2:05 a.m. April 6.
A pale pink flower petal floated down and landed on the screen of the phone. Cam brushed it away so he could continue his text conversation with Roland. His room was an empty, foggy park with a few lovely cherry blossom trees. The soft light of approaching dawn and damp coolness in the air was comforting.
Cam: So, you still haven't been able to find them?
Roland: Not yet. Sorry. I'll let you know as soon as I do. Have you heard from Lucifer again?
Cam: No. So far, only one damn letter. I don't trust him though, so the rules and clues that he will give me are quite useless.
Roland: Hmm. He might be serious about helping you by giving you the rules and clues. I believe he wants to torture both Luce and you with this game. So the longer it lasts, the more that sadistic bastard will enjoy it.
Cam: That might be true. But trusting the devil still sounds like a monumentally bad idea to me. And I hate to admit you're right...but I'm still attracted to her.
Roland: Whoa... Are you still in love with her?
Cam: Hell, no! It's just...you know about our complicated past...and she is always easily charmed by me. But this is just lust. And I won't act on it.
Roland: Be honest with me, Cam. Can you really do this? Or do I need to switch places with you and get your charming and horny ass away from Luce?
Cam scowled at the screen, indignant at Roland's accusation that he had no self-control when it came to Luce.
Cam: I will not touch her. You keep searching for them. Even if I wanted to , I wouldn't know where to look. You have always been closer to them.
Roland: Alright. Keep it in your pants, Cam. Seriously. Don't do anything that you and Luce will regret.
Cam: I already said I won't touch her. I'm a man of my word. That is all. Goodnight.
He turned off his phone and pushed it into his jeans pocket. Cam sighed and closed his eyes. The memory of him almost kissing her this morning rushed into his mind. He should not have teased her like that. It was supposed to be a punishment for her, not for him. But when he realized she wanted him to kiss her, knowing that she wanted him...made it so hard for him to back away from her lips. And he knew it was stupid, but when he sensed that she was there, watching him kiss that girl, he kissed her more passionately to impress Luce. Seeing how flushed she was from watching him had turned him on. A lot. He shook his head and repeated out loud the same things he kept thinking to himself that today.
"She is Daniel's girlfriend, Cam. You are only here to protect her. You cannot like her. You cannot want her. No matter how beautiful or sweet she is. Draw the line. Do not cross it. There's no turning back after you kiss her. Never get that close to her again."
The chilly mist surrounding him was gone all of a sudden. Cam opened his eyes and saw Luce sleeping in her bed. Damn his mind, for bringing him here. Or more accurately, bringing her to him. It was dark in her dorm room. Aubrey was in the top bunk and Luce in the bottom one. Only a small lighthouse nightlight illuminated her face enough so that he could admire her lovely features. Her long, wavy black hair and her sensual, slightly parted lips got most of his attention. Cam was envious of the sleeping humans. Angels only slept when they were completely physically or emotionally exhausted. He wanted to dream. Maybe he would see her in his dreams. But he felt that he would probably be plagued by nightmares instead, memories from his past that he would rather forget.
Luce woke up with a gasp, sitting up straight in her bed, making Cam jump. He cursed but was relieved when he remembered she could not see him. He wasn't even really there. It was like he was inside a copy of a live video feed. She was breathing hard and seemed really upset. Cam was curious what her nightmare was about but decided to not invade her privacy any further. He blinked once and returned to the misty park and gentle rain of petals.
2:21 a.m. April 6.
No, no, no, no, no. Stop freaking out. It was just a dream. It's not real. Luce took several deep breaths as she threw her blanket aside and fanned her face with a book. Her heart was beating insanely fast and her body felt like it was on fire. What a peculiar dream! Cam and her, at a ball sometime during the 19th century...
They were dancing in a majestic ballroom with glittering, cascading chandeliers, surrounded by many other elegantly dressed guests. He was incredibly handsome in his formal wear and his black coat matched her black gown . She smiled at him but he looked at her with guarded eyes and his mouth was pressed into a hard line. In the last two months, they only saw each other a few times at a few balls. When they did get a chance to speak to each other, he was very formal and curt with her. She did often feel his eyes lingering on her from across the room, but when their eyes met his face remained impassive. Near the end of the dance, he abruptly pulled her away from the dance floor, towards the hall. She tried to remove his hand but he just held her elbow tighter and soon they found themselves in the study.
