Free Tempting Cameron by Karen Erickson Page A

she’d always found so vastly appealing. Her heart fluttered and she dropped her doughnut on the floor.
    Snagging it up quickly, she frowned. Carpet and maple bars so didn’t mix. She wrapped the done-for pastry with its napkin and set it on the table. “Did he say something to you?”
    Shaking his head, Cam placed his half-eaten fritter on a napkin resting on the table. “It was nothing.”
    It had to be something. “Did he warn you to stay away from me?”
    Cam stood, ignored her question. “Want me to make some coffee?”
    “That would be great.” She paused, then spoke to his retreating back. “You didn’t answer me.”
    He stood in the doorway to her tiny kitchen, his broad shoulders nearly filling the entire space. He sighed, and she saw the slight sag in those sexy shoulders, the hang of his head. “Yeah, he warned me off. Hell, I warned myself off. You don’t know me, Chloe. Not really.”
    She knew him better than he thought. And she was so tired of pretending she wasn’t interested. A major car accident helped a woman realize she needed to go after what she wanted. “I want to get to know you better.”
    Cam glanced over his shoulder, his razor sharp gaze landing on her. “I don’t stick.”
    Chloe frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t stick. Relationships aren’t my thing. I avoid my family like the plague. I hate this place.” He paused, turning fully to face her. She noted that despite the still damp hair indicating he’d showered, he hadn’t shaved, and that dark scruff on his lean jaw made her weak-kneed. “You are this place, Chloe. I witnessed that the last couple of days. Every single person who lives in this town is worried about you. And I’m definitely not worthy of the town princess.”
    Hope lit her from within, a tiny flicker that warmed her heart. He didn’t believe himself worthy of her? That was the silliest thing she’d ever heard. If anyone was the unworthy one, it was her. “I’m not the town princess.”
    “Yes, you are. And that you don’t even realize it cinches the title. It’s yours.” He nodded, turned back toward the kitchen. “I’ll make some coffee and then I should go.”
    “I’m a big girl, Cam,” she said softly, making him pause again. “Everyone may be protective of me but I know what I want.”
    And more than anything, she wanted him.
    …
    Cameron busied himself in her doll-sized kitchen, finding the filters and coffee with ease. He filled the pot with water, poured it into the machine, and then added two heaping scoops of coffee into the filter before he turned it on.
    Shit. His hands were shaking, Chloe’s words still lingering in his mind.
    I’m a big girl, Cam.
    Hell yes, she was. A beautiful, curvy woman he’d fantasized about the last few nights.
    But I know what I want.
    He could only assume she referred to him. Well damn, the feeling was mutual.
    Which meant they were in a hell of a mess.
    Cam stood by the tiny dining table, staring out the window that overlooked the lake. Her house was small, no bigger than eight hundred square feet and one of the original rental cabins on the lake, he’d guess. They’d been converted more than twenty years ago into actual homes and though this one wasn’t directly on the lakeshore, since it stood on a hill, it had a gorgeous view and was surrounded by towering pines, which gave her plenty of shade.
    Her little yard was cute, pots full of blooming summer flowers in vivid hues scattered along the cobbled walkway and front and back porch. The hide-a-key had been kept beneath an old birdhouse that sat in a wine barrel planter. Mac had finally told him once he finished giving him a huge speech about messing with Chloe’s head after everything that had happened to her, blah, blah, blah.
    Funny thing was, Cam knew Mac was right. But he couldn’t resist her. Hell, he felt…beholden to her after everything that happened. It was his fault she was hurt. His fault she’d most likely totaled her