Page 75 of His to Seduce
Chapter 25
David
Camden giggled as I whipped around to look at my sister and mom.Fucking hell.The last thing I’d expected when I left her alone with them was to have her end up crying. I wanted her to see how fantastic my mom and sister were, to see that they were insane, and maybe incredibly wealthy, but still down-to-earth, normal human beings who wouldn’t judge her because of where she came from.
Seeing tears running down her cheeks made me burn deep inside my chest.
“I’m fine, David. We’re all fine.”
Like hell she was. “You’re crying.”
She chortled. “We were having a girl moment. It’s fine, really.” She lifted her hand and pressed it to my forearm. Her soft touch caused an entirely different kind of burn to ignite and buzz from my arm straight to my chest.
“You sure?”
Lindsay punched me in the shoulder. “Cowboy, down, you alpha protective Neanderthal. We were talking about dad, and life, and we just got stupid for a second.” I laughed as Lindsay sniffed and then made a face like she’d smelled something sour. “Damn emotions. I hate it when they get the better of me.”
“Dad?” I turned to face my mom. She had that sad look in her eyes she got whenever she thought of him or talked about him, but her lips were tilted up at the corners, and a soft glow filled her face. Her gaze flickered back and forth between Camden and me.
“We’re fine, David. Honest. We didn’t upset Camden.” A line dipped between her brows and she looked at Camden. “We didn’t, did we? I’m so sorry—”
“No.” Camden shook her head and lifted a hand. “You didn’t. In fact, you might have sort of helped me figure some things out.”
“What’s that?” I asked. The vulnerability that she rarely showed shone on her tear-streaked face, but that wasn’t what made me suck in a breath. It was the look she gave me as she wiped her eyes. Determination and joy, two things she showed more rarely than openness.
God, she was pretty. When I first walked into the kitchen and saw her crying, it felt like a piece of my chest had been ripped through my flesh and bone. What was she doing to me?
I didn’t care. I wanted more of it. More of the insanity. More of the overwhelming need to protect her. More of the feel of her along my body everywhere. I wanted the smiles I had to fight for, each one feeling like a Super Bowl victory.
“Nothing we can talk about now; it’s just…I’m learning maybe…” She paused and her bottom lip got stuck between her teeth. She worried it for a moment before letting it pop free. “That maybe I need to start living differently. Better.”
I scowled, not understanding, but then her hand slid farther up my arm before dropping to my hip. Her fingertips squeezed me above my hip bone, above the waistband of my jeans, and sent fire flaring through my veins.
“It’s okay, David, really. We can talk more later, okay?”
I scanned her gaze for truth and found nothing but that in her eyes and the softness in her cheeks.
Turning to my sister, I muttered, “Sorry for yelling at you.”
Her expression said it all as she replied, “No problem, loser.” Her blue eyes softened in that older-sister, knowing, and bossy way. She knew I was a goner.
“Okay.” My mom clapped her hands together, getting all of our attention. “Dinner’s ready, so enough with the heavy talk for a while. Lindsay, go wrestle your crew to the table, and David, please refill our wine and grab some more drinks for everyone. We’ll eat as soon as we’re all gathered. Camden? Would you mind helping me get the food to the table?”
“You sure you’re okay?” I asked Camden, sliding my hand from her shoulder to her cheek. Goosebumps pebbled her skin in the wake of my hand gliding over her skin and I smiled knowingly.
I loved that I so obviously affected her.
She nodded quickly and gave me another squeeze before sliding off her stool. “I’m good, I promise. You?”
Not caring that I could feel my mom’s and sister’s eyes on me, watching our interaction, watching how close we stood and how intimately we touched each other, I leaned forward and brushed her cheek with my lips, whispering in her ear, “Never better, Cam. Never better.”
She sighed softly, resting against me, and we stayed close until my mother cleared her throat.
The sound made Camden blush. I wiped my thumb over her pinkened skin before I stepped back.
When Betty McGregor gave a task in her kind but no-nonsense fashion, you jumped to get the work done, or you’d be sorry.
Like from not being allowed to have raspberry pie at dessert time.
