Mina came awake slowly, her fuzzy mind trying to make sense of all the wonderful sensations. The sunlight tickling her nose as it streamed in through the east-facing window. The equally enticing heat of Cam’s breath against the back of her neck. The warmth of his skin as he spooned against her.

And, most interesting of all, the decadent promise of his erection pressing insistently against her bare ass.

Smiling to herself, she wiggled a bit, not sure if he was awake or simply aroused in his sleep. The latter wouldn’t surprise her. If he was anything like her, his night had been filled with dreams that were at least as erotic as the reality they’d shared before falling asleep. And as hard as he was, she knew that she was equally wet.

And, dammit, she really hoped that he was awake.

“Careful,” he murmured, his voice gravelly with sleep. “Do that again and you’ll be hard-pressed to get me out of here this morning.”

His words filled her with delight, and she pressed her face against the pillow to stifle her laugher as she wriggled against him again.

“Now you’ve done it,” he said, and any thoughts of waking up slowly and lazily evaporated as he pulled her roughly over, then straddled her.

“Don’t even try to escape,” he teased. “You’re totally under my control.”

“You’ve got that right,” she said, happily surrendering as he slid down, so that he was partially under the sheet with her. He lowered his mouth to her breast and sucked, sending spirals of pleasure curling through her.

And then, right when she thought the sensation couldn’t be any more tantalizing, he grazed his teeth against her nipple, just enough that she wasn’t sure if it hurt … or felt absolutely amazing.

“You like that,” he said as she squirmed beneath him, her body craving more.

“I like everything you do to me,” she said honestly.

“Good, because there’s a whole world of everything out there for us to explore.” As if to illustrate the point, he moved down lower and lower, so that he was nestled between her legs. The sheet moved with him, leaving him exposed from the waist up. But, sadly, his cute ass was completely covered.

She realized soon enough that it didn’t matter how cute his butt was, because the things he was doing to her down there were so amazing that she couldn’t concentrate on her own sensations, much less his ass.

He’d kept one hand on her breast, and now he rolled her nipple tight between his fingers. That alone could send her right over the edge. But he didn’t stop there. He’d nestled his shoulders between her inner thighs, and his mouth covered her sex, his tongue dancing over her clit, then dipping inside her folds. And the combination of nipple play and the stimulation on her clit was enough to make her positively lose her mind.

So much, that she was writhing shamelessly on the bed, her hips gyrating in a way that made his five o’clock shadow rub enticingly over her sex. And her own fingers on her other nipple mimicked the motions he was so expertly executing.

She was in a wild haze, a rising storm of passion, and with each thrust of her hips, his tongue and fingers took her higher. It was as if they were dancing, moving in a pattern so well-known it was almost instinctual. And when he used his free hand to thrust two fingers deep inside her, she felt a spiderweb of electricity shoot out from her core to escape through her fingers and toes.

So close … she was so damn close.

“Again,” she begged, then repeated the demand, her voice breaking as his mouth closed over her sex. Her lips parted, her head tilting back as she moaned with pleasure—and then squealed with surprise as her bedroom door burst open.

“Christ, Darryl! What the hell!” Even as she yelled at her brother, she’d yanked the sheet up around her chin, completely covering Cam, who’d had enough of his wits about him to tug his hand down under at the same time. His face, though, was still between her legs, and the feel of his breath against her tender—and aroused—sex was more than a little distracting.

“You said come in!” To his credit, he looked embarrassed.

“I said again, you moron. Do you want to get the hell out of here?”

He glanced at the bulge under the sheet, his eyes narrowing. He knew that she had a few guy friends that she slept with but didn’t actually date. Like Jeff, for example. She also knew he disapproved.

“Do you mind?” she snapped.

He shook his head as if to clear it. “Sorry—I just—you said you had a run this morning. It never occurred to me you’d brought anyone home.”

Fuck. The 5K. She’d completely forgotten. She’d signed up with her friend, Taylor, and she made a mental note to call and explain.

