Chapter 14

"I can't stay here!" Cameron followed House as he carried her keys into his bedroom.

"Of course you can stay here. Wilson used to stay here when his wife kicked him out. Only difference is that I made him sleep on the couch. I won't make you sleep on the couch."

"You want me to sleep in your bed?!" Cameron's eyes were huge. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Uh–yeah." He rolled his eyes at her. "Unless you think Chase will come over and demand equal time."

"House. . .I. . ."

"Get into bed, Cameron. I won't devour you," he said simply, picking his pillows off the bed, but letting two pillows remain. "You're too tired to drive home–I'm too tired to drive you home. Go to sleep. I'll be out on the couch."

Cameron was dumbfounded as she watched him leave the bedroom. She never imagined she would ever have a "sleep-over" with House. Oh, she had fantasized about sleeping at his apartment–but it never involved her sleeping in his bed while he slept on the sofa. Almost apprehensively, she moved to press on the bed, testing the springs then slowly pulling the blanket back to cover the sheet. She sat on the side of the bed, bounced on it once or twice and then slipped her shoes off and lay back on its firmness. She wasn't used to sleeping in her dress slacks and a blouse. Her usual attire for sleeping included either long lounge pants, or short ones, and generally an oversized t-shirt or spaghetti-strapped pajama top. She lay on her side, facing the side of the bed that House had been on when she arrived. She could smell him on the pillows and felt her pulses react. After five minutes of lying in that position, she turned onto her right side, facing the other side of the room. She could hear a clock ticking, ticking, ticking. She turned onto her stomach, punching the pillow beneath her as she felt herself getting more and more tense. She rolled onto her back and stared up toward the ceiling. Now she could hear the traffic from outside.

"This is impossible!" Cameron sat up and moved her feet to the floor. Within seconds, she was kneeling next to House's supine figure as he seemed to be dozing on the sofa. "House."

His eyes opened and he stared at her in complete frustration. "You're making this extremely difficult. I'm pitying the wombat now. He must never get any sleep."

"I don't "sleep" with Chase," she said indignantly.

"Oh, sorry, I got sleeping and having sex confused for a second. It must be my "exhaustion" that's making my brain a bit fuzzy!"

"Well, I don't do that anymore either." Cameron's hand covered her mouth in embarrassment. How could she have said that to him, especially considering their sleeping arrangements for the night. She must be sleepier than she thought. Her statement opened House's eyes a little wider as he watched her kneeling before him.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"We. . .I. . .it's better this way. Let's just leave it at that."

"Okay. Now, should we move on to why you're not letting me get any sleep tonight?"

"I. . .well, I'm not used to. . .you see, when I sleep at home, I. . ."

"Cameron! Spit it out! Damn!" House sat up on the sofa, nearly knocking Cameron onto her rump in the process. His hands made a rasping noise as he rubbed them over his stubbled face. "What's the problem?"

"I'm not used to sleeping in these clothes. I can't sleep."

"Fine." He moved back into his bedroom and started going through his bureau drawers, looking at various items until he pulled out a Penn State football jersey. He turned around and held it up against her, approving the size, then took her back to the bathroom. "Go put this on."

Cameron took her time folding her clothes on a pile as she changed in the bathroom. She hoped this would make a difference and she could fall asleep and not bother him anymore. She could demand her keys be returned to her, but the fact was that the drive back to her place was at least thirty minutes and with the steady lull of the road, she was afraid she would fall asleep at the wheel. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw House leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

"I'm so sorry. I promise, I won't keep you awake any more." Cameron said as she stepped into the hall wearing only the jersey that traveled nearly to her knees, and her panties.

"You think this will let you fall asleep now, huh?" He asked before turning his head to look at her. But when he did look at her, he stopped everything. He took in her long, naked legs, and the way her dark hair fell over her shoulders. He felt as if he were hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. The picture of her nearly naked, wearing only the football jersey, was so damn familiar to him. Where did he see it before?! His mind raced, trying to place that memory. Suddenly he felt a bulge in his lounge pants and he was amazed at the quickness of it. Christ, he hadn't been this aroused in years! He continued staring at her as she looked back at him, her eyes wide as she saw what she identified as recognition enter his eyes. But the fact was that he just couldn't place it. The picture was as familiar to him and any memory he had of his youth–but it was fuzzy, so completely out of focus that he had no way to connect it to anything real. "What the hell?"

