completely opposite of what he wanted and needed in his life. Someone solid. Grounded. Not a woman who loved the thrill of being impulsive and lived to drive him insane. Her defiant and rash decisions went against his grain, especially when he'd seen in his line of work where that kind of behavior could lead.
Unfortunately, none of those strong and valid arguments made him stop wanting her. Just the opposite, actually. It was as though one taste of her had left him ravenous for the whole entire feast. He wanted to eat her up and use his tongue to lick and savor every single inch of her body. Especially her breasts, the soft curve of her belly, and between her thighs…
"Yo, Cam. You still with me?"
Startled out of his thoughts, Cameron jerked in his seat and shook off the erotic images dancing in his head. He glanced up at Steve from across the conference room table and was reminded of yet another reason why he'd do well to keep his distance from Mia. Any further involvement with her could only lead to trouble for him, and he wasn't about to risk his friendship and business with Steve for another tumble with Mia. No matter how much the provocative thought tempted him.
"Sorry 'bout that," he muttered and tried to remember what they'd been discussing before his mind had taken a sharp detour down a road better left untraveled.
"What's up with you anyway?" Steve asked as he leaned back in his chair and regarded Cameron in that speculative way of his. "All morning you've seem distracted, like something's on your mind. Rough weekend?"
Cameron scrubbed a hand along his jaw and released a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, you could say that."
A dark brow arched over one of Steve's blue eyes. "Does it involve a woman, by chance?"
Cameron looked away and realized too late that by breaking eye contact with Steve he'd just answered his question with a resounding yes. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Well I'll be damned." A huge grin curved up the corners of Steve's mouth, and his eyes glinted with amusement. "Judging by that miserable look on your face, I'm betting some woman has finally tied you up in knots, and it's about time. You've been playing the field for much too long, and you need to settle down."
Cameron rolled his eyes at that, because it was a comment Steve made much too frequently. "Just because you're deliriously, happily married, doesn't mean everyone else needs to be as well. Some of us are just fine being bachelors."
"Until the right woman comes along," Steve conceded, speaking of his own experience with his wife, Liz, and how he'd resisted any kind of commitment after his divorce until she'd come into his life. "Personally, I always thought you and Mia would hook up, but I guess I was wrong. Then again, the two of you are like mixing oil and water, and you're probably better off with someone who didn't aggravate the hell out of you at every turn with her reckless, provoking ways." Steve followed that with a smirk.
Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of their conversation, Cameron shifted in his chair. The last thing he wanted to do was discuss Mia with Steve and the way they "mixed." Not like oil and water, but rather like kerosene and a flame. Once they touched, they'd ignited an intense and fiery passion that had burned hotter man anything he ever could have imagined.
Quickly putting the mental breaks on that recollection, Cameron redirected his focus. "Has Mia always been like that?" He kept his tone light and casual, but he was more curious than ever to learn as much as he could about Mia, the girl she'd been as a child, and what had happened along the way to create the woman she'd become. He figured Steve might just have the answers he was searching for.
Confusion etched across Steve's expression. "Has she always been like what?"
Cameron shrugged. "You know… reckless. Wild. A daring, headstrong, pain in the ass."
Steve's deep,
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