Vanessa felt him growing hard inside her again and tightened her legs around his waist to keep him locked to her. "Some people might be wondering where we"ve disappeared to."
"Let them wonder. I"m sure Morgan will tell them something believable."
She nodded again. "I hope so because I haven"t gotten enough of you yet."
"And I haven"t gotten enough of you, either."
And then he leaned forward and captured her lips at the exact moment he thrust deeper inside her. Once, twice. Again and again.
The heat was on again and he planned to take it to the limit.
Chapter 17.
"Woman, you"re killing me," Cameron said through clenched teeth. They were at his house, in his bedroom, and Vanessa was on top of him, riding him like crazy. He clutched the bedspread and balled it in his fist. The woman was amazing, simply amazing. He had thought that same thing in Jamaica but now, on American soil, he was doubly sure of it.
After leaving her office they had finally gone back downstairs to join the party, barely hearing the last of Morgan"s speech. Then they had quickly said their goodbyes, not caring that after having been missing from the party for over an hour, they were making a grand escape.
She had followed him home and they had barely made it inside the door before they were at it again. This time she was in control. First they had made love on the floor in his living room until their strength was depleted. And then he had carried her upstairs to his bedroom, where he had undressed her properly before making love to her again.
They had fallen asleep, but she had awakened him-less than ten minutes ago-saying she needed to ride him, and he had flipped on his back, happy to oblige. Now he was looking death in the face. The woman was going to kill him.
"I won"t kill you if you stop holding back. I made it clear what I want."
Yes, she had. For some reason she enjoyed the feel of him exploding inside her, shooting his s.e.m.e.n all the way to her womb. The moment he did so, she would clench her inner muscles and pull everything out of him, as if his release was something she had to have.
"d.a.m.n, you"re really asking for it this time," he warned, barely able to get the words out.
"Good, now let go and give me what I want, Cameron. Now!"
"You better hope those pills you"re on do their job tonight. If not, this is a baby in the making," he muttered just seconds before his body bucked and he exploded, giving her just what she wanted.
As if his o.r.g.a.s.m had lit her sensuous torch, she climaxed, as well, clenching him more deeply while calling out his name. Knowing she needed this from him, he gently flipped her on her back without breaking contact, taking control and riding her. This was crazy. This was madness. This was making up for weeks of going without her in his bed-something he never wanted to do again.
After they came again, simultaneously, he lay against her, breathing hard but thinking how great life was. He was a man in love and he had the woman he wanted in his bed. Now if he could only convince her to become a forever part of his life, as well.
"Sneaking out on me, Vanessa?"
Vanessa swirled around, holding her shoes to her chest. "I thought you were asleep, Cameron. It"s time for me to leave."
He glanced to the window. It was daybreak. In essence she had spent the night. He moved to get out of bed. "Let me slip on something and walk you to your car."
"No. Please don"t. I"m fine."
He stayed put, seeing the look of uncertainty in her eyes. Did she regret what had happened last night? There was only one way to find out. "When will I see you again?"
He watched her nervously lick her lips, and his stomach clenched when he recalled just what she had done to him with those same lips and tongue last night. He also noticed she was backing up slowly toward the door. "I"ll call you."
"When?"
She shrugged. "I don"t know. I hadn"t counted on this."
He figured now was not a good time to tell her that he had. A part of him had wanted to believe she still desired him and the attraction between them was just as strong and hot as it had been in Jamaica. What had happened last night had proven him right.
He knew he couldn"t be completely honest with her anymore. He stood. "Can I give you something to think about?"
"Yes, what?"
"I love you."
She closed her eyes and her shoes dropped to the floor. The sound made her s.n.a.t.c.h her eyes open and she dropped to her knees to pick her shoes up. Without looking at him she gathered them in her arms and said, "This is getting complicated. I have to go."
He took a few steps toward her. "What"s so complicated about me loving you?"
She looked at him as she stood up. "Because I"m not sure how I feel about you."
He reached out and pulled her to him again, making her drop her shoes for a second time. He picked her up in his arms and moved to sit on the bed with her cradled in his lap. His teeth caught her earlobe before he whispered huskily, "Don"t you? I"m betting my money that you love me, too."
She pulled back and stared down at him. "Why do you think that? Because we enjoy great s.e.x together? A lot of people enjoy great s.e.x, Cameron."
He shook his head. "We"re not talking about a lot of people. We"re talking about us. us. And we share more than great s.e.x. You"re everything I want in a woman, Vanessa. You"re compa.s.sionate, honest, trustworthy and-" And we share more than great s.e.x. You"re everything I want in a woman, Vanessa. You"re compa.s.sionate, honest, trustworthy and-"
"But I"m having doubts about you, Cameron. You take people"s companies away. What you do affects their lives. I read an article on the Internet a few weeks ago about what you did to that company in Texas, Global Petroleum, and how the people resent you for taking it over and that"s why you"re having problems there."
Cameron moved her off his lap and stood, somewhat irritated and trying like h.e.l.l to hold on to his temper. "You can"t believe everything you read, especially not off the Internet, Vanessa, and particularly not off that particular site. John McMurray had that site up and running for a while mainly to discredit me."
