Tara Pammi - Scandalous Sins

He brought his mouth back to hers, his hands holding her by the hips so she could feel what she was doing to him. The ache of need pounded through his body, the primal need to mate driving every other thought out of his brain.

He should have taken her upstairs to the bed but he wanted her now. Now.

The hunger was in time with his racing pulse. He wanted her on the floor. On the desk. On the sofa. Wherever he could have her. He dragged his mouth off hers. ‘I want you here. Now.’

Violet’s eyes shone with excitement. She didn’t say anything but her actions spoke for her. She stroked her hands down his chest to his abdomen, deftly unhooking the towel from around his waist and taking him in her hands. Her touch wreaked havoc on his control. Red-hot pleasure shot through his body, luring him to the abyss where the dark magic of oblivion beckoned.

Cam had to stop her from taking him over the edge. He drew her hand away and guided her to the floor. He kissed his way down from her breasts to her belly, lingering over her mound, ramping up her anticipation for what was to come. She squirmed and whimpered when he claimed his prize, her body bucking within seconds of his tongue moving against her. Her cries of pleasure made him want her all the more. Her passion was so unfettered, so unrestrained it made him wonder if she would find the same freedom to express her sexuality with someone else.

Someone else...

Cam tried to push the thought aside but it was impossible. It was ugly, grotesque thinking of Violet with some other guy. Someone who might not appreciate her sensitivity and shyness. Someone who might pressure her into doing things she wasn’t comfortable with doing. Someone who wouldn’t protect her at all times and in all places.

That’s rich coming from the guy who hasn’t got a condom handy.

Violet must have sensed Cam’s shift in mood for she propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. ‘Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?’

Cam took her by the hand and helped her to stand. ‘It’s not you, sweetheart. It’s me.’ He handed her the bathrobe before picking up his towel and hitching it around his waist. ‘I didn’t bring a condom with me.’

‘Oh...’

‘Unlike other men, I don’t have them strategically planted in every room of the house.’ But maybe I should.

Her lips flickered with a smile. ‘That’s kind of nice to know...’

‘I’m selective when it comes to choosing partners.’ He only ever chose women he knew he wouldn’t fall in love with: safe, no-strings women who were out for a bit of fun and a tearless goodbye at the end of it. Women who didn’t look at him with big soulful brown eyes and pretend they didn’t feel things they clearly felt.

How was he going to end this?

Do you even want to?

Cam played with the idea of extending their affair. But how long was too long and how short was too short? Either way, it still left him with the task of facing her family and saying the happy ever after they were hanging out for wasn’t going to happen.

And that wasn’t even the half of it. What about what Violet felt? No matter how much she said she was only after a short fling, he knew her well enough to know she was only saying that to please him. Would it be fair to continue this, knowing she was probably falling in love with him? God knew he was having enough trouble keeping his own feelings in check. Feelings he couldn’t explain. Feelings that crept up on him at odd moments, like when Violet looked at him a certain way, or when she smiled, or when she touched him and it sent a lightning zap of electricity through him. Feelings he couldn’t dismiss because Violet wasn’t a temporary fixture in his life.

The longer he continued their affair, the harder it would be to end it. He knew it and yet...and yet...he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not until after Christmas. Grandad Archie surely deserved to have his last Christmas wish?

Violet made a business of tying the bathrobe back around her waist. ‘I suppose you’re careful to choose partners you’re not likely to fall in love with.’

‘It’s easier that way.’ Maybe that was why he never felt fully satisfied after an encounter even when the sex was good. Something always felt a little off centre. Out of balance, like only wearing one shoe. He never let a relationship drag on for too long. A month or two maximum. It made him look like a bit of a player but that was the price he was prepared to pay for his freedom.

Violet gave him a smile that didn’t quite make the grade. ‘Lucky me.’

Cam frowned. ‘Hey, I didn’t mean I chose you for that reason. You’re different, you know you are.’

‘Not different enough that you’ll fall in love with me.’

‘Violet—’

She held up her hand. ‘It’s okay, I don’t need the lecture.’

Cam took her by the shoulders again. ‘Are you saying you’re in love with me? Is that what you’re saying?’

Her eyes did everything they could to avoid his. ‘No, I’m not saying that.’ Her voice was hardly more than a thread of sound.

Cam tipped up her chin, locking her gaze with his. ‘This is all I can give you. You have to accept it, Violet. Even if we continued our relationship past Christmas, it would still come down to this. I’m not going to get married to you or to anyone just now.’

Her shoulders went down on a sigh. ‘I know. I’m being silly. Sorry.’

He brought her head against his chest, stroking her silky hair with his hand. ‘You’re not being silly. You’re being normal. I’m the one with the commitment issues, not you.’

Her arms snaked around his waist. ‘Can we go back to bed now?’

Cam lifted her in his arms. ‘What a great idea.’

* * *

Violet had arranged with Cam to take her back to her flat on Sunday afternoon to help Amy and Stef with the clean-up, but while she was getting breakfast ready while Cam checked some emails, Amy phoned.

‘You’re not going to believe this,’ Amy said. ‘But last night old Mr Yates in twenty-five was smoking in bed and started a fire—’

‘Is he all right?’ Violet asked.

‘Just a bit of smoke inhalation but both our flats are uninhabitable from the water damage,’ Amy said. ‘The landlady is furious and poor Mr Yates won’t want to face her in a hurry.’

‘So what will we do?’ Violet asked. ‘Are we expected to clean it up or will a professional cleaning service do that?’

‘Cleaning service,’ Amy said. ‘I’m not going in there until the building’s secure. The ceiling might come down or something. Stef’s going to move back in with her mum and I’m going to move in with Heath. We’ve talked about moving in together for ages so this nails it. What about you? Will you stay with Cam now that you’re officially engaged?’

‘I... Yes, that’s what I’ll do,’ Violet said. What else could she say? No, Cam doesn’t want to live with anyone?

Cam came in at that point and smiled. It never failed to make her shiver when he looked at her like that. He stroked a hand down her back while he reached past her to take a mug out of the cupboard next to her. It was the lightest touch but it sent a tremor of longing through her flesh until her legs threatened to buckle.

Violet said goodbye to Amy and put her phone on the bench. ‘I have a slight problem...’

‘What’s wrong?’

She explained about the fire and the water damage. ‘So, I have to find somewhere else to live.’

It was hard to read his expression beyond the concern it showed while she had related the events of last night’s fire. He turned to one side to take out a tea bag from a box inside the pantry. ‘You can stay here as long as you need to. I told you that the other day.’