Janelle Denison - Too Wilde to Tame

It was the emotional part she had trouble dealing with, because she'd never, ever expected to feel so connected to Cameron in anything more man a physical way. Sex with him had been exceptional, hotter and better than she'd ever imagined, but it was what happened in the aftermath of their encounter that shook Mia to her very core.

She'd definitely anticipated that he'd regret his actions because he was a man who didn't lose control easily. When he'd offered up an apology, she'd countered it with a sarcastic reply to buffer her own vulnerable state… until he'd explained that he wasn't sorry for what they did, but that he felt bad because he hadn't given her the chance to come.

She laughed and shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. Her pleasure, or lack thereof, wasn't a conversation she'd had with any guy, mainly because none had ever given a second thought to whether or not she climaxed during fore-play or sex. But Cameron… he had to go and muddle things by caring about something that never should have caused him any concern or even a second thought. Add to that the glimmer of tenderness she'd seen in his gaze, and was it any wonder her heart was feeling a bit torn and confused?

The closing of the front door startled Mia out of her thoughts and told her Gina was finally home after spending the night out-most likely at Ray's-a common occurrence on the weekends. Mia closed her sketch pad, and less than a minute later her friend knocked softly on Mia's half-closed bedroom door and poked her head inside. Finding Mia already awake, she tentatively entered.

"Hey there," Gina murmured, a slight smile tipping up one corner of her mouth.

Mia couldn't help but notice that the other side of Gina's bottom lip was swollen, and as her roommate came to a stop at her drafting table, she could clearly see that her lip had actually been split open about half an inch. Gina had tried to cover the gash with a colored gloss, but the bruise forming around the wound was too obvious for Mia to ignore.

Immediate anger welled up inside Mia, because she highly suspected Ray was the culprit for that laceration. But she also knew from experience that should she express that simmering outrage, Gina would totally shut her out. So she inhaled a calming breath and decided to tread carefully in addressing the issue.

"Gina, what happened to your lip?" she asked, her concerned toned masking her true feelings.

Her friend averted her gaze and shrugged, as she did whenever Mia asked one of these kinds of direct questions. "I opened Ray's car door too fast last night after we left The Electric Blue, and the corner accidentally hit my lip and split it open." She gingerly touched the swollen spot and laughed, but the sound was forced. "You know me. I can be so graceless sometimes."

Mia had to give Gina credit for being so innovative with her excuse, but she didn't believe her explanation for a second. Not when bruises and other marks on her body were appearing with alarming frequency.

Ray could be extremely charming when he wanted to be, but having been on the receiving end of his aggression, Mia knew he also had a darker side to his personality. She could easily see him crossing the line to abusive, but she had no real, solid proof and Gina wasn't offering up anything concrete, either.

Mia tipped her head and regarded her friend speculatively. "You know, you've gotten awfully clumsy since you started dating Ray." She managed to keep her tone light and even a bit teasing, but there was no mistaking the significance of her words.

Her comment made Gina stiffen, and those defensive walls of hers quickly went up. "Fine," she said curtly. "The truth is, things got a little out of control last night during sex."

If there was one thing Mia understood, it was "out-of-control" sex, because that's exactly what she'd experienced with Cameron last night. But for as wild and primitive as things had gotten, he'd never once hurt her, and he certainly hadn't left any bruises on her body. Their encounter had been driven by lust and passion… whereas she got the uneasy feeling that wasn't exactly the case between Gina and Ray.

"He didn't mean to split open my lip," Gina went on in her attempt to justify her boyfriend's actions. "And he apologized afterward for being so rough. It was an accident."

It didn't escape Mia's attention that Gina didn't say how Ray had cut her lip, and judging by her friend's uptight disposition, Mia didn't think she was going to find out, either.

"I'm not trying to make you upset," Mia said gently as she stared into Gina's soulful blue eyes. "I care about you, and I just want to be sure everything's okay."

As soon as Mia backed off, Gina's posture relaxed. "I'm fine," she insisted.

Reaching for Gina's hand, Mia gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Just please be more careful, okay?" Again, she infused a deeper meaning to her words, and all Mia could do was hope her friend heeded her advice. Then, she pasted on a smile and changed the subject, because she didn't want any further argument to come between them. "Have you had any breakfast this morning?"

"Just coffee." Gina adjusted her purse on her shoulder and offered another half-smile. "I wasn't hungry earlier."

"Well, you need to eat, and so do I." Mia stood and stretched the kinks from her shoulders and lower back from sitting at the drafting table for the past hour. "Let's go see what we've got left in the kitchen."

A few minutes later, after scouring the cupboards and refrigerator and coming up with one foil package containing two frosted strawberry Pop-Tarts for them to split, Gina declared, "We 50 need to go grocery shopping."

Mia laughed in agreement as she grabbed the last two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to Gina. "I know. Let's go shopping together, and maybe we can catch a movie today, too."

Enthusiasm lit up Gina's pretty features. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Then consider it a date," Mia said, and bit into her Pop-Tart. Yes, she'd planned on working on her new stained-glass project, but that could wait. She didn't get much girl-time with Gina these days, not since Ray had come into the picture, and she'd take whatever time with her friend she could get.

"Speaking of dates…" Gina opened her purse and pulled out a familiar piece of clothing. "You left something behind at The Electric Blue."

Mia stared at the Too Wild to Tame top she'd worn last night-before her stint in the wet T-shirt contest. "Ummm, I guess I did."

Gina draped it over the back of the chair Mia was sitting in. "I asked the manager for it after you left with your date."

Mia rolled her eyes at that but refrained from issuing a reply to her friend's comment.

Unfortunately, Gina had no problem prying. "So that was the infamous Cameron Sinclair, huh?"

"Yes." Mia finished off her Pop-Tart and washed it down with a drink of water. "I take it Carrie told you who he was?" Gina knew of Cameron's existence but had never seen him before last night.

Gina nodded as she picked at the edges of her breakfast pastry. "Yep. God, Mia, you didn't tell me he's so… everything ."

Unable to help herself, Mia laughed. "So everything ?" she repeated, amused by Gina's choice of word to describe Cameron.

"Hot. Gorgeous. Sexy." Gina sighed appreciatively. "The full package."

The man definitely had a full package, and then some, Mia thought, remembering how the hard, thick length of him had felt in her hands and stroking deep within her. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she doused the rush of warmth with a long, cool drink of water.

Luckily, Gina didn't seem to notice her reaction. "So where did he drag you off to?" she asked.

"His place. He thought I was drunk, and he was trying to keep me from causing a scandal that would get back to my brothers."