Twelve Truths and a Lie Read online

  When she still didn’t respond by the end of the day, I don’t know what made me do it, but I headed straight over to her place. I had only been to her apartment that one time, but I spotted her car in the parking lot and now feared that she fell ill and needed help.

  I walked straight in behind a furniture delivery person and up the two flights of stairs. After I knocked on her door, I got no response.

  “Aurora, it’s Cameron,” I said in a louder voice. “I was worried. If you tell me you’re okay, I’ll leave, especially if you just want to be alone.”

  I waited a good three minutes, knocking intermittently, and considered whether a friend had picked her up for a night out. Feeling foolish, I turned to leave and heard the click of the lock as I made it to the top step.

  When she lugged open the door, her eyes were swollen, her hair was messy, and my heart dropped to my stomach.

  “What the hell happened?” I asked, lightly grasping her cheek, my thumb swiping away a tear.

  She practically dissolved into my arms, winding her fingers around my neck, and her face dipping to my shoulder.

  I stepped inside her apartment, pushed the door shut with my foot, and half carried her to the couch.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call you,” she mumbled into my chest, as I sat down with her propped in my lap. “My phone died, I didn’t bring my charger cord, and I just…I had a horrible day.”

  “No, it’s okay,” I replied, drawing her against me and rubbing her back. “If you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

  She took a shuddering breath and pushed the hair from her eyes as she adjusted her worn CWRU T-shirt. I noticed for the first time that she was also wearing a ratty pair of sweats, but if she minded my seeing her like this, she didn’t let it show.

  She was too wrapped up in her own grief, too much inside of her own head, and the fact that she let me inside at all was all that mattered to me. I wanted to be there for her, to know all the parts of her, happy and sad.

  My pulse beat rapidly, wondering what had her so distressed. Had she lost somebody? Did it have to do with her friend or her job?

  “Remember the other day when I told you I drove to the east side but the family wasn’t there?” she asked, her lips trembling.

  I twisted my shaky hand through her curls, which looked a darker auburn today.

  “Yeah,” I said, my heart sitting like a stone in my throat. “And the brother who was released from jail answered the door?”

  She nodded her head vigorously. Fuck, what was she about to confess to me?

  “A crime had occurred in that home,” she said so low, I leaned forward to hear her better. “In one of the upstairs bedrooms.”

  My fingers stiffened on her shoulders as a chill swept through me. She was deliberately keeping the details from me, which I understood was protocol, but in this circumstance, she needed to talk this through with somebody and let her emotions out.

  “Was it a crime against a family member?” I asked, low and steady, hoping to become the rock she could lean on in this situation.

  She shook her head and my gut tightened even further.

  “So,” I said trying to fit the pieces together in my own head. “You’re saying the brother wasn’t alone that night?”

  “No, he…he…” And then she dissolved into tears. “It’s so terrible. That poor girl.”

  “The sister?” No, that wasn’t right, she’d said it wasn’t a family member.

  “A teenager from the neighborhood.” A sob tore from her throat. “He…he did that to her.”

  “Holy fuck.” I didn’t think I wanted to know exactly what he’d done, but I could only imagine it was some form of a sexual assault. I grabbed her and held her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

  She had told me he invited her inside to wait that night. Why would he do that? I couldn’t even allow my mind to go there, to that dark place. Not with Aurora, not ever.

  “You’re safe here with me,” I murmured against her hair. “I’ll always keep you safe.”

  I held and rocked her for a long while as she shuddered and sobbed through her emotions. I reminded her intermittently that I would protect her the best way I could, though I wasn’t sure how.

  I understood how unprotected women felt in their everyday lives, my mother having reinforced that notion early on. It was a very unfortunate reality, and I’d talk to Aurora about her safety another day. Tonight, she needed to feel secure, even tucked away in her own home.

  “I trust you, Cameron,” she mumbled into my shoulder. “More than I’ve ever trusted any man before.”

  My own tears stung my eyes as I was overcome with an emotion that yanked profoundly at my core. I knew in that instant that I had fallen for Aurora. Had probably already been halfway there at the reunion. I wanted to be with her, protect her, and care for her.

  I adjusted my hold and sank back on the couch, tugging her on top of me. I kissed her salty cheeks and eyelashes, the wetness tickling my lips. She gazed at me with watery eyes as I briefly swiped my mouth across hers, needing to feel her lips one more time.

  Yanking the afghan from the armrest the best way I could from that angle, I draped it over the top of us. She sighed contentedly and relaxed into my chest.

  After a few minutes of feeling her shallow breaths against my neck, her heartbeat thumping in time with mine, I reached for the remote on her coffee table. I flipped through the channels and settled on a comedy in order to give her sad, dark, and fearful thoughts some relief. Mine, as well.

  She fell asleep halfway through the middle of Dumb and Dumber. I placed one foot on the ground, gaining some leverage so I could stand up and help her to her room.

  “Please don’t go yet,” she slurred into my shoulder. “I can’t…”

  It hadn’t occurred to me that she might not want to be alone. Even though I felt like I had barged in on her this evening, maybe she would’ve eventually called me or one of her other friends for company.

