Read Overnight Cinderella Online

Authors: Katherine Garbera

Overnight Cinderella (7 page)

He didn't know what to say. True, Cami wasn't classically beautiful, but there was a sensuality and freshness she exuded that made him forget other prettier faces.

“I know that sounds shallow, but it was hard living in her shadow.”

“No. I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

He nodded, taking a long sip of his after-dinner drink. He let the hazelnut and berry liquor wash over his tongue and wished that it were Scotch instead of brandy.

“What did you wish for?” she asked, her voice soft and sweet.

He looked into her wide brown eyes and realized he couldn't tell her while he was looking at her. Hell, he shouldn't be here at this moment with this woman.

Instead he brushed his mouth against her ear. “I'll tell you what I'd wish for now.”

“What?”

He whispered into her ear the delicious things he wanted them to do together when they made love.

She blushed. Duke pulled her to him. He couldn't wait any longer to feel her in his arms. To taste her sweet lips and to touch her soft skin.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and held him tightly while her lips sought his. He may have suggested the embrace but Cami took complete control. Where had her ardent response come from? Cami was a sweet innocent who'd let him have control up until this moment. And he wasn't sure he liked her new aggressiveness.

Moving his head to the side, he thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, calling upon every practiced move he knew to wrest control from her. His hands slid up her torso and searched out her nipples. They hardened at the first touch of his caressing fingers. Cami moaned in a softly seductive tone, which drew him deeper into the web he purposely wove.

He molded her flesh and knew in a blinding instant he had to taste her. He slid his mouth from hers down her neck. Slim and graceful, her skin smelled sweet. Her pulse beat wildly at the base of her throat and he nipped at it. Cami started then tightened her hold on him.

His lips left her neck to suckle at her left breast through the fabric of her shirt. Yes, he thought. This is what he'd needed. This woman with her quirky grin, generous heart and energetic ways, setting him on fire.

He wanted more than a kiss, but the soft woman who'd shared her secret longings wasn't a woman he could love and leave. Reluctantly he let her go.

Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated and her breath sawed in and out as if she'd just completed a marathon. He knew Cami was innocent when it came to sex. Her attitude in general said as much.

“Why did you stop?”

He hugged her close and wished he never had to let her go. He released her because that kind of weakness would lead to destruction.
Dammit, man, get it together.

She wrapped her arms across her chest and tried hard to not look at him. He felt like a mean bully. He reached out to touch her but stopped himself. He would have a relationship with her only if she understood that it was based solely on sex.

“I'm not the kind of guy you want,” he repeated. It had become very important he not mislead her in any way.

“Haven't we had this conversation before?” she asked, her tone the tiniest bit sarcastic.

“I mean it,” he said, forcing her chin up so she met his gaze. He rubbed his finger over her lips. They were still swollen from their earlier kiss, and he wanted her again. Still, this woman needed more
than he could give her and he wasn't going to let her settle for less.

“I know more than you've told me.”

“What?”

“I read several articles about your wife's and parents' deaths on the Internet.”

He cursed. The words came from deep inside that hidden wall but the rational part of his mind rejoiced that she'd given him a reason to put a barrier between them. His emotional soul quivered and retreated.

“Listen here, lady. No one snoops behind my back. If you have a question about my past ask me.”

“You won't even tell me what you wanted for Christmas as a child,” she said.

Knowing she was right but still feeling the way he had when that first Christmas had come and gone and he hadn't received a mom and dad, he glared at her. Calling upon the icy expression he'd used to keep acquaintances at bay for years, he said at last, “I believe I have the right to privacy.”

She shrunk back from him, looking pitifully small against the overstuffed cushions on her couch.
Bastard,
he thought.

“I'm sorry. It was an accidental kind of snooping. I won't do it again.”

She stood, setting her snifter on the coffee table. “I think you should leave now. I'd say it's been nice but, well, you know.”

It was hard to yell at her while she backed away. He felt like a brute. Her eyes were wide, glittering
with tears. He crossed to her. She wrapped her arms around her waist. It reminded him so strongly of how he'd faced the world that he knew he'd hurt her. And, inexplicably, that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He reached for her and she tried to back away but he captured her shoulders in a light grip. She wouldn't look at him so he put his fingers under her chin.

