24. Grady

Deanna, my sister's oldest, had a soccer match that morning, which we all attended after a waffle breakfast. No one threw up, but I'd stuffed myself enough that I'd finally had to push my plate away, gleefully serenaded by Hardin singsonging, "Uncle Grady's gonna blow chunks!"

After the game, Cameron and I decided to walk around the quaint downtown and investigate the shops and cafes lining the streets. As we walked, I slipped his hand in mine, threading our fingers, and the beatific smile he gave me almost had me stopping to embrace him in the middle of the sidewalk. Because I'd invited Cameron with me on a whim, I'd had no time to anticipate how it would play out, how content I would feel walking around in the open with him, the freedom to slide an arm around his back or waist whenever I wanted to. There'd been more than a few times on campus, in the classroom, or at the cafe when I'd had to fight to keep myself in check, fight not to pull him close, kiss his jaw, touch him in some way.

"Did you and your ex ever talk about having kids?" Cameron peered sidelong at me. "I know that's not a polite question, sorry. I'm just curious because you're so good with them, and it's easy to see your sister's kids adore you."

I smiled, glancing at our interlinked hands and then back to him. His questions, while raw and unfiltered, never seemed to come from a place of malice or to stir drama or upset me. They were simply an innocent manifestation of his curious nature, and I loved that. "Yes, we talked about it. But it seemed we were always off on our timing."

"Off how?" His blue eyes studied me thoughtfully.

"I wanted to try immediately after we got married, but Laura was pursuing her career aggressively and was afraid having a kid would set that progress back. She was likely right. And then, by the time things were stable on her end, I was writing the dissertation that would end up becoming my book. I was hyperfocused on it and my career and couldn't imagine the responsibility of a child in the midst of that. Things had already started fracturing between us, and then we found out I had fertility issues, which added another layer of stress."

Cameron made a sympathetic noise and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "So you drifted apart?"

I murmured an assent. "Yeah. There wasn't a lot of animosity or drama. Our wants, our needs, and plans for the future changed. She wanted to stay in DC; I'd been offered a position at the U. It just felt right—funny thing to say about divorce, but it did. What about you?" I asked, turning us down a street where colorful racks of clothing and sales signs had been placed outside.

Cameron made a face and shrugged. "I like kids, but—" He ran the fingertips of his free hand along a rack of long-sleeved shirts. "I don't…I wouldn't want to mess them up or something."

I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to face me. "You wouldn't mess anything up, baby. You'd be a phenomenal father if that was what you wanted. Don't you dare let your past dictate your future that way."

A soft blush crept onto his cheeks as he looked down, then up at me, a myriad of emotions playing across his face as he looked deep into my eyes. "You really think so?"

"Yes." I tipped his chin up and pressed a gentle kiss to the frown on his lips. "Really."

He offered me a small smile in return and then shrugged. "Who knows what the future holds?"

Our conversation was interrupted by the buzz of my phone. I pulled it from my pocket to see an incoming call from Cooper. "My agent," I explained to Cameron and then answered with an expectant "Hey, Cooper, what's up?"

"Still game for a publicity tour?" he said, voice brimming with excitement. "The publishing house wants to push this book hard, put some serious marketing money behind it and send you on a three-month US tour to push it ahead of the release in September."

"A publicity tour?" I repeated, dumbfounded as my brain tried to shift from the azure of Cameron's gaze to business. Cooper's voice sounded like it was miles away and beside me at the same time. I blinked, looking back at Cameron, whose expression had morphed into one of cautious excitement.

"I know, I know. You've got classes. But it will be during the summer months, and I remember you saying you thought you'd be able to take a sabbatical. Grady, this is huge. Ginormous!" Cooper's enthusiasm was infectious, even through the phone. "This could be the tipping point for you. And don't worry about the details," he continued. "We'll have everything covered—travel, accommodation, meals, the works."

My mind raced. It felt like I'd mentioned the possibility of a sabbatical years ago. Maybe it even had been years, a passing thought I'd never expected to become a reality.

"Wow. That's…stunning news, to be honest," I stammered out finally. "Let me…can I get back to you on this?"

