The Price of Passion (Texas Cattleman's Club: Rags to Riches 1)

Maybe she was crazy to open this all up now. Maybe it would be better if she never knew what had happened so long ago. But if she didn’t take this step, her dreams would always be tortured. She would always wonder how he could have chosen Julie over her.

Keeping her gaze locked with his, she asked, “Julie was pregnant. Were you cheating on me the whole time? Were you and Julie laughing at me?”

“What? No.” He turned and kicked the wall, then whipped back around to face her. “How could you think that?”

“How could I not?” she countered. “We were together for three years and then suddenly you and Julie run away to get married? What the hell, Camden?”

“We’re just going to jump right in, huh? Fine.” He took a step closer. “Like you said, we were together three years. We had plans, too, Beth. Or did you forget all about them that last night we were together when you shot it all down and tossed us aside? Tossed me aside?”

“I didn’t do that.”

“The hell you didn’t.” His voice was tight and low and thrumming with the same anger she felt. “Instead of getting married and going off to college together, you said you needed ‘time.’ That you were too young all of a damn sudden. We were too young.”

She remembered it all as clearly as he did. “We were, Cam. I was only eighteen.”

“Didn’t bother you before that night. What the hell changed?” The challenge was clear in his tone. “Was it your father? He hated you being with an ‘Indian.’”

“You’re wrong.” Beth shook her head firmly. “He didn’t care about that. What he cared about was that you had no money. No prospects. He wanted us to wait. Was that really so wrong?”

“No, what was wrong was you parroting everything your old man said and then acting like it was your version of the truth.”

Beth took a deep breath and blinked frantically to hold back tears of frustration. “All I said was I wanted to wait. To take some time apart to make sure.”

“Translation—” he bit off. “We’re done.”

“No. You’re wrong.” She stormed closer, too, and poked his chest with her index finger. “That may be what you heard, but I never said I didn’t want you. God help me,” she admitted, her voice dropping. “Even after everything that’s happened I still want you.”

Seven

Cam grabbed her as they’d both known he would.

He pulled her in close, kissed her senseless, then lifted his head and stared down into her eyes. Beth got lost there, as she always had. It didn’t matter what else was going on. This amazing, nearly magical feeling of being held by him would always drive her. She’d missed him so much. Missed them so much that now that he was holding her again, she could think of nothing else.

Her mouth was buzzing from that kiss, her blood bubbling in her veins, and all she could see was him. Maybe this had been unavoidable after all. This slow slide into Camden’s arms.

Staring into his eyes, she whispered, “This solves nothing.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to,” he said softly, his gaze moving over her face as if he’d hungered for no more than simply seeing her again.

“Maybe not,” she agreed as her heart began to race. “No more talking.”

“None,” he muttered, and kissed her again. His mouth ravaged hers, taking, giving, demanding. She was breathless as his lips, teeth and tongue claimed every inch of her mouth and silently demanded more.

He scraped his hands up and down her back, and all she could think was that she had too many clothes on. She needed to feel his hands on her skin.

As if he’d heard that stray thought, Cam tore his mouth from hers and looked down into her eyes as he tugged the hem of her shirt free of her slacks. Sliding one hand beneath the cool green fabric, he skimmed his fingertips across her abdomen and then up to cup her breast, and even through the fragile lace, she felt the heat of him.

His thumb and forefinger tweaked at her nipple and a shiver swept over her. Need erupted and she moaned softly, arching into him, pushing her breast into his hand, wishing her bra off and away. Then he took care of that, too. He flicked open the closure between her breasts and then he was touching her. Skin to skin, the heat overwhelming.

Beth stared up at him and saw her past, her present, her future, staring back at her. For her it had always been Camden. And maybe it always would be.

“Gotta get this off,” he murmured, shifting his hold on her so he could work on the tiny buttons lining the front of her shirt. “Have to touch you. Feel you.”

“Yes.” She watched his strong hands and nimble fingers make short work of the buttons, then shrugged out of the shirt and tossed it onto the table as soon as he was finished. He slid her bra straps down her shoulders and let the pale blue lace drop to the floor.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remembered,” he whispered, and bent his head to take first one hardened nipple then the other into his mouth.

A groan erupted from her throat. She tipped her head back and stared unseeing at the ceiling. Her knees were weak, but Cam had one arm hooked around her waist holding her up as his mouth did incredible things to her body. His lips and tongue pulled at her nipples. The edges of his teeth scraped the tender flesh, and when he suckled her she felt the pull all the way down to her toes. She held on to his shoulders, digging her fingers into the fabric of his white shirt and the whipcord muscles beneath it.