“I've worked hard to put the past behind me. I don't like to discuss it.”

“Believe me, I know.”

He knew what he should say, what he had to say if he wanted her to stay in his life. But he couldn't. Words—important words—never came easy to him.
I'm sorry
were two of the hardest. Especially since he felt justified. He didn't like hurting Cami but didn't regret what he'd said.

He offered her an olive branch instead of the words he knew he should say. “When I was a boy the only thing I ever wanted for Christmas was a family. And I never got one.”

“Oh, Duke.” Her arms came up around his middle and held him so tightly.

He pulled her against his body and wrapped himself around her. She was tiny, so it was easy to do. Too damned easy to do. She was the kind of woman who needed a sweet lover, not a roughed-edged warrior who had lost the ability to care a long, long time ago. Not a man who'd forgotten how to smile.

He hoped she'd understand what he was trying to say without words. There was no way he could
say anything right now. His rational mind went on vacation and the emotional part of his soul—the part he liked to pretend didn't exist—was taking over.

He rested his cheek on the top of her head and felt her shudder in his embrace. He tightened his hold and pretended she hadn't become important to him, pretended this embrace was solely for her and didn't touch his lonely soul. Pretended he could walk away from her unscathed.

Seven

D
uke had been in an acute state of arousal since he'd picked Cami up that afternoon. She'd invited him to join her and her co-workers at a Fourth of July picnic. He'd tried to turn her down, but she'd gotten that look in her eye that made him think he may have hurt her. So he'd ended up coming with her.

They'd dined with some of her co-workers, and he'd watched Cami charm them. Everyone had scattered after eating and only he and Cami remained on the soft blanket where they'd eaten. A live band played covers of top-forty songs in the background, and the air smelled of sparklers and beer.

Beside him Cami leaned back on her elbows and
stared up at the darkening sky. The wine she'd drunk at dinner had relaxed her. To the point that she now wore a dreamy expression. He wanted to keep his distance but couldn't. It was for her protection.
Yeah, right.

“I really miss my family at holidays. I talked to my parents earlier, and they were preparing for everyone to come to their house. The men in my family always do their own fireworks show.”

She had something he never would, he realized. And though it wasn't justifiable, he resented what she had.

“Sounds like fun,” he said.

“Yeah. But this is nice, too. Aren't you glad you decided to join me?”

He was torn. He wanted to be the one who safeguarded Cami but knew that he was probably the biggest threat to her emotional well-being.

“Forget I asked,” she said.

But he couldn't. He'd hurt her again.

Feeling like a kid, he wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers. He reminded himself he wasn't wearing hand-me-downs but five hundred dollars' worth of hand-stitched one-of-a-kind silk most people couldn't afford. But that didn't matter.

Cami had something he wanted. Something he never could attain. Something he craved with every breath he took. Love, affection, caring and a family. She'd talked about her family sparingly. Since his confession of being an orphan she'd started talking more, as if she wanted to fill the void left by the pain of his own background.

She tried to stand, tripped over her shoes, which she'd removed earlier, and sprawled in his lap. Her face colored slightly.

He'd been aware of her appraisal earlier in the day. Had felt her hot, longing gaze linger on his body as he'd tried to concentrate on the hotel manager's words. All he'd been able to think of was Cami.

Her translucent skin and her berry-red lips tantalized him as he'd imagined how she'd taste. And though commitment would never again be in the cards for him, he wanted her. He had reached the point where something had to be done about it.

“I'm always doing something klutzy in front of you.”

He wanted to smile but didn't. He was saving his smile for something special. And he didn't want her to feel confident of her power over him. Then he realized how ridiculous his statement sounded. While she'd fight him to the wall over a business-related issue, she always let him lead the intimate aspects of their…
It isn't a relationship,
he told himself firmly.

“Slapstick is appealing,” he said teasingly.

“Yeah, if you're Groucho Marx.”

“What about Lucy?”

“I'm not appealing like she was.”

He turned away and grinned. Cami's personality, her joy in living, shone through like class and breeding in an adult. Something he'd never have. He'd followed the rules and watched the heavy hitters, but he knew he wasn't in their league.

It pained him to think he might not be in Cami's, because she was becoming almost an obsession. He settled her next to him on the blanket.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked, all seriousness.

