Chapter Seven
ISABEL
Lying in bed in his house, wearing one of his soft, Cam-scented t-shirts, knowing he's on the opposite side of the wall, freshly showered and probably minimally clothed… not good circumstances for making sensible decisions. I've made my share of wrong choices in my adult years. If I do this—go to Cam's bedroom and ask him to have sex with me—there'll be no going back. It could ruin our new friendship, and I really like what we're building. I really like him, I always have. I wanted him to be my first. My last. Some things aren't meant to be.
But he can be my present, even if it's just for one night.
With extra padding in certain places, I'm sure I'm not his ideal type, but he's attracted to me enough to have almost kissed me—twice. He cares about me on a level nobody else ever has, not even my mom or big brother. Cam has gone so far above and beyond for me, it's hard to believe we reconnected less than a week ago.
I know I can trust him. Not with my heart, but he doesn't want that. I understand why he's hesitant to let someone all the way in, and I wouldn't ask for that.
Slipping out of bed, I pad across the smooth hardwood and step into the living room. All the lights are off in the small house, as they were when I got ready for bed after Cam took his shower. If he left his room since I heard its door close half an hour ago, he did it in high-stealth mode. I don't think Cam's the sneaking-around type. Not in any way. He's been upfront about everything, even when it wasn't positive, since our first conversation. If he doesn't want to do this with me, he won't hesitate to say no.
After a deep breath, I knock on his bedroom door. A triple tap loud enough to get his attention if he's awake, but not obnoxious enough to disturb him if he's already asleep.
There's some creaking and shuffling noise, then a husky, "You can come in."
The scent of him surrounds me when I open the door and step inside. When I came in here earlier to borrow a t-shirt for sleeping, I took the liberty of pressing my face against his pillow. Younger me would have been so proud.
With him present in the room, all I have to do is inhale to get a fix of his masculine scent. "Were you sleeping?"
"No. Are you okay, do you need something?"
The bravery and conviction of a minute ago is gone, leaving me feeling like a bumbling fool, standing in the dark, with only her lifetime's worth of Cam fantasies to keep her company.
"Isabel?"
"Yes. I need…I need…"
He sits up in bed, his form becoming a silhouette in the moonlight streaming through his window. "Whatever it is can't be that bad."
"It's the opposite of bad. It's you. I need you."
"Well, you've got me. I'm right here. You want to talk?"
"Not really."
"All right, then what?"
Pulse pounding in my ears, I move to the bed and crawl on top. When my hand brushes his leg through the thin sheet, his muscles twitch and jerk.
"Careful where you're patting around." He chuckles as he says it, but it's deep and rough. "Whoa, that's far enough," he says, his fingers clamping around my wrist when I slide my hand up the length of his quadriceps, nearly reaching the top.
"What if I want to go all the way?" I shift to straddle his legs, my inner thighs bracketing just below his hip area where he's holding my left hand hostage.
"What're you doing right now, Iz?"
"Showing you what I need," I say, dragging my right hand over the sheet until I find his cock. It's hard and thick, and he groans when I grip it through the thin cotton. "Were you like this when I walked in, or are you hard because of me?"
"Both." Now it's my right hand he cuffs, halting my exploratory stroking. "What did you really come in here to ask for? Because I don't think this is it, no matter how much I'd like it to be."
"But it is. I need to feel wanted by a good man. Someone who likes me. Cares about me. A man who doesn't put me down to make themself feel bigger. I know you don't want a commitment, and I'm okay with that. I won't have expectations afterward, and it doesn't have to change anything between us. I just want to feel like I'm worth some effort. Like I'm important and valued. And you've given me that already, with the way you look at me, and listen, and help. And what you said to me in the living room, that I deserve a man who'll put in the work for me…"
"Was the truth," he says, his callused hands cupping my face.
I cup one of his hands and draw it downward, over my breast, then lower, between my legs. "Show me how it feels when a man puts in the work."
He groans while sliding two fingers along my pussy. "Fuck, Iz, you came in here without panties?"
"You gave me permission to walk around naked, remember?"
"Then this has to go," he says, pulling the t-shirt up and over my head. "And one more thing…"
I'm about to tell him there's nothing else to take off when a small lamp above the headboard comes on. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around myself, covering as much as I can.
His dark eyes lock with mine as he gently peels my hands away. "No hiding this sexy body. I turned the light on so I can see every inch of you."
"There are a lot of inches. Extras I need to get rid of."
"No, baby, you're perfect. Soft and curvy like a fucking goddess." Strong hands glide gently over my bare breasts, raising my nipples to hard peaks, and goose bumps over the rest of my body.
I pinch my eyes closed, shame flaring hot in my cheeks when his hands travel over the soft muffin top below my belly button. He can't find that part of me sexy. No man has, and especially not one as lean and muscular as Cam. But when his thumbs continue making soft sweeps there, I open my eyes and find him watching me, not a hint of disgust to be found.
"Beautiful," he says, firmly gripping one hip and growling as he kneads my cushiony flesh. "I'm going to lick you all over. Every sweet peak and valley." The hand on my belly slides down between my legs, the pads of his fingers finding my clit and rolling circles over it as if he's touched me a thousand times before.
The need to come coils tight, and my body takes the wheel, overriding my embarrassment, shamelessly rocking against his hand.
"That's a good girl. I've got you, beautiful. So fucking hot, riding my fingers. Show me how fucking sexy you are when you come."
This is Cam. Cam, talking dirty to me. Cam making me feel wanton and worshipped.
