Chapter Eight #2
He sat forward to brace his elbows against his knees, and every rough, chiseled inch of him was firmly in her space.
“And I’ve somehow become the family troubleshooter.”
Her stomach dipped. “This has nothing to do with Underhill Associates.”
“But everything to do with you.” His hands cupped her knees. “What time?”
Her mouth went dry all over again. It was such a simple touch, yet from him, utterly intimate. His fingers caressed the delicate skin at the back of her knee, and his thumbs rested against her kneecaps. She suddenly found it hard to think, much less talk. “Nine,” she managed to get out.
“I’ll be there.”
Well, that shouldn’t complicate things at all, she thought. Yet in the back of her mind, she remembered how he’d stood at her side when the billboard had been discovered. And how surprised, but glad, she’d been to have him there.
She laced her fingers as she settled them in her lap. “What did Julian want this morning?”
“There were problems with some deals.”
“Because of the billboard?”
“It’s a minor hiccup.”
With the state the company was in, no problem with a deal was minor. “You didn’t tell them about Roxie, did you?”
Impatience flashed in those dark eyes, and his thumbs slid to the sensitive spots on her inner knees. “I promised you I wouldn’t. It’s your story to tell.”
Lexie cleared her throat again, only this time it was to cover a moan. What was supposed to be a comforting touch was anything but. Heat was creeping up her thighs and nestling deep in her belly. Her muscles clenched as if to cross her legs, but there just wasn’t room.
“Is he still upset?” she asked, trying to concentrate. “Did he ask about me?”
A muscle in Cam’s jaw tightened. “He noticed that you didn’t come home last night, but you were right. He forgot what an ass he was pretty damn quickly.”
She didn’t believe her father forgot anything, but embarrassment wasn’t something he admitted to freely. He certainly never forgot what an argument had been about. “I don’t know if introducing Roxie will make things better or worse.”
“If it helps at all, she’s telling the truth about growing up in foster care.”
Lexie looked at him. Those words sounded heavy to her ears. “What did you do?”
He didn’t even blink. “I poked around a little.”
“Into what?”
“Her story.”
She didn’t like where this was going. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
That muscle in his jaw pulsed again, but his gaze was steady. So was his touch. His hands stayed on her knees, and he watched her so closely, she wondered if he knew…if he could feel…
“Lexie, I’m not going to let her work you.”
“She’s not working me.”
“I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but your twin has a record.”
“I know.” The fierce protective instinct that ran through Lexie was as foreign as it was powerful. “She was arrested for shoplifting when she was eighteen and disorderly conduct for an incident outside The Ruckus. She told me.”
“That’s just for starters.”
She clutched at the armrest. “They were minor infractions and, frankly, I don’t care. She grew up in the system, Cam. She didn’t have people watching out for her or teaching her right from wrong. It was about survival.”
“Don’t let her use that as an excuse. She did all right for herself.”
“Yes, she did. I don’t know that I would have done as well if it had been me.”
The air snapped between them, and it was a wonder there weren’t sparks. It could easily have been her, and they both knew it. Cam’s touch shifted, and heat cascaded up Lexie’s thighs.
“Well, you do have someone watching out for you,” he said, his voice like gravel. “Me. If that makes you uncomfortable, you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
Uncomfortable. The word hung in the air like a flashing neon sign.
Lexie might not remember much about her time at the bar, but she remembered that word.
She remembered the way it had slipped out.
She remembered the way it had made him press her back against the jukebox.
She remembered the way his hand had slid up the back of her thigh under her skirt.
In a flash, she was on her feet.
He came to his feet too. With as closely as they’d been sitting, they stood even closer. His feet tangled with hers, and their thighs bumped intimately. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and he caught her hips as if they had the right.
“I’m not trying to upset you,” he said. “I do what I have to do, regardless of whether people like it. You know that about me.”
But he was upsetting her—in more ways than he realized.
She was naked underneath her borrowed dress.
Lexie’s thoughts scrambled. All she could really assimilate was his touch low on her hips where her panties should be—and the growing heat and tension between her legs where they weren’t.
Her belly squeezed. Why hadn’t she just borrowed a pair of Roxie’s?
The full slip she was wearing had a built-in bra.
Were panties really that much more intimate?
Yes. Yes, they were—and this was why.
“Don’t ask me to apologize,” he continued in that low voice. “I know how you feel, but I can’t stay out of it. I’m not going to.”
“You have no idea how I feel.” If he did, his hands wouldn’t be on top of her dress.
“Yes, I do.”
“How could you?”
“Because I’ve been in your shoes.”
Her gaze snapped to his face, her scattered thoughts coalescing. “You have?”
He’d gone so quiet and still, she could almost hear the tension humming inside him. He hadn’t meant to let that slip.
They weren’t talking about their attraction to each other anymore. They weren’t even talking about Roxie or the Underhills. Lexie watched him, barely breathing. They were talking about him.
“My old man popped up when I was fifteen,” he said after a long, painful moment. “I hadn’t seen him since I was four. It wasn’t a good scene.”
Her chest squeezed. In that instant, they were both stripped bare. It was the first personal thing she’d heard him reveal, the only insight she’d ever gotten into a man with a reputation as hard as steel.
“Where was he all that time?” she asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
“He never was exactly clear on that. He just bugged out for a decade.”
Leaving behind a young son who had needed him. “What happened when he came back?”
Cam’s dark gaze drilled past her. “He stayed true to form and was gone again before my next birthday. He took my mother’s car while he was at it.”
His grip tightened against her hips but, this time, Lexie didn’t try to fight her response. She gentled and laid her hands on his chest. For as stoic as his expression was, his heart was pounding. “Do you know where he is now?”
