Page 43 of Keep Me

“You took my advice, I see,” Noah mumbles beside me, sounding all too cocky.

“Shut up,” I grumble, folding my arms across my chest so my hands don’t travel to her thigh.

Noah chuckles, then jumps back into conversation with the guys while I stay quiet. I like to observe and listen instead, not being much of a talker.

Specifically, I like to watch Camille, but as much as I enjoy watching her like this, happy, outgoing, and smiling, I feel this deep craving within me to find out how pretty she would look coming with my name rolling off her tongue.

Although we drew a boundary this morning, I find myself already wanting to spend all my time with her.

My hand drifts underneath the table, my fingers finding her bare knee and drawing lazy circles around it. Camille doesn’t seem fazed as she continues to chat with Mackenzie, who’s sitting across from her.

That is until I inch my fingers higher, skating them slowly up her soft skin. Camille sucks in a sharp breath so low that I nearly miss it. The skin of her arms breaks out in gooseflesh, and I smirk knowing that I have an effect on her.

Camille turns to face me, her eyes darting from my hand on her thigh then up to mine. “Ryker.”

“Yes, baby?” I say, low enough only for her to hear.

“What are you doing?” she whispers, and I don’t miss the way she wets her lips with her tongue, making them look all too inviting.

I lean closer. “Well, if you were in a dress or skirt, I’d be doing you.”

Her bottom lip parts, eyes glazing over. “You don’t mean that, right?”

I chuckle half-heartedly. “Do I seem like the kind of person who makes jokes?”

She smiles shyly, taking a sip of her beer. “I guess not.”

My fingers start back up, drawing lazy caresses over the smooth expanse of her thigh, and to my amusement, her breaths quicken.

“Stop getting me worked up. It can’t lead to anything. That’s not fair,” she huffs out, leaning toward me.

I quirk a brow at that. “Who said it wasn’t leading to anything?”

Her mouth pops open in response, and then a devious smile fills her face. “Get up in two minutes. I’ll be waiting.”

I go to ask her what she means, but she’s already up and moving for the hallway that leads to the bathrooms.

This fucking girl. I love that she knows what she wants and asks for it.

I take a few sips of my beer and half listen to Cuddy and Noah talk about the upcoming season. As soon as the two minutes go by, I get up and make my way to her. There are only two single bathrooms and I have no fucking clue which one she went in. I’m about to knock on one of the doors when an older lady comes out.

“Jumping jalapeños, you scared the daylights out of me!” she scolds, a weathered hand over her chest.

“Sorry, ma’am,” I murmur, unable to look her in the eye.

“Don’t be sorry, though I wish I were the hot blonde waiting for you to razzle her insides,” she scoffs, and I can’t contain the roaring laughter that comes out of me.

“You can laugh all you want. I saw you two all night talking and touching. Now, get in there and rock her world like my husband did to mine.” She winks and walks off, leaving me speechless.

I shake my head and knock on the other door. “Princess.”

The door unlocks, and I squeeze in, then turn the lock back in place once I’m in.

I hear a snort, and my head whips up to Camille, who’s doubled over in a fit of giggles. She must have heard the older woman.

My lips quirk to the side. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I want to be her when I’m older,” she says through another fit of giggles. “And then I heard this odd sound. It almost sounded like this grumpy man I know actually laughed?”

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