Page 22 of Pomegranate Kiss (Charmed in Charleston #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

C am pulled up to the parking spot at the Waterfront Park, saturated with memories of her first meet-up with Lex. She’d been so confused as to why the woman who seemed only interested in strings-free sex wanted to go on a simple date where they didn’t even touch each other. However, the more she’d gotten to know her, the more her actions made sense. Feelings made Lex prickly at best, yet the connection between them had always been deeper than surface.

Lex hadn’t just spent six months fucking her into oblivion. Lex had spent six months making her feel cherished and protected. Making her feel comfortable in her own body. No wonder Cam had tumbled headfirst for the stubborn, overly sensitive, irritating-as-sin woman.

She glanced to her phone again. Next week she’d be going back to school, and she was in the process of scheduling a place to stay. One of her classmates ended up being a sweetheart and offered to lease her a room for the duration of the semester. Which was good, because her parents still weren’t speaking to her. The ache in her chest over that still hadn’t abated. She wasn’t sure if it ever would.

Spending Christmas by herself had been one of her lowest nights. Danny offered her a spot at the Dukas celebrations, but she wasn’t prepared to handle dropping the news to Lex yet. They had too much to figure out for themselves without getting Lex’s massive and nosy family involved. So instead, she’d popped on Firefly , twisted open a bottle of lemon vodka, and dragged out her acrylics.

Painting had been the therapy she needed, pouring out the rage and the pain onto a stretched canvas. The strokes released everything she’d pent up for so long. Magnolia trees bloomed across the page, a celebration of life and death in one gasp—so reminiscent of that kiss with Lex in the cemetery, the one that had awakened her body and soul.

By the time she’d gotten the text from Lex that night, an idea sparked in her brain.

So, here she waited, tapping on her steering wheel like she had first date jitters. So much so she’d shown up a half an hour early. She’d reapplied her crimson lipstick at least six times at this point. Cam tugged at the gauzy wrap she’d placed around a black and yellow striped dress that clung to her curves up top and flared out into a wide skirt. Cam couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t seen Lex in almost a week, and if this didn’t crash and burn like the talk with her parents, she wanted to look her best.

A pounding came from her window, snapping her to attention.

Lex stood on the other side, like she had the first day they met up, raring and ready to go. She gave her a tentative smile, her eyes crinkling with the motion as she stepped back, and it looked a little bit like hope.

Cam stepped out of the car, all too aware of the way Lex scanned her down, soaking in her details like always. Lex had run product through her dark strands, and the motorcycle jacket she wore highlighted her slim figure. With the black tank top and ripped up jeans, she looked every part the tattooed rebel Cam had first fallen for.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” Lex said, her voice coming out in a low purr she’d missed so much.

Her chest twisted sharp at the greeting Lex had given so often when they’d been together. Their six months might’ve been in secret, but they’d felt more like a relationship than any she’d been in before.

After the way her foundation crumbled last week, Cam thanked everything holy Lex wasn’t delivering the same reticence she had when she’d returned to town. Even though hesitation lingered in Lex’s glances and the light edge to her words showed she tried to fight through the emotion too, Lex did her damnedest to treat her like she had before.

If Cam had arrived to another freeze-out, she didn’t think she could bear it. Not after the way her parents’ rejection had destroyed her. Nazir, on the other hand, had sent her an email apologizing for his reaction that night—he’d been upset because he thought the interest was mutual. He hadn’t known this was entirely her parents’ making.

“Why don’t we walk and talk,” Lex said, offering her hand.

Cam’s heart ached as her palm pressed against Lex’s, the touch something she’d needed more than ever after Christmas Eve. Lex took the lead like always, striding toward the path that wound beneath the Ravenel Bridge. The sky was the sort of blue it belonged in an oil painting, and the sun shone bright even with the cooler temps of winter. The trees swayed in the breezes, and the pale strip of pavement almost glowed with the intensity of midday.

Tension smeared between them as they both stole glances, but neither of them spoke. In essence, their silence summed up every issue they had up until now, where they’d both been too terrified to risk their hearts. Lex swung their arms while they walked, the playful motion spurring Cam to talk.

