Smiling, I realized I believed him.
I didn’t know if I trusted him completely yet, but at least I knew that in that moment I believed him. I drew his head down to mine, pressing my mouth to his for a kiss sweetened not just by the satisfaction of great sex but by emotion as well. When I let him up for air, I grinned at him, feeling a bit like a kid who’d found out Santa Claus was real after all. ‘You’ll have to tell me if I snore.’
He frowned. ‘No one’s ever told you before?’
‘I’ve had a sleepover once and I didn’t stick around in the morning to ask.’
‘You mean you’ve only stayed with a guy once?’ I knew by the hardness in his eyes that he’d drawn the right conclusion as to why that was.
I shrugged, turning my head away, embarrassed that I’d brought it up now and worried what he’d think. ‘Yeah.’
‘Jo?’ He touched my chin, turning my head so I had to meet his gaze. ‘They were dicks. All of them.’
‘Let’s not talk about them.’
‘We’ll talk, just not now.’ And with that ominous warning, he withdrew from me and went to get rid of the condom. When he returned from the bathroom seconds later he pulled the duvet down underneath me so I could crawl on to the sheets, and he slid in beside me, covering us. I rested on my side, my head on his pillow, my nose inhaling the smell of his cologne, my heart suddenly racing again as I realized I didn’t know what to do.
It became quickly apparent that I had no reason to be anxious.
Cam’s strong arms wrapped around my waist as he snuggled in behind me, my naked bottom pressed to his groin, his legs entangling themselves in mine. ‘ ’Night, baby.’ His voice rumbled in my ear and I felt my stomach flip at the possessiveness in those two words.
Smoothing my hands down over the arms that held me close, I burrowed back against him and let myself melt. ‘ ’Night.’
My butterflies actually woke me up, my eyes blinking open to find my cheek pressed against Cam’s bare chest, my arm thrown across his stomach, and his hand resting on the curve of my waist as I lay curled into him. The fluttering in my stomach only worsened.
Cam must have seeped into my subconscious, all my concerns and exhilaration waking me. There was my excitement at being with him, and yet the anxiety over throwing away a secure relationship with Malcolm for this passionate but nevertheless somewhat shaky relationship I’d developed with Cam. Unlike any man I’d met, he could rile me, piss me off, argue with me until we were blue in the face … all of which screamed ‘disaster waiting to happen!’
Yet I had to weigh that against the unbelievable chemistry between us, the awe-inspiring sex, his concern and consideration once he’d stopped being a prick, his patience, and how down-to-earth he was. I loved that he could admit when he was wrong, that he saw things in me no other man had, and that he had taken time to get to know Cole. I liked Cam. I really liked him, and I knew as I lay there that I would have lost the tiny sliver of self-respect I’d had left if I’d walked away from those feelings, if I had given up on them because of another man’s wealth and what it could bring me and Cole.
Cole.
I tensed a little, fretting at the thought of my brother. I didn’t have nearly enough saved for his future. I needed to go job hunting again, see if I couldn’t find something that paid better than Meikle & Young’s.
‘Whatever you’re thinking, I’m not sure I’m going to like it,’ Cam murmured sleepily.
I tilted my head back in surprise, my eyes meeting his drowsy gaze. ‘What?’
He squeezed my waist. ‘You were warm and relaxed, and then I felt your whole body get tense. What’s up?’
‘Worrying about my job. Worrying I should try to get something that pays better than Meikle’s.’
‘Never mind better pay. How about someone who treats you better?’
I made a noise of agreement.
‘So is that what you do first thing in the morning? Worry?’
Smiling at him, I nodded. ‘If you’re sticking around you’ll need to get used to it.’
He tightened his embrace. ‘If I’m sticking around, I’ll do my best to make bloody sure you never have to worry again.’
My breath caught. Damn, I hoped it wasn’t going to become a habit of his to say romantic crap that robbed me of speech all the time. ‘Smooth talker,’ I answered a little hoarsely, and his lips twitched with amusement, as if the arrogant bugger knew that his words liquefied my insides.
‘What time is it?’
‘I don’t know. I gave Malcolm back the Omega watch.’
‘That was good of you.’