It was sometime after one a.m. when Cam stepped into the darkened hallway. She closed her door quietly behind her and turned, meeting the eyes of Renee Savard, who stood watch next to the window nearby. The hallway was in shadow, but there was enough light coming from the lamps in the living room to illuminate their faces. They studied one another silently. Then, very deliberately, Savard turned her back to Cam and looked out the window into the night. Cam crossed the few feet to the opposite side of the hall and opened the door to Blair Powell's bedroom.
She waited just inside the room for her eyes to adjust.
'Is this an official visit, Commander?' Blair said quietly from the darkness.
'No.'
'Then I'll leave the lights off.'
Cam made her way to the side of the bed and eased down on the edge, reaching for Blair's hand with her uninjured one. 'I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to worry you quite so badly.'
'How do you feel?'
'Better.' She hesitated a beat, and then added, because she knew she had to tell her, 'The damn thing hurts like hell, but I'm not dizzy and my stomach has settled. I'm okay.'
'Did you come here to give me a personal medical report?' Blair asked sharply. Relieved of her worry, she remembered how angry she was. She sat up against the pillows, acutely aware of the fact that she was naked under the light sheet. 'Because if that's why you're here, you can consider your duty done.'
Cam was wearing only a thin sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Blair had opened the windows, and the August air hung hot around them.
'No,' Cam said softly, circling her thumb in the palm of Blair's hand. 'I came because I couldn't sleep.'
Blair's pulse began to hammer, but she steadfastly ignored it. This was one time she was not going to let her body rule her better judgment. 'This isn't going to work, Cam,' she said quietly.
A cold hand closed around Cam's heart, making it hard for her to breathe, but she answered calmly, 'Why not?'
'You know why not. We've been all through this before. Because I can't stand caring about you and knowing that you might be hurt because of me. I can't do it. I don't want to risk feeling anything for you.'
'If we were crossing the street,' Cam said as if Blair had not just driven a knife into her depths, 'and a car were about to hit me, would you push me out of the way even though you might be hurt yourself?'
'Yes,' Blair said softly, 'but the odds of that happening are almost zero.'
'I know,' Cam said, moving her hand to Blair's shoulder, running her fingertips lightly along the ridge of Blair's collarbone. 'And the odds of me dying to save you are just as slim. We've just had a run of lousy luck.'
Blair laughed harshly, trapping Cam's hand in hers to stop the undeniable excitement that the mere brush of her fingertips started inside. 'Well, I'm not trusting anything to luck. Either you resign from my detail, or I don't want anything to do with you beyond our daily briefings.'
Cam leaned forward and brushed her lips over the tip of Blair's shoulder. 'No,' she said very softly.
Blair ignored the swift stab of desire that raced through her. 'I'm sorry?' she managed, her voice cold.
'No,' Cam repeated, moving her mouth a fraction of an inch closer to the base of Blair's neck. She was leaning over her now, her breasts brushing lightly against Blair's bare arm. She felt her nipples stiffen beneath her T-shirt and knew that Blair could feel them too.
'It's not about sex,' Blair said harshly, all too aware of the fire burning hotter every second. She was shaking lightly, her skin alive to Cam's touch.
Cam took Blair's hand and pressed it to her chest. Her heart pounded against Blair's palm.
'Neither is this,' Cam whispered. 'I've tried so hard not to want you. I've tried so hard not to need you. I can't help it. I can't stop it. We didn't choose this, either of us. I can't walk away from it. I can't walk away from loving you, and I can't walk away from doing what I know how to do to keep you safe. Please don't ask me to.'
Blair turned her face away, struggling to resist the pull of Cam's words and the sweet seduction of her touch. 'I don't want you to love me,' she protested, her voice breaking.
Cam pressed her lips to the hollow of Blair's throat. 'Yes,' she said very softly as she reached under the sheet and gently cupped Blair's breast, 'you do.'
Blair moaned and arched her back, unable to control the surge of desire. 'Damn you, Cameron.' But the fine edge of longing was clear in her voice.
'Blair,' Cam murmured, nudging the sheet aside. She moved her lips over Blair's chest, found her nipple, and pulled it carefully between her lips. She sucked it slowly as it grew hard and tight, then bit lightly, making Blair groan. She was hard too, and wet, and a pulse pounded demandingly between her thighs. She sat back, gasping with sudden urgency. 'Help me get my clothes off.'
Blair forced herself to focus through a haze of arousal and saw Cam struggling to pull the T-shirt off one- handed. 'Here,' she said quickly, sitting forward. 'Let me do that.'
She carefully worked the fabric down over the bandage on Cam's arm, then directed Cam to stand up, reaching for the ties on the sweatpants. When Cam kicked free of her clothes, Blair caught her uninjured hand and pulled Cam down beside her on the bed. She ran her hand along the length of Cam's body, over her abdomen, down her thigh and back up the inside of her leg.
Cam lifted her hips, breathing rapidly. 'You're distracting me again.'
Blair ran her fingertips through the thick wet heat between Cam's legs, her breath catching in her throat as her own body clenched in response. 'I like distracting you,' she murmured.
Cam made an effort to move on top of her and gasped sharply as she pushed up on her injured arm.
