Rose in Bloom (6 page)

The stew and brown bread were delicious, though completely different from the kind of meals Rose was accustomed to. Five courses were the usual on normal evenings, and at least eight for special occasions. Yet Rose found the stew satisfying and her hunger adequately sated. After dinner, she sat with Kat for another hour and read to her from Mr. Dickens’s
Oliver Twist
, which Aunt Iris had sent in her valise. Tricia came in to relieve her when the sun went down, and she headed out the back door to the cabin.

Cameron knocked on her door soon after.

She greeted him with a smile. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”.

“Actually, I’m not here for the night yet,” he said. “I wanted to see if you needed me to bring you some water for your bath.”

“Oh, would you, Cameron? That would be heavenly.”

“Of course. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Cameron brought the water, lit a fire, and heated it. “Tell me about when your brother had scarlet fever.”

“I wasn’t born yet,” Rose said. “In fact, Mummy was pregnant with me at the time, and Lily was just a babe, so the two of them were sent home to my grandparents.”

“Surely they’ve told you the story.”

“Yes, of course. Although there isn’t much to tell, Cameron. He was quite sick for about a week, but the fever broke and he recovered. In fact, he thrived. He was a strong and able child, just like Kat. You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”

“Yes, at the wedding ball.”

“He’s taller than average, about your size. No residual effect from the illness at all.” She moved behind him and massaged his shoulders. “I know how hard it is when a loved one is ill. When Lily fell over a month ago, and we didn’t know if she would make it, I was distraught.”

“Kat has always been special to me,” he said. “My father died a few weeks after she was born, and I was twenty, so I’ve basically been her father. I’m not sure I could love a child from my own loins any more than I love her.”

“I understand,” Rose said, “and I love her too. She’s so full of life.” She sat down on Cameron’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “She’s going to come through this. I just know it.”

Cameron kissed her chin. “I hope so, sweet.”

Rose laced her fingers through Cameron’s silky black hair. “Did your mother have trouble bearing children?”

“Why do you ask?”

“There’s such a difference in all your ages,” Rose said. “My mother lost two babes after she had Thomas. She had pretty much resigned herself to only having one child, and then Lily and I came along, less than a year apart.”

“I recall one lost between Tricia and Kat,” Cameron replied. “There may have been some between me and Tricia. I don’t know.”

“You’re what, twenty-eight?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“How old is Tricia?”

“Fifteen.”

“She’s a beauty,” Rose said. “She’s a female version of you, the same way Lily and Thomas are. You’re going to have to watch the boys around her.”

“I already do, believe me. How old are you, Rose?”

“Twenty.”

He caressed her cheek. “A fair maiden of twenty.” He stole a kiss. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Rose smiled, her heart pounding. “You’re a flatterer, Mr. Price.”

“But you are. You’re light where I’m dark. Soft where I’m…
not
soft.” He squeezed her breast. “It’s extremely…bewitching. You’re an angel. No one is as beautiful as you are.”

“I look just like my mother, except that my eyes are a darker blue. Lily and Thomas look like our father.”

“Your mother is a very pretty woman, but you…” He ran his fingers up and down her arms, making her tremble. “You are absolutely captivating.” He reached behind her neck and pulled her head toward him, capturing her lips with his. When he released her, he said, “I almost feel like I can deal with all of this, having you here.”

“You can deal with it,” Rose said. “Kat will recover, and I will do whatever I can for her and for you.”

“You’re an angel,” Cameron said. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Perhaps I don’t deserve you,” Rose teased.

Cameron rolled his head back and erupted in laughter. “Now that’s funny.” He twirled his finger through a loose curl. “Only an angel as sweet as you could be that deluded.”

“I’m not deluded.” Rose smiled. “I’m not as angelic as you think I am.”

“I’ll never believe that.” He stood up, lifting her, and kissed her as he held her in his arms. “I think your bath water is warm enough now, sweet.” He put Rose down gently, took the water from the grate, and poured it into the slipper tub. “I’ll leave you now.”

