Now

Jackson and Camille collected themselves as they pulled into the circular driveway of the King home. He took her hand. “I’m going to tell my family. About us.”

She had assumed he would. “Jenna already knows.”

“I figured. But I want to tell them all. They love you so much, Camille. I’m sure they’re going to be really happy for us.”

In theory, this was not a problem. But something in the back of her mind made her wonder if it was too soon to be making their new relationship public. And she prayed he’d be subtle about it.

Sunday gathering at the King house was a longstanding tradition, involving the immediate family, significant others, random guests and visiting dignitaries. No one was excused, not even Camille, who had long ago been inducted as one of the family. That week, however, she would not only be attending as one of the family, but also as Jackson’s love interest. She paused with one foot out of the car and grappled with the idea of not going in. This was scary and she didn’t like it.

Jackson’s love life had frequently been a topic of conversation, primarily because of the celebrities involved. But this time, she’d be the target. Even though she knew this family better than any other, it felt impossible to predict how they would react to the dramatic shift in their relationship and her status.

Jackson and Camille walked in the door to a bustling household. Julian was giving a theatrical rendition of something that happened to a rapt audience of his family. She always had the sense that if he hadn’t felt so much pressure from his family, he might have easily gone into theater.

“Hi everybody.”

Julian’s story was interrupted by the rush for greetings and hugs. Camille was pleased to see that they might have gotten away with their tardy arrival until Mr. King entered the room, scowling and looking at his watch. He clasped his son on the shoulder, and then softened to give Camille a hug.

“I’m so sorry we’re late, Mr. King. Jackson warned me that we were going to hit traffic coming back from Sonoma, but I didn’t believe him. I delayed our departure and made us late.”

She saw the small smile that crept across Jackson’s face at her deception.

Jonathan planted a kiss on Camille’s head. “That’s no problem, Camille. I’m just glad you’re here.”

At least two people rolled their eyes at Jonathan’s soft spot for her.

“You two were in Sonoma?” asked Mrs. King.

“Yes, Mom. I got you a case of the Syrah you love. I forgot it in the car.” Jackson headed back out the door.

Mrs. King looked delighted. “Oh, that’s so sweet of you.” She tilted her head toward Camille. “How was it, dear?”

“Oh, beautiful, as always. We both really love it up there.”

“Who doesn’t?” Jenna was not being subtle at all in checking her out. “Cammy, come upstairs with me for a minute, will you?”

Without waiting for a response, she whisked Camille up the stairs to her childhood bedroom, which was still decorated as if she were sixteen.

As soon as the door closed, Jenna turned to face her. “Holy fuck!”

“What is it, Jenna?”

“Did you two fuck in the car on the way here? You kind of look like it. And smell like it.”

Camille burned with embarrassment. “Are you serious?”

“I’m sure my parents can’t tell, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Camille walked over to the mirror and tried to organize her hair that was admittedly tussled. “Dammit.”

“What the hell happened up there?”

Camille bit her lip, trying to hide the enormous smile wanting to erupt out of her face. “Everything happened, Jenna. Everything.”

Jenna’s already enormous blue eyes widened to half the size of her face. “Oh. My. God. So, it’s done. You two are officially fucking?”

Camille huffed. “We’re doing more than fucking, Jen.”

“Yeah, yeah, right. You’re in love, blah, blah, blah.”

“Such a romantic you are.” Camille grabbed her friend’s hands. “I think he’s going to tell everybody.”

“What do you think he’s going to say? Hey everybody, you know how we all consider Camille our sister? Well, she ain’t. I know because I’m bangin’ her.”

“God, Jenna, you are so obscene.”

“That’s why you love me.”

“I can’t even talk to you about this if you’re going to act like that. I’m going to the bathroom.”

Jenna wagged her finger. “Make sure to wash my brother’s business off of you while you’re in there.”

“Ugggghhh!”

---

Elena King, the consummate hostess, prepared a deliciously impressive meal, accompanied by nonstop conversation. The one thing the King family never lacked was opinions and the will to share them. As the meal came to an end, Camille wondered how and when Jackson was going to inform his family of their news. She didn’t have to wait long. He stopped his mother from serving dessert to bring a bottle of champagne out of the fridge. After filling all the glasses, he lifted his own. “I’d like to make a toast, everyone.”

