The Thing About Trouble (Crystal Lake 1)

“If we’re going to do whatever this is that we’re doing…” Blue looked away for a moment, a nervous tic pulsing beside her mouth. “Can we take things slow?” she whispered.

Cam eased away from her, his body tight, hot, and hard. He reached for her and gently turned her head back so that she faced him again. Those blue eyes shimmered, heavy with fear and uncertainty.

“We can go as slow as you need. You’re in the driver’s seat, Blue. I’m happy with you calling the shots.”

She offered a tremulous smile, and something inside Cam shifted. In that moment, he realized that “this” wasn’t casual for him. That Blue was more than a woman to take to bed.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m not used to men being so…” She exhaled raggedly. “Nice.”

Cam pulled her back into his arms, and they settled onto the sofa. He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Every woman deserves nice in their lives.”

She leaned into him, the silence of his home and the heat of their bodies covering them in a blanket of comfort. Cam closed his eyes, liking the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her in his head, and the taste of her lingering on his tongue. Eventually, she relaxed and her breathing slowed. And when she was asleep, he picked her up and took her to his room. He covered her and made sure she was comfortable.

And then he left her. Alone. In his bed. Tucked between his blankets.

Cam closed the door and then checked on Tawny. The little girl was splayed on top of her covers like a Raggedy Ann doll, arms flung over her head, body totally relaxed. He tucked her back in, closed her bedroom door, and headed for the living room. He flopped onto the sofa, and now that Blue was gone, Rufus jumped up beside him.

Cam scratched the dog behind the ears, and Rufus moaned in pleasure as he wiggled his body as close to Cam as he could.

“Just you and me tonight, buddy.”

This right here was a new situation for him. Cam had never brought a woman back to his place without sleeping with her.

Huh. He closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep with a smile on his face and a yearning for tomorrow.

14

Blue woke up with the birds.

Or rather, one particularly pesky feathered friend with a shrill call and a willingness to listen to itself over and over…and over. She groaned and rolled out of bed, eyes drawn to the early light just beginning to spill from underneath the blinds that covered the window. She rubbed her eyes and chased the last remnants of sleep away as she looked around.

She was in Cam’s bedroom, which had the bare bones needed to furnish a room. There was the bed, a king with no headboard, a tall dresser pushed up against the opposite wall, and a laundry basket filled with neatly folded T-shirts in the corner. His bedding was navy blue, the blinds an off-white, and there were no pictures or décor anywhere.

With a soft smile, she padded quietly out of the room and opened the door opposite to Cam’s. Tawny was bundled in the corner of a big bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and wrapped in a purple-and-yellow-polka-dot blanket. The walls were decorated with dragons and princesses and more than one unicorn. Her slow, even breaths told Blue that Tawny was still deep in dreamland, and she closed the door carefully so as not to wake her, and then headed to the main room of the house.

She spied her shoes and purse on the dining room table and grabbed them before moving toward the sofa. Cam was on his back, arms flung over his head, face turned toward Blue. His hair fell over his brow and she resisted the urge to sweep it from his face. He looked younger like this, and she got a glimpse of the boy he must have been. Devilishly handsome, and always a hint of a smile on his lips. Rufus was curled into his side and perked up an ear for a few seconds before relaxing again with a soft groan.

Blue stepped away, her eyes lingering, her mind remembering, and as she let herself outside, she was grateful for the cool morning air because her cheeks were heated through and she felt guilty somehow. Which was crazy. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She was an adult, after all, and it was perfectly okay to spend the night at a man’s home.

It just wasn’t something she’d really done much of, contrary to what a lot of folks thought.

She took exactly two steps when a voice stopped her cold. She winced and looked across the way. Mrs. Eddy was on her porch wearing the fluffiest pink bathrobe Blue had ever seen. Her hair was in curlers, and she was holding on to a large garbage bag.

“Good morning, Blue.”

“Good morning.”

“Going to be a full moon tonight,” Mrs. Eddy said with a smile barely visible in the early morning gloom.

“Oh, I…” Blue looked up at the charcoal-gray sky. “I didn’t know.”

“Blue moon at the end of the month too.” She threw her bag into the large bin at the bottom of the stairs and paused. “Makes for a crazy few weeks. Lots of shenanigans and such.” She changed gears quickly. “You sneaking out on Cameron?”

“No, I wasn’t sneaking out. I… Cam was still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake him, and, well, my cat is probably furious at me. I fell asleep—we fell asleep watching a movie, so…” Sounded lame even to Blue’s ears, but she managed a smile. “Giselle is demanding.”