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Her gaze holds mine,

She’s got stars in her eyes.

Nina swallowed, watching him from a couple of metres away. She could no longer kid herself. She was in love with Cameron but she couldn’t have him because they were from such different worlds, and although he was sweet and romantic and wrote songs about her, he didn’t love her. He cared about her, but her feelings eclipsed his—and that was bad news.

Chapter Ten

Cameron watched Nina’s reaction. Had she registered his meaning this time? When he’d played the song for her the morning after its completion, he’d been hoping she’d see the connection, but she’d been oblivious. However, she’d probably thought the lyrics generic because he hadn’t told her how he’d felt about her at that point. He’d been about to when they had been interrupted by Ash, then Isla.

It appeared she might have realised now because she was watching him open-mouthed, her beautiful eyes shining with emotion.

He found it much easier to express himself through music. He always seemed to botch it when he attempted to verbalise his feelings otherwise.

Nina started to back away, and for a moment he panicked, until she flashed him a smile and gestured along the hallway. He watched her retreat to the foot of the stairs where there was no one around. She lifted off her vest and dropped it onto the floor, as if creating some sort of sexy Hansel and Gretel trail. She met his eyes before disappearing onto the stairs.

Cam nudged Noah. “You’re up.” He strode out of the room without even registering Noah’s reaction, taking the stairs two at a time past where Nina had left her shorts, then practically sprinting down the hallway. He paused briefly outside the bedroom, his heart racing. He inched open the door.

She was lying on the bed in her fiery red bikini.

He closed the door behind him and pulled off his T-shirt, moving toward her. He got onto the bed and climbed over her to look into her eyes.

“Hey,” she said, smiling.

He grinned. “Hey there.”

Cameron studied her face, trying to fathom how deeply she’d read into the layers that he’d created. He should make some attempt to clarify how he felt, but he was still too scared. What if she didn’t feel the same way? He’d be reduced to a stammering mess. She’d already told him that they couldn’t get too involved because she was going home soon. If she reciprocated his feelings, she wouldn’t have said that.

Nina drew him into her kiss and the moment for talking was gone. Kissing her did things to him that he’d never experienced, and what they’d done earlier had been mind-blowing. He couldn’t even think how it should be labelled. Sex seemed too mundane a word. I know how to describe it. Making love.

Cam pushed those thoughts away because he was in danger of blurting them out, and he needed to be sure of her feelings first.

He peeled off her bikini, peppering her skin with butterfly kisses as he made his way down her body. She pushed her fingers into his hair, urging him lower, and it sent an intense thrill to his core. She shuddered under him as he reached her most intimate places and started stoking her desire with his mouth and tongue.

Cam absorbed every moan she emitted, each one pushing his heart rate higher and sending fire shooting into his loins. He kept going until he sensed that she was close then slowed his movements to prolong her pleasure. But she stopped him by urging him back up to kiss her, her hands fumbling at his shorts. She grazed her lips against his ear as she tore off the last of his clothing. “I need you.”

The fact that she wanted him with same intensity that he wanted her made him dizzy with pleasure. He grabbed a condom and rolled it on then held her face as he inched inside her, studying every starry fleck in her dark eyes. He wanted to lose himself in them forever.

It was even more intense this time, and he hadn’t thought that possible. It must be because he’d opened himself up by revealing to her the raw passion he’d poured into that song, and because after that he’d come to terms with the reality of his feelings. He didn’t just care about her on another level. He was in love with her.

Cam struggled to control his emotions as his physical pleasure built. Nina began to shudder with her climax, and it was all he could do to hold on a few more seconds before she called out his name and that was the final straw. The last strand of his self-control snapped, and he was taken along with her on a tide of abandonment so intense that it took his breath away. Cam buried his face in her neck as it overwhelmed him, holding her close and breathing in the gorgeous scent of her hair. Dark like midnight skies.

Her breathing started to slow against his chest, and she lifted her hand to stroke his hair. The moment was perfect, and he was close to saying those words, but he swallowed them. It was too soon.

Finally, he forced himself out of the safe cocoon of her neck to meet her eyes. They were bright with intensity. He kissed her then rolled to the side and hugged her into his chest, not daring to speak for fear of saying something he shouldn’t. As he held her, he sensed her breathing change rhythm to one that signalled sleep. He closed his eyes to join her, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time they were together.

Chapter Eleven

Nina opened her eyes. The curtains were still open, and the sun was rising. She turned her head to see if Cam was awake too, but he wasn’t there. A small spike of anxiety pierced her heart. Where had he gone, and what did his absence signal?

She quickly put on her clothes and went downstairs to search for him. There was evidence he’d been in the kitchen because the coffee was on. Footsteps sounded on the stairs from the studio and he appeared at the top. Nina’s breath caught in her throat. He was so beautiful. He gave her a smile that contained a hint of shyness and it swelled her heart. Cameron closed the gap between them, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him.

Nina pulled back to meet his gaze. “Morning.”

He brushed the tip of his nose against hers. “Good morning.”

“Have you been in the studio?” she asked.

He glanced at the floor. “Yeah. I seem to have been struck by inspiration lately.” He looked back into her eyes and she tried to read him. He can’t mean me? She wanted to voice what she’d come to realise about her feelings for him, but she didn’t want to scare him off by being too intense. They’d only known each other a few days. She kissed him again to stop herself from saying any more.