CHAPTER TWO
Petty Officer Cameron Drake took a long, slow look around the ballroom. Impressive. Pretty much everything glittered. The crystal chandeliers overhead, the mirrors on the walls, the fancy-assed guests milling around with their party smiles on.
He’d grown up in an apartment less than a mile away but this was the first time he’d actually set foot on the Goodwin Country Club and Golf Course. It’d always been the fancy place on the hill. Close enough to see, yet totally out of reach.
He shifted that long, slow look to the woman standing in front of him.
Even more impressive.
She wasn’t as flashy as the ballroom. Her hair was a gentle sweep of ebony, falling without curl or frill to her shoulders. Wide blue eyes were fringed with lashes that seemed long enough to touch her silken bangs.
Unlike the country club, Cam had spent a lot of time wanting to get closer to this Goodwin. When he was seventeen, it’d been because she was off-limits. Yes, he readily acknowledged that he’d been that much of a jackass. When he was eighteen, it’d been because he’d realized how sweet she was. Pure, even, although that hadn’t been a word that bad-ass Cam Drake had let anyone hear him use. But that’s what Hope had been.
Pure and sweet.
And sexy as hell.
“I’m grateful that you came back for the benefit,” Hope said softly, her voice as smooth as silk. “Did you see much of Diver’s Cove on your way into town? Has it changed since you left?”
“Yes and no.” Cam shrugged. He’d barely paid attention, except to acknowledge that there were a few extra traffic lights slowing him down. All he’d been thinking about was getting here and seeing Hope. Crazy, sure. It wasn’t as if they’d been a couple. He hadn’t seen or talked to her in the eight years since he’d left. But he’d heard from her every few months.
“Thank you, by the way.” At her confused frown, he explained. “The letters you wrote me. I appreciated them.”
Hers had been the only letters he’d ever gotten. Nobody from Diver’s Cove had anything to say to him worth putting a stamp on. His old man sure as hell hadn’t cared if he was there or gone. But Hope had written.
At first, he’d ignored the letters. All he’d wanted was to put Diver’s Cove and everything about it behind him. But Hope had simply continued to write until he hadn’t been able to resist writing back.
“You’re a hero.” Her smile was just a little wicked, as if she knew how uncomfortable words like that made him. “The least I could do was write. Besides, I didn’t want you to forget about… the town.”
“Not possible.” Cam’s smile took on a deeper edge as color washed over her cheeks. “I think about…the town all the time.”
Definitely more than he should, given that he’d vowed when he left Diver’s Cove that he was done with the place and everyone in it.
But he’d never been able to forget Hope.
“Why don’t we go somewhere and get a drink?” He glanced around the crowded ballroom, his gaze sliding past the curious looks, ignoring the surprised stares. “Somewhere else.”
Her expression torn, Hope waved, her slender hand encompassing the ballroom and the people.
“I really can’t.” The regret in her words was echoed by her frown. “I’m hosting the benefit, so I’m supposed to stay here. You know, to greet people and mingle.”
Sounded like torture to him.
“So be bad,” he suggested in a low, husky tone. He stepped closer. As he breathed in the fresh sweetness of her perfume, he watched her pulse jump in her throat. And smiled. “If you don’t know how, I can teach you.”
“You’ll teach me to be bad?” Those big, dark eyes lit and a smile of anticipation spread over that pretty face.
It was all Cam could do not to lean down and taste her right then and there. He could see the nervousness in her eyes, mixed in with curiosity and desire.
He didn’t consider himself an expert on the fairer sex—exactly—but Cam knew passion when he saw it. And in Hope was an untapped passion. One that would explode with the right touch. His touch. He just had to find the right spot.
Her mouth?
The delicate curve of her neck?
Those lush breasts?
Cam’s eyes lowered, his grin widening.
He’d bet she had a lot of right spots, all of them waiting for his touch.
His body stirred at the idea. Her lips parted, just a little, the lower fullness glistening as if asking when.
Before he could decide if he was going to give the people a show or wait for privacy, an annoyingly familiar screech filled his ears.