“So, you were right,” Cam said, “At least, about me needing to take action. I’ve spent my whole life trying to make my parents proud, never getting in trouble and always, always compromising my own wants and needs to keep them happy. It wasn’t until we began to spend time together that I realized how much they’d stifled.”

Lex scratched the back of her head, looking at the ground as they continued to amble forward. “I was a bit of an ass on that front. My brother may have smacked some sense into me. I never stated my intentions, and you don’t have the big network of friends and family to fall back on like I do.”

Cam squeezed Lex’s hand tight at the admission. It had taken them this long to spill out their truths, but they all unraveled so fast it was mystifying how tangled up they’d been for so long.

“Just to clarify, I didn’t run off to Savannah to ditch you, and I didn’t start dating a guy. I wanted to go back to school for a while now, but you were always so dodgy about commitment that I didn’t want to scare you off with talk of long-distance.” Cam glanced to her, and their eyes met, the intensity in her hazel gaze making her breath snag. She could paint portraits of Alexis Dukas for the next century and still never capture the enigmatic, wild force on paper.

“Well I’m a fucking idiot for assuming. What…about the arranged marriage thing?” Lex asked, her voice hesitant, as if she was a glass vase ready to hit the concrete.

Cam sucked in a breath, drawing in the salt breeze and the dark spice of cloves that always lingered around Lex. “Well my parents set that up without my consent, which exploded magnificently on Christmas Eve. They accepted his proposal for me, and I came out.”

“What the everloving fuck is wrong with them?” Lex spat, her gaze flashing.

“It’s part of how they grew up,” she admitted, still trying to process, even amid all the hurt. “Currently, I’ve got to figure out a new living situation for the next semester because they kicked me out and haven’t talked to me since,” Cam said, trying to remain dry and sardonic even as her voice quavered.

Lex stopped in the middle of their walk to face her. She threw her arms around her in a crushing embrace Cam couldn’t help but sag into. The strength emanating from Lex—it was everything she’d been searching for. The fresh pavement she needed to land on. She clutched the front of Lex’s shirt, and her shoulders shook even though the tears didn’t come. She’d cried for too many days over the loss.

“I don’t care if I break my parole,” Lex growled into her shoulder. “If you need me to go over there and slice their tires, or break into their house to get your stuff, I’ll do whatever you need.”

Matty Dukas had been so right. Cam nuzzled into Lex’s chest, clinging like her life depended on it. She’d missed this sturdiness, this warmth, this ferocity with her every breath. Even with the family and stability she’d lost over the past week, she couldn’t deny her path felt clearer than ever. In a semester, she’d graduate with the degree she had never been able to finish, and she knew who she was now. She had Lex to thank for the latter.

“Nah, not necessary,” she murmured. “I set up a time next week to pick up my stuff. They broke radio silence for that. I think they’re still in shock to be honest.” She wished she could keep the twist of bitters out of her voice, but hell, the situation still hurt. Cam was far from over the fallout from this.

“This is my fault,” Lex said, pulling away to look her in the eyes. She cupped her face, the contact keeping Cam grounded. “If I had known the situation you were dealing with…that’s not an easy leap to make.”

“Hey, in the end I made the choice,” Cam said, wrapping her hands around Lex’s. “I just needed the push to get there. I don’t regret it.” Not like the way she regretted how she and Lex had splintered apart.

Lex led them over to the bright white pergola where dark hickory benches stretched out beneath the hatched overhangs. She hadn’t let go of Cam once, gripping her hand tight as they walked over. Cam’s heart lurched. She had told Lex everything she’d held back, by some miracle. The rest lay in her court.

Cam prayed Lex didn’t break her heart a second time.

Lex sat and patted the bench beside her. Cam couldn’t help but slide into the spot. As much as she wanted to lean in against Lex, the woman turned to face her, reaching out to offer her hand again. Cam grabbed the lifeline offered. She sailed on sheer adrenaline at this point, tiptoeing over glass shards and hoping she didn’t get shredded to pieces.

“Hell, Cam, I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through. I wish I had been there for you instead of drinking myself to a stupor,” she murmured, staring at the ground. “I’ve spent enough time being a fucking coward about this though. Camilla Muhuri, from the day I first met you here and didn’t try to get in your pants right away, I knew something was different. Romantic, right?” She flashed a smile that was pure Lex, all cocky disarray.

