Operation: Tempt Me (9 page)

The old woman
rested her hand across her heart and widened her eyes. “Like what?”

“Like
it’s anything more than it is.” Cambrie paced the room. “And if it were, it’s
up to me where I take it. Understood? I won’t have you prying into my life and
trying to force me into something I’m not ready for.”

Aunt
Annabelle threw her hands up in the air and let them fall back onto the bed.
“There you go again, worrying I’m rushing you down the blessed aisle. All I’m
saying is a proper young lady like yourself should see fit to have some romance
in her life. You did say Emma and Finn know him?”

“Yes, Finn
used to be his commander.”

“I do adore
Finn, fine young man. Well, at least you have someone that can vouch for
Miller. And he seems like a fine boy. And very easy on the eyes, I might add.”

“Auntie!”
Cambrie stared in shock. “I’ve never heard you talk in such a way. What’s
gotten into you today? Maybe you hit your head in that fall.”

“Maybe I
don’t want my favorite niece to pass up a good thing because she feels she owes
me something. You owe me nothing except to be happy. Just remember, the best
way you can repay me for taking you into my home is to make a home of your own
with a man who cherishes you as much as you do him.”

Cambrie
studied her aunt. “You watch too many movies in that lounge, Auntie. Romance
isn’t what it used to be in your days.”

“Which is a
damn shame, pardon my language. A man knew how to properly court a woman back
then. Nowadays, couples don’t have a clue about how to love without boundaries.
All I ask is that you open your heart to the possibility, especially when it
travels around the world to meet you.”

Cambrie
swallowed the knot in her throat, her mouth very dry. She had to admit that
Aunt Annabelle was right about one thing. Miller had come a very long way just
to meet her and had gone through a lot of effort to avoid her telling him not
to visit. And they hadn’t even talked on the phone, just emailed. But the
tattoo on his arm had to be discussed before they could become any more
intimate. Looking at another woman on his muscles while Cambrie made love to
him would really be a killjoy. It was supposed to be her…did he think she was
born yesterday? She didn’t take him as a man to play head games but, then
again, she still had to get to know him.

“Well, it’s
good to see that you’re not arguing with me, Cambrie. Shows you’re thinking
about what I just said. Good for you. Now your young man is waiting. Go to him.
I’ll still be here in this prison when you can visit again.” Aunt Annabelle
held her gaze on Cambrie.

“Fine. I’ll
get going but you, Auntie, had better follow the rules. Just the other day, Mr.
Hackler commented on how you were one of the last true Southern Belles. You
wouldn’t want to damage that reputation by causing trouble. Would you?”

Aunt
Annabelle’s mouth dropped open. “Now that’s not playing fair.”

Cambrie
smiled. At least she could get through to her aunt when it involved people’s
perception of her. “Sure it is. Behave and you have nothing to worry about.”
Cambrie kissed her cheek. “I’ll call tomorrow and come by soon.”

“I can’t wait
to hear stories about Miller.”

Cambrie
waltzed from the room before her blazing cheeks could stir up more questions.
No one would ever guess the wicked sexual fantasies Cambrie kept hidden deep
inside her. They’d think she was some kind of freak.

Walking into
the waiting room, she caught a glimpse of Miller standing at the window peering
out. When he turned and smiled, Cambrie no longer cared what anyone thought.
She wanted Miller and planned to fulfill all of her fantasies if he’d allow it.

“All set?” he
asked, striding toward her.

She smiled.
“I am now. Let’s head home and see if we can find where we left off.”

Chapter Eight

“What’s
in the box, Cambrie?” Miller asked, hovering over Cambrie’s shoulder while she
attempted to push the box to the far side of her kitchen counter.

Of all the
things she hadn’t had time to put away, it had to be the sex toys delivered
last week. Before she could stop him, he picked up the box and studied it. Now
that shouldn’t have been a problem since the company used a discreet business
name on the return address label. But Cambrie jumping at him like he had stolen
her diary had stirred his curiosity. He hadn’t stop badgering her since they
walked through the front door five minutes ago.

