Page 59 of Already At Risk
“Call me,” he said simply.
“Okay,” I agreed and then forced myself to walk away, knowing full well that I’d be calling him later.
Because he was right: we weren’t going to survive this case any other way.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
natalie
IWAITED ABOUT TEN hours to call Cameron, and honestly, I probably would have called him sooner if it weren’t for the fact that I had other responsibilities I had to tend to on a Monday, other than going to depositions and making sex arrangements with my lawyers.
But as soon as I got Chloe to bed, made my evening tea, gave Annabeth her treats, and trudged upstairs, I had my phone in my hand.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Cameron all day.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the things he’d said—with his words, his touch, his gaze, everything. I could almost stillfeelit, a warm, ghostly presence I didn’t know how to shake but didn’t want to. He’d offered me something I simply didn’t know how to turn down.
Taking a shaky breath, I pressed on his contact name and brought the phone to my ear.
“Natalie,” Cameron answered smoothly, immediately after the first ring.
Just the sound of his voice saying my name had me sinking lower into the bed, melting.
How did he do that?
“Hi,” I replied breathlessly. “I’m calling.”
“You’re calling,” he repeated, and I could hear the faint smile in his voice. Like maybe he’d been waiting for me to call. Ihopedhe’d been waiting for me to call. “Why are you calling?”
“You know why.”
“Mm,” he hummed into the phone, and it sent a wave of delightful shivers through me. “You’re sure you don’t want to sleep on this?”
“I don’t think I need to,” I said, painfully honest. “But I’d understand if you do.”
“I don’t.” He sounded so sure, but that was always how he sounded. “I know what I want, Natalie.”
You.
He didn’t say it, but I heard it anyway.
My breath hitched as the unspoken word hung between us.
Cameron was right; we had undeniable chemistry. Simple touches and little words seemed to be all we needed to spark heat. As demonstrated at the office, he simply had to murmur my name, and my body felt like it was on the brink of ruin.
We needed ground rules. If we didn’t lay down ground rules, this would snowball into something that I couldn’t control, and that was thelastthing I wanted.
Right now, over the phone, was the best time to decide on what, exactly, those rules would be. He couldn’t distract me with his touch or wear down my defenses. He had a sexy voice, but I could hold my own againstwords, right?
“This agreement,” I started, clearing my throat. “What if we put a limit on it?”
“A limit?” Cameron repeated.
I honestly didn’t love the idea, but the anxiety that had been laced into the linings of my heart and soul—thanks to Korey—told me that this was the smart thing to do. So it didn’t get too out of hand.
“Maybe five…” I paused, searching for the right word for it. “Lessons?”
That would be enough to grasp what I liked and didn’t like, to give me a little taste of sex again. Right?
