“Elijah, I—”
Elijah released Camden’s hand and placed a single finger over his lips, silencing him before he could continue speaking.
“You weren’t the only one running, baby. I’m a cop. Finding you, tracking you down for answers would’ve been a simple task with my background. Instead, I let my bruised ego get the better of me. I knew what we were the minute your lips touched mine. And yet, I was so afraid of rejection, I gave up without fighting. Not this time. This time, I’m not letting you walk away before I’ve said my piece.”
Elijah cupped Camden’s cheek in his palm, softly stroking the morning stubble beneath his thumb, loving the mild hint of gruffness it gave his gentleman. “Is that all right with you, Mr. Assistant District Attorney?”
A quick nod and a smile was Camden’s only response as he leaned in to kiss Elijah. Elijah covered Camden’s mouth with his hand and shook his head. “Salmon cakes are great for eating, but not so much for kissing. Give me a few minutes to freshen up, and then we’ll finish this in the garage.”
Camden’s eyes sparked with amusement as a quiet chuckle slipped through his closed lips. He pressed a kiss to the inside of Elijah’s palm and removed the hand from his mouth.
“You have the best ideas, Lieutenant.”
“If you think that’s something, wait until you hear my next suggestion, then.”
Camden licked his lips. The tiny bit of his rosy tongue sliding across the fullness of his bottom lip made Elijah’s cock tighten in his shorts. “Whatever it is, Elijah, I can’t wait to hear it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
CAMDENlooked around the one-room garage apartment and smiled. It wasn’t small, but Camden was certain it could fit inside the room he’d slept in as a child in his parent’s mansion, ten times over.
His mother would call it cozy or some other snobby description, he was sure. But to Camden, since the first time Elijah had shared this space with him, he’d felt more cared for, more cherished than he’d ever experienced in his life.
The sound of the bathroom faucet being turned off pulled Camden from his musings. He cupped his hands together, blowing into them and making sure that the toothpaste and mouthwash he’d used a few moments ago were working. The tastiness of breakfast aside, Camden was glad to have his palate cleansed. The only thing he wanted to taste was Elijah, and if he had his way, that’s exactly what he’d get to do in “Five, four, three, two….”
“Now, we’re all minty fresh.”
Camden turned around to greet a smiling Elijah. “Good, so can we make out now?”
Elijah’s shoulders shook with laughter. “You know, I hope you don’t think every time I bring you here it’s only to sex you, Cam.”
“I’d be offended if that wasn’t the reason you were bringing me here.” Camden stepped closer into Elijah’s space, running his fingers along the hem of Elijah’s T-shirt and dragging it until deep mahogany-brown skin filled his vision and made Camden’s heart race with desire.
Elijah was a beautiful man. He was tall, solid, his muscles large and defined. But when Camden’s gaze traveled from the sharp angles of V-cut hips, to carved abdominal muscles, to beyond his expansive chest and strong shoulders, he realized something in retrospect that he hadn’t allowed himself to see before. It wasn’t that Elijah’s glorious body weakened Camden and made him feel helpless. Nor was it the soft welcome that Camden always saw in the depths of Elijah’s eyes that touched him most.
It had been there that first night. Camden had known no matter what, Elijah accepted him for who he was, a self-centered, often selfish individual who didn’t deserve the affections of an honest man like Elijah.
Elijah’s dark brown eyes radiated warmth, inviting Camden in from the cold mausoleum he’d existed in all these years. He wrapped his hand around Elijah’s waist and pulled him closer until there was no space between them.
Camden placed tiny kisses on the side of Elijah’s neck, just under his ear. He could feel a smile spreading across Elijah’s face as he continued to pepper the man’s neck and jaw with sweet pecks of his lips.
“What am I going to do with you, Cam?”
“Whatever you want to. I’m yours any way you’ll have me.”
Before Elijah could respond, Camden locked his fingers in Elijah’s hair and slammed his mouth against Elijah’s in an almost painful press of lips.
Elijah remained stiff in his arms, probably wondering why the crazy man holding him was attacking his mouth. It wasn’t until Elijah’s lips parted slightly, and Camden took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside Elijah’s heat, that the muscles in Elijah’s body began to relax as he pressed himself closer to Camden.
Elijah moaned, granting Camden the access he needed to deepen the kiss. If he was too chickenshit to tell Elijah how desperate he was to have a chance with him, to keep him near like a life-giving breath, he’d at least show him. He’d make sure every touch conveyed every word he was too afraid to speak.
Camden walked them back toward the daybed, hoping they’d make it, but happily settling for the carpeted floor when need outweighed common sense. If this ended up being as frantic as Camden surmised it would, they were both going to regret this decision to fuck on the floor like animals. But if the choice was being rational and walking to the bed like sane human beings, or feeling the delicious grind of Elijah’s stiff cock moving against his, Camden would deal with the rug burn tomorrow.
He wasted no time divesting Elijah and himself of their clothing, releasing a satisfied moan when flesh met flesh, searing Camden from the outside in.
He took a moment just to revel in the heat they generated as they rubbed against each other. It was hot, primal, full of so much need, Camden thought he might combust from the sparks of electricity sizzling through his body.
“Baby, please,” Elijah begged in short gasps, apparently breathing and speaking at the same time were a struggle at the moment. “Won’t last like this.”
