Chapter 8
Stepping into the house, I closed the door while she shed her boots.
Despite not knowing how long I’d be here, I took off my boots and hung up my cut.
Cambria wordlessly led me to the living room.
She sat on the couch with her hands laced together.
I wasn’t sure she wanted me close, so I sank into the chair that was at an angle from her. She observed me as I did.
“Okay, we’re alone. There’s no one to interfere. Tell me what it is that caused you to go off like that, Shadow? I’ve never seen you like that. I swear I won’t keep you here long.”
“Why does it matter how long it takes?”
“Because I know you have to be anxious to rejoin the fun. I never meant to take you from it. If you want, this can wait until tomorrow.” She attempted to stand, but I halted her, making her ease back down.
“Keep your sweet ass right there. I won’t wait. What fun are you referring to? You act like whatever it is, you can’t be part of it.” A spark of understanding began to grow in my mind, but I needed her to confirm it. My heart jumped at the notion I was correct.
Her eyes shifted away from mine and dropped to her lap. Her hands were tightly gripping each other.
“Cambria, I asked you a question. Answer it, and then I’ll explain why I went after Ryder.” It was coercion, but I was past caring.
Her gaze came up and met mine. There was a flicker of flame in it.
“Fine. Since you insist, I’ll be blunt. I saw you talking to that hanger.
I know what women like her and those bunnies are there for.
They provide sex. Given that you were in a prolonged conversation with one of them, I assume you were negotiating—or whatever you call it—for her services.
That’s not something I want to see.” There was a bite to her tone.
“Assuming I was negotiating to have sex with her, did you think it was then acceptable to go off and have sex with Ryder?” Now, my voice had a bite to it.
Her gasp turned to outrage. “I wasn’t having sex with Ryder! Why would you think that? But to copy you, if I were, it isn’t your concern. You had no right to burst in there and hit him!”
“It is. He fucking knew it was, and he still did it, the bastard,” I snapped.
Unable to remain seated, I lunged to my feet and paced to the side of the room, the farthest from her. I didn’t trust myself. Not that I’d harm her. Never. But the urge to take her in my arms and show her why she should never go to another man burned in my gut.
“Knew what? I don’t understand you,” she declared.
“Because Ryder knows that I have feelings for you. We talked about it a while back. He swore that he found you lovely, and if you were the casual sex type of woman, he’d try his luck.
However, since he didn’t have the depth of feeling that I do, he agreed to leave you alone and allow me to speak to you about this when I thought the time was right. ”
“Exactly how do you feel about me?” A breathlessness was in her voice.
“To be blunt, my goddamn mind is consumed with thoughts of you. And it’s not only about your situation of being exposed online.
I’m not neglecting that, but I’m diverted all the time by thoughts of you.
The smell of your hair, the way you smile.
How would you taste if I kissed you? Or how your skin would feel if I touched you.
I picture your body spread out on my bed.
I dream about you. You’re on my mind when I fall asleep and awaken.
It’s killing me,” I confessed. I was on a roll, so I let the rest spill.
“I want you naked, begging for me, with your body ready for mine. I want to touch and taste you from head to toe. I want to know your essence when you’re aroused, and what your body would feel like with me inside of you.”
Her face was one of utter shock. Her eyes were round, and her mouth hung open. Her breathing was more rapid. A deep flush of peach was on her cheeks.
“Say something,” I growled after a minute of stillness.
“S-so you wanted to first try sex with me, then Ryder could have a turn. And you’re mad that he jumped the line,” she finally muttered.
“Fuck no, that’s not what I want!” I snarl loudly.
She jumped, then frowned at me. “Then I’m lost. If you don’t want to have sex with me, then what’s the problem?”
Unable to remain where I was, I propelled myself back to her. But this time, I sat next to her. I kept a few inches between us.
“I want more than sex, like I can get from any of those women you saw tonight. It relieves the urge, but it’s meaningless.
There’s no emotion, connection, or anything else.
I get off. Period. I don’t see that happening with you.
It would be so much more. I believe it’ll change me forever, and I don’t care if it does,” I confessed, then waited for her to send me packing.
“Change you how?” she whispered. She leaned toward me.
“That I’d never be able to be with another woman other than you for the rest of my life.”
“But that woman you were talking to—”
“I wasn’t asking her for sex. She wanted it with me, and I was explaining to her why she needed to ask someone else. I informed her that I was involved with someone and that she should remember that and stay away. She was pushing it.”
“W-would you want to be changed forever? To only be with one woman?” she asked shakily.
I scooted closer and took her hands in mine.
I held them aloft between us. “There’s nothing I want more.
God, I know I’m fucking this up. I wanted to wait and give it time.
Time for you to develop feelings for me other than gratitude or friendship.
Tonight fucked that up. I couldn’t watch you walk away with my brother and fuck him,” I crudely admitted.
“And that’s why you were so enraged and hit Ryder. How did Wrath and the others know what the issue was? Or at least they acted as they did,” she asked.
