Outspoken Angel (2 page)

Convinced the half-naked mob behaved for now,
Max shifted his thoughts back to Cameron. None of these women
compared to her. No, she was different. Sure, she was blonde and
beautiful. And he knew firsthand she was stacked. But she had
personality. Depth. The ability to hold her own with any man. He
snickered as the interested creature between his legs hardened.
Just the thought of her sassy little mouth aroused him. And her
obsession with his bald head only made him harder. Claiming she
needed to rub it for luck each time she saw him, Cameron stimulated
every nerve in his body with her smooth, seductive touch. He
shuddered at the thought.

Since Cameron was responsible for Hawke’s
marriage to his architect wife, Rachel Newberry, Max saw her a lot.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for Cameron’s association with Rachel,
Max wouldn’t have been forced to know Cameron so intimately.
Intimate, as in conducting a thorough background search which
revealed a few very interesting facts about the sexy little
witch.

Federal judge Simon Tremaine wouldn’t have
been too proud when she’d exposed herself, but he should’ve given
her a slap on the back for having the balls to do it.

Max shook his head and glanced at his watch.
Any minute his cell phone would ring and he’d head backstage to put
out the fire. That’s the way it always happened with Pirelli.

Several more minutes passed before he checked
his watch again. His brow furrowed. Something was wrong. Since he
was positive Cameron would not appreciate a new tigress in her
jungle, someone should’ve called by now. He reached down and
checked the screen on his cell phone. No missed calls. He decided
to go backstage anyway and signaled another security guard to take
his place. He closed the distance between the gate and Pirelli’s
dressing room with precise, long steps.

Rounding the corner, he stopped short when
Cameron’s small frame once again collided with him. Her limp body
melted into him this time rather than bouncing off; her red, watery
eyes relayed her defeat. He stood silently for a brief moment,
wondering what the hell to do.

“Wanna rub my head for luck?” he asked,
breaking the awkward silence.

“No thanks, Max,” she whispered, tucking her
head under his chin. “I’m just not feeling lucky right now.”

He very gently laid his hand on her shoulder
and brushed her curls to the side. “Was he surprised?”

“Yeah.” She quickly backed away from his
touch and squared her shoulders.

I tried to warn you
rolled across his
tongue. “What happened?” he asked instead.

“I told him just exactly where to cram his
drumsticks.”

Impressed by her restraint, Max snickered
under his breath as he watched her sway back down the hallway.
Strike three
,
Pirelli
. Grinning confidently, he
dialed his cell phone.

* * *

Cameron flew through her front door and
slammed it for good measure. Who the hell did Pirelli think he was,
playing her like that? She tossed her purse on the coffee table and
kicked her shoes off before sinking into the soft leather cushions
of the sofa and throwing an arm over her eyes.

Actually, she brought the whole thing on
herself. Had she not learned anything from past experience? She
snorted in the silence at her stupidity. She learned something from
her last relationship, all right. Not only had she been schooled in
the controlling nature of most hot-blooded males, she also learned
that they couldn’t be trusted. And with that newfound knowledge,
she even managed to package Vince with pantyhose and deliver him to
the police. Through her funk, she grinned at the memory.

She stood on the corner of Fifth and Elm in
Phoenix, Arizona, wearing her Gucci tortoise shell sunglasses and
her four inch Louis Vuitton stilettos, with him subdued by a pair
of nylons around his neck and tied to a stop sign. The responding
officer - when he finished laughing - had carted him to jail.

On that note, she sat up and brushed her hair
from her forehead. Sean Pirelli was not worth her disappointment.
Considering his notoriety for breaking dates with her at the last
minute, she should have known better. Wait a minute. Someone else
should have known better too. She rewound her conversation with
Max.
Is he expecting you? Has he ever surprised you?
Cameron
groaned. Why didn’t he just spit it out?

And what about all that touchy-feely stuff?
She remembered the comforting feeling of his big body so close to
hers and the quiet sympathy she felt in his touch. She gave herself
a hard shake. She wasn’t impressed. Come to think of it, all her
trouble started with flashing Max. It hadn’t been for his personal
entertainment, just an easy pass backstage. But as soon as she
lifted her top and saw Max’s hungry expression, she knew she’d made
a grave mistake. Everything had gone downhill from there. He was
just as hot-blooded as the rest of them and quite frankly, he
annoyed her with his cockiness. In fact, they did have something in
common: they annoyed each other.