“I wanted to know every last thing about you—I still do. You’re the sort of fascinating someone could spend a lifetime trying to discover, and that’s what I realized I wanted to do. Way before we ever hit six months, I had fallen deep for you. I talked big on hating commitment, but I’d been hurt to the point I’d pretty much given up. Easier to fuck around than risk my heart. Except no matter what thick walls I hid behind, mere moments with you brought them crashing down.”

Cam swallowed hard, heat pricking her eyes. She’d barely dared to hope, even though she wanted Lex more than she could ever say. She gripped Lex’s hands even tighter, feeling the sweat from their palms mingle. Today had been an evisceration of a different sort, the kind that left her free-floating like she belonged amidst the puffy clouds in the achingly blue sky.

“I love you, Cam,” Lex said, meeting her gaze with a steadiness that didn’t have her just falling—she plummeted. She’d dreamed of hearing those words in a secret part of her soul she’d locked away, trying to keep some part of herself safe. “When you left, I had no interest in other women, because I’d already found the perfect one. I also had way too much interest in drinking myself into a stupor, which I’d be happy to never repeat. I meant to tell you on the night of Danny and Adrian’s wedding, but maybe we weren’t there yet. Maybe we both still had some growing to do.”

“I love you too, Lex,” Cam murmured, her eyes heating up with tears. The joy that welled up inside her was the extreme opposite of the depths she’d sank to the week before. Today, she soared. Lex’s thumbs grazed at her cheeks, wiping away the few tears that slipped past. The slant of her smile held all the cockiness she loved about the woman, the way she took the lead without blinking. Cam tried on a wry smile and sucked in a breath to steady her voice. “That mean you’re asking me to be your girlfriend?”

“Oh fuck yeah, babe,” Lex purred, almost climbing on top of her as she prowled forward. “That means PDA all over the place. We’re going to be the obnoxious couple that makes out in front of everyone. Even more annoying than Adrian and Danny.”

“No one will be able to tolerate us,” Cam said, slipping out her phone to fire off a text.

Lex’s brows furrowed. “I’m here trying to climb all over you and you’re whipping out your phone to text?”

“All part of the plan,” Cam reassured her, reaching up to place her palm on Lex’s cheek. “Trust me on this one.”

Before Lex could argue, Cam leaned in and pressed her lips to hers. She’d been dying to taste her ever since they’d crashed together when she came home. She savored the sweetness of her mouth, the way Lex wrapped her hand around her nape in a possessive grip that she loved. Around this woman, she felt safe and she felt free.

Cam hadn’t realized what she’d been missing until a stubborn as hell firebrand approached her on the back deck with a proposition she couldn’t resist. With Lex it had always been deeper than mind-melting sex. Lex was the loud she’d never be, the chaos opposite to her calm, and the fight to her peace. All the opposites rubbed off a little, teaching her how to stand up for herself and take risks.

When she was around Alexis Dukas, Cam wanted to freefall off the Church Flats Bluff, dive into the deepest part of the Atlantic, and speed along Savannah Highway at a hundred miles an hour.

This woman made her want to paint again.

Lex growled as she deepened the kiss, straddling her thighs. Cam knew she needed to put a stop to the very public makeout session, but after everything they’d been through, she couldn’t pull away if she wanted to.

With Lex now fisting her hair to pull her head back, Cam surrendered to the way she devoured her, with the desperation from before but also the tenderness she missed. Lex bit her lower lip, pulling it between her teeth and then sucked at Cam’s neck. She peppered her cheeks, her forehead, her collarbone with so many light kisses she might ignite. Already, her core throbbed in anticipation of what was to come.

If they were lucky, a whole lifetime of this passion.

“Ew, guys, get a room,” Danny’s familiar voice came from closer to the parking lot.

Lex pulled back at once, popping her head up to see who had arrived. Danny and Adrian approached down the walkway carrying a few coolers with them. Her brows drew together as she stared at Cam.

A smile widened on Cam’s face. “They’re not the only ones who’ll be arriving. Surprise.”