"But-"
"But you have to trust me. I know what I"m doing."
"But I don"t. My family could have been in the same boat that Global is in now had you succeeded in taking over the Steele Corporation."
"No, the circ.u.mstances are different, Vanessa."
"I don"t think that they are."
Cameron inhaled deeply. He loved this woman with all his heart and soul but more than anything, he wanted her to believe in him and trust him completely. "I"m leaving for Texas tomorrow and will probably be gone for a week or two. When I get back, let"s have dinner and talk. There are a few things I think we need to clear up, okay?"
She slowly nodded and then stood and slipped into her shoes. "I have to go. If I don"t see you or talk to you before you leave, I hope you have a safe trip."
And then she was gone, hurrying out of the bedroom and down the stairs to leave his home.
"So, Vanessa, how do you think things went at the party the other night?"
She glanced up from the doc.u.ment she was reading to see Morgan in the doorway of her office, a silly grin on his face. He knew better than anyone that she had missed most of the party while she was in this very office playing hanky-panky with Cameron.
Even now the memories were still vivid. She wished she had gone to church on Sunday to hear Reverend Carrington"s sermon. She glared over at her cousin. "I have a bone to pick with you, Morgan."
He smiled. "What kind of bone?"
"Not a juicy rib-eye, that"s for sure. I don"t like being set up."
"And you think you were set up?"
"Yes."
"Umm, I don"t recall you complaining about it that night when you came back downstairs. In fact, you looked rather giddy. Like the cat who"d gotten the canary."
"That"s not the point."
"Then what is the point?"
She inhaled deeply and decided to use another approach. "What is it with Cameron? Other guys have tried dating me, and you, Bas, Donovan and Chance have always been overly cautious, checking them out to make sure they don"t intend to run off with the family china. Yet, Cameron is a man known to take over companies and it seems like the four of you, especially you, Morgan, are all but handing me to him on a silver platter. h.e.l.l, let"s forget about silver, let"s even try a gold platter."
"We like Cameron. He had a rough life with the way he lost his parents, yet he made it. He"s a survivor."
"But look at what he"s doing to those companies," she implored.
Morgan rolled his eyes. "Name one company where the employees haven"t benefited from Cameron"s takeover."
"What about that one in Texas? Global Petroleum."
"That"s personal for Cameron."
Vanessa arched a brow. "And how is it personal?"
"He had a score to settle with the owner."
"And for that reason he took over an entire company? What about the employees?"
"Like I said, they will end up in better shape. A lot better than Cam"s grandfather did over twenty years ago."
Vanessa frowned. "What about Cam"s grandfather?"
Morgan came into her office and closed the door behind him. "You know about him?"
She shrugged. "Only what Cameron shared with me. I know he was fired from his job of forty years less than a year from retirement, and he lost all his benefits."
"And did Cam tell you the name of the company responsible?"
"If he did, I don"t remember. Why?"
"Because Global Petroleum is the same company that fired not only Cam"s grandfather but five other men who were about to retire. None of them had a grandson like Cam who was willing to drop out of school to help make ends meet. Two of the men died within the first five years, the others still living are dest.i.tute. They"re old men, in their late eighties. One is in his nineties. Cam took over Global Petroleum not only for revenge, but he"s taking the company"s first five years of profits to give to those remaining four men so that they can live out the rest of their lives without wanting for anything. All the profits will be split among the survivors and their families."
Vanessa leaned back in her chair, amazed. "He"s actually doing that?"
"Yes. And in my book that"s a pretty nice gesture for a guy you think is nothing more than a jerk."
"I never said he was a jerk. I just never understood him, until now."
Morgan shook his head. "And you still don"t understand him, Vanessa. The man loves you. That"s why I don"t worry about what may or may not be happening between the two of you. One thing I"ve discovered since becoming Cam"s friend is that true friendships are important to him, and because of it, he picks his friends carefully. And the reason he loves you is that he truly believes you"re more than worthy of his love."
Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and met her gaze. "The big question of the hour is whether you"re going to prove him right or wrong."
That night, after taking her shower, Vanessa slipped into bed with Morgan"s words from earlier that day on her mind.
"...And the reason he loves you is that he truly believes you"re more than worthy of his love."
She shook her head. If Cameron did think at one time that she was worthy of his love, chances were that after what she"d said to him their last morning together he didn"t feel that way now. She had told him that she doubted him, and now he probably wouldn"t want to see her.
She sighed deeply, knowing she would go stark raving crazy if she had to wait another week before he returned to Charlotte to find out. She quickly reached across the bed for the phone.
A sleepy feminine voice answered after three rings. "h.e.l.lo, Lena, how are you? May I speak with Morgan for a minute?"
It took another minute for him to get on the phone. "Vanessa, it"s almost midnight. What is it that can"t wait until you see me at the office in the morning?"
"I hope to be on my way to Texas by then."
"What are you talking about?"
"I"m going to Austin and I need Cameron"s address. Hold on, let me grab a pen."
A few minutes later, she ended her call with Morgan. She believed she was worthy of Cameron"s love. Now she had to make sure he still believed it, as well.
Chapter 18.