Page 28

Cameron

T his was not happening. It couldn’t be.

There was no way on earth I could possibly be this unlucky.

Attacked twice in a week, and now my ex-boyfriend had surprised me at my house to find a guy who looked like a fucking underwear model leaning on my kitchen counter less than four hours after we’d broken up.

An underwear model I’d just dry-humped less than ten minutes ago.

Could I lie and say he was Mom’s new boyfriend? That thought vanished as soon as it formed. She was gorgeous and looked young for her age, but Rick knew she wouldn’t go for someone much younger than her.

Rick and Nate stared at each other in awkward silence. The look on Nate’s face was strange. Surprise, sure, but also shrewd suspicion. Almost like he’d met Rick before and couldn’t place him.

The look on Rick’s face was easier to interpret. Unmitigated anger. Finally, he jabbed his finger in Nate’s direction again.

Nate gave him a knowing smile. “Thought I smelled something.”

I frowned.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Rick snarled, taking a single step toward Nate.

My anxiety spiked. I was terrified that these two men might start brawling in my kitchen. Though, if Nate saw Rick’s movement as a threat, he didn’t show it. Instead, he continued to lean on the counter and now grinned back at Rick.

Nate cocked an eyebrow. “Well, one of us should be. Right?”

Rick’s lips peeled back, showing his teeth almost like a snarling dog. The hatred in Rick’s eyes made no sense. Even if he thought I was fooling around so soon after breaking up with him, shouldn’t his anger be directed at me? Why did he look like he wanted to kill Nate with his bare hands?

“Do you two know each other?” The question popped out of my mouth before I could think about it.

Nate smirked. “In a manner of speaking.”

“No, we don’t,” Rick said, never taking his eyes off Nate.

Mom, noticing the tension, decided it was a good time to interject.

“Rick,” she said, patting Nate’s arm familiarly in a way she’d never done with Rick. “This is Nate. He’s here to protect Cameron.”

“He’s not protecting me,” I snapped. “Remember? He’s… uh, on a stakeout.”

Nate shrugged, then winked at Rick. “Maybe I’m protecting her a little bit.”

“Yeah,” Gael piped up. “He’s staying the night. He’s cool.”

Closing my eyes, I tried to think of how this wasn’t the worst possible situation ever. Of course, closing my eyes gave me a moment to think of the actual worst thing that could have happened.

Rick barging into the bathroom while Nate was slamming his cock into me.

Glad I can look on the bright side.

“If anyone is staying the night to watch over Cameron, it’s me,” Rick growled, jamming his thumb into his chest for emphasis.

I sighed. “Rick, this isn’t what you think. The cops contacted Nate. He’s searching for the guy who attacked me. If he did show up for some reason, I think he’d be better able to handle that than you. He’s experienced. You’re just a lawyer and?—”

Rick’s glare cut me off. It took me a second to realize I’d basically just emasculated him in front of everyone.

It was always so hard to remember how touchy men were when it came to strength and fighting prowess.

Even if it wasn’t true, every guy liked to imagine themselves as Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris, and I’d just hurt Rick’s ego.

That didn’t give him the right to look at me that way, though.

We were no longer together. He didn’t have the right to glare at me like some kid who’d done something wrong, and it pissed me off that I crumpled under his angry stare.

Forcing myself to meet his gaze, I readied myself for a fight.

I didn’t want it, but I wasn’t going to sit back and let him lord over me.

Not when I’d told him, in no uncertain terms, that we were through.

“It’s fine,” Nate cut in. “I’ll leave. It’s not a problem. I’ll watch the place from outside.”

“Where are you gonna sleep?” I asked. “All you have is a motorcycle.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m used to making do.”

“I fucking bet,” Rick said, eyeing him up and down. “Done much panhandling lately?”

“Rick!” I gasped. “Stop.”

He seemed not to have heard me and continued staring daggers at Nate, who looked like he couldn’t care less about any of this.

“Hey, bud?” Nate called out to Gael.

“Yeah?” Gael looked shocked to have been pulled into this.

“Do me a favor and grab my boots from the bathroom?”

“Sure,” he said, and nearly broke into a run, probably to escape the oppressive adult tension in the room.

“Rick,” Mom said warily, “I think this is all a misunderstanding. Nate is a nice boy. You need to calm down.”

