Page 64 of Camden

Dressing in a pair of gray sweats and nothing else, I walked downstairs and made Steph a cup of coffee. Leaning against the kitchen island, my cup in hand. I turned on the news and watched as I waited for her to come down.

She descended the stairs in dark purple scrubs. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. No make-up covered her beautiful freckles. She was naturally breathtaking. Unable to resist her, I reached out, grabbed her hips, and pulled her body into mine. My mouth found the column of her neck. She sighed as I traced my lips over her skin, gripping the back of my head as I continued to kiss and suck her neck.

“Hey,” she said, pulling back. “No hickeys.” Stephanie rubbed the spot on her neck where I spent a particularly long time lavishing. I slapped her ass as she moved to the hall to look at herself in the mirror that my mother hung above a small table when I moved in. “Cam,” She scolded, rubbing the darkening red spot.

“I don’t think that’s going to make it go away, sweetheart.” I chuckled. Walking over with her coffee, I set it down on the table and wrapped my arms around her waist, enveloping her. My chin rested on her shoulder as I took in our reflection. “We look good together.”

Stephanie nodded, looking happy. “We do.”

“You never answered my question earlier.”

“What question was that?” She turned in my arms.

“Are you coming over tonight?”

“Do you want me to?” she asked, and I gave her a look that said she was crazy. She laughed.“Okay. But I was thinking.” Her voice was hesitant, which put me on edge.

“What about?”

“You know last week when I caught you kickboxing downstairs?”

“Yeah. I’m still considering getting rid of it. Why?”

Her fingers tapped nervously against my chest. “Well. I was wondering if maybe you could give me a few lessons?”

“You want to learn kickboxing?” Surprise laced my voice.

She hummed as she stepped away from me and walked toward the door, coffee in hand. She stopped, bending down to put her tennis shoes on. After she finished, she stood and faced me. “Maybe not kickboxing, per se. More like self-defense. I’ve been wanting to learn how to protect myself, but I’ve never been comfortable enough to attend a class and have a man fake attack me.”

I clenched my jaw at the thought of anyone getting close to Stephanie. She wasn’t weak by any means, but she meant the world to me. “I’m not fond of that, either. I would love to teach you a few things. I actually helped teach a few self-defense classes for work.”

“So, you’ll teach me tonight?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course, sweets. But you know it won’t be a one-and-done class, right?”

She popped up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. “I know.”

“Plus, I can’t be held accountable for what happens when I see you getting worked up and sweaty.” I wiggled my brows and let my gaze drift up and down her body. Even in scrubs, her curves were unmistakable and difficult to resist.

“Do you ever get your mind out of the gutter?” She giggled, the sound going straight to my cock.

“When it comes to you? Never.” I kissed her and opened the door before I gave in to the urge to pull her back upstairs. “Have a good day at work. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She grabbed her keys, purse, and coffee before heading out.

* * *

She was tryingto kill me. Dead. Stephanie was always gorgeous. But right then, she was a complete knockout that I’d probably never let out of the house to work out. A pair of skin-tight shorts reached mid-thigh and made her legs look a mile long, and the black sports bra hugged her tits in the most mouth-watering way.

I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her upstairs.

She stood next to my freestanding punching bag, running her fingers over the beat-up human figure.

She called on her way home from the hospital while I was on my way home from the sporting goods store. I told her to head in, get changed, and meet me in my home gym. I’d picked up a pair of women’s hand wraps. The bag would’ve destroyed her knuckles if she hit it freehanded.

No way would that ever happen.

I cleared my throat, catching her attention. “Please tell me that isn’t what you normally work out in?”

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