Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 48306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
There’s one of him holding a pretty young woman in his arms—a blonde who’s beaming at the camera with her arms around his neck. That one makes me scowl and quickly move past it to the others.
Slowly, I step out of the picture-lined hallway into the big open living room. It’s dark but for the moon coming in through the glass, and when my eyes scan the room, I freeze as they come to a stop on him.
Camden’s asleep on the couch—shirtless and gorgeous looking with a sheet over his lower half. I walk over to him, and I’m about to shake him awake, but I don’t. Instead, my eyes just drink him in as a shiver teases through me.
God, he’s so beautiful. So perfect. So masculine. My eyes slide over his grooved muscles and tattoo ink. I blush, biting my lip and knowing it’s wrong, but also knowing I can’t not check. I pluck at the sheet, my heart racing as I lift it to glance under.
Okay, he’s wearing boxers. But they’re tented obscenely, and my breath catches at the site of his thick erection. I shiver heatedly, pulling my eyes away and dropping the sheet to glance back up at his face. He stirs, frowning, and then suddenly, his eyes open, making me gasp.
He blinks, startled for a second before he gets his bearings
“Waverly,” he growls.
“Hi,” I say softly.
“Are you okay?”
I nod, hugging my arms around myself as I glance around the room. Camden clears his throat, sitting up and draping the sheet over his lap before he pats the sofa next to him.
“Here, sit.”
I do.
“Thanks for…” I swallow, blushing. “Thank you.” I frown. “What… I mean, I remember drinking, a lot. And calling you?”
He grins. “You did.”
Heat blooms over my face.
“And then I think Ian was there? And someone else?”
“Scott Manning.”
I nod, frowning. “I remember drinks and then feeling so tired and—”
My face goes white, and Camden quickly takes my hands in his, shaking his head.
“Nothing happened, Waverly,” he says quietly.
I breath slowly, relief washing over me.
“When I showed up, you were out, and they were…” His eyes narrow, his jaw rippling.
“Well, I don’t know what the fuck they were planning, but I stopped it.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He nods. “I thought maybe you were…” he looks away.
“What?”
“I thought you’d been drugged, Waverly.”
My stomach knots. “Was I?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I have a drug test here at the house and I swabbed your cheek to check for roofies or something.” His clenches as he squeezes my hand. “I think you were just really, really drunk.”
I cringe, looking down.
“I hope I didn’t… you know.” I swallow, suddenly standing and hugging myself again.
He frowns. “What?”
“Make a total fool of myself when I called?”
He smiles, looking up at me and shaking his head. “No, you didn’t.”
He smiles wryly, our eyes meeting.
“Thanks, Camden,” I say quietly. “For getting me. For not bringing me back to my mom’s like that.” I shrug. “For not… you know.”
He frowns. “For not what?”
I smile shyly. “I dunno, using the situation? You didn’t even take my clothes off.”
He chuckles, raking his fingers over his jaw.
“Yeah, oddly, taking advantage of drunk teenagers isn’t really my thing.”
I grin shyly, nodding.
“Look, go sleep. The bed is yours, and I’ll take you home in the morning.”
I snort. “Oh, my mom would love that.”
Camden chuckles. “Or maybe I could just call you a cab.”
“Coach—Camden,” I swallow. “Look, I know… I know you went out on a limb for me with this.”
“Waverly, it’s fine.”
Our eyes lock.
“Camden…”
I frown, and I know I should stop, and just go back to his bed and sleep, but I can’t. I can’t stop the words burbling up inside of me.
“How do you…” I swallow, pausing, and his brow furrows.
“How do I what?”
“How do you say no?”
His jaw tightens, but I just keep going.
“I mean, do you…” I blush. “Do you even want me?”
A growl rumbles in his throat.
“It’s not a simple question.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Waverly—”
“No,” I say quietly. “Do you or don’t—”
“Fuck yes, I do,” he snarls suddenly, making me gasp as the fire blazes in his eyes. “Fucking of course I do, Waverly,” he hisses intensely before he shakes his head.
“But I can’t. I can’t want you.”
“Why not?”
“You know damn well why not.”
“But you did before. And I don’t just mean before you knew it was me.”
His eyes burn into me.
“Those were…” he shakes his head.
“Mistakes,” I finish for him, my lips pursing.
Camden’s look is hard, but he shakes his head.
“I didn’t say that, Waverly.”
“But they were?”
He looks away.
“Go to bed, Waverly.”
“You sure about that?”
He doesn’t look at me as he nods, his muscles straining and his hands gripping the sofa cushions in iron grips.
“Well, thanks for the shirt.”
My pulse races. My skin tingles. And I know I’m done waiting. I know I’m done being a bystander in this thing between us.