Chapter 27

Henry had been so happy when he’d gotten up this morning. He’d been anxious about meeting Gram yesterday, partly because — who wouldn’t be anxious meeting their girlfriend’s ... guardian? He wasn’t even sure he was supposed to call Cameron his girlfriend, much less how he was supposed to describe Gram.

But it went so well that he’d felt relieved and almost giddy the rest of the night, which carried over into the morning.

Then came morning coffee.

What Paul and Heather had said shook him to his core — only because everything they’d said rang so true. So how was it that here he was, a little more than 12 hours later, basically jumping right back in where he’d left off?

He’d been far from sure he was even going to come here tonight. He didn’t trust himself to... to not do exactly what I’m doing right now.

He did decide to come tonight because Henry knew he couldn’t leave Cameron in the lurch like that. He’d kept thinking about how anxious she was to spend the night in this place filled with memories she didn’t want to relive — and couldn’t bear adding one more to the list. No. He couldn’t do that to her.

After he’d arrived, though, he hadn’t been the one doing the comforting.

Cameron’s hair tickled his nose and he inhaled, his hand tucked securely under hers around her midsection. She’d taken a shower before bed, mercifully sparing Henry the worst of the stench of cigarettes that was nearly always on her. She didn’t smoke that much, but it was usually there anyway, sometimes fainter and sometimes stronger. It still was — especially on her old, worn mattress — but now he could more easily ignore it at least, focusing on the scent his brain identified as uniquely Cameron.

It made him feel a little calmer.

Do I just ignore everything I don’t wanna smell?

She always made him feel that way though. Just like she had tonight. He’d come here so torn apart inside, so unsure of who he was. Now...

I like the me I am with her.

No. It was more than that. It wasn’t just when he was with her.

The me she sees inside myself. Henry.

Mallory had made him feel invincible when they were around each other. And when she wasn’t ... it was like... it was like she was the only atmosphere I could breathe, and when she took it away, I was suffocating.

From the outside, he knew it looked like he was making the same mistakes all over again. Paul and Heather had convinced him of that this morning — and yeah, from their perspective, it made perfect sense. On top of that, there really was no way to refute it. They’d done such a good job that he still had lingering doubts, lurking in the dark corners that came out to rule his mind at night.

And he knew there was no way to explain to his friends, no way to convince them, that he understood what they were saying — but that wasn’t what was happening with Cameron. He was sure of that inside now — or, as sure as he could be with a heart inside himself he knew could be untrustworthy.

He pulled her a little closer.

I choose Henry. Not for anybody else. For me.

Cameron had handled his cold feet much more calmly than he’d expected. She was ... well he didn’t want to say she was like a different person, because she’d made clear her philosophy on that. But ever since she’d come home from the hospital, she seemed more comfortable in her own skin. And from how she’d handled his questions, it was clear she’d already spent a lot of time thinking about them herself — and had been quicker to answer them than he had.

Just even more to admire about her.

Gently, he kissed the back of her neck and closed his eyes, confident sleep would finally find him.

Or at least, it would have if he hadn’t felt her squirm against him. She was usually extremely still in her sleep. The way she could casually press her body to him underneath her old blue blanket, it was another marked change from how she’d been the first time they’d shared a bed. She’d flinched at his every touch then, all the muscles in her body constantly taut and tense, stressed even when she was unconscious.

It didn’t feel like that now. Now, Cameron slid against him easily, her panties rubbing over the thin fabric of his boxers, teasing him.

She must know I’m awake.

When she kept going, slowly sliding herself up and down, he got the idea that it might’ve been more than a tease. He could feel himself start to react, especially as his thoughts began to shift from how much he admired her on the inside to how much he admired her on the outside.

Cameron was in a typical gray tanktop and comfortable panties — he’d never seen her wear anything he would’ve called intentionally sexy, although he’d also never seen her wear anything that he didn’t find sexy anyway. He was in only boxers. So, who was he to judge, really.