"Cameron, please let go of me! Why did you drag me in here?" she demanded after he closed and locked the door.
"You know why, Lucinda." His eyes darkened as he moved closer to her, trapping her against the wall.
She sighed. "I thought we could both move past this and still be friends. I suppose that was silly of me to think that was possible. Please don't be this way. I don't want to have to avoid you from now on."
He seemed to realize how upset she was, so he backed away a bit and changed the subject. "Where is Daniel? Why is he not here with you this evening?"
"He had some business he had to take care of out of town. He has been quite busy lately."
It was Cameron's turn to sigh as he gently tilted her chin up so that he could see her face when she replied to his next question. "Let me guess. Sometimes he is very caring and romantic. But then there are times that he becomes cold, distant, and too busy all the time."
"How did you know?" Her eyes widened and she tried to hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. "I miss him, but it seems like he is staying away from me on purpose." She was starting to loathe the words "busy" and "work" because they kept him away from her.
Cameron laughed bitterly and turned away from her, his eyes drawn to the fireplace. "I know him far too well. He has always been like this. Toying with your emotions. Unsure of whether he should come or go, not sure of what he wants. But I know what I want."
Lucinda wondered how he knew Daniel so well, since they did not seem to know each other at all. She had never even seen them speak to each other the few times they had been at the same ball. But maybe they had worked together.
"I want you, Lucinda." His heated gaze burned into her as he was suddenly too close again.
"You know I love Daniel. And we are engaged. I'm sorry, but what we had is over." She tried to be stoic in her response but she felt flushed.
"But I met you first. We were together for half a year before you met him and then abandoned me. Daniel has only courted you for a few months. In that time, he has already made you cry many times, am I right? I admit that we did have arguments and I might have made you cry a few times. But did I ever ignore you for days or make you question my love for you? Never!"
"Cameron, please stop." Lucinda sobbed. Because she knew what he said was true.
Why did she choose Daniel, when it was Cameron who made her happier? But with Daniel, when they were happy, she was never more in love and was sure they were soulmates. But when he was brooding and aloof, the pain was unbearable.
"I'm sorry. Don't cry. You know what seeing you cry does to me, Lucinda." He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it and dabbed at her eyes and continued to cry.
Cameron drew her into his arms and stroked her back. "Hush now...there's nothing wrong with you. He is the problem, not you. You are an exceptionally beautiful and wonderful young woman. You deserve much better than him, Lucinda. If he makes you sad more than happy...choose me instead." Lucinda stilled in his arms, too stunned to continue crying. "You don't have to give me an answer immediately. Please think about it." He hugged her tighter and it was heartwarming but also heartbreaking. She already knew what her answer was.
"Cameron, I can't leave Daniel. Despite the way he is...I love him too much. I'm sorry..."
He slowly pulled away so he could look at her, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "But...do you still think about me? Because I can't stop thinking about you. Lucinda, do you still have feelings for me? Please tell me the truth."
"I...I have not forgotten you. There are times when I miss you. You were my first love, after all. But it doesn't matter, because I have Daniel now. I can't think about you in that way anymore." Seeing his face ashen with grief made her cry again.
"Why not?" Cameron asked softly.
"I am soon to be a married woman. I can't be in love with another man." She stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes, you can. If the only way I can have you is by keeping our relationship a secret...I don't mind. And I promise Daniel won't find out, I'll make sure of it. Give me another chance to show you how much I love you, Lucinda. Maybe eventually you'll see that I am the one you belong with." His emerald eyes soften, his expression sincere, as he stroked her cheek with his knuckles.
"Cameron...you're serious? How could you even suggest that?" She weakly pushed his hand away. With her heart beating too fast and her breathing so shallow, she was afraid she might faint. "I...I don't know if I could really..." She staggered away from him and leaned on an armchair near the fireplace, contemplating his tempting proposal. Maybe it was not such a preposterous idea. At times she did question if Daniel was her one true love. And whenever he made her sad, she would wish Cameron was by her side. "Why do I still have trouble saying no to you...even when you ask this of me..."
"Because you know you want to say yes," he breathed. Cameron came up behind her and held her by the waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. She was tense at first, but slowly relaxed and leaned back against his chest. He nuzzled her neck and kissed her hair.
