Shortcake was handling everything better than I thought she would, which meant I hadn’t given her enough credit. The girl was stronger than any of us realized.
Over dinner she told me how everything had gone down, and I was angry and disappointed for her when it came to how she was received by her so-called mother, but Avery had done what she had come here to do.
And it seemed her father expressed at least some amount of remorse or distress. The dancing comment . . . I got what it meant. There were so many things that Avery lost out on, and due to their own ignorance, so had her parents.
She still wanted to see Molly tomorrow, and no matter what I tried over dinner to change her mind, she was determined and I was going to support her the best I could. But to be honest, I wanted nothing more than to get her back home and away from all of this.
When we returned to the hotel room that evening, Shortcake immediately disappeared into the bathroom to take a quick shower. I watched her retreating form with an arched brow. She had been acting weird since the end of the dinner, in a hurry to get back here. I had no idea what she was up to, but I forced myself to lie down instead of joining her in the shower, which was something I wanted to do really, really badly.
I discovered the remote control and was still trying to figure out what channel was what when steam rolled out from the opened bathroom door about twenty minutes later. I looked up and the air halted in my lungs.
She stood in the doorway, her hair a dark red, clinging to her shoulders. She wore only a white towel.
Holy shit.
I sat up, speechless as my gaze swept over her, starting at the tips of her painted toes and ending at her flushed cheeks. My skin tightened as she walked to where I sat, her fingers curling around the knotted towel between her breasts.
I closed my eyes. “Avery.”
She placed a hand on my shoulder and climbed up, like she had done the evening on the couch, straddling me. “Cam?”
A small grin split my lips; it was all I could manage as I clutched her hips.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing.” She paused. “Everything.”
My gaze dipped to the knot. “Those are two opposite things.”
“I know.” She pressed down on my erection, sending a bolt of red-hot pleasure through me. “Kiss me?”
She didn’t give me a chance to respond, which was fine by me. Her lips brushed over mine, a sweet sweeping of her lips. My hold on her hips tightened when she parted my lips with her tongue. The kiss went on until I was aching for her.
Hell, I was always aching for her.
“Touch me,” she whispered. “Please.”
Who in the hell was I to deny her? I ran my hands under the hem of the towel, gliding them over her thighs, coming close to the center of her heat.
“Now,” she demanded.
I laughed at her bold demand, but I wouldn’t be rushed. I brushed the back of my hand over her dampness, smiling when she moaned. “What do you want?”
She made a sound of frustration. “I want you to touch me.”
Bringing my fingers close to where she wanted me, I retreated quickly. “I am touching you, sweetheart.”
Her eyes flashed. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
“Please.” She pressed her forehead to mine. “Please touch me, Cam.”