Page 27 of Worth the Wait
Cameron pulls me on top of him, and I feel his hardness between my legs, the heat of his body pressing against mine. This is dangerous territory. I know it, and I’m sure he knows it, too, but neither of us wants to stop.
“Lianne…” His voice is husky with desire, his hands exploring my body like he’s mapping every curve and valley. “God, I’ve missed you.”
I’ve missed you.
The words he didn’t say in the wine cellar. The words that have been unspoken between us since the day we met again in that conference room.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I admit, because I don’t have the energy to pretend anymore. I’ve missed him so much, more than I’ve ever let myself admit. He’s the reason I built Luminous Events, as if needing to prove to him and his family that I’m more than just some lowly assistant with a bad pedigree. He’s the reason why I’ve focused so hard on professional success, why I’ve made a point of never giving up control, never showing weakness. He’s the reason why I’ve held back for so long, why I’ve been afraid to let myself love anyone again.
But as Cameron pulls me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me like he never wants to let go, I finally feel like I can breathe again. Like I’m home again, even though I know we have so much history standing between us.
But there is history between us. There’s also an entire class standing between us. He’s a Judd, someone I could never begood enough for, not in the long-term. Maybe one night, one week, or in the case of four years ago, an entire seven months before he chose his family’s money and reputation over me.
But maybe he has changed. Maybe this time he’s different just like I’m different. Maybe we can find our way back to what we had before his family destroyed it.
But that’s exactly the problem.
I believed in him once before. I believed in us. I let myself think that love could overcome everything—family pressure, social expectations, the casual cruelties of people who thought I didn’t belong in his world.
And he let me down.
I pull away abruptly, as if the memory of that betrayal is a hot coal burning through my skin. “I can’t do this,” I whisper, fighting back tears. “I can’t give you another chance, Cameron.”
“Give me one reason why not,” he says softly. “Just one.”
I have a million reasons, but none of them seem to matter. Not with him looking at me with those beautiful hazel eyes, not with him so close that I can feel his breath against my cheek.
“Because you’ll hurt me again,” I whisper, the truth slipping out before I can stop it. “Because four years ago you chose them over me, and I can’t survive that happening again.”
Cameron’s hand comes up to cup my face, his thumb brushing away a tear I didn’t realize had fallen. “I was twenty-six and terrified of disappointing anyone. I chose wrong, Lianne. I chose fear over you, and I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“But what’s different now? Your family still won’t approve. The same obstacles?—”
“The difference is that I don’t care about their approval anymore. I’ve spent four years building something independent of them, proving to myself that I don’t need their money or their blessing to succeed.” His voice is raw with honesty. “The only approval that matters to me now is yours.”
I stare at him, searching his face for any sign of the uncertainty that destroyed us before. All I see is determination and something that looks like love.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“So am I,” he says. “But I’d rather be scared with you than safe without you.”
When he kisses me this time, it’s not just desire—it’s a choice. A conscious decision to risk everything for the possibility of us.
“Just tonight,” I whisper against his lips, giving myself permission to want him. “Just tonight, and then we figure out the rest tomorrow.”
“Just tonight,” he agrees, though his eyes suggest he’s hoping for much more than one night.
When he kisses me again, it’s with the desperate intensity of someone who’s been given a second chance at something precious. I respond immediately, my hands fisting in his T-shirt to pull him closer, my body melting against his like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment.
This kiss is different from the wine cellar—hungrier, more urgent, informed by four years of missing each other and trying to pretend we didn’t. Cameron’s hands are in my hair, at mywaist, running down my back like he’s trying to memorize every curve.
“God, I’ve missed this,” he murmurs against my mouth, and I can feel the truth of it in the way his hands shake slightly as they frame my face. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Show me,” I breathe, then kiss him harder, pouring four years of frustration and longing into the connection between us.
He rolls us over in one smooth movement, settling above me with careful attention to my response. I don’t tense or pull away—instead, I welcome him with a soft sigh that sounds like coming home.
His hands find the hem of my oversized T-shirt, and I arch against him as he slides it up and over my head, leaving me exposed in the storm-lit darkness. For a moment he just looks at me, his expression filled with wonder and desire.
