Instant Attraction

Chapter 23

Katie’s heart executed a slow rollover in her chest as it exposed its underbelly.

All night…

All night worked for her. Yes, it did.

“Your room,” Cam murmured huskily in her ear, his arms tightening around her as he carried her across the cabin.

One of her bunny slippers fell off, but he just bent his head and kissed her, a deep, wild kiss, their tongues doing the same glide and dance that her body so desperately wanted. He was a force, she thought dazedly, a force of destruction as it pertained to her heart, one of passion when it came to her soul, and unbearable pleasure for her physical being-

“Oh!” she gasped as she hit the mattress. Before she’d bounced once, Cam had followed her down, his big body sprawled over hers, eyes glittering as he held her tight. “Caught you,” he murmured.

Yeah, he had. She had the feeling he always would, no matter how far she fell.

He was pulling off her clothes, his clothes, and she joined the fray, helping him shove off his outer shell and T-shirt to latch her mouth to his chest. She ran her hands up his smooth, sleek back, touching the tattoo around his biceps, touching everything she could reach. “We made it to a bed,” she murmured. “Finally.”

“Mmm-hmm.” He spread hot kisses along her jaw. “Now let’s make it on the bed…”

With a laugh, she met his mouth with her own, straining to get the rest of his clothes off. She tugged at his pants and he met her halfway, surging up to unbutton them; then she was once again distracted by the sight of that rugged chest. His six-pack abs made her mouth water, but even more amazing was the way the muscles quivered when she ogled him. She realized she finally had the space and the time to explore, and her own body humming at the thought, she pushed him down to the bed.

“Katie-”

“Shh.” She touched her tongue to his hips, traced it over his belly.

“Katie.” His voice sounded a little strangled as she made her way lower. “Don’t-”

She wrapped her fingers around his impressive erection and licked him like a lollipop. “Don’t…?”

“I mean don’t-I don’t want this to be over before I get inside you.”

“We can always start again…” Another lick.

And another deep, rumbling groan from the man sprawled beneath her, breathing hard, a light sheen of sweat coming out on his chest as he slipped his fingers into her hair. “This was supposed to be about you-God-” he choked out when her tongue swirled over the top of him.

“We’ll get to me.” She kissed him again, then gently, slowly sucked him into her mouth.

He jerked, his hips arching up to meet her. His fingers were still tangled in her hair, the tendons in his neck stretched taut, his expression such sheer, hot pleasure that she felt herself go damp just watching him react to her. And then suddenly she was flipped to her back, held there by over six feet of long, lean muscle.

Skin-to-skin, her bare breasts were mashed up to his chest as one of his powerful thighs slid between hers, pressing the heated core of her, ripping a needy little sigh from her. “So damned soft…” Holding her wrists in his hands, he shifted lower, then lower still, his shoulders urging her legs open. He kissed an inner thigh, then the other.

Then in between.

While she lost her mind, he ran his tongue over her, finding what he sought with feather-light strokes, then a little harder, until she twisted against him, her fingers caught in his, as she arched up into his mouth. “Cam-”

“You taste as good as you feel,” he murmured against her. At the next unerring stroke of his tongue, she cried out and her toes curled. At the next stroke, she bucked, but he had her, held her through it as she exploded in a kaleidoscope of sensations. When she opened her eyes, he was kissing her thigh, moving his way up to her belly, a breast…He lifted his head, and then his hand, which had a condom dangling from his fingers, which had her heart taking off again. Together, they struggled to get it on, a process that left him damp and trembling, and her ready to jump him.

When he sank into her with one thrust, she cried out in pleasure, and then again when he cupped the back of her thigh and tugged, opening her up to him even further.

“God, you feel good.” His voice was a thick whisper against her ear. “So goddamn good.”

She thought he felt pretty damn good, too, but she didn’t have the words, not then, and certainly not when he began to move within her. In and out, again, and then again, the fire licking down her body, settling between her legs. “Cam…” Love me.

Lifting his head, he stared into her eyes, his own open to her, open in a way he didn’t usually allow, showing her all he felt.

