Risky Pleasures (11 page)

She quickly made a decision and tightened her arms around his neck. “Yes, I’m ready.”

F
our days later, Cameron leaned against the rail on his patio watching the sun rising over the ocean. Vanessa was upstairs, still asleep in his bed. He had slipped away momentarily to come downstairs to wait for a call he expected from Kurt…and also to think.

Although he had no intention of doing so, if he were to adhere to their agreement, he had only one week left to spend with Vanessa. And if he were to analyze their days together since becoming sex mates, he would be the first to admit that they had been some of the best days of his life. He smiled, thinking that a lot could be said for spontaneity.

There hadn’t been too much they hadn’t tried in the bedroom. But then the bedroom hadn’t been the only place they’d made love. In fact, come to think of it, the only times they had actually made it to the bed was when it was time for them to retire for the night. Otherwise, spontaneous meant spontaneous.

Vanessa had seduction down to an art form, and he’d discovered the hard way—literally—that she was a woman of incredible talents. She had to be the most passionate human being on the face of the earth. Already his body was whirring with thoughts of what today would bring.

Although the sex was great, Cameron knew it wasn’t the only reason he was enjoying every moment that he spent with Vanessa. Whether it was playing tennis, looking for seashells on the beach, swimming together, cooking, even shopping, everything with her was turning into an adventure.

They never talked about work but had shared their thoughts about the many charitable organizations they were both involved with. He had also discovered that she was a very compassionate person who gave her time to others generously. When he’d told her about his involvement in Angel Flight, an organization in which CEOs volunteered their private jets to transport needy patients, she promised to propose it at the next Steele board meeting, now that the company was purchasing a private jet.

The ring of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts. He answered it. “Yeah, Kurt, what do you have for me?”

“An arrest has been made, Cameron.”

He nodded, relieved. At first he’d tried not to get the authorities involved, but when there had been a third incident, he’d been left with no choice. For the next ten to fifteen minutes he listened while Kurt detailed how they had discovered the identity of the person responsible for vandalizing the offices of Global Petroleum on three separate occasions.

“Of course he won’t admit McMurray put him up to anything,” Kurt was saying. “But that’s okay since the man was caught in full color on video. I’m going to make sure he does jail time for what he did, which will give him a chance to think about it.”

Cameron nodded. “Good job, Kurt. The charges being brought against him will send a clear message to others that I mean business and I won’t tolerate such behavior from any employee.”

After ending the call with Kurt, Cameron leaned back against the rail and stared across the ocean. For some reason he had a gut feeling that this thing with McMurray was far from over. Bitter, John McMurray would continue to make problems or would hire others to do his dirty work for him.

Not wanting to think about McMurray anymore, Cameron switched his thoughts back to Vanessa. They had gone shopping again yesterday, this time for baby items. She was excited about the new addition to the Steele family, Chance’s son, Alden. Cameron was grateful she hadn’t asked for his opinion on anything since he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been around a baby.

A baby.

He remembered his conversation of a few nights ago with Vanessa when they’d discussed the possibility of her being pregnant. Yesterday, while shopping for Chance and Kylie’s baby, a part of him had wished that he and Vanessa had been shopping for their own child. He had never entertained any thoughts of sharing a child with a woman until now, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea…with Vanessa.

He shook his head. First he needed to secure a strong relationship with the mother before he could even contemplate bringing a baby into the mix.

But he definitely was thinking about it.

“Okay, I’m stumped,” Vanessa said, tossing aside the crossword puzzle she’d been working on for the past half hour. A few hours ago she and Cameron had made love upstairs in his bed and now they were stretched out beside each other by his pool in a double chaise lounge.

“Maybe I can help,” Cameron said, glancing from the book he was reading. “What’s the clue?”

Vanessa picked up the book. “It’s a five-letter word for ‘a fruit-loving bug.’ The second letter is a
P.
”

Cameron turned on his side and stretched his arm around her. “Aphid.” He proceeded to spell it for her.

She stared at him, amazed. “And you knew the answer…just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers for emphasis.

He shrugged. “No great mystery. I love science, always have.”

Vanessa shook her head. He evidently loved math, as well, if the last two shopping trips were anything to go by. By the time they’d reached the cash register, he had totaled the purchases in his head, almost to the penny. She wondered…

She flipped on her side to face him. “Cameron?”

“Yes?”

Her heart began to race. It happened every time his sexy smile was directed at her. “It’s plain to see that you’re a very smart and intelligent man, and I don’t believe you acquired those traits since reaching adulthood. So why did you drop out of high school?”

She watched what amounted to pain form in his eyes and he shifted on the lounger, seeming uncomfortable with her question. He lowered his arm from her shoulders. For the first time ever, Vanessa could feel him withdrawing from her. Though he seldom discussed his childhood, he had told her about his parents and how they’d died and about the grandparents who’d raised him. Why did this particular question bother him?

“I’m sorry if I asked you about something that’s too personal, Cameron.”

He glanced back at her and then, as if he had reached a decision about something, he pulled her back into his arms. “No, it’s not too personal, at least not for you. I dropped out of school at sixteen because my grandfather lost his job. The company he had been employed with for over forty years deliberately laid him off less than a year before he was to retire so he couldn’t receive any retirement benefits.”

“Oh, how awful.”

“Yes, it was. He was sixty-four and because of his age, there was no other place for him to go or anything else that he knew how to do. My grandfather wasn’t the only person that particular company ruined that way. There were a number of others.”

