Kate

The red carpet had taken on a very surreal feel that night. It was like I was there but watching everything proceed from the outside. Cam and his mother stepped out of the limo to a roar of screaming fans at the BFI IMAX in South London, with me chasing behind as Cam snapped photos with every major European news outlet, his mother on his arm right where I should have been. The flashes seemed blinding tonight, and I felt ill as everything seemed to be happening in slow motion or underwater. Cam barely looked at me as I took him and his mother down the press line. He stopped at every news camera, seeming to relish telling everyone that he wasn’t dating anyone but had brought the “only truly special lady in his life.” He was punishing me tonight, and I knew I deserved it.

When we finally finished the red carpet and headed into the theater, I tried to pull Cam aside as we waited backstage for the stage introductions before the screening of Due North.

“Cam, will you please talk to me for a second,” I begged.

“I don’t want to talk about this here. I’d rather not ruin the evening for my date,” he said turning away from me, just as he was introduced on the stage. I listened to the crowd applaud boisterously for his entrance and felt suddenly ill as I watched the event proceed swiftly onwards without me.

The party was no better. I watched as Cam introduced his mother to all of the other stars in attendance, helping her take selfies with everyone from the cast to local TV stars and celebrity friends who had been invited to raise the profile of the red carpet. I even watched as Lizzy beamed with excitement on the arm of Matt Castell. The two had finally begun spending time together without my help, and two days ago, Matt had asked Lizzy if she’d like to “hang” with him that evening. Not exactly a romantic prelude, but Lizzy had been thrilled all the same, and immediately leapt at the opportunity to be there with him, a move that I had wished I had dared to embrace myself. I couldn’t have felt worse as I sat alone on a sofa, watching the evening proceed as I nursed a terribly watered-down cocktail for most of the night, pretending to check emails and be really important. Who was I kidding?

Just as I was reading some ridiculous online gossip about the next Bachelorette or some such nonsense, Tony sat down next to me, eyeing me with concern.

“How are we doing over here?”

“Peachy,” I said dryly.

“You know, it’s funny, there’s this rumor going around that my boss and a certain publicist finally got their shit sorted out, but I gotta tell you it doesn’t look that way to me. “This…” he said pointing right at me, “…looks very unsorted.”

I sighed. “I messed it up already, Tony.”

“You messed it up? Shit, I would have put money on him screwing things up first.”

Tony and I shared a halfhearted chuckle.

“He wanted me to come with him tonight, but I just wasn’t ready. This is a lot for me.”

“I suppose it would be after all that Theater Kids stuff. Your mom looks like quite a handful.”

“You know about that?”

“Background check. I like to know who I’m working with, too.”

I smiled, remembering our first encounter at the airport back in Los Angeles, which now seemed so long ago.

“You know, I think I chose this line of work because I get to decide what people see, control the message, choose the narrative. When you’re out there on the other side,” I said, looking over at Cam and his mother being shot by a roving photographer, “not so much. Tried that, didn’t love it.”

“Can’t say I blame you. I’ve been doing this for work for almost thirty years, and I never really understood why anyone would want this type of life, but some people are just meant for it, I guess. Me? I’m a Bud Light and Law and Order kind of a guy.”

“Law and Order? Really?”

“Yeah, I like that Mariska Hargitay, you know. Besides it’s the only thing that is always on. Doesn’t matter what time it is—what country you’re in—that shit is always on.”

I laughed probably for the first time that day as I regarded Tony.

“Look, it’s none of my business, but I think the man has real feelings for you, Kate. There’s no doubt about that. But this is what his life looks like. If you can’t do it, you should cut him loose before he gets hurt. He’s already been through a lot, you know what I mean?”

I nodded sadly, almost choking back tears. Tony leaned into me. “But if you can do it…ain’t nothing going to stop you two, if you ask me,” he said with a grin.

I laughed out loud spontaneously. “We should get you a talk show of some sort. You could be the next Dr. Phil or Steve Harvey, I think,” I said with a grin as I wiped away the tear that had almost fallen.

“America ain’t ready for this shit,” he said, squeezing my knee before he got up from the couch. “I’ve had my eye off the boss for too long. I’d better head back.”

I nodded as I snuck another glance at Cam at the other end of the room, catching his eye for a moment. The disappointment in his eyes was apparent as he gazed at me, but then he almost immediately refocused his attention back to his mother and Alexis Hathaway, who were chatting animatedly.

“Thanks, Tony,” I said a bit pathetically as Tony squeezed my shoulder and was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.

