Was that what this was all about? Some kind of rebellion against his best friend? Camden would show Dan that he could do what he wanted? “It’s not because of Dan.”
“Then why?” he asked, reaching up to softly stroke my cheek, his fingers pleasantly burning my skin everywhere he touched. I meant to tell him to stop, but couldn’t make sounds. “When two people have shared what we’ve shared, things usually go in this direction.”
“What did we share? A lot of gratuitous vomit?”
“That wasn’t what I meant.” His voice was soft, longing, and all that resolve I’d built up crumbled underneath it.
I’d been trying to distract him, get him joking again, but he’d stayed serious. I closed my eyes slowly, swallowing hard. All the pulse points in my body were throbbing from his touch and a few more seconds of this and I was going to melt into a giant puddle in the middle of the hallway.
His chest was almost touching me and he had his mouth just above mine, frustrating me with tension but no pressure. Just like earlier in Troy’s room. While I considered pressing forward and ending the suspense, there was some part of me that was thrilled at the deliciousness of it all. The anticipation, the wanting, dying to know what it would feel like when it finally happened.
As if his brain were operating on the same wavelength he whispered, “I’ve imagined kissing you at least a dozen times.”
His words were like fiery barbs that pierced my armor and my resolve. “You have?” Did I always sound that breathy?
“Mm-hmm. Your lips look soft and warm.”
“They are.”
“I think maybe I should be the judge of that.”
He was going to kiss me and I wanted it so fiercely that it physically hurt me to put a hand on his chest, intending to stop him. My fingers ignored me and instead pressed against him, enjoying the hardness of his chest against my hand. He felt so firm and strong and I wanted to make a thorough exploration. But I could not afford to get distracted by extraneous and tempting muscles, so I yanked my hand back and said, “Wait.”
Camden pulled his head back, giving me another one of those puzzled looks. I couldn’t blame him because I was basically putty in his hands. “I thought we were on the same page.”
“We’re not even in the same book,” I told him. “This can’t happen.”
“You don’t want me to kiss you?”
“I . . .” I couldn’t force out the lie. Because I wanted him so badly that I was quickly losing my hold on my sanity and sense of responsibility.
So I said the thing that would make him go away and stop tempting me. “I know.”
His eyes lit up with amusement. “You know that I want to kiss you? I wasn’t being very subtle about it.”
“I know . . . that you think I’m a corporate spy.”
With that he gave me what I needed—he let go of me and took a step back. And even though it was what had to happen, I missed his touch.
His entire demeanor shifted. “Who told you? Sadie? Dan?” Without waiting for me to confirm who had told me, he correctly guessed, “Sadie. How long have you known?”
“Since the cocktail party.”
He shook his head, thrusting his hands into his pockets. “So, you’ve what, been having a laugh at my expense this whole time?”
“Nobody is laughing at you and I’m not a spy. I’m not trying to ruin your company. I literally don’t care about it at all. I don’t even know what it’s called.”
He studied me, a colder look in his eyes than I was accustomed to seeing. It made my stomach twist.
“I’m just supposed to believe you because you say it’s true? Isn’t this what you would say if you were a spy? Deny everything?”
“You could just think about it logically. Sadie would know, wouldn’t she? Which would mean she was in on it and willing to betray Dan. Do you really think that’s possible?”
He gave a slight shrug. “No. Sadie would do anything for him, and the last thing she’d ever do is hurt him deliberately.”
“Right,” I said, relieved he seemed to be seeing reason. “So if that’s true and I’m Sadie’s friend, then . . .”
“。 . . then you’re not a spy.” He rubbed the back of his neck, still seeming agitated. “But I still feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”
That one hit me, like a massive spear catching me in the ribs and piercing me against a wall. “There are so many things I’m not telling you. We barely know each other.”