Page 52 of Wild and Bright

When she glances up at me, I realize I’ve now drawn so close I’m nearly touching her. “I was telling Matt how he can get more views on YouTube and TikTok,” she says. “I didn’t tell him what I do for a living.”

Her self-consciousness makes my stomach hollow. God, I’m selfish for making her keep her mouth shut about her job. It never even occurred to me that she might be able to use this party for networking. But of course I only thought about myself and what people would think if they knew she was an influencer. I unflinchingly told her I didn’t want other influencers to get any ideas about me, when I knew without a doubt that I really didn’t want any of the other musicians to get any ideas about her.

Goddamn it, I’m a bastard.

“Are you ready to go?” she asks. “It’s been thirty minutes.”

Her question startles me, and as I look down at her, tenderness fills my chest so full I could burst with it. She looks so ridiculous standing there with that serious—could I call it contrite?—expression while wearing that shear black lace dress that barely covers her beautiful skin.

Suddenly, I’m dying to get her back to the hotel.

I smile. “Let’s get your coat so you don’t die of pneumonia.”

FOURTEEN

Lauren

Cam’s expression is blank as we pull into the hotel parking lot. He barely said a word on the drive here, and my stomach churned the whole time as I wondered what he might be thinking.

Why do I do this?

Why do I take my childish antics so far when I’m always filled with self-loathing afterward?

As I crawl out of the car, the scratchy lace of my dress cuts into my tits, and instead of feeling the delight of earlier, I want to cringe. I deliberately embarrassed him in front of all his closest friends. Why did I think it would be fun?

As we walk through the lobby, the hotel clerk greets Cam by name. When he doesn’t even look her way, my anxiety only increases. That was rude, even for Cam. He must be so lost in thought he didn’t even hear her.

We walk into the elevator, and as soon as the door shuts, I nearly jump at the sound of his deep rumble of laughter. When I turn around, his head is pressed back against the wall and his shoulders are shaking.

I’m so frazzled from nerves, my first thought is that he must be drunk, even though I know I didn’t see him drink at all at the pub. “Are you okay?”

He doesn’t even look my way. His laughter is almost maniacal now. My lips part as I stare at him. His laughter finally subsides when we make it to our floor, which seems to snap him into action. He grabs me by the arm and guides me out of the elevator. We’ve barely stepped into the hall when he grips my shoulders and shoves me against the wall. He presses a hard kiss against my neck before pulling away and staring down at me with heavy-lidded eyes. “I can’t believe you wore lingerie to an Irish pub.”

I smile faintly, his laughter and affection making me almost dizzy with relief. “It’s a cocktail dress.”

“Sure it is.” His eyes crinkle at the edges. “Where did you get it?”

I suck in my lips to fight a smile. “I think the shop was called Oh Baby. I only picked it because it was the furthest out of the way, and I wanted to be especially late after you told me to hurry.”

His lips brush against my forehead. “It’s exactly the type of thing you would have done when you were twelve and I tried to boss you around. Except much more sadistic.”

“I’ve gotten more innovative with age.”

“I underestimated you, Henderson. Or should I call you Shmenderson?”

His smile softens as he reaches out and touches my cheek. He runs the pad of his finger down to my chin, sending a tingle through my spine. “I’m going to punish you for it.”

He presses soft kisses from the base of my neck to my jaw, and I make a low hum at the back of my throat. “Why do you think I did it in the first place?”

By the time his lips make it to my mouth, his pace has become more frantic. He kisses me so hard his teeth click against mine, and his fingers cut into my ribcage, sending a pleasurable pain into my core. I gasp as he lifts me into the air and presses my pelvis into his belly. I wrap my legs around his hips as he walks down the hall. Just as we make it to our room, I remember the missed call I saw I had when we were driving here.

“Cam.” My voice is husky.

“What, baby?”

He’s never called me baby before, and it makes my hips involuntarily grind into his. “You’re going to have to give me a few minutes to do something before we get the night started.”

He throws his head back and groans. “What the fuck? Why do you always do this to me? I swear, you do it on purpose to torture me.”

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