Chapter 6 #2
I’m injured. Most of my body aches. It’s hard to think about anything besides what happened last night. And yet, that one move to restrain my hand makes my arousal spike through the roof. Good thing he put a shirt on me and my waist is covered because my pussy is pulsing and my nipples are hard.
I’ve never thought of myself as being a very young Little.
I dress and act more like a Middle. My goth phase—which lasted more than a semester—was very Middle.
But having Camden feed me is shaking my foundation to the core.
It’s not something I ever imagined—and I imagined a hell of a lot of scenarios between the two of us.
I feel like a baby bird as he continues to feed me. He doesn’t release my wrist. I still have my other one, but I don’t try to stop him. I’m so turned on that I don’t ever want this to end.
“So, what do you think? Will you be willing to eat my breakfasts again?” he asks when the plate is empty.
I shrug. “We’ll see how you are with bacon and waffles.”
He chuckles. “Sassy girl.”
I feel better if he’s with me. When he walks away, my mind wanders, and I slide into an ugly place. I can almost forget the world while he’s looking at me.
Camden sets the plate aside and hands me the sippy cup with more juice in it. “Two hands, Baby girl.”
I swallow hard before I bring it to my lips. Jameson says that to Natasha. It’s always made me jealous. I watch him as I do as I’m told.
“Good girl,” he says when I’m finished. “Why don’t you slide back under the covers and go back to sleep.”
“I need to make some calls.”
He frowns. “Can I do that for you? Who do you need to call?”
I roll my eyes. “There are lots of things you can do for me, but you can’t call the publishing houses I’m supposed to be interviewing at in the next two weeks and postpone my appointments.”
“True. How many are there?”
“Two so far.”
“Is either interview in the next few days?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you wait and call them later or tomorrow when you’re feeling at least slightly better? I hate to tell you this, but your lip is swollen, and your speech is slightly slurred.”
I wince. “Okay.” He’s right. “Can I call Natasha, though? She’s probably worried. I don’t want her to come home because of me.”
“Yes. I think that’s a good idea.” He pulls his own phone out of his pocket and taps the screen. I’m confused for a moment before I realize he’s calling Jameson and intends for me to use his phone to talk to Natasha. Controlling much?
“Hey,” he says after a few seconds. “…She’s pretty beaten up, but she’ll heal. She’d like to talk to Natasha.” Camden finally hands me the phone.
While I wait for Natasha to say something, I slide back down under the covers and lower my head to the pillow.
Natasha is breathy when she finally speaks. “Simone. Oh my God. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I look like I was in a fight, but I’ll live.”
“You were in a fight,” she points out.
I try not to smile. “Yeah.”
“I’ve been trying to talk Daddy into going home earlier than we planned. He says you need to rest and heal and I wouldn’t be able to spend much time with you anyway.”
“That’s true. Please don’t cut your vacation short for me. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re still at Camden’s?”
I look at the man. “I’m not just at his house, he’s crowding me. He’s so close that I’m sure he can hear you. Maybe don’t mention all those times we plotted to spill ink on his test papers or the time we broke into the university computers and changed all the grades in his class to an A.”
Natasha giggles. “I won’t mention either of those.”
Camden smirks. He knows I’m full of shit. He does not back off and give me any privacy. Not that I need it.
“Where exactly are you?” she murmurs.
“Uhhh…” I look at Camden. He’s still smirking.
“You’re in his bed, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Natasha squeals.
I hold the phone away from my ear to keep from getting a blown eardrum. This is when Camden finally leaves the room.
Still…smirking.
“Girl…” Natasha’s back. “Details.”
“Trust me, there are no details. You want me to send you a picture of my face? One of my eyes is swollen shut. It’s black and blue.
My lip is so fat on one side I can’t talk right.
There are dozens of blue handprints all over my body from where he gripped me.
You don’t want to see this, and I certainly didn’t have sex last night. ”
“Right. Sorry. And I’m sorry this happened to you.”
“Thanks. I’ll heal, but…”
“But?”
I glance toward the door. It’s possible Camden is right outside eavesdropping, although that doesn’t seem his style. If he wanted to listen in, he would have stayed where he was, blatantly leaning in toward the phone.
I inhale slowly. “I’m freaked out,” I whisper.
“I should come home, then.”
“No. There’s nothing you can do. I’m safe here. Nothing is going to happen. I just need to get my head on straight.”
“Please tell me you’re not going back to your apartment anytime soon.”
“According to Camden, I’m never going back there.”
Her breath hitches.
“What?”
“I’ve never heard you call him Camden. It’s always Professor Arnalt.”
“Yeah, well, things have changed in the last ten hours. We’re on a first-name basis now.”
“You won’t leave, right? I’m only going to agree to stay in California if you promise you’re going to stay at Camden’s. Don’t get any wild hairs and decide you should go back to your apartment. Promise me, Simone.”
“I won’t.” I shudder. I might make a fuss over the fact that no one wants me to go home, but the truth is I don’t want to go there, either. I’m uneasy about it. I’m worried, wondering if that man knew me. Did he stalk me? Did he follow me from Surrender? Or was I a random target?
“You might not be ready to hear this yet, but remember that therapist I went to a while back? The one you recommended?”
I nod. “Yeah.” She’s talking about Master Quinten. He’s a member of Surrender.
“Well, if you decide you need someone to talk to, he’s really good.”
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I might need a therapist over this, but it’s possible. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Good. Let me know. Or Camden, of course. I’m sure he knows Quinten.”
“I will, thanks.”
“You’re sure you’re okay there without me coming home?”
“Positive.” I’m not sure I’m okay at all, but Natasha returning from her vacation to visit me would only add to my stress since I’d be responsible for her missing out on fun in the sun. “Enjoy the beach. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Okay. Be good. Try not to be too hard on Camden.” She giggles.
“I’m not going to agree to anything of the sort,” I joke.
“I’ll text you when I get back in town.”
“Later.”
I half expect Camden to pop around the corner the second I hang up, but he doesn’t.
I’m grateful that he let me have some time with Natasha.
His hovering is sweet, but I might have punched him in the face so we’d have a matching bruise if he’d remained leaning over me during the entire conversation. On principle alone.