Vanessa sat up. She was angry. “But couldn’t something be done about that company? Surely the government could have stepped in and—”

“The government did nothing,” Cameron said, just as angry and very bitter. “There were no laws in place to protect workers against such tactics. And with no money coming in, I had to do something. I couldn’t let my grandfather worry himself to death. His health hadn’t been at its best as it was, and he was trying to make that final year.”

“So you dropped out of school to help.” It was a statement rather than a question.

“Yes. Gramps didn’t want me to do it, neither did my teachers, but there was nothing else to do. There was still a mortgage on the house and Gramps was still paying the medical bills my grandmother had left behind.”

For a moment he didn’t say anything then he added, “I’m just thankful for Mrs. Turner.”

Vanessa raised a brow. “Mrs. Turner?”

“Yes. She was one of my teachers who thought I had a bright future ahead of me, so she volunteered to tutor me. When I turned eighteen I passed the GED and got my high-school diploma that way.”

Vanessa nodded. She was thankful for someone like Mrs. Turner in Cameron’s life, as well. “And what type of work did you do for those two years?”

“I worked at Myers Feed Store for a while, driving his truck, making deliveries, and then I went to work for Handover Construction Company. With the money I made I was able to keep food on the table for me and Gramps and buy his medication each month.”

Vanessa knew from what he’d told her last week that his grandfather had died right before Cameron had entered college. That must have been a lonely time for him. “Thanks for sharing that with me, Cameron.”

Instead of saying anything, he pulled her into his arms and just held her close.

“I can’t believe you’re taking time to call me,” Sienna teased. “I thought Cameron was occupying most of your time these days. Don’t tell me you’ve had enough of each other already.”

Vanessa dropped down on her bed and glanced out the window. Down below she could see Cameron driving off, going to town to pick up the items they needed for dinner. Tonight they would get into the kitchen together. “No, we haven’t had enough.”

She thought about what she’d said then decided she couldn’t really speak for Cameron and modified her reply. “At least I haven’t had enough.”

Sienna was the only person to whom Vanessa had admitted that she and Cameron were having an affair. To Cheyenne, who called periodically, she hadn’t said anything, deciding to let her sister keep guessing, although Vanessa was pretty sure Cheyenne knew the score.

“How many more days?” Sienna asked her.

“Seven.”

“Then what happens?”

“Then Cameron returns to Charlotte. I’ll be leaving a day or two afterward when Cheyenne returns.”

“What’s after that?”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Sienna, why are you asking me that? I told you that nothing happens after that. Cameron will go his way and I’ll go mine. This was an island fling and nothing more.”

“And what if you fall in love with him?”

Vanessa shook her head stubbornly. “Won’t happen. You of all people know that I’ve learned—the hard way, I might add—how to keep my emotions in check.”

“But why would you want to if the right person came along? You know that I wasn’t ready for Dane when we first met. Talk about night and day. He was the rich kid and I was the one whose parents had more issues than
The New York Times
had newspapers. I tried to fight his interest, tried convincing him of all the reasons we were wrong for each other. Then I finally talked him into letting me be his bedmate for a night, thinking that would definitely get us out of each other’s systems. You of all people know that didn’t work.”

“Yes, but you and Dane were meant to be together, I’ve always told you that. I never knew why you were fighting it and fighting him.”

“The same way I don’t understand why you’re fighting Cameron. Okay, he can be a control freak at times, he likes being in charge, the master of his game. But even you said he’s been letting you call the shots, allowing you to take control, so that means at least he’s flexible. And can you honestly say that after spending a week with him, he’s still the monster you always thought him to be?”

Vanessa remained quiet for a moment as she pondered Sienna’s question. She thought about the time she and Cameron had spent together, all the fun they’d had. Then she said, “No, I don’t think he’s a monster.”

Sienna must have heard the tiny catch in her voice because her friend didn’t say anything for a while, until she asked, “Are you okay, Vanessa?”

“No, I’m not okay,” she confirmed with a bit of gloom in her tone. “But I will be. It’s just that…”

“What?”

“Nothing. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Despite all the misgivings she was suddenly feeling, Vanessa refused to give in to the racing of her heart and summoned every ounce of her common sense. No, she told herself, what she was feeling was nothing other than good old-fashioned lust. “Yes, Sienna, I’m sure.”

Vanessa held out her hand to Cameron. “The sharp knife.”

He carefully placed the item she had requested into her hand and then watched as she expertly removed the bone and skin from the four chicken breast halves before tossing the meat into the slow cooker.

“Bell pepper.”

He scooped up the bell pepper strips that he’d cut and tossed them in the pot to join the chicken.

“Now the can of pepper-jack cheese soup and the chunky salsa mixture.”

Before handing those items to her, he eased closer to her while she stood at the kitchen counter. “My mouth is watering already.”

His closeness and the low chuckle that rumbled close to her ear actually made her shiver. Even after a week her body still reacted whenever he was near. “Then I expect you to have a clean plate later,” she said, placing the lid on the cooker and setting it to cook on low for six hours. “This is what I call easy and tasty.”

“I can certainly see that.”

Considering her mind had been elsewhere all day, ever since talking to Sienna, Vanessa had wanted to prepare something that didn’t take a lot of thought, and this was the first thing that had come to mind. It was one of the first dishes she had prepared in her home economics class in high school and she had served it to her family, or anyone else who wanted to eat it, for three nights in a row.