Helpless against the pull of that, her throat tightened as she strained against him so that they were plastered together, hot, damp skin to hot, damp skin.

She could feel how big he was, how wet she was, and he pushed even deeper within her. “Cam,” she whispered again.

He made a sound, a low, raw, rough sound, and slid a hand between their bodies, gently stroking her where he’d just had his tongue.

When she came again, it was with his body so deeply embedded in hers she didn’t know where she ended and he began, and it didn’t matter. He kissed her through it, his tongue gliding against hers as her body contracted around his, as with one last hard thrust, he followed her over, her name tumbling from his lips.

Cam woke up the next morning wrapped up in a warm, naked woman. Now that’s what he’d been talking about. The first time hadn’t taken, but this time… This time he’d beable to breathe again. He’d be able to go about his day without feeling as if he had a fist around his heart, tightening, squeezing.

Choking him.

And maybe now he’d be able to think about something other than Katie twenty-four/seven. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t even think about last night, how hot it’d been, she’d been, or the sound of her panting out his name, how she gripped him tight when he’d nudged her over the edge…how sexy she’d sounded in the throes.

No, he probably wouldn’t think about that much at all…

He let out a breath, extremely aware of the fact that his body was already there, thinking, hoping, yearning.

Damn.

Maybe one more time…

She opened her eyes and smiled softly, and he rolled her beneath him. Yeah, one more time should do the trick, really nail it home. “God, you feel good.”

“You make me feel good.” She cupped his face, her entire heart in her voice, and when he met her gaze, he was slammed by the look in hers.

Soft.

Dreamy.

Emotional. Oh, Christ, she was looking so damn emotional over him.

“What is it?” she murmured.

It was almost incomprehensible, but his brothers, the knuckle-heads, had been right.

This wasn’t lust.

Not even close.

No, it was something much, much deeper. Horrifyingly deep. Confused, he rolled away from her and slid out of the bed.

“Cam?”

“Yeah, would you look at the time?”

“It’s only seven. I didn’t look at the schedule. You have a trip?”

“I…” He couldn’t remember. He just needed to think this thing through. God, he needed to think, which he’d proved over and over again that he couldn’t manage in her presence.

Out. Get the hell out. He wasn’t proud of it, but that’s all that he could think.

Get out.

He whipped around, looking for his clothes, having never felt more naked in his entire life. He found his snow pants and yanked them on.

No shirt.

No shoes.

He’d probably have hypothermia before he got to his own cabin, and was weighing the odds against it when he felt her hand on his back. Nearly leaping out of his skin, he turned and found her standing in front of him.

Naked.

Beautifully, gloriously naked, except for her glasses, and he had the most ridiculous urge to grab her close and hold on, like he’d never held on to anything in his entire life.

“So,” she said very softly, still standing there, “you’re looking a little panicked.”

“I can’t find my shirt or my shoes.”

She walked over to the foot of the bed and picked up his T-shirt and his outer shell, still entangled since he’d ripped them off together last night. “No comment on the panicked thing?” she asked.

No. Again, he was going with the Fifth. And since she appeared in no hurry to give him his shirt, and also if he didn’t get out of here right this very second he was going to suffocate, he turned and headed to the door without it.

“Cam.”

“Yeah, I’m late. Very late.”

“I see.” Some of the softness went out of her voice, and he was quite certain, with a sudden sick dread, that if he looked into her eyes now, he’d see that the light usually in them, the precious light in those shimmering whiskey depths, would be gone.

“Late for what?” she asked. “The rest of your life?”

Yeah, something like that. Christ, he really was an ass. But knowing it didn’t alleviate one ounce of his sudden, irrational, undeniable panic.

Or the need to run. “I’m sorry,” he said with utter inadequacy.

She didn’t answer. Hating himself, he opened the door; then because he couldn’t stand it, glanced back at her over his shoulder as he did.

His two shirts hit him in the face. Pulling them down, he mumbled “sorry” again and turned to the very bright, sun-shiny morning, which hurt his eyes and hurt his gut. Hurt every damn thing as behind him the door slammed, nearly knocking him down the steps.

“Hey, genius.”

