Down London Road (On Dublin Street 2)

Peetie chuckled. ‘Nate, mate, when you try to convince a teenager to spend time with you playing video games, it’s time to re-evaluate your life.’

We laughed, earning us the middle finger from Nate.

‘I’ll be home in a few hours,’ Cole informed me with a small smile before he left the flat. That smile warmed me up better than a mug of hot chocolate.

‘Actually, you guys should go too.’ Cam moved towards them, making a shooing gesture.

Peetie stood up with a knowing grin. ‘Sure, no problem. Lyn wants me to meet her on Princes Street anyway.’

Grumbling, Nate switched off the console and telly. ‘You’re both whipped.’

‘Did you see the shoes?’ Cam asked smugly, making me blush. If I didn’t know he had plans to screw me imminently, I did now. And so did his friends.

Nate did some more grumbling, making me blush harder with a ‘Lucky bastard’.

‘See you soon, Jo.’ Peetie nodded at me as he passed us.

Punching Cam on the arm, Nate advised, ‘Watch those heels on your back. Those f**kers can hurt.’

I groaned in mortification as Cam laughed.

‘Wear protection.’ Nate winked at me. ‘And have fun, kiddies.’

As soon as the door shut behind them I glowered at Cam. ‘We’re not having sex.’

His mouth fell open. ‘Why not? I threw them out. We have a couple of hours of uninterrupted sex time.’

‘Yeah, but now they know that’s what we’re doing.’

‘And what difference does that make?’

‘I don’t know. But it makes some kind of difference.’

Cam cocked his head to the side. ‘Female logic. It needs its own decipher code.’

‘We should invite Peetie and Lyn out for dinner with us.’

‘Okay, maybe it’s just Jo logic.’ Cam chuckled at me jumping topics on him.

I shrugged, heading towards the fireplace to pick up a photo frame Cam had on the mantel. It held a photo of him, Nate and Peetie dressed up as superheroes for Halloween. Cam was Batman. Of course he was. ‘I just thought it would be nice to get to know your friends better. They are like your brothers.’

‘Okay, that sounds good. I’ll talk to him about it.’

‘I’d say we should invite Nate, but bringing a girl to dinner with his friends might be the kind of signal he wants to avoid sending out to one of his … companions.’

Cam grunted. ‘And you’d be right.’

Studying the photo of Nate dressed as Iron Man, I frowned. He really was incredibly good-looking. And there was something about him. Behind all the bluster there was something else. It was in his eyes. They were kind. ‘Is he completely against all relationships? It’s a shame if so.’ I turned to smile softly at Cam. ‘He really does seem like a nice guy.’

‘He is.’ Cam nodded, seeming very serious all of sudden. ‘But … he lost someone.’

An ache pierced my chest as I processed what Cam wasn’t saying. ‘A girl?’

Looking away, I could see that whatever it was that had happened had also affected Cam. ‘It was a while ago, but it changed him.’

Stunned, I shook my head, looking back at the grinning Nate in the photo. ‘You just never know what hurts people are living with, do you? We’re all so good at hiding them.’

‘You’re the master.’

Yeah, I wasn’t going to disagree with that.

Lost for a moment, staring at the photo, feeling a deep sympathy for Nate and for the love that had been taken from him, I didn’t hear Cam move until he was standing right behind me. The heat of him, the smell of him, drew me out of my melancholy thoughts and my fingers fell from the picture frame, my body growing hot in anticipation of him.

His hands rested on my hips for a moment and that was all I needed to feel a quiver of excitement low in my belly. Strong fingers curled into the hem of my jumper and slowly he began to pull it up. The movement demanded that I raise my arms above my head and I did so, the room silent except for our soft breathing and the rustle of clothing. Darkness descended over me for a second as he tugged the jumper up over my head, cool air whispering across my skin, kissing it into goose bumps.

I shivered, letting my arms fall slowly as my jumper hit the floor.

Cam’s warm hand grazed my back gently, sweeping my hair over my shoulder. Tenderly, his fingertips brushed my skin, following the strap of my bra down my shoulder and along my upper back.

I felt a slight tug and my bra loosened, descending to the floor with Cam’s slight nudging. Another shiver moved through me and my ni**les grew tight with arousal. I shifted a little, my underwear rubbing against me, damp with excitement.

He tortured me with his touch, his deft fingertips skimming my waist, my ribs, the curve of my br**sts. I moaned, my head falling back, my back arching, my br**sts begging to be touched. My silent pleading was ignored as Cam’s gentle exploration moved down my stomach, his hands coming to a stop on the waistband of my skirt.

Taking a step closer, so that his front was pressed against my back, Cam hooked his thumbs in the fabric of my skirt and pants and pushed down. Rather than letting them drop, he kept hold of the material with his palms pressed against it, capturing it against my body, as his fingers trailed down my bare skin. He followed the movement, slowly lowering himself to his haunches, his teasing caress coasting down my outer thighs, past my knees, down my calves, until his thumbs brushed my ankles.

Struggling to control my breathing, I shakily stepped out of my clothes. His heat rushed back up my body as he stood.