36: One Condition

*I love you*

Camille didn’t think she could count on one hand the number of people who had ever said those three words to her. There was a story behind each time it was said though and not always a good one.

Camille couldn’t recall if her mother said those words to her but then again she had been only four years old when her mother disappeared from her life and Camille found herself living with her aunt. She vaguely remembered missing having a mother when she was a child and missing the love only a mother could give. It wasn’t until years later that she learned who her mother was. Camille had been the result of her mother sleeping with some stranger for cash so she could score more drugs. With no husband or job, the state paid for Camille and she became her mother’s cash cow. That was until she overdosed on some bad heroine and died. Camille could honestly say she didn’t remember a thing about her mother and the few photos she had seen of the person who gave birth to her was like looking at pictures of strangers.

With her Aunt Emily being her only surviving relative (that could be located), Camille found herself in her care. Unlike her mother, Emily had her life together with a house and steady job. She loved Camille like her own and Camille could distinctly remember that her aunt told her she loved her often. The memories brought warmth and happiness but they were always tainted by the fact that when Camille was ten, Emily was diagnosed with breast cancer. So started a gruelling two-year battle that was lost before it even started. Camille could remember quite clearly the nights after Emily’s chemotherapy sessions and how she would be. A friend had been on hand to help with things like taking Camille to school and making sure Emily was comfortable. Eventually that friend only really took Camille to school while nurses came in to tend to Emily who was bedridden.

The last time Emily had told Camille she loved her was the night before Emily passed away. Camille had only just turned twelve.

Then there was Nathan. He had used those words as a weapon to ensnare Camille into his trap. She could remember truly believing him when he first said but realising much later down the line that Nathan probably didn’t love her at all and that it had all been a lie. Or maybe he did really love her but his love was not the kind Camille ever wanted tp experience again.

Of course there was also Charlotte. They loved each other as only best friends could. They were practically sisters. Charlotte would say it all the time and Camille would return the sentiment because she knew Charlotte meant it. There were no strings attached to it. It was the kind of love that didn't come with terms and conditions or would end in tragedy. It was something that had survived even after years apart.

But none of that could have prepared Camille to hear those words from a man like Jag.

Her blue eyes took in the image of the giant god-like creature towering over the foot of her bed. The sharp edges and stoic expressions were still there but they had been softened by something Camille rarely saw Jag reveal in any form.

Emotion.

Those fiery eyes that could seem so cold and hard despite their colour were watching her with a softness not typical of this male. He was blunt and caustic. He was strict and distant. He built walls around his emotions and let no one in and yet, for Camille, he had unlocked the door and opened it solely for her.

Seeing such raw emotion on someone who was usually so composed seemed to suck the air from Camille's lungs and it took a few long moments for her to realise she had been holding her breath as if any small movement would shatter this moment and she would find that it was all an illusion she had conjured herself.

But the air did leave her lungs and Jag didn't disappear. His words hung in the air, waiting to be acknowledged.

Camille was struck by how funny the situation was. Just a few days before she had been angry at this exotic male for being so reserved when he had the others had dropped their truth on Camille. He had shown nothing when they rocked her world with the same violence as the bombings had. She had been angry at him then. But here he was not just showing some emotion but professing love.

*I love you.*

Camille searched within herself for the anger and hurt she had felt previously and yet found none. She was wary. After all, this could be a trick but those words had unlocked something within her. She practically heard the lock click before her own walls opened and melted away. She couldn't explain it but it just felt right hearing Jag say those words to her even if she wasn't sure she could return the sentiment and if she ever would.

"It's this Isis gene, pheromone bond thing talking." She finally said, scrambling to protect her heart.

"No. It isn't." Jag replied, his eyes never leaving her. "Do you remember the first day we met?"

Camille nodded. "My first day at work. Kal was showing me around."

"What if I told you that wasn't the first time I had seen you?" Jag asked. "I saw you on the night of the fire alarm going off. You were wearing this baggy top and you looked half asleep but out of everyone there, my eyes found you and I knew then, before we ever spoke that I would turn the world upside down to win your heart. I didn't feel the bond then. I didn't know we were would be connected in the way we are which is why I'm confident that I can say those words to you. Because they're true and it comes from me and not the bond."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Camille asked, ignoring how her vision blurred from her tears.

“Because not being near you is torture.” Jag explained. “Because I know that I made a terrible mistake not being honest with you from the beginning and because we nearly lost you and don’t want to waste anymore time apart.”

