Captivated

Chapter Twenty- Three

I sat up rubbing the sleep from my eyes as the door startled me awake. Cameron stood in it gazing over at me, his eyes raking over my body; taking in the view. I was still in the gown from the party, it's golden fabric strewn around me on his bed, gleaming against the dark sheets like the sun. I didn't need to be able to see myself to know my hair was messy from sleeping so fitfully and that my makeup must be smudged from crying.

Cameron stood quietly his eyes meeting my own and not budging, their shimmering flecks catching in the dimmed light from the fire. He stood in his dress pants and white top with the buttons undone down to the center of his chest revealing his tanned flesh and a tufted of hair showing from underneath.

"Why aren't you in your own room?" He asked quietly closing the door and heading towards the couch tossing his jacked over the chair by the fire. He bent down and checked it raking the coals to help it burn better. Clearly trying to avoid having contact with me after earlier. The mere memory of his kiss sending heated tingles through my whole body.

I slid carfully from the bed wincing momentarily as my feet grazed the cold floor. I bunched my gown up in one hand and lifted it off the ground as I padded slowly over to him my feet making quiet sounds as I moved. I stopped behind him and gingerly reached out, placing my free hand on his shoulder. I could feel him tense up for a second before relaxing into my touch.

"I wanted to wait for you" I said my voice but a whisper as I stood there feeling his breathing. He felt different to me, almost like I'd seen inside him; to the man hiding below the surface. "To make sure your ok" I added softly. I could hear him sigh softly with a bit of a laugh, like he found it funny that I would be concerned about him.

"To make sure I am okay" he repeted back to me as he stood up. My hand trailing down his back as he turned around to look me in the eyes. His hands found a resting spot lightly on the precipitous of my hips as he bore into me with those devilish hazel orbs. "Should it not be me who ensures that you are alright. You are my guest after all" he said, his one hand slowly sliding up my side and cupping my cheek. I smiled softly as my body reacted of its own accord and my eyes fluttered shut as I nuzzled into his warm hand.

"I thought I was bought and paid for" I joked as I looked at him batting my eyelashes. His eyes seeming to loose some of their luster as he moved away from me slightly.

"You were never that to me Anabelle" he said, his demenor taking on a more serious look. "I thought after tonight I'd made that clear, you are more than a prop to me and from this point forward you are free to leave of you want". He said as he slowly started to pull his hand away.

I reached up quickly and cupped it to my face again as we stood there in silence. I slowly breathed him in, smelling his unique scent that was slowly becoming all to familiar to me.

A few months ago I never would have considered him anything but my enemy and at the least my business partner. But now I find myself considering more and more that he might be to me something else entirely. Seeing him smile makes me swoon and to hear his laugh, that is oh so rare; warms me to the core. Things that are so mundane and regular, things that happen for normal people everyday are slowly becoming the things I hope for when I wake up. I never thought I'd experience anything remotely close to the emotions that this man seems to elicit in me and yet, there they are; brewing beneath the surface.

I'd be lying if I said I knew what it meant. What these feelings were but I'd also be lying if I said I didn't want them with every fiber of my being. My core and my body craved him, I hadn't been with anyone in years and I have never felt such strong emotions for anyone in such a long time. Maybe I was worn from the last few months it was so hard to say but I knew all I had to do was turn off the auto pilot and see how far the wind would take me.