---

When the last glass of champagne had finally been drunk and the blessed evening was over, everyone piled back into their limos and arrived back at Claridge’s for the night. The crowd was lingering in the lobby, hugging each other and effusing over how great the night had been, and I played along while desperately wanting Cam to finally reach out and let me know that we were going to be okay–but he didn’t. I couldn’t get away fast enough as far as I was concerned, but I was stopped by Cam’s mother before I snuck away to the elevator bay.

“Kate! I feel like we didn’t even get to talk tonight. I’m so sorry, dear. I just wanted to tell you that I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for my family, and I was so hoping we’d get a chance to know each other a bit better.”

I could feel the tears gathering at the back of my throat for about the thousandth time that day, just as Cam’s hand rested at the small of my back and his thumb soothed my anxiety as it gently massaged my back.

“She was working tonight, Mum. I promise I’ll bring her back soon for a proper visit.”

Cam’s mother smiled and took her son’s face in her hands, kissing both of his cheeks for good measure with tears welling in her eyes. “Of course, you will,” she said, regarding us both and then pulling me in for the warmest hug possible. “Take care of each other–and thank you for the very best night of my life.” She squeezed both of our arms and then was off to say her goodbyes to Lizzy.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Cam said in a solemn tone.

“Cam, I…”

“Not down here, okay?”

I sighed and followed Cam into an elevator and headed up to our floor. He didn’t say a word on the ride up.

We came to my door first, and I suppose it was a good sign that he hadn’t just gone ahead to his own door expecting me to follow, but I was terrified of what he would say when we entered my room. I knew in my heart that it would destroy me if he ended things that night.

I put the key card in and let us into the room. As soon as the door closed, Cam was on me like a caged animal that had been suddenly unleashed. He pushed me up against a nearby wall and his lips tore at me as he tried to quell his own rampant emotions with mine. He groped at my breasts, my waist, and finally my buttocks and then just below, lifting me off the ground as he wrapped my legs around him and pushed my back harder into the wall behind me. The exquisite pain of his ferociousness was both terrifying and scorchingly hot all at the same time.

As Cam kissed me feverishly, he fiddled with the buttons on the front of my dress. Not finding them easily maneuverable, he simply grasped fistfuls of the thin fabric in either hand and ripped it apart, demolishing it in seconds. He stopped for a moment, violently panting as he stared at me.

“You are mine, Kate. Do you understand that?”

I nodded, so captivated by his intensity at that moment.

“Say it!”

I was breathing heavily, so taken aback by his desperate tone.

“Say it, Kate. Please, I need to hear you say it.” His voice softened by the minute as I watched the fire in his eyes slowly diminish to embers.

Running my hands over the sides of his sweet face, I hoped to calm him a little. “Cam, I am yours. I promise. I’m all yours, love.”

His breath began to slow as he gazed up at me. He closed his eyes in pure exhaustion and let me hug him tight.

“I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Cam. That was never my intention. I just…wasn’t ready tonight.”

Cam finally let out a breath as though he had been holding it all night. “I know,” he said with a sigh. “You have to get there in your own time. I think it’s just hard for me because I’m already there,” he said as he stroked my face, gently now, his brow furrowed a bit in emotional turmoil. God, I love you like crazy, Katie,” he whispered.

I smiled, feeling my heart fill again with such love for this man. “Cam, I love you like crazy, too. You have to believe that,” I said as Cam shook his head, trying to regain his composure as he continued to hold me, the storm slowly subsiding. “You know what?” I said, offering him a precocious grin as I leaned my forehead in to touch his. “Four months from now, you and I are going to be sitting at the Oscars together.” Cam begrudgingly gave me a silly grin. “We’ll be right in the front row, side by side, waiting for your name to get called, and then when they say, ‘The Oscar goes to…Camden Atwood,’ I’m going to be clapping and cheering like a crazy person because my man is a fucking winner!”

Cam busted out laughing in spite of himself. “Is that so?”

“Yep. But if you forget to thank me in your speech, well, then, we’re dunzo.”

He laughed again and let me kiss him. It had been just a small kiss, but within seconds it evolved into something much more meaningful, almost apologetic somehow on both sides.

Before I knew it, Cam was slowly walking us toward my bed, and I was on my back with Cam on top of me, right where he belonged. His touch had gentled now as he finished unbuttoning the dress that he had basically torn to shreds and tossed it to the floor.

“Such a caveman move,” I said as Cam grinned down at me apologetically and dropped soft, reverent kisses across my abdomen, heating my skin instantly as he worked his way up to my bra, making quick work of discarding that before he gave my pert nipple a long hard suck. I ran my fingers through his hair until he sat up quickly, straddling me, as he unbuttoned his own shirt, not breaking eye contact with me for even a second. I watched as that totally lickable eight-pack began to reveal itself to me. My mouth nearly watered.

“See something you like?” Cam said, taking in the hunger in my eyes.