“So, that’s it? Because it makes you feel better?” Camille raised an eyebrow.

The male sighed, his eyes downcast. He didn’t answer right away, perhaps because he hadn’t expected Camille would question him. Camille couldn’t help but feel a little triumph from that but she still didn’t have what she wanted which was true emotion from this male. He had given her just the bare minimum and Camille knew he could give her more.

She needed more…

“Emma…” Jag took a step forward.

“Please, Jag!” Camille exclaimed, frustration filling her like hot lava. “You can’t come in here and tell me you love me and not give me anything else! You guys knew about this for weeks and months and left me in the dark. Do you have any idea how terrible I felt for the feelings I had for each you?”

Silence again but this time Jag wasn’t just standing there like some unmoveable statue. He was moving around the bed with a look that had Camille’s heart skipping a beat and heat pooling in her core. What had she been thinking provoking Jag? And why was she feeling scared and excited at the same time?

An alarmed squeal escaped Camille when Jag's arm expertly pulled her to him, his heat consuming Camille until she couldn't think properly. Wide blue eyes met with orbs the colour of molten lava and Camille was certain that if she had been standing, her knees would have buckled. Burning in the depths of those eyes was hunger and passion. It was ferocious and scorching.

Jag tilted his head down and Camille panicked when she thought he was going to kiss her and he stopped when he was a few agonising millimetres away.

"What do you feel, Emma?" Jag's voice was low with a growl like a V8 engine. "I know that you've developed the ability to sense our emotions just like we can read your aura so tell me, what am I feeling?"

Camille felt heat creep up her neck to the tips of her ears. From the moment Jag had swallowed her up in his strong arms she had felt everything from Jag's frustration to his concern. But above all she felt his love like it was a tidal wave washing over her. Her eyes met his again and she could tell he didn't need her to answer verbally because he saw her answer written all over her face.

"When I told you that I wanted you in my bed, I wasn't lying." Jag explained. "And if I have to spend the rest of my life proving to you what you mean to me then I will but, I can't apologise for allegedly deceiving you because it was to protect you. I will do whatever it takes to protect you. We all would and I won't apologise for that."

"You are unbelievably stubborn." Camille whispered.

Jag chuckled, the sound rich enough to send a chill down her spine. "You're only just figuring that out now?"

Camille couldn't help but laugh at this even though she was surprised as much as amused. Jag had a sense of humour? It was refreshing like ice cold water on a summer's day.

"So now what?" Camille asked when she finally calmed down.

"Stay with me." Jag answered. "Let me take care of you while you're recovering and once you're well again, we can go from there."

"But what about Kal and Sid?"

"I have spoken with them and we are all in agreement that this makes the most sense." Jag explained, his lips tilting into a smirk. "Besides, I have no doubt they will be coming to visit you every chance they get."

"Okay." Camille nodded. It was a terrifying prospect but at the end of the day, her issue hadn't been that she had a bond with three Draygonians but that they had felt it necessary to make decisions about their relationship without her input. "I do have one condition though."

"What is it?" Jag was now nuzzling her neck, his hot breath fanning deliciously over her skin.

"From now on, you guys will include me in any decisions about this relationship."

Jag lifted his head then and Camille felt her stomach drop. Instantly she thought he was going to decline. Part of scrambled to try and take the sand back but a smaller and stronger part of her resisted. She was tired of men telling her what was best for her and controlling her. She wouldn't back down. So Camille stared right back at Jag, challenging him to deny her request.

So when he leaned in and kissed her, Camille was both surprised, confused and aroused. A soft moan escaped her as Jag dominated her mouth, his tongue snaking into her mouth. The slight roughness of his tongue didn't surprise Camille. She had learned it was a trait of these gorgeous stubborn men but she did notice how different Jag tasted to Kal and Sid. It was as if they all had their own unique signatures. She wanted more of it as well, her back arching to press her chest into Jag's solid heat further. On instinct her thighs parted as she knelt on the bed and a shiver ran through her as cool air brushed against her damp underwear.

A growl escaped the giant male, one that sent vibrations through Camille. She gasped as those vibrations made it to her sensitive core. It felt like Jag was already touching her, her pussy tensing and relaxing to ease the delicious throbbing.

"You drive a hard bargain." Jag rasped, his lips rubbing over Camille's as he spoke. "And the scent of your arousal makes it impossible to deny you."

"So, that's a yes?" Camille panted, hips squirming with need.

"That is a yes." Jag agreed before claiming Camille's mouth once more.