Riya sat in the middle of her bed with her arms wrapped around her legs as she rested her chin on her knees. It was only three hours since Cameron had entered her home. He was the only person who’d been in here since her mother died. Hell, he was staying in her old room and pink soothed her.
Not a fan of the color herself, now she kept it around and wore it as tribute to her mother’s memory. Unable to continue being out there with him, she’d run. Childish perhaps but right now, she just needed a bit of space from this man who exuded sexiness by the bucketful.
She’d managed to get about forty-five minutes of sleep before she was wakened by thoughts of that same man, sleeping less than a hundred feet from her. Crawling off the middle of the bed, she yanked off her shirt and rummaged around for a sweatshirt. As it’s tatty warmth surrounded her, she paused by the window and stared out.
That looks like more than a foot of snow out there but surely, it can’t be that much.
The moment the thought zipped through her mind, the power flickered then went out.
Great, just fucking great.
She went to her dresser and dug around for a flashlight, clicking it on at the very moment a deep voice skated across her room.
“Riya, are you okay?”
“Power went out,” she said turning toward him, light in hand only to gulp and swallow hard.
Cameron Liaci was fine as hell clothed, when that layer of protection for her sanity was removed, it escalated to an entirely new level of hotness. He’d exchanged jeans for sweats and they rode low on his hips. Her gaze zoomed downed to the happy trail dipping below the band of his pants.
With a low curse, she jerked the light up to his face then lowered it when he squinted. “Sorry.”
“Where do you keep the other lights, and do you have a generator?”
She coughed. “No generator and the other stuff is in the kitchen.”
“Let’s go.” He beckoned with one hand.
She took it without any thought. His warm hand curved around hers and she couldn’t help the fluttering of her heart. “What do you think happened? Too much snow? Accident?”
He took the light from her and led the way, keeping her partially behind him the entire trip to the kitchen. “Either makes sense. A lot of snow has fallen, so an accident is quite possible. So are the lines snapping because of the weight of this wet snow. I’m sure a lot of calls are coming in.”
She touched his shoulder. “There isn’t anything you could have done anyway. you’re not fit for work.”
“Right.” Condemnation leaked over.
“I’m sorry, that sounded horrible. I meant that with your shoulder—”
“I know what you meant, Riya. I’m just pissed at myself for being injured.” He took a deep breath and let go of her hand.
She missed his touch instantly.
It didn’t take too long and there were numerous tea lights lit, casting a soft ambient glow around the two of them as they sat in her living room. Golden light danced over his chest, making her mind wander down roads she wasn’t sure she had the ability to keep from traveling.
Not that I want to stop going down that road.
“What?” he asked.
Riya shook her head and tucked some hair behind her ear. He made her tongue tied like a schoolgirl.
He stared at her. “Tell me about your father.”
“Cop, good man. Shot in the line of duty.”
“Wouldn’t his benefits have helped your mother?”
“If they’d been married, I suppose so, but because it wasn’t official, it didn’t matter to them.” She used to have massive anger over that fact but over the years, it had dulled.
“I’m sorry, Riya. It had to be hard.”
“It was what it was.” She tugged the crocheted blanket off the back of the loveseat and draped it over her legs. “Tell me about your family.”
His smile made her envision happily ever after and the entire white picket fence dream.
“You know Carter and of course Gina, who technically isn’t family yet but will be again, when they finally tie the knot.” He scratched his chest before getting up.
Riya stared at him as he walked toward her.
“Mind if I join you?” He had already taken up the second half of the loveseat by the time he finished asking the question. Bending forward, he lifted her legs to settle over his lap, then readjusted the cover she’d been using.
There wouldn’t have been a protest even had she found the words. Riya wasn’t going to lie, she loved having him touch her, even something as simple and innocent as what was happening now.
Although with Cameron, not sure it’s ever truly innocent.
A fact which explained far too well the reason he had so many women in his life and why there hadn’t been room for someone like her. Anger swelled in her gut, nearly overflowing. She did her best to swallow it down but it wasn’t going away, not that easy.
Cameron wasn’t putting his hands beneath the blanket to touch her. In fact, he was toying with the crochet design as he stared at her. Gaze assessing.
She bristled under his stare and tried to calm down.
“What are you thinking?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “I was listening to you talk about your family.”
There it was, that look he gave people the one that said ‘I know more about what you’re thinking than you want me to and I’m about to call you on it.’ Especially when it was directed at her.
“Nice try. You got all tense and are damn near frowning. What’s going on?”
“I’m not frowning,” she disputed, touching her face to ensure herself she wasn’t.
There wasn’t much room on the loveseat to begin with so when he adjusted his body, more of him took up space. Not that she minded but there was something going on in her mind about having some level of decorum, no matter how small.
“See, sweetness, I know you’re lying. You’re face gets these little lines right here…” He touched the corner of her right eye with his index finger. “And on the other side.”
Then came another brush of skin on skin instantly skyrocketing her temperature. “I’m not frowning,” she reiterated, brushing his hand away. “You were telling me about your family.”
