But he had hoped she’d stay in the bar a while longer.
Cam could have canceled the room and gone home once he saw that his lame attempt at getting a funny, sexy, beautiful stranger into his hotel room had been rebuffed, but he wasn’t on call and didn’t have to work in the morning. He decided to take the room anyway, maybe turn on a movie and fall asleep here, rather than listen to the deafening silence in his too-big house. He walked toward the elevators and there, standing right in front of them, beautiful in a soft, gold silk cocktail dress, was the perfect stranger. Brandy. His eyes glowed with warmth. He could feel his smile reaching all the way into his chest.
Cameron walked toward her and took her hand in his. He leaned down and put a soft kiss on her forehead. The elevator doors opened and he pulled her inside, taking her gently into his arms. “You’re trembling,” he whispered. “Are you scared?”
“To death,” she said. “I never intended to do this.”
“You don’t have to be scared. I’d love it if you came with me, but you certainly don’t have to,” he said.
“This could be the biggest, stupidest mistake of my life.” Then she laughed. “Or at least the second biggest,” she added softly.
“You’ll see, it’s all right. I don’t want a woman who doesn’t want me. We already know we have plenty to talk about…” He lifted her chin and gently touched her lips with his in a very soft, brief kiss. He kissed her once more, lightly, playing against her lips. “You can change your mind and leave anytime. You won’t get any trouble from me.”
“What if it’s the biggest mistake of your life?” she asked him.
“I’m not worried. You’re beautiful and sweet and I like you. I don’t care.” He kissed her again, a little more deeply. Then the doors opened and he led her to the room. Once inside, he tossed aside the shaving kit and put his hands on her face, threading his fingers into her hair, pulling her gently to his mouth. He moved over her lips sensuously, tugging at them with his, running his tongue around them. When her tongue joined his in play, he groaned his pleasure and pushed his tongue in to taste the inside of her mouth; she tasted like champagne and strawberries. Then he felt her tongue enter his mouth, slipping around. Heaven. He couldn’t breathe.
“Scotch,” she said.
“I can change that taste to Crest, if you’d like me to,” he offered.
“I like scotch,” she said, leaning in to his kiss again. “You taste good.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “God,” he whispered against her lips. “I feel better already. How do you feel?”
“Crazy. Completely crazy,” she said.
“Yeah,” he agreed, laughing. “This is pretty crazy. But I like it so far.”
She molded herself against him, her arms going around his neck to hold him. She felt his hand glide down her back, over her butt to rest there and pull her closer still. His arms were strong, firm, but not confining. She could have wriggled out of his grasp without the slightest struggle. Instead of feeling frightened, she began to feel secure. Loved. Of course she knew it wasn’t love—it was nothing more than human contact. But while her life was spiraling out of control, this handsome stranger felt like an anchor.
The one thought that came to mind should have brought her to her senses, catapulting her out of these arms, this room. But the opposite happened. She remembered she had a husband. And a prenuptial agreement in which she promised fidelity. In the event of divorce, she would not receive alimony if she had been unfaithful during the marriage. Of course, he had made no such promises and had been living with another woman for six months. He’d asked for the divorce nine months ago, but she hadn’t signed the papers or told any of her friends.
She didn’t care about alimony; her heart was in shreds. No amount of money would put it back together again.
She pushed against Cam. “This is wrong,” she said.
“It’s a lot of things, honey, but it’s not wrong,” he said. “We’re single, consenting adults and we’re—”
“I’m not,” she said.
He was frozen for a second. “Okay, this sure feels consensual, so I’m guessing you mean you’re not single.”
She nodded and her eyes glistened.
“Oh, boy,” he said, backing up a little bit, though he couldn’t seem to let go of her completely. “I hope he’s not standing outside that door with a big gun…”