Her words made me want to shrivel up and die. Why couldn’t she stay quiet? Rick glanced at her, looking somewhat hurt. She’d never called Rick a “nice boy.” He’d tried to get on her good side for months. Her comment would only inflame the situation more.

Thankfully, Gael returned quickly and handed Nate his boots.

“Are you leaving or not?” Rick said, taking another step closer to Nate.

Nate didn’t bother looking at Rick. Instead, he slipped on his boots, then went about neatly folding the towel and draping it on one of the chairs.

“Mrs. Torres, it’s been a pleasure.” He turned to Gael and bumped fists with him. “Remember what I said about that game, little man. Stay cool.”

“I will!” Gael said with an enthusiasm only an eleven-year-old could muster. He knocked his fist against Nate’s.

I could almost feel Rick vibrating with rage. I’d never seen him that mad. In fact, I didn’t know he could get this angry. It was completely out of character.

Of course, he’d never barged into my house to find a half-naked man. A really hot , half-naked man.

Nate, still shirtless, walked toward the door, his boots thumping on the floor as he went.

He walked past Rick so close that, for a heart-stopping second, I thought one of them might throw a punch.

Rick eyed him with unwavering hatred while Nate looked at Rick the way I imagined a scientist might look at some new discovery under a microscope.

Like he wanted to dissect Rick and figure out what was going on beneath the surface.

Swallowing hard, I opened the door for Nate.

“Have a good night, Cameron,” he said, giving me a mischievous grin before stepping out. My cheeks flamed as our encounter in the bathroom replayed across my mind.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “You too.”

A moment before the door shut, Nate gave me one last smoldering look before heading down the stairs.

The door clicked shut, and a strange, overwhelming sense of loss filled me.

Rick came up behind me, putting a hand on my lower back.

Almost immediately, my headache returned. It had been gone the entire afternoon.

“Glad that douchebag’s gone,” Rick said.

I flinched away from his touch, and before I could tell him what I thought, Mom spoke.

“You weren’t very nice, you know,” Mom said disapprovingly from the kitchen. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Rick a reproachful look.

Rick sighed heavily, then whispered, “How about I take you out for dinner, huh? We can talk about whatever this was in private?”

“Rick.” I rounded on him, no longer caring that Mom and Gael could hear. “I told you we’re done. What part of that did you not understand?”

“You broke up?” Mom gasped, and when I glanced at her, I saw her fighting off a smile.

Rick didn’t bother looking at my mother. Instead, he held his hands out, pleading. “Give me a chance, Cam. A couple hours to explain? Try to get you to see my side or something?”

The last thing I wanted was to do that. All I really wanted was to go lie down.

But I had broken up with him over the phone.

The adult thing to do was to let him have his say in person, though I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I wasn’t going to change my mind about our relationship, but I thought it would be good to end this the proper way.

Plus, the way Mom and Gael were glaring at Rick told me it might be better to separate everyone.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” I said, rubbing at my temple. “We can eat or something, but I’m being serious, Rick. I’m not changing my mind. Let me go get freshened up, okay?”

“Sure,” Rick said, and glanced over his shoulder at my family. “I’ll wait at the stairs if that’s all right.”

After brushing my teeth really quickly, I ran a brush through my hair and reapplied deodorant.

Before leaving the bathroom, I glanced down and saw Nate’s dirty T-shirt on the floor.

Against all my best wishes, I picked it up.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to talk myself out of what I wanted to do.

No one was watching. The door was closed. No one would ever know.

Furtively, I lifted the shirt to my face and took a deep breath. Nate’s scent filled my nostrils and my lungs. The tiniest moan of pleasure escaped my lips, startling me. I dropped the shirt and stood quickly, kicking it under the sink on instinct.

That was freaking strange. Why was I being so weird tonight? I wasn’t acting like myself at all.

Mom was helping Gael with his homework when I stepped out. She glanced up at me as I came down the hall, and I thought I saw a happy gleam in her eyes.

“You and Rick broke up?” she asked.

“Mom, can we please not talk about this right now?” I groaned.

She shrugged and went back to helping Gael. Before I reached the door, she muttered just loud enough for me to hear. “I like that Nate boy very much.”

“Stop,” I grumbled, and opened the door.

Rick stood just outside the door. He reached out to take my hand as I stepped out. I glanced down at his offered hand and ignored it as politely as I could, fumbling with my purse to prevent taking it.

“I’m sorry about that in there,” Rick said, lowering his hand and looking down, unable to meet my eyes. “I overreacted.”