He stretched his arm out along the back of the loveseat and twined some of her hair in his fingers, tugging slightly. “So I was.” He nodded. “My father owns his own business, he’s got the shop on Vine that has the malts from the old days.”
She’d been in there a time or two, had always wanted one of those malts, but had yet to indulge. Olde Tyme Sweet Shoppe. “I heard they’re good.”
His chuckle was sinful. “Better than sex is what a lot of people say.” He held her gaze as he spoke.
“Do you now?”
A panty-melting grin lifted his lips. “I said a lot of people, I didn’t say me.” Another tug on her hair. “But I’m more than happy to put it to the test. You and me, have us some sweaty, loud, dirty, fun sex then we go to the shop and try a malt. You tell me which one was better.”
“I’m not going to be your entertainment during this snow that closes down the city, Cameron. You want that, go to any of the other numerous women I’m sure you have on speed dial.”
He gripped more hair and leaned closer. “I’m with the one I want and I’m telling you this now, again, Riya. This isn’t just for the lockdown on the city. I want more than that. Longer than that.”
Her gut knotted and she tried not to squirm closer. “So you say, now.”
He grumbled but sat back and rested his head against his arm on the back. “My mom is a manager at the grocery store she works at. Loves her job and isn’t looking to retire anytime soon. We’re close and have a dinner together once a week as long as we can pull it off.”
Another pain shot through her, this one having nothing more to do with Cameron, aside from jealousy that he got to see his parents still while all she had left were the memories. “Enjoy the time while you have it.”
He swore and pulled her onto his lap, putting one of his legs up on the couch and putting her against his chest. “I’m sorry, Riya. I didn’t mean to make you focus more on what you’ve lost.”
“Not your fault. I’m the one who asked to hear about your family. Somedays, it just hits me harder than others.” She wiped at her eyes determined not to drop any tears.
“I should have handled that better. I’m so sorry.”
She yawned and closed her eyes. “I’m fine,” she mumbled. His body heat penetrating from one side, the blanket on the other combined with the soft lighting had her so close to falling asleep. She just wanted to enjoy him and not think about the fact the heat was off and it would be getting cold soon.
That was the final thought that trailed her into a dreamland. How nice it was to be pressed against him again.
αβ
The cold air on his face woke him. Cameron opened his eyes and frowned. The place was pitch black. All he knew for certain was, he wasn’t at home, he wasn’t alone, and it was cold as fuck, except where the body against him pressed.
Riya.
He knew it in seconds, namely because no one had ever had this same effect on him as she had. It came back to him after she’d fallen asleep on his chest, he moved them back to her bedroom and crawled in beside her, having no intention of sleeping away from her. He figured if she questioned it, he could always use the fact that the power had gone out and they needed to share body heat.
May not work, but it was a plan.
He needed to see if it had come back on, although given there wasn’t a clock light in this room, he was pretty sure it hadn’t. No sound of heat or anything like that. However, he had no desire to move.
All her curves were pressed tight against him and he loved it that way. They fit together as if they’d been made for one another. That intoxicating scent of hers wafted to his nose and he dipped his head to burrow into her curls. Warmth immediately got him and he groaned as his cock hardened, pushing against the fabric of his pants.
She moaned and shifted. If at all possible—coming closer to him.
Cameron bit his lower lip and held her tighter. Her hands were between them, the tips of her fingers brushing along his groin, causing it to harden further.
“Am I dreaming again, or are you really in my bed, Cameron Liaci?”
His lips twitched as he heard her question. “If I say dreaming what happens next?”
“Sex.”
His cock throbbed. “And if I’m really in your bed?”
“I tell you to go back to the bed you were supposed to sleep in.”
“This is a dream, Riya.” The hell he was leaving. Before she could say anything else, he tipped up her face and covered her mouth with his. She opened beneath him without hesitation. Tongues twisting around each other, he growled low in his throat as he got reacquainted with her taste. He slid down taking her with until they were both covered by the blankets from head to toe. Hands on her waist, he rolled so she lay beneath him. “Tell me, Riya. How does this dream go?” He nibbled along her lips. “What do you want?”
“I want you between my legs and making me come.” She pushed on his shoulders.
Not that he needed help getting there. Hell, he’d longed to be back there. Slipping down her body, he tugged on the waistband of her pants and underwear as he positioned himself between her legs. She kicked one leg free and he draped her legs over his shoulders.
Even in the dark, he knew where to go. He touched her lips with one hand and spread them open. Riya shifted beneath him and he inhaled deeply, allowing the rich scent of her body to fill him.
She had a strip of trimmed hair leading to where he wanted to be. His cock ached so hard. Tongue out, he ran it up her slit, the waiting cream swiped up. Her whimper was fuel to his fire. She shifted her hips and he repositioned his arm along her belly, anchoring her in place. “Hold still,” he muttered. “This is my time now.”
“My dream,” she countered.
“True, but in that case, let me give you what we both know you want.” He covered her clit with his mouth and pushed two fingers up to his knuckles inside her.
