Janelle Denison - Too Wilde to Tame

The hand resting on the counter curled into a tight fist, and Cameron's expression darkened. "If he touches you again, you let me know," he said gruffly.

"Why, so you can go beat him up?" she joked and batted her lashes playfully at him.

"It would be my pleasure to kick his ass and emasculate him so he'd think twice before touching any woman ever again," he said in a deep, menacing growl.

She rolled her eyes at his he-man approach. "You're beginning to sound like my brothers and cousins."

He shot her a hot, smoldering look that spoke volumes and told her that there was nothing siblinglike to the attraction still simmering between them. "Speaking of which, I'm going to hand these notes over to your cousin Steve so he can follow up on these leads."

Her amusement fled, immediately replaced by a heavy weight of dread. " No. "

He looked taken aback by her adamant tone. "I think your cousin should know about this."

"If I wanted Steve to know about this situation, I would have gone directly to him," she said in a firm, precise tone that brooked no argument. "I came to you for help specifically because I don't want any of my cousins or brothers involved." This was an issue she wasn't about to budge on, no matter what it took to convince Cameron to take on the case.

But at the moment, he appeared completely unswayed. "Why wouldn't you want your family to know about this?"

She exhaled a frustrated breath. "Because once you tell Steve about the pictures, he'll tell my brothers what's going on, and before you know it I'll be under watch 24/7; they'll be pressuring me to move back home where they feel it's safe . Joel would probably assign one of his guys at his security firm to be my constant shadow, too. Being smothered by my brothers and cousins is not an option for me, and that's exactly what will happen if they get involved."

"All our cases are handled confidentially," he said, attempting to reassure her.

Her laughter held a cynical edge. "Not when it comes to my family. You know as well as I do there is no way Steve would keep something like this to himself."

He leaned back on his barstool and crossed his arms over his chest. This time, he didn't argue her valid point. "If you want the truth, because of our…"

He seemed to struggle for the right phrasing, and she supplied it for him. "Affair?"

"Okay, affair," he said, accepting her choice of word to describe what had happened between them that past Friday night. "Because of our involvement, I don't think I'm the right person to handle this case. Conflict of interest and all that."

Bullshit , she wanted to say but didn't. She'd never been a potty mouth, and she wasn't about to start now. She also hated to resort to scheming tactics, but she was desperate to persuade him. "Fine, I'll handle this myself," she said abruptly and scooped up the pictures still spread out on the counter. "Forget I ever came by, and I'd appreciate you keeping this to yourself."

He grasped her wrist before she could shove the photos back into the envelope. Her pulse thrummed erratically beneath the press of his warm thumb, and she lifted her gaze to his. Heat and desire arched between them, and she watched him struggle to keep his reaction to her in check.

"Mia, don't be stupid," he bit out in annoyance. "You can't go off on your own with the possibility of someone stalking you."

"I prefer not to."

He groaned, knowing exactly what she was insinuating. "You always have to make things difficult, don't you?"

She flashed him a sassy grin. "You should be flattered that I came to you for help."

He lifted a brow at her attempt to manipulate him. "Flattered enough to agree to help you, you mean?"

"It's all semantics, sugar." She shrugged and started to withdraw her hand from his grasp. "But the bottom line is, you're not interested."

He tightened his grip, and her heart skipped a wild beat. "No, that's the problem," he said in a rough, gravely tone of voice. "I'm way too interested… in you !"

The honest emotion in his beautiful green eyes startled her. Many men had sweet-talked her in an attempt to get under her skirt, but never with the kind of intensity and need she'd just witnessed in Cameron's gaze. It was thrilling to know he wanted her that much, because the feeling was definitely mutual.

She licked her suddenly dry lips. "And that's a problem, why?"

"Because I don't think you and I are a good match. Outside of the bedroom, anyway." His thumb brushed gently, seductively over that sensitive spot on her wrist as if to soothe away the sting of his words. "I want you, Mia, and being inside of you that one time was nothing short of amazing, but the truth is, you're all wrong for me, in so many ways, and I just don't think you and I working together is such a great idea."

She couldn't deny that his comment hurt, though she had to admit it didn't come as a huge surprise. She'd always known she wasn't Cameron's type-outside of the bedroom, anyway. She was good enough for him to have sex with, but not good enough for him to consider a relationship with. At least he was being open and honest with her and taking her feelings into consideration, because that was the nice, do-right kind of guy he was.

But for as much as his comment made her heart feel a little battered and bruised, she wasn't looking for a long-term relationship, either. Especially considering her own lousy track record with men. So she supposed on some level they wanted the same thing, which made for a perfect arrangement, in her way of thinking.

"What's the matter, sugar?" she taunted, drawing strength from her ability to push her true feelings deep down inside, which was a helluva lot easier than dealing with them outright. "Afraid it will happen again?"

"The thing is, if I'm near you for any length of time and the opportunity presents itself, I know it'll happen again."

With that bit of honesty out in the open between them, he tugged gently on her arm, pulling her off her chair and toward him, until she stood between his widespread thighs. He rested his big hands on her waist to hold her in place, and her lower body quickened when she felt the hard, thick length of him pressing against her jeans zipper. Face-to-face, their eyes locked, and she was mesmerized by the carnal desire she saw glittering in his gaze and absolutely breathless with anticipation of what he intended to do.

"I can't stop thinking about last Friday and how much I want to be with you again," he said as he slipped his hands upward, beneath the hem of her camisole top. His warm, slightly callused thumbs stroked along her belly, and her nipples tightened into hard points. "Except this time, I'd make it right."

She'd deliberately goaded Cameron to protect her emotions and to show him she was unaffected by his remark about the two of them not being a good match. But what she hadn't expected was for Cameron to turn the tables on her and draw her into a web of sensuality so powerful, she felt helpless to resist him. And why should she curb her desires when she wanted him so badly?

With that arousing thought tumbling through her head, she placed her hands on his forearms, loving the feel of his hair-roughened skin, toned muscles, and the heat radiating off him. Undeniably curious, she asked, "What do you mean, 'make it right'?"

"I'd take it real slow this time," he explained as he dragged his hands back out from under her top.

She almost whimpered at the loss of his touch, until he filled both of his palms with her heavy, aching breasts and squeezed them through the thin material of her camisole top and sheer bra.

His gaze melded with hers, so hot she felt singed by his sizzling stare. "I'd give more attention to these lovely mounds of flesh and take each one into my mouth so I can finally know how you taste. I'd suck on your nipples for a good long time before moving on."