“No. Stay. I want you to.”

“You want me to stay while you bathe?”

“Why not?” She suddenly wanted it more than anything. “Then you can bathe here when I’m done.”

He smiled. “As tempting as that sounds, I need to go back in and check on Kat. I’ll come to you later.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.” He kissed her chastely on the forehead and left.

Rose bathed quickly, her legs cramping in the small tub. She washed her hair and toweled it dry as best she could. She brushed her teeth, creamed her body with scented lotion, put on her nightdress, and lay down seductively on the bed and waited.

And waited.

After two hours, she finally wept herself to sleep.

Chapter Four

“Rose, Rose.”

Someone nudged her. For a moment, Rose didn’t know where she was, until her eyes adjusted to the dark and she recognized Cameron’s handsome face.

“Cam?”

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s me.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” she asked, fumbling for a match to light a candle on the night table.

“Here, let me.” He lit the lamp. “I’m sorry. Kat took a turn for the worse. My mother was beside herself. I couldn’t leave her.”

“My God.” Rose’s belly churned. “Is she all right now?”

“Yes. She had a seizure, but she came out of it.”

“Why didn’t you come to get me?”

“There was nothing you could have done.” He stroked her cheeks. “You were crying.”

She swallowed. “I…I thought you didn’t want me.”

He laughed softly. “How could you think that?”

“Well, you didn’t come, and I didn’t know about Kat. I’m just so glad you’re here now. Hold me, will you?”

He climbed onto the bed with her and took her into his arms. She nestled into his embrace and kissed his mouth passionately, frantically tugging at his shirt.

“Slowly, sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll love you all night long.”

“Will you, Cam?”

“I like it when you call me Cam,” he said. “It sounds almost like we’re….”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Married, I guess. But that can never be.”

“Are you saying…that you…” Rose gulped as her heart thumped wildly.

“I’m saying that I love you, Rose. God help me, but I do.”

“Oh, Cam…”

“I can’t fight it any longer. The constant battle drains me. It’s like trying not to eat or sleep.” He smoothed her hair lovingly. “I’ve never said that to a woman before.”

She caressed his cheek. “You’ve given me a precious gift,” she said. “I don’t—”

“Shh,” he said. “You don’t have to say it back, sweetheart. I just wanted you to know.”

“I want to say it back. But I’m frightened. What if we can never be together? And what am I going to tell Evan?”

“Xavier? I tell you I love you and you mention Xavier?” Cameron shook his head and moved away from her.

“Don’t pull away from me. Please. I didn’t mean to anger you. I…do love you. I do.” She pulled him to her. “My God, it felt good to say it. It felt
right
.”

“Yes, it did.” He kissed her throat. “I’m not going to share you, Rose.”

“You won’t have to. We’ll figure something out. But we don’t have to work it all out tonight. Tonight is for us. Let’s not worry about anyone else. I just want to be with you. It’s all I’ve thought about for weeks.”

Cameron slowly unbuttoned Rose’s nightdress. He eased it over her shoulders and pulled it down and off of her body, until she was naked. “You’re so lovely, sweet Rose. So very beautiful.”

Rose shivered. “The candle, Cam.”

“No. I want to see you.”

“But—”

“I want to know every inch of you, and I want you to know every inch of me. The candlelight—it makes your skin glow.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, coaxing her lips open with the soft caress of his tongue. He nibbled on her lips, kissed her deeply. He brushed his lips over her cheeks, to her ear, and gently caressed it, pushing his tongue into the shallow cove.

“Oh, Cam…” She quivered, and energy surged between her legs.

He nibbled her neck and chest. “So beautiful, Rose. Your nipples are as dark pink as your sweet lips.”

His words made her shiver, her every nerve on edge. He licked her nipples and they tightened into hard buds. Then he nipped at them, harder and harder, until her insides nearly imploded. She arched off the bed, entwining her fingers through his hair and holding him to her as he pleasured her breasts.

