Chapter 12
Cameron
W hy didn’t Sophia want Cameron to know that she’d been betrayed by her boyfriend? It didn’t make sense.
Unless she blamed herself.
But that was ridiculous. She had to know that the jerk’s choices were his own. Sophia was smarter than that.
It had been another week since that conversation had taken place.
Sophia wasn’t exactly avoiding him anymore, and if he were honest, he’d admit she was actually opening up to him now—in some ways, at least. Topics that were off-limits related to relationships and dating.
When she even sensed that he might bring it up, she walked away.
While he didn’t relish the fact that she opted to ignore what was right in front of her, it wasn’t as bad as it had been when she’d straight-up avoided him. She’d let him in again. He just had to bide his time.
His hands roamed over the horse in front of him as he checked over her body.
The animal was in perfect condition. Today he’d be putting her in a pasture with the stallion to gauge her receptiveness.
The teasing process shouldn’t take long, and since the male that Mateo had chosen would be breeding with three of the brood mares on this property, the horses were familiar enough with him.
Cameron felt her gaze on him before he even realized she was within his vicinity. He glanced up to find Sophia watching him from where she leaned in the barn doorway. Immediately she looked away and pushed her body from that position before turning and leaving his sight.
A smile tugged at his lips. This was also something that had happened frequently enough to make him believe that she wanted more. She hadn’t taken back her statement regarding her stance on dating, but the way she watched him made it clear she might have jumped the gun on her decision.
It would be so much easier if she’d just let go and let him get close to her again.
He chuckled with a shake of his head.
Sophia returned shortly after, hands in her back pockets. “She ready to go to the pasture with our stallion?”
Cameron arched a brow, the smile toying at his lips. “Do you mean, is she ready to face her fate and give in to her carnal desires?”
A pretty flush sprinkled across Sophia’s cheeks. “If you want to call it that.”
“I think I do.”
She shrugged and looked away. “Fine. That then. Is she ready?”
Cameron eyed her with a mischievous grin, not missing the way she fought a smile. “She’s primped and relaxed—the perfect condition to meet the love of her life.”
Sophia rolled her eyes, and he chuckled.
Together they walked the mare toward the pasture.
Sophia was at his side, and her arm brushed against his on their way.
It wouldn’t have taken any effort whatsoever for him to capture her hand within his own at this point.
The temptation ate at him, but he wouldn’t do that. Not yet.
He couldn’t deny the thrill that her proximity gave him. Now that he knew why she’d behaved the way she had five years ago, he was finding it harder to give her the space she thought she needed. And from the looks of it, she was struggling with the same thing.
Her shoulder bumped into his, and he gave her his most charming smile. “You know what I like about you?”
Sophia glanced at him, a smirk gracing her beautiful, full lips. She tapped her finger to her chin. “My dance moves.”
He groaned with appreciation, making her laugh, which was exactly what he wanted her to do. Then he cocked his head to the side and eyed her again. “Your dance moves are something else, but no, that’s not what I was thinking.”
She was hanging on his every word. Based on the way she was leaning into him, waiting for him to tell her exactly what he found so fascinating about her, he was already celebrating.
She might think that she wasn’t ready for anything serious, but nothing could be further from the truth. “What were you thinking, then?”
Cameron pulled himself to a stop and turned to face her.
He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
He could tell her he loved her eyes, her lips, her smile, her laugh.
He could tell her that he adored her tenacity and her unwillingness to crumble when things got hard.
There were already a hundred things he could tell her that would make her begin to see he wasn’t going to let her go as easily as she expected.
But he wouldn’t. He needed to draw her in—to snare her in a way that made it difficult for her to consider leaving him at all. Her breath hitched at his touch, and he held back the urge he had to pull her in for a kiss. Instead, he smirked. “You find me irresistible.”
She blinked a few times, then scoffed and gave his shoulder a shove. “Do not.”
His smirk only widened as he watched her march toward the pasture where she’d already deposited their stallion. Her hips danced with each step she took, and he bit down on his fist as he allowed himself to enjoy the view.
One day she was going to look back on this moment and realize she’d been a fool to keep him at arm’s length. They were made for each other. He just had to figure out a way to help her see that.
The rest of the day went as well as he’d hoped. Sophia didn’t attempt to find excuses for leaving his side, and they joked about their matchmaking skills with the horses. When all the love birds were returned to their stalls, he found himself just hanging out with her on her front porch steps.
“Tell me something real,” she said, not looking at him.
“Something real?” Cameron rubbed at the scruff along his jaw. “Like what?”
She peeked at him over her shoulder. “I dunno. Something you haven’t told anyone else before.”
He gave her a wry look. “You first.”
She rolled her eyes and moved to get to her feet, but his hand grasped her wrist and he tugged her back to sit beside him.
