Meeting Danger (Danger #1) (21 page)

His eyes were dark with desire as he laid her onto his bed. When he stretched out next to her and pulled her close to kiss her again, the contact sent electricity shooting through her system. For once, there was no worrying about tomorrow. No guilt at thoughts about the past. She was completely focused on this moment.

Camden tugged his T-shirt over his head. Mirroring his action, Autumn pulled off her own shirt. His eyes seemed to darken as his gaze dropped to her bra.

He gripped the back of her head and kissed her again. This time, he opened his mouth slightly, tasting her lips with his tongue before he slipped it between them, pushing inside her mouth. Pulses of heat shot through her, zinging straight to where her legs were pressed tightly together.

The warmth of Camden’s hand trailed from her shoulder and down her arm. When it came to a rest at the waistband of her jeans, his finger trailing back and forth across her stomach, Autumn quickly moved to unzip her jeans.

Once the denim was off her legs, Camden’s hand traveled beneath her panties. His fingers moved between her folds, making her arch her back with pleasure at the sensation, something she’d never felt before.

He was watching her intently. “You’re stunning.”

Unable to talk, let alone think of what to say, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the pleasure he was giving her.

“Autumn.” He whispered something.

You’re my angel?
Was that what he’d said? But she was too far gone to give it any more thought.

His fingers continued to play over her most sensitive flesh, stroking her and teasing her until she could no longer take it. At once, every muscle inside her body tensed. She arched her back and cried out as the pressure inside her crested, blowing every thought, every worry, every bad memory from her head.

For long moments afterward, she lay there blinking, breathing deeply as she tried to catch her breath. Camden smiled down at her and stroked her cheek. When her breathing slowed and he reached over to pull a foil packet from his bedside drawer, her insides heated anew.

He put the condom on and then pulled her on top of him. “Straddle me.”

Camden steadied her as she moved her legs to either side of his hips. His gaze locked onto hers as he slowly entered her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” Autumn dug her knees into the mattress and pressed her palms against his chest, uncertainty slowing her movements.

Camden’s hand moved back between her legs, stroking her gently as he had before. He eased out a breath as he began to thrust and said, “I want you to come again.”

Embarrassed, Autumn squeezed her eyes shut.

“No, angel. Look at me.”

She opened her eyes. Somehow she was able to keep her gaze on him as he touched her. Her pleasure seemed like a priority to him, which surprised her. It had been just the opposite with Butch. She couldn’t remember him ever having done anything like this.

Autumn rode the wave of pleasure he created until she couldn’t take it any longer. Throwing her head back, she let out a cry as she came for a second time. Camden’s hands gripped her hips, his fingers tightening on her skin as he found his own release.

She was still catching her breath when she looked down at the bandage stretched tight over his ribs. Her weight had to be hurting him. As she moved to shift off of him, his eyes blinked open.

“Stay.”

“But your ribs . . .”

“They’re fine.” He tugged at her shoulders and settled her against his chest, pulling her close.

Autumn lifted her head to study his face. Although he hadn’t yet caught his breath, it didn’t look as if he was in pain. Satisfied she wasn’t hurting him, she lay back down against him and planted a kiss on his chest.

That was amazing.
Camden had cherished her, not that it was surprising. As he tucked his chin against the top of her head, her breath caught. He was still cherishing her, actually enjoying being with her, enjoying pleasuring her.

It was as if he’d known everything she’d been missing. All those times with Butch, she’d been like a robot—emotionless and feeling nothing. This couldn’t have been any more different. Camden had brought out blazing heat from inside her, white-hot passion she hadn’t even known she was capable of.

She smoothed a hand over Camden’s torso. There were several patches where the skin was puckered and shiny. His back had them too. Whatever had happened—whatever kind of accident he’d been in—had been significant.

She gently stroked a scar. “What are these from?”

Camden stiffened. Clearly it wasn’t something he wanted to discuss.

