Chapter 24 Emery #3
He stands and moves to the door, stopping only when I ask, “Did you know that Bryce was a spy?”
The room is so quiet that you can hear the old pipes creaking in the shitty paneled ceiling.
The lieutenant turns slightly, enough that he can cast a wary look over his shoulder.
“Yes. I had my doubts, but that’s why I had Dominic place you and him on the same bracket for the final trial.
I figured that if he was, he’d try to tell you then.
He was a smart brat though. He took out nearly every camera the night before, but there were a few he missed.
One of which caught Cameron trying to kill you.
But we didn’t get Bryce’s death, or anything of relevance he told you.
” He seems satisfied with my crushed expression and nods before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.
A throb of exhaustion seeps into my consciousness and my neck is tingly in the spot of the injection. I rub it and let out a long exhale. “Can we pick this up tomorrow? I’m too tired to hear your side of it too.”
I thought I’d be ready to go over it all night with how furious I was earlier, but now that the dust has settled, there’s a profound sadness that’s drained out all of the rage from me.
Cameron looks tired too, the darkness beneath his eyes is heavy. He offers me a slight grin. “Yeah, I should get you to bed… First we need to get cleaned up though. I’m fucking drenched in sweat and dirt and whatever the fuck else.”
I crack a dry smile, it doesn’t reach any other part of me. “Okay.”
We move slowly through the basement. It’s not nearly as security driven or modern like the Dark Forces headquarters is.
There are no windows, and the lack of having multiple ways out of here makes me uneasy.
Only one exit for a reason. The thought is quickly dashed away before I let it seep into me.
“There are only single bathrooms?” I ask as we enter a small lavatory.
All I’ve known since being in the forces are the large communal bathrooms, so seeing one this small on a base is a shell shock to the system.
Subway tile lines the entire back wall. There’s no privacy curtains or stalls separating the rest of the room from the shower and toilet.
It’s all out in the open. At least there’s a door that locks to come in, but Jesus.
Cameron grabs two towels from the cabinet and sets them on the sink without a second thought. My cheeks burn, and I turn to leave as I say, “I’ll shower in the other one.”
Obviously, I’m no stranger to any part of him, but there’s agony that still exists between us. I’m not up to deal with it tonight.
His hand gently comes down on the door knob over mine and instead of opening it, he flips the lock. I suck in a breath and hold it as he turns me around, gliding his fingertips over my collarbones. I’ve yearned for his touch, even when I’d forgotten him, I still longed for his hands to caress me.
Only Cameron could make his emotions known with just the brush of his callused hands. The craving that lurks so deep within him stirs inside me too.
“I didn’t get the chance to tell you how lovely this dress looks on you,” he whispers as he unbuttons the front slowly. My lips part as he smooths his hands over my skin, sliding each shoulder piece down and causing chills to erupt over my arms.
He lowers his head and presses a hot kiss to the notch of my throat.
The heat from his breath makes my thighs rub together.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you how beautiful you look with your short hair.
And don’t get me started on how sexy this dress is on you.
” I giggle as Cam brushes a few of the choppy locks behind my ear.
I close my eyes and relish in his embrace and his words.
“They took my hair because they knew I loved it, but I couldn’t shed a single tear over something as fickle as hair when what I truly loved was you.
They can take everything from me as long as it isn’t you,” I murmur as I stare into his eyes and cup his cheek with my palm.
Cam leans into it and blinks slowly before letting those soft sage gems trace my features.
“You’re not allowed to love someone as monstrous as me, Em. Not after everything I’ve done,” he says sadly, his British accent is heavier when he whispers. I smile at the sound of it. He leans forward, hesitating a moment before giving in and letting our lips connect.
The world falls apart. The ocean of worries seizes its waves. The only thing that matters to me in all the universe is here. It’s him.
“I can’t help it. Even when I forgot who you were, I was falling in love with you all over again,” I say between his starved kisses. “I’m still mad at you and expect answers, but for tonight let’s forget everything except each other.”
Cameron breaks our kiss and presses his forehead to mine. “You never lost your ire. Not once.” He half chuckles and continues to undress me. “I love you, Em. I’ve loved you since before the last trial. Part of me hoped you’d never love me back, because I knew I would fuck up. And I did—”
He cuts himself off as his hands slow, dropping them to his sides. Cam’s expression twists with grief.