I perused his perfectly tanned body as he tossed his shirt to the side. “Maybe,” I said coyly as I sat up a bit on my elbows to watch the show.

Cam stood at the side of the bed and stripped down entirely, letting me savor his slow, methodical movements as he pinned me to the spot with an almost animalistic stare as his already erect penis hardened by the second. Unreal.

Looking at his naked, perfectly ripped body standing before me, I couldn’t help myself and got up on my hands and knees and crawled over to him at the edge of the bed, and gripped his hips, making a plan to lick the midsection of his abdomen all the way up to those perfect lips. First, I let my tongue tease his belly-button and then I let it take the seductive ride all the way up his center to the skin between his hard pecs and then up the curve of his neck, stopping only to give his chin a little nip before meeting his gaze. Cam just shook his head with a grin and then gripped my face to devour my lips as I kneeled on the bed in front of him.

“You fucking kill me,” he said when he pulled back to look at me with wonder in his eyes.

“Oh, well, I’m not nearly done yet,” I said with a mischievous smile as I turned around on the bed, giving Cam my back as I wrapped his arms around me sliding one hand over my breasts and the other down to my sex. I could feel as his arms tightened around me, and he began kissing my neck, drinking in the scent of my perfume, just before running his teeth teasingly over my earlobe. I could feel his erection pressing into me, seeking my warmth, so I made a little space between my thighs for Cam to slide in as I tightened my stance, giving him just enough friction to tease him as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. His lips found mine, devouring me once again until both of our heads were spinning.

“Fuck, I want you so bad, Kate,” he said, seemingly under my spell, and that was when I just smiled and slowly bent over for him on my hands and knees and looked back at him coquettishly.

“Then have me,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Fuck!”

He just shook his head at me and smiled with a little hint of awe, then stroked my ass appreciatively just before he slowly removed my panties and gave my rear a good firm squeeze as he guided his hard cock into my pussy from behind. I loved watching him as his eyes closed at the sensation of entering me this way. He took his time at first, letting me feel every inch of him as he slid all the way in and then all the way out of me, but it wasn’t long before Cam picked up his pace a bit. Before I knew it, he was slamming into me hard, gripping my hips almost to the point of pain as he rammed into me. I could hear as his skin slapped against my ass again and again as he drilled me hard, grunting with each stroke.

“Ugh, this feels amazing,” he yelled out, and I could tell he was getting lost in the rhythm, and I loved that I could do that for him.

For me, this was all about him, but he, of course, wasn’t having it. In an instant, he leaned over and ran his hands up my abdomen and grabbed my breasts, pulling me back into him as he continued to bang me incredibly hard. The slight change in position put his bullseye right in my sweet spot.

“Fuck, Cam!” I screamed out in surprise.

“Does that feel good, love?” he asked with a labored grunt. “Can you feel how deep I am?”

“Oh, God,” I screamed out as he slid a hand down to my clit and pressed two fingers into me, giving me that perfect pressure as he continued to drive into me. “You’re so fucking deep,” I said as he impaled me again and again in the most mind-blowing way. He continued to slide in hard, reaching the deepest places inside of me and sending me into a fit of ecstasy as I began to feel my orgasm already fast approaching. As deep as he was, I wanted more and pushed back to meet him thrust for thrust.

“Shit, Katie!” he screamed out in delicious agony.

I gripped his hand tightly to my breasts, feeling every muscle in his body contracting violently as he worked me. I allowed the rhythm of our bodies to mesmerize me, and I could feel just how hard I was about to detonate.

“Come with me, love,” Cam whispered as he grabbed at my tit just as he began losing control. Within seconds we erupted together, screaming out as our sexes spasmed wildly, allowing us to savor every last second of the explosive connection.

Cam and I collapsed on the bed, both of us idling hard as we came down from the sexual high.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit,” was all I could say at that point.

We were both crazy out of breath as we allowed our bodies to settle. Cam just laughed. “So amazing, every time,” he said breathlessly with a sated smile as he slowly reached for me and melted into my sweaty nook, fatigued.

“Yeah, it was okay, I guess,” I said breathlessly with a smile as I looked down at him.

“I’m going to kill you,” he said as he attacked me with kisses, making me giggle profusely.

When he finally stopped, he just dropped a long, sweet kiss on my lips. I couldn’t stop staring at him when he finally pulled away and gazed at me. I just adored his beautiful face.

“I love you so much, Cam,” I said, stroking his cheek.

He smiled down at me as he nestled himself back into my nook. “I love you, too, sweet girl,” he whispered, pulling me in close to him, letting his body slowly settle.

After a few minutes, I could hear his breathing even out and could tell that he had shut his eyes, finally managing to find his peace for the night.