So Good: A Ribbon Ridge Novel (Love on the Vine Book 1) (20 page)

He pulled away, sighing. “I could do this all night. But we don’t have a lot of time.”

“I know. The bartender sent me up here because the other bathroom was in use. He’ll send others…”

This galvanized him. He hiked up her skirt, baring her legs.
 

She undid his belt and his pants and said, “Condom,” into his mouth.

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket. She watched as he withdrew a condom, then tossed his wallet to the floor. She pulled at the waistband of his boxer briefs until his cock was exposed. She couldn’t resist running her hand along his length and smiled when he moaned again.

She helped him don the condom, and then his hands were on her. He pushed her thighs farther apart and went straight for her clit, teasing and rubbing the sensitive spot until she moaned. She tried to be quiet, but it was nearly impossible. “Someone’s going to hear me.”

“Baby, I’d like nothing more than to hear you scream my name.” He slipped his finger inside her. “But don’t.”

She clutched at his hips. “Cameron.” Her whispered plea made him smile.

“That works. Just keep saying that.” He stroked his finger into her and kept his thumb on her clit.
 

Damn, he was skilled. And she did precisely as he asked, murmuring his name over and over as pressure built inside her.

Then he was at her entrance, and his mouth was on hers once more. He pushed into her, and she slumped against him as sensation overwhelmed her. It had been so long since she’d done this, and probably forever since she’d wanted anyone this badly.

He began to move, his hips thrusting, his cock filling her. She pressed into him, her breasts flush against his chest. She clutched at his hips, urging him faster and deeper.

He braced his hand on the wall behind her and clasped her waist as he drove into her, increasing the pace. Pleasure assaulted her, and she knew if he wasn’t kissing her, she’d be making a vociferous fool of herself. As it was, the cabinet began to rock and hit the wall.

“Hurry,” she urged between kisses.

He gripped her harder and thrust even faster, increasing the knocking of the cabinet. Her muscles contracted as her orgasm started. Her eyes were closed, but she saw brilliant white light as he pulsed into her. A dozen more strokes maybe, and she felt him stiffen. She kissed him deeply, swallowing his moans and taking them into herself as spoils for a battle well fought—and won.

She hadn’t meant for this to happen, but she was sure as hell glad that it had.

She held on to him tightly as they slowed their movements. He softened the kiss, tugging on her lip as he eased away from her. He caressed her cheek before turning toward the toilet to take care of the condom. She focused on adjusting her clothing and slid off the cabinet.

The toilet flushed, and when he turned back, his pants were done up. He bent and retrieved his wallet, then stashed it in his back pocket.
 

Brooke smoothed her hand down her dress and went to him. She started buttoning his shirt. “Thank you. That was nice.”

“Nice?” His eyes still held a bit of their wild intensity. “That was fucking incredible. Please don’t tell me it was just nice.”

“It was amazing. And I have to admit, I feel much, much better.” She didn’t remember the last time she’d felt so…satisfied.

He laughed, dark and sexy. “I hope so. And I hope this means your date was a total bust.”

It hadn’t been great, but it also hadn’t been a total bust. And she blamed its lack of greatness on Cam. She’d kept comparing Justin to Cam in her head, and poor Justin had consistently come in second place. He’d asked to see her again, and she’d said yes, if only because she thought she owed it to him to give him another shot. Maybe now that she’d exorcised her crazy lust for Cam, she could give Justin the attention he deserved.

She finished the last button and stepped back. “It was an okay date. It didn’t end like this.” Damn, he looked sexy. His hair was mussed, and now his eyes had this dazed, satiated quality. He looked like he’d just been screwed, and he’d liked it. Wondering how she looked, she turned to survey herself in the mirror. Her hair was also a bit ragged, and her cheeks were flushed.
 

“Great to hear.” He leaned close to her ear. “You’re gorgeous.” He pressed a quick kiss to her temple, then looked at his reflection.

The sound of footfalls made them both freeze as they were tending to their hair. Brooke held her breath. The knob tried to turn, and this was followed by a knock.

“Just give me a minute,” Cam answered.

“No problem.” More footfalls. Was he walking away?

Cam took a deep breath and finished finger-combing his hair back into its style. He winked at her, then went to the door. After unlocking it, he opened it just enough to peer through the gap. “Coast looks clear,” he said.

Brooke exhaled fully, and her shoulders dropped. He held the door open. “After you.”

“Thank you.” She preceded him and walked down the hallway toward the stairs.

He caught up to her and snagged her hand, drawing her past the stairs to a small dining room. “Hey. What now?”

Shit. That was the one question she’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask.

H
e really hadn’t meant to ask that. Wasn’t that the reason they’d tried to keep from having sex, because it would open up a can of worms? “Forget I said that. I had a great time.”

She visibly relaxed, and his ego took a minor hit. Had he hoped she’d fall at his feet? No, but he hoped they could do this again. He hadn’t realized he’d feel that way, but now it seemed rather obvious. He liked her a lot, and it wasn’t just about the sex or being physically attracted to her. She was fun to be with, and he respected her drive and work ethic. She also had a vulnerability that he longed to explore. Something about her brought out a desire to care for her, protect her even. He hadn’t felt that way about someone in a long time. In fact, he didn’t know if he’d ever felt that about Jennifer. But then it had turned out that she hadn’t ever really opened herself up to him. Maybe Brooke would be different.