“Do you like that?”

“Oh, yes. It’s wonderful.”

“Then I know you’ll like what’s coming next.” Cameron left her breasts and kissed and licked her abdomen, tickling her navel. When he reached her triangle of honey curls, she squirmed. He was going to see her private parts! Quickly she placed a hand over herself.

“Don’t, sweetheart,” he said.

“But you don’t want to look at that.”

“Yes, I do. Every part of you is beautiful to me.” He winked. “Especially
that
part.”

“Wait, Cam,” she said. “Take off your clothes. I want to touch you.”

“I suppose that’s only fair.” He winked again and undressed quickly.

Rose sighed at his muscular shoulders and arms. His chest was smooth and rippled, with a sprinkling of black hair covering it. His well-formed legs were also smattered with black hair. His giant arousal stood straight out from a nest of black curls. She widened her eyes.

“That’s what you felt through my trousers the other night,” he said wickedly.

“I had no idea,” she said. “No wonder you were in pain.”

He laughed softly. “It’s not so bad, sweet.”

“I promise you won’t leave here in pain tonight.” She stared in awe. “You’re magnificent to look at.”

“No more than you are, Rose. Now, where were we?” He lowered his head to her sex.

She couldn’t help herself. She covered herself with her hand again.

“Don’t hide from me,” he coaxed. “Please, sweetheart, open for me. Let me look at your pussy.” He gently toyed with her intimate folds, delicately tugging at them.

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, warming and turning her head into the pillow.
Pussy
. She’d heard the word. But still, it made her shiver. She felt wicked. Wicked and…
aroused
.

“Do you know what these are?” he asked, stroking her.

Rose didn’t answer.

“Do you, sweet?” he asked again.

“No,” Rose said, burrowing farther into the pillow.

“They’re another set of lips, and you know what lips are meant for, don’t you?”

Again she didn’t reply.

“They’re meant to be kissed,” he said, and he lightly touched his mouth to her.

A bolt of lightning shot through her. Surely he didn’t mean to kiss her there. What man would want to do that? “Cameron—”

“Let me,” he said. “I want to taste you. You’ll enjoy this. I promise.”

“But why would you want—”

“Because I love you, Rose. I love every part of you. From the top of your head to the tips of your toes, and every tiny bit in between, including your beautiful pussy. Let me give you pleasure.”

Cameron slithered his tongue up and down over her opening. Rose sighed. It felt amazing, as if every nerve ending in her body were being stimulated. Cameron pushed her thighs forward until her intimate area was completely vulnerable to him. He kissed the insides of her thighs, leaving them moist. Then she shivered as he cast his hot breath upon the wetness. He moved back to her sex, licking in long languid strokes and pushing his tongue into her. She arched off the bed, moaning. He grabbed her across the belly and forced her down, making her lie still. His tongue moved upward, finding her swollen peak, swirling around it lightly, and then not so lightly.

“Oh, Cam, that’s so…so…”

Soon he was sucking her, and when he filled her with a finger she arched again. This time he didn’t hold her still. He moved with her, his finger moving in and out in a languorous rhythm, while his mouth teased her nub, making it throb beneath his tongue. Rose moved with him, running and running in her mind, until she reached the plateau. She shouted his name as she climaxed, her sex hugging his finger, convulsing, as he continued to lick her, nursing her through the crashing waves of joy, until the sweet rapture enveloped her and she went limp beneath him.

Slowly he moved toward her, kissing her abdomen, her breasts, her throat, her mouth. “Taste your juices,” he said. “Taste how sweet you are.”

Rose opened to him, swirled her tongue with his and tasted the tanginess of her own body. She kissed him hard, her desire overwhelming. She wanted to mark him. Brand him as hers.

The passionate kiss continued until Cameron broke away and inhaled sharply.

“My God, Rose. I’ve never been kissed like that.” He panted against her neck. “I love you so much.”

Rose rained tiny kisses against his moist neck. “What you…did to me was exquisite. I love you too.”

