Risky Pleasures

A few minutes later she had given Helen her list. Before the older woman could walk out the door she called out to her. “And, Helen?”

She turned. “Yes?”

“If you happen to see a copy of Ebony magazine on the rack, grab one for me, please.”

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll do that.”

Once Helen had left, closing the door behind her, Vanessa shrugged her shoulders. Okay, so she was curious about the article on Cameron. But curiosity meant nothing. It would be a cold day in hell before another man got the best of her again.

Especially him.

“So, how are things going, Cameron?”

Cameron glanced around at what were fast becoming familiar surroundings as he talked on the phone to his friend Morgan Steele. “Vanessa knows I’m here,” he said slowly after taking a sip of his wine.

“Umm, and how did she take it?”

“Like we both knew she would. Let’s just say I’m not her favorite person right now.”

Morgan’s chuckle vibrated over the mobile phone. “I hate to tell you but you’ve never been her favorite person. You’ve always been her least-liked person.”

Cameron couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Morgan, for being so brutally honest.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

After a brief pause and another sip of wine, Cameron said, “I want you to help me understand something, Morgan.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

“Why does Vanessa take my actions three years ago as a personal affront? You and your brothers, as well as her sisters, were able to get over it. What’s holding her back from doing the same? Is there something I’m missing here? Something you can share with me?”

“No, there’s nothing I know about. The only reason I can come up with is the fact that the Steele Corporation was founded by my father and my uncle, Vanessa’s father. And, as you know, her father died a few years ago. They were very close.”

“You think she feels I was trying to take away his legacy?”

For a moment Morgan didn’t respond and then he said, “At one time that thought did occur to me, but now I’m inclined to think there might be another reason altogether.”

“And what reason is that?”

“Vanessa hasn’t had a man she’s ever gotten serious about, although I do recall her having a couple of boyfriends while she was in college. But there’s never been anyone special, no one she’s brought home for the family to meet. Now that I think of it, I believe her coldness toward you and men in general might be linked to what might have happened to her one summer.”

Cameron paused with his wineglass halfway to his lips. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “What happened?”

“I don’t really know. None of us do, although I’d bet my money that her best friend Sienna Bradford knows. Right after my uncle died, Vanessa took some time off from her job and went to Europe for a few weeks to get away. We were worried about her and thought the trip would be a good idea. Vanessa, Taylor and Cheyenne were close to their father and took his death hard, but I think Vanessa took it the hardest. Like her mom, she felt there was something they could have done to make him stop smoking years ago.”

“A smoker will only quit when he’s ready.”

“I know that, but still, it was hard on her. The couple of times she called home from London she seemed to be doing okay, and I’d heard through the grapevine that she’d met someone, some guy who was also vacationing over there. I’d even heard from Cheyenne—or should I say overheard when she and Taylor were deep in conversation one day—that Vanessa fancied herself in love with him. But we all figured she only assumed it was love because she was going through a vulnerable period in her life, and she would come to her senses before doing anything stupid like bringing home a husband. Anyway, the next thing we know, she returns home and to this day she hasn’t mentioned him. None of us even knows his name. The only thing I can figure is that she discovered the guy was playing her, and she cared more for him than he did for her. Most likely that’s why she’s keeping you at arm’s length, to protect her heart. She’s not sure she can trust you and probably feels that you’re trying to take over her life.”

In a way he was, Cameron silently agreed. That was definitely his intent. He wanted her life to become ingrained in his, but he didn’t see that as a negative. He could only see positives, so why couldn’t she?

“I suggest you use another approach,” Morgan continued. “All of us discovered real early that strong-arm tactics don’t work well for Vanessa. I’ve told you that before.”

Morgan had told him that before, but Cameron was used to doing things his way. Now it seemed that his way wasn’t working. “So what do you suggest?” he asked.

“You’re going to have to revamp and do a sneak attack.”

That comment had Cameron laughing. “Like the one you used with Lena?”

“Yeah, like the one I used with Lena. Laugh all you want but I got my woman, didn’t I?”

“Need I remind you that it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for you, Morgan?”

“No, you don’t have to remind me, but I was still able to make it work.”

Cameron had to agree, since Morgan and Lena had been married a little over a month now. Morgan had also kicked off his campaign for a seat on the city council in Charlotte. “A sneak attack, huh?” he asked.

“Yes. A sneak attack. Let her think that whatever will happen between you two is only for the moment, nothing permanent. If you go into it promising tomorrows, she won’t believe you. Women expect us to have commitment phobia, so let her think what you’re proposing isn’t for the long haul, although you know it really is. Vanessa won’t consider a long-term relationship with a man, but she might be interested in a short-term affair if she was in control and calling the shots.”

Cameron shook his head. Most of the women he knew would jump at the chance of having a permanent relationship with him, given the size of his bank account. “So you think if I use that approach it will work?”

“Yes. Try it and see. Let her assume it’s nothing more than a fling and when it’s over, you’ll go your way and she’ll go hers. Your job is to pull out the Cody charm and get her so taken with you that she won’t want to go anywhere.”

Cameron rubbed his chin as he pondered Morgan’s advice. Then he said, “You do know this is your cousin’s fate you’re plotting, don’t you?”

Morgan chuckled. “Yes, but my brothers and I trust you to do the right thing by her.”

Cameron grinned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re welcome. But if I’m wrong, Cameron, you’ll have us to deal with. Understood?”

“Yes, Morgan. I understand completely.”

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Vanessa resigned herself to the inevitable, taking the time to read the article on Cameron. Helen had put away the items she’d picked up at the market and had placed Ebony on the table in full view.

It didn’t help matters that Cameron’s picture—in living, vibrant color—was on the cover. Nor that the photographer’s close-up sent a fluttery feeling all through her insides and had blood rushing through her veins. Cameron had been caught in a rare moment with a smile curving the corners of his lips. She would rather not admit that he looked so sexy that she had stared at the cover for too long before turning it facedown.

Vanessa sighed as she turned it faceup, and once again his picture sent tingly sensations all over her skin. One thing she’d discovered since that day three years ago was that Cameron was what fantasies were made of. She of all people should know, since he was a nightly invader into her dreams.

Deciding to get it over with, she opened the magazine and immediately flipped to page thirty-nine. Ignoring another picture of him—this one showing him entering the doors of one of the many corporations he’d taken away from someone—she began reading.

A short while later Vanessa pushed away from the table as she closed the magazine. Okay, she would be the first to admit it was a well-written article. As head of the public relations department at the Steele Corporation, she understood the importance of projecting a positive image, as well as a beneficial relationship with the public, and the article had definitely done that.

It showed a side of Cameron few probably got to see—his compassionate side. His philanthropic actions included establishing numerous foundations to help those less fortunate. Most of them Vanessa hadn’t known about, but some, such as the Katrina Relief Fund, she was aware of; he had solicited her cousins’ involvement in that particular project. Under Cameron’s leadership and direction, several construction companies had rebuilt homes in New Orleans so the evacuees could return and reestablish their lives. According to the article, Cameron, acting as pilot, had gotten his private jet into the stricken city of New Orleans to provide aid and relief long before the federal government had arrived.

One thing the article hadn’t focused on was how many companies Cody Enterprises had taken over in the past years, and how many people had lost their jobs because of those takeovers. There was no doubt in her mind that he was a man who liked being in total control, and he would handle any of his personal relationships the same way he handled his business.

Even when kissing her earlier today, he hadn’t taken anything slowly. He had seen an opportunity and seized it. He had seen what he wanted and gone after it. With him there would be no compromise. It would be all or nothing, and only on his terms.