Page 45 of SALT

"Are you sleeping with the old man?"

"No, but I want to be."

She smiles as she pulls on McKenna's jersey. "Yeah, I like Parker, and for the record, I'm not a freeloader. I like a backpacker lifestyle, a type of nomad if you will. I just purchased a tiny home, but it won't be ready for another four months. So I guess, in a way, you could say I'm freeloading until my house is ready."

I pull on a ballcap. "I guess we're besties now."

"No," she's quick to correct me. "Friends, yes. Best friends, no. In my book you have to go through some shit to earn that title."

I shoot her a mischievous smile. "Fine, let's go raise a little hell."

"What about the shop?"

"No one has been in here for about ten minutes. I'm the boss, and there's technically a self-checkout kiosk if someone really wanted to buy."

"What about theft?"

"Are you trying to delay watching your man pitch or…"

"Right, secret millionaire. You'll pay him back for whatever is stolen."

"What? No, this is a small town. People don't steal shit. Come on," I say as I pull her out of the shop. "Let's go."

Chapter 17

Everett

Ididn't like it when Cameron told me this morning she was going out with Stormy for her birthday. Not just because I'm selfish and wanted her here with me but because I don't trust Lauren, and Stormy, blood or not, is an extension of her. After I had dinner with Lauren and she shared her reasoning for being back in town, I called Garrett. He still won't tell me what his hunch is, and it's driving me fucking crazy, but because I know it has something to do with her, I gave him everything. I would have told him all of it anyway. There's not much I haven't shared with my brothers since we started Callahan & Associates. For what we do, there can't be secrets. While Garrett is holding back now, I know he's doing so for a damn good reason, one that he will divulge when and if it ever makes sense. We learned a long time ago how much weight rumors are given in small towns. They are carried by our enemies and spread through ignorance, which is why I've kept everything with Cameron close to my chest. It's why I don't just tell her everything. I'm not only trying to protect her and her father's legacy. I don't want the world to destroy her before she ever gets a chance to live freely in it. It's a chance I never got, which is why I've been adamant about pushing her away. I'm the last thing she needs. Sure, the women in this town have deemed me one of the most eligible bachelors since my divorce. I'm not blind. I read body language and listen to what people don't say rather than what they do. It's my fucking job. There's no reality where I get to walk out my front door with Cameron on my arm that doesn't piss people off, that doesn't tarnish her name and run her out of town. I already know the hateful things that would be said about me, and what's fucked up is a good part of me would believe every one of them. What those people don't know is I couldn't care less about their judgment of me. They're not thinking anything I haven't already thought of myself. What I care about is her.

It always comes back to her, and that's why I've been up all night waiting for her to get home from Wild Bills. Yes, I know exactly where she's been all night. I pulled out my phone more times than I can count to check her location tonight, and then the second she came home, what did she do? She went straight to her room. I know she was aware I was awake when she got home. I left the lights on, but that was thirty minutes ago, and she hadn't come down. I'm assuming she had too much to drink and fell asleep, which is probably best. I've already been pushing too many boundaries with her. I'm giving too much away. I'm giving her false hope, and that's worse than any lie or promise I could ever break, for there is no kindness in false hope. All that false hope does is prolong an inevitable misery.

After turning all the lights off downstairs, I headed to my room for a long, hot shower. Hot showers usually help wash away my anxiety, and after them, I'm able to close my eyes for at least an hour, and an hour would be more than any amount of sleep I've had since I got home. Knowing she's safe in the other room doesn't hurt either. I've just opened the door to exit my master bath when what sounds like a bedroom door closing catches my attention. I assumed Cameron was fast asleep, recouping from however many drinks she had tonight. She's not one to typically stay up late unless she's studying, and it's summer, so I know that's not the case. That's when a little black box in the center of my bed catches my attention. I know for certain it wasn't there when I walked in. I'm so fucking anal I notice when my housekeeper dusts the bookshelves and puts the pictures back up in the wrong order. Which reminds me, I need to leave her note. A book from my shelf has been missing. I checked the shared office in the main living area thinking maybe she forgot where it went, and I came up empty. I couldn't tell you what the title of the book was or who wrote it, I just know I'm missing a blue book with intricate details on the spine. I've stared at it for years now, and knowing it's missing just adds to the growing list of things stealing my focus.