Head thrown back, I grind against his talented fingers, giving myself over to the sensation, to him. My breath catches, leaving in little high-pitched gasps as I come.
Rolling me onto my back, he holds himself above me, his gaze meeting mine. "If you could see yourself through my eyes, you wouldn't have a single doubt that you're beautiful and sexy. I'm honored you want me, Isabel. I'll give you everything you need." Then he dips lower, gently brushing his mouth across mine. A teasing almost-kiss that has me wrapping my arms and legs around him, desperate to bring him closer.
The first firm press of his lips is everything I imagined kissing Cam would be. Dominant yet soft. Warm. Delicious. I open for him, moaning as the tip of his tongue touches mine. Each second is deeper, hungrier.
Desperate for more of him, all of him, I slide my hands down his smooth back and grab his firm butt so I can pull him tighter on top of me. The thick, hard ridge of his cock presses against my clit, and I moan, my body tingling with readiness. Within seconds, I'm coming again, moaning into his mouth as I writhe beneath him.
"So fucking responsive," he says, pressing his forehead to mine.
"It's you, you're doing it."
"It's us, Iz."
I nod, biting my lip so I don't say too much, don't break this once-in-a-lifetime magic.
He pulls back enough to look into my eyes. "You okay?"
"More than okay. This is better than anything I imagined, Cam. Thank you."
Serious eyes stare down into mine as he strokes my face. "Don't thank me for doing something I've wanted since the first day you came back into my life. Everything that happens between us tonight is for me as much as it's for you."
"Then keep going," I say, swallowing the big ball of emotions down.
Desire flares in his eyes before he dips down and takes my bottom lip between his teeth, gently nipping before letting it slide free. The next kiss is lower, on the soft skin below my chin, an erogenous zone I didn't know I had—or one that only exists with Cam. Next comes my neck. He takes his time, savoring the column before trailing his tongue along the lines of my collarbones.
Every cell in my body is awake and buzzing by the time he reaches my breasts. "Oh god…" I arch my back as he takes one nipple into his hot, wet mouth and suckles it hard while firmly pinching the other between two fingers. Heat streaks from the point to between my legs. Desperate for pressure there, I try to close my legs, but there's a very hot man's body between them.
Cam's dark eyes flick up and meet mine. His mouth working its magic on my nipple, he catches my hand and draws it to my pussy, guiding our joined fingers over my sensitive clit until my eyes roll back in my head from coming.
"You don't have to do that," I say when he moves farther down my body to settle between my legs. "You've put in enough work."
"Eating your pussy isn't work. It's my pleasure."
I can count on one hand the number of times a guy has gone down on me, and none of them stayed down there long enough to make me come. I never even got close.
The instant Cam's mouth is on my pussy, the difference between duty oral and eating pussy for pleasure is obvious. Cam's tongue and lips are everywhere. Licking, teasing, probing, sucking. Slurping. Sweet baby Jesus, the filthy, carnal sounds. Then his mouth seals over my clit, and he sucks it hard and fast, making stars explode behind my eyelids, growling as I clutch his head and come so hard I can barely breathe.
Four orgasms. With Cam. With the lights on.
I wait for the embarrassment to kick in. Nothing happens. Okay, something happens, but that something is Cam crawling up my body and kissing my mouth as hungrily as he did my pussy.
Between us, he notches the head of his cock at my entrance, moaning when I wiggle enough that the tip slips inside me. "Move like that again and I'm going to be balls-deep inside you, baby. Be sure this is what you want, because I'm a breath away from getting lost in you."
Beads of sweat dot his handsome face as he looks down at me, waiting, letting me decide.
I made this decision a long time ago. I just never thought it would happen. "I want this."
"I want you." One smooth thrust and he's balls-deep, groaning as he stills, buried deep inside me. "Iz, you feel so fucking good. Tell me what you like, baby."
"You," I whisper as he rolls his hips, filling me completely, perfectly. "Everything you do."
The way he looks at me then…it's more than sex. His lips seal over mine, his deep kisses matching the deep, rhythmic strokes of his cock. Making love. He's making love to me. And it's so perfect I could cry. This is the first time I always dreamed of. The man I've always wanted. The only one. His hand finds my hip and gently squeezes. As if he knows everything going through my head and heart, and he's telling me it's okay to feel them. To love him.
And I do. I'm always going to love Cam.
"Need to look at you, pretty girl." He shifts to his knees, holding my hips and my gaze while he thrusts into me, over and over, hard and deep. "You're so fucking beautiful."
I feel beautiful. Even with everything bouncing and jiggling.
My breath hitches as he presses his fingers to my clit. One touch and I'm ready. So close. "Harder." I breathe the word, moaning and panting as he delivers the perfect pressure.
He moans, fucking me faster. "Fuck—baby—squeezing me so fucking tight. Come for me, Iz. Come for me."
My orgasm unfurls like a spiral. Endless waves of white-hot, perfect pleasure.
Cam's long, rough moan fills the room, his cock throbbing deep inside me before he folds himself over me, wrapping me in his arms, his heavy breathing tickling my ear. He presses his lips to my head, nuzzling my hair. "You're perfect, Isabel. Don't ever forget that."
Not an I love you, but still words I'll cherish for the rest of my life.
"You don't have to cuddle me," I say, when he rolls to his side with me in his arms, tucked in front of him, then pulls the sheet over us. "I can go back to the other room."
"Or you can stay right here," his arms tighten around me, one hand spanning my belly and the other cupping a breast, "where I want you."
Exactly where I've always wanted to be.