Straight To The Heart (Three Of A Kind #3) Read online

  Beverly Hills, it was just how it looked on all the TV shows and movies.

  “Nope, we’re not. This is where Mr. Hamilton said to take you.”

  There was no way in hell I would be able to afford anything on my measly two-hundred-dollar budget in this neck of the woods. “Well, I have to shop some place a little more in my price range.”

  He looked at me and smiled. “Gia, it’s on the boss. The ladies in here are expecting you,” he said as he pulled up to a little boutique style store.

  “What? I – I can’t go in there….I’m not dressed.” I looked down at my ripped-up jeans and my plain old black t-shirt, clearly not the proper dress code for a place like this.

  He creased his eyebrows at me. “You look dressed to me.”

  “Well, you know what I mean….not dressed up to the standards of the clientele that shop in this store.”

  He let out a loud hearty chuckle. “Gia, honey, you look fine, now go get yourself a pretty dress for tonight. I’ll be right here waiting for you.” I felt nauseous as I stepped out of the car, afraid to walk in there, knowing that I’d stick out like a sore thumb among the snooty women that shopped and worked there.

  “Oh well, here goes nothing,” I said as I placed my hand on the door handle and walked through the entry on shaky legs.

  “Hi! You must be Gia!” I was greeted right away by one of the sales ladies.

  “Oh….umm, yeah. How did you know?”

  “Mr. Hamilton told us to expect you.” I nodded and widened my eyes. “I’m Natalia and I’ll be helping you today.” She looked me over as I stood there feeling like an animal on display at the zoo. “Okay, I’m going to pull some dresses that I think will look great on you. Would you like a glass of champagne or mineral water?”

  “Oh no thanks. I’m, I’m good,” I stuttered.

  “Okay, go have a seat in the changing lounge and I’ll bring a few dresses through.”

  Lounge? They had a changing lounge and not a room? When I walked into the brightly lit room filled with mirrors and oversized chairs, I knew I was way out of my element. I took a seat and nervously bounced my leg up and down. What was I doing here? I didn’t belong here.

  “Okay, Gia let’s start with these.” The sales lady came walking into the room with three dresses in her hands. I tried on the first two and wasn’t impressed. The third one was the charm, a cobalt blue two piece dress with a slightly exposed midriff that looked like it was made just for me or at least that’s how it appeared as I looked at my reflection in the full length mirror.

  “That dress is beautiful on you!” The sales lady beamed. It even got the nod of approval from a few of the other snobby shoppers who looked me over in it. “Let me get some shoes to go with that so you can get the full affect. Size six, right? ”

  I nodded and smiled as I stared at myself in the mirror once again. When I looked down at the price tag, my excitement faded. There was no way in hell this dress was worth $1,200.00. I didn’t care how good it looked on me. I went back behind the curtain to change out of it, pulling out my phone to text Cam first:

  This place is way too expensive. I’m leaving now and going to the stores I’m used to shopping in.

  He replied in an instant:

  The dress is already paid for so you may as well take it as well as whatever else she brings in for you.

  I threw my phone in my purse, feeling defeated. My rent, my airfare and now this dress. It was just too much. I didn’t want Cam to feel like he needed to spend money on me. I didn’t know when, but someday, somehow, I would repay him for everything he had done for me.

  Twenty-Four

  Cam

  “If I break my ankle in these shoes, I’m holding you personally responsible,” Gia said as she walked down the stairs in a beautiful blue dress that hugged her body and exposed a hint of her perfectly toned stomach. Her blue eyes reflected off the dress, making them look even brighter, and if I had to use one word to describe her tonight, it would be stunning. I couldn’t believe this was the same little pig-tailed girl that I had grown up with. I’d always known she was beautiful but tonight she looked totally sexy.

  “Wow! You look amazing.” I said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “Thanks, you look pretty amazing yourself.” She smiled and I could see her purposely wrapping her arm around herself to cover the exposed skin on her stomach. “I forgot you can see where my incisions are with this dress.”

  “Gia, you look beautiful. Only you know they’re there.”

  “And you.” She grinned.

  “Well, I promise I won’t tell.” I took her hand in mine and we headed out.

  ***

  After signing countless autographs and being photographed more times than I cared to remember, I was finally able to devote my attention to Gia. She’d been a good sport all night, striking up conversations with strangers and some of my teammates while I’d been off doing other things. I’d noticed Craig Carlson, one of the relief pitchers for the team, paying extra attention to her and knowing his reputation, I knew exactly what he had in mind. I walked up behind Gia and wrapped my arm around her waist, interrupting the usual boasting he’d do whenever he was trying to pick up chicks. “So Cam, where have you been hiding this beautiful lady?” he asked, eyeing up Gia like she was his next victim and in his mind I’m sure that’s what he had hoped.

  “Don’t worry about it. Just know that she’s taken.”

  Gia looked up at me in surprise.

  “Oh, I thought you said you were just friends,” Craig looked at Gia.

  “Cam, honey I thought you didn’t want anyone to know just yet.” She played along.