She stood and headed for the kitchen to find
a tub of ice cream. It didn’t matter who knew what. She was taking
a vacation. A long vacation. From the male species.

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

With the drama of last night behind her,
Cameron hauled her sketchbook, colored pencils and fabric samples
up the driveway to Rachel’s house and stopped every six steps to
adjust the weight. The large, proud, two-story house stood in the
corner of an elegant, gated neighborhood and welcomed visitors with
a combination of both wealth and modesty that took rare talent to
pull off. Or genuine warmth. Cameron glanced at the periwinkles
planted in the flowerbed along the walkway. No one would ever guess
a rock star lived here.

The Hawke household gave her a warm fuzzy
feeling of home and family, something Rachel and Hawke managed to
incorporate with their desire to remain rooted despite Hawke’s
notoriety. Something she hoped to experience some day. Cameron
sighed. Too bad she was angry with the entire male species.

Finally reaching the front door, Cameron
planted an elbow firmly against the doorbell and leaned her weight
against it for added effect. Soon, she heard frantic footsteps
descend the stairs before Rachel threw open the door.

“Are your hands full or what?” Rachel giggled
and pulled Cameron inside to unload her arms.

“Thank God you and Hawke decided to settle
here in Diablo.” Cameron huffed and knocked the door closed with
her foot. “I never would’ve made it across the border with all this
junk.”

Much to Cameron’s relief, Diablo, Arizona,
located just across the California / Arizona line, welcomed Jaydon
Hawke with open arms. Although she was teasing about not making it
across the border, she was immensely relieved Hawke hadn’t whisked
Rachel away to some Hollywood palace. Especially since she and
Rachel had become business partners the moment they both arrived in
Diablo, a partnership that had become quite fruitful for both of
them. With Rachel’s architectural degree and hers in interior
design, they offered their clients the total package and had
references a mile long to support their skills.

“You’re too good for California.” Rachel led
Cameron to the living room.

Cameron plopped down on the sofa and kicked
off her shoes.

“New sandals?” Rachel teased, raising an
eyebrow.

Cameron nodded. “Ferragamo.”

Rachel lowered herself into a recliner
opposite Cameron and cleared her throat. “I have news.”

Cameron sorted her pencils on the coffee
table. “Good or bad?”

“I don’t know,” Rachel admitted.

Curious by Rachel’s tone, Cameron looked up
and narrowed her eyes. “Tell me.”

“Sean’s leaving the band.”

“Why?”

“Hawke said he’s distracted.”

Cameron snorted. “Yeah, by blonde bimbo
groupies.”

“What?”

“I caught him with someone else last night.”
Cameron shrugged. “Max didn’t tell you?”

“No! I can’t believe you didn’t say something
before now!” Rachel shrieked, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Hawke
would never have set you up for that.”

“Calm down. It’s no big deal. At least I
found out before I got too wrapped up in him.” Cameron shrugged
again. “Besides, I had a pretty good idea of what might happen
before I ever started seeing Sean in the first place.”

“Did you tell your father about the
break-up?”

Cameron picked up her sketchbook. “No. Some
things are in my best interest not to tell.”

“True, but I hoped things would work out
between you two.”

Cameron giggled. “Your hormones are
screaming, sister. Not all of us get as lucky as you, anyway.”

She glanced at Rachel’s protruding belly,
living proof that happily ever afters were real. Cameron envied
her, married to a rock ‘n’ roll icon who loved her endlessly and
now pregnant with their first child.

She sighed with her hand over her heart. “My
hero.”

“Okay, okay.” Rachel rolled her eyes at
Cameron’s drama. “Tell me what you have in mind for the
nursery.”

Cameron folded her legs underneath her and
began sketching. “I was thinking about Camelot.”

“You mean kings, queens, dragons and
knights?”

“Yeah.” Cameron’s mouth twisted wryly. “You
being such a dragonslayer and all.”

