Down London Road (On Dublin Street, #2)(68)

I glared at them both. ‘You were right before.’ I directed my words at Joss. ‘I let people think the worst of me. And I could handle it. But Tattoo Guy came along and told me to ask more of myself, and suddenly snide comments from people I thought liked me – but it turns out they thought exactly what you said they thought of me – hurt me. So, thanks, Cam. Now I’m a bloody walking open wound.’

There were a number of appropriate responses to my rant. Joss grinning at Cam and then smacking him heartily on the back was not one of them. ‘You are my new favourite person.’

I gave points to Cam for looking at her like she was nuts. I gave him some more for pulling me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, finding the feel of his hard, solid, safe body soothing. I breathed him in and snuggled deeper when his arms tightened around me.

‘Why all the long faces? This is good news,’ Joss insisted, completely serious.

Moving my chin so I could rest it on Cam’s shoulder and glare at her, I warned, ‘I am this close to ending our friendship.’

Nowhere near intimidated by my threats, Joss’s expression turned mulish. ‘I’m sorry someone hurt you. Point me in their direction and I’ll give them a beatdown they won’t forget in a hurry. But this is good, Jo. Cam has done what I’ve been trying to do for a year. He woke you up.’

Cam pulled back, smirking at her. ‘That’s a little cheesy, Joss.’

It was like he’d told her she’d stepped in dog poo. Her nose wrinkled and she shuddered, a look of absolute self-disgust falling over her pretty features. ‘I have got to stop letting Ellie choose what we watch on movie night. It’s causing me to acclimatize to heartfelt emotion.’ She turned on her heel, muttering something under her breath about Jason Bourne.

‘Nicely done,’ I murmured to Cam, impressed at the way he’d so easily dispatched Joss. His lips brushed my cheek in response and I turned to look into his eyes. ‘You sure you want to be seen with a girl everyone thinks of as one step above a paid escort?’

It was clearly the wrong thing to say, as evidenced by the tic of the muscle in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He gripped my chin so I couldn’t look away. ‘Don’t. Don’t even consider thinking of yourself in those terms. And don’t ask me stupid questions. If anyone ever says anything like that to you … tell me. They’ll not be saying it for long.’

Cam had gone all alpha male on me but I wasn’t even processing it. Despite his portrayal of the overprotective boyfriend, I couldn’t forget that only weeks before, he’d accused me of the same thing Phil had. I wanted to forget. I really thought I had. But it seemed it was still there, niggling away at me under layers of denial.

Eyes dimming of their anger, mouth slackening to exasperation, Cam sighed as he let go of me. ‘Is this about me? About before?’

I shrugged, not wanting to lie outright.

‘Are you ever really going to forgive me for what I said when we met?’

I shrugged again. Cole would have been so proud. ‘It’s forgiven.’ Just clearly not forgotten.

‘But not forgotten.’

Mind reader.

Heaving another sigh, Cam took hold of my hips and pulled me close, dipping his head to kiss me softly. His right hand coasted up under my tank top, his cool hand on my bare skin sending shivers rippling over me. I felt my nipples pebble as his hand cupped my bra, his thumb tracing the swell of my breast. My knees shook and I gripped Cameron’s waist tightly. ‘You’ve not forgotten,’ he repeated roughly. ‘But you will.’ He crushed my mouth against his, his kiss almost painful in its demand. I didn’t care. It was fair to say that at this point I was absolutely addicted to the taste and feel of him.

‘Customers!’ Joss yelled from behind the bar.

We jolted apart, Cam reluctantly pulling his hand out from under my top and smoothing it back in place. ‘You go out first.’

I glanced down at the bulge in his jeans and grinned. ‘Take your time.’

He growled at me playfully in response as I passed him, adding a taunting swing to my hips.

After the first two come-hither smiles Cam sent to customers I stopped looking at him. I was aware of him, as I was always aware of him, but determined to shut out actual hard evidence of the flirting.

Combating it with my own flirting might have worked, but every time I attempted to flirt with a customer, I could feel Cam’s eyes burning into my skin, and it put me off my game.

My growing irritation finally came to a head when there was a lull at the bar. I threw a dishcloth at Cam. ‘Our tips jar is suffering because of you, buddy.’

Cam had caught the cloth before it hit him and was now laughing as he wiped up some spillage on the bar top. ‘What did I do?’

‘I can feel you watching me. I can’t flirt with you watching me.’

His deep chuckle tickled all my good-for-nothing places and I hated that I found the cheeky grin he gave Joss so bloody hot. ‘Was I doing anything?’

Joss shrugged. ‘I have no clue what you were doing, but keep it up. The fake giggle’ – she gestured lazily at me – ‘has disappeared, so I’m happy.’

Another tag team? I crossed my arms over my chest, hoping my body language was a warning to back off. ‘The fake giggle is not that bad.’

My friend grunted in disagreement. ‘It sounds like Miss Piggy has a machine gun stuck in her throat.’