Page 39 of Pomegranate Kiss

Tonight, Cam had shown up as pure temptation.

She wore the red number that made Lex lose her mind at Danny’s bachelorette. The fabric stretched so tight every curve was visible, and those full breasts begged to be touched. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Already, her traitorous body reacted to the sight of those crimson lips, the waterfall of silken curls, and the bronze skin that tasted so damn perfect.

“Bro, pull yourself out of your brooding,” Lex called to him. “I need a wingman tonight.”

“You? Need a wingman?” he raised both brows. “I don’t think you’ve ever asked before.”

Having the woman she’d fallen head over heels for in the same room made any attempts of flirting on her own impossible. If Lex were honest, she hadn’t hit on anyone after Cam. Everytime she saw a pretty face, the normal lines collected at her lips unsaid. Flirtation had been a reflex as long as she could remember, and Cam crashed into her life and ruined it.

She tried to look away from Cam, but she couldn’t help the glimpses she stole. Of course, the woman headed toward them. Because she was being just as persistent as Lex had been when she’d started her whole quest to swing Cam to the other side. A bitter, jagged edge part of her was almost satisfied when things shattered because she’d been protecting herself for so long from the former hurt that she expected it.

The times she and Cam had been together belonged to a dream or a fantasy, something that faded out of reach like an ending song the moment she tried to grasp for it. That sort of bliss, that sort of happiness where you knew someone inside and out and loved them anyway—it didn’t exist for fuckups like her.

Mitch had lured a pair of gorgeous blondes over—the man was predictable—and he cast a couple of wayward glances in Lex’s direction before murmuring in one of the girl’s ears. Her gaze flashed with interest, and she bit her lip. Lex forced a smile she didn’t feel.

“Anyone sitting here?” Cam asked from her other side.

Lex heaved out the breath she’d been holding as she shrugged her shoulders. “Spot’s open if you want it.”

She wanted her to sit there just as much as she was willing to beg she didn’t. Because her restraint stretched like a tenuous thread close to snapping, and she would never heal if she kept hooking up with Cam and hating herself for her weakness every chance she got.

After all, Cam never gave a clear answer about the fucker her parents arranged her with. Every time they’d run into each other since the night Cam showed up at her door, it had been quick back and forths with a dry quip thrown in, and Lex found an excuse to bolt every time.

No more. She wasn’t going to give any more of her heart to this woman when in a few weeks she’d head to Savannah and then Lex would get the devastating news that a wedding date had been chosen.

“I’m surprised you’re not out there dancing,” Cam mentioned, gesturing to the sea of people in front of them.

“I think you’re confusing me with Danny. She’s the one with the electronica fetish,” Lex drawled, trying not to sneak glances over at the expanse of bronze skin gleaming in the lights by the bar. God it hurt that Cam looked this sexy in the dress even now. She wanted to rip it right off her and thrust her fingers inside the pussy she knew would be drenched. But thinking like that got her into this mess in the first place.

Lex tipped back more of her drink, hoping it would wash away the anxiousness that swept over her like she’d never flirted with a woman before.

“Have you been coming here a lot recently?” Cam asked, an edge to her voice. Lex couldn’t gauge if it was jealousy or regret, but she’d made her choices, neither of which encouraged a future between the two of them.

Lex bit back the ‘none of your business’ threatening to leap from her throat. “Mitch asked me to come out with him tonight,” was all she managed without venom.

This awkwardness between them hurt. Mere months ago, Cam had been resting in her arms, splayed out in her bed, sleeping next to her like some raven-haired angel. How could she not understand that in a few weeks she’d be heading over a boundary line Lex couldn’t follow? The more Cam tried, the more it felt like she pushed for another hookup, and Lex was so sick of feeling used. She’d never let the emotion sink its teeth with any of her one-nighters, but over the years they’d accumulated into a pool of quicksand, and she sank deeper every day.

The blonde that had been eyeing her stepped up to her other side. “Your friend said you’re looking for a little company tonight?”

Saved by the blonde. And Mitch, she supposed. This girl was a looker for sure, wide hips and legs for days. She wore a skintight black dress cut high enough on her thighs that bending over would be a risky proposition. In her pre-Cam days, she would’ve been on her like ants on sugar. However, now? The chick didn’t even elicit the slightest thrill.

Lex swallowed. She could feel the press of Cam’s gaze on her, sending her careening over the edge. If she indulged in spending tonight with Cam, things would turn carnal fast. The way she looked in the red dress did funny things to her nether regions, and the moment she caught the scent of her rose perfume, she’d been clenching her thighs tighter. And then the night would end with Cam leaving while Lex sat alone in her apartment feeling like a discarded toy. Fuck that.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been pretty lonely as of late,” Lex drawled, even as her mind and heart revolted. She tasted bile in her throat at flirting with this girl in front of Cam. It betrayed every emotion inside her, but she’d taken the chance before, and Cam refused to either come out or leave her alone.

She was done with this limbo.

“Why, areyoulooking for some company, tonight?” Lex asked, loading the question with insinuation. Blondie’s blue eyes gleamed, and she leaned in on the bar to reveal a slice of cleavage that once upon a time she would’ve found delicious. Instead, all she could see was Cam’s curves, the ones she’d spent hours memorizing. The woman had ruined her, for sure.

Truth be told, she didn’t need Mitch’s help attracting the girls. They still flocked to her when she made her way to the club, but she’d become tongue-tied where the words used to drip from her lips with no effort.

Blondie’s hand slipped over hers, even though the touch didn’t inspire a tingle let alone a spark. “I was planning on swinging to the bathroom to touch up my makeup.”

The intent broadcasted bright and clear.

The chair beside her screeched, but Lex didn’t dare look over to meet Cam’s gaze. Right now, she hated everything about this situation. She heard the clip of the footsteps and only chanced a glance when Cam closed in on the door. The pendulum swing of those hips had her ensnared, even when Cam cut a hasty retreat. Watching that woman walk away sent her plummeting to indescribable new depths of misery, knowing she’d been the cause.

Even if she wanted the distraction, her heart wasn’t in a bathroom fling. If anything, she felt worse than when she’d arrived here.

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