"No problem!" Cooper responded brightly. "Just wanted to give you a heads-up. We'll discuss the details later. Also"—Cooper's tone became more serious—"keep in mind that since you're going to be in the public eye, your reputation needs to be impeccable. Not that I've ever had to worry about you going on a bender or anything, but don't start amassing a harem or something." He chuckled heartily at his own joke. "Leave that for after you've been on the bestseller list for six months."

I glanced at Cameron again, and my chest tightened with a familiar feeling, caught between professional ambition and my burgeoning relationship with him. Except, it wasn't a relationship, exactly, was it? But whatever it was, now it was suddenly even more of a liability.

"Talk soon," Cooper said, the excitement returning to his voice as he ended the call.

I tucked away my phone.

"A fucking publicity tour?" Cameron was all wide-eyed incredulity, a smile tipping high on his face.

"That's what he says. I?—"

"That's incredible, Grady!" Cameron was the one to grab me by the shoulders this time as he bounced around. "Seriously!" He cupped a hand to his mouth and pointed at me. "This guy wrote a badass book and is going on a publicity tour!"

A few people slowed their strolls, and Cameron wrestled away from me playfully as I tried to cover his mouth. "Quit, you damn imp. People are staring."

"Let 'em! It doesn't matter here!"

Uneasiness coiled in my chest because it could matter, but I pushed it away. We were in a remote area where no one knew who the fuck I was, anyway.

"We should celebrate! But how?"

Cameron's enthusiasm was contagious, and I finally gave over to it with a grin. "How about a picnic in a cool spot my sister showed me once?"

The creek burbled merrilybeside us, water shimmering with dappled light filtering through the overhanging trees as we polished off the sandwiches and sodas we'd grabbed from a deli downtown. I settled back on the old blanket we'd picked up along the way from a secondhand store and tipped my face up toward the sun, my mind wandering away from details of the publicity tour to focus on the present. This was my kind of celebration.

Cameron lay next to me on the blanket, propped up on one elbow, his hair catching the sunlight and gleaming. His hand slipped over mine, fingers locking together in an easy gesture of intimacy. His gaze traced my face, a subtle smile playing over his lips.

"You know," he murmured, "there are other things we could do to celebrate." His eyes flickered down to my throat, where I knew he had a certain fondness for the pulse that fluttered there whenever he was close.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?" I teased playfully, knowing full well what his mischievous grin meant.

Cameron's gaze smoldered with heat and promise as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against my ear. "This," he whispered, his hand smoothing down my chest toward the top of my jeans. I watched as he undid the button, fingers deftly slipping beneath the fabric.

My back arched off the blanket and my eyes drifted shut as he touched me. I heard the rustle of leaves, the murmur of the creek beside us, felt the warm sun on my face and Cameron's mouth trailing hot kisses down my neck, sucking on my pulse points.

As I blinked my eyes open, the afternoon light hazed around us and my senses honed in on him. An ache stirred low in me as I watched him, young, beautiful, smart, and so very fucking eager. His hand paused at the button of my jeans, eyes heavy-lidded and watching for my reaction.

I swallowed hard, my voice turning to gravel when I finally said, "Do it."

Cameron tugged at my zipper, fingers warm and sure. I tilted my head back and let myself feel every small movement he made, the world around us spinning into a hazy background of sunlit greens and blues as his touch became my entire focus.

I bit back a moan as he took me in his hand, his grip sending sparks of electricity coursing through my body. He stroked me gently at first, teasing with soft touches that had my toes curling in my shoes.

Leaning in, he pressed kisses to my hip bone, waistline, down to where I wanted him most. Pausing, he looked up at me, an intoxicating mix of reverence, desire, and a hint of mischief that made me ache for more. His eyes locked on mine, the silent question lingering until I tilted my head in a nod of approval.

"Jesus, baby," I moaned when he finally took me in his mouth. I gripped the blanket beneath us, knuckles whitening as he licked and sucked up my shaft. Tangling my fingers in his hair, I guided him lower and then groaned as he gave me what I wanted, sucking me deep into the back of his throat until I felt it constrict around me and his body shudder.

He set a tortuously languid pace that had me writhing and grasping against the blanket when his hands slid up my thighs, fingers digging into the skin of my waist. The sight of him between my thighs, blond hair tousled in the sunlight, made my heart race. My hands roamed his lean body, tracing the outline of muscles.