  “Want me to stay longer?” I whispered in her ear.

  “Please,” she said into the crook of my neck. “So good having you here.”

  I lifted her up easily and carried her to her room. I pulled back the sheet and laid her down in bed. “I’ll stay until you fall sleep and then I’ll let myself out.”

  She reached for my hand and tugged, patting the empty space beside her. “Can you hold me?”

  Damn, this woman. I’d hold her until the end of time if she’d let me.

  “Okay, sweet girl,” I whispered and she shivered. “I can do that.”

  I rearranged the covers and settled her against my chest. Nothing had ever felt better. I stroked her hair until her breaths evened out, and we both drifted into sleep.

  30

  Aurora

  It was still dark outside my window, and I was pressed against a warm and firm body. Cameron had fallen asleep with me in my bed. I had cried on his shoulder and snotted all over myself.

  God, what a wreck I had been. But I had never felt so vulnerable.

  I might’ve had some risky near-misses out in the community, but I was merely a social worker trying to get a job done. Not a cop, for Christ’s sake. But I wasn’t exactly trained to protect myself going into people’s homes. There had never been any incidents that I’d heard of involving service professionals, but still, we placed ourselves in jeopardy when dealing with tough family issues.

  And this family had big ones.

  I found out that the older brother who had greeted me at the door the other night had been released on bond for a sex crime. The family had been nervous that I would find out the truth and would report him for staying there, which is why they had skirted my visit.

  But my loyalty remained to my young client who lived in that home. When his mother had called me to report the horrific news, she was extremely remorseful. She had chosen one child’s trust over another and that had been one hell of decision to make. By doing so, she had placed everybody in danger—in
cluding me, had I chosen to step foot inside the home that night, given the suspect’s state of mind.

  But now child services would be involved, and the case would be out of my hands. I just hoped that no one else had fallen victim as well. Shivering against the thought, wanting desperately to banish it from my head, I nestled in further against Cameron’s warmth.

  I could feel his hot breath against my hair and his hardness bumping my thigh. My body responded in waves, like a wildfire spreading through me. The desperate need to lose myself in his firm lips and skin overtook my senses, and I couldn’t help scraping my nails down his muscled stomach.

  His arms tightened around me and a quiet moan emitted from his throat, as if he was attempting to hold it back or was still in the twilight of sleep.

  My lips found the area between his neck and collarbone and I licked a line across his skin, so turned on in that instant, my nipples had stiffened into peaks.

  His hand swung up to land on my hip and his throaty groan deepened. His fingers traveled beneath the hem of my shirt, his thumb skimming across my bare belly button. I whimpered and thrust my hips against his, seeking friction.

  Soft sweats met coarse material, and I realized he was still wearing his jeans.

  I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and pushed them down his legs with some effort. With his eyes still shut, Cameron kicked his feet out of his jeans.

  He tugged me forward by the elbows and then dragged my shirt upward and over my shoulders.

  I gasped as he encircled my bare breasts; his thumbs generated a raw wave of sensation over my nipples.

  We made quick work of removing the rest of our clothes until finally we were skin to skin. Feeling the entire landscape of his smooth body against mine for the first time was electrifying. His stiff cock rested against my abdomen, and my tight nipples prodded against his hard chest.

  “Aurora.” His voice was rough and guttural as his fingers gathered my hair in a makeshift tie at the back of my neck. His gaze was so penetrating that my breath caught in my throat. He was laid bare to me in that moment. His intense longing and raw affection was palpable in his eyes, and I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.

  It was completely silent in the room, save for our heavy breaths, as he lined up our lips, still intently watching me. We stayed that way, our mouths resting in the space between us, the space we had been avoiding. The space filled with hopes and needs and fears—and quiet desperation.

  Cameron’s gaze softened and the corner of his lip tilted upward and I had never seen him look more stunning.

  His thumb grazed the slope of my throat and with his eyes still latched to mine, he whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

  Something in the very center of my chest cracked open, creating a shallow cavern, reserved only for him. I crashed my lips down on his, and his tongue met mine in small unwavering flicks.

  In one smooth move, he flipped me over, pinned my arms above my head, and licked fully inside my mouth. Over teeth and gums and palate, I felt like he was so deep, living and breathing inside me, in that narrow hollow I had created.

  We settled against each other simply kissing, breathing the same air, feeling skin on top of skin, until finally, he broke away from my mouth. “Oh hell, give me a minute.”

  Cameron scooted toward the headboard, as if he needed to gather himself together, his hands shaking, his cock flushed and leaking, and his entire body vibrating with need.

  And in that moment I didn’t give two shits about completing my year of self-awareness. I knew what I wanted and it was unequivocally him. Any way I could have him.

  “Cameron…” I entangled his fingers with my own, as his labored breaths became shallow bursts. “I…”

  His eyes snagged on my dresser on the opposite side of my room and suddenly his lip quirked up. “Is that the infamous Richard?”

  My mouth fell open in shock because I had never put the damn dildo away in a drawer after I attempted to get myself off unsuccessfully the other night.

  “Oh God, I…” I jackknifed into a sitting position, my gaze on the offending object.