“Can we talk about my physical fitness later? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“Um, yeah. Sure. No problem. I just wanted to know what time to tell Zach to show up for the party tonight.”

Between her legs, she felt Cam stiffen, and she forced herself not to yell at her brother that she wasn’t interested in a fix-up or a relationship or an arranged marriage or any of the ridiculous scenarios that were bouncing around in her brother’s head. But instead, all she said was, “Six. You can tell him that your not-really-a-surprise party is at six. Now get the hell out of here.”

He actually laughed—bastard—then started to head out. “I’m going to brunch with the judge,” he reminded her. “If you and your boy toy decide to frolic naked in the pool, just remember we have security cameras.”

She grabbed Mr. Meow, the stuffed cat she’d had since infancy, off her bookshelf-style headboard and hurled it at him. But he was already gone, and the poor cat smacked into the now-closed door.

Beneath the sheets, she felt Cam relax before he slowly emerged. She scooted over so that he could share the pillow, then grabbed hold of his hand as they both exhaled loudly.

“Holy fuck,” he said, and she thought that summed the situation up nicely.

They both stared at the ceiling, just breathing, for at least five long minutes. Then Cam rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. With his free hand, he traced random patterns on her belly, making her skin tighten as a new electricity started to zing through her. Because, apparently, she hadn’t yet had enough of him. Who would have thought that the Cam who’d tormented her as a kid would be such a tender lover?

No, she corrected. Not tender. He was, yes. But there was a roughness, too. An edginess. He’d claimed her, no other way to describe it. And dear God, she’d surrendered completely. Willingly.

She liked men who took charge—that much she knew. But she’d never looked at Cam and seen that side of him. He was so sweet. So nice. Smart and funny and serious about his studies.

All qualities she admired. After all, she worked hard at school and on her job, and she’d locked onto her career path with laser-like focus. She recognized commitment when she saw it. Admired it, too.

But somehow, she’d never seen that side of Cam before.

Had she not been looking? Or had he always been hidden by Darryl’s shadow?

“Thinking deep thoughts?” he asked, sliding his hand down along the curve of her waist to rest on her hip. “Or trying not to think about Darryl’s surprise appearance.”

“Both,” she said. “And neither.”

He nipped at her earlobe, making her squeal. “I like a woman who speaks in riddles.”

“Actually, I was thinking about you.”

“Yeah?” He lifted his head, his expression wary, but pleased. “What were you thinking?”

“That you surprised me, Cameron Reed.”

“Did I? I bet I can do it again.”

“What? Surprise me? I sincerely doubt it.”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he slid his hand between her thighs, then roughly thrust two fingers deep inside her. “Surprise,” he whispered.

---

Cam swallowed a moan, his cock growing hard again as his fingers explored her slick heat. Would he ever get enough of this woman?

Honestly, he really didn’t think so. And despite the mortification factor from Darryl walking in on them—and almost seeing way more than Cam would ever be inclined to share with his best friend—he was pretty much floating on cloud nine at the moment.

“Oh, God, Cam.” She arched up, grinding against his hand as if she, too, couldn’t get her fill. “What are you trying to do to me?

His fingers continued their merciless tease. “Right now? I’m just trying to make you come. Why? Do you think I should be doing more

“Honestly? I think you’re doing exactly the right amount. Don’t stop, okay?”

He wouldn’t dream of it, and he touched and teased until she exploded once again in his arms, and a warm wave of satisfaction crested inside him from the simple knowledge that he’d brought her to such dizzying heights.

“We have to stop,” she murmured, stretching as the last shudders of the orgasm fizzled away. She rolled over, then smiled as she eased on top and nestled her head under his chin, her breasts firm and warm against his chest. “I came so hard, I’m not even sure if all the pieces of me are put back together right.”

He ran his hands over her shoulder blades, then down her back, then over the curve of her ass. “You feel pretty well-put together to me.”