She gripped his hand across her chest, pressing herself more insistently back into the growth in his underwear, making it grow further against her firm rear. Henry kissed her neck again, more sensually this time, letting his tongue taste her skin and work slowly down to her shoulder.

Over her shirt, he slid his hand higher, taking hers with it to grasp her breast. Her breasts were smaller than Mallory’s, the perfect size for his hands. He squeezed over the tanktop and she responded by grinding harder into him.

He wanted more, slipping his hand under her shirt — sliding along her smooth, soft skin — and squeezing her bare breast, her nipple pointing against his palm. A sigh escaped her lips as he kneaded her and this time pressed himself forward, sliding his leg between hers.

The rustle of the friction between their bodies under the blanket was the only sound in the room, the night still and quiet.

He moved his fingers down her torso, over her belly button, and under the waistband of her panties. She was smooth, freshly shaved — maybe that’s another reason she took a shower, he thought to himself. For this moment.

She sighed again and guided his hand, pressing his fingers to her mound, helping him rub her exactly where she wanted. He pulled her gently against him, feeling himself grow with every movement of their bodies.

As her breathing quickened, she moved his hand and turned to him, his arm around her now and squeezing the cheek of her taut, petite butt. Cameron’s lips met his, her tongue darting inside as he felt her hand pull him closer. He pressed himself against her, feeling the desire in himself rising, and tasting her own desire with every second their passionate kiss continued.

She nudged him onto his back and slid on top of him, twisting her body against his underneath the blanket — trapping her breasts against his chest. Cameron kissed him again, even more passionately this time, but with a controlled need — for him.

He knew how it felt. He needed her too. But he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt being on the receiving end.

Her tongue was warm against him, slipping out of his mouth and to his neck, then back up to his jaw and to his mouth again — ending with another long kiss as she reached behind herself to tug down her panties. She nearly kneed him in a sensitive area as she kicked them off, staying close to his body under the blanket, and then pulled his underwear off for him.

He could feel the heat from between her legs radiating against his naked cock, and it only heightened his desire. She pushed herself against it, sliding along its modest length and pinning it to somewhere below his belly button — beckoning it to grow to full mast with each twist against his shaft.

They didn’t need to say a word as she leaned down to kiss him again, deeper still. A small, quietly pleading moan traveled from her mouth to his. Henry wrapped his arms around her back underneath the blanket, pulling her tighter and returning the craving in her kiss with more to spare.

Cameron lifted off of him and reached beneath herself, guiding him into her warm, waiting opening. Slowly she worked him into her slick, tight pussy. He knew he wasn’t big enough to stretch her out or anything so dramatic, but she let out a high-pitched sigh, trying not to disturb the silence of the night — or any of her roommates — as she pulled him deeper inside.

Henry let out his own muted groan, keeping his mouth shut to muffle the sound he made when he felt himself fully engulfed in Cameron on top of him.

It wasn’t as dark as it had been when he’d stayed in this room weeks ago — in every way. He couldn’t see her perfectly, but without the blackout curtains, he could see Cameron’s shining silhouette against the soft glow of the window behind her as she rose up to her full height, tossing off her tanktop and letting the blanket drop off the both of them.

He reached up to her breast as she arched her back, and she let out a sigh of pleasure, sliding herself up and down his shaft. He squeezed and tweaked a nipple, and her hand joined his as she closed her eyes, disappearing into the feeling.

The wolf’s jaws tattooed on her neck stretched open and closed as she rode him, twisting and rocking while she bent forward and back on his body — until she lowered herself to him again, picking up her pace. Her hand braced against the floor beside his head, and she rested the other on his cheek, continuing to pump his cock as her legs flexed her up and down, faster and faster.

“Yesssss, Hennrrryy, ” she whispered into his ear, the first words spoken. They were gentle, not crazed, as soft as her lips felt against his when she punctuated her point.