  “Shhh…” he said, his hand gliding over my hair, as he nudged me back down on the bed. “It’s sexy as hell, Aurora.”

  “What?” I mumbled, covering my eyes, completely mortified.

  His arm stretched to reach for it, and I prayed for a seismic earthquake or a heavenly intervention to act as a diversion of epic proportions right then.

  “Show me,” he said, thrusting the rubber cock into my hand. “I want to see you.”

  His eyes were glittering with desire and I was struck dumb, never having any lover request that of me before. I remained motionless, confused over how to even begin.

  “Please, I’m so hard right now,” he groaned bearing down on his erection with the heel of his hand. “Hard for you.”

  He shifted his body to lie across from me on the opposite pillow. “Fuck, look how hot you are, Aurora.”

  And all at once, my embarrassment simply sloughed away. His face was so serious, his gaze so hungry, and I was dripping wet from his erotic request.

  My fingers grasped the dildo, and I rubbed the bulbous head around my nipples. Cameron inhaled harshly as his gaze drifted eagerly over my body and landed between my legs.

  When I slid the dildo over my stomach to the top of my pubic hair, he groaned. “Show me how you fuck yourself.”

  I lay back in a more comfortable position on the pillow and glided the rubbery cock around my clit before prodding the tip inside.

  “Damn,” he said in a husky voice. “Tell me what you think about when you touch yourself like that.”

  My gaze rose to meet his as I drove the rubber dick further inside my body, tensing around its girth. “I think about you.”

  His groan arose from deep in his throat and his fingers clutched firmly onto his cock. “I don’t know if you even realize what you’re doing to me right now.”

  He pumped his fist up and down his hardness as his breath released in heavy grunts. A bead of pre-come had formed on the tip, and I licked my lips as if in anticipation of getting a taste.

  “Show me how you make yourself come,” I said without hesitation, manipulating the dildo inside me as I squirmed on the sheets. Just watching him that stimulated over me screwing myself with a dildo was doing a number on my own libido.

  He moaned, his eyes fixed between my legs and began thrusting into his own hand. He was so sexy and beautiful when he was aroused.

  A flush had traveled across his chest and neck and I knew he was close.

  “Fuck,” he panted out and his entire body stiffened. His head lunged back against the pillow.

  “Aurora,” he ground out as he came all over his hand and stomach.

  Cameron slid down the sheets and lay gasping for air. I placed Richard on my nightstand and reached for my shirt on the floor. I straddled his knees and began cleaning him up. His hands pressed against my hips as he smiled beneath lidded eyes.

  “Come here,” he said, dragging my thighs forward.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as he continued to prod me toward his stomach.

  “I need to taste your pussy,” he murmured. “Right now.”

  “Oh, God,” I moaned as my skin caught on fire all over again.

  I was sitting on his chest and my pelvis was resting against his chin, and I felt even more exposed this way than even the other night in the hotel room.

  The first flick of his tongue back to front was jarring. “Cameron,” I moaned, bracing my thighs against his shoulders.

  His fingers clasped onto my hips, and he began performing all kinds of clever tricks with his tongue. Licking, circling, and thrusting it inside me and I began writhing unabashedly against him, desperate for release. I felt no shame as eager and needy noises tumbled from my lips and my fingers dug into his scalp.

  He hummed against my clit, creating a vibration that tore up my spine, making my knees quiver against his neck.

&nb
sp; Cameron’s teeth were nibbling and his tongue was lashing. His mouth was holding steady after long licks, and I had never been so thoroughly pleased by anybody this way before.

  His hands transferred from my thighs to my ass and as he yanked me more solidly against his mouth, I felt the tips of his fingers graze along my crease.

  I gasped and nearly convulsed in sheer eroticism, it felt so electric. But my legs stiffened involuntarily, the sensation so foreign, making me feel tentative and uncomfortable.

  “Do you like that?” he whispered, as his fingers found my crease again. “Don’t be embarrassed.”

  I became immobile, refusing to admit that I enjoyed how it felt.

  “Has anybody ever touched you here?” he said, moving his fingers in a pattern up and down my crack while he simultaneously licked a stripe around my clit.

  “No, I…” I groaned and bowed my back, I was so close to flying apart.

  “You can tell me to stop,” he said as his fingers and mouth continued working their magic. “Or you can let yourself go.”

  I whimpered, my body and mind warring with each other.

  “Because I can tell you, Aurora,” he continued, his piercing gaze finding mine. “Plenty of things I’ve done with you have been firsts for me, too.”

  And his words were all I needed to hear as my body stirred back to life and completely took over. All I felt from that point on were the sensations of his tongue and lips and teeth and hands. When I came, it was as if I was in the center of a lightning storm and my core was the main conductor.

  I had never felt so completely uninhibited or aroused in my entire life.

  My limbs were boneless, my words a jumbled mess, as I felt him tucking us back into the sheets, his unyielding chest becoming my safe harbor.

  I woke in the morning to a note:

  A—

  I had an early morning.

  You looked too peaceful to wake and you needed your sleep.

  Wish I could’ve held you even longer.

  C—