Hot Commodity (Banks / Kincaid Family #1)(37)

"Livy?" Cameron’s voice came from a great distance. But when she looked up, he was moving closer instead of farther away. He grasped her shoulder and pulled her up, looking concerned.

"Olivia," he said softly, sitting her gently on the edge of the mattress. "Just relax, okay?" Gentle fingers cupped her cheek; she wanted to close her eyes and sink into his warm comfort.

But she shook her head instead. "You...Oh, God, Cameron. You have no idea. You just...Oh God."

He dropped his hand and quickly reached for his pants, yanking them on. "What?" he said softly, sitting next to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Did you want to go with them after all? That’s okay, you know. I’m sure you can still catch your mom."

She shook her head emphatically.

He smiled as if satisfied. "Okay, then," he answered. "Let’s pack, and I’ll take you wherever it is you’re going and…" He paused and eyed her quizzically. "Where do you want to go?"

She looked up. "If I had somewhere else to go, I would’ve gone there a long time ago," she cried out, her voice an octave higher than usual.

He placed his hot palms on her temples, burying his fingers in her hair. "Don’t panic," he instructed softly. "Everything will be okay. I’ve got plenty of guest bedrooms at my place. We’ll just fly to Cali, pick up your things, and then you can—" He broke off when she shook her head.

"All my things are gone," she murmured almost to herself. "She’ll never let me go back to get them. I don’t have anything now, except what’s here in this room. I don’t have any money. She’ll freeze all my accounts and credit cards and close my savings. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t…"

Her voice broke. A tear wavered at the corner of her eye and she realized she was on the edge of a panic attack.

Cameron leaned forward and kissed her tear, licking it away with his tongue. "Olivia," he whispered. "Listen to me, okay? I put you in this position, so I will help you get out of it. We’ll go home to Kansas City until the Bos-man can work on those annulment papers. Once they’re all filed and done, I’ll help you start your life; I’ll help you find a job, go to school, whatever you want to do. Okay? Nod your head, Livy. Tell me that’s what you want to do."

Olivia shook her head from side to side instead of up and down. "No,

you don’t want to help me anymore than you already did. She’s mad enough at you. You don’t want her for an enemy, Cameron. She’s going to come after you now. She’s going to—"

"Shh," he crooned and pulled her tight against his chest. "Why don’t you let me worry about me. Let’s focus on you right now."

"But why would you want to help me?" she said, pushing him back to meet his eyes. "I tricked you into marriage. What do you want from me? You don’t even know me. There’s no way you’ll just bring home some stranger and start throwing money at her, promising her you’ll hand her a new life, completely free of charge."

Cameron dropped his hands from her as if shocked. "You’re right," he finally said. "I don’t know you. But I do know you just stood up to a woman you’re deathly afraid of, and you got away from her. That kind of shit impresses me. Besides, I caused a majority of this to happen, so I feel pretty responsible for you right now. Plus, there’s also the fact we’re married and that makes us a team for the time being. Not to mention, you’re amazing in bed and I’d like to stay on your good side in the hopes you’ll let me sleep with you again."

Hearing that last remark, Olivia snorted and turned away from him, starting to pack. "I agree," she said with her back to him and she stuffed clothes into her case. "This is your fault. If you’d just left me alone last night, none of this would’ve happened."

"Yeah, well, what did you want me to do?" Cameron said in self-defense. He pushed to his feet and scowled. "Keep our marriage a secret and let the crazy broad come after me with a shotgun? No thanks."

Olivia turned and glared at him. "How about you not following me to my room in the first place and coaxing me into bed, huh? Maybe not doing that would’ve prevented this."

Cameron grinned, his frown gone as fast as it had come. "Maybe," he agreed. "But in my opinion, it was worth it."

Still upset with him, Olivia ground her teeth in frustration and finished her packing.

She was going home with Cameron Banks, the man she’d married, the man her mother had commanded her to marry. And yet, now she was free of Vivian Helbrock-Donovan-Roark.

Free.

It was so exhilarating and frightening she sat down on the bed to steady her nerves as Cameron finished dressing.





Ten



Kansas City



By nine that evening, Olivia and Cameron arrived in Kansas City. She had one travel bag with her, full of all the possessions she had left in the world. She followed her new husband up the front walk into his sprawling mansion and stopped just inside the doorway, her fingers clutched around her suitcase handle.

Cameron tossed his keys on an end table and tugged a cell phone from his pocket.

"I have to make a quick call," he said, glancing her way even as he moved toward a doorway leading to another room. "This will only take a minute."