Everything Can Heal

By Cameron Hart

He has a very hands on approach to tutoring...

 

I have a bit of a problem. I shared the hottest kiss in the world with a total stranger at a party and then ran away. Cliché, I know, but that's not the problem. The problem is he's my new tutor.

 

Aside from our obvious chemistry, we have nothing in common. He is super smart, a decade older than me, more experienced, and resents me because I come from old money. We're a terrible match on paper, but in real life, he just might be able to teach me more than math and English. 

 

Ezra isn't just a forbidden fling, at least not for me. Somehow, this man is healing me in ways I didn't even know I was broken.

 

When everything we've built crashes to the ground, will we be able to trust each other enough to pick up the pieces?

 

What to expect from a Cameron Hart book: Lots of heat, plenty of sweet, and just enough drama to keep things interesting. No cheating, safe, guaranteed HEA!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cameron Hart
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223894261

Cameron Hart

Hello. I'm Cameron Hart, and I write sweet steamy romances. I’m a USA Today Bestselling author with over forty books available. I write romance with lots of heat, plenty of sweet, and just enough drama to keep things interesting. I graduated from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 2012 with a degree in creative writing. When I’m not working on my next book, I can be found reading, crocheting, doing yoga, and chasing around my grumpy cats. **What to expect from a Cameron Hart book: Lots of heat, plenty of sweet, and just enough drama to keep things interesting. No cheating, safe, guaranteed HEA!**

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One look at the stunning waitress carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I’m a goner. I wasn’t looking for a sweet little thing with auburn hair and more baggage than I can fit on the back of my bike, but there’s no going back now. She’s mine. I’ll prove to her I’m more than capable of handling her past and making her feel safe again.

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Chapter 1

Riley

Riley! What the fuck is this? my dad bellows from his office upstairs.

Shit.

I have a pretty good idea what this is. The school sent out our grades this afternoon. Everything is done online these days, which gives very little opportunity to sneak around or change grades. It's a shame, really. I feel like I could have done quite well for myself if I were born twenty years ago. Oh, what I wouldn't do for a paper copy of my grades that I could change with a few well-placed swipes of a pen.

I trudge up the huge winding marble staircase to the second floor, marching to my own execution. Sure enough, when I get to my dad’s office, he’s logged into the school’s portal for parents. With each scroll across my grade report, his face gets redder and the vein in his neck pulses faster.

This is unacceptable, Riley. How is it possible that I pay for the best education and you still manage to fuck everything up and get C’s in almost every class? The question is rhetorical, of course. My dad pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. Just...leave me alone. I can’t think about you right now. I have a conference call about a multi-million-dollar deal. Looks like I’ll need the extra cash if I’m going to buy my way out of the mess you’ve made. He waves me away with his hand.

As with most of our conversations, I simply slip out of the room without a word after he’s said his piece. It’s not like I don’t try in my classes. I do. I try really fucking hard, actually. It just takes me so damn long to do things, by the time I finally feel caught up with one class, I’m already so behind on another class. It takes every last brain cell just to keep afloat most days. I’ve tried telling that to my dad, but he always just cuts me off.

No one else has this hard of a time with school, Riley. Maybe if you didn’t complain so much, you’d actually get your work done.

I go back to my room and stare at my math book. All of my motivation to finish the assignment was left back in my dad’s office, so I pull out my phone and text Sarah. She’s...well, I guess she’s my closest friend. Which isn’t saying much.

Me: Need to shop my feelings away. You in?

Sarah: Bitch, you know I’m down. Pick me up in 10!

The nice thing about Sarah is that she’s so self-absorbed she never asks me about my life. I prefer it that way. Sarah is loud and dramatic, and I’ll admit, she’s fun to be around. She’s a nice shield for me when I’m out and about. People don’t really see me when I’m with her.

Sarah is drop-dead sexy. Like, she looks like she walked straight out of a porno with her round ass, tiny waist, and huge boobs. Plus, she has these full lips and high cheekbones that give her the whole baby doll look guys go crazy for. Granted, her boobs were a gift for her eighteenth birthday and her lips are stuffed full of collagen injections, but still.

I'm not saying I'm an ugly duckling. My mom so helpfully reminds me that it's okay if I'm dumb because I have long legs and a nice ass. So, I have that going for me if nothing else.

