Chapter 34 Cam
CAM
Icarried Emily up the stairs, acutely aware of every point where her body pressed against mine. Her arms were looped around my neck, her face tucked against my shoulder, and I could feel the quick flutter of her pulse where my hand rested against her ribs.
The rage that had flooded through me when she’d told me her story was still there, simmering beneath my skin.
I shouldered open my bedroom door and stepped inside, then carefully set her on her feet. She steadied herself with a hand on my chest, and when she looked up at me, her eyes were soft. Then she noticed the candles.
“Oh. Wow.”
“The plan was dinner and dessert, then I’d sneak up and light them, but that kinda went out the window when you jumped me on the veranda.”
Her laughter skittered over my skin. “No regrets.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, then stepped away to grab the lighter from my nightstand.
I moved around the room, touching flame to wick, watching the soft glow spread across the walls. Emily stood where I’d left her, her expression inscrutable.
I lit the last candle and set the lighter down, flicked the bedside lamp off, then crossed back to where she stood. The flickering light played across her face, catching in her hair, making her eyes look impossibly deep.
“Hey,” I said quietly.
A small smile tugged at her lips. “Hey.”
I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers trail down the side of her neck. Her breath hitched, and I felt the shiver that ran through her.
“You okay?” I asked.
She leaned into my touch. “I think so.”
I kissed her then. Slow and sweet, trying to pour everything I was feeling into it. All the tenderness, the protectiveness, the desperate need to show her she was safe with me.
She made a soft sound against my mouth and her hands came up to grip my shirt, pulling me closer. I deepened the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers, tasting wine and something sweeter. Something that was just Emily.
She found the hem of my shirt and tugged upward. I pulled back just enough to yank it over my head, then reached for the tie of her dress. She caught my hands, stilling them.
For a second I thought she’d changed her mind. But then she smiled, that teasing edge I was starting to adore creeping into her expression.
“Let me,” she said.
I dropped my hands, watching as she slowly pulled the tie loose. The fabric parted, revealing the pale skin beneath, the curves I’d already memorized with my hands earlier tonight. But this felt different. More intimate somehow.
She shrugged the dress off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, and then she was completely naked before me.
Jesus Christ. Heat slammed into me, so intense it almost made me dizzy.
“You’re stunning,” I said quietly.
Doubt flickered in her eyes for just a second, and I knew words wouldn’t cut it. I’d have to show her instead.
I reached for her, pulling her against me, needing to feel her skin against mine. She was warm and soft and perfect, and when she pressed up on her toes to kiss me, I had to fight the urge to just lose myself in her right there.
But I’d promised her slow. And I meant it.
Her hands were on my belt now, working it open with sure fingers. No hesitation. No trembling. Just heat and intention.
I helped her with the button and zipper of my jeans, and shoved them down along with my boxers. Stepped out of them when they hit the floor.
Her eyes roved over me, resting on my straining hard cock, before she reached out and wrapped her hand around me. I had to close my eyes and breathe deeply to stop myself from exploding.
“Too much?” There was a smile in her voice.
“Not enough.” I caught her hand. “But if you keep that up, slow is going to be impossible.”
“Then take me to bed.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I guided her backward toward the bed. She went willingly, her eyes never leaving mine. When the backs of her legs hit the mattress, I eased her down onto it, following her until I was hovering over her.
The candlelight painted her skin in shades of gold and shadow. Made her look almost ethereal lying beneath me, her hair spread across my pillow, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths.
I kissed her mouth, her jaw, the spot just below her ear that made her gasp. Then I worked my way down, pressing kisses to her collarbone, the swell of her breast, the space between.
When I reached the first scar, I paused.
Emily had gone very still beneath me, tension oozing from her pores.
I pressed my lips to the raised line of tissue, gentle and reverent. Then moved to the next one. And the next.
I kissed every scar I could find. The ones on her chest, her ribs, her abdomen. Took my time with each one, trying to show her what words couldn’t. That they were just part of her story, and I wanted to know every chapter.
