Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
Cam
I pull into the library parking lot, the sun’s low and the “Closed” sign hangs crooked in the window. I know she’s still inside. Kate doesn’t leave until everything’s alphabetized, cataloged, and triple-checked.
I killed an entire day telling myself to give her space. I sent her one text this morning—How’s Evie feeling?—and when it sat unread for hours, I tried to let it go.
Tried being the keyword.
Through the glass, I can see her at the front desk. Hair pulled back, cardigan sleeves pushed to her elbows, lips pressed tight in concentration. The lights inside cast her in warm tones, and I swear she looks more beautiful when she’s concentrating than most people do happy.
I rap my knuckles against the door.
She startles, looking up, and her whole body goes stiff when she sees me.
For a second, I think she might ignore me. Then I see her lips move as she mutters something under her breath, grabs her keys, and stalks toward the entrance.
When she opens the door, her voice is clipped. “We’re closed.”
“I noticed,” I say. “Didn’t seem to stop you from being here.”
“Some of us have work to do.”
“Some of us have been worried,” I counter. “How’s Evie?”
“She’s fine.”
“That’s it?”
“She’s fine, Cam. Kids heal fast, you said it yourself.”
She steps inside, and I follow. She locks the door behind me. “That’s it? She’s just fine?”
Her eyes flash. “I don’t owe you a report every time something happens in my life.”
“No, but you don’t get to shut me out, either. You didn’t even read my text.”
“I didn’t shut you out,” she snaps. “I just didn’t text back.”
“That’s shutting me out.”
“It’s called breathing,” she fires back, voice rising. “You swoop in, you help, and then suddenly you’re just…everywhere. And it’s—” she breaks off, shaking her head. “It’s too much.”
I take a step closer, keeping my tone low. “Too much, or too real?”
Her throat works. “It’s becoming too complicated.”
“Not to me.”
“Well, it is to me, Cam!” Her voice cracks, frustration bleeding into the words.
“You don’t get it—I’ve been doing this by myself and I’ve been just fine.
No one to lean on, no one to trust. Every decision, every mistake—it’s all been mine.
And if I let myself need you, really need you, what happens when you decide you’re done? ”
Her voice trembles on that last word, and something inside me twists.
I step closer until there’s barely a breath between us. “You think I’m going anywhere?”
“You all do,” she whispers.
“I’m not ‘all of them.’”
Her chin lifts stubbornly. “You can’t promise that.”
“What if I want to?”
The air between us snaps, sharp as a wire pulled too tight. I can see every emotion flickering in her eyes—fear, anger, want.
“Stop trying to save me,” she says, quieter now, but no less fierce.
“I’m not trying to save you, Katie.” My voice drops, rough. “I just need you to let me in. You don’t have to protect yourself from me. I care about you and I’m not going to just up and leave one day.”
The words hang between us, sharp and heavy.
“What did you just say?” she asks.
I don’t crowd her or rush the moment. I take one slow step closer, enough that she can feel my presence without feeling trapped.
“I said I need you to let me in, Katie,” I say quietly. “I’m not asking you to hand me your whole heart. I’m asking you to stop locking the door every time I knock.”
Her eyes flicker, suspicion warring with something softer. “That’s not easy for me.”
“I know it’s not.” My eyes look into hers. “I see how hard you’ve worked to hold everything together. I’m not here to take that from you.”
She folds her arms, a reflex I recognize now. “Then what do you want?”
I don’t answer right away. I let the silence do some of the work.
“I want honesty,” I say finally. “I want you to tell me when you’re scared instead of pretending you’re fine. I want to be someone you lean on when things get heavy. That’s it.”
Her throat works. “And Evie?”
“That’s part of it,” I say without hesitation. “I’m not just here for you, I’m here for her too.”
She looks down at her hands, fingers worrying the edge of her cardigan. “Cam…that’s not a small thing.”
“I know.” I reach out slowly, giving her time to pull away. I take her hand, warm in mine. “That’s why I’m not throwing around promises. I’m just asking you to trust that I’m not disappearing the second things get hard.”
She breathes in, shaky. “I’ve done this alone for a long time.”