“None of your
business,” she said, hoping her carefree reply threw him off of his nosy quest.
“Are you hungry? I’m afraid all I have is frozen pizza or pasta.”

“Oh, I’m very
hungry. But not for food, darling.” The glimmer in his dark brown eyes sent a
delicious tingle down her spine as memories of where they had left things
re-surfaced.

“Mmmm. I do
like the sound of that, Miller. Kiss me.”

The devilish
smile creeping across his face held warning. “Sure. Open the box first.”

Christ, did
he never let up? “Why are you so fascinated with that box when you could be
dragging me into the bedroom to drive me wild like you promised?” She hoped the
purr in her voice would be enough to force him to concentrate on her instead.
She’d much rather open her package in private to discreetly have the toys in a
drawer in the bedroom for their use. She shouldn’t have put off doing that.
Damn!

His finger
swooped over her ear to push her hair behind it. The innocent touch sent a
blistering shock wave through her body. Shivering was a reaction she couldn’t
stop as his gaze remained on hers. “I’m betting there are some things in that
box that will help me drive you wild, baby.”

She gasped.
How the heck could he have guessed that?

His knuckles
skimmed her cheek, the warmth of her skin heating more by his touch. “And by
this pretty blush on your cheeks, I’d say I figured out your dirty little
secret, Cambrie. I might add here that I like dirty.”

A battle
between embarrassment and annoyance grew within her. “Okay. Fine. I ordered sex
toys.” There was no escaping his embrace. She was forced to stand her ground in
front of him under those watchful eyes. “But how did you figure that out?
There’s nothing on that package to indicate what the contents are or where it
came from.”

He lifted the
box to point at the business name. “ABC Company. Who the hell names their
business that? A generic name like that always indicates something from the sex
industry.”

“Oh.” Now
didn’t she feel foolish thinking she’d be so smart trying to cover up her
naughty side?

Oh, God then
the mailman probably knew where it came from too. How would she ever face him
again? Worse, what if someone in town started gossiping and it got back to Aunt
Annabelle? Cambrie sighed inwardly—the challenges of living in a small town—too
many nosy people with boring lives always looking for gossip on another poor
soul.

Miller’s
voice filled with humor and acceptance. “And I’ve ordered enough porn in my
lifetime to recognize those labels anywhere.”

His admission
provided her comfort. “You have?”

He smirked.
“Well, of course. I’m a guy. Now stop driving me wild wondering what you
ordered and open the damn thing.”

She laughed,
her belly swarming with butterflies. This was even more exciting than perusing
the naughty website. She could open her presents with Miller here to watch.
Miller’s silent respect made her feel like there was nothing she couldn’t do.
For the first time in her life, she didn’t have to worry about impressing
someone or following rules.

Cambrie
quickly opened the brown package and dug through the bubble wrap to the
contents. The vibrator, butt plug, metal handcuffs encased in pink fuzzy fur,
paddle, and lube were all in plastic packages. The chest harness came in a
black box with a picture of a woman straddling a man’s chest while he fucked
her with the dildo. Cambrie swallowed hard.

“Holy shit,”
Miller exclaimed, his wide eyes glancing between her and the toys. “You have to
run away with me, Cambrie,” he vibrated with excitement while he grabbed the
harness. “We think so much alike, it’s scary. Have you used any of this
before?”

Shaking her
head with a little too much force, she answered without looking at him, her gaze
never straying from the toys. “No. Never. Well, except for a vibrator. A girl
goes without sex as long as I do, she needs a little something to help keep her
sane.”

When she
dared to look up, she caught him studying her. “Are men around here fucking blind?”
He held up his palm. “Don’t even answer that because I know they are if they’ve
allowed a beautiful, sexy woman like you to walk around unclaimed. But their
idiocy is certainly my fortune.”