He was greeted with wide eyes and curious expressions from everyone around the table except for Jenna, with a Cheshire grin, and Camille, horrified. A public announcement was the last thing she wanted.

“Well, I have big news that I want to share with you.” He turned down to look at Camille. She wanted to dissolve. “Camille and I have been the best of friends for ten years, as you all know. We realized, recently, that the feelings we have for each other had outgrown our friendship. I’ve been lucky enough to convince her to give me a chance as a partner, as her love. So, I want to toast the person whom I credit with so much of what is good, the love of my life. To Camille!”

---

Camille looked around the room to the variety of responses. Justin looked bored, Julian pleasantly surprised, Elena’s lower lip trembled, Jonathan thinned his lips, and Jenna held her self-satisfied grin.

“Haven’t you two been together forever?” Justin looked up from his phone to share the fact that he couldn’t have been less impressed or interested.

“No, Justin, we’ve just been friends. Until now.” Jackson had very little patience for his baby brother.

“That makes no sense.” Justin went back to his phone.

Elena walked between the two of them and brought an arm around each of their shoulders. “I could not be happier. You two are perfect together!”

Camille tilted her head up at her boyfriend’s mother. “Thank you, Mrs. King.”

Elena looked over at her husband. “Isn’t it wonderful, Jonathan?”

“It is certainly quite a surprise.”

Camille recognized the chill in the elder’s voice, and gave Jackson’s hand a squeeze knowing his father’s response would upset him.

Fatigue hit Camille hard as they gathered in the living room after dinner. She leaned over to whisper in Jackson’s ear. “Will you be ready to go soon, honey?”

His face relaxed more than it had the entire evening. “There’s nothing better I’d like to do than take you home.” He stood and addressed the group. “Well, everyone, we’re going to head home now. Thanks for another amazing meal, Mom. Good to see you all.” He turned to help Camille up, when his father appeared by her side.

“Actually, before you two take off, I need a minute with Camille.” Jonathan took her arm. “It’s business stuff. Nothing you’d be concerned with.”

Camille reluctantly stood up and let herself be led out of the room, Jonathan’s hand at her back.

This was not the first time she had been invited to his office to discuss business, but something about this instance left her highly unsettled.

He sat on the edge of his large cherry wood desk and smiled at her. She fidgeted in the overstuffed leather chair that threatened to swallow her entire body. “What can I do for you, Mr. King?” She wanted to get home. Or at least get out of that room.

He walked around his desk and absently moved some papers around. “A new tech company prospectus landed on my desk and I thought of you.”

“Really? What are they doing?”

“They’ve got this brilliant algorithm that pulls data from public and private sources. It’s a hybrid search engine. Brilliant stuff, really. I’ll probably invest, and thought you might be interested in checking them out. I know that big corporate job isn’t keeping you engaged.”

She regretted once telling him that she was getting frustrated with how slow everything moved at her company. “It’s not that bad. I’m learning so much. But I’ll take a look at them. Are they looking for help?”

“Not yet. But they will need to. It’s just a bunch of kids who have limited vision. They need someone like you who can take them to the next level.”

“I really appreciate your confidence in me. It means so much, especially from someone who’s achieved all you have.”

“You forget, Camille, I’ve been following you since Princeton. There are great things in your future. You are an amazingly talented girl. I don’t want to see you wasting your talents with someone who doesn’t appreciate them.”

She got the strong sense he was no longer talking about her job.

“Listen, I’m going to speak frankly here.”

Camille held her breath.

“I know that you are in a strong financial position. You don’t need this job to put food on the table. The only way you’re going to make your mark in this industry is to get in on something new and risky. Or to start something yourself. Now, you’re just feeding a machine that’s already built.”

“I understand, sir. And I agree with you. I will look at this company if you think it has potential. I just don’t have your perspective and experience to be able to assess all these small operations. I’d hate to pick the wrong one.”

“It happens. Even to the best of us.”

Camille stood up. “Okay. I look forward to getting your information. And again, I appreciate your looking out for me. It’s an honor that you’ve taken an interest in my career.”

“I’ve taken an interest in everything about you, Camille. You have been more of a daughter to me than my own children.”

“I don’t know what to say. It’s me who thanks you and your family for taking me in when…” This was not the time to get emotional.

She moved toward the door, but he took her arm. “There’s one more thing, dear.”

A brick dropped in the bottom of her gut. “Yes, sir.”

