Tempting Cameron by Karen Erickson

his past. Oh, and what she read and saw in magazines or on the Internet. But that didn’t count. And if she was going to reveal bits and pieces of herself, it was only right he return the favor.
    “No. I had a loft apartment in Brooklyn but I let the lease go after I had the—after I left Afghanistan.”
    He hesitated and she wondered why. “What happened to all of your things?”
    “In storage. I didn’t own much anyway. I’ve been on the move pretty much since I left here.”
    “I can’t imagine that. I have too much.” She laughed softly. “Too many shoes, too many books, too many coffee cups.”
    “You’re a collector?”
    She laughed again. “Either that or a hoarder.”
    “Ah, I doubt that. You seem pretty neat.”
    Chloe glanced up at him. “Have you ever watched that hoarding show? It makes me want to toss out half of everything I own and clean everything else until it sparkles.”
    “A good motivator, then.” He looked down at her, his expression full of amusement. Goodness, he was handsome, his light brown hair falling across his forehead, those pretty green eyes locked on her, his mouth soft…sexy. She sorta couldn’t get over it, having him this close. Knowing she’d kissed that delicious mouth and was about to again. “And I’ve seen the show. You are definitely not a hoarder.”
    They gazed at each other in the darkness, the moon their only light. It was nice, having a real conversation with him. He was being relatively open, considering who she was dealing with, and the words flowed easily between them.
    Not to mention she thoroughly enjoyed sitting so close to him, his arm around her, his fingers lightly touching her. It was…sweet.
    Romantic.
    “Thanks for humoring me,” she whispered.
    He frowned. “Humoring you?”
    “With the whole I want a sweet, romantic summer thing. It’s silly, I know.”
    “It’s not silly.” Reaching for her, he traced the contours of her face, careful of her scrapes and abrasions. “We could have fun with this.”
    His hand on her face felt like heaven, absolute heaven. Releasing a shuddering breath, she closed her eyes. “We could?”
    “Oh yeah.” He touched her mouth, his finger sliding across her lower lip. “Your conditions will force me to be creative.”
    She liked the sound of that. Keeping her eyes closed, she enjoyed his touch, her breath coming faster, her head becoming light. He slipped his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her face up as she waited breathlessly for his kiss.
    But he surprised her. Brushing his mouth against her forehead, he pressed sweet butterfly kisses along her hairline that made her heart flutter. She sighed when he kissed the tip of her nose, the very edge of her chin. Then each corner of her mouth, until the anticipation within her was so great she wanted to shout at him to just do it already.
    “Open your eyes, Chloe.”
    She did as he asked, found him watching her, his lids heavy, his lips parted and damp, as if he’d licked them in anticipation of tasting her. “I don’t want you falling for me,” he murmured. “I don’t want to break your heart. I couldn’t stand myself if I hurt you.”
    Oh, lord. She was so sick of everyone trying to protect her. “I’m a big girl, Cam. Didn’t I already say that?” If he turned her away now she would kill him. “Maybe you should be the one who’s worried. I don’t want you falling for me, either.” She smiled and leaned in, his warm breath fanning across her lips. Let him chew on that for a while . This couldn’t all be one-sided. Maybe they both could fall for each other…
    Completely.
    …
    Chuckling, he brushed her mouth with his, a brief kiss that he could’ve almost believed never happened. “Too late.” The words left him before he could stop them, not that she was paying much attention.
    He kissed her, hot and deep and wet and with plenty of tongue. Lots of tongue, though he was careful not to touch her anywhere else. For fear of hurting her