CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sitting behind his desk on a gorgeous, sunny morning, Cameron smiled when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.
It had been two weeks since Asher had agreed to take sex off the table until the end of the thirty days. He had, however, convinced Cameron that since neither of them had slept with anyone else since they’d met, they’d technically already been together for a week before the conversation.
Which meant only another six days until the end of his self-imposed celibacy.
A date which just happened to fall the week before Halloween and the costume party Asher hosted every year.
Cameron hadn’t been to a Halloween party since college, but no way would he miss this one.
If everything went well, he’d have a lot to look forward to that night.
Things had been going well, too.
Between Cameron’s business and Asher’s writing, they didn’t get to see each other during the weekdays, but they spent every weekend together.
They hadn’t been back to the club, because according to Asher, he only had so much self-control.
Instead, they’d done couple things, like dinner at a fancy restaurant, a picnic at the botanical gardens, and holding hands as they strolled through the nature and science museum.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he unlocked the screen and brought up his texts, grinning like an idiot when he found a new message from Asher.
Asher: You want to have lunch today?
Cameron rolled his eyes as he typed out his response.
Cameron: Aren’t you supposed to be writing today?
Asher: I wrote last night.
Cameron: How much?
Asher: Enough.
Cameron somehow doubted that. He’d been there when Asher’s agent, Becca, had stopped by to ream his ass about his deadline. It hadn’t been pretty, and he hoped never to find himself on Becca’s bad side. That woman scared the hell out of him.
Cameron: Did you finish the chapter?
Asher: Almost.
Cameron glanced at the clock, surprised to find it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet .
Cameron: If you finish the chapter, you can come get me for lunch at noon.
The response came almost immediately.
Asher: Deal. See you at noon.
Cameron: I want proof.
Asher: You just like me for my characters.
That made Cameron laugh. Oh, he liked Asher for so many reasons, but he wouldn’t say no to getting an early peek at the newest Marshall Kane novel.
Cameron: Proof, or it didn’t happen.
Asher: Slave driver.
Cameron: Procrastinator.
Asher: You know me so well. Okay, gotta go. Noon. Be ready.
Cameron: I’ll be waiting.
Three hours suddenly felt like a really long fucking time.
~
“Cam, there’s a Mr. Dare here to see you.”
“Thanks, Amelia. Send him in.” Cameron switched off his intercom and stood, but he stayed behind his desk. They’d made a deal, and he wouldn’t budge until he saw evidence that his terms had been met.
The door opened a moment later, and Asher strutted into his office, looking so damn good it should have been illegal.
His relaxed-fit jeans hugged him in all the right places, and his dark green V-neck molded over his chest. The leather biker boots looked new, but Cameron assumed they were more of a fashion statement than for any practical purpose.
And yet, the mental image of Asher in a leather jacket straddling a sleek, black motorcycle did zero to calm his racing pulse. They were going to revisit his little fantasy, though, because…damn.
“Did you finish the chapter?”
With a cocky grin that made his eyes dance, Asher pulled a stack of papers out from behind his back and dropped them onto Cameron’s desk with a heavy thud. “The first five chapters of Uninvited , including the one I finished this morning.”
“Oh, wow, really?” Cameron snatched the partial manuscript up and took a step back toward the window before Asher could change his mind. “You’re really going to let me read it? ”
“I am.” Rounding the desk, he took Cameron’s face in both hands and tilted his head up for a deep, though brief, kiss. “I trust you.”
Every-fucking-thing inside Cameron melted, and he wondered if he had those little cartoon hearts in his eyes.
The quickest way to my heart is through my book budget.
“I swear I’ll guard it with my life.” To prove his point, he removed a key from his pocket, unlocked the bottom draw of his desk, and placed the manuscript inside.
Shit, he was never going to be able to concentrate knowing what was waiting in his desk. It wouldn’t take him a long time to read five chapters.
Sighing, he locked the drawer and pocketed the key. “So, where do you want to go for lunch?”
“How about tacos?”
Cameron wrinkled his nose. “Pass.”
Laughing, Asher pinched the front of Cameron’s charcoal-gray button-down and tugged him forward. “Okay,” he murmured, nuzzling behind Cameron’s ear. “You pick the place. I’ll follow.”
Good in theory, but the second Asher’s lips touched is skin, Cameron forgot…
well, everything. He might have even forgotten how to breath for a moment.
