That Night in Texas

“God knows,” Cam responded, his hands on her hips. Vivi dug a fork out from under her butt and tossed it to the floor. She stretched back against the table, arched her back and then realized that Cam, still inside her, was, astoundingly, still hard. She could’ve sworn that he’d come, too.

Cam pushed a strand of hair off her forehead and smiled softly. “I came, I saw, I was blinded in the process. But something about you, apparently, makes me recover superfast.”

Vivi’s eyes widened. “Uh, I, we...holy...” Cam covered her breasts with his big hands and played with her nipples and Vivi closed her eyes, loving the sensation. “That feels amazing.”

Cam sank himself a little deeper and Vivi felt herself melting...straining for more. Cam smiled, dipped his finger between their linked bodies and found her clit, rubbing his thumb over her most sensitive spot.

Vivi climbed. And climbed. And within minutes, she was ready to fall apart again. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who recovered fast.

Eight

Vivi stood in Joe’s ruined kitchen, looking at the list of everything they’d lost in the fire. She lifted her head when she heard the front door open and the sound of masculine footsteps headed in her direction. Looking down at her grubby white T-shirt and filthy jeans, she hoped the representative from the insurance company wasn’t an hour early—she’d hoped to clean up and change before meeting with him.

Vivi laid her clipboard on the steel table and raked her hair back from her face, securing her heavy ponytail with a band from her wrist. Picking through what was left of The Rollin’ Smoke was hot, dirty and sweaty work and she was glad she’d sent Joe home to rest. Her old friend was not taking the loss of his restaurant well and whatever pain she could spare him, she would.

Vivi bit her lower lip, wishing she hadn’t been so reckless with her promise to resurrect this place. After spending a few days among the detritus, she was starting to think that rebuilding Rollin’ would be impossible. The insurance payout would barely cover the replacement costs of a third of the equipment they needed and none of the furniture. They was no provision for loss of trade and they had just enough money in the company account to pay the staff this month. It was clear that they’d have to release the staff and tell them to find new employment.

She had savings and job offers in her in-box, but she knew that most of her colleagues lived from paycheck to paycheck. Unlike her, they weren’t living in a mansion with a billionaire who was determined to make up for years of not paying child support. She’d lost the battle on the new car—she was now, temporarily as she told him, driving a nifty new Jeep—and Cam had hired a personal shopper to restock their closets as her house was still off-limits.

There hadn’t been any argument about her moving into his bed. Being with him, loving him and having him love her, was exactly where she wanted to be. She could handle playing house for another week or so. She’d enjoy his spectacular body, the fast, expensive car and living like a princess for the next week, and then she’d go back to real life.

“Hey.”

Vivi saw Cam in the doorway of the kitchen and returned his smile. And man, he had a hell of a smile. It made her feel all gooey inside, like a perfectly cooked chocolate brownie. Vivi closed her eyes and shook her head. She was losing it, comparing Cam’s smile to a brownie, his body to a work of art, his eyes to the color of the Mediterranean Sea...

“Enough, dammit.”

“Sorry?”

Vivi did a mental eye roll. Now she was talking to herself? Cam McNeal should come with a danger warning.

“Nothing, ignore me.” Vivi tipped her head to receive his kiss, a gesture that was becoming as natural to her as breathing. Which was a bad thing since she was leaving his daily life in a short time. “Hi.”

“Hi back.” Cam’s thumb brushed against her cheek and he lifted one eyebrow. “You are a hot mess, Vivi.”

At least he’d qualified the mess with hot. “I know. I’ve been trying to ascertain if anything in here can be salvaged.”

Cam kept his hand on her back as he looked around the damaged kitchen. “And can you?”