Down London Road

out his phone. ‘I’ll just call us one. We’ll go back to my place for a while, yeah?’
    I thought about heading back to his place with him, ofhim leading me up to his room like he always did, undressing me slowly and pushing me back on the bed …
    It left me cold.
    It made me feel sick with guilt.
    Like I was cheating …
    Malcolm had just put the phone to his ear when I found myself blurting out, ‘Stop.’
    Taken aback, Malcolm immediately lowered his phone and switched it off. His eyes washed over my face and whatever he saw there made his lips pinch tight together. He took a moment and then he asked, ‘What’s going on?’
    My practicality had taken a run and jumped off the nearest cliff. My emotions were fully in charge as I replied, ‘I can’t go back to your place.’
    And then he surprised the hell out of me. ‘Because of Cam.’
    After working so hard to control them earlier, I felt those blasted tears hit my eyes. ‘I’m so sorry.’
    Malcolm heaved a sigh and I saw pain flicker in his gaze as it searched my face. ‘I really care about you, Jo.’
    ‘I care about you, too.’
    ‘I see the way he looks at you. The way you look at him. I knew there was something …’
    ‘I’m sorry.’
    He shook his head, holding a hand up to stop me. ‘Don’t.’
    ‘I feel awful.’
    ‘I can see that.’
    ‘I never slept with him.’
    His jaw clenched and then relaxed enough for him to reply, ‘I know. You’re not that kind of girl.’
    Fingers quaking, I pushed up the sleeve on my jacket and unfastened the Omega watch he’d given me for Christmas. When he made no move to take it, I lifted his hand and placed the gift in the palm of it, curling his fingers around it. ‘Thank you for everything, Malcolm.’
    When he looked up from the watch, a piercing ache emanated from my chest at the dejection I saw in his face. ‘He’s just a kid who doesn’t know what the hell kind of gift he’s getting in you, and when he’s done, when he makes the mistake of throwing you away, I hope you’ll come back to me.’ He stepped towards me and I froze as he dipped his head to press a sweet kiss against my cold lips. ‘We could be really happy.’
    I didn’t take a breath until he put some distance between us. He threw up a hand and I turned to see he was flagging down a taxi. It did a U-turn and pulled up at the kerb. Malcolm opened the door for me. ‘I’ll be here when he’s done with you.’
    I left him standing on the street, as the taxi took me back to London Road.
    I’d broken up with Malcolm.
    Oh, my God.
    I felt heavyhearted. I felt remorseful. I was worried I wasn’t doing the right thing. However, overriding all of that was this desperation to find Cam, to tell him I did feel what he felt. For the first time in as long as I could remember I was going after what I really wanted. Perhaps tomorrow I would lament the decision, but tonight I just wanted a taste of something really good and pure for once.
    I almost threw the fare at the taxi driver, then rushedinto the building, my boots slapping carelessly against the concrete as I hurried up the stairs. I was just rounding the stairwell to Cam’s landing when I heard a door open. As I reached the top of the stairs, he came into view, standing barefoot in his doorway, waiting for me.
    Overwhelmed that just the sight of him made my chest so full of emotion that it hurt, I stumbled a little towards him, my boots just clipping the doorstep.
    Cam didn’t say anything. Every inch of him was solid with tension as he looked at me.
    ‘Cam –’
    My words were swallowed by motion as his hand clamped around my wrist, wrenching me hard against his body, his mouth slamming down on mine. I instantly wrapped myself around him, and my fingers curled in the hair at the back of his neck as I licked and sucked and flicked my tongue against his, our kiss so deep I didn’t even realize I was inside his flat until the door crashed shut behind us.
    Cam broke the kiss to pull back, his hands shoving my jacket off my shoulders. I let it drop to the floor, exhilarated in
feeling
– my breasts were swollen, my skin burned, and I was surprised once more to realize I was already wet for him from just a kiss and anticipation. ‘Cam …’ I whispered urgently, needing some part of me touching him at all times. I slid my hand up under the bottom of his tee, feeling silken, hard, hot skin against my palm. ‘I broke up with him.’
    He nodded, his hands on my waist as