Forged Of Steele Bundle Part 78

Vanessa held out her hand to Cameron. "The sharp knife."

He carefully placed the item she had requested into her hand and then watched as she expertly removed the bone and skin from the four chicken breast halves before tossing the meat into the slow cooker.

"Bell pepper."

He scooped up the bell pepper strips that he'd cut and tossed them in the pot to join the chicken.

"Now the can of pepper-jack cheese soup and the chunky salsa mixture."

Before handing those items to her, he eased closer to her while she stood at the kitchen counter. "My mouth is watering already."

His closeness and the low chuckle that rumbled close to her ear actually made her shiver. Even after a week her body still reacted whenever he was near. "Then I expect you to have a clean plate later," she said, placing the lid on the cooker and setting it to cook on low for six hours. "This is what I call easy and tasty."

"I can certainly see that."

Considering her mind had been elsewhere all day, ever since talking to Sienna, Vanessa had wanted to prepare something that didn't take a lot of thought, and this was the first thing that had come to mind. It was one of the first dishes she had prepared in her home economics cla.s.s in high school and she had served it to her family, or anyone else who wanted to eat it, for three nights in a row.

"So it's going to take six hours?" Cameron asked, easing still closer to her.

She smiled, already knowing where his mind was going. "Yes, just about."

"Would you like to go swimming while we wait?"

"Sure. Why not? But I didn't bring a bathing suit over here with me."

Cameron's smile nearly sizzled her insides. "Who said anything about you needing a bathing suit? Let's be daring."

Vanessa chuckled. "If I recall, you've already been daring. I was sitting on the beach that day you decided to bare all before diving into the ocean."

He leaned over and touched her lips with his. "I saw you and even from a distance, I got turned on and needed to take a quick dip to cool off."

"You expect me to believe that?"

He took her hand in his. "Yes, because it's true. Haven't these past days we've spent together proved it?"

To Vanessa's way of thinking, these past days they'd spent together proved how quickly she had succ.u.mbed to his charm. What bothered her most was knowing that sooner or later she would have to start withdrawing. Their time together was now a clock slowly ticking away, and every second, minute or hour counted...until the end.

The end.

She inhaled deeply and instinctively snuggled closer to him, and he wrapped his arms completely around her. They'd had a lot of these types of moments, usually after making love when there were no words left to say and he would just hold her. Making the decision to have an island fling with him had been hard, but now what would be even harder was walking away knowing there would not be a repeat. This was all they would have.

"Yes, I'll go skinny-dipping with you, Cameron," she finally said, turning in his arms and looking up to meet his gaze. "But I won't walk out of this house down to the beach naked," she added. "I'm going to need something to wear."

A smooth grin curled the corners of Cameron's mouth. "Will one of my T-shirts do?"

She couldn't help but laugh, recalling how many times she had walked around in his T-shirts and how very little they covered. She remembered one night in particular when, in one of her seductive moods, she had seduced him while wearing his L.A. Lakers T-shirt. He had practically ripped the thing off before taking her right here on the kitchen table.

"If that's the best you can do, then yes, one of your T-shirts will do," she decided to say, trying to block the memories of that particular night from her mind.

"You know where they are."

A grin tugged at her lips. "Yes, I do, don't I?" She pulled herself out of his arms. "I'll be back in a second."

Vanessa was halfway up the stairs when she glanced back over her shoulder. Cameron was standing in the doorway separating the kitchen from the living room. His hands were braced on either side of the arch and his stance was as s.e.xy as s.e.xy could get. At that moment she wished she had a camera to capture that pose on film so she could take out the photo on those lonely nights after she returned to Charlotte.

She quickly turned back around and made it up the rest of the stairs. d.a.m.n, she didn't need this now, especially not when she was trying hard to keep what they were sharing in perspective. And she definitely hadn't counted on it.

Cameron Cody was truly beginning to grow on her. Even worse, he was slowly but surely getting under her skin in a way she hadn't thought possible.

Chapter 12.

Cameron heard Vanessa return even before her bare feet touched the last step. He glanced up and tried not to stare. But he couldn't help himself. The woman did wonders for his T-shirts.

It was his opinion that her body was outright and unreservedly perfect, and as she walked toward him, putting those long gorgeous legs out in front of her, his blood raced, literally pounding through every part of him. His gaze traveled all over her. This particular shirt-the one promoting his construction company-seemed shorter than the rest. The cotton fabric clung to her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s and curvy hips.

When she finally reached the bottom step she slowly twirled around with her hands on her hips. "So, what do you think?" she asked as a smile twitched her lips.