“This thing with you and Jackson…”

Her face began to warm.

“I love my son, and I’m proud of all he has achieved. I’m just not sure…”

Camille sealed her lips shut.

“I’m not sure he’s husband material.”

Camille could not hold back a gasp. “Sir, we have just begun a relationship. It’s not-”

“That’s what I mean, Camille. He has created a certain lifestyle for himself, to my dismay. You deserve better than that. I would hate for my son to do anything that would hurt you.”

Camille opened her mouth to speak, but her body shook so badly, she couldn’t manage a single word. A thread of terror wrapped itself around her throat. There was nothing good about what Jackson’s father had just said to her, whether it was true or not.

“I hope you can take this in the spirit it was given. I really care about you, Camille. I only want the best for you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Camille brought her hand to the cool brass knob, turned it to open the door and stepped out of the room.

---

Jackson took her hand as they drove home. He had not stopped sneaking looks at her. “What’s going on, love? You look upset.”

“I’m so tired. That’s all.”

“What happened with my father?” She could tell he was working to keep his voice calm.

“He’s investing in a company he wants me to work for.”

“Still with that? He’s the only person on the planet who thinks that working at Google isn’t good enough.”

“He did make a point. I can’t deny that I’m in a position that I could take big career risks without the fear of being homeless.”

“Because of your inheritance?”

“Yeah.”

“But that doesn’t mean you should. Not everyone is suited for that. Maybe you’re super happy at Google. Maybe you enjoy being part of a globally impacting company, as opposed to working out of some kid’s garage.”

“Yeah…” Camille’s head was spinning so fast, she had no idea what she wanted.

---

Camille hardly slept, so disturbed by Jonathan’s statements about his own son. How dare he? She knew better than to bring it up with Jackson until she could do it without emotion. His rage would be bad enough, without her adding to it.

She woke up to find him gazing at her. “You look exhausted, love.” He ran his fingers across her brow. “How about I cook you dinner tonight, we eat in our pajamas, and get an early night?”

“That sounds perfect, honey. You always know what I need.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

When she returned home after work to find her apartment cleaned, and smelling like an Italian restaurant, she almost forgot the burden she had been carrying all day. Jackson greeted her with a deep kiss and an extended hug.

She softened in his arms. “I could get used to this.”

“Please do.”

“So, you’re going to quit that pesky professor job and just be my houseboy?”

“You have no idea how much I’m considering that idea. And we have all summer to actually test it out first, don’t we?”

Even though it had been years, Camille consistently forgot that Jackson had the summers off. Unlike most of his peers, who had to teach classes and push brutal publishing schedules, his fame and the resultant attention it gave the university allowed him much more flexibility.

“It looks like you spent the whole day cooking and cleaning.” The degree to which he had worked on her apartment became evident as she looked around. No one would ever accuse her of being a neat-nick. And her place almost gleamed.

“No. It didn’t take that long. I actually got through all of the edits on the new book. All that great sex has definitely fueled efficiency in me.”

“Glad to help.”

He brought two glasses of red wine from the kitchen. “Unless you’re starving, let’s sit down for a minute. I have a couple of things I want to run by you.”

As do I. “I’m going to change, okay?”

“Can I watch?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Good point.” He followed her into the bedroom.

It felt so good to kick off her shoes and peel the layers off. Her work environment was casual, but she had decided to always dress professionally. It was hard enough to be taken seriously as a young, attractive woman. She wanted everyone to understand she was very serious about her job.

He watched her get undressed with a sweet smile on his face. “How was work, love?”

“Fine. Normal Monday. Your Dad sent me his analysis on that new company, so I spent some time going over it. I have to say their technology was very impressive. I might consider working with them.”

“Really?” He did not look altogether pleased.

“We’ll see.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what really happened with my father?”

Camille slipped on her favorite sleep shirt, unconcerned with its complete lack of sexiness. “You’re not going to like it.”

“I figured.”

“You didn’t press me on it last night. I appreciate that.”

“I know you, Camille. I’m not always going to get it right, but I hope I can more often than not make choices that honor how you want to be treated.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to be face to face. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Not recently.”

“Have I shown you how much I love you?”

His eyes widened. “Cam…”

Her hands moved swiftly to the button of his jeans, then the zipper, then his black boxers. He pulled his t-shirt off, then helped her with the shirt she had just put on. She pushed him back on the bed, crawled up to meet him, and put his already stiff cock deep into her mouth.