He and Hope cringed at the same time.
“There you are. Cameron Drake, you naughty boy.”
Damn.
Hope’s expression closed, but not before he saw a flash of hurt in those expressive eyes.
Cameron’s demeanor didn’t change. He didn’t stiffen, he didn’t frown. Hell, he didn’t even blink. He credited that to a foul talking Recruit Division Instructor with a penchant for sniffing out fear. And if ever there was a woman to inspire fear, it was Rae Burton. Aka, Man Eater.
Cam’s refusal to return to Diver’s Cove hadn’t had anything to do with avoiding Rae. She hadn’t been that important. But as he turned to face the woman he’d dated for five minutes in high school and barely escaped with his privates intact, Cam had to admit that not seeing her had been a definite plus.
“Rae.” He nodded at the curvy redhead.
“Cam.” Before she could make good on the full-body dive he saw intended in her eyes, Cam hooked one hand around Hope’s waist and pulled her tight against his side. She made for a pretty small shield, but he was man enough to admit that when it came to redheaded barracudas, he’d take any shield he could get.
It didn’t seem to be slowing Rae down, though. Completely ignoring Hope, she stepped closer and scraped her fingernails up and down Cam’s forearm. She probably thought it was sexy.
Cam thought he’d better get a rabies shot.
“I saw you on the RSVP list and I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve got a quiet corner all picked out for us. We’ll have a drink, catch up and talk about old times.”
“Sorry. Can’t.” Feeling Hope stiffen even more next to him, Cam sighed. Damned manners. As much as he’d rather, he couldn’t ignore them if it’d upset Hope. “I’ve already committed the evening to helping Hope with the benefit. Good seeing you, though.”
That must have satisfied Hope’s manner-meter, because she relaxed into his side, her body curving to his in a tempting invitation. Heat shot through his body, sharp and intense. Cam was scouting the exits and calculating the distance to his hotel room when Rae spoke again.
“Is that so?” Her calculating blue eyes slid toward Hope, then back to Cam. She arched one rounded brow as if to say, yeah right, then shrugged. “That’s fine. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time together after tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Cam and Hope asked in stereo.
“Mmm, tomorrow.” Still completely ignoring Hope, Rae stepped close enough that her perfume wrapped around him like a predatory vine. Before Cam could do more than frown, she tapped one bright red fingernail on his chest and smiled sharply. “You’re the top prize at my special event.”
“What event are you talking about?” Hope asked just before Cam could snap the same question in decidedly less polite words.
“Oh, didn’t someone from the council tell you?” Rae fluttered her heavily darkened lashes at Hope, the look as insincere as it was dismissive. “I convinced them to hold a bachelor auction. All proceeds go to the center, of course. And every single man who checked the volunteer box is up for bid.”
Beside him, Hope made a sound suspiciously close to a hiss. Distracted by that, Cam wasn’t fast enough to avoid Rae’s pat on his ass. Her trademark goodbye gesture.
He watched her saunter away, her hips swinging like a leather metronome. His hand still pressed against Hope’s waist, he waited until Rae moved through the crowd, not surprised to see people part for her as if she were royalty… Or a rabid fox. Then he glanced down at the sweet-faced brunette curled tight to his side.
From the look of horrified frustration on her face, she wasn’t nearly as surprised as he was over Rae’s little bombshell.
Cam didn’t say a word. He slid his hand down to take Hope’s, then calmly walked them toward the relative privacy of the veranda. There, he reluctantly let go of Hope’s hand. Even as irritated as he was, he liked the feel of her skin against his. He watched her as she watched him, and admitted to himself that Hope was the reason he’d come back to Diver’s Cove. The only reason.
And she’d deemed him a prize to be sold.
“So… I’m up for auction.” He arched one brow in a casual gesture but couldn’t keep the frustration from his voice. He’d grown up about as welcome as a sexual disease in this town, a charity case for the do-gooders and a suspect by the police. Now they wanted to bid on him? “What do you know about this? Care to share any details?”