He groaned inwardly. What he really thought was that now was a good time to kiss that lush mouth of hers, or better yet, to whisk her into his arms and take her back upstairs. Everything about her, every sensuous detail, was wreaking havoc on his control, his ability to think straight, his ability to resist emotions he'd never encountered before.

"I think," he said, taking a step forward, "that you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, whether you're wearing an outfit I personally don't like, my T-shirt or nothing at all. You are simply stunning."

A warm tingle started in Vanessa's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and moved lower, toward her midsection. The dark, tense eyes staring down at her seemed both serious and deeply enthralled. She bit her lower lip, trying not to let his words affect her so, and found it difficult. They had had affected her. affected her.

She took a deep breath and glanced down at him. The only thing covering his body was a pair of outlandishly s.e.xy swim trunks that left nothing to her imagination. They seemed like a second layer of skin and clearly emphasized the fact that he wanted her. Her heartbeat sped up at the thought of what would happen once they got down to the beach.

"I'm taking a large blanket and a bottle of body cream."

Vanessa hitched a brow. "Body cream?"

He smiled. "Yes, I want to rub it all over you after we take a swim."

A tremble ran through her body. She had a feeling that wasn't all he intended to do.

Vanessa lay on her stomach on the thick blanket with the sand as a cushion. She closed her eyes at the feel of Cameron's hands moving slowly, lightly over her shoulder, gently ma.s.saging the slope of her back and the curve of her neck. The cream he was rubbing into her skin smelled of tropical fruits, and his calloused fingers were working magic as he caressed her skin.

She released a long sigh when he rubbed more of the cream onto her back, tenderly kneading her muscles, working out her aches and pains at the same time he caused a different type of throbbing in her body.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked in an almost-whisper, leaning down close to her ear. He was on his knees straddling her b.u.t.t. She could feel his nearness, his heat, and the way his hands were touching her, moving down her back, the rear of her thighs and then her behind was sending all kinds of sensations through her body.

"Umm, I'm thinking about how good your hands feel on me," she said, almost in a purr. "I've never gotten this much attention from a man before."

"And is that good or bad?"

She paused, thinking about his question, before she answered. "Before this trip, I would have thought it was bad. But now I can't help but think it's all good. I can't imagine another man touching me this way, making me feel this way, and-"

She never finished what she was about to say. Cameron had gently turned her over and rubbed some of the cream onto her chest. He began rubbing it into her skin, caressing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in a circular motion around the nipples while they hardened at his touch.

After smearing more cream onto her body, his fingers moved lower to her stomach and with the tip of his finger he drew rings around her navel, sending a rush of s.e.xual pleasure through every pore on her body. A part of her wanted to reach out and cover her feminine mound from his gaze, but she couldn't. Besides, it would be a waste of time. She might be the one in control, but Cameron had a way of using anything she did to his advantage. She was beginning to see that he was smart in more ways than one.

"I didn't tell you everything there was to know about this particular cream, Vanessa," he said, his voice a low, sensuous timbre.

She let go of a shaky breath at the mere sound. "What didn't you tell me?" She looked up into his face. He was above her, straddling her body. Then he began lowering his head closer to hers. When he was just inches from her face he said, "The cream I've rubbed all over you is edible. Do you know what that means?"

Her gaze was locked with his and was filled with hunger, heat, and a hefty dose of arousal. Of course she knew what he meant, what he was alluding to, but she decided to play dumb. "No, what does that mean?" she asked innocently.

Bracing his hands on both sides of her head, he leaned down to within inches of her lips. "It means, Vanessa Steele, that tonight, under the beauty of this Jamaican moon, you will become my treat."

"Your treat?" she asked, her voice barely audible against the waves rushing toward the sh.o.r.e.

"Yes, but first this..."

And then he leaned closer, captured her lips and kissed her as though she was everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever needed, and that kissing her was his lifeline for the next minute, hour, day. His mouth was feeding on hers with a hunger that made her whimper.

He slowly pulled his mouth away, and she immediately felt the loss of his lips on hers.

"Did I tell you that mango is my favorite fruit and this cream has plenty of mango in it?"

"Mango?"

"Yes. There's also a pinch of pineapple and avocado. Real tasty fruits. Exotic fruits. Fruits with mouthwatering flavor."

He picked up the bottle of cream and with his hands he smeared a trail of it from the tips of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s down to her stomach. When he came to her feminine mound with its smooth bikini wax, he stared at it for a moment before taking his hand and fully coating it with the fruity cream. It was like piling whipped cream on top of a hot fudge sundae.