Cam pushed those thoughts away. They were dangerous and probably pointless.
 

Brooke untwisted the strap of her dress and smoothed it over her shoulder. “I had a great time too. But, uh, let’s hope this is one and done. Out of our system. Probably for the best, right?”

“Definitely.” Maybe not. He actually wanted to take her home right now and go for round two. No, he wanted to hold her hand and go for a walk. Something. Anything that would prolong this feeling of…happiness.

His blood turned to ice. Happiness scared the hell out of him. That he’d felt before. And he didn’t like it when it was evoked by other people. That meant it could be decimated by other people too.

“Shall we go back downstairs?” she asked. “I stashed my purse in a corner. Hopefully it’s still there.”

“I’m sure it is. Let’s go find out.” He stepped aside, and she walked out in front of him, then turned and went down the stairs.

He watched her, remembering the feel of her against him, thinking that he’d never be able to look at her and not recall what it felt like to hold her in his arms.

He had a feeling that one and done was a pipe dream.

They didn’t pass whoever had come up to use the bathroom, but as soon as they walked back into the bar area, Hayden approached them.

“There you are,” he said. “Hi Brooke, how’s it going?” He looked between them, and Cam couldn’t decide if Hayden was trying to figure anything out. Since he and Cam’s brothers seemed hell-bent on pairing him with Brooke, he had to assume Hayden’s mind was churning ideas about why they’d come downstairs together.

“Good, thanks. Excuse me, I need to find my purse before someone walks off with it.” She flashed Hayden a smile and quickly departed for the main dining room.

Cam watched her go because, really, there was absolutely no reason for him to accompany her. Except he wanted to.

Hayden pulled him toward the windows, away from the more crowded area near the bar. “I’ve been here a good ten minutes, and you’ve been…upstairs? With Brooke? Spill.”

Cam knew there was no point in telling him to fuck off. Cam had butted in the same way when Hayden had tried to avoid falling back in love with Bex. As if they’d ever fallen out of love. Cam had sometimes wondered if he was still in love with Jennifer, if that was the real reason he hadn’t moved on. But then his insides pitched with disgust, and he felt nauseated. Nope, he was pretty sure that ship had sailed right into the Bermuda Triangle. And good riddance to it.

“It’s complicated,” Cam said.

“I’m sure it is. Are you guys together or not?”

That depended on what he meant by “together,” but Cam wasn’t going to split hairs. “Not.”

Hayden exhaled. “You usually tell me about your conquests. This is disappointing.”

Cam narrowed his eyes. “Brooke isn’t a conquest.”

Hayden’s eyes widened. “Aha.”

Cam had fallen for that one. “You’re a dick.”

Hayden smiled. “Takes one to know one, but you know that.”

Brooke came back toward them, waving her clutch. “Found it.”

Cam hadn’t expected her to come back. He was pleasantly surprised. “I said you would.”

She nodded. “I’m going to take off. Oh, I keep forgetting to ask you something.” She transferred her attention to Hayden. “That brick you showed me, I told Kelsey about it—she’s the new librarian, and she’s putting together a Ribbon Ridge exhibit. She’d like to include it. She’s going to try to find out more about it with Alaina and Crystal.”

“Right, I talked to her about the museum. It sounds great,” Hayden said. “Of course the brick should go in the exhibit.”

“I’m meeting with them tomorrow night, so I’ll tell them, thanks.”

“Yeah, anything we can do to help,” Hayden offered. “Just let us know.”

“Will do.” She darted a glance at Cam. “See you guys.”

Hayden lifted his hand. “Bye.”

“See you,” Cam murmured.
 

Hayden turned back to Cam. “You’re sleeping with her.”

“Not really.” That was true, right? There had been absolutely no sleeping, and that phrase made it sound like what they had done was an ongoing thing. “No, I’m not. We, uh, we have some chemistry, but I think we resolved it.” He highly doubted that, but maybe if he repeated it to himself over and over, it would come true.

Hayden didn’t look convinced either. “If you say so. Whatever you do, don’t drive her away. She’s really good at her job.”

Cam gave him an exasperated stare. “I know. But thanks for the reminder. Are you going to stand here and harass me about Brooke, or are we going to do what we came here to do and talk up our wine?”

Hayden held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean to piss you off. You really like her. That’s great. I hope it works out.”

“There’s nothing to work out.” Though as he said it, Cam couldn’t help but hope he was wrong. “I’m getting more wine.” He turned toward the bar.

Hayden clapped him on the back. “Right behind you, bro.”

T
he next evening, Brooke walked into The Arch and Vine. Kelsey had invited her to meet Alaina and Crystal to discuss the Ribbon Ridge exhibit.

She glanced around the interior, looking for the others. The man behind the bar, which was situated in the middle of the space, nodded toward her. “You can seat yourself. Or can I help you with something?”