Chapter 28 Cam
Chapter 28
Cam
The inside of the lodge was beautiful. It was gorgeous on a normal day, but tonight, it was sparkling. White and red rose flower arrangements, frosted glasses, and bubbly champagne. The Ashwoods spared no expense—they never did.
Dusty checked my coat for me and then returned to my side. “Do you want a drink?” he asked, and I nodded. He grabbed two flutes of champagne off a tray as a waiter passed by. I watched the waiter give Dusty a double take. The tattoos on his neck and hands were the only ones visible at the moment, but that was enough for him to stand out—plus the long hair and the nose ring.
Dusty didn’t seem to notice, though. His eyes were just on me. “What do you think your parents will think when they see me here?” He took a sip of champagne and placed his hand on the middle of my back.
“They’ll live,” I said, taking a shaggy breath, as if trying to convince myself. Dusty was what got me here, so for that, they should at least be kind of grateful.
“I love to see that spine, Ash…and feel it,” Dusty said. His hand dipped a little lower just as I took a sip of champagne, which was not great timing, because it caught in my throat, and I started to cough.
“Easy there, killer.” Dusty laughed. He took the champagne flute out of my hand and set both of our glasses on a table. “Dance with me.”
This time, when he stretched out his hand, I took it and let him lead me to the dance floor.
The song was a simple waltz, but I didn’t expect Dusty to know that, so I just put my arms over his shoulders so we could step and sway to the music. But Dusty took one of my hands in his and placed the other on my waist before he started leading us.
“You know how to waltz?” I asked.
“Full of surprises.” He grinned, and I let out a shocked laugh. He was a little fumbly, but mostly, he was good—more than passable. “I used to watch YouTube videos when we were in high school,” he said. “I remembered you saying that you had to dance whenever your parents had or went to an event, and I wanted to be prepared…just in case I ever got to go with you.”
“You mean in case I ever forced you to come with me?”
Dusty shook his head. “No. You’re a privilege, Cam. Being in your presence is a goddamn honor.” I looked over his shoulder instead of at him. What the hell was I supposed to say to that?
“I can’t believe you did that when you were so young…for someone who wasn’t even a sure thing,” I said.
I felt his shoulder shrug under my hand. “You’ve always been a sure thing to me,” he said softly.
“Dusty…” I trailed off. “You can’t talk like that.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like we’re more than what we are,” I said.
“I think you’re going to have to enlighten me then,” he responded. “What are we?”
“Friends.” I sighed. “We’re friends. Aren’t we?”
“Ash, I tried friends. I really did. But friends don’t feel the way I do about you,” he said as he pulled me even closer to him. Our bodies were touching now. “Or the way you feel about me.” I could feel his breath on my face. “I’ve waited half a lifetime for you, Cam.”
Dusty breathed me in. “And I would wait a whole one if I thought I had to, but here we are. Together. No distance, no timing, no ring…nothing is keeping us apart.” Our dancing had slowed and the song had changed, but we were still out on the dance floor. Dusty used his finger to lift my chin, gently this time. “Except you,” he whispered.
I refused to meet his eyes. Except me.
“So I need you to look at me, Ash.” It was like my eyes couldn’t help but give in to him. “And I need you to tell me why.”
Because I’m not the girl you fell in love with. Because I don’t even know who I am. Because loving you is the bravest thing I’ve ever done, and I’m not brave anymore.
Because I can’t take the pain of losing you again.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise.” My mother’s voice cleared our bubble, and I instinctively pulled away from Dusty—putting more distance between us than just physical. I tried to pretend I didn’t see his face fall, but he quickly steeled his expression. I tried to do the same.
“Hi, Mom,” I said as I leaned in to give my mother a kiss on each cheek. “You look beautiful.” And she did. Lillian Ashwood was dripping in understated beauty. She was wearing a floor-length silver gown that was impeccably tailored to her slender frame, and a diamond choker that my father gave her for one of their earlier anniversaries, and matching earrings.
“You look…” She surveyed my appearance. I was used to this perusal and instinctively tried to brace myself for whatever was coming. “Comfortable” was what she settled on.
“Camille,” my father said next to her.
“Dad,” I said as I looked over at him. I looked most like him with my dark hair and features and my height. He ignored me. His eyes were shooting daggers at the man I was with.
“Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood.” Dusty nodded. No pleasantries or good-to-see-yous, not between these three.
“Interesting to see you here, Mr. Tucker. I don’t think you were on the invite list,” my father said. “You don’t quite fit in.”
“And thank God for that,” Dusty said. “I’m Cam’s plus one.”
