Judy Hubbard - Take Me in Your Arms

Coming to a decision, she stood, grabbed her purse from the desk drawer and hurried out.

Chapter 3

Angela drove down George Washington Memorial Parkway for about forty-five minutes until she reached the high-class neighborhood of Potomac, Maryland, where Cam lived. She admired the beautiful multimillion-dollar mansions that sat an aesthetically good distance from the road, until she located Cam’s house—a sprawling two-story white edifice surrounded by a white iron security fence, which thankfully was open. As she drove up to the house, she spared a quick glance at the magnificent, well-manicured lawn. It was only the third week of March, but the grass was already dark green and healthy. Tiny shrubs, colorful plants and flowers strategically framed the circular driveway. A spectacular view of the Potomac River was visible just to the left of his house.

Once she stopped the car and put it into Park, she sprinted out of the vehicle and ran to the front door. She rang the doorbell, alternating with knocking furiously. Just when she thought she was going to have to call for help, she spied a blurred figure approaching through the purposefully distorted frosted glass door and it finally swung open.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of a bare-chested Cam. His feet were also bare, and he wore black jeans that hung low on his lean hips. In one hand he held a black shirt carelessly. His frown quickly turned into a smile.

“Angela, what are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow night.”

“You called me.” Her voice came out in a rush as relief flooded through her at the sight of him. “Why?”

“Oh.” He scratched his chin as if thinking. “I just wanted to ask if you liked Thai food.”

“Thai food?” She stared at him in disbelief. She had nearly had a coronary because he wanted to know if she liked Thai food!

“You could have just called me back.”

She frowned at his logical retort. “I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”

“Oh.” He glanced down at his smooth, bare chest, drawing her attention there, as well. “I was probably in the sauna. I never take my phone in there.” He stepped aside. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” She walked inside and he closed the door behind them, motioning for her to follow him down the black-and-white-tiled hallway into the living room. She noticed his back was just as defined as his muscled chest, and to stop from touching him, she linked her fingers together in front of her. Lord, she wished he’d put on his shirt to remove the temptation to caress his smooth, hard muscles.

“Were you worried about me?” he tossed over his shoulder.

“No,” she quickly answered before sitting down on the sofa.

“No?” He treated her to a skeptical stare before sitting closely beside her. “Then why are you here?”

Why did he have to sit so close? Why hadn’t she chosen one of the tan wing chairs across from the sofa? Gosh, he smelled good—clean, spicy and woodsy. She clasped her fingers tighter together as they lay in her lap to keep them from tracing the well-defined muscles of his pecs that were silently, yet loudly, inviting her to explore to her heart’s content. She bit her lower lip to keep in the groan of appreciation that wanted so desperately to escape from her mouth as her eyes drank in their fill of his magnificent physique.

“Angela?”

“What?” She gazed into his eyes, certain he knew where her deviant thoughts had taken her. It just wasn’t right for one man to be so sexy or so handsome.

“Were you worried about me?” he asked again with a knowing smile.

“I was concerned,” she slowly admitted. “I had visions of you passed out on the floor.”

“And you took time out from your busy day to check on me.” He covered her hands with one of his, and a bolt of awareness shot through her. “I’m flattered.”

She shrugged dismissively. “It’s no big deal.”

“It is to me.” His voice slid over her, caressing like fine silk. “This was quite a drive from Washington.”

“I made good time.” She tried to remove her hands from his, but his fingers tightened, refusing to release their grip.

“But still—”

“Feel free to put your shirt on.” Darn, why had she said that? Now he’d know how much his fit physique was disturbing her—and, Lord, was it disturbing her! To add insult to injury, he had the nerve to grin, revealing those stunning dimples of his. Oh boy, she couldn’t take much more of this man’s innate charm or outward beauty.

“You’re a nurse. Don’t tell me a bare chest is embarrassing you.” A patient’s bare chest? No. But Cam’s smooth, muscled, dark brown skin? Definitely.

“Of course not. I just thought you might be—” she paused “—cold.”

He laughed outright before a sensual grin turned up the sides of his mouth. “Believe me, the last thing I am sitting next to you is cold.”

“I...um...” He shifted closer, and she managed to free her hands and placed one to her suddenly constricted throat. Oh, please don’t let him touch me again, or I’ll combust on the spot.

“In fact, now that you’re here, feel free to examine me thoroughly.”

Without answering, she quickly stood and placed some much-needed distance between them. Walking over to stand by one of the bay windows, she took in deep gulps of air to steady her rapidly beating pulse.

“Are you okay?” She heard the humor in his voice that matched his amused eyes when she turned to look at him.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She tried valiantly to appear cool and unmoved by his sensual teasing, but knew she failed miserably.

“You’ll get no disagreement from me on that point.” His eyes slowly moved over her, setting off little violent eruptions of need in their wake.

Before she disregarded common sense and flung herself into his arms, she tore her gaze away from his and fingered a crystal vase sitting on a nearby table. Then she glanced around the room while mentally ordering herself to get it together. She noted the comfortable furnishings. The walls were blinding-white stucco with a high vaulted ceiling and high-polished red-oak flooring, half covered by a tan-and-white throw rug. Her eyes lingered on the white baby grand piano situated to the far right of the fireplace before returning to connect with the depths of Cam’s eyes.

“Your house is gorgeous.” It was a deliberate way to change the subject.

“Thanks.” Leaving his shirt carelessly draped over the back of the sofa, he stood and walked over to her, every nerve ending in her body at attention as he approached. She felt like prey being stalked by a hungry lion. “It’s home.”

“I pictured you living in a bachelor pad.” She tried to keep the conversation light and impersonal.

“That’s not me.” He stopped a few feet away from her. “I like comfort, room to roam around in and privacy. This place gives me that and is still close enough to the office and Washington proper.”

“All this space for just one man?” She cocked her head at him. “Doesn’t it get lonely?”

“No, I enjoy my own company.” He paused before taking another step closer and adding, “Perhaps one day I’ll find someone special to share it with, though.”

“I’m sure a lack of female companionship isn’t one of your problems.” That slipped out before she could stop it.

“What does that mean?”

She sighed. “Just that any woman would feel lucky to spend time with you.” He smiled as though pleased with her answer, and she admitted, “You’re quite a catch.”

His expression changed, and she wondered why. “Because I’m rich?”

“No, because you’re a nice man and you have a great personality.” The smile reappeared at her words. “You’re fun to be around.”