He inched forward until there was no space between him and Reggie.
Cam sighed. “Come on, you two. I swear you’re acting like a pair of pit bulls.”
Reggie and Hutch both rounded on him. Reggie glared, and Hutch’s brows drew together in an angry line.
“Nobody asked you,” Reggie snarled.
She turned back to Hutch and poked him in the chest with a finger. “I can damn well take care of myself. I don’t need you and the others hovering over me like nursemaids. Yeah, I got hurt. It happens in my line of work. But I’m not going to let it turn me into some goddamn girl.”
Sawyer broke into laughter. “Reggie, honey, I hate to tell you this, but youarea girl.”
“Shut up, Sawyer.”
Hutch shifted, and Reggie dug her finger back into his chest. “And so help me, if you kiss me or do something else to distract me, I’m going to hurt you.”
A slow smile worked at the corners of Hutch’s mouth. “Are you saying my kisses distract you, baby?”
She backed away and bumped into Cam. Cam reached up to steady her then pulled her down into his lap. She started to reach down and shove away, but he held tight.
“Damn it, Cam,” she hissed.
“Stop running,” he said calmly. “You tell us you aren’t afraid but every time we get close, you make tracks in the opposite direction.”
She trembled against him. There was a multitude of emotions in her body language. Fear. Anger. Confusion.
He caught her wrist in his hand, careful not to press too hard.
“This needs to be iced again, and then the brace needs to go back on.”
“Why do I feel the sudden urge to go beat my head against a wall?” Reggie muttered.
Cam smiled and stroked a hand through her unruly curls. “You’re stubborn, Reggie darling. However, I’m not sure you realize how stubborn I can be as well. Maybe I’ve given you the impression that I’m a pushover, but you’re about to find out that when it comes to you, I’m anything but.”
She turned to stare at him, her eyes bright with confusion. “Cam, I’ve never thought you were a pushover. When did I ever give you that idea?”
He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb over her lips. “I said Imighthave given you that impression. I do tend to weaken when you turn those blue eyes on me. In any other matter, I have no doubt you’d get your way. But this has to do with your safety, and I can be more of a hard-ass than you when it comes to that.”
Her lips turned down into a frown. He smoothed a corner with his thumb, coaxing it upward again. “I much prefer you smiling.”
She sighed. “You’re absolutely no fun to fight with. You’re supposed to keep pissing me off so I can stay mad at you.”
Cam chuckled. “If I kiss you, will that piss you off?”
Her breath caught then expelled in a jerky rush. A spark ignited in her eyes, and she ran her tongue nervously over her bottom lip.
“Or you could kiss me,” he said in a low voice.
Her hand came up to his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. When he opened them again, her lips were hovering just inches above his. Uncertainty glittered in her beautiful eyes, but to his satisfaction, there was no fear.
He itched to move to her, to complete the kiss, but he waited instead. He wanted her to come to him. It seemed like forever until she softly pressed her lips to his.
It was a gentle kiss, sweet, so incredibly sweet. The tip of her tongue feathered over the seam of his lips, and he opened for her, wanting her deeper inside so he could taste her, absorb her.
She pulled away, and it was all he could do not to groan his protest.
“I shouldn’t want this,” she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder to where Hutch still stood, and Sawyer sat just a few feet away. Then she turned her gaze back to Cam, and he could see the guilt in her eyes.
“Reggie, stop,” Cam said. “Enough with the guilt. Why are you tearing yourself up over this? We’ve been straight with you. Do you think Hutch and Sawyer are going to beat the shit out of me because I kissed you? Or does it bother you that they aren’t?”