With that, my parents started to strategically shepherd us to the outer space of the room—off the dance floor and into the shadows—where they’d always preferred to keep me. As we walked, Dusty’s hand found its way to the small of my back again. I focused on that feeling—channeled everything I had into his touch on my spine.
“You didn’t tell us you were bringing anyone, dear,” my mother said. Her voice and face were tight. “There are a few lovely bachelors here tonight that I think you should meet.”
I felt my shoulders sag.
My dad didn’t say anything. He was still sizing up Dusty.
“Please…not right now,” I said as firmly as I could, but it was meek at best.
“Not ever, actually,” Dusty said. His jaw was set.
“This is none of your concern,” my father responded.
“Cam is my concern,” Dusty said. “She always has been.” Right then, a waiter, who either didn’t notice the tense posture of our quad or didn’t care, held a tray up for us. I reached out to take something off it. I didn’t even know what it was—I just needed something to do with my hands.
“That’s fried, Camille,” my mother chimed in. “Best to wait for something else to come around.” My hand stopped midair, and I brought it back to my side.
“You are a piece of work, Lillian,” Dusty said, and I went all the way still. “You always have been.”
“I beg your pardon?” my mother said as she brought her hand up to her chest. Aghast was the word I’d use.
“I can’t believe I ever thought that it would just be better, easier for Cam to try to ignore your bullshit. I guess I was young, stupid. But I’m not anymore. I’ve changed, but you haven’t, and I’m tired of seeing the way you tear this woman down and saying nothing about it.”
“You have no right to talk to us this way,” my father said. I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.
“No, Rutherford, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s you that doesn’t have a right to talk to me or Cam or any other person that way,” Dusty said. The arm around my waist pulled me closer to him.
“Now you listen.” My father put his pudgy finger in Dusty’s face, but Dusty cut him off.
“No, I think I’m done listening. I know Cam is. You have an incredible daughter, and both of us have better things to do than listen to the two of you any longer.”
Dusty grabbed my hand and started walking away. “Camille,” my mother said—I could tell she wanted to yell, but she didn’t want to attract attention. “Camille Montgomery Ashwood, you do not walk away from us.”
Dusty looked at me. His eyes danced. Say something, they pleaded. With him, maybe I could be brave again.
“Tonight, I do,” I said back. I heard my mom stomp her foot, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was Dusty’s laugh as it drifted back to my ears.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I let him lead me. We rounded a few corners, went down a flight of stairs, and down a hallway.
“Where are we going?” I asked. With the amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins, you would think that I had just jumped out of an airplane—not said something mildly defiant to my parents.
“To check out some award-winning architecture,” he responded. Then he pushed open a door and pulled me in behind him.
When the door shut, Dusty pressed me against it. It was darker in here—not pitch-black, but dark enough that my eyes needed a second to adjust. I blinked a few times. There was some light in here, coming from a counter.
Backlit white onyx.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. He was closer to me than he’d been in a long time.
“No you’re not,” I breathed.
Dusty grinned. “No, I’m not,” he said, and then he kissed me, like really kissed me. His hands were in my hair, pulling my head back to give him all the leverage he needed to dominate my mouth. I held on to his wrists and tried to keep up. “I told you I’d get you out of there—like I always do.” he said.
Soon, there was an arm wrapped around my waist, hoisting me up, and my legs wrapped around Dusty. I pulled my mouth away from his and started kissing his jaw and then his neck. When I reached the base of his throat, Dusty whimpered.
“Angel,” he breathed, and it hit me right in the chest. I missed that. I missed him. I missed us. “Maybe we’re getting carried away.”
“Maybe,” I said against his skin, but I didn’t care. I licked my way back up his neck and found his mouth again. He bit my lip, and I groaned. Dusty’s hips rolled into me, and I groaned again. “God,” I breathed.
I lost track of time. We could’ve been in there for five minutes or five hours when I made the move to push off Dusty’s tux jacket, and I felt the air shift. It started to buzz and tremble around us.
Dusty pulled me away from the door. I wrapped my legs tighter around him, and my dress hiked higher up my hips as he carried me to the glowing counter. Before he set me down, he pushed it all the way up, so it was bunched at my waist, exposing my thin black panties. When my bare skin hit the counter, I gasped into his mouth.
His hands gripped my thighs so tightly it almost hurt.
“Angel,” he moaned. “We can’t do this. Not here.”
“Yes we can,” I said, looking up at him. He brought a hand up to my face, brushing my lower lip with his thumb. He was looking at me like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to the planet—but also terrified I might suddenly disappear.