“I licked your pussy, sweet.” He chuckled against her neck.

“Cam…” Heat spread through her body.

“I do adore you, my Rose. You know you won’t turn to stone if you say it.”

“I know. It’s just—”

He cupped her cheek. “I understand. And I’m so sorry that the next part might hurt a bit.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Someone will have to do it eventually,” Rose said. “I want it to be you, Cam. Only you.”

“Touch me.” He led her hand to his swollen shaft.

Rose grasped him. “It’s so hard, Cam.”

He laughed. “Of course it is. It’s for you, my darling. Only for you.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Just kiss me…and let me come inside you.”

His mouth came down on hers, and she released his cock, using both of her hands to caress his muscular back and shoulders. His erection nudged against her.

“Are you sure this time?” he asked.

“Yes, Cam.” Her body was on fire. “Yes. In fact, if you don’t make love to me now, I think I may actually die!”

He stroked her lips lightly. “I assure you, you won’t die.” He smiled, and then turned serious. “You need to understand, Rose. When I come inside your body, that makes you mine.”

“I want to be yours. I never wanted anything more—” She gasped as he stabbed her virginal flesh.

“I’m so sorry. I tried to hold on. I’ll stop if you—”

“No, don’t stop. I’m all right.”

Slowly he descended into her, inch by inch. The stab changed to a burn. Still moving slowly. How large was he, anyway? And how deep was her…pussy? Finally he stopped moving.

“Are you in now?” she asked.

“Yes, sweet,” he groaned. “I feel like you were made for me. How do you feel?”

“Well…full, I guess.” She laughed a little. “Now what?”

“I’m going to move inside you. You tell me if you can’t take it, all right?”

“Yes, Cam. Don’t worry. I want to please you.”

He pulled out of her, teasing her entrance, and plunged back in. The burning wasn’t as bad this time, and his moans made her tingle. She was making him feel good, and that made
her
feel good. He repeated the motion several times, until the burning turned to longing. Then he circled his hips, moving inside of her, helping her get used to his invasion. His movements nudged her peak, sending shivers to her each time he collided with her. Soon she was climaxing again, grabbing his behind and pulling him into her.

“Oh, Cam, Cam,” she moaned.

He pulled out and thrust back into her, his body trembling as his cock pulsated inside her. “God, Rose. My God.” He collapsed on top of her and kissed her lips, her cheeks, her neck. “I’ll never love another.”

“Nor will I,” she said, sighing softly.

“So, my sweet Rose.” He turned them onto their sides, his cock still embedded in her. “What are we going to do now?” He threaded his fingers through her hair.

“I don’t know,” Rose said. “I wish I did, Cam.”

“I’ve ruined you, sweetheart.”

“I don’t feel ruined.”

“You are. And you’ve ruined me for anyone else. If you won’t marry me, I’ll die a monk.”

Rose giggled. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am. I swear it. I’ll take you to Gretna Green tonight, and you’ll be mine by the end of the week.”

“I’m yours already.” She kissed his chin. “But we can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, we’re under quarantine. We can’t leave. And there’s Kat to consider. She might need us. And of course there’s my family.”

“No doubt they’d frown on me for a son-in-law.”

“I won’t lie to you. They won’t be happy. Except for Lily. She won’t judge us. But I don’t care. You’re the one I want.”

“And Xavier?”

“Well…that’s a touchy situation. He’s bringing his father to Laurel Ridge next weekend to meet me. I…I don’t want to hurt him, Cam. He’s been kind and generous with me, and he doesn’t deserve what I’m going to do to him.”

“Has he mentioned marriage to you?”

“No, not yet.”

Cameron stroked her bare arms, making her shudder. “Rose, I should tell you… Oh, never mind.” He got up from the bed.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Rose said.

“No, sweet. I’m just getting a warm cloth.”

“What for?”

“To take care of you. There might be some blood.” He wet a cloth in the lukewarm water in the basin and wrung it out. “Open your legs for me.”