Page 34 of Hard Rock Sin

Cameron looked back at me, surprised. He quickly glanced down to where his hand was gripped in mine. He glanced back up.

"I don't…" My other hand fisted in the material of my shirt. "I don't want to be alone."

Cameron ran a hand through his bangs, revealing both eyes. He flicked his gaze to my bed, then back to mine.

"Lily, I don't think—"

"Please. Will you sleep with me?"

I didn't even blush at the connotation. I was too exhausted, too overwrought, for thoughts of attraction and lust and other, more serious, feelings. All I knew was that I didn't want to go back to that bed alone.

Cameron seemed to exhale a deep breath. He stared at me. I stared back. I don't know what he saw on my face, in my eyes, but he eventually nodded.

"Okay. Just for tonight."

Chapter Eleven

Iawoke with a gasp, launching myself upright in bed. I panted for breath, my heart racing in my chest.

"What? What is it?"

I turned to find Cameron lurching out of bed to sit next to me. His red hair was bedraggled, falling over his face.

I was befuddled for a brief moment before it came back to me. Cameron had agreed to stay the night with me. I'd been too scared to be alone. There hadn't been a real intruder, but that didn't stop my imagination from going into overdrive.

"Was it a nightmare?" His eyes were heavy lidded with sleep, but I could still detect the concern in them.

"I don't remember." My voice was still shaky and weak.

"Why don't you lie back and try to get some sleep?" Cameron suggested.

I nodded silently and settled back into bed, but I was now wide awake. I couldn't remember all of my dreams, but I still felt the effects. Adrenaline spiking through my veins, breathing sped up. I began to tremble.

A small touch on my shoulder made me jump.

"Hey, it's just me," Cameron was still hovering over me. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I don't think I believe you." His voice held a hint of teasing. That hand drifted from my shoulder to stroke my hair, the same way he had earlier when he pulled me from the bathroom.

God that was embarrassing. I pulled the covers up to my nose and tried not to groan.

But the soft touch of his fingers sifting through my hair was enough of a distraction.

Cameron stilled. He pulled his hand back and shifted away from me, as if suddenly realizing what he was doing.

I began to notice things I hadn't noticed earlier. Cameron was wearing a thin white t-shirt, tight enough that I could see the outline of his abs. The exposed skin of his chest and arms were covered in ink. The shifting of his muscles beneath his skin as he pushed his hair out of his eyes made my mouth go dry.

I averted my eyes quickly. I didn't want Cameron to catch me looking. Didn't want him to see me staring at him as if I were dying of thirst and had just found an oasis.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked. "Sometimes it helps to get things off your chest."

Those words made my thoughts drift back to my dream. That spike of fear returned. My whole body tensed. Cameron must have sensed it.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," he continued. "It was just a false alarm. There was nothing on the security cameras. It was probably just a trash panda."

I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.