“I think it will, because you’re a very passionate woman, although it appears you keep all that passion hidden. I would love to tap into it.”
Hidden passion that he wanted to tap into? She wondered what kind of alcohol he’d been drinking this morning. “Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She decided not to tell him that she’d been told by one man just how passionless she was.
“Then let me break everything down for you. Let me make my offer. One that you can accept or reject.”
“And if I reject it?”
“Then I promise to leave you alone for the remainder of your stay here as you’ve requested. In fact, I’ll make arrangements to fly back to the States. But I’m hoping that you will accept it.”
“And if I do?”
“If you do, I will take you on the sexual adventure of your life. Entertain old fantasies and create new ones. I plan to take us both over the edge, and when it’s over, you’ll go your way and I’ll go mine, and I promise not to bother you again.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes, just like that. My offer is that for the remainder of your days here, I will become your sex mate while we indulge in all sorts of wild and wicked play time.”
Vanessa felt her stomach fluttering again. Now she wished she’d had a taste of whatever alcohol he had consumed that morning. She needed it. What he was proposing—although similar in nature to what Sienna had suggested—was crazy, absolutely ludicrous, outright insane. Still, his words refused to stop swimming around in her mind, and, as he stood there on her front porch in the sunlight, looking more handsome than any man had a right to look, she was tempted. Boy, was she tempted.
Pulling on her last bit of control, she said, “And what makes you think I want a sex mate?”
He took a step closer. “Your kiss. A man can tell a lot from a woman’s kiss. Hunger, wariness, pain. I tasted all three. You want me as much as I want you. Being honest with yourself and admitting it is the first step. I can see it even now in your eyes, the heat, the yearning, the need.”
He reached out and took her hand in his. Before she could pull it back, he rubbed his thumb across the underside of her wrist “Feel it here,” he said of her pulse. “Your passion points. They’re beating like crazy and drumming out a message you’ve ignored too long.”
She pulled her hand back. “It’s all in your mind,” she said, then moistened her lips when they suddenly felt dry.
“I don’t think so and I’m willing to prove you wrong.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you proving anything.”
“Don’t you? Let’s move on to your wariness. I tasted that, too. You want me, but you don’t fully trust me. You’re confused about where I’m coming from and, more importantly, where I’m going when it’s over. I think I’ve made it clear what I want out of a relationship with you. And it’s not wedding bells. But then I’m sure you feel the same way.”
Before she could respond he continued, “And last but not least, I tasted pain, which is why you probably find it hard to trust me or any other man. But that’s okay. I plan to take the pain away and replace it with pleasure of the most intense kind. After me you won’t even remember your last fling.”
Vanessa studied Cameron carefully. She gazed back into the intense eyes staring at her and felt another tug of her inner muscles. They were getting achier by the minute. Four years was a long time and her body was letting her know it. What Cameron had said wasn’t helping matters. He wanted her for a sex mate. He wanted to tap into what he claimed was her hidden passion.
“Think about my proposition, Vanessa, and if you’re interested in what I’m proposing, meet me on the beach at noon. Like I said, I’ll let you set the parameters and call the shots. Turning over total control to anyone isn’t easy for me, but I’ll do it because I want you that bad. I’ll take you on any terms.”
She swallowed the tightness in her throat. “And what happens after you’ve had me? What if you get tired of me after the first time?” She couldn’t forget that Harlan had done exactly that.