  “Ah, man sorry. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have….never mind. It was nice meeting you, Gia.” he mumbled just before walking away in defeat.

  “Thank you!” Gia let out a relieved breath. “If I’d known he was going to be chasing me around like a horny teenager all night long, I would have never told him we were just friends.”

  “No problem.”

  “Well, I guess now I have to play the part of your girlfriend.” She placed her arm around me, pulling me close and resting her head on my shoulder. My hand moved up the side of her hip until my fingers skimmed the exposed skin on the side of her stomach and I couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of her was just as soft.

  The rest of the night was filled with laughter and dancing. Normally these events were so boring and uptight but being here with Gia as she played the dutiful girlfriend, it seemed totally different. She was so outgoing and fit right in with everyone, livening up the place with her contagious laugh and her beautiful smile. I liked having her near me all night. Her warm soft skin brushing against me as I held her close on the dance floor and the way she put on a show for the photographers, making them believe that we were a couple was pure sexual torture for me. I didn’t care though, I was willing to endure it tenfold just to have her by my side.

  “That was a lot of fun,” Gia said when we returned back to my house. “Minus the uncomfortable shoes.” She held up the high heels she’d been wearing all night and had finally taken off during the car ride home.

  “Well, now you’re back to being a shorty.” I teased, placing my hand on the top of her head that just reached my chest.

  “That’s okay. I’d rather be short and have happy feet any day!” She giggled.

  “I think I’m gonna head up to bed. I’m pretty beat.” She took a step closer and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, and even through its innocence, it seemed like so much more.

  “What are we doing Gia?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered back, pulling in her bottom lip and gazing at me intently.

  I moved my head closer to her, tasting her lips once again, forcing her mouth open with my tongue as we moved them together in unison. Her hands reached up my back and she pulled me closer. I couldn’t believe this was happening or that I was actually allowing for it to happen, but I knew that I c
ouldn’t stop it even if I tried. The only thing that would stop me now would be if Gia put an end to it, but I was sensing that she was feeling the same as me judging by the way her hands were moving all over my body. My lips moved from her mouth and down to her ear.

  “Gia, please tell me I’m not wrong for wanting this to happen between us?” I whispered.

  She gazed up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, caressing the side of my face with the back of her hand. “If you’re wrong, then so am I, because I’ve never wanted anything more.”

  She reached for my tie and loosened it. I helped her out and removed it completely while she eagerly undid the buttons on my shirt, taking it off, and throwing it on the floor. Our lips locked together once again, while she reached down, undoing my belt buckle and unfastening the button and zipper on my pants. I took a deep breath as her fingers reached under the flap of my boxers and I could feel myself coming undone.

  “Can I let you in on a little secret?” She stood on her tippy toes and whispered in my ear. I managed a nod, getting more turned on by the second. “I secretly wanted to be Alena the whole time you were dating her in college. I wanted to know how it felt to kiss you.” Her lips brushed over my earlobe and down my neck. “I wanted to know how it felt to have you touch every inch of my body.” Her voice was like an aphrodisiac as her hand wandered under the waistband of my boxers. “And most of all, I wanted to know how it felt to have you inside me.” Her fingers gripped me and I took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but pushing her up against the wall and giving her that third wish. She looked up at me with her bright blue eyes. “Cam?”

  “Yeah?” My voice wavered.

  “Can you take me upstairs and let me experience all of those things?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded, gathering her in my arms and carrying her up the stairs. I placed her down when we reached my room. It felt so surreal as I took a seat on my bed while she stood in front of me undressing fully. Never in a million years had I imagined myself being with her in this way. It was as if we had transformed into two different people and she was no longer the girl that I always thought of as a little sister. Instead, she was a sexy beautiful woman that I wanted more than I’d ever wanted any other woman in my life. I placed my hands on her hips pulling her closer to me, noticing the little ballerina tattoo that I’d never known existed, just above her hip bone. My lips began an assault on her stomach, covering each area with gentle kisses while sucking in the sweet floral smell of her body lotion. When my mouth made its way further up, I couldn’t resist teasing her nipple with my tongue. She was a lot smaller than most of the women I was with, but I found that even sexier because she was real. She didn’t need fake double D tits to make her gorgeous. She was a natural beauty all on her own.

  I lay down on the bed and pulled her on top of me, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Gia, are you sure about this?” I asked, knowing that once I continued, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I could feel my excitement for her growing down below with each passing minute.

  “Cam, when have I ever lied to you about anything?”

  “Never.”

  “Well, then believe this….I want you, probably more than I’ve ever wanted any man in my entire life.”

  “Probably?” I teased as my nose rubbed against hers.

  “Definitely.” She clarified as I rolled her on to her back and kissed her deeply. My hands trailed down her legs until my fingers found their way inside her. Her body was reacting in the way that I’d hoped and I knew that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I focused on her as she closed her eyes and enjoyed each movement I made. I wanted this to be all about her. My lips moved down her stomach and her hands ran through my hair as I placed tiny kisses on the inside of her thigh.