His unruly body reacted the way it always did—legs shaking, palms sweating, heart in his throat, and his dick so hard he felt lightheaded from lack of blood flow to his brain.
A heartbeat away from saying to hell with his thirty-day rule, his cell phone began vibrating across his desk with a loud buzz that echoed around his office. Unsure whether he should be relieved or disappointed, he snatched it up and frowned at the screen. His sister never called from her store.
“Hello?”
“Cam, it’s Maddie. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I really need you to come down to the store.”
Maddie had been with Natalie since she’d first opened the doors of Express Yourself, and she had yet to encounter a problem she couldn’t handle. If she was calling Cameron, it had to be bad.
“Where’s Natalie? Is she okay?” Half a dozen scenarios played through his mind as he dug in his pocket for his keys. “What happened?”
“I don’t exactly know what happened, but she’s not hurt.” A long sigh drifted over the line. “She came back early from lunch, locked herself in the bathroom, and she’s been in there crying ever since.”
Keys in hand, Cameron paused halfway to the door. “She locked herself in the bathroom? How long has she been in there?”
“Thirty, maybe forty-five, minutes.” She lowered her voice. “It’s making the customers uncomfortable. ”
“Okay, go ahead and close the shop for the rest of the day.” He resisted the urge to sigh, but just barely. “I’ll be right there.”
“Everything okay?” Asher asked when Cameron pocketed his phone.
He held his arms out, and Cameron walked right into them. “It’s my sister.” He tucked his face against the side of Asher’s neck and just breathed him in, letting his familiar scent calm him. “She’s been crying in the bathroom for the past half hour, and I guess she’s scaring away customers.”
“Is she okay?” He rubbed his hand up and down Cameron’s spine in soothing lines. “Why is she crying?”
“I don’t know, but I have to go.” It took every ounce of willpower to pull away. “I’m really sorry you drove all the way down here. Rain check?”
Asher stared at him for a long time, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I could come with you.”
“Are you sure?” He wanted that, but he wouldn’t have asked. They weren’t to the meet-the-family stage of their relationship yet, and certainly not the deal-with-my-crazy-sister part. “You don’t have to do this.”
Nodding, Asher held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll drive.”
~
When they’d left Cameron’s office, Asher hadn’t really known what to expect.
He’d never had a great example of family growing up, and as the only child, he had taken the full brunt of his parents’ ever-increasing displeasure.
There were a lot of things he excelled at.
Sobbing, distraught sisters was not one of them.
“Thank fuck you’re here.” The teensy tiny woman grabbed Cameron’s arm and dragged him through the doorway of the shop. “I don’t know you,” she added when she noticed Asher trialing behind them. “Madeline Yukimura.” She jabbed her hand at him to shake. “People call me Maddie.”
She had to be the strangest person he’d ever met, and he knew people in Hollywood.
She couldn’t have been taller than five foot flat, and he was pretty sure his thigh was bigger around than her waist. Pin-straight black hair streaked with neon pink and pale purple fell past her ass, and her eyes were the most unusual shade of reddish-brown, almost like rust.
He couldn’t stop staring.
She wore a black, leather corset over a bright blue tank top, a rainbow tutu, blinding yellow leggings, and knee-high black boots with four-inch heels and about a million pink buckles.
Flawless skin shined beneath a minimum of makeup, except for the obviously drawn-on freckles.
It was kind of like Rainbow Brite and Batman had a baby, then dipped it in crazy .
He shook her hand, but dropped his quickly, afraid he might inadvertently crush her. “Asher.” Taking a step back, he cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, Maddie.”
Cameron smiled and shook his head. “Okay, I’m going to go see if I can talk my sister down from the ledge…or at least out of the bathroom.” He pointed a finger at each of them in turn. “Play nice.”
“Don’t worry,” Maddie answered, her gaze raking over Asher, but not in a sexual way. More like she was trying to decide how best to dismember him. “I won’t bite unless he asks me to.”
Despite the fact that he could probably squash her like a bug, she kind of terrified him.
Catching Cameron’s hand before he could leave the main room of the store, Asher barely bit back a plea to accompany him.
He could feel Maddie’s eyes on him, and he had the unsettling urge to protect his throat.
“Good luck,” he said instead, because he was a grown ass man and more than twice her size. No way would he admit to being afraid of fucking Vampire Barbie.