I held his hand to my face for a moment before I sucked his thumb into my mouth.
“Fuck,” he gritted out and then kissed me again. Hard. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure,” I said. “I’m always sure with you.”
“I promise I didn’t bring you in here for this,” he said against my mouth. I laughed a little.
“Sure,” I said sarcastically, even though I believed him. “Now stop talking.” I moved my hand to cup him through his pants to emphasize my point.
“Point taken,” he groaned and kissed me again. One of his fingers skated up the inside of my thigh, and I knew I was wet for him. When he reached my underwear, I gasped. “Should I take these off or just move them out of the way?” Dusty asked. His voice was low. “Decisions, decisions.”
“Better make one fast,” I breathed.
Dusty stopped what he was doing and put a hand on my neck; his thumb pressed into the bottom of my chin. “I’ve been waiting for this for over a decade, angel,” he said. His other hand pushed my underwear to the side. “I don’t want to do anything fast with you.” He dragged a knuckle up my center, and I inhaled sharply. His grip on my neck tightened at the same time he pushed a finger inside of me.
“Oh,” I gasped.
“Beautiful,” Dusty murmured as he looked down at me. “Fucking beautiful,” and then his mouth was on mine again. His tongue worked inside my mouth while his finger worked inside of me. My breath got faster, and my body started to move of its own accord.
When he slid a second finger inside of me, my head fell back on a moan. “That’s right, angel,” he said as he licked and sucked at my neck. “Let me hear you. Don’t be shy. You never were before with me.” His thumb pressed on my clit, and I didn’t recognize the sound that came out of my body.
“Dusty,” I panted, and he bit down on my neck.
“Again,” he growled against my skin. “Say it again.”
I clutched at his back, trying to grab on to his shirt to steady myself. “Dusty,” I said again.
More. I wanted more. I spread my legs wider.
I felt it when Dusty’s mouth left my skin, but I didn’t have time to wonder where it went because when I brought my head back up, I saw him drop to his knees, pull me to the edge of the counter, and then his mouth was back on me. I was lost to the sensation of it all—of the ways he felt familiar and new all at once. It was like my body remembered him and reacted accordingly.
He used one of his hands to keep my underwear out of the way as he licked up my slit. I watched with rapt attention as he devoured me with his mouth and fucked me with his fingers.
The sight of him, with my legs over his shoulders and his eyes closed in pleasure, made my hips buck. “Oh my god,” I panted as his fingers went in and out of me—their rapid but steady pace felt so different from the languidness of his tongue, and I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t even register the sounds I was making or the way my body was writhing. I was just focused on him. I stared at Dusty between my legs until pressure started to travel down my spine.
“Dusty…” I moaned again, and my eyes rolled back. I couldn’t tell if I was shaking or if it was the world around me, but something was definitely falling apart. Dusty put pressure on my clit using the pad of his tongue before he sucked my clit into his mouth, and I broke apart.
I wasn’t used to this. The way my body fell apart under Dusty’s touch felt foreign and wonderful. Not that it hadn’t been incredible before, but there was something to be said for being older and wiser and more experienced.
And he kept going. He didn’t let up—forcing me to ride the wave of my orgasm. He made it last—wringing every ounce out of me. When I finally came down, Dusty’s mouth was still on me, and it felt like too much. I needed something different—something more. I wanted him inside of me.
“Dusty,” I panted. “I can’t—” I stumbled. “—No more, please,” I gasped.
Dusty lifted his head from between my legs slowly and grinned up at me. “Sorry,” he said, even though he didn’t sound sorry at all. “I’ve missed…doing that.”
“Noted,” I breathed.
As he rose from his knees, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and if I wasn’t already seated, I probably would have collapsed.
“You’re, um…” God, why couldn’t I make my voice sound normal? “You’re still…very good at it.” That felt like a stupid thing to say. “I—I mean—”
Dusty kissed me then, stopping my idiot blabbering. It was soft and tender and made me feel like I was a puddle on the floor of this very beautiful bathroom. “I’ve been waiting a long time to get my mouth on you again,” he whispered darkly. “And I’m nowhere close to done.”
I wrapped one arm around his neck and pulled him closer and used my other hand to try to unbutton his pants.
A knock at the door startled both of us out of the kiss. “Anyone in here?” a man’s voice called. I slapped my hands over my mouth and started to giggle.
“Occupied,” Dusty called back. When his eyes met mine, he shook his head and started to laugh, too.
He pressed his forehead to mine, and I felt him breathe me in. “Let’s get out of here.”