I throw on a jacket and slip into my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo low heel boots before grabbing my keys and heading for the garage.

Where are you going? my mom snaps. She looks up from her favorite position on the lounger in the den where she’s working on her third martini of the afternoon.

Shopping with Sarah.

Oh, Sarah’s so pretty. We could get you some nice tits too. They’d match your ass. You got some good stuff back there, but men want the whole package, you know.

Mmhm, I acknowledge.

Can you pick me up more gin while you’re out?

I’m nineteen, mom.

Oh. Right. But you have a fake ID, don’t you?

No, I don’t, I scoff. I didn’t think it was possible, but this woman still surprises me with her amazing maternal instincts.

She sighs in frustration. I bet Sarah does. Either way, she could just flash the guy at the liquor store, and he’d give her whatever she wants.

I shake my head. She’s truly unbelievable; a cliché socialite housewife to a T. I continue on my way to the garage without responding to her last comment.

Ten minutes later, Sarah is plopping down into the passenger’s seat of my Mercedes-Benz, already talking a mile a minute.

"Oh my God, girl. So glad you texted me. We haven’t hung out in forever! Where have you been these days? You need to get out more. This is perfect timing. I have a date tonight with Chad. You remember Chad, right? Mallory dated him last year, but then there was that whole thing where she found him hooking up with Ms. Montoya, the Spanish teacher. She was so dramatic about it. I mean, like, we’re in high school, it’s not like they were going to be together forever, you know?"

I nod to be polite, but she doesn’t need any encouragement to keep going.

Anyway. I think it’s kind of hot. Chad had the confidence to fuck a faculty member, and apparently his cock was so big that she quit her job so they could be together. Of course, once she quit, the whole thing lost its appeal. Sarah rolls her eyes and laughs.

I always liked Ms. Montoya. I suck at foreign languages, but she was really patient with me and helped me get through the last of my language requirements for graduation. I didn’t know why she left, but now I hate this Chad asshole.

So, Chad, Sarah continues. "Super sexy, magical dick, and single for the first time all year. And he wants to go to a college party with me. Can you believe it?"

Just like my father, this question doesn’t require an answer.

Oh, shit, he’s calling! Sarah’s voice is shrill. She takes a breath and answers her phone in a cool and sexy voice. Hey, baby. I was just talking about you. She pauses to listen to whatever he’s saying. Oh, uh, sure. Sarah eyes me up and down with great scrutiny. I don’t like her assessing me like this. I don’t like anyone looking at me too closely. Yeah, yeah, I know the perfect person. Tell Brady we’re on.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Good news! Sarah claps her hands. You’re coming with me to the party!

Excuse me? Oh, hell no. That is not happening.

Yeah! This is perfect. You were just saying how you needed to get out more.

"No, you said I needed to get out more."

Well, whoever said it was totally right. And now you have the chance to! Chad’s friend, Brady, just got dumped by his bitch of a girlfriend and needs someone to go to the party with.

Okay...what does that have to do with your whole situation? Can’t you and Chad just go without him?

Ugh. I wish. But Brady is the one who invited Chad. The party is at Brady’s frat house, so if he’s not going, we can’t go either.

I’m pretty sure you can just go. It’s not like the frat party is going to have a bouncer.

Come on! Please? For me? Maybe Brady can pop your cherry while you’re at the party! She cackles at her own joke.

God, I regret telling her I’m a virgin. It’s not like I go advertising my sex life, or lack thereof, but one night I needed a place to crash after my mom got super drunk and locked me out, and Sarah offered me one of their many guest bedrooms if I was her designated driver for the evening. She was super drunk by the time we made it to her house and she insisted that I have just a few drinks to get on her level. After that, we ended up bonding or some shit. I swear I thought she wasn’t going to remember anything I told her. Joke’s on me. When she’s not too busy dealing with her own drama, she’s made it her life’s mission to get me laid. Good thing she always has plenty of her own drama.

I give her a death glare, and she rolls her eyes at me. "God, I’m just kidding. Lighten up. But for reals, this will be fun! Pretty, pretty please? You only have to be there for like, an hour. Then you can Uber home. Come on, Ry-ry! Please? I’ll buy you a dress and shoes and everything! Pleeeeaaaaaassssseeeeee?"