“I think that part of you knew you’d never be able to keep me from loving you,” I say as I unzip his jacket.
His body is covered in purple bruises, welts, and cuts.
Some are even still bleeding and look sore.
I know he can’t feel them anymore, but he did when he received them, and that knowledge alone is enough to break my heart.
He delicately presses the pads of his fingertips to my reddened shoulder blades, then adorns soft kisses over each place I know there are significant marks from my own torture.
“I’m going to kill every last one of them,” Cam vows with a hushed tone.
“We’re going to,” I murmur.
Though I wonder if that includes getting rid of Reed. As much as I despise him right now, Reed is my only friend from childhood. The only person who grew up with me and became as corrupt as I had. Well, arguably more wicked.
He did help us get out too.
I just wish he would’ve included me in on whatever his plans are.
I’m eager to hear what Cameron has to say about him tomorrow, but for tonight I’m ready to wash up and get into bed. It will be the first time in two days that I’ll get to sleep in comfort.
Cameron guides us over to the shower and lets the water run until it’s warm.
I reach for the new bar of soap, but he snags it from my hands and gives me a wry grin as he gently lathers my skin for me.
I normally don’t enjoy people doing things for me, but this is intimate, and I find myself leaning into his affection.
I shut my eyes and press my back against his chest. His hands are slick and warm as he massages the soap into my skin.
It smells like pinewood and mixes with his natural birch scent.
I let out a small sigh at the comfort it brings me.
Cam wraps his hand around my neck and tilts my head back as his lips meet the tender flesh of my throat.
A breathy moan escapes my lips as his teeth skate over my skin. He smooths his hands down to my breasts, lathering and palming them until I’m melting into his form. Cameron groans when I press my ass out and his erect cock slides between my thighs.
His lips move to my shoulder as he kneads one breast while his other hand slowly shifts down to my center.
He begins to pump his hips and fucks my slit.
Another moan rolls up my throat. God, how I’ve missed his attention.
His fingers are more slippery with the soap, and it feels so fucking good on my clit as he rubs me there teasingly while his fat cock throbs eagerly between my legs.
I whimper in defiance when he pulls away to continue ensuring my entire body gets equal attention.
He chuckles. “Patience, love. I’m not going to let you go unsatisfied.” He scrubs my legs and back with gentle hands before shampooing my hair and tenderly untangling the mess Reed let the guards make of it.
“Can I tell you something embarrassing?” I ask as I draw circles on his broad chest. His eyes are fixed on the task at hand and only flick down to my eyes for a moment before he grunts.
I smile at his focus and trace the scar running down his chest as I murmur, “I had a sex dream about you before we left for the mission.” My cheeks bloom with heat.
It’s so stupid to be shy about it, but the way his hands pause for a millisecond before continuing to untangle a few strands makes butterflies flutter in my stomach.
“I knew it.” His voice is gravelly.
I flinch. “What? No you didn’t!” I laugh, cupping some water and splashing it into his face. He shuts one eye and laughs, like really laughs, and it’s my absolute undoing. I haven’t heard him laugh like that in such a long time. He deserves a life where he laughs like this every day. We both do.
Cam sucks his lower lip in and bites down on it, nodding with a brow raised. “I could tell you were having naughty thoughts about me because you have this habit of rubbing your sweet thighs together and you get the cutest blush over your cheeks.”
“Cam!” I burst into laughter.
He lifts his shoulders before letting them drop lazily, the smuggest grin I’ve ever seen splayed out across his lips.
I memorize this moment since it’s so rare.
And as Cameron rinses out my hair and washes his own after, I find myself wishing for a future in which we end up free of this underworld.
Both the one he was created in and mine.
I wish for memories that I don’t have to catalog and hold on to for dear life because they might be our last.
I crave happiness like this with him for the remainder of time.
“What?” he asks, narrowing his eyes playfully at me because he caught me staring. He shuts off the shower and hands me a towel.
“Nothing,” I lie, smiling and drying myself off.
“Liar.”