Page 60 of Thomas
Thomas swallowed heavily, breathless as his eyes glowed to life within the embrace. Cameron’s scent swirled around him and his body emitted heat and power. An unwavering solidity and fortitude. Thomas closed his burning eyes and tipped his head back because it was the most blissful embrace of his life. It was delicious and intoxicating and he never wanted to leave the sheer pleasure and goodness of it. Not ever.
But when he felt Cameron lift slightly from the hug, Thomas relinquished his hold on his back and neck and slid his palms up to his shoulders. Thomas raised his head so that they were faceto face. He was very pleased to see Cameron’s eyes alighted in a lush, vivid green.
“I should go,” Cameron said softly. He was so close that the warmth of his breath rushed against Thomas’s lips. It was gingery like his normal essence but laced with vanilla, caramel and smoke from the cigar and whiskey. They were practically nose to nose and staring into each other’s glowing eyes, their arms still wrapped around each other’s bodies.
“Should you?” Thomas asked, not wanting to let him go. Heshouldlet go, but his limbs and nature wouldn’t allow it.
“I should… I-I’ll walk you to your room?” Cameron offered, then distinctly pulled away. Thomas nervously lifted his arms, afraid he’d held on too long. That he’d initiated this and Cameron didn’t really want it.
His fears receded when Cameron slipped his palm into Thomas’s and urged him forward. They walked silently, hand in hand, back down the hallway and around the corner. When they reached Thomas’s room, Cameron gave his palm a squeeze.
“Good night,” he said, his eyes still glowing like sunlit emeralds.
“Good night,” Thomas said. He’d willed his eyes to burn out and calm down on the walk over, but he offered a warm smile.
Cameron let go of his hand and Thomas turned to push his door open. He didn’t go inside though. Instead, he watched Cameron walk away, pining and feeling ridiculous for it but doing it anyway. His pragmatic mind be damned for the night.
Chapter Twenty
Rachelle practically shrieked through the phone. “You found his ex-girlfriend—and you’re leaving to go meet her today? InFrance?”
Cameron held the landline away from his ear, frowning. This was Lennon’s doing, without question. The next time he saw that old man, he was going to wrestle him to the ground and put him in a headlock. He needed to learn that there were real consequences to his actions.
“Yes, Chelle. Will you please calm down?”
“But what if she’s single?” she went on, still frenzied and not calming down in the slightest. “What if they lock eyes and fall in love all over again and Thomas wants to stay with her? What will you do then?”
Groaning, Cameron rubbed the space between his brows with his fingertips, his eyes closed. As if he hadn’t thought of this. As if he wasn’t anxious about it already without Rachelle’s hysterics.
If Thomas saw Dawn and they still felt strongly for one another, then… Cameron would have to accept that, wouldn’t he? Thomas had loved her before his traumatic experience. It was nothing like what Thomas felt for Cameron… which apsychoanalyst might classify as a mild form of codependency. Cameron would never say that aloud, though.
What mattered was that Cameron had vowed to do anything in his power to make certain that Thomas had a contented and satisfying life. He’d assumed (perhaps hoped?) that that life would be spenttogether. But if it wasn’t meant to be…
Who was he to selfishly obstruct the pathway to Thomas’s true happiness? Cameron wouldn’t dare. Yes, he’d petitioned for Thomas to be his “on-paper” mate, but unbeknownst to Cameron, the whole arrangement had been against Thomas’s will.
Morally, Cameron had no hold over him. It was all one-sided, and if Thomas wanted to leave, Cameron would not stand in his way.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he told her simply. “Did you call me for the explicit purpose of shouting and being annoying?”
“Yes,” Rachelle said. “And also, Thing One and Thing Two are asking about you—they want to know when you and their new uncle Thomas will visit them again.”
“You told me not to call them that.”
“Not to people they’re meeting for the first time!”
Cameron rolled his eyes. “I don’t know, maybe toward the end of the month? I need to check my schedule.”
“Okay, before or after the bathhouse appointment? Are the two of you going?”
There was a slight pause on Cameron’s end where he was utterly, terribly confused. “What bathhouse appointment? What the hell are you talking about?”
It was Rachelle’s turn to be uncharacteristically silent for a moment. “Did Thomas not tell you about my wedding gift?”
“Whatgift?” Cameron said, reaching his own level of hysteria and shouting.
“Oh my God,” Rachelle groaned. “I don’t know what the hell you two are doing over there. Talk to your husband. We’ll figure out a date for a visit later. Have a safe trip to France.”
The line clicked. Cameron pulled the receiver away from his face, a deep crease in his brow. “What?”
