And then everything exploded. Camden roared like a lion as his climax hit him fresh. He reared up hard into me as I let go again. I shuddered around him, giving myself over to Camden Percy.
I fell forward over his chest, breathless. His hand came to my long hair, and he gently brushed it out of my face. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. He’d wrung it out of both of our bodies. I had nothing left to give. It had been a long and trying day. I could already feel sleep threatening to pull me under.
Camden forced me to get up and use the bathroom. Then he tucked me into the covers of his bed. I had no argument left in me. He pressed a kiss to my temple before heading into the bathroom.
I heard the shower turn on, but sleep was dragging me down.
The last thing I thought before I succumbed to it entirely was this:
Maybe I made the right choice after all.
7
CAMDEN
My wife was asleep in my bed.
My wife, Katherine Van Pelt, was asleep in my bed.
What a fucking sentence.
I leaned forward against the railing of my top-floor balcony.
I’d taken a quick shower and changed into low-slung pants and a robe before heading into the bedroom. She was already asleep, but I was wide fucking awake. I retreated downstairs and poured myself a glass of scotch.
Snow was falling in soft drifts toward the city below. Christmas was fast approaching. My least favorite holiday. It only ever reminded me of my father being a fucking terror, insisting on a family dinner. Who the fuck knew where my sister was? But she was never reprimanded for missing. Just me. Just his failure. Despite keeping the entire company afloat.
I rattled the ice in the bottom of my drink. My fingers were freezing, and I should go inside soon. I’d turned the heaters on outside, but this high up, it was always too cold for anything but the hot tub.
Still, I didn’t move.
Everything had finally happened. I’d married Katherine. I’d gotten her to bend to my will. If not break. Not yet.
I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted to be upstairs, curled around her as she slept. But I couldn’t let myself revel in it. I knew what it would bring if I gave in. How quickly everything could be snatched away. And with Katherine, it was particularly precarious. Every step had to be carved out of stone until it stuck. Otherwise, I knew exactly where she’d run at the first sign of trouble.
Oh yes, I knew all too well.
My hand tightened on the glass before I released it with a sigh. I downed the remaining contents and dropped it on the table. I absentmindedly glanced at my phone. I wasn’t tired, and yet I was exhausted. I couldn’t go to sleep, and yet I was more than ready to be in bed. I’d never been indecisive in my life. And so, I told myself I was choosing to stay awake on my wedding night. That I wanted to look out across the New York City skyline, watch the snow, anticipate the coming of Christmas. There was no other reason keeping me from sleep.
Then noise startled me from my own brooding. I whipped around and found a confused Katherine standing in my white tuxedo shirt and nothing else. My blood heated.
“Fuck,” I hissed.
She tiptoed across the living room and cracked the door. A shiver ran through her as the cold leaked inside. “Camden?”
“What are you doing up?”
I left my spot at the balcony and came inside to keep her out of the cold. I drew the door closed. Her eyes were half-lidded, as if she’d dragged herself up out of a deep sleep.
“I woke up, and you were gone.” She bit her lip and looked away from me, as if waking enough to realize she’d uttered those words out loud.
She’d been wondering where I was. She looked, dare I say, concerned by my absence. She’d come looking for me. Had all I needed to do was show her exactly how good it could be for her to relinquish control?
“I was letting you sleep.”
“Oh,” she said, drawing her arms across her chest. “You’re not going to sleep tonight?”
“I wasn’t tired.”
I didn’t know what possessed me, but I pulled her into my arms, tucking her against me. She dropped her head against my shoulder with the tiniest yawn.
“I’m very tired.”
“I can see that,” I said, stroking her hair back. “We should get you back to bed.”
She glanced up at me with a small pout on her lips. “You’re coming?”
And how could I deny her when she asked like that?
“Of course.”
I stepped back out to bring my glass inside before ushering her upstairs. Katherine dropped my shirt and crawled into bed. Heat flared through me. Despite the incredible sex we’d had earlier, I was far from sated. I wanted more from her. So much more.
But she was tired. She would accept more sex now if I offered, but I could see she was already half-asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I would take care of her first and foremost.
I shucked off my pants and robe before getting into bed after her. It was a king. It was big enough that neither of us had to touch throughout the night. I could stay on my side, and she could stay on hers. But she didn’t.
She scooted into me until her back hit my chest. I stilled entirely, waiting for the moment when Katherine Van Pelt returned and snapped at me for touching her. But she didn’t. I waited and nothing. So, I dropped my arm around her chest and banded her against me.
She made the softest little sigh. Happy.
She sounded happy.
I had no idea what to make of her. Was she delirious? Had today been that exhausting that she’d snuggle against me like this?
I didn’t know, and frankly, I didn’t care.
It was one night. Tomorrow, things would be back to normal, I was sure. I’d enjoy it while I could.
And maybe find a way for it to be like this long term.
8
KATHERINE
The next morning, I woke slow, as if from a long spell. My eyelids fluttered open, and I stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. I was in a tangle of crisp white bedsheets. The comforter so soft and cozy that I felt as if I were cocooned in a cloud.
I was in Camden’s bed. I’d spent the night.
Last night came back to me like an IV drip—one drop at a time.
The argument in the limo. The fake smiles for the paparazzi. The way he’d removed my dress. The sex. I shivered all over at every scandalous, delectable detail.
But there was more. I’d passed out. I remembered waking to an empty bed, and in a haze, going to look for Camden. Had that happened? Had he really tucked me back in, pulled me close, and never let me go?
It couldn’t be.
That wasn’t Camden Percy.
And he wasn’t here now.
I shucked back the covers and could see an indent where his body had been. He had come to bed last night at some point. I hadn’t imagined that. Was the rest true too?
I tossed my legs over the edge of the bed. I stepped into his enormous walk-in closet, packed full of rows and rows of suits. I found a sweater and pulled it over my head. I hadn’t thought that I’d actually stay the night. So, I hadn’t left any clothes here.
After going into the bathroom and fixing my hair, I headed down the staircase.
Camden was seated at the kitchen counter with a Chemex full of coffee in front of him. He was reading the Sunday morning paper like an actual adult. Already, he was in a dark blue pinstripe suit and loafers.