Stupid
. Autumn pressed her lips together, silently chastising herself. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

But a moment later, he drew in a long breath and said, “I was in a fire a little over a year ago.”

Autumn thought back to the incident with the matches. At the time, she’d been unable to reconcile how a simple box of matches could unnerve someone as strong as him. Now it was clear; the fire had caused Camden trauma.

His quietly spoken words brought other questions to mind, but she kept them to herself for the moment. Instead she kissed the scar, grateful he’d trusted her enough to share what he had.

They held each other quietly for a while, simply enjoying each other’s warmth and listening to each other breathe. It was a long time before he said, “A boy died, and I feel responsible.”

Surprise made her frown, and she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

Camden let out a sigh. “In my last assignment—the one before the Wicked Disciples, Gray and I were investigating a kidnapping. We’d finally learned where Caleb, the boy, was being held, but just before we made it there, the kidnappers shot him.”

Autumn shuddered as he described the fire and the beam that had fallen on top of him.

His voice was pained as he whispered, “I was so close to getting him back alive.”

Her heart stuttered at the crestfallen look on his face. There were a number of emotions she’d heard underneath the matter-of-fact tone he’d used to describe the events. The main ones, though, were regret and sadness.

Autumn breathed deeply, choosing her words carefully. She could understand what he was feeling. People could say things like, “It’s not your fault,” but it didn’t mean a person believed them. Sometimes the pain was too deep to allow oneself to forgive.

She looked into his eyes. “He died because of the kidnappers, Camden, not because of you.”

The muscle in his jaw ticked as he shook his head. “I should have been able to save him.”

“It wasn’t possible.”

“I promised Caleb’s mother I’d bring him home alive. I should never have done that. You should have seen her, though. She was sick with worry.”

“You were trying to make her feel better.”

Camden closed his eyes. “Yeah. I had to do something.”

“Did you see her? Afterward, I mean.”

“Gray and I saw her at the funeral.”

“Did you get a chance to talk?”

“She and her husband thanked us for all we’d done.” Camden gazed down at her. “It made me feel even worse.”

“Is this why you started your computer business? To do something different?”

“It’s one of the reasons.”

She lay back down against him. Things made sense now, and she understood.

The quiet had settled between them when he asked, “Will you tell me about your childhood?”

Her gaze wandered the darkened room as she thought about how to respond. Camden had shared something painful and intimate with her. Wasn’t it only fair that she share too?

He was looking at her with sympathy in his eyes as she exhaled a breath and answered. “Not so great. Not after my mother died, anyway.”

Camden shifted them so they were facing each other. “Were you abused?”

Autumn shook her head as she watched the muscle in his jaw pulse. “It was more like neglect, for the most part. My father had some strong ideas about individualism and didn’t trust the government. He refused to pay taxes, didn’t like being told what he should and shouldn’t do. That’s why I never went to school, why I didn’t get my shots like the other kids.” She sighed. “Normally he’d just ignore Wade and me. But when he drank . . . well, that’s when he and Wade used to get into it. He may not have ever hit me, but with Wade, it was different. Wade was older and he challenged our father, made him angry.”

Suddenly, she didn’t mind Camden knowing everything—the whole story. As she spoke, the words flowed more freely.

“I’m not sure exactly what my father did, but whatever it was, it wasn’t legal. He was a criminal, a lot like Butch. He’d disappear for weeks ‘working,’ and it was always a payday when he returned.”

Camden caressed her cheek. “How often would he drink?”

Autumn closed her eyes. “Pretty often. Wade and I learned to keep our distance, but it wasn’t always possible. And then the day came where my father had hit Wade one too many times. He was done.” She bit down on her lip. “I followed Wade into his room and found him packing. I begged him to stay. When I realized he wasn’t going to, I begged to come along. That’s when we went to Chicago.”

“How old were you?”

“Fifteen.”

“And Wade was what, twenty-one?”

“Twenty.”

“Did he ever get to go to school?”

