Callie stopped herself before she actually licked her lips, but, oh boy, he was delectable.
“Would you like to come in for a drink before we head out?” she asked.
There was something different about him tonight. An edge to his self-control she hadn’t sensed before. Concern plucked at the fringes of her mind. Had he discovered that she’d accessed more than the data he’d requested on his computer? She discounted the thought even as it occurred to her. Josh Tremont wasn’t the kind of man to let something like that slide. He’d have reamed her out about it if he knew—she was sure of it.
No, it had to be something else. Maybe, she wondered, he was just as tense with anticipation about tonight as she was. They were adults, after all. They’d acknowledged a strong attraction between each other and goodness knew they just about ignited when they kissed.
Callie felt an involuntary tug deep inside at the prospect of going further than just a kiss with Josh. Arousal spread with a flood of heat through her body, and her unfettered breasts tautened, abrading against the fine fabric of her halter with excruciating awareness. She felt his eyes coast over her from the tip of her shoes to the top of her head. Finally, he replied, his voice taut with restraint.
“I don’t think so. With the way you look right now, I doubt we’d make it to dinner.”
Callie’s breath caught on her response. What could she say in the face of that? She lifted her chin and summoned what she hoped was a casual smile. “Another time perhaps.”
She locked her front door and walked beside him to the waiting Maserati at the kerbside, not touching but painfully aware of his proximity, of his strength.
“Do we have far to go?” she asked as they started off down the street.
“To the waterfront.”
“Oh, anywhere I know?” she probed.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” came the enigmatic response.
Callie settled back against the soft leather of the car seat and tried to concentrate on the soft rock playing on the CD player, but all her senses remained attuned to the man beside her. She wondered why they were even going through the motions of dinner when it was clear where they would end up. Still, she supposed, going to dinner put a civilised veneer on what was a distinctly uncivilised need currently pumping through her body.
She was surprised when, rather than heading along the bays, Josh turned the car toward the helipad at Mechanics Bay. Once he’d parked the car, he took her by the hand and led her to a waiting helicopter.
The pilot made sure that they were both strapped in and had their headsets on before taking off. Callie’s stomach lurched as they flew across the harbour.
“Where are we going?” she asked Josh.
“Are you always this impatient for details?” he replied through the headset.
“Curious, not impatient,” she corrected.
Josh merely smiled and nodded his head toward the window. “Satisfied?”
Callie looked past him to the massive white luxury launch floating on the harbour, a large H emblazoned on part of its deck.
“We’re eating on the boat?”
“I hope you don’t get seasick,” Josh teased.
“Are you planning to hit the high seas?” Callie answered in kind, even as her hands took a white-knuckled grip on her seat as the helicopter descended.
“Just a leisurely cruise around the harbour while we enjoy our meal, then back to Westhaven.”
“Westhaven Marina? But what about your car?”
“I won’t be driving. A car will meet us there and take us home later. Don’t worry. It’s all organised. You know, you’re not the only one with a knack for getting things done.”
They alighted from the chopper and Callie was relieved to set her feet firmly onto the boat’s upper deck. Only now did she get a full appreciation of just how large the vessel was. It had to be over a hundred feet long.
“This isn’t yours, is it?” she asked as they made their way down a gently curved staircase to the main deck.
“No, I just borrow it from time to time.”
For a moment Callie felt a pang of envy for the other women he might have brought here “from time to time,” but then she scolded herself for being so silly. He was a man of the world—a darn fine man of the world at that. There’d be women in his past, probably many of them. But she was the one with him now, and she’d take whatever she could get while it lasted because once he discovered the truth about her working for him—and she had no doubt that he eventually would—memories of nights like tonight would be all she’d have left.
The evening was perfect. With daylight savings time in effect, the early evening light dappled over the calm sea in a glittering caress. In the distance a flock of birds still worked the waters and dotted all over the harbour were pleasure craft under sail or motor. Muted strains of classical guitar danced on the air through a hidden sound system and Callie felt herself sink into the luxury of the setting with a completeness that felt, for once, totally right.