I take one last look around the room, ensuring everything else is in order and that I am indeed alone, considering I know it's Cameron who left this for me to find. I wouldn't put it past her to hide behind a curtain just so she could watch me open it. Running the towel over my wet hair one more time, I toss it onto the armchair next to the table in the bay window before taking a seat on my bed.

"What are you up to, Cameron?"

It's her birthday, and I haven't said happy birthday, but I planned on seeing her after the roses were delivered. However, I got stuck talking shop with Coach Denver before the game. This must be a not-so-subtle reminder that I haven't said the words. I make myself comfortable, stacking my pillows against my headboard before leaning back and crossing my legs at the ankle. When I pick up the box, it's light. Whatever is inside can't be too elaborate. Taking off the lid, the first thing I see is a small piece of paper folded in half.

I added another camera to the security system. Thought you might want to use it to ensure I'm following the rules.

I immediately reach for my phone. How the fuck did she add a new camera and I didn't get an alert? I take security around here seriously. I have to. It's part of protecting those I care about from my work. The last thing I need is someone coming after me out of revenge for a case they lost. Callahan & Associates plays in the big leagues. The clients we serve have big issues, deep pockets, and a lot at stake. Opening the app, I immediately see the new square: "Cam's Room." She put a fucking camera in her room.

My hand instantly clenches my phone hard as I find the strength not to tap on the damn square. The little black box slides off my leg when I throw my head back against the pillows. I know she didn't give me a box with a piece of paper inside. If that were the case, why not use an envelope? Reaching for the box, I attempt to distract myself from pressing on that damn square, except I should have known it would only get worse. When I lift the black velveteen material, there's a black remote with a silver engraved tag reading:

"No fucking way." I roll over on my bed and groan into the pillow, instantly hard. She just handed me the remote to a vibrator that I have no doubt is currently buried in her sweet pussy, waiting for me to turn it on and make her come. I know I shouldn't do it. Opening my app to see what she has planned will be the death of me, but as I roll onto my back, my thumb hovering over the security app, I pull the trigger. I've already watched her fingers slide into her pussy while she came all over them, screaming my name. If we are our choices and they define us, then I'm already fucked. Commanding her to touch herself while I watched was a bad decision, but I've also never felt more fucking alive. I know I said I'm giving her false hope, but it's my hope too, and false or not, isn't any hope better than none at all?

On that last note, my finger hits the square. Fuck. I bite my hand hard when I see her. She's lying in the middle of her bed, her long red hair sprawled across the pillows, wearing a blue corset with thick straps that run crisscross all the way down her stomach. Her phone dings, and she glances at it before a mischievous smile takes over her face.

"Everett, do you like my birthday outfit? It's blue, my favorite color." I'm quiet as I watch her twirl her hair. I don't know what to fucking say. I've never been rendered speechless. She looks like pure sin. I want to storm down the hall, pull her to the edge of her bed, smack her ass for teasing me, and then sink into her for hours. My cock twitches from the mere thought of her warmth wrapped around me. "It's okay if you don't want to talk. I don't need you to talk. I like knowing you're watching." She leans onto her elbows and asks, "I bought something else that's blue. Want to see it?" Again, I say nothing. She bites her plump bottom lip, the same one I've wanted to sink my teeth into for far too long, before letting her legs fall open, revealing a blue vibrator and a glistening pussy. I instantly grab my now throbbing dick. "I know you refuse to touch me, but you didn't say you wouldn't watch, and Ev, I really want you to watch me."

Her hand slowly slides down her corseted stomach, and right before she grabs the vibrator, I press the button. Her pretty lips open with a gasp that morphs into a euphoric moan. I watch on, momentarily entranced. She is so fucking beautiful. I want it to be my hand pulling those symphonies out of her, not this damn toy, but since it can't be, I'll settle for this because right now, it's everything.

Clicking on the voice feature, I say, "Reach into your drawer and get the special toy you keep wrapped in silk behind your journal."

When she focuses on the camera strategically mounted in front of her bed, it feels like her eyes are locked on mine. "You read my journal?"

"No, but if you think I haven't heard you in there pleasuring yourself, you'd be wrong."

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