"Oh my God, fine!"

Yay! Sara squeals and claps her hands.

Thank God I just pulled into the parking lot of Neiman Marcus so I can get some air and much-needed space from Sarah. Partying really isn't my thing, but I guess there's a first time for everything. 

***

This was a huge fucking mistake. Sarah bought me a strappy little black dress that I hate and paired it with some deadly fuck me stilettos. Why did I let her talk me into this again? I’ve been at this dumb party for thirty minutes and I’m already itching to get out of here.

Brady left me almost as soon as we got in the door when I refused to make out with him. What a gentleman. Sarah went off with Chad and some girls who graduated from our school last year. So now I’m just sitting on the bottom two steps of this dirty staircase, waiting out the clock.

I suppose I could just leave. Sarah probably won’t miss me and if she asks me about it later, I can tell her I met a guy and we hit it off or something. That will certainly satisfy her and maybe get her off my back about trying to hook me up with any guy who looks at me for longer than five seconds.

Just as I'm about to get the hell out of Dodge, I see him. I don't know who he is, but those grey eyes pin me to my seat and don't let up. He's got chocolate brown hair that's a little long and messy, but in that sexy, just got out of bed kind of way. He's older than me, which isn't surprising seeing as this is a college party. His strong, angular jaw has some light stubble on it, and for some reason, I wonder what that would feel like against my skin.

Get it together, woman.

I’ve seen hot guys before, even flirted with a few of them, but fuck. When Hottie McHot Stuff starts walking toward me, my mouth goes dry and my belly does this weird flippy thing. I notice his muscles bunch and flex as he moves. The Henley he’s wearing stretches over his strong chest and well-defined pecs, and those low-slung jeans are really doing it for me. Are my panties wet? Jesus, I’m a mess.

Hey, he says. His voice is like gravel, all rough and sexy. I’m Ezra. He grins, and yup, if my panties weren’t wet before, they definitely are now. You look about as miserable as I feel.

Chapter 2

Ezra

What the fuck kind of line is that? You look about as miserable as I feel.

This lovely creature is making me stupid with how sexy she is. I’ve been watching her since she walked in the door, trying to get up the nerve to say something to her. Which isn’t like me at all. I’ve never had trouble talking to women, but one look at her and I’m suddenly a stupid, fumbling mess.

She’s got on this sexy as hell black dress that shows off her toned legs and delicious ass. Her curly golden hair cascades down her back, and her green eyes pop, especially with her dark makeup. I long to touch her creamy skin, to lick it and bite it and mark her as mine.

Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?

The angel arrived with some asshole who immediately got handsy with her. She looked really uncomfortable, and I almost stepped in, but she took control of the situation and set him straight. The goddess may be little, but she’s feisty as fuck. Her friend with the obviously fake boobs abandoned her right away for a sketchy douchebag. The little beauty was left alone, and she looked about as comfortable as I was to be here.

She got lost in the crowd for a bit, but then I spotted her sitting on the staircase with those ankle-breaking shoes in one hand while her other hand twirled a strand of her hair, almost self-consciously.

Uh...thanks? Her sweet voice pulls me out of my head, reminding me that I made a fucking fool out of myself with the first words out of my mouth.

Sorry, not like that. I mean... I sigh and rub a hand over the back of my neck.

That we’re both out of place here? She smirks at me and god, I want to kiss that look right off her face.

Yeah. This isn’t really my scene.

She opens her mouth to respond, but several people storm up the stairs, blocking my view of her. After they pass, she stands up and slides her shoes back on, only to wobble and fall right into my arms.

Without even thinking, I lean down and kiss her. She gasps in surprise, and I take the opportunity to slip my tongue inside her mouth to get a better taste. Her lips are exquisite, soft, and sweet. And her hot little mouth tastes like home.

Shit, what does that even mean? What is she doing to me?

At first, my little vixen doesn't kiss me back. I worry that I'm just another asshole that took advantage of her, no better than the dick she came here with. But then I feel her arms around my neck as she pulls me closer. Her tongue wrestles with mine, and she lets out a soft moan when I slowly lick the