“Oh fuck,” she cried, fingers gripping his hair and tugging. Hard.
He loved the bite of pain it gave him. Flexing his fingers on her hip while he held her down, he continued.
Fucking her with his fingers, he suckled and rolled her clit around in his mouth. Loving each and every scream, she pushed from her throat. Slickness rolled down his hand as she came hard, bucking up and rotating her hips.
Beneath him, her body trembled, and he slowly brought his fingers from her and licked them clean. Inching back up along her form, he shed his pants on the way, kicking them free from the bed. Over her, he kissed her lips and gripped his cock as he lined it up with her pussy.
She wound her arms up around his shoulders and pushed their mouths together. “Get on with it.”
“Dreams take a while, don’t rush me.”
She snapped her teeth. “My dream. Rushing is allowed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled as he pushed into her.
Fuck! Her heated muscles gripped him as he slipped into her. I’ve missed this. Damn it, I’ve missed her.
“Cameron,” she said, voice shaky even as she hooked her legs around his waist, holding him deep within her.
He dropped his head to rest upon hers, needing a moment to get control of himself before he came right now. The way her muscles flexed around him wasn’t helping his status at all, nor was the scent around them, as they remained cocooned beneath the blankets.
Heady, sexual, and intoxicating were a few words he could describe this as being.
He had his own demons riding him hard though and he swore before he began to move, unable to hold still within her slick heat any longer. The moan that left her lips, long and drawn out, had him with one goal in mind. Make it a scream.
Cameron withdrew until just the head of his cock remained inside her, then he pushed back until her heat fully surrounded his length.
Another of those breathy groans slipped from her mouth. “Oh God, yes, Cameron,” she said, tightening her grip on his shoulders, her short nails delivering a sharp bite. “Yes.”
“I love the moans and groans, sweetness, but I want screams. I want you to scream my name.” He nipped her ear lobe after telling her and her internal muscles clenched once more.
“Then make me scream.”
Yes, that’s what he’d been waiting for.
Claiming her mouth, he plundered it with his tongue, hitting as much as he could, dueling with her own tongue. Her clasp on his upper arms stiffened and he thrust his hips, driving deep into her core. They slid back along the mattress but she didn’t release him, instead she gasped and nipped at his tongue.
Cameron picked up the pace, delivering hard fast strokes, alternating them with slower, languid ones. Never once giving her a guess about what it was going to be. Moving his head, he nipped at her collarbone then sucked as she mewled aloud.
Closer, but not what he ultimately longed for.
Hard. Slow. Deep. Shallow. He continually stroked within her. Taking one hand, he moved her leg until it was up over his shoulder.
Her cries grew louder. The headboard slammed against the wall with each driving thrust from him. Riya undulated with him and moved her hips in time until they were dancing as one in perfect rhythm.
Sweat gathered and moved down his back as he fucked her. The blankets moved and eventually slid free but he didn’t care. There wasn’t anything that would stop him now.
Her thick cream coated his cock as he moved within her. Her pussy gripped him each time he slipped back, as if it never wanted to let him go.
Riya’s heels pressed hard into his back, holding him closer to her. “Fuck yes,” she called out. “More, Cameron. Please. Give me more.”
While he didn’t want to stop, he slowed to a near halt and unwrapped her legs from him then pulled out long enough to flip her over onto her stomach. Lifting her up, he grunted as he pushed back into her wetness…Deeper than before.
Cameron began moving again, one hand on the small of her back and his other wrapped up in her hair, pulling it back so he could hear her cries. Louder and louder, they became. Taking his hand from her back, he slid it around and found her clit. When he pinched it, she bucked back into him. He flicked it and rubbed it.
Riya screamed his name as she came hard.
That’s what he’d been waiting for. Seconds later, he shot his release inside her keeping his cock buried fully inside until both of them stopped coming. Lying on top of her, carefully so he didn’t smash her, he kissed her shoulder.
Staying inside her, he rolled them to the side and somehow managed to tug up some blankets to cover them once more. Arms once again around her, he played with one of her breasts and nibbled on her neck.
“Cameron,” she said after a while.
“Yes?”
“This may not be the best time to say this but I have to before I lose my nerve.”
Suddenly, he wished there were lights so he could see her face. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“When you go back to ignoring me and pretending this didn’t happen, please don’t come to the diner when I’m working. I got through it once but I honestly, don’t think I will be able to do it again.”
Anger, mostly at himself, surged through him. He couldn’t’ blame her, she had no reason to think he would behave differently.
Except I told her I wanted more with her.
“I’m not going to be ignoring you, Riya. I plan on making everyone aware of what happened here.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t. I don’t like what I do in my bedroom to be shared around the city.”
“I meant that you and I are a couple. I’m not going to tell them how much I love hearing you scream my name.”
“A couple?” Her entire body stiffened.
He ensured she wouldn’t be able to move away from him. “Yes. Did you forget what we just did?”
“No, I was here for it.”
“No condom.”
“Fuck,” she uttered.
Somehow, he didn’t think Riya meant it in a good way.