Her Trick His Treat (Cherry On Top Tales #5)

Chapter Eleven-Camryn

CHAPTER ELEVEN-CAMRYN

A fter washing the sweats I borrowed from Shadow Man, er , make that Tommy, I was stuck on how to get them back to him.

It was one thing to indulge in a forbidden fantasy in the heat of the moment during one of the most celebrated holidays in the country. I mean last night was, it was incredible.

My every fantasy come true. Tommy was, well , he was amazing.

So careful with my body. So thorough in introducing me to carnal delights. A little heavy petting, and using a vibrator, were all parts of my sexual journey.

But last night was a total awakening. An induction.

It was sublime. But facing what I’d done in the bright light of day wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

Okay, so I started my day by waking up with a naked, hard, and absolutely fucking gorgeous stranger.

Yes, stranger, because the handsome as fuck face taking up more than half of my pillow did not belong to anyone I knew.

Okay, it was his pillow, but still. I’d been using it at the time.

Of course, rationally, I knew he had a face beneath his Shadow Man mask, and yes, technically, his body could rival any professional athlete’s physique.

But I still didn’t expect him to be that good-looking. But he was.

Tommy was hot.

Like super hot.

Way out of my league hot.

And I felt it keenly as I quietly slid out of his enormous bed in a thoroughly ungracious move that almost ended with me face-planting on his beautifully polished wood floors.

My clothes had been torn. I had nothing to wear. So yeah, my next big adventure involved creeping into the hall, butt out, boobs flapping in the breeze, to find some clothes.

Lucky for me, I’d spied a gym bag by the laundry room, and everything inside was clean.

So, decked out in his sweats and sandals, I managed to sneak out of his incredibly secure home. Thank fuck I’d watched him key in his alarm code last night.

Heart pounding, I vaulted inside the Uber I’d called and made it home before my first conference call of the day.

“Sweetie, are you sure you’re okay?” Natalie asked.

She was my favorite client. An indie author who hit it big under the pen name N. Leo, Natalie was an absolute gem. And her writing was topnotch.

“I’m good, Nat. Thanks,” I said, waving at her husband who was on his way out the door.

“Bye ladies, enjoy your chat. I’ll see you later, Baby,” he told his wife, and I turned my head to give them some privacy.

I was always amazed at the way her husband, business mogul Bron Beckett, was completely into PDAs.

That man was forever doting on his wife. Gifting her kisses and hugs, or just claiming her hand when they were out. Like he couldn’t stop touching her.

Lucky Nat.

He leaned closer to whisper something in her ear and when she finally turned back towards her laptop, her cheeks were delightfully pink.

“Sorry about that. My incorrigible husband was just reminding me of something,” she murmured, and I grinned.

“That’s fine. Really, you two are just awesome together. In fact, I want to be you when I grow up,” I joked.

It was nothing she hadn’t heard before. But instead of laughing it off her expression turned serious.

“Speaking of that, Camryn. Remember that manuscript you sent me, the dark romance story featuring the masked man and the virgin?”

My cheeks burned, and I almost knocked over my steaming mug of coffee.

“Yeah, uh, I remember,” I said.

When I wrote the thing, I had no idea how close to the truth of my own losing my virginity story it was. Although, in all fairness, Tommy was not really the devil incarnate.

And I wasn’t a pagan-worshiping virgin sacrifice who’d time traveled to the 1980s Manhattan club scene and was being hunted on All Hallow’s Eve by every monster imaginable only to be saved by the devil I’d run from.

Anyway, back to Nat.

“Now, don’t kill me, Cam. But I showed my publisher.”

“What? That was just for you!”

“I know, but I loved it and so did he. Camryn, they want to publish it.”

“What?”

“They want to publish it. Now, they are sending over their proposal today. And I am sending you the contact info for my agent. I told her about you, too, and she is interested. Well?”

“I, um, I can’t believe it,” I whispered.

“Well, believe it, Camryn. Congratulations! Really, I am so proud of you.”

After going over the edits I’d made on her latest work in progress, I disconnected the video call and opened my email. Sure enough, I had two messages in my inbox that stood out from the rest.

I spent the next two hours carefully going over each one and arranging times to meet virtually with both the agent and the publishing house. I also made a call to my lawyer and promptly sent her both contracts to look over before I signed anything.

This was huge. Big news. And I wanted to share it with someone.

My brain immediately went to Tommy, but I dropped my phone. Shocked that I even went there.

Tommy and me, we weren’t a thing. It was stupid of me to even think it.

But I couldn’t help that tiny spark of hope from igniting, and when my phone rang a moment later, I ran to pick it up, wishing it was him.

It wasn’t.

It was Jan.

And she was pissed.

“Goddamn it, Cam, you almost gave me a heart attack!” Jan yelled over the speakerphone.

“What? Why?”

“You left last night with a stranger!”

“Oh my God! Jan, I’m thirty years old. And you know Tommy, or Buck, does, anyway.”

“So? He could be a lunatic, for all you know. Did you have sex with him? Did you use protection?”

“Jan, I am going to hang up now and pretend this phone call never happened.”

“Wait! I’m sorry,” she yelled, and I paused, willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Why? Are you going to try to slut shame me anymore?”

“Slut shame you? No! I wasn’t trying to do that. It’s just you’re my baby cousin. I used to babysit you, for fuck’s sake. I mean, last time we talked you were still moaning about still being a, you know, ” she muttered, and it finally clicked.

She was worried. Warmth filled me at the thought. It had been a very long time since anyone concerned themselves with my well-being. Not since my parents, anyway.

I appreciated it. I did. But I was an adult, and I needed a friend, not a babysitter.

“Okay, I get it. And I am going to say this once. Jan, I am not a baby, and thanks to Tommy, I am not a virgin either,” I blurted.

“YESSSS! That’s it, I’m putting Delani and Rena on, and you are going to tell us everything!”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. One minute, Jan was screaming at me, and the next minute it was like Gossip Girl on a party line.

Or I assumed it was. I never really got into that show.

“Everyone on?” Jan asked.

“Yep. I’m here,” Del said, and sounded like she was snacking.

“Me too,” Rena piped in.

“ Alright, Camryn. Tell us what happened,” Jan said.

“And don’t weave wanything wout,” Delani added.

“Girl, swallow your food first before you choke,” Rena chided.

“Are you three finished?” I asked, highly amused and not wanting to admit it.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” I began, and then yeah, I told them about it.