Chapter 9
NINE
PARTY. PARTY. PARTY.
Fun was true, people were getting lubed. No one had done anything too crazy. Yet. A few of the men… she’d have to ask Cam exactly how he knew them, and if maybe they had criminal records. White collar crime counted.
She’d taken a few names and numbers, not to follow up in pursuit of her wildness, to ensure they weren’t invited to the next soiree. Sheesh.
“Thank you,” Elle said to the guy sitting next to her on the patio.
“Can’t believe we’ve never hung out before,” he said, leaning a little closer.
She mirrored the move in reverse. “I’m new around here.”
“Yeah, and I’m not the only one interested.”
When he nodded past her, she didn’t have to ask. Mason. He’d been staring at her all night. Creeped her out, but she couldn’t rise to it. Ignoring him was the best remedy. Her sanity wouldn’t hold up to anything else.
“Don’t worry about him,” she said, wishing she’d put exclusions on the Brooker slots.
“If you say so,” he said, resting a hand on her leg. “You want another drink?”
Her wine level was a little low, but it was after midnight. Time to wind down the drinking, not up.
“Not yet,” she said, keeping her options open.
“You were dancing with that other guy a minute ago,” he said. “Which one’s your boyfriend? Dancing guy or bar guy?”
“If either was my boyfriend, do you think they’d be happy with your hand there?”
He smirked. It wasn’t him she was thinking about. Cam had been MIA for a while. She wasn’t looking for him. Not exactly. Most of her night was spent zipping around fixing issues and answering questions.
The wine was good, the music infectious. When Noble wanted to dance, there was no reason to say no. He had more than a few women interested, the guy needed the breather. Dancing that close with Cam might be inappropriate given he was her boss. With Noble, it was benign. With Cam…
“Excuse me.” The meek voice interrupted the moment. A blonde server stood over them. “Mr. Collier asked for you.”
Think about the man and he’d manifest. This could be about the knee toucher or not. He’d made that comment about not inviting guys or wanting to watch her flirt, but that was a joke… maybe a joke.
“Excuse me,” she said, leaving her glass and the knee toucher to go with the server. “Where is he?”
“In the restroom.”
“In the…”
She left the server in her wake as the blonde slowed. In the restroom either meant he was sick or wanted to finish what they started earlier. Damnit, she shouldn’t be thinking like that. They shouldn’t be finishing anything… Not while there were so many people around.
So it would be okay if they were alone? No! Bad! Naughty! Bad. No. No. No.
Inside, more than a few people hung around at the restroom door.
“What is going on?” she asked herself and made her way to the front of the line. The door was locked, so she tapped it with a knuckle. “It’s me.”
She tried to speak just loud enough for him to hear. People might be wondering what was going on, and she didn’t want to cause a scandal. Or embarrassment.
The lock clicked and the door was opened just enough for him to reach out and grab her inside.
“Cam,” she said as he pushed her against the door to close it, turning the lock again before her hair was out of her face. “What…?”
Their eyes met and she heard a sobbing. A female sobbing.
He let her go enough to look around him.
Terra. Seated on the toilet lid. Crying… and bleeding.
“What happened?”
“He doesn’t love me!” Terra howled.
She hadn’t really been talking to Terra, but okay. Going over to crouch in front of the woman, Elle was more concerned with the red tissue in her hand than the makeup streaming down her cheeks.
“What did you do?”
“They had an argument. Downstairs,” Cam said, approaching as she trashed the bloody tissue and guided Terra to the sink to wash the wound. “A glass got broken, I don’t know. She’s a mess.”
Terra was too busy blubbing to form words. Answers could only come from Cam.
“How did you end up with her?” she asked him.
“I was leaving when she came barreling in.”
The wound was superficial. “I don’t think it needs stitches.”
“We should get her upstairs.”
“Upstairs?” Elle asked. “Why?”
“There’s a medkit in the front guest room closet.”
“Okay,” she said. “If you knew that, why didn’t you take her up there?”
His head tipped almost imperceptibly. “Yeah, ‘cause that’s what I need, you hearing I’ve taken your ex’s new flame up to a bedroom.
” Seriously? That was… wow. A thorough and stunned wow.
He’d considered that? Considered her? “She already tried to throw herself at me in here. No. I need a witness to go anywhere with that woman.”
“Because he doesn’t love me,” Terra sobbed. “I need someone to love me.”
“Who doesn’t love you?” she asked.
“Mason!” Terra exclaimed. “Mason doesn’t love me!”
It had taken her this long to notice? This woman wasn’t a quick study.
“Of course not,” Elle said. “He only loves himself.” Grabbing some paper towels, she dried Terra’s hands while heading for Cam. “Get the door. We’ll go up together. Just the three of us.”
Because the last thing they needed was Terra filing suit. They had to take care of her and witness everything in case they ended up in court. Video would be better, though harder to explain.
Cam opened the door and they sheltered Terra as they moved through people, past the pool table and security guards to ascend the stairs.
“This is not fair,” Terra said.
Elle sat on the bed next to her. “What isn’t fair?” she asked. Cam turned on the nightstand lamp and went into the closet. “Mason? He cheated on me with you. That’s not a solid foundation.”
“But I’m hot,” Terra whined. “Really, really hot.”
Nice.
“Thanks,” she said without sincerity.
“Guys always want me.”
“Guys want the next best thing,” she said. “That usually means dumping on the one that came before.”
Cam emerged from the closet, first aid box in hand. “I don’t know if this is the best time to try reasoning with her,” he said, grabbing the chair from by the closet to bring it over and sit in front of them. “She’s three sheets.”
“Guys don’t dump me,” Terra said. “They don’t. They don’t!” Elle opened the box on Cam’s lap to retrieve alcohol wipes. “I’ve never met a guy I can’t seduce.”
As she took Terra’s hand to her lap, the woman’s wide, expectant eyes sought the closest male. Oblivious Cam wasn’t even looking at her. Her attempt to swallow a smile was unsuccessful. She cleared her throat to get his attention and nodded at Terra.
“That was aimed at you, honeybun,” Elle said.
He did a double take. “Yeah, right.” The smile he landed on Terra was tight. “Now you have. Camden Collier. Nice to meet you.”
Terra faltered, then a whimper became a high-pitched whine. The long drone merged into renewed sobbing.
“Oh, God, that made it worse,” Elle said, cringing. “Tell her you’re hard, anything to make her stop.”
He snickered.
Terra cried. “Why would he fight with me? It’s because we’re here. He wants to hook up with someone else, doesn’t he?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t know he was sleeping with you for a month. Shows how good I am at reading him.”
Or any man, come to think of it.
“I’m sorry,” Terra said, recoiling when the alcohol touched her cut. “Ow! What is that? It hurts! You’re hurting me! Stop hurting me!”
“It cleans out any bugs.”
And there was no glass in the wound, that she could see. She pulled Terra closer to the lamp to doublecheck.
“Men are just programmed this way, right?” Terra asked. “They want to spread their seed. That’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s evolution.”
“Uh, maybe,” she said, raising her eyes to Cam’s.
“Do you feel driven to spread your seed right now?” Even in the dark, she loved his twinkle…
so to speak. Back to the issue at hand: Terra.
Deep breath. “The caveman thing is a lame excuse. Don’t buy it.
We adapted to living in houses, buying our meat at the grocery store, electric stoves.
No dude is out there rubbing two sticks together.
I don’t think it’s much to ask that evolution extends to them keeping their cocks in their pants. ”