"Cameron?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"Fulfilling one of my fantasies. And I might as well confess right now that there's nothing spontaneous about this. This is something I've been thinking about for quite some time. And when we do part, Vanessa, I plan to take the taste of you with me. I want it embedded so deeply in my tongue that it becomes a permanent part of my taste buds. I want the scent of you to inflame my nostrils for all eternity."

"But we agreed-"

"I know what we agreed, Vanessa. This is an island fling and I will keep my word. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't remember what I consider to be some of the most special days I've ever had with a woman who has more pa.s.sion in her little finger than some women have in their entire body. I won't do anything intentionally to look you up when we return to Charlotte, but as I told you in the beginning, I want to make love so good that you'll want to look me up."

"I won't," she said stubbornly, frowning.

"Then I really have my work cut out for me over the next six days, don't I?" he said softly, with a confidence she heard. His nostrils flared slightly when he continued. "You are in my system, and all these days of loving you only implanted you deeper. And before we separate, I'm going to make sure that I'm as entrenched within you as you are within me."

Vanessa glanced away, breaking eye contact as she looked out at the ocean. It was dark, and somewhere in the distance she could see the lights from a huge ship, probably a cruise liner. She was grateful they couldn't be seen from that far out at sea.

She breathed in deeply, wondering if she could become addicted to Cameron. Could he become an itch she would need to have scratched at some point? She shook her head, refusing to believe it. People engaged in affairs all the time and walked away. But the big question was this: Could she really and truly walk away from his loving? Endless pa.s.sion, earth-shattering o.r.g.a.s.ms, an easy camaraderie with a man who made her feel desirable?

Yes, she could do it, because, although she had gotten to know Cameron a lot better than before, there were still some things about him that she wouldn't be able to tolerate. Such as his need to control and to be in control.

She turned back to look at him when she heard him removing his shorts. She watched almost spellbound as he slowly slid the garment down his legs, then she blinked, thinking that tonight his erection looked larger than usual. Was that possible?

A warm, hot tingle began in her midsection and quickly spread to the area between her legs when he slowly eased back to her, settling on his knees in the middle of her opened thighs.

"I'm going to lick you all over, starting here." He lifted her hips and placed her legs on his shoulders, bringing her feminine mound level to his. "Enjoy, sweetheart, because I certainly intend to."

Vanessa gasped at the first touch of Cameron's tongue on her sensitive flesh. Each stroke of his tongue was methodical, focused, greedy. He was giving her his undivided attention and it took everything she had not to scream out.

The intimate kiss might have started out as a late-night treat for him, but it was an entirely different thing to her. Each sensuous nibble was taking her to a place she had never been before, a place where only the two of them belonged. She didn't want to question the rightness of her thoughts, she just knew they were so.

The more he loved her in this most cherished way, the more sensations consumed her, taking over her mind and body. Her heart beat faster and her breathing became difficult. When the rumble of a scream was close to pouring forth from her throat, she bit down on her lips to hold it back. Her fingers dug into Cameron's shoulders, holding his mouth in place.

But the sensations became too much to bear. She tightened her grip on his shoulders even more and drew in a deep breath before letting it out by screaming his name when an o.r.g.a.s.m hit.

"Cameron!"

The moment she called out his name he pulled his mouth from her and moved his body in place over hers. Then in one smooth and swift thrust, he entered her, going deep. "Wrap your legs around my waist," he whispered in her ear, and as soon as she did so, locking their bodies, he began thrusting in and out of her with the speed of a whip.

Her entire body clenched tightly, pulling everything she could out of him. She could tell he was fighting against an o.r.g.a.s.m, trying to make it last, but she wanted more and she wanted it now.

Using her teeth she bit gently into his shoulder, then soothed the mark with her tongue. She felt him shudder, felt his body get harder inside hers and heard him moan close to her ear.

And then she felt it happen as he thrust into her hard. For the second time that night she didn't want to question the feeling of oneness with this man, the feeling that he could become her entire world, and that she was haphazardly tumbling into his.

She didn't want to think about anything, especially not the fact they had only six days left after tonight. The only thing she wanted to think about was how he was making her feel. This instant. This moment.

Vanessa knew that no matter what, after this time with Cameron, her life would never be the same.

Chapter 13.

Cameron's eyes opened slowly during the predawn hours. Something had awakened him. He reached out to pull Vanessa closer into his arms and came up empty-handed. All that was there, other than the slight indentation on the pillow where her head had lain, was her scent, an arousing fragrance that had become such an innate part of his life.

He gazed around the room and saw the open patio door. Evidently she hadn't been able to sleep. For a long while, neither had he. It was hard as h.e.l.l to accept that their twelve days were over and that today at noon he would be flying out, returning to the States.