Page 20 of Pomegranate Kiss

“Sure, anything to make Adrian uncomfortable.” Danny flashed her a blinder of a grin and headed over for the open bottle of wine to pour herself some more chardonnay. “Though, you? A dry spell? Is Charleston in a short supply of hot women or something?”

“Yeah, Lex,” Cam challenged, a serrated edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before. “I mean you’ve had plenty of opportunities, right? Why not indulge?”

The dark look in Cam’s eyes threatened to burn her on the spot. She deserved that. Her comment had been bitchy and spurred from the jealousy that Cam still went out there dating when Lex couldn’t keep her heart in check, which left her turning down girls left and right.

Or hell, it could be the mere fact she wanted more so badly it tore her in two. That she wanted to shout how she felt to the world, not stay trapped in this realm of whispers and stolen glances, leaping away from each other any time one of their friends or her family even glanced their way. Lex hadn’t been in the closet for a long, long time, and the guilt that came with sneaking around like what they were doing was wrong curdled in her stomach.

“Maybe I’m taking time to focus on my art,” Lex argued, casting a pointed glance in Cam’s direction. The air charged between them, the sort of tension she wanted to claw through. “Bell has me working longer hours at the shop.”

“Oh, the shop you’re planning on ditching once the six months are up?” Cam shot back, clutching her drink tight. Lex’s throat tightened. Fuck her for throwing that in her face. At once, Cam’s shoulders slumped, as if she realized how venomous that had come out. Danny glanced to the two of them, her brow lifted and concern flashing in her green eyes.

“I’ve got to throw this trash out,” Lex said, walking away before she said anything else she might regret. She walked fast, but not fast enough to miss Danny ask if things were okay and for Cam to lie about being tired. Bull-fucking-shit. Her arms trembled from the hurt that scored through her. She’d opened up to her, she’d told her about her fears, and Cam had shoved them in her face.

Lex headed out back to drop the half-collected bag of trash into the big green containers, but she wasn’t ready to return to the scene she’d left. She tugged out a cigarette and leaned against the vinyl siding, a couple of stray dandelions bursting through the patchy asphalt in need of repair. When she took the first drag, the nicotine flooded her system, a temporary reprieve from the noxious cocktail churning inside.

The back door creaked open and shut, drawing Lex’s attention.

Cam walked out, her head down and a pensive look on her face. Lex swallowed hard and stared at the asphalt, taking another drag from her cigarette. She didn’t bother saying a word, not with the spite on her lips begging to come out and play. She didn’t look up either when Cam settled against the wall beside her.

“Hey,” she murmured. “I crossed a line. I’m sorry.”

Lex sucked another drag of the cigarette, but the nicotine wasn’t steadying her enough to have this conversation right now. Fuck, she needed to pull herself together.

Cam ran a hand through her hair, tugging on the ends. She let out a shaky sigh. “Look, I know this is a weird arrangement we have going on, but this has been driving me nuts. We’re down to two months left, and we haven’t…gone all the way. If you’re cooling off and not digging me like that anymore, please tell me.” Her voice cracked, and the hesitance there, the vulnerability quenched Lex’s anger like water to heated steel.

Lex glanced at her, the cigarette dangling between her fingers. Cam’s eyebrows drew together, and her crimson lips pursed with worry. When she lifted her head up, the helpless look in Cam’s eyes scored Lex’s heart.

She couldn’t manage to summon the words to address the fear in her eyes, because she didn’t think Cam had any answers either. They dove into this the same way they had the night at the club—headfirst, and without a thought of the consequences.

“So, I happened to notice I showed you my art, but you have yet to hold up your end of the bargain,” Lex commented, swinging her gaze to the asphalt where it was safe. She kept her voice light, but she held back the dam with a pinkie.

“Why are you bringing that up now?” Cam asked, caution ringing her tone, like a cat stalking up for a slow approach.

“Well, because of the bridal shower, I’m not working at Inkspirations tonight,” Lex started, her heart beginning to step in double time. “And I have it from a good source you’re not working at the Horntrees’. So, no excuses. You and your sketchpads, canvases, whatever, can show up at my place at seven tonight.”

Cam licked her lips. The way they glistened made Lex want to close the distance between them and claim her mouth, but they’d have time for that later. Tonight. The air turned electric between them, and the moment their eyes met, the molten look in Cam’s stroked her insides like fingers through hair, smoothing the earlier hurt as if they’d never dropped those shrapnel words.

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Cam said, her voice as soft as the smile she offered. Lex leaned in to nudge her in the side, but when their hips touched, neither of them moved away. This close, she caught the mouthwatering scent of rose and felt the heat of this woman who had somehow imprinted on her skin like a tattoo.

Hell, she was so smitten she’d invited Cam to her apartment. No one came to her apartment—not family, not friends, and definitely not random hookups. Lex guarded her privacy like a rangy attack dog.

But she couldn’t put this off any longer, not faced with the yearning in Cam’s eyes and the flicker of hesitation, like the woman veered just as close to wrecking on the rocks as Lex. Like she was just as terrified of the ravine’s edge they dangled at.

Cam reached over and squeezed her hand. Lex waited for her to snatch it away or glance at the door, but she didn’t.

“I should head back in to help clean up,” Cam said, tilting her head toward the door. “But I’ll see you tonight. Seven sharp.” The loss of the skin-to-skin connection scorched her, and her palm throbbed even as Cam strode toward the house.

“Be right there,” Lex said, tapping the ash at the end of her cigarette. Cam’s glance before she slipped through the door burned right through her, full of the heat, the desire, and the longing percolating between them.

In the aftermath of the sharp words they’d gored each other with, the lingering ache pulsed like a second heartbeat. She sucked down the cigarette. She’d thrown the gauntlet and invited Cam to her place, so at seven tonight, she was going to get a taste of everything she’d been longing for from the moment this arrangement began.

Lex flicked the cigarette onto the asphalt and ground it beneath the heel of her boot. She should’ve stepped up and admitted she was catching feelings. She should’ve admitted she didn’t want this to end when the six months were up. Hell, she should’ve never made this arrangement in the first place.

Because at the end of the six months, Lex didn’t know how she was going to let Cam go.

Chapter Ten

After months of desperate kisses and touches that had Cam’s entire body vibrating, tonight was the night.

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