Lianne cuts through the tension.
“Look, this is cute, but if you both need to hash this out, do it now before Samuel’s men come sniffing around. I’ll give you a moment.” She looks between us and points at Kameron as she strides past him for the door. “A moment is it. I can’t work miracles here.” With those last words, she closes the door softly behind her.
My shoulders sag. She is right. If I’m going to get answers, this might be the only time we are alone together and can.
“Who are you?” I ask bluntly.
I need answers—and fast.
“Depends?” he says with narrowed eyes.
“On what? It’s either you’re Kameron, or you’re Stephen.”
“On you. Are you Elliott, or are you Eden?”
I roll my eyes at him. “I am Eden here. I am Elliott out there.” Not caring if the town is actually in that direction, I jab my thumb over my shoulder. “Your turn.” I cross my arms and cock a brow at him.
He lets out the most delicious chuckle as he pulls a hand out of the tan pocket of his dress pants. Dragging it down his face, he looks my way. “I’m Stephen in here, and I am Kameron out there.”
I cannot stop my eye roll. “Look, if you are just gonna play games, then this conversation is done. There is a lot more than just—” I storm for the door, but he steps in front of me.
His hand lands on my torso, softly stopping me. A silent gasp breaks out of me. The heat from his hand’s seeps through the fabric, spreading across my skin, even with the barrier between us.
I draw my eyes up slowly from his hand to peer at him.
“Look”—he breathes me in, his jaw ticking—“IamKameron, okay. But here... here Ihaveto be Stephen.”
His eyes plead for me to read between the lines.
“Did you see me at that bar and just talk to me to get in here?”
The burning in my throat flames up as I think about everything. Wondering if it’s all fake. All the things we did in that short time we knew each other.
If he used me to just be a part of the community, making me a pawn in his game, I don’t know what I would do. I don’t want it all to be fake. It is the first thing that has felt real in a long time for me. I have spent a lot of my life feeling like I am just a piece of the plan for others, there to help them with what they needed. The thought of my timewith Kameron being nothing but the same kind of sadness is hard for me to think about. Even if it is just a fling.
He pushes his hand on my stomach with more force.
My feet stumble to keep up as I step back to match Kameron’s. His eyes look brighter as he slams my back on the stone column of the patio’s back corner.
I’m thankful this section of the patio is out of view to anyone inside.
“El—Eden.” He looks pained to have to correct himself. “I had no clue who you are when I met you. Nothing I did or said was fake.” Wrapping his hand around my waist, he pulls me flush to him. “I am just as surprised.” He brushes my hair behind my ear.
He is so close to me now. Our bodies are molded together, and all I want to do is taste him on my tongue.
I have to crane my neck back to look up at him. “You promise?”
My words sound so whiny it makes me want to take them back. Why do I care so much?
“Oh, gorgeous. I fucking promise.” He leans in his thumb and caresses my jawline as he moves his hand to my nape. “As much as I have no clue how you got me to this point, there is nothing about this that is fake.”
“What point do I have you at, Kam?” I breathe out.
His tongue licks at his bottom lip. “Absolutelyfuckingobsessed.” He yanks me toward him and crashes his mouth into mine. Devouring me like he has been craving me sincehaving last seen each other. The weight of his body presses into me, my back pushing firmly against the column.
His hardness nudges my core through my dress.
Choking down the moan I want to release, I let myself fall into the kiss before my surroundings come back to me. I push against his chest, trying to get distance.
