Page 36 of Flirt
“Oh, wow, really?” Cameron snatched the partial manuscript up and took a step back toward the window before Asher could change his mind. “You’re really going to let me read it?”
“I am.” Rounding the desk, he took Cameron’s face in both hands and tilted his head up for a deep, though brief, kiss. “I trust you.”
Every-fucking-thing inside Cameron melted, and he wondered if he had those little cartoon hearts in his eyes.
The quickest way to my heart is through my book budget.
“I swear I’ll guard it with my life.” To prove his point, he removed a key from his pocket, unlocked the bottom draw of his desk, and placed the manuscript inside.
Shit, he was never going to be able to concentrate knowing what was waiting in his desk. It wouldn’t take him alongtime to read five chapters.
Sighing, he locked the drawer and pocketed the key. “So, where do you want to go for lunch?”
“How about tacos?”
Cameron wrinkled his nose. “Pass.”
Laughing, Asher pinched the front of Cameron’s charcoal-gray button-down and tugged him forward. “Okay,” he murmured, nuzzling behind Cameron’s ear. “You pick the place. I’ll follow.”
Good in theory, but the second Asher’s lips touched is skin, Cameron forgot…well, everything. He might have even forgotten how to breath for a moment. His unruly body reacted the way it always did—legs shaking, palms sweating, heart in his throat, and his dick so hard he felt lightheaded from lack of blood flow to his brain.
A heartbeat away from saying to hell with his thirty-day rule, his cell phone began vibrating across his desk with a loud buzz that echoed around his office. Unsure whether he should be relieved or disappointed, he snatched it up and frowned at the screen. His sister never called from her store.
“Hello?”
“Cam, it’s Maddie. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I really need you to come down to the store.”
Maddie had been with Natalie since she’d first opened the doors of Express Yourself, and she had yet to encounter a problem she couldn’t handle. If she was calling Cameron, it had to be bad.
“Where’s Natalie? Is she okay?” Half a dozen scenarios played through his mind as he dug in his pocket for his keys. “What happened?”
“I don’t exactly know what happened, but she’s not hurt.” A long sigh drifted over the line. “She came back early from lunch, locked herself in the bathroom, and she’s been in there crying ever since.”
Keys in hand, Cameron paused halfway to the door. “She locked herself in the bathroom? How long has she been in there?”
“Thirty, maybe forty-five, minutes.” She lowered her voice. “It’s making the customers uncomfortable.”
“Okay, go ahead and close the shop for the rest of the day.” He resisted the urge to sigh, but just barely. “I’ll be right there.”
“Everything okay?” Asher asked when Cameron pocketed his phone.
He held his arms out, and Cameron walked right into them. “It’s my sister.” He tucked his face against the side of Asher’s neck and just breathed him in, letting his familiar scent calm him. “She’s been crying in the bathroom for the past half hour, and I guess she’s scaring away customers.”
“Is she okay?” He rubbed his hand up and down Cameron’s spine in soothing lines. “Why is she crying?”
“I don’t know, but I have to go.” It took every ounce of willpower to pull away. “I’m really sorry you drove all the way down here. Rain check?”
Asher stared at him for a long time, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I could come with you.”
“Are you sure?” He wanted that, but he wouldn’t have asked. They weren’t to the meet-the-family stage of their relationship yet, and certainly not the deal-with-my-crazy-sister part. “You don’t have to do this.”
Nodding, Asher held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll drive.”
~
When they’d left Cameron’soffice, Asher hadn’t really known what to expect. He’d never had a great example of family growing up, and as the only child, he had taken the full brunt of his parents’ ever-increasing displeasure. There were a lot of things he excelled at. Sobbing, distraught sisters was not one of them.
“Thank fuck you’re here.” The teensy tiny woman grabbed Cameron’s arm and dragged him through the doorway of the shop. “I don’t know you,” she added when she noticed Asher trialing behind them. “Madeline Yukimura.” She jabbed her hand at him to shake. “People call me Maddie.”