  “Cam?” she whispered.

  She was breathing heavily as I looked up at her. “Can we fulfill my last request now?”

  I smiled, more than willing and more than ready to meet her demands. I moved up closer to her and whispered in her ear. “Are you on –”

  “Yes, I’m good, not that it matters anyway, I’ll probably never be able to get pregnant ever again.” Her eyes shone with the beginning of tears.

  I took her face in my hands and stared down at her. “Gia, I want you so badly, but if you’re not ready for this yet, I’ll completely understand.”

  “No, Cam. I’m ready. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be, but you’re different. I know you’ll never hurt me. I want this to happen and I want it to happen with you.”

  I kicked off my shoes while she struggled to take off my pants. I stood up allowing them to fall to the ground along with my boxers. Grabbing the back of her thighs, I slid her to the edge of the bed and stared at her naked body that was ready and waiting just for me. I slowly eased myself into her, letting out a deep groan at how good she felt around me. A loud gasp escaped her as she pulled me on top of her and we found the perfect rhythm. Her hands moved up and down my back while our tongues clashed and our bodies continued to move in sync. Each passing second became more intense and more pleasurable. Gia was not only in control of my body physically, she was in control of my heart emotionally, something that had never happened with any other woman. Sex was always something that was a means of pleasure for my body. My heart was never thrown into the mix, but the rules had completely changed tonight, the same way that my relationship with Gia had changed. Her body began to tighten around me and I began to move faster and harder, wanting this to be something that she would never forget. Her nails dug into my back as she screamed my name. I made sure that she was completely content before giving in and losing myself completely inside her. Her hands raked through my hair as I lay on top of her, trying to catch my breath. I knew that I had just experienced the best sex of my life with the girl lying beneath me. The girl who was once like a little sister to me and was now so much more that it scared me.

  I turned on my side, pulling her as close as possible and as I held her in my arms, I knew that everything had changed. For the first time in my life, I was allowing a woman to be in control of me, but I knew there was no stopping it even if I tried. Gia owned me completely. My mind, my body and my heart were all hers for the taking.

  Twenty-Five

  Gia

  My body was still reveling in the pleasure that Cam had subjected it to. Last night was so unexpected but so wonderful. Being with Cam in a way that I never thought was possible brought out so many emotions deep in me, ones I never knew I had or had yet to experience. I realized now that there was a difference between telling someone you love them and actually feeling that love. Last night I’d made love for the very first time in my life and it was so much better than the sex that I’d had with other guys. I went from loving Cam with all my heart to being in love with him. It sounded so crazy in my mind. I was beginning to feel like a crazed female fan of his professing my love for him after only one night together, but unlike all his female admirers, I actually had a history with Cam. He had always been one of my biggest supporters with everything I did in life. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him and vice versa. I had loved and adored him for as long as I can remember. I had watched him go from the skinny little boy that I’d catch lighting bugs and ride bikes with, to the hot, high school senior that all the girls loved and I, the bratty eighth-grader, crushed on from afar, and finally to the superstar baseball player that he was today. I smiled, remembering all the times I’d rush next door to the high school when middle school would let out, sitting front and center to cheer him on while he played baseball. I always felt so special when he’d come and give me a hug after the game, ignoring all his teammates or the high school girls who were fawning all over him. It made me happy to think that maybe those older girls were a little jealous that Cam Hamilton, one of the most popular boys in their school, was giving little old me extra attention. And, in the back of my mind, I was wishing that maybe he was secretly crushing on me the same way I was on him. Cam always had a way o
f making me feel like I was his number one priority whenever I was with him and last night was no exception. I had never experienced anything as physically or emotionally gratifying as I had with him last night. I knew that this was a whole new chapter in our relationship, but I wasn’t scared to move forward with him and see what happened next.

  After spending the morning relaxing on the beach while watching Cam surf, we headed out to lunch. As I followed him out to the garage, my mind began to wander back to just a few hours ago as I sat by the ocean. Cam had kissed me when he had gotten out of the water just like a boyfriend would kiss his girlfriend. It was the best feeling in the world and salt water had never tasted so delicious, but it still felt like this was all a dream that I would be waking from soon.

  “Can I drive?” I joked, never in a million years expecting him to say yes. My jaw dropped when he tossed the keys in my hand. “I’m kidding! I could never drive a car that probably costs as much as some people’s houses!”

  “Oh, I wasn’t taking that one today. I was gonna take this one.” He walked over to the Mustang and opened the door. Little did he know, but that car was even more intimidating to me than the BMW, not to mention it was a stick.

  “Are you insane? I can’t drive a stick shift.”

  “So, I’ll teach you.”

  “Umm….Cam, I’m sure you’re a very good teacher, but I haven’t driven in a while. The last time I did, I crashed into a curb with Carrie’s car.”

  An adorable grin spread across his face, followed by an adorable chuckle, leading me to wonder if there was anything about him that wasn’t absolutely adorable.