Christmas Miracle (14 page)

“I’m sorry,” she began immediately. “I know you weren’t expecting me, but I need to speak with Cameron—”

“Ack, lassie, we need to get you out of these wet clothes. You’re practically soaked.”

She was nodding even as she asked, “Is he here?”

Clucking her tongue, Cait shook her head. “Went into the city with his da. They should be back soon. Come. We’ll get you out of these clothes and have you fed before Cameron gets back.”

Brendan and Aiden entered moments later with the luggage.

“Take her bags to the guest room,” Cait instructed her sons as she began removing Melanie’s jacket.

Aiden and Brendan moved farther into the house, and Melanie heard the thumping of boots on an old staircase.

Cait stepped back in front of her, holding her wet jacket under her arm. She was staring at her curiously, and Melanie wondered if like Aiden, Cait knew what had transpired between her and Cameron.

“Thank you,” she murmured softly, feeling uncomfortable under the direct scrutiny of Cait’s gaze.

“Cameron didna say you were coming,” Cait said slowly.

Shaking her head, Melanie replied, “He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Cait nodded. “I know something happened between the two of you, though I don’t know what. But you’re here, and that tells me everything I need to know.” She gave her an approving smile. “Now, let’s get ye out of your clothes, and then you’ll have some hot soup, and perhaps a bit of haggis as well.” Melanie’s expression must have said what she thought of the traditional dish, because Cait continued, “You’re going to need your strength, lass.”

Chapter Eleven

From the moment he stepped into his house, he should have known something was off. Had he not been in his gloomy mood, he might have.

Brendan and Aiden were unusually quiet for two people who’d just arrived in Scotland, choosing to dedicate all their attention to the television opposite the warm stone hearth in the living room. His father entered after him and, upon seeing his two sons, immediately commented on their silence. Cameron walked into the kitchen and unloaded the majority of the snacks and wines that his mother had wanted before giving her a peck on the cheek.

He was heading up to his room when she stopped him with a hand on his arm and a gentle look. “Something came for you a few hours ago.”

“Something?” Cameron queried. A package? Most of his work-related packages were sent to the office in Edinburgh whenever he was in Scotland.

“It’s in the guest room,” she added, and when his brows lifted at that, Cait added, “For space.”

“Space?” The room where he’d grown up wasn’t large by any means, but it had always been accommodating.

“In the guest room, Cameron,” Cait said quickly, and then she walked off. Cameron followed after her, but she was embracing his father.

Highly confused, he walked up the stairs and entered the guestroom. It was empty, but from the moment he stepped through the doors, caught the sweet feminine scent he’d so missed, and noticed the luggage propped up against the wall, he knew.

Feeling anger rise in his chest, he entered the room and walked straight to the door that housed a small bathroom. Without knocking, he pulled it open, thoroughly startling Melanie, who was patting her face dry with a towel. Her eyes were puffy and slightly unfocused, as if she’d taken a quick nap, and she wore a long-sleeved purple shirt and sweatpants.

She immediately spun around and offered him a small, uncertain smile.

It was not returned.

“Why are you here?”

***

The happiness she’d felt at seeing him instantly vanished, and in its place was a feeling of foreboding. Cameron looked the same physically, but there was something about him that was incredibly cold.

Involuntarily, she shuddered.

“Well? Why are you here, Melanie?” he continued, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I…Cameron, I—” The words stuck in her throat. This was not the way she’d imagined this conversation happening.

A brow lifted and his accent grew thicker. “You what? Have I done something to put my reputation in jeopardy?” He turned and glared at her suitcase. “And where is your secretary, Melanie? Thought I told you to leave the contact between our secretaries.”

When she just continued to stare at him wide eyed, he snorted and moved over to the bed. It was still rumpled, with the quilts positioned oddly across the pink sheets.

Melanie took a deep breath before saying, “I miss you.”

His back seemed to straighten even more, if that was possible, before he slowly turned to face her. The expression on his face was nothing short of thunderous. He took a few deliberate steps in her direction, and Melanie unconsciously stepped back until her back was up against the bathroom door. When he was barely a few inches away, he bit out, “You can’t stay here. You’re not welcome.”

And then he turned and walked away from her.

Pained at his words, Melanie remained where she was until she saw his hands touch the doorknob. Instinct told her that if he left her room now, he would not return. If he left her room now, he would be deaf to her...

“I think I love you.” Her voice was soft, but from the way he stopped, she knew he’d heard her.

His shoulders seemed to drop briefly. She was approaching him when he turned and sent her an angry glare. “I already told you that I’m not going anywhere. You’re the best at what you do, Melanie, so there’s no need—”

“This has nothing to do with my company!”

“I don’t believe you!”

And he didn’t. She could see it in the set of his eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, she said, “Believe me, Cameron. This is about us...only us.”

“There is no us. You made that quite clear.”

A silence descended between them, and Melanie looked down to the floor. She didn’t know what else to say. Or rather, her brain could come up with nothing to say at the moment.

“I’m sorry.”

He grunted.

“When you asked me that question, I lied.”

“What question, lass? The one about why you fucked me?”

She flinched at his words but nodded. “I lied. It was never about getting you as a client. I wouldn’t do that, Cameron.”

He arched a brow, and she felt angry heat infuse her face. “I wouldn’t!”

“So you say, lass, but I long stopped believing anything that comes from those pretty lying lips of yours.” Melanie felt frustrated tears prick at her eyes and bit her lip. Cameron’s eyes lowered briefly before he turned away. “Pack your stuff, Melanie. I can have the jet ready in a few hours. They’ll get you home in time to celebrate the New Year with your family.”

