“But let’s get one thing straight, Audrey,” he breathed in her ear.
Why was he always whispering in her ear? And why didn’t she have the compulsion to stop him?
“Soon you’re going to stop saying those ridiculous names,” his soft voice said.
Her eyes shuttered closed when his mouth traced the outer shell of her ear. And then her quaking breath turned into a gasp when his lips oh so gently touched the sensitive spot on her neck.
God, the man knew how to use his mouth. Cameron was persistent and tender at the same time, knowing how to draw out the suspense of just kiss me already until Audrey wanted to sink her teeth into the bulk of his shoulder.
“And you’re going to say mine instead.”
The confidence in his voice was almost as unnerving as the reaction her body had to his. She could feel the bulk of his thighs against hers all the way to his hard chest teasing the tips of her breasts.
Finally she gave in to the compulsion to lean into him and press her lips to his jaw. But the moment was cut short and Audrey was left cold when Cameron pulled away and lifted her chin with the tip of his index finger.
“Soon, Audrey.”
Twelve
The next morning Cameron woke up with a stiff neck and a bitch of a headache, not to mention the serious case of blue balls, straining against the fabric of his boxer briefs. He blamed the woman across the way for that, and the habit she’d developed of licking her lips whenever he was around.
He’d thought about knocking on her door last night to finally scratch the itch they’d both been feeling. But it had been midnight when he’d returned home, bordering on homicidal after the Bobcats had lost. He’d come to learn that Audrey sometimes stayed up late, but his hand had hesitated on the sliding glass door at the sight of the pitch-dark guesthouse. Instead he’d gone to bed with sweat beading his temples and a raging hard-on. Normally he’d call Tessa, who’d been texting and calling nonstop about when they were going to “get together.” Cameron knew her idea of getting together was what he needed to ease the tension humming through his system. But for some reason the idea of getting sweaty with a woman who enjoyed casual sex as much as he did didn’t really light his fire anymore.
The thought should have sent him into a panic. But, Cameron realized as he swung his legs out of bed, he felt…oddly calm, as though a final piece of a puzzle was clicking into place. Strange that he hadn’t even realized there was a piece missing.
Or maybe he had known but hadn’t cared. He hadn’t cared there’d been a hollowness inside him that he’d been content to leave unfilled. He still wasn’t sure if Audrey had been the one to fill it or if it was Piper.
Cameron scratched his bare belly as he padded toward the kitchen to start coffee.
“What the fu—” Cameron jumped back at the sight of Piper in his living room, holding some horridly hairless creature that looked like a cross between a giant gerbil and a mutant rat.
Piper’s eyes widened as she cradled the squirming creature to her chest. “That’s a bad word. You should say ‘shoot’ instead. Sometimes Audrey says cheese ’n’ rice.”
Of course she did. Cameron cleared his throat and stayed back, for fear that the um…animal might morph into something else. Or spew hot venom everywhere.
“What is that thing?” he asked the girl.
The mutant in Piper’s arms squirmed enough until the kid finally let it go. The thing turned over and started licking its crotch. Wonderful.
“It’s a cat,” Piper answered as a matter of fact, as though it should have been so obvious with its strangely pink skin and way too big, black eyes.
Cameron cleared his throat again. “That’s definitely not a cat.”
Piper reached out and ran her hand over the animal’s back, because Cameron refused to call the thing a cat, and giggled when it nibbled on her fingers. “Yes, it is. Isn’t she cute?”
Cute? It looked like it had been turned inside out.
“Where’d you find it?” Cameron asked.
“In your backyard. She was wandering around by herself.” Piper crooned at the thing, telling her what a pretty girl she was. Maybe Piper had swallowed a hallucinogenic. “I think she lost her mommy. I think she’s sad.”
Cameron was pretty sure the cat wasn’t sad. “Why is she bald? Did someone set her on fire?”
Piper’s eyes widened as she let out a gasp.
Good going, asshole. You need to learn how to talk to kids.
Cameron took a tentative step into the living room, careful to make sure the thing wasn’t going to hiss or…foam at the mouth, or something. “I just mean, why doesn’t she have any fur?”
Piper just lifted her little shoulders and ran her hand down the cat’s back again. “I don’t know. Maybe someone cut it all off.”
With what, a lawn mower? Or maybe a blowtorch?
“I’m going to keep her and name her Jellybean Junior,” Piper announced.
Was the kid for real?
Cameron didn’t know what to sputter out first. That no way in hell were they keeping that sorry excuse for a feline, or could they please come up with a more original name?
But before he could utter either thought, Piper spoke up again. She scooped the real Jellybean off the living room floor and bounced on her knees. “I’m hungry. Can we make some more pancakes? And can I have chocolate chips in them this time?”
“Uh…” Cam kept one eye on the cat, who’d pounced over to the end table and was batting her scrawny paws at the lamp cord dangling over the edge. He used his boot to scoot the cat away, because the last thing he needed was for the lamp to come crashing down on Jellybean Jr. Except…No. He wasn’t that heartless. “Why don’t we go see what we can