Her breathing had gone ragged, and when I glanced up, I saw that her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“Emily.” I shifted back up to her face, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“I just—” Her voice broke. “No one’s ever—”
She didn’t finish, instead pulling me down into a kiss that was heartbreakingly sweet.
I kissed her back, taking my time, letting the heat burn away the last of the sorrow. Her tongue swept against mine, and she made a sound in the back of her throat that let me know the mood shifted. It wasn’t just comfort anymore. It was need.
She shifted her hips, pressing herself against me. That was all the permission I needed.
I trailed my fingers down her stomach, and lower, between her legs. She was slick. So incredibly ready for me.
Circling her clit once, I watched her eyelids flutter shut through the haze of the candle light.
“Stay with me,” I whispered.
She forced her eyes open, her gaze locked on mine as I stroked her again, firmer this time. She arched into it with a broken gasp. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I rubbed faster, chasing the flush that was rising on her chest, and the haze of pleasure in her eyes.
Then I stopped, waiting for her eyes to focus on me. Then I pushed a finger inside her.
The moan she let out pushed me to the brink.
“Cam, I can’t… please.”
I crooked my finger, finding the spot that made her hips buck, and added a second. She was so tight, clutching at me like she was drowning. I pressed my thumb down, trapping her clit between my thumb and the relentless rhythm of my fingers.
“That’s it,” I murmured against her mouth. “Let go for me.”
Her orgasm hit hard. Her back bowed off the bed, nails biting into my shoulders as she cried out. I didn’t let up, working her through every pulse and shudder, watching her face the entire time. The way her mouth fell open. The way my name sounded when she could barely get the word out.
When the tension finally bled out of her, leaving her breathing hard against the pillow, I kissed her once and reached for the nightstand. My hands were shaking as I grabbed a condom and ripped the packet open.
“You ready?” I asked, rolling it on.
“God yes.” Her voice was wrecked.
I moved between her thighs, then caught both her wrists and pressed them into the pillow above her head. Her eyes went wide for half a second, but then darkened even more.
I lined myself up and pushed inside, slow and steady. She was tight and hot and absolutely made for me. I had to stop and just breathe before I lost it completely.
“Jesus Christ, Emily.” I forced my eyes to stay open so I could see her. “You feel so fucking good.”
She made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a moan, her fingers curling into fists as I sank deeper. When I was all the way in, I held still, letting her adjust. Letting myself adjust, because holy hell.
“Cam.” Her legs hooked around my hips, urging me on. “Move. Please.”
I pulled back and drove in again, finding a rhythm that was slow and deep. Her eyes locked on mine, and I couldn’t have looked away if the house was on fire.
“So fucking good,” I ground out. “Perfect. You’re so perfect wrapped around me like this.”
Color flooded her chest and neck. I shifted the angle slightly, hitting deeper, and she gasped, her eyes drifting shut.
“Eyes on me, sweetheart. I want to see you. All of you.”
She met my gaze again, and the openness there, the complete trust, nearly broke me.
“Look at you,” I said. “Taking it so deep. You’re beautiful.”
“Cam, I—” Her breath caught. “I can’t—”
“You can.” I thrust harder, chasing that release for both of us. “Come for me, Em. Let me feel it.”
Her whole body went tight, clenching around me, and she cried out my name like I was the only thing anchoring her to the earth.
I was done.
The sight of her unravelling, the sound of her, the way she squeezed around me, sent me reeling. Burying my face in her neck, I let go. I saw stars behind my eyelids as I emptied into the condom, her name tumbling from my lips like a prayer.
When my brain finally started working again, I was still holding her wrists, still inside her. I let go and brought her hands down, kissing each palm before carefully pulling out.
“Stay put,” I managed.
I went to the bathroom, disposed of the condom and came back to bed, pulling her against me. She folded into me without hesitation, like she’d been doing it for years.