I had a hot woman on top of me and I was almost positive I wasn’t dreaming.

I was also positive that even if I was dreaming, the woman was Camry. Even if we’d only been together a couple times, I’d know that slight form, her delicate curves, and the scent of her hair anywhere.

Her lips were against my collarbone, moving against my skin. She made a sleepy, sexy sound that had me finally giving in to the temptation to open my eyes. I cracked one open—only one.

Yep. Camry. Not that I could see much more than her tousled hair, but that was enough.

Tangling one hand in those waves, I rolled, putting her body under mine. She made a satisfied sound and I realized she’d been awake, or at least awake enough to have known she was teasing me. Her eyes were dark, pupils wide, her desire clearly written there.

She wrapped her legs around me, her heels resting on my ass. She stared up at me as she ran her fingers through my hair, waiting for me to decide what to do.

Still drowsy, but awake enough to know exactly what I wanted, I slid inside her. She breathed my name and closed her eyes, lifting her hips so that I settled more deeply inside her. I took her mouth, lazily exploring it as she made the sexiest little noises. Drunk on her, I rocked slowly in the cradle of her hips.

This.

Just this.

I could live like this. Inside her. Just her–

A hard pounding came from the main room. Camry tensed and stilled, her eyes flying wide.

“Bugger them,” I muttered, pressing my lips to the corner of her mouth. “They’ll go away.”

But thirty seconds later, the knock came again.

And with it came a very clear word… Police.

* * *

It took me less than two minutes to get decent enough to answer the door, and the police kept knocking the whole bloody time. The only good that came of it was that it kept my mind off of my aching cock.

I was about ready to rip skulls apart if this was a bloody joke—

It wasn’t. The second I jerked the door open, I could see that.

Camry stood behind me, and I realized, belatedly, that I should have told her to wait in the bedroom, especially since she was only wearing my t-shirt. It covered her, but I still bristled at the thought of anyone else seeing her like this.

It was too late now though. Two uniformed officers, and one older man in a suit – a detective, I assumed – stood there. I shifted my weight, making sure I made it clear I wouldn’t be inviting them in.

“Camry Hastings.” The detective raked her up and down with a disapproving look. “We need you to finish getting dressed and come with us.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, moving to block her from view. “If you don’t have a warrant, she doesn’t have to go anywhere.”

The female officer raised her eyebrows. “Actually, she does. She’s on probation and one of the conditions of probation—”

“I’ll come. Give me a minute,” Camry snapped from behind me, one hand gripping my arm.

Probation. She’s on probation?

Turning, I studied her face, but she wasn’t looking at me. Her face was blazing red, and she was staring at everywhere but me.

Looking back at the door, I met the eyes of the detective. “She’s going to have some privacy while she dresses.”

And I would find out what was going on.

The skinny guy in the uniform shook his head. “Sir, we’re required—”

“She’s not climbing out the fucking penthouse window,” I said, baring my teeth at him. I slammed the door shut in their faces. I hoped I didn’t make things worse for Camry, but I was strung too tight to let it go.

“Why are you on probation?” I asked, keeping my voice down in deference to the girl still sleeping like the dead on the couch.

“It’s complicated.” She disappeared into the bedroom and I followed. She pulled her jeans on and then moved into the bathroom. I leaned against the doorway, watching as she brushed her teeth with her finger and my toothpaste, then finger-combed her hair.

“Not so complicated you can’t give me some inkling,” I countered, blocking her when she tried to hurry out of the room.

“Jacen, I have to go with them.”

“And you told them you would. You’re just getting dressed. Thirty seconds, Camry,” I insisted. I put a hand on her arm.

“I…” Defeated stamped all over her face, she sighed and looked away. “My dealer had me help him kidnap Piety, then he almost killed me and tried to hurt her.”

I didn’t tell her that I already knew this part, mostly because now I was feeling like an idiot for not putting things together.

She continued, “I took a deal where I got rehab and probation in exchange for my testimony against Stefano. I step out of line, I end up in jail. And now you know how fucked up I really am.”

She stormed past me and I felt a little sick for pushing her. I didn’t want to leave things this way between us, but I knew she had to go. I couldn’t make this worse for her. In fact, every part of me was screaming to protect her, even from the cops.

“What can I do?” I asked. “Should I call Kaleb?”

“Oh please.” She gave a watery laugh. “Please don’t. That will just make things worse.”

“Cam, he cares about you, you know that. He’ll want to know…”

“No!” She spun around to glare at me. “He won’t! Or rather he’ll want to know only because it proves he was right not to trust me again.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why they’re here, but it’s not to pat me on the head for busting my ass and trying my hardest—which is what I’ve been doing. Nobody sees the good in girls like me. We just get scowled at, and glared at. We fucked up, so we’re the pariahs.”

“Okay, okay…” Holding up my hands, I said, “Calm down. Going in there upset won’t help.”

“It won’t matter. They’ll see me as a fuck-up no matter how I go.” She turned toward the door. “I need to go.”

I took a step toward her to catch her arm, determined to kiss her, hug her, something, anything that let her know that she wasn’t alone.

