Page 84 of Don't Back Down

“Not anymore, you’re not. And you’re inheriting a family bigger than anything you could imagine, too.”

“I can’t wait to meet them all,” Rusty said.

“Rachel knows there’s someone. She’s dying to meet you.”

“Really?” Rusty said, but when she looked up, Cameron was blurring in the twilight. She clung to him a little tighter, almost as if she was afraid he’d fade away.

“Yes, really, but you have nothing to worry about. She’s going to be crazy about you, and I’m going to make a bet right now that when Lili sees you, she’s going straight for your hair. Your red curls will be a magnet. We just need to make sure she doesn’t have cookie hands when she does.”

Rusty smiled. “Cookie hands?”

“She’s our little cookie monster, and I’ve fostered that. Her uncle Cam knows not to show up without cookies.”

“What a wonderful thing. I can’t wait to meet them all,” Rusty said.

Cameron nodded. “Louis and Rachel are crazy about each other, and Lili is the jewel in their crown.”

Rusty sighed, imagining a female version of Cameron and wondering if Lili was like that. One day they’d make their own brand of Popes and watch them grow up while she grew old with this man. She couldn’t think of anything better.

“Well, it’s full-on dark out here. I guess we better go inside. Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No. I’m calling the cake and whiskey dinner, and no more work. Not today. I’m tired of thinking.”

“Come to bed with me,” Cameron said. “You won’t have to think about anything except how good it feels to come apart in my arms.”

Rusty blinked. “I don’t know if my heart can take another ride like the one it had today, but I’m willing to test it.”

“You know the way. I’ll be right behind you,” he said.

Rusty walked inside and up the hall, while Cameron got a rawhide chew and took Ghost to his bed in the living room and gave it to him. Ghost plopped down with the chew and never looked up when Cameron left the room.

Rusty had her shoes off and was taking off her jeans when Cameron walked in and shut the door.

“Let me,” he said as he knelt at her feet and pulled off her jeans. She braced her hands on his shoulders as she lifted one foot out and then the other.

Then he spanned her waist with his hands, shoved her sweater up above her panties, and kissed the satin-soft skin on her belly. When his tongue slipped into her belly button, she tangled her fists into his hair and held on, moaning as he lit nerves all the way to her core. All of a sudden her panties were a pool of silk at her feet and he was taking her sweater off over her head. He unfastened her bra with one hand and slid it off with the other.

Weak with longing, Rusty fell onto the bed behind them, then lay watching as Cameron stripped. He was already hard and blatantly erect as he slid onto the bed beside her and took her into his arms.

He heard her sigh right before he kissed her, and then fell into her spell.

He couldn’t kiss her enough, touch her enough to ease the ache, to quell the need he had to be inside her. When she reached for him, he obliged, moving up and over her and slowly tested his welcome. She was hot and wet and waiting as he slowly slid inside.

Rusty shuddered from the sensation, then put her arms around his neck, taking his full weight upon her.

After that, it was all about the rhythm and the ride.

Chapter 14

Patricia Caldwell landed safely in Philadelphia. The weather was wet and the streets were covered in slush, but she didn’t care. It was a busy, bustling city with history and culture and shops and fun places to be, and she was in her element.

While she was waiting for a taxi to take her to her sister Penny’s home, she sent a text to Ray and Liz, letting them know she had landed safely and was waiting for a taxi, then dropped her phone in her purse without waiting to see if they would answer, because she didn’t care. For the time that she was here, she wanted to forget Jubilee, Kentucky, existed.

***

Ray got her text as he was finishing up a staff meeting and read it after they were gone. He was relieved to know she’d landed safely and resigned to her absence. At least she wouldn’t be constantly bemoaning her place of residence. The penthouse would never be special enough because of the geography of where it was, and that was how Patricia Caldwell rolled.

He picked up his appointment book and began looking to see what was on the agenda for tomorrow when someone knocked at his door.

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