“I see that,” I say softly. “Your strength is one of the sexiest parts of you. But maybe you can let me help you carry the load.”
For a long moment, she just looks at me, like she’s measuring the risk. Then her hands press to my chest—not pushing me away, but grounding herself.
And then she kisses me.
It’s not careful. It’s not polite. It’s frustration and want colliding all at once, like she’s finally letting herself feel everything she’s been holding back.
I catch her hips instinctively, backing her against the counter as she kisses me like she’s daring herself to fall. It’s messy and breathless and perfect.
When we break apart, her eyes are bright, lips swollen, breath uneven.
“I’m not good at letting people in,” she admits quietly.
“I know.”
“I’ve been hurt,” she continues. “And I’m too independent for my own good.”
I smile softly. “That tracks.”
She lets out a shaky laugh, tension easing just a fraction. “My life is messy, borderline insanity.”
“Good,” I murmur. “I need something to occupy my downtime.”
She studies me, searching. “Are you really sure?”
My hand settles at her hip. “I’m here, Katie. I’m not disappearing because things got hard.”
She goes quiet again, thinking. I don’t rush her. I let my thumb trace slowly, grounding circles at her side. Her shoulders relax.
“I think,” she whispers, “I can try.”
She leans in and her mouth finds mine with a softness I’ve never felt from her before. Her fingers slide into my hair, pulling me closer, and I swear I feel the moment she softens against me.
Her mouth opens, demanding me to take the kiss deeper and everything shifts. Her chest presses to mine, her breath mixing with my own as her body melts against mine.
When she finally pulls back, we hover there, foreheads nearly touching, breathing the same uneven air. Her lips are swollen, her pupils blown wide, and the look she gives me is nothing short of invitation.
I let a slow smirk pull at the corner of my mouth. “Have you ever fooled around in a library?”
Her eyes widen, then narrow. “You can’t be serious.”
“Dead serious, I want you, Katie,” I say, voice low. “Seems like a good place to teach you about letting someone else take control.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “This is my place of work, Wells.”
I kiss her again, softer this time, smiling against her mouth. “That means you know where the cameras are. Where can we be out of sight?”
Her breath hitches, and for once, she doesn’t argue, but she doesn’t answer me either.
“Kate?”
She looks up. “Yeah?”
“Where in here…” I say slowly, hands on her hips, guiding her from behind the desk, “Would we be safe from cameras?”
She pauses, because she knows exactly what I’m asking. I can see it in the way her pulse kicks at the base of her throat.
She thinks for a second, then whispers, “Fantasy.”
My smile sharpens. “Seems fitting.”
I reach over the counter, grab a cherry lollipop from the candy bowl she keeps on the front desk, and hold it between two fingers, pointing toward the fiction area. Her eyes follow the candy.
“Let’s go,” I say.
She turns, cheeks flushed, and leads me through the aisles. Her dress sways with every step, taunting me.
When we reach the Fantasy section—a narrow aisle tucked in the far corner—she stops and looks at me over her shoulder.
“There,” she says quietly. “No cameras.”
I step into her space, backing her against the shelves.
“Good,” I breathe, lifting the lollipop. “Do the security cameras have audio?”
She swallows hard, nodding.
I unwrap the lollipop slowly, the plastic crackling, and tuck the wrapper into my pocket. Then I plant my hand on the shelf above her head, caging her in.
“Katie,” I whisper, brushing the lollipop across her bottom lip. “Open.”
She does. Just enough to breathe in the cherry scent, to let me see how badly she wants what comes next. I lay it on her tongue and she closes her lips around it.
“You’re going to hold this in your mouth. If you drop it, I stop. Understand?”
Her eyes go wide, but she nods again. I push the hem of her dress up, inch by inch, letting my knuckles skim her bare thigh.
Her head falls back against the books, and I begin to kiss down her neck, her hips rocking forward with the contact.
My thumb traces the top of her thigh. Heat rolls off her in waves.
“You’re already shaking,” I say against her cheek. “And I haven’t even touched you properly. You’re always so responsive for me, like your body knows my touch can give it what it needs.”