Annie stood on the path. She wasn’t alone. Of course she wasn’t alone, because hey, why should he face this moment of The-Biggest-Most-Stupid-Move-He’d-Ever-Made in private, when he rarely did any of his spectacularly stupid stunts in private?

Nick stood next to Annie, and there was Stone, and oh, perfect, T.J.

And…Riley, their office manager? “You’re back?”

“Not officially,” Riley said. “Just wanted to come by now that we’re back in town and see how your temp was faring, see if she needed anything for these last few days of her time here. But it seems as if you have it-and her…” he said wryly, “handled.”

Cam ignored that and moved down the walk to greet his brother, bracing himself to be questioned and grilled on his year-long absence, maybe hounded about his lack of responsibility during that time, because being the oldest, T.J. had always drilled that home.

But T.J. didn’t do any of that, or even say a word. He simply grabbed Cam and pulled him in.

It had always driven Cam crazy when people so easily and casually touched each other, and yet he found himself wrapping his arms around his brother and holding on.

With a low sound of relief, T.J. hugged him hard, then shoved him away to get a good look at him, his eyes suspiciously bright. “Damn, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“Yeah.” Cam’s throat was tight, too tight, and he shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the audience and the emotion. “Same goes.”

Annie’s hands were on her hips as she regarded his appearance, reminding him he stood there in only his unfastened pants, still holding his T-shirt and outer shell, his feet freezing.

“Where’re your boots?” Nick asked. “Man, you’re not supposed to let a woman keep your boots.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Annie turned to Nick. “Are you kidding me, you’re still mad I took your damn boots?”

“Hell, yeah. Those were my favorite boots, and you threw them away. I found them in the trash.”

“They were a hundred years old and smelled like rotten eggs.”

“My favorite,” he repeated. “My dad gave them to me.”

“He did?” The temper drained from Annie’s face. “Oh, Nick. I didn’t know.”

Nick lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay.”

“No,” she said softly, “it’s not. I was wrong.”

“Wait.” Nick lifted a hand and cupped it around his ear. “What?”

“I was wrong, dammit.”

Nick smiled. “Yeah, I heard you. I just wanted to hear it again.”

T.J. stepped in front of Nick so Annie couldn’t kill him, though he hadn’t taken his eyes off Cam. Neither had Stone. Nope, they both stood there looking at him freezing his balls off. With a shiver, he worked to turn his shirt right side out. “What the hell are you all doing out here?”

“Besides watching you take your walk of shame?” Stone asked. “Coming to tell you T.J.’s back. Didn’t realize you were busy getting dumped.”

“Yeah.” Cam pulled on his T-shirt. “Thanks.”

“So how did you fuck things up in one night?” T.J. asked.

Cam yanked on the outer shell next, wishing for his boots. Or socks. Or a hammer to hit himself over the head. He wanted to say something scathing, but his teeth were knocking together.

“Men are so stupid,” Annie muttered, just as Katie opened her front door. Everyone turned and looked at her.

She tossed out Cam’s boots, then shut the door with a rather loud finality.

Annie shot Cam a see look.

Yes, men were stupid. And he was their king.

Then the door opened again, and one more time everyone looked at Katie.

She had her gaze locked on T.J. and Riley.

“Hi,” Riley said. “I’m your counterpart Riley. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Katie said slowly, clearly surprised. “Did I mark your return date wrong on my calendar? I thought I wasn’t leaving until Sunday.”

Sunday, Cam thought. Four days from now.

How had that happened?

“Just visiting,” Riley assured her. “Unless you want out of here early.”

She hesitated, and Cam’s knees actually went weak. All he’d wanted was a moment to think, to breathe, to…process his feelings for her. The thought of her going early killed him.

Her gaze touched his for a long, torturous beat, during which time he held his breath. “No,” she finally said, “I don’t need out of here early.” She turned to T.J.

“Hi. I’m the smart brother.”

Him she offered a genuine smile. “Nice to finally meet you in person.”

Cam shoved his freezing feet into his boots and then turned to look at her, but she waved at everyone except him and then went back inside her cabin.