"I love you, Lucinda. Don't leave me. Promise me you won't leave me," he murmured.
She turned around so she could face him as she whispered the words. "I love you, Cameron." But she couldn't make that promise. Disappointment flashed in his eyes for a moment, but then he nodded and smiled, relieved that at least she was willing to try this.
"I'll take that as a yes." He hugged her, squeezing so hard she let out a breathless giggle which he quickly silenced with his kiss. Just a gentle touch from his lips, yet it made her knees weak.
"Are we making a big mistake? This feels wrong," she whispered as he lovingly caressed her cheek.
"No, Lucinda. Kissing you, loving you has never felt wrong to me," he insisted, cupping her face in his hands and dipping his head to kiss her again. It was a long, sensual kiss. She let out a soft moan after he pulled back and he gazed at her, his eyes intense and seductive.
"Oh Cameron...we can't do this..." she breathlessly managed to say, though she knew she was about to give in completely.
"Darling, we have already started," he said in a husky voice and gave her one of his gorgeous, mischievous smiles that she had not seen in a long time. Cameron gently rubbed her full bottom lip with his thumb and she couldn't help but smile back at her handsome lover.
Again, he bent his head to capture her lips...her heart. His lips moved urgently against hers and she kissed him back with just as much passion. He swiftly pulled her closer, so that his hard body was pressed against all of her softness, her warmth. Cameron groaned at the contact and deepened the kiss, eager to taste her again. And that was how Lucinda and Cameron's forbidden love began.
Kate's Notes:
Real quick this time cuz i don't have much time... See you next Wednesday! =)
-yes, i decided to add the time and date to make it easier for you to figure out when it is and it's less confusing. i'm happy about that! should have done it sooner.
-yeah, the word count limit doesn't mean much of anything anymore. lol. f*ck the word count limit. i'll just write as much as i want. lmao. it's so hard to write meaningful scenes that are 300 words or less, anyway.
-yes! 2 scenes as promised, on time, this time. well, it's 1 long scene, i guess. but i count it as 2. i stayed up very very late to write the 2nd scene, btw. got like 5 hours of sleep. lol... worth it, though!
-2nd scene longer than i expected! i hope it's not boring. it feels a bit boring because i kept re-reading and re-writing it so much. also cuz it's in the past and i worry about wording it so it sounds like how they talked then.
-i had the idea for the 2nd scene from early on! so glad i finally got it on paper (i mean, typed up). different than what i imagined (was supposed to be much shorter and less talking/discussing). but i wanted it clear that it wasn't just lust, that cam loved her.
-i'm worried i'll get negative reviews. but everyone makes mistakes... luce and cam (even daniel) do have flaws. that is why the title is We Are Broken. i probably will avoid reading reviews for a while, though. just in case you all get mad at me. lol.
-but you all know i have a thing for forbidden love, so... lol...
-and luce has cheated at least twice that we know of, in the books. so...i don't think it's that much of a stretch to know she has cheated on daniel with cam. i wish we knew more about her past lives with cam, btw. they were always so vague about it. but we know he was her friend for some of her past lives, and also he and her and daniel were in a love triangle for some of them.
i'm still not sure what he would do with her in the Fallen book if she had chosen him. hand her over to lucifer? they make her an angel again and make her side with lucifer? what? i don't get it. lol. don't think he would hurt her... but i still think he really loves her, from how he treated her in the later books. but i guess not. in the Unforgiven prologue, it says Lilith is the only woman he ever loved. ugh. he must have cared a lot for her, still.
-and for those of you that are Daniel/Luce fans (you know who you are!), the next scene will be a Daniel/Luce scene! yay. and probably Aubrey shows up for the 1st real time! I named her after Aubrey Plaza, who plays my favorite sitcom character ever, the sarcastic/dark April Ludgate. Lol. My Aubrey character will be very similar to April, I think. haha.
-here are some books i'm reading, btw. lol... Ugly Love (Colleen Hoover), Hotter Than Ever (Elle Kennedy), The Real Thing (Cassie Mae), The Satin Sash (Red Garnier) I guess i like most of them. but in Ugly Love...she has this very repetitive way of writing. omg. it's driving me crazy. i'm actually having a hard time getting myself to keep reading. and i have managed to finish 50 Shades of Grey (i know, i know. lol. i just needed to know what the hype was all about). lollllll.