I slammed my lips down onto hers.

As much as I hated arguing with her, it was also a huge turn-on, and I was hard as granite in my jeans. Her body was stiff and tense and she wasn’t yet responding to the kiss. As I slowly eased my hold on her wrists and started massaging them with my thumbs, though, her body relaxed little by little. Her lips started moving against mine, her limbs turning languid the more she fell into the moment. She even released a small whimper when I parted her lips with my tongue and eased my way in.

That little sound about had me punching through my zipper.

Our mouths recognized each other as tongue met tongue, sliding together in hot, sensual caresses. All anger was forgotten as need and desire quickly took over. My hands left her wrists to slide down her body, covering her breasts in their descent. She moaned into my mouth as I flicked my thumbs over her nipples, a testament to how sensitive she was if she could feel my touch through her dress and bra. Her mouth turned hungrier when my hands lowered to her ass, cupping it and pulling her closer to my hard shaft. We stood there eating at each other’s mouths, swallowing each other’s groans, breathlessly panting, and grinding our fevered bodies in a desperate search of relief.

She was so hot in my hands, it was better than every fantasy I’d ever had of her.

If I could make her feel so good that there was no way she’d be going home thinking about anyone but me tonight, I would sleep soundly.

I drew her leg up and wrapped it around my waist as my other hand snuck underneath her dress, snaking toward her panties. If we had been anywhere else, I would have pushed the dress above her hips so I could get a good look at the scrap of lace I was running my fingers over. As it was, I only had a few minutes before I knew this spell would be broken. Either by Reese coming to her senses and spouting some bullshit reason for why we shouldn’t do this. Or by someone walking down the hall and discovering that we were not just making out.

Her breathing shallowed when my finger slipped inside her underwear and rubbed against her soaking wet folds.

“Oh, Jesus,” I said, sucking in a breath as I broke our kiss. “You’re so damn soft.”

Her eyes were closed when she whispered, “Cam. Please.”

I glanced down to see my arm disappearing under the material of her hiked up dress and impossibly, I grew even harder.

“You like my touch, baby?”

She bit her lip, holding back her sounds. Damn it, I would have given anything to be somewhere where she could release all of her screams, her demands. I wanted to hear her completely unencumbered and wild in the throes of passion. I wanted to hear what I did to her without any kind of filter.

“I need it inside me,” she said on a heavy breath.

Fuck.

I imagined for a second that she was talking about my cock, but realized she was referring to my exploring finger. I quelled my disappointment, though, because being inside her in any capacity was better than nothing.

I found her slick opening and thrust my finger inside. My eyes rolled back in my head when her inner muscles immediately clamped down on me. And that was just with one finger.

“You are so fucking tight,” I said, gritting my teeth so I wouldn’t go off in my jeans. “Goddamn, Reese.” I buried my face in her neck to muffle my own noises.

“It’s been a little while for me,” she panted heavily against my skin. I slid another finger in. “Oh, God.”

Once again satisfied to hear that she hadn’t been touched by anyone else recently, I picked up my pace, driving my fingers deeper into her, hooking them at an angle when I felt her respond to her sweet spot. A clanging noise suddenly filled my ears, and I realized it was my own belt buckle. Reese was undoing it with fast, deft fingers.

Holy shit. Was this really going to happen?

Were we about to do this?

The next thing I knew, she had her whole hand wrapped tightly around me. I braced the hand that wasn’t buried deep inside her on the wall to keep me upright. Her nimble fingers squeezed my base, gently but firmly pumping me at a pace that was going to make me pass out.

I groaned loudly. “Ah, fuck. That’s it. Faster, baby.”

I drove my hips forward in time with her strokes and continued to work her dripping pussy. With the music and lights, our breathing, and her skillful fingers on me, the moment was too intense.

“I’m not going to last much longer,” I warned her.

“Me, either.”

I leaned forward and nipped her bottom lip. Her mouth spread into a filthy, devious little smirk.

“Come for me, sweetheart. Come all over my hand.”

“Oh, shit. I’m going to…”

“Do it,” I commanded harshly. “Give it to me.”

I smashed my mouth over hers right before she screamed the whole house down. Her tight channel clamped down around my fingers as she came, mimicking her grip on my cock. As she reached her peak, she squeezed the base so tight she literally forced it out of me. I came so hard I actually felt a bit dizzy.

I steadied her when she swayed on her feet as she came down from her high. I could hardly catch my breath. She pulled her hand out of my jeans and re-buckled my belt. I slowly pulled my hand away and reveled in her shocked fascination as she watched me lick her taste off of my fingers.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes, her face still showing disbelief. “What the hell was that?”

“That, sweetheart, was me proving to you that there is some sort of thing between us. And while it’s there, this,” I held up the two fingers that were just inside her, “is mine. And only mine.”

That seemed to bring all the anger from before back. This time when she pushed me, I let her.

“You are a controlling asshole,” she said sharply. “I am not the type that will be owned. We haven’t made any promises to each other. As far as I’m concerned, the only thing that’s between us are a few kisses and a couple of orgasms. Why don’t you just put what happened here in your spank bank so we can both move on.”

Oh, hell no.

She shoved past me, but I grabbed her arm before she could disappear. Her little speech incensed me. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she’d thrown me another curveball. Not that I hadn’t known it from the beginning, but this just reaffirmed that she was nothing like any girl I’d ever met before.

“I’m serious, Reese,” I said, my voice grave. “I know you feel what’s between us. But if you want to squander that to go grope another man’s dick, then consider mine completely off-limits.” I pulled her in by the back of the neck. “I either want all of you or nothing.”

“Little piece of advice,” she said. “If you actually want a girl for more than just sex, then don’t treat the two of you getting together like a foregone conclusion. You think you can get whatever you want just because you flaunt your hot body and kissing skills at her? How about I give you a taste of your own medicine?” She leaned into me this time, rising to her toes. “Making out does not mean that I’m yours. You don’t want the girls you screw to get any ideas about a relationship just because you gave them a few orgasms, right? Well, consider this the exact same scenario.”

I flashed my teeth, my temper once again seething. “This isn’t the same.”

“Prove it,” she whispered against my lips.

Then she walked off without a backwards glance.

What the hell did that mean? How did she want me to prove it? And what exactly was I proving to her?

What are you doing, man? You shouldn’t be caring about proving anything to her. This whole thing has been doomed from the start.

At this point, I didn’t care about Coach’s warning. Reese had just issued a challenge.

And one way or another, I was going to meet it.