I rolled my eyes at the voice in my head. Sure, but where's the fun in that? True, sister. I continued along, stroking the smooth corners of a shelf. I bet he built this. But as I took in the empty spaces, I realized he'd made this for the fun of it rather than the need for it. Maybe he was planning on selling the house and moving away. I hated the alarm that sprung in my belly. You have abandonment issues. No, I don't. "Kara?" I jumped a foot. "Fuck!" His silky dark curly hair appeared in my line of sight first, then my brain stopped working altogether as all of him at once came into view. Was there a pill he took regularly, like a vitamin, to make him look like...this? Cameron was incredibly beautiful. And overwhelming. I know I keep talking about his spectacular face and body in my head, but I doubt anyone would blame me if they'd seen him in real life. And if they'd met him and get to know him, they'd be toast. And addicted. Like you? "How are you feeling?" he asked. His face was impassive, making it hard to tell what he was thinking. He was pretty good at that. "Like I'm about to have a heart attack!" My heart was still pounding. Whether from him startling me or from his incredible physical human form I wasn't sure. "Can you make some noise before you approach me? Like a hoot or a whistle or that mating call birds do or something. The wind makes more noise than you do." He was still looking at me with calm blue eyes, but I knew he was studying me, gauging my mood. "What are you doing?" "I'm trying to find a big pot of gold. What do you think?" At his blank stare, I gave him a smile. "I'm snooping inside your closet. Do you mind?" He shrugged. "Snoop away." He really didn't care. I really liked Cameron. Really, really liked him. "I'm going to step outside for a few minutes," he said. The smile on my face fell. "What?" I was shocked at the sudden panic in my chest. I needed to know he was in the same space as me. His presence was holding me together. If he leaves, I'd start thinking of all the things I didn't want to think about. "Why?" It reminded me of how I was when I was little. After my mother had left us, I didn't want my dad to leave for work, afraid he'd leave me and Dylan too. I hated it. I hated the feeling. And I resented that I was reminded of it now. But maybe, maybe just for tonight it was okay. Tomorrow I'd be back to my old self. Tomorrow I wouldn't feel this way. "Need to pick up a few things at the store so I can make you something to eat. Unless you'd rather have fast food." "I'm not hungry." "Okay." Then as if I didn't say anything, he said, "I'll be right back." "Why don't we just order?" "It's past one in the morning." In the city of Esther Falls that meant all the pizza places and most restaurants were closed and so was delivery. There were a few fast food chains open twenty-four hours though. McDonalds, A&W, Tim Hortons. Some stores like Walmart and Shoppers Drug mart, Seven Eleven, but I really didn't feel like eating anything. Cameron was determined to feed me though. "I'll go with you," I said. "Let me get dressed." "Your clothes are still in the dryer." "Can I borrow yours?" "Get what you want." Get what you want, baby. Now all I could think about was how he looked like...under me. The way his eyes closed when he licked me, as though he was savoring me, the way he opened them and watched me as his tongue... I felt a tight coiling in my belly. I bit my lip, but a shaky breath came out anyway. He looked down for a moment, hiding his face from me, but I could tell there was a little smirk on his sexy mouth. Then he met my gaze. I was right. He was smirking. The kind that drove you crazy because it was hot, and you knew that he knew you knew he had you wrapped around his finger and there was nothing you could do about it. "Problem?" Damn him. The way he asked it was knowing, teasing. "No. Not a problem here," I croaked. "Not a single one." "If you say so." Before my brain could load and formulate a comeback, he stepped out. Might as well, I thought dimly as I blew out a breath and fanned my hands to my face. Probably wouldn't think of a good one anyway. That was fine for now, I decided as I pulled a sweater from a hanger, grabbed one of his grey sweatpants. His sweater looked like a tent on me and I had to fold the legs of his sweatpants several times. Actually I didn't need his sweatpants since his shirt looked like a dress on me. I could make this work, make it look stylish, but it was too cold outside, and I'd freeze my hoo-haa without pants. What I needed, I thought as I finger combed my nest hair, was a hat. I rummaged in his drawers and paused when I spotted a shoebox. I reached for it, curious because it was plain and black and there was no label on it anywhere. This might be invasion of privacy, but he did say I could snoop away. I opened it and found a few items. A hefty glass ashtray with a chip on it, several knickknacks that didn't make sense why he'd keep them. Were these things even his? He didn't seem like a sentimental person who'd keep mementos. And then I remembered that he had kept my hair blue tie. This just showed that I still had yet to know a lot about him. I was looking forward to it. I found a toque and put it on, then stepped out of the bedroom into the living room. Cameron sat on the couch, long legs spread, back curved forward, arms on knees. He looked contemplative. "Cam?" He looked up. And as he took in my appearance, the sad look in his eyes faded away and was replaced by a small smile on his pretty mouth. "Ready to go?" he asked. "What were you thinking about?" His brows drew together. Before he could answer, the doorbell rang. We both looked at the front door, then at each other. "Are you expecting anyone?" I asked after a beat. "At this time? Yeah, Santa Claus. Hold on."