33. Away From the Table #2
Cami wants to know if Austin cried when he heard my song.
“He did not.”
“He should have.”
“He called it ‘fucking disgusting.’”
She blinks.
“Is that good?”
“Extremely.”
Micah laughs.
Eventually Griffin goes upstairs because he works early.
Ronan disappears to his room after telling me he is pleased the trip was successful, which is Ronan for I missed you and am happy you're home, but prolonged emotional conversation sounds terrible.
Then there are three.
Me.
Micah.
Cami.
She has been staring at me for approximately twelve consecutive minutes.
I point at her. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
Micah leans against the counter.
His mouth twitches.
I point at him next. “You know something.”
“No.”
“You both suck at lying.”
Cami gets up.
Walks toward me.
Slowly.
Oh.
Okay.
She stops between my knees where I'm sitting on one of the kitchen stools.
Her hands settle on my thighs. “Four weeks.”
“Yes?”
“You were gone for four weeks.”
“I have been informed.”
She grabs the front of my shirt and kisses me.
Not sweet.
And not hello.
The woman tries to climb me while I'm still seated.
My hands automatically go to her hips.
She breaks the kiss. “Don't.”
I freeze.
Because she said it like she expected me to listen.
Oh.
My eyes flick toward Micah.
His eyebrows have gone up.
Cami notices me looking at him. “Eyes here.”
My dick immediately becomes a much more interested third party.
Well, well, well.
I look at her. “Yes, ma'am.”
Her face changes.
A flash of surprise.
Then delight.
Micah sees it too. “You're enjoying this,” he says.
Cami doesn't look away from me. “Yes.”
“Good.”
Her eyes flick toward him.
Then back.
She points toward the hallway. “Bedroom.”
I grin. “Mine or—”
“Dex.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Micah laughs.
I stand.
Cami catches my shirt again.
Then looks at Micah. “I need him alone.”
Micah studies her.
Then me.
His expression warms. “Yeah, I think you do.”
He steps closer.
Kisses me.
Slower than Cami did.
His hand closes around the back of my neck. “Welcome home.”
Fuck.
“Thanks.”
Then he kisses Cami's temple. “Have fun.”
She smiles. “I plan to.”
As Micah walks toward his room, I call after him.
“You're just leaving me?”
He doesn't turn around. “You seem supervised.”
Cami pulls me toward the hallway.
“Traitor.”
The second the bedroom door shuts, Cami shoves me against it.
Not hard enough to hurt.
Hard enough that I laugh. “Holy shit.”
“Shut up.”
“You are being extremely aggressive right now.”
“I said shut up.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
She kisses me.
I reach for her.
She catches both wrists.
Pins them against the door.
Her hands are much smaller than mine.
I could move.
Obviously.
She knows it.
I know it.
Doesn't matter.
Because I don't.
Her eyes flick up to our hands.
Then back to my face.
Something shifts again.
She likes that.
Not physically overpowering me.
Me choosing not to resist because she told me not to.
Oh, Dollface.
There you are.
You're smiling,” she accuses.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“You're fucking delighted.”
“Little bit.”
She narrows her eyes. “Keep being a smartass.”
“That sounds like permission.”
Her grip tightens.
My cock jumps.
Cami notices.
Her smile goes wicked. “Take your clothes off.”
“Bossy.”
“Dex.”
I laugh.
Then obey.
Shirt.
Jeans.
Everything.
Cami watches.
And I realize somewhere around dropping my boxers that the way she's looking at me isn't quite the way she normally does.
She's always liked my body.
I am objectively decorative.
But this is appraisal.
Possession.
Interest in what she can make me do with it.
My piercings catch her attention.
Her eyes follow the metal.
Then she reaches out.
She doesn’t do anything except trace around them with one fingertip.
“God, I missed these.”
I swallow. “Technically attached to the rest of me.”
“I missed that too.”
“Good clarification.”
Her fingers move again.
I suck in a breath.
She looks up. “Oh.”
“Don't ‘oh’ me.”
“You like when I pay attention to them.”
“I think we established this several chapters ago.”
She grins.
Then her expression goes serious again.
Not Ronan or Micah serious.
Cami serious.
Which still somehow contains approximately fifteen percent mischief.
“Bed.”
I climb onto it.
“On your back.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Her eyes flare again.
Oh, she really fucking likes that.
I lie back.
Cami climbs over me.
My hands move instinctively toward her hips.
She catches one. “No touching.”
I blink. “Cruel.”
“Can you do it?”
There's something under the teasing now.
A real question.
I put both hands above my head. “Yes.”
She looks at them.
Then at me. “Until I say.”
My grin gets wider. “Yes, ma'am.”
“Stop enjoying this so much.”
“Cannot.”
She laughs.
There.
Thank fuck.
Then she sits astride me, and the laughter thins into something hotter.
Her hands move over my chest.
My stomach.
Back down.
Slow enough to be obnoxious.
I shift beneath her.
She stills. “What did I say?”
My brain briefly leaves my skull. “Don't touch.”
“And?”
“Until you say.”
“Good.”
Fuck.
That word shouldn't do anything.
Apparently, from Cami, it does.
She notices my reaction.
Her smile changes. “Oh, you like my praise.”
“I do.”
“You also like Micah praising you.”
“Micah could tell me I folded laundry correctly and I'd probably get hard.”
She bursts out laughing. “I am trying to be intimidating.”
“You're doing amazing, Dollface.”
Her hand closes around my jaw.
My mouth snaps shut.
Well.
Fuck me.
“You gonna keep talking?”
I stare at her.
Cami's eyes widen slightly, like she surprises herself.
Then her confidence comes roaring back.
Her thumb brushes over my lower lip.
“Be good.”
Something low in my stomach turns over.
“Yes, ma'am.”
She kisses me.
Slow.
Then pulls away before I can chase it.
“That's better.”
I think I'm going to die.
Not because Cami suddenly transformed into Ronan.
She hasn't.
She is still visibly having fun.
Still testing lines and watching my face to see what lands.
Still one ridiculous comment away from laughing.
But that's almost hotter.
She's performing with it.
Playing.
Trying on authority and discovering she likes the way it fits.
And because I'm me, she doesn't have to sound perfect.
She can tell me to behave and then laugh into my neck.
She can lose the thread of what she planned because one of my piercings distracts her.
She can recover by grabbing my jaw and telling me to stop looking smug.
This is not a formal scene.
It's Cami finding a new button and hammering the fuck out of it.
At some point she lets me touch. “You can put your hands on me now.”
“Thank fuck.” My hands land on her hips.
She catches one immediately. “Not there.”
I laugh. “Where?”
She moves it exactly where she wants it. “There.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Good boy.”
My entire body jerks.
Cami freezes.
Her mouth falls open.
Then very slowly, she smiles. “Seriously?”
“Don't.”
“You liked that.”
“Cami.”
“You really liked that.”
“I have had a long month.”
She laughs.