“Some at first when he was young, but then our father pulled him out of school when he had an argument with the principal. Mom tried to homeschool us, but she died before she could teach me much.”

Autumn looked away as the familiar ache brought tears to her eyes at the thought of her mother. She was a good woman who’d tried hard, but couldn’t stand up to her overbearing husband. Blinking the tears away, Autumn struggled to continue.

“After Mom died, I didn’t get any more schooling. Our father didn’t care whether we got an education or not, and Wade slipped out of the house as often as he could to hang out with his friends. One of them was taking auto mechanics in high school, and he taught Wade what he’d learned.”

“What was it like, living on your own with Wade?”

“It was always a struggle for money. Wade got a job as a mechanic, usually working for money under the table, but he had periods where he didn’t work at all.”

“How long did you live in Chicago together?”

“For two years. When I turned seventeen, Wade started talking about me finding work to help pay the bills. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, especially since I couldn’t read or write. Then I talked to the neighbor downstairs. She said she’d pay me to watch her kids.”

“You took the job?”

“No, because a couple of days later, Wade said we were leaving. It’s when he brought me to Butch.”

Camden was silent for a moment. “You’re never going to live like that again, Autumn. I promise you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“I mean it.”

“I know you do.”

But she wasn’t Camden’s responsibility. She needed to take care of herself, and she couldn’t rely on him forever.

Right now, though, Autumn didn’t want to think about any of that. She stroked his chest, determined to stay in the moment.

Camden studied Autumn in the moonlight as she whispered, “I knew there was something different about you the first time I saw you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your eyes. They aren’t cold like Butch’s.”

Thoughts of what she’d been through infuriated Camden. But as Autumn let out a contented sigh, he forced his bunched muscles to relax.

“That was amazing,” she said.

He took her hand and gently kissed it. “For me too.”

He’d hoped to give her pleasure. Not that the bar was set very high; it was safe to assume her time with Butch had been anything but loving. Afraid of how furious he would be if he knew the whole truth, he didn’t ask.

“At first, I didn’t think this was going to happen.”

Camden stroked a finger down her cheek. “I can’t resist you anymore, Autumn. I’m done trying.”

It’s time to quit the task force.
Deep down, he’d already known his time with the team was done. He might have only known Autumn for a couple of weeks, but he meant every word he’d just said. And he was done trying to fight his attraction for her.

Autumn’s lips curved up. There was the smile he loved. As she snuggled against him, Camden vowed to himself to bring it back to her lips as often as he could.

I’m going to keep you happy, angel.

Her breathing evened out as she relaxed and fell asleep, but he stared at the ceiling in the darkness, reflecting on the last few weeks. For the first time in his adult life, he felt settled. Grounded. Not to mention blissfully happy. Everything he wanted was right here, lying in his arms.

Autumn had grabbed hold of his heart. She hadn’t done it intentionally, but it had happened all the same. And what he felt for her went far beyond wanting to see her safe.

He thought of his grandparents. They’d hardly known each other when they’d married, but somehow had known it would work. And while it surprised him to be thinking in similar terms about Autumn, it also felt right.

• • •

Camden blinked open his eyes the next morning, disoriented for a second at the feel of a warm body next to his. He glanced over to find Autumn curled up against his side, gazing up at him with an endearing smile on her face.

“Morning,” she whispered.

“Morning. What a beautiful view I get to wake up to.”

She blushed. “For me too.”

Wanting the moment to last for as long as it possibly could, he tightened his hold on her and wrapped a lock of her silky blond hair around his finger.

“The night you helped me, your hair was glowing in the light. You looked like an angel. For a moment, I thought you were.”

Moisture came to her eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her.

“I’ve never been with anyone like you,” she whispered.

He gave her a small smile. “I hope that’s true, because I don’t want to be anything like Butch.”

Autumn didn’t smile back, simply dropped her gaze to his chest. Her next words wavered with emotion. “I’m so grateful for all you’ve done for me. I hope you know that.”