Chapter 40
Camden
“We’re gonna take off. I’m tired,” I say to everyone.
I look to Xander and Blomdahl. “You guys cool with getting a rideshare back to the house so I can take the car?”
They say no problem. Ryker starts to give me shit for leaving early, but he stops when Madeline gives him a look.
Xander turns to him and starts talking in a low voice, probably telling him about what happened with Damien.
I’m sure he and Blomdahl will explain to the guys and the ladies what happened once we’re gone.
We tell everyone goodnight, then I lead Ellie by the hand out of the bar and down the busy street to where I parked my car.
I open the passenger door and help her inside, then buckle her seatbelt.
She looks at me. “I can do it.”
“I want to take care of you, Ellie. Will you please let me?”
Softness radiates in her beautiful blue stare. She nods. I kiss her forehead, then close the door and hop in the driver’s seat.
As I drive toward our vacation rental, she’s quiet.
“What did Damien say to you when you took him outside the bar?” she finally asks.
“Nothing worth repeating.” My grip on the steering wheel tightens when I think about the awful shit that motherfucker said.
Ellie glances at my hands, probably focused on how white my knuckles are.
I force myself to loosen my grip and take a slow, quiet breath to ease the adrenaline still pumping through me.
“I heard what he said when you dragged him out of the bar. That I owe him money,” Ellie says, her voice quiet. “He’s lying, Camden.”
I turn to look at her. When I see the pleading look on her face, it feels like I’ve been kicked in the gut. Is she really worried that I’d believe anything that piece of shit says about her?
“I know that, Ellie. I don’t believe a word that came out of his mouth. You don’t have to worry,” I say softly. I grab her hand in mine.
She lets out a breath like she’s relieved, then glances down at our joined hands. “I want to explain though. You deserve to know the truth.”
She takes another deep breath before she speaks again.
“When we were together, he asked me to move in with him, which I did. I’ve never signed the lease he was on, but I paid him my share of the rent and other expenses.
But then…” She trails off and looks off to the side for a moment.
“Well, you remember when I told you how badly things went between us after we tried having sex, and it didn’t go the way he wanted? ”
Every muscle in my body tenses with how pissed off I am just thinking about that. “Yeah.”
“We fought about it a few times. The arguments got really bad.”
I turn to look at her, rage firing through me. “Did he put his hands on you?’
She shakes her head. “No, he just yelled. The neighbors at our apartment would complain about the noise to the leasing company, so we fought about that too. Then he kicked me out. I figured I was done dealing with him. But then I guess he got kicked out of the apartment too for all the loud fighting. So he’s been texting and calling me since then, trying to get me to give him money for breaking the lease. ”
“But you didn’t break the lease,” he says. “Only his name was on it, and he kicked you out. You don’t owe him anything.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I know. I explained that to him. He doesn’t care. In his mind, it’s my fault we fought because I didn’t have sex with him the way he wanted. In his mind, I owe him money.”
I glare at the road head. “That fucking piece of shit.”
My heart hammers in my chest at how angry I am. I force myself to take another slow, deep breath.
“And, um, when he found out that we got married, he started demanding even more money from me. I refused, of course. I’m not paying him anything.”
I grit my teeth so hard, my head starts to ache. I turn to her. “So you’ve been dealing with this by yourself this whole time?”
She nods.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Ellie?” I make sure my tone is soft, despite how pissed off I am at what he’s put her through.
“I didn’t want to stress you out. This isn’t your problem.”
Her words trigger something inside of me. Something wild and protective.
I pull over to the side of the highway and turn to her. I hold her gaze. “Your problems are my problems now, baby. You’re my wife.”
Her eyes are big as she looks at me, clearly surprised to hear me say that.
She swallows. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course I mean that.”
She shakes her head. “No, I mean…when you say I’m your wife now, it sounds different from how you used to say it when we first got married.”
She blinks at me, the look in her eyes shy. Like she’s not quite sure how she feels about that change in me.
Nerves spark up inside of me. Because Ellie’s right. Things are different now. I have feelings for Ellie. Major feelings.
And judging by the look on her face, she might not feel the same about me.
I swallow back the wave of disappointment that surfaces inside of me.
When we first got married, we were just friends. I had a crush on her. I cared about her.
But Ellie’s not just my friend anymore. She’s the person whose happiness and safety I care more about than anything else.
She’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing on my mind before I drift to sleep.
My heart aches in my chest at just how much she means to me.
So much more than a friend.
I swallow back the emotion surging up my chest and throat as I take in the shocked look on her face. I can’t blame Ellie for her reaction. We agreed that this whole setup was an agreement between friends. I’m the one who let my feelings turn into something more.
I need to hold back. I’m going to freak her out if I tell her how my feelings for her have changed.
But then she grabs my hand and pins me with her gaze.
“I like the way you say, ‘my wife’ when you talk about me, Camden.”
I blink at her, surprised. “You do?”
She nods. “It turns me on.”
She grabs my face, kissing me hard. Relief swoops through me. She’s not freaked out. She’s turned on. That’s good. Really, really good.
I think about telling her how I feel about her…but I hold back. Maybe I don’t need to spill it all to her right now. Maybe just being in the moment and letting her take the lead is the best thing to do right now.
We make out in my car for a minute, our tongues getting filthier by the second.
“Will you take me back to the house, Camden? Please?” she whines, her voice desperate and breathy. “I need you. Now.”
I turn the car back on and fly down the highway, my cock throbbing.
Somehow, I make it to the vacation rental without getting pulled over, even though I’m going well over the speed limit. I couldn’t help it though. My entire body is hot, aching with the need to have my way with Ellie right this second.
When we walk through the door, she pushes me against the wall and kisses me.
I groan into her sweet mouth, insanely turned on. This is the first time she’s taken control like this, and holy fuck, is it sexy.
I grab her by the waist with one hand, then grip her chin with the other. I tilt her face up, deepening our kiss.
“Ellie baby, what do you want me to do to you?”
She leans back and looks at me, cheeks flushed and eyes big. “I want you to teach me how to use my sex toys.”