He watched as she sat down on the edge of the bed to put her shoes back on, and an important thought struck him, one he couldn't dismiss. "Mia… there's something else we need to talk about."
She glanced at him hesitantly, and he couldn't blame her for being cautious after the discussion they'd just had about orgasms.
He pushed his hands into his front jeans pockets, calling himself a hundred kinds of fools for being so careless, but he'd completely lost his head with her and hadn't given a single thought to using a condom. No, that had been the very last thing on his mind. "We didn't use any protection."
She looked away and finished sliding her foot into her heeled shoe. "I appreciate the concern, but we're fine. I'm on the pill."
"Great." He was definitely relieved. The last thing he needed was to worry for the next few weeks about the possibility of Mia being pregnant. He couldn't imagine her settling down into domestic bliss and devoting her time to a husband and a baby, and he was certain such a fate would put a major crimp in her carefree lifestyle. That was obviously why she took her own precautions.
She stood and approached him. Her gaze met his steadily, her features giving nothing away as to what she was really thinking or feeling. "Since we've pretty much established that I'm not drunk, there's no reason for me to stay here and you can take me home."
With that, she walked out of the bedroom, head held high, leaving him to follow behind.
EARLY the next morning, Mia sat at the small drafting table she'd set up in the corner of her bedroom in the apartment she shared with Gina and absently sketched out a design for a new stained-glass project. After last night's escapade with Cameron, she'd woken up feeling tired, emotionally and physically, but mentally inspired, and she always followed her muse when it beckoned.
Besides, other than grocery shopping, she had nothing planned for the day, or the weekend for that matter, which gave her the perfect opportunity to develop the image in her mind on paper, then begin the creation process with stained glass.
During the week, she worked a normal nine-to-five grind as a secretary at the tile company her oldest brother, Scott, along with her other brother, Alex, now operated for their father. Her job at Nolan and Sons provided a steady and reliable paycheck, but this was her dream, and had been for years now.
She longed to set the artist within her completely free and make a name for herself with her unique, custom-made stained-glass designs. And if she was completely honest with the inner child still locked inside her, she ached to use this talent of hers to validate herself as more than just the baby of the Wilde family and to support herself on her own, without having to rely on her brothers or the family business for her income.
Unfortunately, everyone treated her stained-glass art strictly as a hobby and brushed it off as something she did in her spare time or out of boredom. She had to admit they'd never discouraged her artistic flair, but neither had they done anything to cultivate her confidence in marketing her work.
Her family, her father especially, had been relieved when she'd gone off to college. But instead of the business degree everyone had been expecting her to bring home, she'd stunned them all by graduating with a degree in 3D glass-work. Her father and stepmother wrote it off as yet another act of rebellion, one of many since her mother's death when she was five. But to Mia, that degree had been her proudest achievement-an accomplishment that was hers and hers alone and something no one could ever take away from her.
She sighed to herself, wishing all those college courses and techniques she'd learned had been put to better use than making gifts and holiday presents for friends. Foolishly, she'd harbored grand illusions of expanding the family business to incorporate her stained-glass designs in some of the bigger projects and restoration work Nolan and Sons took on, but Scott had shot down the idea. Gently, of course, and in a very placating manner, but the sting of that particular rejection still hurt.
Scott felt there just wasn't a big enough market for her custom stained-glass artwork, which included an array of abstract designs, mosaics, impressions, floral patterns, and Celtic reproductions. She'd made some gorgeous, one-of-a-kind pieces over the years, but obviously none of them had been good enough to elevate her status in the family business.
A small, private smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she gazed down at her current drawing. Little did anyone know, but her stained-glass designs had recently evolved to include some very daring and head-turning pieces. Her family would be stunned speechless to learn she created erotic stained-glass art. At first glance, her patterns looked like vibrant abstracts, but upon closer inspection, the composite of colors meshed into a loving, committed couple entwined in intimate and sometimes shocking positions.
The images were highly seductive and shamelessly provocative, a bit of fantasy mixed with an inviting bit of reality. The erotic pictures depicted love and lust, desire and ecstasy. And each one she created held a piece of her soul and tapped into wistful longings and dreams of finding a love so rare and true.
Her pencil scratched across the thin paper as she continued to bring her vision to life. The process was usually accompanied by a spark of excitement as the images developed, and this time was no different. Except as the embracing couple took shape and form, her enthusiasm took a decidedly sensual and personal turn… because the man and woman making love in her drawing became Cameron and herself.
Her heart tripped in her chest, and the rest of her body followed suit. The tips of her breasts tingled, and the muscles in her belly tightened as she gazed at the way the woman held onto the man, with her legs wrapped securely around his waist. One of the man's hands clutched at her hip, and the other was buried in her tousled hair as they arched into one another in the throes of passion.
She'd managed to avoid thinking about last night's incredibly hot tryst with Cameron, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to her that everything she'd suppressed manifested itself in her most recent design. Now, the memories proved much too strong and came rushing back in that moment, flooding her mind with vivid details and forcing her to recall every pleasurable, thrilling, and emotional sensation of having Cameron buried deep inside her body and the way he'd ultimately lost that staunch restraint of his with her.
It was the emotional part she had trouble dealing with, because she'd never, ever expected to feel so connected to Cameron in anything more man a physical way. Sex with him had been exceptional, hotter and better than she'd ever imagined, but it was what happened in the aftermath of their encounter that shook Mia to her very core.
She'd definitely anticipated that he'd regret his actions because he was a man who didn't lose control easily. When he'd offered up an apology, she'd countered it with a sarcastic reply to buffer her own vulnerable state… until he'd explained that he wasn't sorry for what they did, but that he felt bad because he hadn't given her the chance to come.
She laughed and shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. Her pleasure, or lack thereof, wasn't a conversation she'd had with any guy, mainly because none had ever given a second thought to whether or not she climaxed during fore-play or sex. But Cameron… he had to go and muddle things by caring about something that never should have caused him any concern or even a second thought. Add to that the glimmer of tenderness she'd seen in his gaze, and was it any wonder her heart was feeling a bit torn and confused?
The closing of the front door startled Mia out of her thoughts and told her Gina was finally home after spending the night out-most likely at Ray's-a common occurrence on the weekends. Mia closed her sketch pad, and less than a minute later her friend knocked softly on Mia's half-closed bedroom door and poked her head inside. Finding Mia already awake, she tentatively entered.