“Mmm,” she said, her face pressed to his skin. “I think I know what’s happened to us,” she said.

“You mean more than mind-blowing passion?”

“That’s a result,” she said. “I know the cause.”

He stroked her back, his fingers tracing lazily over her bare skin. “Okay,” he said. “Enlighten me.”

“We flipped a switch,” she said. And when he didn’t respond, she added, “It’s as if you and I were stumbling around in a dark room. And then one day, one of us finds a light switch. Suddenly, we see each other. It was all there before, we just missed it.”

“I never did,” he admitted. “I’ve wanted this since we were kids.”

She propped herself up. “This? Because that makes you a seriously precocious little kid.”

“Back then I mostly wanted to share your lemonade, sit by you in our fort, and try to get a peek when you changed into your swimsuit behind a towel.”

“Perv.”

“How about you? Any lingering child fantasies with me in the starring role?”

Her cute little nose wrinkled. “Sorry, no.”

“And now?”

Her laughter was like the trill of bells. “Now? Oh, now there are tons of fantasies. Buckets of fantasies.”

“Then I guess you’re right. You flipped a switch.”

She kissed him gently. “Yeah,” she said, her voice tender. “I guess I did.”

“And is that a good thing?”

“Insecure much?”

“Hell, no.”

She laughed. “Glad to hear it. And that switch? A very, very good thing.”

“How about those fantasies?”

She closed her eyes and sighed, her teeth scraping over her lower lip. “Those are good, too.”

“Tell me,” he demanded, but she just smiled and shook her head.

“Sorry, mister. You’ll have to wait. We need to get moving. I’ve got a party to pull together.”

“I can help you.”

For a second, she hesitated. Then she propped herself up, her elbows digging painfully into his gut. Not that he intended to complain. “That’s okay,” she said. “I can manage.”

Alarm bells didn’t exactly clang in his head, but they were definitely starting to ding a bit. “You’re sure? I don’t mind?”

“No, seriously. It’s fine. You must have stuff to do on a Saturday.” As she sat up, she held the sheet over her breasts and the dinging ratcheted up a notch. “I should probably go take a shower.”

He reached for her hand. “Hold up a sec. What about tonight.”

She blinked. “Tonight?”

“The party,” he said. “This guy Zach’s coming. Shouldn’t we—”

“What?” The word came out sharp, cutting him off, and he couldn’t help but fear that he heard a note of panic in her voice.

He drew a breath, telling himself to be calm. That any weirdness he was picking up on was probably coming from him. From the down-rush of adrenaline he was experience after having every fantasy in his life fulfilled over one glorious night. Of course he was going to be on edge. Of course, he was expecting her to yank the carpet out from under him.

“It’s only that I think we should tell Darryl.”

For a second, she looked confused. Then her eyes went wide. “Oh! You mean about this.” She indicated the two of them. “About us?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, if he’s trying to set you up with—”

She waved her hand, dismissing the words. “Believe me. I can already tell I’m not interested in Zach. And I doubt he’d be interested in me.”

“Well, then—”

“But say something to Darryl?” Her voice rose with incredulity. “Really bad idea.”

He sat up in bed, and since she had the sheet, he used the quilt to cover himself. Because suddenly, he felt the need to be covered. “Why?”

“Well, think about it. This is fun—hell, it’s been amazing. And I don’t know about you, but I’m totally hoping we do it again.”

Thank God.

“Yeah,” he said, forcing his voice to stay level and even. “Me, too.”

“But what happens later? I mean, say around Christmas time when we’ve both moved on but we’re all together for the holidays. If Darryl knows what his sister and best friend did during the summer, it’s totally awkward. But if he doesn’t know…”

She lifted her shoulder in a shrug as her voice trailed off.

He stared. He just freaking stared.

“Cam? That makes sense, right?”

And that’s when he realized that Mina Silver was a magician. Because somehow, without him even realizing it, she’d pulled that damn carpet right out from under him.