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“You know, if I have to answer those questions, then we have a serious problem from the get-go. Let’s just drop it, Cam. I’m going to return to the hotel and get some sleep. We can discuss this one later. ”
She stared outside the limo, watching the rain and the wind, feeling the fury of the lightning and the clashing force of the thunder inside her.
She had to curl her fingers into fists to keep from touching him, had to force her muscles to keep her in place and keep her from curling into his lap again.
“I’m not taking you back to your hotel,” he finally said.
Jaci stared back at him in disbelief. “Excuse me?”
He frowned back at her. “We’re going to discuss this, Jaci. I’m taking you back to my place, where we can do so in some semblance of peace. Courtney wouldn’t dare barge in on us there. She wouldn’t have a damned problem doing it at the hotel, though. ”
Arrogance tightened his features as he stared back at her, thinning his lips and turning his eyes to green fire.
“Have you ever heard of the term ‘kidnapping’?” she asked sweetly.
He leaned forward slowly. “It’s like this. Say ‘no. ’ That’s all you have to say—to anything I’m doing at the time—and you’ll go back to your hotel and I won’t bother you. Just one word: ‘No’. ”
“And if I do?” she asked him. “Tell me, Cam, just how will you play the wounded male, once I do that?”
“No means no,” he growled. “No repercussions. I won’t bother you again, unless you specifically request something. I’ll leave you alone. ”
“So, if I say no to going to your apartment, then things are just over? I accept it all, or I accept nothing? Now why does that little rule just piss me off further? You know what? Screw it, Cam. Fine—” The word was forming on her lips, ready to pass them, when his fingers touched them, halting the word.
“There are rules,” he said softly.
“Rules to what, Cam? To being with you? Sorry, I never was one for all those pesky little details. Shove your rules, too. ”
“There are rules to the lifestyle I live, not so much for you as for myself,” he revealed. “My control is shaky right now, sweetheart. I want you, until it’s eating me alive, but I’m trying to do this your way. We’ll talk. We’ll make this work. ”
She shook her head slowly. “You think we’re going to make this relationship work without trust, Cam?”
She saw the subtle flinch in his expression.
“What trust?” he finally asked. “Look, you can’t pay attention to everything Chase rattles on about. ”
“No, you’re right,” she whispered. “But I can pay attention to the shadows I see in your eyes. Do you think I’m one of what must be a long line of brainless idiots to inhabit your bed? Do you think I’ll ever be satisfied with only half of you?”
“It’s more than anyone else has ever had,” he told her. “And it may be, Jaci, that that’s all I have to give.
15
The rain was still pouring down when the limo pulled into the small lower level garage of the renovated warehouse.
Cam opened the door and stepped out, then turned and extended his hand to her.
“Are you going to run from me again, Jaci?” he asked her.
She should, she knew she should. Instead, she let him grip her fingers and pull her from the car.
“This doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to anything,” she informed him, as the limo pulled away.
“I understand that. ” He curled his fingers around hers and led her to the wide staircase that led to the next floor. “You need to rest. We need to talk. You can rest here, and later we can talk. ”
As if that was really going to happen, she thought with a silent, disbelieving snort. They were both so damned aroused it was a wonder they didn’t combust. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to sleep, with him so close to her. So close, yet so damned far away.
When he told her that half of himself was all he had to give, she hadn’t had an answer for him. What the hell was she supposed to say? That it wasn’t good enough for her? She had promised herself that if she ever had the chance again, she would fight for him. That she wouldn’t run like the scared little girl she had been before. She had promised herself she would try not just her way, but his way as well.
But to realize that the man she had waited for all these years wasn’t willing to give enough to even sleep with her, left her feeling strangely bereft.
