“I’m sorry,” Matthew said, and I knew he meant it. His eyes turned in Cameron’s direction. “I think she might keep you, man. Adalyn never goes all Rottweiler on me. Except for that time I dragged her to Saint Patrick’s—”
“Matthew, please.” I groaned. “You promised me not to ever talk about that again.”
“All right,” my best friend said. “I really need to go, now.” His tone turned somber. “Addy?” he said, and I realized I wasn’t bothered by that anymore. “There’s something you need to see. That was why I was calling you. It’s in your email.” He looked over at the man beside me again. “Take care of her, will you? I… She’ll push through anything but sometimes it’s good not to do it alone.”
Something sounded in the background, behind Matthew’s chair, but before I could discern any of it, or even process the meaning of what he’d just said, the call was over.
Cameron took the mug from my hand.
“Hey, I’m not done with—” I started.
But Cameron’s mouth was on mine, his hands on my waist, and my back was hitting the bed. He came over me, and an immediate sense of rightness, of safety and excitement and warmth, fell over me, enveloping me and making my mind stop.
Willow mewed somewhere far away, as if she’d run from the room, and Cameron bit my lip again, demanding all my attention back.
“You beautiful, fierce girl,” he said against my lips. His hips settling between mine. “Protecting me like that.” That mouth trailed down my neck. “It’s gotten me rock-hard.”
My hands moved to his head, my fingers slipping into his hair, hardly resisting the feel of his mouth as it continued down. “I thought you—” Cameron nipped at my nipple and I arched my back. “I think…” His tongue trailed down to my belly. “I think—” He placed a hard kiss on my hip. “I think we—”
His head lifted, his gaze meeting mine. “What do you think we should do, love?”
My chest heaved up and down, need surging through me and making it difficult to think. “Talk. I think we should talk.”
I waited for his reaction, almost afraid of him possibly brushing it off or walking away.
But Cameron’s lips twitched, bending upward and giving shape to that blinding smile. “We’ll talk, then.” He placed one more kiss on my belly, then climbed up and pushed his lips to my jaw. My eyelids fluttered closed and when they reopened, he was standing at the side of the bed, looking down at me as I laid sprawled in the comforter. Still. “We have a few hours until the game. I left breakfast in the kitchen for you. Fresh coffee, too. I’ll jump in the shower to take care of this.” He gripped himself through his sleeping pants. I swallowed. “It’s an open invitation for you to join. Either way, we’ll talk before leaving the house.”
In awe, I watched him pull something out of the pocket of his sweatpants. Then he leaned forward and slipped it over my head. I looked down, finding his signet ring hanging on a chain.
“For good luck,” he said. “So you don’t forget just how superstitious I am.” And with that, he turned around and left me right where I was.
Jesus. Was this my life now? Being invited by beautiful gruff men to have shower sex and wearing their family heirlooms around my neck?
It’s an open invitation for you to join.
I sprung up. The heels of my feet hit the floor so hard, I probably left a mark. We were going to talk either way. He’d said so himself. So we could have a few orgasms first, couldn’t we? Cameron was giving me the choice. Just like he always did. He’d known there was something on my mind and offered me an in and an out. He’d made sure either way, I knew he’d be there.
Stroking himself.
I started for the bathroom, but then, my phone pinged again.
Almost instinctively, I had a glimpse at the notification. It was Matthew’s email.
There had been something about him, something about what he’d said that had left me unsettled. There was something up with Matthew and the answer might be in that email.
I picked up the phone. Unlocked it. Opened my inbox and tapped on the mail.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Adalyn
It was Cameron’s voice that returned me back to earth.
“Adalyn?”
I blinked, the screen of my phone now black.
How long had I been staring into blank space?
Everything was a blur. I didn’t even remember putting on one of Cameron’s shirts or coming to the kitchen. I just remembered opening Matthew’s email and needing to move. Feeling cold. Needing a glass of water. Needing to breathe.