The click of the bolt sliding home echoed in the morning air. Yeah. That sounds final. He followed Annie and the others up to the lodge and into the kitchen for breakfast, which he happened to desperately need.

Fucking up his life made him hungry.

Annie had already made the fixings for breakfast burritos. Cam threw one together for himself, took a big bite, then paused when Katie walked into the room, headed directly for the pot of coffee to pour herself a mug.

“Morning,” Annie said to her.

“Morning,” she said back, nodding to Stone and T.J. while completely ignoring Cam. Which seemed about right. He’d ignore his sorry ass if he were her too.

Annie looked at him like say something, but Cam didn’t know what he could possibly say in front of everyone: Sorry I don’t know how to think and look at you at the same time. Are you sorry you kicked me out of your place in the subfreezing morning without all my clothes?

She didn’t look sorry as he drank in the sight of her, and when she met his gaze defiantly, the room fell quiet.

Not to mention the temperature dropped by ten degrees.

Nick sipped his coffee with a slurp.

Stone rocked his head to whatever beat he had going on his iPod.

T.J. cleared his throat.

And Annie sighed, then shoved Riley, T.J., and Stone toward the door. “Go.” Then she turned back to Cam with a look that said “fix this now” before vanishing herself.

Katie grabbed a tortilla, slapped some eggs and sausage into it, her irritation level high enough that even Cam, reigning King of the Stupid Males, could read loud and clear. “Katie-”

“I’ve got work.”

He managed to catch her at the door, barely, and she frowned down at his hand on her arm. “Sorry,” she said, “I don’t need my itch scratched right now.”

“Katie-”

“In fact, I don’t need anything from you; but if that changes, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

With that, she tugged free, and with her nose so far in the air that she was in danger of getting a nose bleed, she took off.

Cam looked at the empty kitchen, feeling just as empty. It wasn’t a new feeling. In fact, the emptiness had become an old friend, even before his accident. In the past, he’d combat it by getting on the mountain, or finding someone to keep his feet warm for a few hours.

But his old habits didn’t appeal. Oddly enough, for a guy who’d spent his entire life avoiding conflicts, the only thing he wanted to do was go after Katie and have it out with her.

Katie didn’t go upstairs. She was going to be late, and for once, she didn’t care. She needed a moment alone, away from Stone’s knowing eyes, Annie’s prying ones, and now there would be T.J.’s as well.

Good Lord, he looked just like the rest of them, all big, bad, sexy, and wild.

The Wilders were made of some pretty fine genes.

Damn them anyway.

Still gripping her burrito, she went out the front door and was promptly blasted by the icy air. No problem, it could cool off her temper. Nibbling on her breakfast, she walked around the back of the lodge, past a set of picnic tables. She didn’t feel like sitting. It looked as if it might snow any minute, but that didn’t stop her. Even given how she’d spent her night, she had an excess of energy that she needed to get rid of. So she hit the trail that led past the storage sheds and cabins, the one they’d snowshoed all those nights ago, which wound along the bluff high above the valley. She needed the gorgeous view with no one talking, no one charming, no one looking at her from a set of green eyes that tended to melt brain cells, heart, and panties with equal aplomb.

The trail had been gone over with the snowmobiles many times since their last storm, so she was able to walk it in her boots without sinking in, but it was still tough going. One thing about hiking with a spiked temper, the chill vanished. The crunch of the snow beneath her boots soothed her, as did the whistle of the pines in the light wind.

Someone was following her. She knew it was Cam, but he kept his distance, so she continued to hike and finish off her burrito while she was at it. She was going to see her pretty view, and when she was no longer steaming, she’d go back to work.

But Cam’s booted footsteps began to catch up with her. “Go away,” she said.

“I’m sorry, okay? Come on, Katie. Stop. We should talk.”

Ha! “That’s pretty funny, coming from you.” She sped up.

“Katie, seriously, wait up. You need to slow down-”

“Why, so you can charm my panties off again? No thank you.” She craned her neck to look at him while picking her pace up to a full-blown run now, which turned out to be a bad plan because in her brilliance, she ran right off the trail.

And slipped down the hill.