***

Cameron was opening the door once more when Melanie’s hand shot forward and pushed it away from him. He turned to confront her, and found her so close to him that he was forced to look down. What she did next had him so shocked that he couldn’t react for the first seconds.

“Why are you so stubborn?” she demanded, unzipping his jacket before going to work on the brown flannel shirt he wore underneath.

He caught her hands in one of his. “What are ye doing, Melanie?”

“You won’t listen to me, Cameron, and this is the only other way I know to make you believe me!” She tugged her hands until he released them. He thought she would step away, but she only returned to the task at hand and continued to undress him.

“Melanie…” he began in a low voice.

“No! I don’t want to hear it. You think I’m a liar, and possibly a whore, and I’m probably proving the latter to you now and I don’t care. You won’t listen to anything I’m telling you, so I’m going to show you.” His shirt undone, she stared at the solid expanse of tanned flesh before pressing her face against it. Warmth. His heart thundered strongly under her ear. “I love you and you terrify me. I’ve known you for all of two weeks, not even two full weeks, and I’m already in love with you.”

“Melanie…”

“I don’t want to love you!” she insisted, lifting angry eyes to his. When he lifted a brow, she continued. “I don’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re insufferable!
Insufferable
!” She shook her head. “I travel thirteen hours to see you, I took a vacation for the first time in six years just to spend time with you, and you want to put me back on a plane?” Her hands lowered to his belt buckle, and he inhaled deeply. Angry or not, he still wanted her. “It isn’t easy putting myself out here like this, but I’m doing it. For you. I know you can hurt me, but it’s worth the risk.” She removed her hands from his belt and took a step back. “You’re worth the risk.”

Crossing her arms, she reached down and pulled her shirt over her head.

Cameron watched its descent as it fell to the floor before returning his gaze to her. She stood there, naked from the waist up, her high breasts jutting forward invitingly, nipples peaked and ready.

He groaned. Melanie Samuels had the most amazing body he’d ever seen, and from the uncertainty in her gaze, she didn’t even know it. Resisting her was like resisting breathing: impossible.

When long seconds passed and Cameron just stared at her, Melanie shook her head and crossed an arm over her breasts. She’d turned into one of those desperate women, the type she was certain she’d never become. Stooping down, she picked up the shirt and turned her back to him.

“I shouldn’t have come.” Her voice was just over a whisper. “If you give me a few minutes, I’ll be ready to leave.”

He was so silent that she turned around, thinking he’d left, only to find herself staring at his naked torso. His jacket and shirt were gone. She lifted her gaze to his before quickly looking away and taking a step back.

“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you, not like this.” He cocked a confused brow at her. “Not when you think I’m a whore.”

“I never thought you a whore, Melanie.” When she looked doubtful, he caught her shoulders and clarified, “I thought you cold, but never a whore.”

She nodded once and stepped out of his hold. “Please. I’d like a few minutes to get dressed.” And compose herself. She was a few seconds away from balling like a baby, and she did not want him around for that. It was enough that he was rejecting her, but to cry in front of him...

When she turned around and looked for the bathroom door, everything blurred. She blinked, but the blurriness only seemed to intensify, followed by a swift burning sensation in her nose. She swallowed and walked in the direction of the door.

“Melanie,” Cameron called softly. She didn’t stop walking. “Melanie.”

She paused with her hand against the door and heard his footsteps as he approached her. Heat scorched her back, and she knew he was close.

“I missed you too, lass,” he breathed against her ear. A hand wrapped about her middle, and he buried his face in her neck. “You’re not going anywhere. I love you too much, and I would never hurt you.”

She drew in a deep, harsh breath, and he heard soft sniffles. Turning her around and pulling her against him, he whispered, “I’m sorry, lass. I didna mean to make you cry.”

Melanie nodded and pulled away from him, wiping at her tears and offering him a shaky smile.

Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on her trembling lips.

She disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes to wash her face and get some sort of a grip on her emotions. When she emerged, she found Cameron sitting on her bed, waiting for her.

Feeling a bit shy, she approached him slowly, only to have him reach out an arm and tug her forward so that she fell across his body.

“What took you so long?” he asked, lowering his mouth to her neck and nipping gently.

She squealed a bit. “I was barely in there for five minutes.”

“No. You took three days to come to me.”

Sighing, she shifted in his arms, locking her legs around his waist and looking directly into his eyes.

“I needed a bit of a push.”

“A push?”

“Yes.” Leaning forward, she kissed his lips. “Your brother showed me the plane ticket.”

Beneath her, he tensed. “Which one?”

“Are you upset?”

“No, which one of them should I thank?”

She smiled. Mainly Aiden, but it had been both of them who’d kept her from bolting once she was on the plane. “Both.”

And then she kissed him again. Already half naked, they gyrated and moaned against each other until Cameron lifted her and rolled her under him. He detached his lips from hers and moved them over to her breasts, which had been begging for his attention for minutes now.

She moaned as he sucked at each of them, paying each its own semblance of homage.

When he moved down, she tensed, biting her lip as he tongued her navel. His fingers hooked into her sweats and underwear, and tugged them off. She sawed her legs together, moaning as she did so.

Placing a large hand beneath her ass, Cameron lifted her and spread her thighs wide.

“You really missed me, didn’t you, sweetheart?” he asked hoarsely, staring at the dew that glistened for him.

“Yes,” she moaned, lifting her hips slightly.

Lowering his face, he blew lightly against her pussy, sending wicked little shivers all over her body, before settling his tongue against her clit.