“Don’t know and don’t care.” His gaze swiveled from that point on the kitchen wall to her face. “But I can see that you do.”
Something inside her gave a pang. “It’s different for me. I never knew I had a sister. I have no preconceived notions about her.”
“You’ll have to understand why I’m a bit more skeptical.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you, Cam.” She understood what it felt like to be left behind. It explained a lot—his hard-driving ambition, his seemingly coldhearted actions and his behavior last night.
They stood uncomfortably, locked in an embrace that neither wanted to end, yet both uneasy with how deeply they’d let each other see.
His hands flexed against her hips. The caress pulled at the material of her dress, lifting the hem another inch. “You’re excited, happy and full of questions. I don’t want to take that away from you,” he said, “but you’ve got to let me worry.”
Lexie knew she was playing with fire. Her body was one big throbbing mess, but could she really trust him? Roxie had warned her he’d turn on her, and he’d already gone behind her back with this background check.
“You didn’t find out anything about the adoption, did you?” She might not agree with his actions, but if he’d already done the work, she wanted to know.
“I tried, but the adoption records are sealed, especially for people outside the parents and child. In your case, children.”
She was disappointed, but she wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t gotten anywhere in her searches either, the few she’d attempted.
“But we’ll keep trying.” He stroked her hips in a soothing manner. “Like I told you, we’re going to figure this out together.”
She was naked underneath that sexy dress.
Few things surprised Cam anymore but, when he woke up early the next morning, two things caught him unprepared.
First, he and Lexie had slept together on another sofa.
He didn’t remember falling asleep, but here they were, stretched out together on the cushions with her soft weight pressing down upon him.
It was a close fit, and he inhaled deeply, feeling his body respond.
She was sprawled over him like a sweet-smelling blanket.
Her head rested against his shoulder and her hair draped silkily over his arm.
Her breasts were plumped against his chest and their legs were tangled.
The position allowed his morning erection to tuck up against the niche at the top of those sleek legs, and he’d instinctively cupped her backside to keep her in place.
That’s where the second surprise came in. Shock, really. Somehow over the night his hands had snuck up under her dress. That didn’t throw him, but what he’d discovered did. All he felt was skin. Smooth, velvety, bare skin.
He flexed his fingers, exploring more just to make sure. She felt like heaven, yet there was no mistake about it. There wasn’t a stitch of material covering her.
Prim and proper Lexie Underhill was going commando.
Cam’s cock surged, pressing hard against the zipper of his pants. He stroked the soft globes of her ass, unable to help himself. She was sound asleep and non-resisting. As he caressed her, she stretched almost like a kitten with pleasure. It drew a groan from deep in his chest.
No wonder she’d been so jumpy last night. She must have borrowed the dress from her sister. Did Roxie not own any underwear?
Who cared? It was Lexie he had splayed out all over him.
For once, Cam let himself go. It was early morning, barely light outside. There were no deadlines and no drama. There was just him and the woman of his fantasies.
He rolled his hips up towards her, and even in sleep a soft sound of pleasure left her lips. She snuggled closer, and his fingers bit into her firm flesh. He wanted to unzip his pants and slide into her heat. He’d make love to her long and slow as the sun rose.
Inexorably, he stroked his fingers towards the crevice between the two mounds. She’d be hotter there. Farther down, would she be wet?
Cam cursed into the dim light. As tempting as it was to touch her there, he wanted to see her face when he did it. He wanted to see her eyes go wide, her cheeks flush and her mouth part with pleasure.
Blowing out a breath, he stared at the ceiling. His hard-on was raging, but he’d pushed her too fast already. She was only now starting to talk to him.
And he’d told her things he’d never told anyone before.
He contemplated that as he explored the spot where her pert little butt turned into smooth leg.
He’d wanted her from the start. He’d taken one look at her and had needed her in his bed, but it was turning into something more.
She roused his protective side. He felt the deep-seated need to protect her from her family, her sister and even him.
He glanced at the clock on her DVD player and sighed. Speaking of protecting her, he should go if he was going to get cleaned up and back in time for the big introduction. He didn’t know how this would play out, but he was going to be there for her when it did.
Carefully, he rolled the two of them on the sofa. Taking the opportunity, he kissed her forehead and her cheek and finally her lips. Even in sleep, they clung to his. When he felt his cock start to throb, he made himself pull back.
“Ah, Sexy Lexie.” Determinedly, he pulled down her skirt, covering her.
The woman was going to be the death of him.
Careful not to wake her, he extricated himself from her and their tight sleeping arrangement. Standing over the sofa, he looked down at her. Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.
Raking a hand through his hair, he rounded the sofa. He was heading for the front door when he passed by her kitchen table. He stopped when he spotted her purse.
She’d tried to be sly when they’d walked into the place last night, but there was something under that purse that she didn’t want him to see. He was bastard enough to want to know what it was.
Picking up the leather bag, he set it aside. Underneath it, he found papers. Notes, he saw when he looked more closely. He pushed through the stack, skimming her familiar handwriting.
It was the proposal he’d spent most of the day reading and tweaking, only these scribblings went deeper. They were the supporting documentation for many of the assumptions she’d made, and they got his creative juices flowing all over again.
He glanced over his shoulder quickly when she shifted on the couch. He waited for a moment, but she just settled back down into place. His jaw hardened as he looked again at the papers.
Beautiful and brainy.
Catching up the ones that intrigued him the most, he folded them and slid them into his back pocket. The others, he put back where he found them. He gritted his teeth as he headed for the door. He’d warned her that he did the things that had to be done.
That didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.