Undone by Her Tender Touch (Pregnancy & Passion #4)(53)

The hands left for the briefest of moments and then a warm cloth wiped gently at her belly, cleaning away the fluffy mixture of God only knew what.

Then those wonderful hands palmed the bulge of her belly and she sighed again. But when lips pressed to her firm abdomen, she reared up, cucumber slices flying from her eyes.

To her complete surprise it was Cam who stood there, his hands molded to her belly. And it was his lips that had pressed to her skin.

She tried to scramble up, but it was difficult and Cam put a hand to her shoulder, gently pressing her back down to a lying position.

“Why are you here?” she squeaked. “And what are you doing? Where’s my attendant? How long have you been here?”

Cam spread his hands out, palms up. “I’m it. I’m yours. Completely and utterly at your service to fulfill your every whim and desire.”

Her eyes rounded and her mouth flapped open and shut like she was a senseless twit.

He looked…broken. Hopeful and yet hopeless all at the same time. He looked tired. Worn. Worried. But more than anything he looked determined. There was a glint in his eyes that told her he wasn’t backing down this time.

“I’m not having a conversation with you with all this crap on my face and wearing nothing more than a bikini,” she muttered.

He bent down, captured her face in his hands and proceeded to kiss her breathless. When he finally released her, there was as much fluffy goo on his face as there was on hers. He looked…ridiculous.

She couldn’t help but smile. Then she laughed.

“I don’t care what you look like,” he said hoarsely. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known in my life.”

She sighed, ignoring the flutter in her chest. “What are you doing here, Cam? I mean, really. What is it you want? We’ve said all that needs to be said. There’s nothing left to do but get upset all over again.”

His eyes became fierce blue orbs that burned a trail over her face. “No. Not even close. I have plenty to say and I want you to listen, Pippa. Really listen to me.”

She blinked at his vehemence. Well, she wasn’t having this conversation lying down. The very last thing she wanted was to feel at a disadvantage.

She struggled for a moment and finally reached her hand out to Cam. “Help me, please. If we’re going to talk, I don’t want to do it with us both looking like cream puffs.”

He clasped her hand and helped her forward until she swung her legs over the side of the reclining chair. She slid off and went to the sink to wash the remainder of the cream from her face. Then she dampened a cloth and returned to dab at Cam’s face.

He stood, completely still, while she wiped at his cheek. His eyes never left her, though. When the last bit of goo was gone, she took a step back, suddenly feeling the need to cover herself so she didn’t feel quite so vulnerable.

She grabbed a robe off one of the hooks and wrapped it around herself, tying the ends tightly over her swollen belly.

And still Cam was staring at her, unshakable. She was sure there was a message in his unshakable gaze, but it wasn’t one she could discern.

Then it was as if he couldn’t stand it a moment longer. He crossed the distance, dragged her into his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her body, holding her so close to him that she couldn’t breathe. He shuddered against her. His lips moved over hers, devouring, hungry, desperate.

When he finally pulled away, she was shocked by the emotion so prevalent in his gaze. He had the look of a tortured man, someone who’d lost everything.

“I can’t live without you, Pippa,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t make me live without you and our son. I love you both so damn much. It’s eating me alive. I wake up thinking about you. I worry for you all day. I go to bed at night aching to hold you. Being without you is gnawing away at my soul. You are everything to me. Everything.”

She swallowed, her nostrils flaring as she tried to control her own emotions. She wanted to lash out but knew it solved nothing. But his words—words he couldn’t take back—still hurt. They cut deeply, a wound that was still open and raw.

“It’s awfully cliché to realize you can’t live without me and that you’ve seen the light after something life-threatening happens,” she said in a low voice.

“You’re wrong,” he said fiercely. “I already knew it. I fought it. But I knew. I already loved you. I never said I didn’t love you, Pippa. Never. What I said was that I didn’t want to love you. I didn’t just figure this out because of some damn fire. Did that scare me? Hell, yes. I haven’t been able to sleep at night for imagining you in that apartment and the unbelievable fear you must have experienced. I was coming for you that night. Ask me how I knew you were in the hospital, Pippa. Ask me, damn it!”

Her fingers trembled as she stared back at him. “H-how?”

“Because I drove like a bat out of hell to get to you after you left. I knew I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life letting you walk away. I was gutted. But I knew if I could just get to you that I could make everything all right. And then when I got to your street, all I saw were those lights and the flames and smoke and I wanted to die because I thought it had happened all over again but this time I could have prevented it. Just by telling you what was in my heart. Just by not being so damn afraid.”