“Aaaaah…” he growled.

There was nothing delicate or demure about how she owned the whole of him, sucking, licking and tonguing every part of him. She cupped his balls, pressed the area just behind them, and gripped him as if she was holding on for balance. She did not pause or slow her relentless pace until he erupted into the back of her throat.

Camille dropped her head on his stomach, panting from the exertion.

“Holy fuck, Camille. Please tell me you haven’t always been able to do that.”

She lifted her head. “What?”

“Come up here.” He hooked under her shoulders and pulled her up to him. “I might have to change my previous statement about it being a good thing that we waited, if this is something you were capable of back then.”

“Don’t be silly, Jackson. That’s the first blowjob I’ve ever given.”

He gave her bottom a smack that sounded throughout the room. “I’m going to ignore the sarcasm and tell you that that was amazing. But perhaps you already knew that.”

She twirled her fingers around the small collection of hairs in the center of his chest, snuggled her head into his shoulder and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, he was hovered on top of her. She bent her knees to open herself more for him, and shifted her hips to position him at her opening.

He entered her slowly in small pulses while her body relaxed enough to take him in. She loved the feeling of tightness, the stretching, the pressure of him finding his way inside her.

She looked up at him, a man in complete control of himself and his environment. There was no sign she could give that he wouldn’t record and utilize, possibly no emotion she would feel that he wouldn’t recognize and respond to. She closed her eyes, unable to focus in the swarm of delights. He was gentle with her, knowing that she was probably still tender, and perhaps knowing that it was perfect for her body and her emotional state.

When her breathing accelerated and her groans deepened, he lengthened the strokes. Staying up on one hand, he slipped the other underneath her bottom and brought himself even deeper. This tipped her into the rolling waves of the most buttery orgasm she had ever felt, free of fever and spikes, all languorous slow release.

She opened her eyes to find him exploring her face with his eyes, full of wonder and awe. “Oh, Camille. I cannot handle how beautiful you are.” He kissed her with a delicateness unexpected after what they just shared.

When he pulled out of her and lay to one side, she curled into his body. She was wide awake.

“Tell me about my father.”

“Jackson, I don’t want to ruin this moment. Why don’t you tell me your news.”

“I’m thinking of taking a sabbatical.”

She inhaled sharply. “Jackson!”

“The idea’s been bouncing around for a while. The next book is nearly done, there’ll be a book tour, media, all that. And I’ve already got an idea for the next book.”

“But you’ve always done that while still keeping your position.”

“I know, but I’ve been wondering if I really need to. If I could just write, do some speaking and lecturing, that would be perfect. And frankly, I want to create space in my life for you.”

A tickle of fear lodged itself at the base of her throat. She waited for it to pass. “Jack, I would never second guess your perspective. You’ve built a remarkable career from nothing. I just don’t want you to make these huge life decisions based on the last week of your life.”

He turned to face her. “There’s something about that that bothers me, Cam. Are you telling me to wait and see how it goes with us?”

Sometimes it was hard to have a conversation with someone who was so damn literal. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. But it’s not because I have doubts about us, it’s just we don’t know how it’s going to look. How we’re going to split our time and-”

“What did my father say to you, Camille?”

Fuck. There was no use hiding it anymore. “Please don’t think it has any relevance. I know you’re going to draw a thread between the events that just isn’t there.”

“Spill it.”

She swallowed. “Mostly, he talked about wanting me to take more risk with my career. Go work for a startup.”

“And?”

“He said that he wasn’t sure you were husband material, and that your past behavior might make you an unsuitable match for me.” She wanted to be sick.

His expression did not change one millimeter, which was the scariest thing she had ever seen. Abruptly, he got up and walked out of the bedroom. She followed him, watching as he took his phone off the kitchen counter, clicked a few buttons and put it up to his ear.

“Dad? Hi, it’s Jackson. Fine, thanks.”

His voice was like a blade. “I just wanted to let you know that I know what you said to Camille. I understand that there’s something about me that has always rubbed you the wrong way, but to sabotage the best thing that has ever happened to me has crossed a line I can’t come back from. Please consider this goodbye. I will no longer be part of your life.”

With an eery calmness, he put the phone back down on the granite counter and turned to Camille. “Ready for dinner?”