That Night in Texas

Cam’s amazing eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you can’t come roaring into her life and play at being her dad and then decide, in a few days or a few weeks, that it’s not your thing. You can’t pick her up and discard her.”

Vivi rubbed the back of her neck. “Look, if you want to walk away, pretend this never happened, I’m okay with that. I’m not going to ask you for child support or anything like that.”

Cam didn’t speak. He just listened, his eyes locked on hers. Vivi touched the top of her lip with her tongue and forced herself to continue. This was difficult, but it needed to be said. Her little girl’s heart was more important to her than her own.

“However, if you do decide you want to get to know her, we can arrange supervised visits. If those visits work out, I might then be open to allowing you time with her on your own. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

“Good of you,” Cam said, his voice bland.

She didn’t care if he was feeling insulted or annoyed; she had to do this. Vivi glanced at the clock on her wall, conscious of the hour. “Okay, it’s time for us to leave.”

She pushed her chair back and stood up. Knowing that it was always a good idea to step back, consider the options, she looked at Cam.

“I’m not going to tell Clem that you are her dad, not yet. Spend some time with her and then decide. But you should know that if you make a promise to her, or to me about her, you will follow through. I will make sure of it.”

He looked a little amused at the thought of her pushing him around but he’d yet to realize that when it came to Clem, there wasn’t a mountain she wouldn’t climb, a creature she wouldn’t fight, a country she’d not invade. She was more than a momma bear, she was the whole damn pack.

Point made, Vivi thought, turning away. But as she was about to step out of the kitchen, he felt Cam’s gentle hand gripping her elbow. Don’t turn around, Viv, because if you do, you know exactly what’s going to happen.

She turned anyway and got a hit of blue, the suggestion of amusement and the curve of a mouth before his lips covered hers. He tasted like before, like a wonderful memory, but also like someone new, a deeper and darker and more intense version of the man he used to be. And God, he felt hard and tough and solid. She didn’t mean to lean into him but he easily accepted her weight, his one arm banding around her back in a hold that was both strong and reassuring. His other hand held her jaw, his fingers tracing the outline of her ear just as gently as his lips were exploring hers. It was a tender kiss, one she didn’t expect, a “hello, it’s nice to taste you again” kiss. But it wasn’t enough. She didn’t need gentle from Cam, or tender. She needed hot and hard and fast. She needed him to remind her that she was alive, that she was breathing, that she was young and...here, dammit.

Vivi grabbed his hips and pushed her breasts into his hard pecs, dragging her nipples across his chest. She opened her mouth and pushed her tongue past his teeth, needing to taste him, to explore and delve, to dip and dive. Heat and lust ricocheted through her and she felt her knees crumble, her bones melt. She was alive, she was kissing a sexy man, she was safe...

Vivi was unaware of tears rolling down her cheeks until Cam eased away from her and he wiped them away with his thumbs. He placed gentle kisses on the side of her mouth, her cheekbones, her temple, her forehead. “It’s okay, Viv, you’re safe. It’s all good.”

Oh, God. Vivi closed her eyes as Cam rested his head on her temple, his strong arms cuddling her close. He felt amazing and she hated the fact that she missed this...this thing she’d never had. Not him, precisely, but what he represented: strength, support, someone in her corner.

But while it was nice, it wasn’t something she could get used to, so Vivi tossed her head, stepped back and put a smile on her face and waved her hand in front of her face. “Sorry, delayed reaction to nearly dying.”

“Understandable.” Then Cam had the audacity to look amused. “But it could also be because you and I could still start a wildfire with the sparks we generate.”