Stick Shift (19 page)
“Look at me, Lily.”
He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his, then brushed her tears away with his other hand. His gaze traveled over her face, and a frown marred his. She'd been right too. Just one look into those eyes and she was lost. She 141
could no more resist him than she could do without air to breathe, but why was he frowning? Was he upset because she was crying? What had he expected, though, after what he'd said? “What's wrong, Cam?”
He shook his head this time, but didn't let go of her chin, only tightened his grip slightly. “Do you have any idea what I had to promise Alli to get your address out of her?”
She smirked; couldn't help it. It was the last thing she'd expected him to say.
God, what had Alli done? “No.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“I had to promise to let her auction me off at her company's annual charity event, and I had to promise her a blank check so she could win.”
Lily closed her eyes and smiled at the mental image of a tenacious Alli wringing all sorts of promises out of a helpless man in need of something only she could give him. She relaxed slightly. “Well, it's for a really good cause.”
“A good—Lily, I give to good causes all the time. I give and give and give. But I think it's time I take now. And you are what I want most to take.”
She reached up and touched his face, her fingers brushing against his lips. “I really did do what I thought was best, Cam. I thought some of what was happening on the track was my fault, and then there was the conversation with Ronnie, and…”
“I know. Ronnie, too, was trying to do what was best for me. Though I don't have all the answers, and though I don't know how to find that perfect place between the two loves in my life, you and he needed to trust me to try and then trust me to come to you.”
“I'm sorry, Cam. I didn't mean to hurt you or upset you.”
“I know, baby. You can make it up to me.”
“I can? How?”
“You can sleep with me. Let me screw your brains out,” he said just before he nipped the end of her nose with his lips. “And then…”
“There's more?”
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“Oh yes, there's more.” He kissed her lips. “You can give me the rest of the summer to convince you we belong together, that you are the best thing in the world for me, and that I can handle both the pressure of the races and the delight of having you in my bed.”
“Cam…”
“The rest of the summer, Lily. Starting now.”
“And if by then I'm still not convinced?” She was already convinced; she just wanted to toy with him. She needed to believe she had him.
“Then I'll just have to convince you to stay with me through the rest of the season and try some more.”
“You'd try in the off-season too?”
“Without a doubt. I won't give up, Lily, so you might as well just give in.”
“You make it sound so easy, Cam.”
He slid his hands under her shirt and dipped his head to the side of her neck.
“It is so very easy, baby.”
Fingers tugged at her nipples as his lips left a trail of heat in their wake until they settled against hers. “Cam?”
“Mmmm. Yes?”
He pinched the tingling buds, making her gasp against his mouth. “What's in the box?”
His head snapped up, but his fingers never stopped teasing her. Wide blue eyes showed surprise and then darkened in mischief. Uh-oh.
“The box? I'm trying to… We haven't… I haven't been able to touch you in nearly twenty-four hours, and you're asking me again about the box?”
“Yes.”
“I'll show you. Come on.” He led her across the room with his fingers pulling at her nipples. If she lagged too much, pleasure-pain sliced through her, and so she
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lagged—a lot. He positioned them so they were standing sideways in front of the couch. “Pick up the box.”
He didn't let go of her, so she bent her knees, that deliciously naughty tingling flowing through her at the tension the position put on her nipples. She stood up straight again after picking up the box and held it in one hand while untying the red bow with the other. She opened the lid. “Cookies. You brought me molasses cookies.” Tears threatened to spill again.
“If sex didn't work, I figured the cookies might. However, you keep diverting my attention from ravishing you, and you need to be punished for that.”
Punished? Ravished? “Spanking?” She tried to keep the arousal out of her voice, the need, the hunger.
“Spanking,” he confirmed, smacking her on the lips with a loud kiss.
Lust and love shot through her. “In that case, since I'm already in need of attention-focusing punishment, I think I'll have a cookie first.”
Cam laughed and the sound warmed her heart. “Yes, go ahead, baby. Your mouth is going to be too occupied later for one.”
Lily's breath caught, and her cheeks heated. He was going to drive her crazy with his lust, his craving for her, but that was more than fine. She'd willingly be driven to the brink of sanity with it if it meant he would be with her two hundred miles an hour all the way.
Lissa is thirty-eight and lives in the beautiful state of North Carolina.
Find out more about Lissa and what she's up
to at http://lissamatthews.com.