“Fine, I’ll tell you something.”
Interest lit up her eyes, and he smirked.
“My favorite vegetable is broccoli.”
She stared at him for a moment, then groaned as she rose to her feet again.
In no time at all, he snatched her wrist again. “Okay, okay. Something real.”
Sophia didn’t seem to believe that he was going to follow through this time around, and she didn’t lower herself back to where she’d been sitting.
“My brother stole my first girlfriend from me.”
Her eyes widened, and it was as if he’d doused her with a bucket of ice water at the shock on her face. “You’re kidding.”
Slowly, he shook his head. It had been years, and it was one of the main reasons he hated seeing the girl he liked in the arms of anyone else but him.
He could admit that to himself, but he’d never admit that to anyone else.
Telling Sophia this little tidbit felt like he was giving a piece of himself to her.
Cameron rubbed the back of his neck and fought the embarrassment. He wasn’t angry with his brother over it anymore. And that girl was probably married with a bunch of kids by now. He simply had never gotten over the fact that he couldn’t keep the attention of the first girl he’d tried to win over.
Sophia lowered herself to her seat at his side. “That really…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Cameron.”
He shrugged and forced a smile that he didn’t feel like giving her. “It was ages ago.”
“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter,” she said. Her eyes traced over him, scanning him from head to toe. “I bet that sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore, huh?”
Cameron snorted. “No, I don’t suppose it does.
” He didn’t miss the desire that all but poured from her body.
The way she leaned in. The way her tongue peeked out of her mouth to moisten her lips.
Even the hitch in her breathing told him exactly what she thought about him.
The chemistry he had with her was off the charts, and now that she knew he could be vulnerable with her, maybe they’d start making progress toward something again.
His fingertips traced lightly along her cheekbone as he brushed strands of hair behind her ear. “Your turn,” he murmured beneath his breath. “Tell me something real.”
She exhaled with a trembling breath. “I don’t have anything to tell you.”
He tsked. “Tit for tat, Red. Tell me something you haven’t told anyone else.”
Sophia closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.
“Why don’t you date?” he whispered.
Her eyes flung wide, and she stiffened before jumping to her feet. “Pass.”
Cameron watched her dart up to the front door and sighed. He should have asked her for something else.
Why was it that he always ended up at this club on the weekends?
Because of her .
Sophia wasn’t the type to sit still. She wasn’t willing to commit to one person, and it showed in the way she flirted mercilessly with any guy who was halfway decent looking and gave her a smile.
Cameron had danced with her once tonight, but it was difficult to keep her attention on him.
He could feel the familiar tug of jealousy in his chest any time she let a guy pull her close.
But the second the dance was over, she was on to another group of people.
She didn’t have any connections with any of them, and only one of them seemed interested in tugging her outside to see if he had a chance at something more.
Cameron had stopped that one real fast.
He arched a brow as that guy returned to Sophia’s side and pulled her onto the dance floor.
It was a slow song, and every few minutes, Sophia’s eyes locked with Cameron.
One side of his mouth quirked upward. She had the attention of more men than he had the attention of women, and yet he could see a familiar jealous streak in her own behavior when he danced with one of them.
The man she danced with attempted to take advantage of their proximity, his mouth dangerously close to the hollow of her neck.
Cameron pushed off the wall and strode toward them.
She hadn’t kissed anyone since he’d arrived, and that was one thing he wasn’t willing to let happen.
He had no right, and yet he couldn’t stop himself.
His hand landed on the guy’s shoulder, and the man turned with recognition in his gaze. “Hey, man, we’re busy?—”
“I’m cutting in,” Cameron interrupted, pushing the man to the side and scooping Sophia into his arms.
“Cam—” she started indignantly, but her words were cut off as he spun her away from her partner then back towards himself, so she collided with his chest. Her eyes were wide and bright with exhilaration. “What are you doing?” she breathed.
Cameron’s mouth shifted to her ear. “Tell me something, Sophia. How can you live with yourself?” His voice was teasing and light. He loved being with her this way.
She reared back. “What?”
“What makes you think that you can tempt me, tease me, then deny me?”
She made an attempt to pull away, but he held her tight, his voice growing huskier.
“You flirt mercilessly with any guy who looks your way, but then you stare daggers at any girl who attempts to flirt with me.” He hit the nail on the head with that one. Her eyes widened further, and her cheeks flamed with color.
“I—you—that’s not…”
He chuckled, not missing the way goosebumps rose on her arms. “Let me ask you something else. Why won’t you let me get close to you… when you clearly don’t want anyone else to get close to me?”
She worked her jaw, her eyes sharpening for a moment before she gave him a gentle shove. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said flippantly before making her escape.