Page 42 of Take the Bait

“Really?” she asked in a small voice.

Cam’s mouth lifted away from her breasts. His gaze lifted to hers. Fire burned so hot in his eyes she thought she could actually see flames within the blackness of his pupils. “Really, Dani. You’re a rare treasure.”

“You’re just saying that because I’m half-naked and sitting on your lap?—”

“You’ve already given your consent. I have no reason to lie to you. And we’ve already established I have a good eye for art. I know true beauty when I see it.”

The heat of a blush started on her face and spread rapidly down her neck and across her chest.

His mouth curved into a smile. “You even blush beautifully. The great masters would’ve loved painting you. If I had an ounce of talent with a paint brush, you would be my muse. I would spend decades trying to capture your feminine essence.”

She blinked at him, stunned. No man had ever said anything like that to her before. And her lawyer’s spidey sense for lies wasn’t firing off. At all. He genuinely meant what he was saying. He thought she was beautiful.

Something unfolded inside of her as her years of shame over her excessively curvaceous body fell away, as years of low self-image evaporated. In their place, a tiny shoot of self-confidence sprouted. Was it possible that she was all the things he said she was?

Was she rare? Feminine? A treasure, even? She didn’t even care if he was lying. For the first time in her life, she liked herself just the way she was.

“Let me show you how perfect you are,” Cam whispered. “Give yourself to me tonight.”

13

Staring at him in wonder, Dani nodded slowly. Without breaking the lock of their gazes, she reached up and slipped the bra off her shoulders, fully baring herself to him. She reached around behind her back and unhooked the garter belt as well. She fumbled a bit to find the stocking clips and free them, but in a moment, the garter belt joined her bra on the floor.

She reached for the skimpy thong but frowned. She started to push away from Cam, to stand up to remove it, but his mouth curved into a wicked smile.

“Allow me,” he murmured. “After all, I already owe you a new dress.”

With a sharp, hard yank, he tore the thong’s side seams and pulled the scrap of lace away from her.

She reached for the tops of her black silk stockings but Cam’s hands stilled her fingers. “Leave them. It’s sexy as hell to have you naked but for those.” He stared at her long enough that she started to feel self-conscious again.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked.

“Making a memory. I never want to forget what you look like in this moment.”

“Why?” she blurted. She added hastily, “Never mind. You don’t have to ans?—”

“Because when I die, this is the one perfect moment in my life that I want to remember.”

“Let’s hope you live a very long time and something better than this to remember.”

He shook his head decisively. “I’ve slept with more women than I care to think about. None of them—not one—compare to you. You’re one of a kind, Dani.”

She couldn’t help it. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“Hey now! I didn’t mean to upset you,” Cam said in quick concern.

“They’re happy tears.”

He reached up gently with his thumbs to wipe the corners of her eyes and gently capture the moisture. Slowly, he pressed each of his thumbs to his lips, kissing her tears.

Then, his hands went around her waist, lifting her off him. He set her on her feet just long enough to stand up himself. But then he put one arm around her shoulders and swiftly bent to place his other arm behind her knees. He lifted her easily, as if he barely noticed her weight.

She looped an arm around the back of his neck and he froze, staring down at her again.

“Making another memory?” she asked shyly.

He nodded. “I have a feeling I’m going to be making a lot of them with you.”

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