He kissed her
forehead, the simple touch swelling her heart like nothing ever before. Feeling
desired and cherished, she fought to keep from shaking and focused on the
muscular arms inches from her. “I like you, Miller.”

He smiled.
“Yeah? Well, that’s pretty darn good because I’m liking the hell out of you
too, Cambrie Brasher. Now pick a toy and let’s have some fun.”

Feeling
brave, she chose the paddle. Always wondering what an erotic spanking felt
like, she set her mind to find out with Miller.

“Good choice.
That should warm your pretty little ass nice. Then I’ll use the softer side to
caress the marks I leave on your flesh.”

Her pussy
convulsed, causing her to squeeze her legs together, but then she’d forgotten
to breathe. Her breath sucked in loudly and elicited a devastatingly powerful
smile from Miller.

“Damn. I love
your reaction to me, baby.” He scooped up the remaining toys. “These are what I
choose.” His grin held promise and warning, adding to her desire. “Now lead the
way to your bedroom and let’s have that fun we promised each other.”

Walking on
shaky legs proved more difficult than she expected, and the short trek to her
room seemed longer than she remembered.

“Good thing
none of these require batteries…well except your vibrator, but I think we can
postpone using that for now,” Miller teased.

She pressed
her palm to her forehead. “I never thought of batteries. I was just in such a
hurry to order them…never mind.”

He strutted
to her side. “Why were you in a rush?”

Open mouth,
insert foot.
She sighed. “I…I wanted. Christ, if you must know, I just wanted to have some
stuff on hand to use with you.” She stared at her hands and wrung them, not
knowing where to look or what to think. “I’ve never used sex toys before except
my vibrator and, well, I’m a bit curious is all.” She forced her head up until
she caught his gaze. There was no judgment in his eyes, just desire. “I wanted
to try them with you because you seem very open and adventurous.”

“Hold that
thought, baby.” He left the room and returned with his duffle bag. With a quick
motion, he unzipped it, dug inside, and pulled out a plastic shopping bag. “I
stopped at a sex toy shop on the way here. Was hoping I read you right and you
were the adventurous type, too. See what I mean, we think alike.”

He dropped
the goodies back into his bag. When his hand rubbed her upper arm, she felt
comfortable, a little giddy. What was it about this larger-than-life man that
kept her at ease when she should be worried in the face of his obvious sexual
experience? Would he be disappointed by her lack of skills? Remembering his promise
to make love all day or night made her wonder if she could actually keep up
with him. It thrilled her to hear a sexy man tell her that he wanted her in his
bed for hours. But how did someone like herself, so inexperienced and lacking a
sex life, really match his powers in bed?

He stopped
touching her. “Tell me I’m not scaring you off, Cambrie.” His voice rang of
concern and care, interrupting her thoughts.

She blinked a
few times, staring at his face, mesmerized by the hardened features with small
scars. “What? Why would you think that, Miller?”

He offered a
simple shrug, but never removed his gaze from hers. “I don’t know. You looked
worried, distracted. I would never make you do anything that you didn’t want
to, okay? You have to understand that hurting you is the last thing I’d ever
do. That, darling, is a promise from my heart and soul. Plus, Finn would beat
me senseless if I harmed a hair on your head—which I wouldn’t.”

A sigh
escaped her lips. “I believe that, Miller. Really. I do. I just wonder if I can
live up to your expectations is all. I’m not, well, really experienced. Haven’t
had a whole lotta sex.” She forced a smile to hide her embarrassment. Better to
warn him now than to let him down without a heads up.

This was it.
This was the moment. She held her breath. He’d run now. Probably would realize
he had chosen the wrong woman to get involved with. And once he ran, there went
her job, the library’s chances of the grant to remain open, and Aunt
Annabelle’s future. Not to mention Cambrie’s one chance to fulfill all those
fantasies, those deep, dark desires that she had conjured up since first
emailing Miller.