But she’d already slipped away, out of my reach.

* * *

The drive to Malibu might not have been necessary if Kaleb could have just answered his phone. I hoped he was just having a busy day, not avoiding me, but I knew, busy day or not, he’d want to know about this.

How could he not?

Besides, he’d know how to help, and that was something I needed. I didn’t know how else to stop the restless, edgy song in the back of my head. Protect her, protect her, protect her…

I parked in the first slot I saw and ended up having to jog a half mile when I realized I’d misjudged the distance. Thanks to the streets being so busy, I moved faster than some of the traffic did.

Kaleb, when he saw me, just closed his eyes and shook his head. I would have taken it better if I hadn’t been so worried about Camry. Or if I didn’t see that the shop was nearly empty.

“I take you weren’t dodging my calls because of how busy you were,” I said in a flat voice.

“It’s been quiet all morning,” he replied evenly.

“And why didn’t you answer my call then?”

“Because I knew what you wanted. I figured you needed to see it for yourself, mate.” He shrugged and finally looked back at me. “I know the cops were there. I know she’s being arrested.”

“Wait—arrested?” I demanded. “How do you know that? They didn’t say shit about arresting her. Just that they wanted her to come with them.”

“They said shit to me,” Kaleb snapped. “Trust me. It made me sick to tell them where she was, but she broke into the fucking clinic—”

“You told them…” Cutting him off, I turned away. As I started to pace, I turned over what he’d said. He’d told them where she was instead of protecting her. Okay, maybe he was trying to help, but why couldn’t he see that she’d changed? The Camry I knew was nothing like the girl he seemed to think she still was...wait... “When did she supposedly break into the clinic?”

“It’s been an ongoing problem, small things coming up missing, and yesterday one of the nurses who handles the medications couldn’t find the keys to one of the rooms where they store drugs.” Kaleb’s eyes flashed. “I told them it wasn’t her, but her fingerprints are everywhere.”

“They were in that room?” I demanded.

He shook his head. “Nobody could get in. You need more than a key, but I guess she didn’t know that.”

“When?” I asked again.

“Last night.”

I glared at him. “Newsflash, genius. She was out looking for Daytin last night—and then she ended up in bed with me.” I lifted my chin, daring him to hit me. “She wasn’t anywhere near the clinic.”

He shrugged. “If you want to be her alibi, go ahead. The cops will talk to you. You’ll see how it all fits. You better not just be protecting her. She can’t get better until she hits rock bottom, Jacen.”

I almost called him a dumbass, but decided I need more information before insulting him. “How did you know where she was this morning? Seems to be a talent of yours.”

Now, he looked away. A dull red flush climbed up his neck and he reached up to rub at the base of his skull, like he had a murderous headache. If he didn’t, maybe I would give him one. Maybe it’d knock some sense into him.

“Kaleb…” I said warningly.

“There’s a tracker app on her phone, okay? I needed to be able to find her when she ended up in trouble again. I can’t go through that shit again.”

“You…” I rubbed my hand over my eyes, then stared at him. “Are you spying on her? Why?”

“Because she’s using again!”

“That’s bullshit.” Shaking my head, I turned away from him, about ready to head out the door. I was wasting my time here. Completely wasting my time. But he was pissing me off.

And he was wrong.

Turning back to him, I said, “If she’s using, she’s got me completely fooled. She’s never been less than straight around me. There are no new track marks on her arms. I’ve never seen her take as much as an aspirin.”

“She used to shoot up between her toes, for fuck’s sake!” Kaleb shouted. “Have you checked there? Or doesn’t that part of her body interest you?”

“That doesn’t mean she’s doing it now,” I fired back at him. “Shit, Kaleb! You’re spying on your sister! Like she’s a convict or some eight-year-old who can’t make her own decisions without somebody there to hold her hand?”

“She can’t make decisions,” he snapped. “That’s the problem. She makes her own decisions based on what she wants, what she thinks she needs. Fuck anybody else.”

I wondered what he’d say if he’d heard how often she’d mentioned she was doing this or that, all because it was something she thought Kaleb would want. If he knew how badly she wanted his approval.

Well, I was going to damn well tell him.

“She still has you up on a pedestal, you know. She thinks you can do no wrong, and when you come after her, even when deep inside, she knows you’re wrong, she can’t believe it, can’t accept it. Because you can’t be wrong. Not in her head.” I opened the door and looked back at him. “But you are wrong, mate. Dead wrong.”

“You don’t know her.” Kaleb stared at me stubbornly. “Stop acting like you do, Jacen. You knew the kid. You don’t know the woman she turned out to be.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “That kind of makes it sound like she’s done…done changing, done figuring out who she is. But people change all the time. Is she the same woman now that she was a year ago? I’m thinking not.” Narrowing my eyes, I added, “It’s a good thing somebody I knew once believed in second chances, otherwise, I’d either still be drunk on my ass or dead.”

He took that like a blow on the chin, flinching like I’d struck him.

Unable to stand there any longer, I just turned and walked away.