Page 17 of Hard Rock Sin
Cameron cracked open the bottle of water and chugged it down as he walked out of the kitchen.
"Try not to kill yourself with that thing." He nodded to the knife on the counter as he sauntered out.
I continued putting together my forgotten sandwich, thinking over Cameron's words.
Noah wouldn'treallykick him out, would he?
Chapter Six
When I realizedCameron was never going to stick around long enough to give me the grand tour of his mansion, I made it my mission to find every secret nook and cranny. There were dozens of bedrooms and bathrooms, multiple parlor rooms, a couple of small den-like libraries, a few offices — and that was just the three floors I'd searched already. There was still the finished basement, top floor, and vast yard to explore.
During one exceptionally hot day, I remembered Cameron's pool in the backyard. I hadn't yet gone out to buy a swimsuit. No one else was around so I decided a bra and panties was good enough.
The backyard patio looked even larger than it had when I'd first seen it at that party. There had been dozens of people in the backyard, both in and out of the pool. That had made it seem smaller somehow. Now that I had the entire thing to myself, I had to wonder if this was what an Olympic sized-pool looked like. It was certainly big enough.
I stripped down to my underwear and dipped a toe in the pool. It was heated. Of course it was a heated pool. I gingerly climbed down the steps leading into the shallow end, taking my time, getting used to the temperature. It was heated, yes, but that didn't mean it was warm. The water was just a few degrees shy of being too cold. Cool enough to be refreshing, but not a shock to my system, either. Just right.
Feeling almost like Goldilocks, I jumped the last few steps and immersed myself in the water. I turned onto my back and floated lazily, using my arms and legs to propel myself this way and that.
My thoughts turned to Cameron, as they'd had a tendency to do over these last few days. He'd made himself scarce again. After our run in while I'd been making that sandwich in the kitchen, it really did feel like he was avoiding me. I couldn't help but feel slighted.
I still had my schoolgirl crush on Cameron. That hadn't gone away. But I knew nothing would ever happen. I didn't expect him to flirt with me, or make a move on me. Not now that he knew who I was. My brother's wrath was fearsome. But I'd hoped I could at least hang around someone who didn't treat me like a little kid.
The fact that thesomeonealso happened to be devastatingly gorgeous would have just a bonus.
I'd been alternating between floating and swimming for about thirty minutes when I heard the patio door slide open. There was only one person it could have been.
I swam to the shallow end of the pool to greet Cameron, wondering why he'd decided to make an appearance.
"Oh. Hey, Lily. I didn't realize—" Cameron cut himself off, going silent.
He wore swim trunks and a tight t-shirt. His long red hair was wild as the wind blew it around his face, falling over his deep blue eyes. I wanted to run my fingers through that tangled mess. I wanted to smooth it back and reveal his handsome features. I chided myself for thinking like that.
"Did you need something?" I asked.
"Ah. No. Nothing." His stare could have burned a hole straight through me.
I realized then that I was only wearing a wet bra and panties. A now see-through wet bra and panties. I ducked down into the water, covering my chest with my arms.
"I still don't have a swimsuit," was the only explanation I could give as my face grew warm.
"Right."
Cameron fought to lift his eyes to mine in what seemed to be an epic struggle. He opened his mouth to speak and paused for a second.
"It's pretty hot out here today," he said eventually.
I had a feeling that wasn't what he was originally planning on saying.
"It's been boiling for days," I pointed out.
"I wouldn't know. I go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned recording studio."
"You need to get out more."
"I get out plenty."
"You need to getoutsidemore," I clarified.