“Cameron!” Rachel gasped and tossed a look
over her shoulder toward the kitchen.

Cameron’s eyes widened. “Is Hawke home?”

Rachel lowered her voice. “Yes, and we agreed
you’d keep the secret.”

Cameron giggled at the infamous secret. She
had been awestruck when Rachel had told her about slaying the evil
zipper that held Hawke captive during their initial meeting. Rachel
made Cameron swear on the life of her cat she wouldn’t tell
anyone.

“I won’t tell,” she promised. “I really do
think the theme is appropriate.”

“I like it.” Rachel tapped her chin with her
index finger. “So, Cameron,” she said, lowering herself back into
the chair. “What do you think of Max?”

Cameron paused in mid-stroke and mentally
licked her lips. Max. Six feet, four inches of luscious, rock-hard
male.

“Paul Bunyon?” She switched pencils.

“No. Max, Hawke’s security manager.”

“Paul Bunyon,” Cameron insisted. “Why?”

“Just wondered.” Rachel flicked a nonexistent
piece of fuzz from her top.

Cameron grinned. “Nuh-uh, not me,
Rachel.”

“Why not? I think he likes you.”

“He likes to aggravate me.”

“Funny,” Rachel murmured, “he said the same
thing about you.”

“See?” Cameron chuckled. “We aggravate each
other.”

“Well, it was just a thought.”

“An outrageous thought,” Cameron agreed.

The ringing of the phone next to Rachel
interrupted her response. “Hold that outrageous thought.”

Cameron picked up her purple pencil and drew
a large dragon on her page. A dominating presence, its body filled
the paper from top to bottom, towering above the castle she’d
already drawn. With a few more strokes, she sketched the scales on
his massive chest to resemble steps leading from the top of his
belly to the base of his neck. She added an orange flame from his
open mouth and a pair of black sunglasses on his snout.

Then she looked at the fierce knight she’d
drawn earlier and giggled to herself as she picked up her yellow
pencil. Several circular motions later, springy, bouncy curls
peeked beneath the helmet. With one pass of her eraser over his
steel-plated boots, she made one last change. Within seconds, her
powerful warrior had become an independent, even more powerful,
female soldier, poised to slay the fire-breathing creature - in
fashionable high heels.

“Send her up,” Rachel said before
disconnecting and hanging up the phone.

Cameron tore the page from her sketchbook and
tucked it in the back cover of her portfolio inside her bag. Rachel
probably wouldn’t appreciate that particular cartoon on the nursery
walls.

“My drill sergeant is on the way,” Rachel
told her.

Cameron giggled. “Did you call Holly?”

Rachel nodded. “She’s taught me several new
breathing techniques. I’ll have to admit, yoga is a nice break from
Pilates.”

“Personally, I don’t know how you do it,
Rach. The last time I took one of Holly’s Pilates classes I
couldn’t move for a week.”

Rachel smiled and patted her stomach. “What’s
the difference? I can hardly move now.”

Cameron rolled her eyes as the doorbell rang.
“Sit. I’ll get it.”

Cameron opened the door to find Holly
standing there with her usual bubbly smile and several plastic yoga
mats in her arms.

“Hi, Holly, come on in.” She waved Holly
through the open door. “Rachel’s in the recliner.”

“Hi, Cameron. Are you going to stay and
exercise? I brought an extra mat.”

“Thanks anyway, but not today,” Cameron
answered over her shoulder as they approached the living room.

“Holly!” Rachel smiled and pushed out of the
recliner. “Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.” Holly laid the plastic mats on
the carpet in front of the sofa. “It’s nice to get out of the gym
once in a while.”

Cameron giggled inwardly and plopped back
down on the couch. Holly’s perfectly proportioned body proved she
rarely left the gym. In fact, if she and Holly were not neighbors
and friends, Cameron might be intimidated.

“By the way, Rachel,” Holly said as she
helped Rachel to the floor, “did you get a new security guard at
the gate?”

“No, why?” Rachel stretched her legs in front
of her.

Holly sat beside Rachel. “The guy down there
today is definite eye candy.”

Cameron frowned. “Who’s working the
gate?”

Rachel’s eyes twinkled as she answered.
“Max.”