“They knock me to the dirt. One guy puts his boot on my chest to hold me down. The others…” Cam swallowed. “They start to cut off my other leg. Then they cut off both my arms. I can feel every f**king inch of that chainsaw blade digging into my skin and slicing through the bone. I’m screaming. Not only can I see my blood leaving puddles where my limbs used to be, I smell it. I smell the sand and the heat and my own blood and the exhaust from the Jeep as they drive off and leave me there to die. That’s when I always wake up.”
Domini tugged on his shoulder until he rolled to his back. The horror and sympathy—not pity—in her eyes punched him in the gut. She wiped the beads of sweat from his brow, the tears from his eyes and traced the curve of his jaw. “What can I do?”
He whispered, “Make it go away. Please, just help me forget.”
She fell back to the mattress and attempted to yank him on top of her, apparently forgetting half his ability to balance was propped against the chair.
“Be with me now. Like this. There’s nobody in the world but us, Cam. You’re safe with me.”
The movement of her body was so sweetly urgent, so loving and caring that Cam aligned his c**k and plunged into her without preamble. “Hold on to the headboard. Don’t let go.”
When Domini arched back for it, Cam anchored his foot against the footboard and f**ked her so hard the headboard slammed into the wall. Over and over. And since he was sprouting morning wood, he felt as if he could f**k her for hours. Fuck her until she passed out. Fuck her until he forgot every shitty thing in the world but her.
The first orgasm rippled through her quickly. He sank his teeth into the delicate sweep of her neck and bit down on the magic spot that sent her spiraling into a second orgasm.
“Cam.”
“I know, baby. Again. Come for me again.”
“This was supposed to be for you.”
“It is for me. Being with you like this is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.”
“Such a sweet-talking soldier.”
“Only for you.” His hair was damp, as were the sheets as their bodies slapped together. The sexiest, neediest sounds tumbled from her perfect lips.
When she started to bear down on him during her third orgasm, Cam rammed into her and let her swollen, pulsing pu**y muscles milk him of every last drop of seed. Milk every single care in the world clean away.
Eventually their breathing returned to normal. Domini’s hands traced the contour of his spine. “Better?”
He smiled against her neck and scattered kisses across her shoulders, down to her br**sts and back up to her mouth. “Much. Thank you.” He breathed in the scent of her, let himself absorb her softness and strength.
“My pleasure.”
He pushed up on his palms. “I’ve got to get ready for work.”
A sneaky smile crossed her face.
“What?”
“Need some help getting a leg up on your day?”
“Har har.” He smooched her nose, secretly thrilled that she was already comfortable enough to tease him…and he was comfortable enough to take it. “Just for that comment, I expect breakfast.” He kissed her nose again. “A big breakfast. Pancakes. Eggs.” One last kiss. “And you will hand feed me while you’re nekkid.”
“Is that an order?”
“Yep.”
“Then I’d better get cracking, huh?”
Chapter Nine
Cam dropped Domini off in the alley behind her apartment with a promise he’d see her later.
She rested her forehead against the tile wall in the shower and the let water beat down on her. For such an outwardly resilient man, Cam had a wide streak of vulnerability. As much as she hated to see him hurting, it gave her a sense of…purpose that he’d leaned on her, confided in her, needed her. That he could rely on her to be the strong one for him for a change.
During the course of the day would Cam decide he needed a break to regroup after opening himself up to her? Especially after she’d seen him reliving his worst nightmare?
She’d ached for him, knowing exactly how it felt to wake up in the hospital with a piece of yourself missing.
Why didn’t you tell him?
Because the early morning breakdown wasn’t about her or what she’d experienced, it was about what Cam needed.
Clean, dressed, loaded with caffeine, Domini grabbed her laptop and tackled the grocery order for the following week. She emailed the invoices to Macie in Canyon River, along with a note about payroll changes.
After juggling next week’s employee schedules, Domini powered down her computer. She locked up her apartment and paused at the bottom of the staircase when she heard a baby wailing. She grinned and detoured to the back door leading to India’s Ink and Sky Blue. “Indy?”
No answer.
Chances were good given the baby boy’s set of lungs that India hadn’t heard her. Domini followed the crying to the retail store at the front of the building.
But India wasn’t holding the squalling baby. Colt was.
“Colt?”
He circled around slowly as he continued to pat Hudson’s back. “Tell me he wasn’t loud enough that you heard him clear upstairs.”
“No. I was in the stairway. I thought India was closing the shop today.”
“She is. We’re just waitin’ for Mama to get back.”
The drop-dead gorgeous cowboy looked like hell. Colt wore stained cut-off sweats, flip-flops and a wrinkled sleeveless T-shirt. The ball cap pulled low on his forehead didn’t hide the dark circles under his eyes. The second he quit moving, the baby fussed.
“Is everything okay?”
His bleary gaze connected with hers and it hit her that Colt and Cam had the same midnight blue eyes.
Colt smiled at her crookedly. “Everything is fine, except Hudson doesn’t sleep much. Which means Indy and I don’t sleep much.” He dropped a kiss on the baby’s dark head. “Not that I’m complaining.”
She wouldn’t either. “Where is India?”
“At Doc Monroe’s getting her post-baby check up—three weeks late.”
Domini bit back a smile. “My offer to babysit any time still stands.”
“You’re gonna be shocked when we take you up on that one of these days.” Colt gave her an odd look. “So, what’s goin’ on with you and Cam?”
Domini blushed. Dammit. She was pretty sure red cheeks and stammering was a dead giveaway something was going on.