No!
No!
No!
I was not going to do it. I was not going to care about him. I refused to care about him. What I actually needed to do right now was to get the hell out of there. I jumped to my feet and rushed over to my equipment, checking it one last time before running for the door. But just as I was about to exit, just as my foot was about to cross that threshold, I stopped.
‘Lizzzzzyyyy.’ I scolded myself, but the second I did, I already knew I was going to do it.Dammit!I rushed back to Cam and dropped to my knees. As I leaned over him, the scent hit me. So familiar. That hair wax, that cologne, he still smelt exactly the same—
I screamed as his arms shot out and grabbed me around the knees. Before I could react, he yanked hard, and suddenly my entire body was being lifted off the ground.
‘Cam!’ I yelled, but he didn’t stop. Instead he pulled my knees to his chest and wrapped his arm around them, clasping them tightly. Then he stood up, and my entire body flopped backwards until I was dangling off him like a rag doll. I twisted. Squirmed. Grabbed at my ankles frantically in an attempt to break free of his hold, but it was pointless. And impressive. Not many men would be able to lift my ninety-kilogram frame. But then I’d forgotten that Cam wasn’tmany men. Something fell over my face, covering my eyes and mouth as if I was wearing a veil on my wedding day. I tried to blow it away, but it just billowed up momentarily and then fell back down.What the hell was it?
And that was when I realised that my dress was now hanging over my head as I dangled upside down in Cam’s grip, my crotch planted firmly in his face with nothing but a stupid tiny bikini covering it. This was so undignified, and sonothow I ever imagined our reunion going. And I had no way of getting out of it. He knew that, and now, unfortunately, so did I.
‘I should have let you pass out!’ I said, as the blood began pooling in my face. I put one of my hands on the floor behind me, engaged a core that I’d spent years working on in the gym and on the rugby field, and smoothly pulled myself up, pushing my dress between my legs. With the veil lifted, I was finally able to stare into his face.
‘Impressive,’ he said, nodding at me. ‘Not that I would expect anything less from you.’
I did not want his approval.
‘What can I say, I’ve been working out.’
‘I can see that.’ He made no attempt to hide the fact that his eyes were sweeping across my broad shoulders.
I shook my head at him in disdain. ‘I really,reallyshould have let you pass out.’
‘But you didn’t,’ he said.
‘And believe me, I have deep regrets.’
And then a small smile started snaking across those stupid lips of his. ‘See, you do still love me.’
I jerked back in response to those audacious words. It felt like they’d balled themselves into a fist and punched me in the gut. Those words held so much meaning for us, and I hated that he’d just said them out loud.
The air between us stilled. Because we both knew it had been real once, even if it had only been for a moment. Those words might have started out as a joke, but they’d definitely not ended as one.
Shit.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. But it was what we used to say to each other . . . well, what I used to say to her whenever she released me from a submission. But now, after everything that had happened between us, those words had a weight to them that couldn’t be lightened by my joking tone.
What do they say about jokes . . . many a true word? Because between the chokeholds, between her rolling her eyes and me pretending not to care, there’d always been something underneath it. The truth.
But now the words felt awkward in my mouth, almost tainted. Like something precious that had been cracked and put back together. And you knew it would never be the same again.
CHAPTER 12
Cam finally let me go. I hit the ground and just stood there in front of him, smoothing my dress down – not that it mattered now. My actual half-naked crotch had been in his face.
‘I didn’t think I’d catch you out with that one, not after all these years,’ he said.
‘What the hell are you doing here, Cam?’ I shot back.
His hair was tousled, his cheeks were flushed pink, and a thin layer of sweat was busy glistening on his forehead like fucking glitter. This man was a very dangerous thirst trap; he offered the kind of cool hydration that led to extremely poor life decisions followed by years of deep, deep regret. Well, I was not thirsty. I was not going to drink from his cocktail of charm and too-good looks. I would rather dehydrate.
We were both out of breath as we stood there. Wrestling with Cam had always been a challenge, and after six years of not sparring with him, it was like being thrown back into the deep end. His eyes flicked up and down my body, soaking me in from head to toe. I thrust my chin into the air indignantly, bracing myself for whatever smug comment I was sure was about to come my way.
‘I know it’s been six years, and a lot changes, but I never thought I’d see you in a dress,’ he said.
