Page 52 of Best Laid Plans
But still, Elle had liked her routines and schedules, at least for as long as she could keep them. She liked predictability. She liked planning and organizing and seeing things come together when she achieved whatever it was that she’d set her mind to.
Cam was the antithesis of a good plan.
Together, they were a spark that threatened to burn everything down. Including themselves, in the process.
But right now, she was all warmth and soft afterglow, as she snuggled lower to bask in the sensation for as long as she could, laying back down.
And when Cam’s arm wrapped itself around Elle and pulled her in close, flush with his solid body, it was too much to fight as she drifted back to sleep.
“Lucy, I’m home!”
So loud, was Elle’s first thought as she heard Wyatt’s obnoxious voice booming across the apartment.
Her brother couldn’t just let her have nice things. A sleepy morning. A warm bed. A perfect, solid body spooning her like that was how they’d always been meant to fit together.
If Wyatt would just shut up–
Everything, especially her mind, was working slowly until it all sped up at once, her life flashing before her eyes.
Oh. Oh fuck.
“Cam,” Elle hissed quietly, already jumping out of bed like the building was falling down around them.
Cam opened a sleepy eye, squinting adorably at her. The hair on top of his head was mussed, a combination of sleep and Elle running her fingers through it as they’d fucked for hours. It had been–
No. She was not going there right now.
Wyatt would kill Cam if he caught them together. And she wouldn’t let that happen to Cam. The one thing that Cam had seemed serious about before he’d finally given into them was keeping the rest of the Pierce family out of their sex life which… fair. Elle didn’t want them involved either.
“Cam,” she said again, throwing a pair of shorts toward him. “Wyattis home. You know, Wyatt. Your best friend and my big brother. About two-hundred-pounds. Remember that guy? About yay high.” She held up her hand at least a foot above her own head. “Whose house we fucked in all night,” she finished with a hoarse whisper, her anxiety ratcheting up a notch.
“Elle? Are you still sleeping?” Wyatt’s voice was closer now, somewhere in the living room.
She watched as cold recognition dawned on Cam’s face. He sat up quickly, shaking his head and running a hand through his wild hair. Elle would have laughed and maybe even made a joke about how cute he looked if panic hadn’t taken over his whole face, his cheeks becoming a sickly, ashen color.
“Fuck,” he bit out. Gone in a moment was the familiarity of the last few hours. Cam’s posture was rigid and uncomfortable as he stood up, grabbing the pair of shorts that she’d thrown his way. Planning for not getting caught by Wyatt hadn’t been high on her list of priorities when they’d fallen asleep last night, something she was deeply regretting right now.
“I can tell him you left for the day already,” Elle suggested, hoping it could at least solve their most pressing problem. “If you can get out of my room without him noticing, we can pretend that you were down at the restaurant.”
Cam gestured down to his now shorts-clad body, still naked from the waist up. Elle tried not to stare more than the appropriate amount, given the time sensitivity of their predicament. A fruitless endeavor, she realized as her gaze caught on the v of his abdomen, noticing a new line of scratches she hadn’t been able to see when he’d been sleeping on his stomach.
“I’m a walking Board of Health violation,” Cam whispered before adding, “And for as much as I know your brother and what he’d do to me if he caught me in here, he knows me, too. He’d never believe that I was cooking shirtless in a restaurant kitchen.”
Elle let out a frustrated puff of air. “Okay, fair.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair, trying to think of a better plan.
Nothing was springing to mind, which was so not like her. Suddenly, the phrase, ‘fucked someone stupid,’ made a whole lot more sense.
“Eleanor Pierce, I am going to Kool-Aid man in there in about ten seconds. We’re going to be late for lunch with Mom and Dad.”
Cam winced at the sound of her brother’s voice, and Elle couldn’t take seeing him like that anymore.
“I’m waking up, asshole,” Elle bit back loudly, her brother’s booming laugh clearly audible from outside the door.
She caught Cam’s eye, leveling a smile in his direction, but she was met with a dour look in return, like he wished he could be anywhere else.
“Do you know where Cam is?” her brother yelled again, because of course he couldn’t shut the fuck up for two minutes and give her room to think.
Her own response came aggressively fast. “Haven’t seen him.” It was becoming clear that the only way out was through, at least for her. She started hunting around for a clean bra and a pair of shorts, desperately wishing that she had time to grab a shower. But the best thing for Cam was to get Wyatt out of the apartment as fast as humanly possible.