“No,” he said. He hated the way she looked at him with those brown eyes. Those deep chocolate eyes that made him long to confess his secret desires. Those eyes that were staring at him as if she understood what he didn't want to say.

He glanced over at Cami. She was more ethereal than ever in her filmy sundress with her hair flowing down her back. He wanted to give her something that she'd never had. Something he'd never given to any woman. A soft teasing, and he didn't know if he could be that kind of man. The kind of man that he knew Cami needed. Instinct took over and he let caution fall by the side. “You look like a fairy princess in this light.”

She giggled softly and slid her fingers through his. Brushing a soft kiss against his cheek, she rested her breasts against his chest. Through the layer of clothing Duke was aware of her taut flesh and wanted to touch it. Wanted to slide his hand from her grasp, grab her hips and pull her closer. To rub his chest against her aroused flesh until she moaned and trembled on the edge of desire's precipice.

“Oh, Duke. On this magical night you remind me of my dream lover.”

Twilight had darkened into night and the lighting around the park lowered. Patriotic songs blared from loudspeakers and the fireworks show began.
Cami scooted closer to him and Duke wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into the curve of his body.

“Describe this dream lover,” he said, teasing himself with her voice, which painted sensual images of the two of them. Even though he knew he wasn't her dream lover.

“Well,” she said with a glance over her shoulder at the families on neighboring blankets.

“No one can hear you.”

She smiled widely and closed her eyes for a minute. “This man of mine is a white knight of old. He's fought hard in battle and lost everything dear to him, but he craves ties to the land and the future. He sees in me his future. He sees past my surface to the passionate woman underneath. The woman I've always longed to be. He unlocks me from my slumber as surely as Prince Charming awakened Sleeping Beauty with one pure kiss.”

Duke stared down at her. Her eyes were closed, her head tipped back, and her body pressed to his. He realized she must be a virgin. Only a woman who'd never shared her body with a man would expect a pure kiss to awaken her desire. Only a woman as sweet as Cami would share the fantasy of her soul with him. And it moved him.

His dreams had died a long time ago, and he'd forgotten how life and the promise of the future could be a lure. Forgotten but not Cami. She reminded him of the memories he'd hidden. The good times. The happy times before tragedy had struck.

He brushed his lips against her forehead and her
cheeks and, when she tried to open her eyes, he used his fingertips to close them again.

“I'm not Prince Charming, Cami,” he said, regretting the knowledge in some deep hidden part of his soul.

“Yes, you are.” She opened her eyes and cupped his face in her small fine-boned fingers.

“No, I'm not.”

“You are a man who's fought valiantly and lost everything. I am a woman whose deepest desires have lain dormant for more years than normal. You
are
my dream man.”

He wanted to believe her but he knew what she wasn't saying. Her dream man wasn't just a red-hot lover with whom to burn up the sheets. No, her ideal man also cherished her and held her in great affection.

“Cami, I can't love you.”

She pulled away. “I didn't ask you to love me.”

“Hell, woman. I know that, but I'm trying my damnedest not to hurt you. Help me.”

 

“Please, let me go,” she said softly. Cami sounded as though she was talking around a huge lump in her throat. Felt as if she was, too. As though if she opened her mouth one more time she'd break down and beg him to reconsider.

“I can't,” he said.

His voice was raw and husky and made her want to pull him close to her. To hold him against her bosom and comfort him. To rock him slowly in her arms with the same ageless rhythm of the sea ca
ressing the beach. The urge was the opposite of what she'd felt earlier in his arms. But friendship and comfort were her mainstays and passion was unfamiliar.

He lowered them both to the blanket and lay on his side, enfolding her in his embrace. His body pressed to her back, he rested his chin on the top of her head. His breath stirred her bangs, and it felt so darned right to be held by him. His arousal jutted against her buttocks and she couldn't fathom why he hadn't at least taken her up on her offer of her body.

She closed her eyes. Gripping her hands on his forearms, she held on to him. She wouldn't let him back away from her again. The fireworks continued to ignite the sky, and she wanted to focus on them but felt surrounded by Duke. She didn't want to acknowledge that he was going to leave her and probably shortly.

Unable to help herself, she rocked her hips against his arousal. Never in her dull, boring life had she been held by a man. A man who was aroused by her. A man she wanted so badly she'd take whatever he offered and not count the cost.