Cameron let me slip free, lips glistening and eyes dark with desire. "Fuck me," he whispered. "Please?"

I cast a wild-eyed look around, pinging off every tree and bush surrounding us, the tiny footpath in the distance that had led us here, ensuring our seclusion. There was nothing but the occasional flutter of birds and the rustle of the wind through the leaves. No other sign of life but us. When my focus returned to him, he was shifting on the blanket, knee walking to place one hand on the tree next to us we'd chosen for shade. With a coy glance over his shoulder, he shoved his jeans and boxers down his thighs, exposing his perfect ass to me.

I groaned and pushed myself up, the sight of him ready and waiting for me igniting a surge of desire so potent I could barely breathe. Moving toward him, I gripped his narrow hips and skimmed a touch over his firm ass. He exhaled sharply as I pressed against him, letting my cock glide up and down the seam of his ass.

"This what you want? This dick inside you?" My words were husky and low, saturated with a need I felt mirrored in him.

"Mmm." He let out a wanton groan as I wet my thumb and swiped it over his hole. "Fuck yes."

Leaning down, I placed a kiss on the nape of his neck and breathed in the familiar scent of him. I had no lube, and I knew he didn't either, so I cupped my hand, spit into it, and stroked my cock, gliding precum along my length, repeating the process until I was slick and Cameron was pressing back insistently against me.

"Grady." The neediness in his tone spiraled through me like fuel to the fire roaring in my veins. I reached out to stroke him, letting my fingers glide over his cock as I nudged his entrance.

His breath hitched as I pushed inside with a whispered curse. We couldn't hurry this. It would have to be slow and patient.

"Easy, baby," I murmured against his ear, voice nearly trembling with the restraint it took not to thrust into him. I held him steady as I rocked into him millimeter by agonizingly slow millimeter, his breathy whimpers and impatient attempts at grinding back on me urging me on. My cock throbbed when the tight heat of his hole enveloped me, sending waves of pleasure shooting through every nerve ending.

"Fuck," I hissed through gritted teeth as I filled him completely, his ass flush against my groin. I gave him a moment to adjust to the intrusion.

Then, with a soft growl of anticipation, I retreated only to lunge back in, setting a slow cadence that had Cameron's body shuddering. His strangled moans filled the air, and every time he tried to thrust back against me, I held him still. Pulling out almost completely, I sent another drizzle of spit over his ass and my cock before sliding back in, this time a little rougher. There was something raw and primal about fucking him in the wilderness with nothing more than spit and desire that drove me crazy.

His fingers dug into the rough bark as I fucked him, his hands tense and his breathing ragged. I reached around, stroking his cock in a rhythm that echoed my thrusts as arousal built in my belly.

The sight of him beneath me, the sounds he made for me, and the feel of him engulfing me was raw and real and somehow just as intimate as our bedroom trysts.

"Grady, oh fuck." His voice cracked as I angled my thrusts to hit the sweet spot inside him. I knew by the fractured tone he was close.

"Go ahead, baby," I cajoled, and his body quivered in response as I plunged into him with less restraint, feeling the ricochet of our bodies from my crown to my toes. One more deep thrust and heat spread over my fist as Cameron came on a choked cry.

Every pulse of his orgasm dragged me closer to the precipice until the heady rush became unbearable, triggering my own orgasmic tidal wave. I held him tighter as my cock jerked deep inside him, releasing in powerful spasms that left me dizzy and gasping for breath.

The earthy scent of damp wood and pine needles brought me back down to earth as I eased back on my haunches, pulling out of Cameron with a kiss between his shoulder blades. We both collapsed onto the blanket, lying on our backs as we tucked ourselves away. Cameron rolled toward me, and I kissed him, sliding a hand down the back of his pants, dipping a finger into his slick hole, and loving the soft rumble of a sigh that spilled from him into our kiss.

I fucking loved this. The sex, the time we spent together, the impulsiveness he brought out in me. I was starting to get the idea that it was just him I loved. Everything about him. The thought felt both dangerous and alluring, scratching at the corners of my mind, echoing in the chambers of my heart. Because if it was true, I had no fucking clue what came next.