“They were part of the conversation with Ryder about you. Wrath pulled us in, and he laid it out to us. We weren’t supposed to mess with you.
You’re Brae’s friend. That meant he wasn’t about to tolerate any of us fooling around with you just to get off.
Ryder likes you, but not enough to say he could be monogamous.
I told them it was way more than sex for me.
They agreed to let me move us along the way I wanted, if it was possible. ”
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this,” she moaned.
“Cambria, I need to know. Is there even the slightest possibility that, in time, you would want a relationship with me? One that involved more than sex? It would be where we’re together, the way Rage is with Betty and Wrath is with Jalisa.
I want an old lady, but not just any woman will do. It has to be you.”
It was my turn to be stunned. Cambria’s answer was to lunge toward me.
Automatically, I let go of her hands and opened my arms. She ended up with her face inches from mine, and she was partially straddling my legs.
Her eyes glowed. Then her mouth was on mine.
It took a couple of seconds for my brain to kick in and kiss her back.
For our first kiss, it wasn’t sweet and gentle or barely a touch of the lips, then done.
Her mouth pressed hard into mine. She moved those plump lips, trying to get mine to react.
I answered her by opening my mouth slightly.
Her tongue impatiently wiggled inside my mouth.
I brought my tongue forward to flick against hers.
Slippery against slippery made me moan. Cambria whimpered.
Her hands rubbed over my chest, and mine explored her back.
Heat radiated from her in waves. My cock had grown full as I explained what it was I wanted from her.
Our tongues twined together and apart a few times.
Next, she shifted her mouth, and her teeth latched onto my bottom lip.
She used enough pressure to tug on it, without being so hard that it hurt.
I let her, but when she let go, it was my turn to do the biting and licking of those plump peaches.
The kiss was more than I ever hoped for and was the best I’d had.
I didn’t know how long the kissing lasted before she drew back.
Anxiety hit me. Was she about to regret this?
“Did that answer your questions?” she whispered.
“Let me make sure I’m interpreting correctly. You have a habit of confusing me. You’re saying that you see me as more than a friend and that while you might want sex with me, it’s not for fun a few times then done.”
“Not might want sex. I desire it greatly. I need it. I crave it, and I’ve been so scared to let you know that, Shadow. I figured you saw me as an obligation or at best a friend,” Cambria confessed.
I leaned back against the couch with my arms holding her. It shifted her, bringing her body to rest on mine. Her core bumped into my erection. Cambria gasped, then moaned. I smirked.
“What the hell is wrong with us? We’ve both been hiding how we feel out of fear, and causing ourselves to be tortured. Christ,” I muttered.
Her forehead came to rest on my chest. Then I heard her softly ask. “Are you sure you want me like that? And that woman didn’t tempt you?”
I palmed the back of her head and lifted her head so she had to face me. I frowned. “I’m more than sure I want you, and she holds zero appeal for me. If you were ready, I’d be more than happy to show you,” I told her gruffly. My cock was being strangled by my jeans, and it throbbed.
“Ready? You mean ready for sex with you?”
“Yes, but I know that you need to be comfortable with and trust me. I’m not pushing for it. I won’t screw this up,” I told her.
Cambria sat up. Her stare met mine. “What makes you think I’m not comfortable with you? Or that I don’t trust you? I had doubts, but those are my insecurities. I can’t picture what it is about me that you find so special that you’d want more than casual sex.”
“There’s so much about you that I like or love. And it grows. Do you think you can be with a man who likes to stay in the shadows? I’ll venture out for you more than I usually do, but I’ll never be comfortable out there constantly. You’re my twilight.”
“Twilight?”
“Yeah, while you sometimes dwell in the shadows, you’re not as dark as I am. You’re the perfect mix of shadows and light, my twilight. You’re my dark angel, too,” I confessed.
Her hands came up to cup the sides of my neck.
“Shadow, I will always be here to either help you rule the shadows or to walk in the light. As for needing time, I don’t.
I’ve hungered for you for so long. I feel like I’ll die if I have to wait a moment more.
Please, take me to bed. I want you. I need you,” she moaned.
“Jesus, fuck, okay, if you’re sure. But before we do that, I need you to do something for me.”
“What? Anything.”
“Say, Shaine.”
“Shaine. Isn’t that your real name?”
“It is. And when we’re in bed, when you climax, whether it’s on my cock, my tongue, or my fingers, I want to hear you call me Shaine, not Shadow.
Anytime we’re alone, it needs to be that.
Of course, whenever we’re with the club or others, it needs to be Shadow.
It’s a matter of respect for the club and me.
And if you’re really upset with me and we’re alone, I probably should expect the full name, Shaine Creed. ” I grinned at her.
She laughed then winked. “Probably a good thing to know. So, Shaine, would you be willing to come to my bedroom and get naked with me?”
Like a shot, I was at the edge of the couch, then, using my thigh muscles, I pressed up to standing, all while holding her.
She hugged me with her arms and legs. I groaned as the head of my cock was rubbed by her jean-clad pussy.
It was sweet torture to carry her to her bedroom and have her rub across it repeatedly.