Undone by Her Tender Touch

“How about I take you home with me and we make love all night long?” he murmured.

She licked those delectably swollen lips. “Now that’s better.”

Her husky voice shot straight to his gut and he realized he was a short fuse away from taking her right here in his friend’s kitchen and damn anyone who saw.

“You get the food,” he said in a strained voice. “I’ll get the wine.”

Two

Cameron pulled Pippa out the back door and the brisk chill of the winter air blew over her ears. She tugged her hand from Cameron’s long enough to pull her coat tighter around her, but he quickly reclaimed her wrist, hauling her ever closer to his car.

He stopped abruptly when they got to a midnight-black Escalade. He turned with a frown, still holding tightly to her hand.

“How did you arrive? Did you drive?”

Drive? She didn’t even own a car. Nor did she have a license, which was problematic given that she needed a delivery van to cater events.

She shook her head. “Ashley sent a car for me.”

He paused, arching one eyebrow. “And how did you get all that stuff here from New York?”

She flushed, feeling as though he were judging her and her abilities.

“I shopped here. Had the wine delivered. Ashley has an excellent kitchen.” Pippa should know since she was the one who’d stocked it from floor to ceiling. Ashley was clueless when it came to cooking, but Pippa was working to rectify that.

Cameron opened the passenger door to the Escalade and all but pushed her inside. “Good enough. It works out perfectly. I’ll have a car drive you back to the city in the morning.”

With that, he shut the door, leaving her a little disgruntled at how eager he seemed to be to get rid of her before they even had sex.

He stalked around the front, yanked open his door and climbed in, keying the ignition before he’d even settled onto the seat.

Then again, her feminine pride was stroked just a bit over how desperate he acted to get her to his house so the sexing could commence.

She knew he didn’t live far. Ashley had commented on the fact that they were now neighbors with Devon’s purchase of the new house.

Cameron tore down the driveway, his hands tight around the steering wheel as he navigated onto the paved lane. He drove about a quarter mile before turning into a gated drive. The gate swung open and Cameron accelerated up the winding path to the house.

Pippa couldn’t make much out about it in the dark. There weren’t any lights on. The mansion loomed in the shadows. It looked unwelcoming. She wondered if it was a hulking monstrosity built from stone like a medieval dwelling. She’d heard Devon tease Cameron about his “cave” and now she was curious.

Just before they got to the house, lights began to flicker on. Pippa realized that Cameron was turning them on remotely from the SUV. She leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse but was prevented as Cam pulled into the garage.

Determined that she wasn’t going to succumb to nerves or be caught at any disadvantage, she slid out of the passenger’s side and walked around to meet him by the door. He ushered her inside, one hand pressed to the small of her back.

They walked into a sprawling kitchen that made her drool with envy. It was nirvana to someone like her, who’d rather be hard at work over a stove than anywhere else. It was like a showroom, so immaculate that she wondered if anyone ever used it.

He didn’t pause or allow her to, either. He pressed ahead, running a gauntlet through a huge living room to the wooden staircase that opened into the foyer where the front entrance was. Tugging her behind him, he mounted the steps. She nearly had to run to keep up.

By the time they made it into the spacious master bedroom, she was slightly winded. But before she could think to catch up, he yanked her to him, molding her body against his. His lips found hers in a ravenous kiss that muddled her senses.

“You are so damn beautiful,” he muttered as his mouth skimmed down her jaw to her ear. “You drive me crazy. Across the room. If I even know you’re near.”

She smiled a tiny smile of satisfaction. What woman wouldn’t love to hear this?

He set her apart from him, his hands almost rough on her shoulders. He stood breathing hard, his fingers curled into her flesh.

“We need to discuss a few things before we get carried away.”

Though his words came out calm, his eyes blazed with a wildness that made her shiver. He wanted her. There was no question. She’d never been quite so devoured by something so simple as a man’s gaze.

“There are things you should know. Things I need to make clear so there is no misunderstanding.”

Her curiosity piqued, she lifted an eyebrow and gently shook away his hands. She eased onto the edge of the bed and then crossed one leg primly over her knee.

“Do go on. I’m listening.”

He frowned a moment, as if he couldn’t quite ascertain whether she was teasing him. Okay, she totally was, but what could be so important that he’d put a screeching halt to some pretty hot foreplay? Not that they’d really gotten that far into anything yet, but the way he kissed made her feel like they were already having sex.

He wiped a hand over his mouth, cupping his chin for a brief moment before he pinned her once more with that glittering gaze.

“I don’t do commitment. I need you to understand that if we go to bed together, this is a one-night stand. I won’t call you in a few days. I won’t call you, period. I’ll expect you to leave in the morning. I’ll provide a car for your transport back into the city.”

She blinked and then she laughed. It was clear it was the very last thing he’d expected her to do. Had he maybe expected her to stomp out of his bedroom in a huff?

Still smiling, she rose and sauntered toward him. When she was in his space, she let her fingers trail up the buttons of his shirt and then to his neck and jaw.

“You’re way too serious, Cam,” she drawled. “I was hardly anticipating a marriage proposal. If you expect me to cling to you and beg for more when this night’s over, you’re destined to disappointment. What I want is hot sex. Can you give me that?”

Relief flared in those gorgeous blue eyes and his nostrils quivered as his breaths came in harsh spurts. He was reaching for her when she put a hand to his chest.

“Not so fast, hotshot. I have a few things I’d like to get out of the way, too.”

He looked caught off guard and his brows furrowed in quick reaction.

“I assume you’ve got condoms. Or rather, I’m not assuming anything. No condoms? No sex. I’m clean, in case you’re wondering. It’s none of your business when the last time I had sex was or who with, but it’s been long enough that I’ve had blood work done since. And I never have unprotected sex.”

“I’ve got them,” he growled. “I’m clean. I don’t give a f—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t care who you had sex with last or when. Been a while for me, too. I’m clean and I always use condoms.”

She reached for him, bunching his shirt into her fist, and then she yanked him forward. “Then we have nothing else to talk about,” she said just before she dragged him down to meet her kiss.

Lust gripped Cameron by the throat and squeezed until he was light-headed. She was everything he’d imagined and a whole hell of a lot more. She was sweet, spicy, feisty as hell and she was seducing him in his own bedroom.

He loved how impatient she was, yanking at his shirt, pulling it from his pants. He was used to being the aggressor in bed, but it was a huge turn-on to have Pippa boldly staking her claim.

When her fingers slipped into the waistband of his slacks and began undoing the fly, he nearly lost it. He took in deep breaths, trying to calm the adrenaline boiling through his veins.

But then, as soon as the fly was loosened, she reached down and cupped his erection.

Oh, hell.