My fingers slip higher, right to the edge of where I know she’s burning for me. Her hips jerk, a small, helpless movement that nearly destroys me. I tilt her chin toward me, slipping the lollipop from her mouth, resting it against her lower lip.
“Let me hear how much you want it, Katie,” I say, hand finally sliding against her clit through panties. “Tell me.”
Her breath trembles out of her, so soft I feel it more than hear it. “Fuck, Cam,” she whispers, “I want you.”
I press the candy against her lips and she opens her mouth, tongue out as I place it lightly, then she slowly closes her mouth around it and my entire body locks up.
My hand tightens on her thigh, the other gripping the shelf above her head.
Then I move to cup her pussy through the fabric, pressing my palm against her clit, her skirt gathered at my wrist. The tiny sound she makes—half gasp, half surrender—goes straight through me.
My fingers find her clit through the thin fabric, and I start slow circles that make her hips lift into my hand. She grabs my shoulders, trying to stay upright, sucking the lollipop, trying to keep quiet even as her breath breaks.
“I can feel how wet you are already,” I tease, lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Do you want my fingers or my mouth, Katie?”
Her eyes open and look into mine. Still sucking, she brings her fingertips to my lips.
“Jesus Christ, Katie…”
She sucks the cherry candy once, then again, her eyes locked on mine. My restraint frays fast, unraveling in my chest like a fuse burning down to nothing.
“Come here,” I growl.
I pull the lollipop from her lips and kiss her—hard, nothing held back. Her tongue tastes like cherry as it brushes mine and she lets out a sound I feel everywhere. My hand slides under the band of her underwear, finally touching her where she’s been begging for it.
She gasps into my mouth, fingers clawing at my shoulders.
I breathe against her lips. “Let me feel how wet you are before I make you come on my tongue.”
My fingertips glide over her, slick and warm, and her head falls back against the books.
“Oh my God—”
“Look at me,” I say, low, commanding.
Her eyes flutter open as I drop to my knees, looking up at her with the lollipop still in my hand. “Lift your dress.”
She gathers the fabric to her waist, lips parted. I pull her panties to the side, exposing her to me and take in the view. “You have the prettiest pussy, do you know that?” She shakes her head. “So pretty.”
I keep my eyes on hers as I wet the lollipop in my mouth once more before sliding it against her pussy. Her jaw drops as I slowly glide the candy inside her, making short strokes. The moan that follows fills the space between the shelves.
“Shit, Cam, that’s…” she says on a breath.
I slide the lollipop out. “Ahhh…you’re getting a little too loud, Katie. Open your mouth.”
Her pupils go wide as she opens. I take one lick of the candy, tasting her on it and I can’t contain the sound that comes from my chest. I raise the lollipop to her. “Suck on it, see how good you taste. And then you’ll be a good girl and hold in your mouth. I need you to be quiet for me.”
She takes it and once I’m sure she has it, I lift one of her legs to my shoulder and lower my mouth to her pussy. I try to keep a slow pace, but the taste of her on my tongue drives me faster, my tongue flicking against her clit.
Her hand lands in my hair, gripping tight. I pause just long enough to wet two fingers in my mouth before sliding them inside. Her body trembles and I keep my pace.
“Come for me, come on my tongue like the good girl I know you are.”
Her leg shakes on my shoulder and I know she’s close. I press my fingers harder against the spot inside that I know drives her crazy. Her breaths come quick and sharp through her nose as she keeps her lips tight around the stick of the lollipop.
Then she comes, chest buckling forward as her body curls against me. Her leg tightens around my shoulder as muffled moans try to escape her mouth. My tongue slows against her before I take one final languid stroke against her.
I lower her leg to the floor and stand to hold her, taking the lollipop from her mouth. “So beautiful. So fucking perfect.”
When her breathing finally steadies, she rests her forehead against my chest, still shaking.
“Cam,” she whispers, voice ragged. “That was…fucking hot.”
I run my hand up and down her back. I feel her chest expand with a deep breath before she reaches down to my hand to take the lollipop and she looks up at me.
“Open your mouth, Cam.”