Page 10

Chapter Nine

RED

I sit on the corner of her bed and stare at the clock.

Why am I even here?

Ego, pride, and a sense of ownership I have no right feeling for this infuriating woman when she clearly wants nothing to do with me, but the feeling in my chest will not let me leave.

A crash in the hallway followed by a burst of loud laughter has me on my feet and flinging the door open to see what the fuck is causing the commotion at almost two in the morning.

My vision narrows at the hold Jeremiah Danders has on Camila.

He’s holding her up from behind, and his hands are firmly on her breasts. The action lifts her absurdly short dress, damn near exposing her to the world, and I have first-hand knowledge of what she doesn’t have on under it. My eyes dart to his, and the smirk on his face tells me he does, too.

NOPE!

I grab Jeremiah by the scruff of his neck and toss him into the wall. It causes him to drop Camila, who’s in a fit of giggles and singing some song I don’t recognize, as I grab her around her middle to stop her from face-planting.

“You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin'

And you keep losssssing…. when you oughta not bet

You keep ssssamin’…. when you oughta be a'changin'

Now what's right is right but you ain't been fucking right yet

These bootssss…are made for walkin’,” she hiccups as I adjust my hold on her, praying she isn’t going to puke on me.

“Darlin’, you ain’t wearing your boots. Hell, you ain’t even got shoes on.” I glare over at Jeremiah, who is trying to stand.

“Leave. Now.” He stumbles away as I lift Camila into my arms.

“So strong,” her small hands find their way into the open collar of my shirt, and I groan.

Now she wants to get handsy?

I carefully move us back to her room.

“Sugar, you need a glass of water, an aspirin, and some sleep.” She pouts as I kick the door to her room closed behind me.

“But you promised me a ride.” I can’t hide my chuckle at the absurdity of this situation.

I lay her down slowly and then gather the things she’ll need before I can let her pass out. I find a bottle of pain reliever on the bathroom sink and a cup I set in the sink to fill when a bright pink case catches my eye.

I lift it and turn it in my fingers before flipping the lid open.

Birth Control.

I look over my shoulder as she continues to giggle and sing Nancy Sinatra’s song in the wrong key with slurred words. I turn back to the sink and turn off the water. At the last second, I place the pink disc of pills in my pocket and go back to the bed.

“Here, take this and drink.” I shake out two pills and hand them to her.

“Why? I feel greattttt!” I bite my lip when she imitates the cartoon tiger from my favorite childhood cereal.

Drunk Camila is nothing but entertaining.

“Cami, I need you to trust me. I’m trying to help. You’ll regret it in the morning if you don’t.” She rolls her eyes, and the action throws off her equilibrium, so she falls over onto the pillows.

Christ.

She laughs hysterically as I right her and force the pills into her mouth.

“SWALLOW.” I let my voice grow deep and growly.

To my utter shock, she obeys and then pants slightly. I desperately wanted to reach down and find out how badly that one word affected her, but I kept my hands to myself. I would never take advantage of a woman in this state.

Unless she begged me really, really hard. I’m a gentleman, not a saint.

I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear as I search her eyes. Her pupils are blown, her cheeks are flushed, and she’s licking her lips like a starved woman.

Same Darlin’.

“I’m going to go.” The temptation is too much.

I need to get the hell away from her before I lose all my senses and end up balls deep inside her.

“No, stay.” She grabs my hand so quickly I question if she’s as drunk as I initially thought.

“That ain’t a good idea, Sugar. I want things you ain’t ready or willing to give me right now.” She looks around the room and then points to the chair in the corner.

“Just until I fall asleep. Please?” Fucking hell.

I plant my ass in the seat she indicated and sigh. When I look up, her dress is clearing her head, and it flies past the bed to land on the floor.

“Much better,” Camila lays down, and I grip the armrest of the chair to stay where she wants me.

I have never in my life hated a set of sheets like the ones hiding her body from me.

I watch her for all of five minutes before she’s dead to the world. I look at the door. I could easily slip out, and she’d never know how quickly I left. She only asked that I stay until she fell asleep, and I’ve done that. So why the fuck am I still sitting here?

Cause I’m afraid to move and never be invited back in.

I close my eyes and lean back in the uncomfortable chair.

I could sleep on the other side of the king-size bed. On top of the sheets, of course.

I snort at my inner voice because we both know that was bullshit. I’d last two seconds in that bed with a naked Camila before ravishing her in all the best ways until she begged me never to stop.

And that’s the real problem, ain’t it? I have never wanted a woman this badly without even kissing her. Somehow, I fell asleep as my mind tried to understand this attraction, but I couldn’t explain it. I’m not sure how long I’m out before her voice wakes me.

“What the fuck happened? Why are you in here, and why am I naked?” I don’t open my eyes at first, not wanting to answer any of those questions.

A pillow hits my head and I guess I should count myself lucky it wasn’t anything heavier.

“Answer me, asshole. I know you aren’t sleeping!” I push the fabric off my chest and look over at her.

Camila in the morning sunlight is the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. My voice catches, and my heart skips. It was at that very moment that I knew this woman would be my wife. She just doesn’t know it yet.

That changes today.

“What do you remember from last night?” I stand and stretch out my back, sighing when it pops.

“I left the restaurant with Jeremiah, and we stopped at this karaoke bar for a drink. I had a few cocktails and tried to learn how to line dance. Oh god.” She covers her face, and I see her cheeks turn red.

“I fell and flashed the whole bar!” That’s how Danders knew then.

“I’m sure no one will remember.” I try to ease her worries knowing damn well that the entire town probably already knows.

“Really?” She peeks up at me, and I can’t help smiling at the look of hope in her eyes.

“Swear on my life.” She drops her hands, revealing a frown.

“I’ve seen your life. Swear on something else.” I chuckle as I move closer.

The bed dips as I add my weight to it and lean in to cup her face. To my utter surprise, she allows me the pleasure of touching her without flinching away.

“Swear on my ranch. No one will ever say a word. To your face,” I shrug as she curses in mortification.

“Why are you such a jerk?” She shoves me lightly and adjusts the sheet she clutches to her chest to keep herself decent.

“So many reasons, but mostly it’s because of these.” I pinch her chin so she can’t look away from me.

“Your eyes captured my soul the first time you looked at me.” My thumb brushes her bottom lip, and her mouth opens slightly.

“These lips have been haunting my every dream.” I drop my hand and stand up to give us some room.

She clears her throat and looks at everything and anything other than me. It brings up her other question.

“You’re naked because after I took you out of Jeremiah’s hands, which were on your breasts, by the way, I put you to bed where you tossed your dress here,” I point at and then sit back down where she told me to last night.

“And ordered me to stay right here until you fell asleep.” She bites her lip before looking at me again.

“Why did you stay all night?” I glance at my watch and shake my head.

“It’s only been a few hours. Besides, I didn’t have anywhere else I wanted to be.” She frowns at me and crosses her arms.

“You could have landed in any other woman’s bed.” I chuckle as I pinch the bridge of my nose before shaking my head.

“Darlin, you have single-handedly ruined my sex life.”