Page 53 of Camden

“I should thank you for dessert.” I pressed a kiss to her neck before reaching back to untangle her legs from my back and removing the panties from her wrists. Laying back on the quilt, I pulled her into my side as we stared at the clear sky. The stars burning brightly above us.

“You should let me take care of you now,” Stephanie said, toying with the belt buckle on my jeans. I grabbed her, halting her progress. Lacing our fingers together, I laid them flat against my abs. She huffed, and my lips tugged as I kissed the top of her head.

“As tempting as that is, sweetness, tonight wasn’t about me. I wanted to show you how much I adore you. I wanted to give you a part of myself that no one else knows.”

She placed her chin on my chest and looked at me. “Thank you, Cam. And just so you know, I really like you. Please don’t hurt me.”

“Never,” I promised.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

STEPHANIE

It had beentwo weeks since that night on the dock. Two glorious weeks of dates, kissing, and a little more. Cam took every chance he could to bury his head between my legs, but he’d yet to let me take care of him. Always saying he wanted to make sure I knew how much he wanted me.

How much he needed me.

I loved it. And frankly, I enjoyed the pace that we’d set. We had seen each other a few times each week, and we called and texted daily. I smiled as I thought of the text he sent me this morning. Cam never missed a chance to call me beautiful or let me know he was thinking about me.

Which, according to him, was all day every day.

Everyone said he was a player. A few girls told me he’d get bored and revert back to his old ways, but I truly didn’t believe that. The Cam I knew wouldn’t hurt me. Since the night on the dock, I’d told Cam about my family. About my brother who was deployed and how my parents died a few years ago. The anniversary of their deaths was last week, and he held me while I cried. I tried to avoid him that day because it was always hard, but he showed up on my doorstep with takeout and open arms.

Cam held me as I cried, and when the tears stopped flowing, he asked me about them. He wanted to keep my parents alive in my memory. I didn’t cry about the accident often, and I didn’t talk about them like I should. He changed that. He wanted to know everything I could think of and even offered to go back and visit their graves with me.

I hadn’t been back to visit them since I left my old life behind. Part of me felt guilty for that, but I knew they would want me to be safe and happy. Which is what I was in Sweet Springs.

Maybe one day I could go back.

I fell a little more in love with Cam that night.

I let him in. He knew more about me than most did. Everything but what happened with Jax. Rylie and Haley told me I needed to tell him because it was the only way we could truly move forward.

Deep down, I believed he already knew. At least to some extent. But I needed to sit down and tell him what happened, even if the mere thought of that conversation terrified me.

Mainly because I’d allowed the abuse to continue to happen. I stayed when I should’ve left. I was weak. Something I never wanted Cam to think of me. What if I told him, and he looked at me differently? What if he thought was weak? That I was stupid for staying?

What would happen to us then?

I didn’t think I could handle the pity in his eyes. I got enough of that when I looked in the mirror. Shaking my head, I tried to focus on the book in front of me. My muscles tightened when a body slid into the booth, but instantly relaxed when I caught a familiar scent. One I was growing to love and made me more comfortable than I probably should be.

Cam pressed his lips to my cheek before popping a piece of my blueberry muffin into his mouth. I swatted at his hand and moved the plate further away. His crooked grin made the butterflies swarm in my stomach. “Hey, sweetness. I’ve missed you.” he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer while he nuzzled my neck. Goosebumps formed in his wake. It didn’t matter what time of day it was. The man had a straight shot to my heart and my libido.

“I’ve missed you too.” I turned my head and pressed my lips to his but pulled back before he could deepen the kiss. A move I had grown accustomed to. Anytime my lips were on his, he’d kiss me like I was the air he needed to breathe. When we were alone, I didn’t mind, but I still hadn’t gotten used to the PDA.

Jax was never big on it. He told me any chance he could that it was tacky, and he didn’t need or want me hanging all over him.

I literally tried to hold his hand.Once. While we were shopping and for weeks after, he made me feel like the biggest piece of trash.Weeks. It was emotionally draining. Emotionally abusive. I hated that those feelings bled over into my relationship with Cam. A man who made me feel treasured. It didn’t matter where we were or who we were with, Cam never missed the opportunity to claim me.

While I was slowly getting used to it, sometimes the words from my past unwantedly surfaced. Instead of focusing on my own demons, I eyed Cam. I loved when he was in uniform. Even more when he wore jeans and a t-shirt, but right now? I wanted to fan myself. It wasn’t anything special, just a pair of gray sweatpants and a cutoff t-shirt. The sides were torn so low that only a couple of inches of fabric held the shirt together. Deliciously strong muscles lined his sides that were fully on display. Dragging my gaze away from his body, I took in his sweat-soaked hair and flushed face. “Did you run here?”

“I did.”

“That has to be like 5 miles.”

“Six, actually.” He reached over and grabbed another piece of my muffin.

“Why on earth are you running almost twelve miles at six in the morning on your day off?” If it were my day off, I’d sleep until ten.I’m lazy like that.

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