"What is it, Alex?" he asked as he pulled me close and tipped my chin up so I had to look at him. "What is stopping you from letting go and seeing where
we wind up? What are you running from?"
I looked into his smoldering green eyes and knew exactly what it was that I was afraid of. Cam Connor was a magnetic force, and I knew that once I was pulled into his orbit, it would be impossible for me to get out of it.
"I'm...I...I..." I stammered as I held his gaze and felt my body responding to his touch.
"Tell me, Alex," he whispered as he leaned down, holding his lips only millimeters from my own. "Tell me why you're holding back."
"Cam..." I moaned softly knowing that the sound of my voice was going to push him over the edge and that he'd take me with him.
Cam's lips crushed mine as he kissed me hard and yanked me against his body. For a moment, I thought about fighting the attraction, and then I gave up and gave in. There was no use in fighting it. We were drawn to each other and the only way to stop it would be to leave and never look back, and I wasn't prepared to do that.
His hands roamed my body as he pushed my shirt and then my bra up over my breasts. I could feel him breathing hard as he kissed me more deeply and his hands cupped my breasts as he squeezed my nipples into erect points. I moaned louder as he quickly pushed my pants down over my hips. My panties quickly followed and he lifted me up off the floor and set me on the table, spreading my legs as he unzipped his jeans and slid them down over his hips.
Seconds later, he had rolled a condom over his engorged shaft, and I felt him pushing inside me as I spread my legs wider, pulling him deeper into me. He groaned as he sank all the way into me, and I felt the need rise in a way that I'd never felt with anyone before. I wanted Cam. No, I needed him. And he knew this.
He pulled back as he began the steady familiar rhythm I'd already come to want. I broke away from the kiss and put my hands flat on the table behind me so that I could meet his thrusts with an equal force. Soon, we were slamming against one another as we drove each other closer and closer to the edge. Cam's eyes never left mine as our rhythm pounded out our need for each other. I could feel him swelling inside me, and when he reached down and slipped his thumb between my lips so that he could stroke me to orgasm, I moaned loudly and let go.
The force of the climax hit me hard and fast as I pushed myself forward and clung to him. Cam wrapped his arms around me and thrust harder and faster and soon he reached the edge, too. He groaned as he came, and I looked up to see him looking down at me as the wave of pleasure washed over him.
"Oh, God, Alex," he groaned as he held tightly to me, his hips still thrusting as he rode the orgasm. He kissed me, softer this time, as he ran his fingers through my hair and held my head in his strong hands. He breathed into my lips, "What you do to me, woman."
"Cam...I...oh God," I whispered as I kissed him again. I could feel my desire beginning to build again, but I knew that if we didn't stop now, we'd never get out and look for Liz. "We have to stop."
"I know, I know," he groaned as he pulled back and stepped away. The room felt colder without him holding me and I wanted to beg him to come back, but I didn't. He walked to the bathroom, shut the door, and a few minutes later emerged with his pants pulled up and his shirt tucked in.
I, however, was still sitting where he'd left me; half naked on the dining table wanting him.
"You'd better get dressed." He grinned. "I can't be held responsible for what I do if you don't."
"Nice, Connor." I laughed as I hopped down off the table and almost stepped on Tesla. "Your dog is incredibly well behaved."
"She knows when I've got something good," he said pointedly. "Go get ready, Alex. We need to find Liz."
I nodded and headed to the bathroom to wash up and then to my bedroom for fresh clothes. By the time I returned to the dining table, Cam had mapped out a search area for us to cover beginning with Liz's apartment.
Chapter Thirty-One
Cam
We spent several hours scouring the places I'd marked on the map with no luck. Alex looked worn out by the time we'd checked the known dealer spots, and I suggested that we head back to her place so she could get some sleep.
"Sleep, really?" she said with a wry grin. "C'mon, Connor, you can do better than that!"
"I'm not coming on to you." I laughed as I reached back and patted Tesla, who'd been quiet and patient the entire time we'd been out searching. At a couple of the places, we'd taken a t-shirt that Liz had left at Alex's apartment and let Tesla smell it. She'd looked at us like we were crazy before heading off to sniff at things that were far more interesting to her. "I need to take Tesla for a run, and I've got to prep for the press conference when Metzler announces his run for office."
"Ah, yes, I see." She nodded as I pulled up in front of her apartment building and let the truck idle. "I don't know what to do about Liz. I don't know how to find her. I have no idea where she is or if she even wants to be found."
"Give her time," I said as I reached out and ran my fingers through Alex's hair. It was tangled from the wind that had blown as we searched stretches of the river where the homeless and drug addicts tended to gather. I wanted to say something comforting, but I had nothing. I knew chances were good that Liz was somewhere completely hidden, and that every hour that passed made it less likely that we'd find her. "Maybe she's dealing with something we can't understand and just needs space to figure it out."
"Or maybe she's in a drug-induced haze and has no clue where she's at," Alex said quietly. "She needs me and I can't get to her."
"It'll be okay, Alex," I said, caressing her cheek. "One way or another, it'll be okay."
She nodded and then pushed the door open and got out. I wanted so much to park the truck and follow her upstairs, but I knew that if I did that, I was going to be late for my meeting with Leo and possibly screw the entire CSC deal. After all that I hadn't done to help Leo, this time I was going to make sure that I was where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there.
"Thank you, Cam," Alex said, then she closed the door and turned and walked up the stairs.