Cameron realized her mistake immediately. How could she have been so stupid? This was practically the same thing she wore fifteen years earlier, when he had mistaken her for a hooker. Her eyes were locked with his, unable to look away, waiting like a doe caught in someone's headlights, not knowing what to do. Finally, she managed to sputter something incoherently.

"I. . .I. . .."

House stared at her, completely entranced. He couldn't even begin to fathom what was turning his need to something so strong he was on the verge of disgracing himself right in front of her. He knew it was a mistake, inviting her to spend the night, but in fact, he had been too sleepy to drive her home–and he didn't want her getting into an accident because she was in dire need of rest, herself. Now, sleep was the last thing on his mind, and without any rhyme or reason, he knew he wanted this woman more than any other woman he had ever wanted in his life.

"Shut up," he said gruffly, reaching out and pushing her up against the wall. His hands went to her face, holding her still as his lips met hers. In her surprise, her mouth opened, allowing his entry, enticing her with his skill until her tongue was responding to his, touching it, pulling it back into her mouth as she alternately sucked on it and pressed her own tongue into his awaiting kiss. His hands moved over her shoulders, down over her body and pausing only a moment to cup her breast and fondle it before reaching his destination at her hips. He held her against the wall as he pressed himself against her, gyrated his steel length against her abdomen. He heard her whimper and wondered if he was hurting her as his kiss was nearly violent in its need. But when he moved his head back slightly, she moved her hands down his sides, pushing him back with a want as desperate as his. He landed against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, his surprise coming when she lifted his t-shirt and started kissing his chest, moving over it's muscles as she went first to one nipple, and after feeling it harden to her satisfaction, crossing over to its twin. He pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside, feeling like he were going to explode as her mouth moved lower on his abdomen. Her tongue circled his naval as her hand surrounded him through his pants, squeezing and releasing him before going for his waistband. "No, not yet."

His moan brought her eyes back up to his face as he reached down and pulled her back to her feet. He lifted her legs around him as he pressed her back to the wall again, this time, his arousal was pressing against her throbbing, sensitive area, and they both released moans of the intensest desire they could imagine. He looked from one end of the hall to the other, deciding that the closest destination would be the living room sofa. Her lips met his again as he hurried with her to the softness of the cushions, leaning over her and pressing against her in a rhythm that had them both panting. He pushed the jersey up over her breasts and moved his mouth to the buds that were hard and demanding his kiss.

"Jesus, Cameron, I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now," escaped his lips without his even being aware of it until it was too late. But now was not the time for him to worry about what he said. All he could concentrate on was the fact that she was beneath him and responding with a fire that was astounding him.

"Please, House. Please," she breathed against his hair.

"Please, what?" He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. Those damn green eyes that have been haunting him since the day he hired her. "Please what, Cameron?"

"Now, please, now."

His smile was brief as he looked at her. He was ready to oblige.

"Anything you say, green eyes." His hands moved to her panties, his fingers just inside her waistband, ready to pull them off of her, when the telephone rang, it's shrillness stopping them momentarily. "Let it ring. The machine will pick it up."

But when the machine picked it up as he was drawing her panties down past her knees, the voice at the other end froze Cameron. Her whole body going nearly rigid beneath House.

"Um–Allison, I called the hospital and some Australian dude told me you went over to the "goat's house." If you're still there, I . . .um. . . well, I kinda ran into a problem with your microwave and a bag of popcorn. I sort of set off your fire alarm and when I tried to stop it from waking up the whole apartment house, I kinda hit it with your broom and knocked it over onto your book shelf and then the broom hit the shelf and it came off the hooks and like ten of your books fell onto your lamp and that got knocked over and went right into your TV. And well, to make a long story short–the place is filled with smoke and I can't watch television."

House lay on top of Cameron, both of them listening to the tale of calamity with growing interest. The only difference was that House found the whole situation amazingly humorous while Cameron shifted beneath him and reached for the telephone.

"Tony? Honey, are you alright?" She sat up as she held the phone to her ear. "Are you sure. No, it's fine. Just as long as you're okay."

House got to his feet and made his way back to his bedroom where he changed from his lounge pants into a pair of blue jeans and pulled on a pair of Nikes. When he came back out to the livingroom, he found Cameron in her work clothes, looking rather abashed.

"Come on." He took her arm and headed for the door with her. "It looks like no one's getting any sleep tonight thanks to your delinquent relative. I'll drive you home and help air out your place."