Suddenly the entire situation crystallized in her head. She acknowledged to herself that she wanted Duke in her life. She wanted to continue a relationship with him after their work lives went their separate ways. She wanted to take him into her home and family and shower him with everything he'd never had.

“I'm not asking you for love,” she said quietly.
Even though in her heart it was what she wanted most of all. She thought if she convinced him to try a relationship with her she could cover him in love and make him realize what he really needed.

“You deserve love,” he said firmly.

“My whole life I've waited for a man to see more than a bookish girl with glasses. Finally, I've found that man and he wants nothing to do with me.”

He propelled her around to face him. His hands on her hips, he kneaded her flesh as his gray gaze bore into her. “I want you like hell on fire. I want you like I've craved nothing except family and acceptance, so don't blithely dismiss your effect on me.”

“Why are you pushing me away?”

“I've never been compared to a white knight. I've never been any woman's hero. Cami, sweetheart, I don't think I have it in me.”

It's okay,
she thought.
I'll take whatever you have to give me.
But she didn't say the words because then he'd know without a doubt she was in love with him.

“I want you more than any woman I've ever met,” he said again.

Cami let the silence build around them. She had no response for him. She'd given him the key to herself. She'd bartered her body and her emotions, and he'd turned her down. She was probably a fool for staying now but she knew she'd regret it if she left.

“Give me what you can for now. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

He snorted and lowered her head to his shoulder as if he could no longer look at her. His hands on her back were unsettling. As she lay under the night sky with his arms around her she realized what had been missing in her life.

She'd heard some people say the moon was elegant and sophisticated, but Cami knew the truth. The moon was a pale reflection of the shining sun. In Duke's arms she forgot she wasn't bright and shining. She forgot she was the “smart” sister. She forgot Duke didn't love her because the fierceness of his embrace said otherwise.

“Please,” she said, lifting her head.

“Okay, the night of the Gala. After the event, we'll leave together and you'll share my bed.”

“It sounds kind of cold,” she said.

“I thought you were a big girl.”

“I am. But this isn't easy for me.”

“That's why I should let you go…but I can't.”

“What if…” Cami's voice trailed off.

“Leave the details to me,” Duke said. He wanted to be her dream lover if only for one night.

“Every detail?”

“Down to the clothes you wear.”

She thought about it. Every step she'd taken tonight had led her to this moment. She realized at once that love didn't care who the object of that affection was. It only craved an outlet. She knew she had to make a decision and she knew in her heart her answer.

“Yes,” she said.

 

“Duke, got a minute?”

Duke glanced up to see Max standing in the doorway. “Sure, what's up?”

“A situation has come to my attention.”

The graveness of Max's tone and the fact that he'd come to Duke's office instead of beckoning him upstairs told Duke he wasn't going to like whatever came next. He wondered if Max had found out he'd kissed Cami Jones a couple of times.

He wondered if his boss and friend was now going to forbid him to see the woman who'd become important to him in ways he couldn't define. He wondered if he'd tolerate that kind of censure.

“Have a seat,” Duke said, gesturing to the leather visitor's chair.

Max settled himself slowly. He looked around the office and took stock of the new decorations. “This is homier than your office in Japan.”

“I had a few tips on the decor. We have a situation?”

“Yes, I think Fielding in accounting may be embezzling.”

Duke's analytical mind jumped through hoops keeping up with Max. Though he wanted to take a minute to enjoy the fact that his relationship with Cami wasn't public knowledge, he didn't. They discussed Fielding and the men Duke would assign to the task of tracking funds and monitoring Fielding's activities.

Max wrapped up the conversation and stood.
Pacing to the window, he held his hands loosely behind his back. Duke joined him, looking at the skyline of Atlanta.

“Is there a company policy regarding fraternization?” Duke asked after a few minutes had passed in silence.

“Why?” Max didn't take his eyes off the skyline.

“I'm in a…” Duke didn't know how to define what he had with Cami.
Nuclear reaction maybe.

“Relationship?” Max suggested, and Duke thought he heard a hint of amusement in his friend's voice.

The very term he'd been trying to avoid. He didn't want to think about Cami in those terms because relationships were an area where he had little control. Emotion was the one region where his power was useless. “Yeah, I guess.”

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