A uniformed steward stood near a carved wooden bar and deftly popped the cork on a chilled bottle of champagne as they arrived on the main deck.
“I took the liberty of ordering some champagne. You’re not driving anywhere tonight.” Josh spoke softly in her ear, the low pitch sending a hum through her body.
“Thank you. I don’t believe I’ve tried this brand before.”
“Then you’re in for a delight.”
Josh took the two glasses from the steward who melted away into the cabin interior, leaving the two of them alone on the main deck. He handed Callie one glass and gently tapped his cut-crystal flute against hers.
“To getting to know one another better,” he said, the simplicity of his words belying their subtext.
“To getting to know you,” Callie responded and tipped her glass to take a sip of the golden liquid.
He was right. It was a delight to taste and the gentle fizz in her mouth mirrored the bubbling sensation of lightness that suffused her body. She was glad she’d dressed up for this evening. The fittings and accoutrements surrounding them on this massive statement of luxury and wealth deserved no less.
As she lifted her hand to take another sip of the champagne, the fabric of her gown gently grazed her nipples, sending a shock of awareness through her again. She’d never felt so conscious of her body before, nor so attuned to her companion. Although, truth be told, from the minute she’d set eyes on Josh Tremont, even knowing what he was purportedly capable of, he’d attracted her on a level that was purely instinctive.
Josh gestured toward the curved leather seats arranged at a low coffee table, fixed to the deck.
“Would you like to sit down?”
In response, Callie walked across to the chairs, conscious with every step of Josh only a few centimetres behind her. She could feel the heat of his body like a wall against her back, even though he didn’t touch her.
The steward returned with a silver tray with artfully arranged canapés displayed on it.
“Just leave them on the table,” Josh instructed.
“Certainly, sir. The chef asked me to let you know your main meal will be ready in half an hour.”
“Thank you. That’ll be all for now.”
With a small respectful bow, the steward withdrew.
Despite the low-pitched purr of the vessel’s engines belowdecks, indicating that there had to be others on board, at least to guide it through the waters, Callie felt as if the world had narrowed down to just her and Josh. The sensation made her both nervous and excited at the same time. Desperate to fill the void of conversation between them, she commented on the appetisers before them.
“Here, let me choose for you,” Josh said with a smile.
Without waiting for her reply, he lifted a sliver of crostini topped with tiny shrimp in a spread of what looked like cream cheese and chives. Obediently, Callie parted her lips, as he leaned across and slid the morsel between them.
Josh watched as Callie slowly chewed and swallowed. Something hot and tight clenched deep inside him as her tongue swept her lower lip.
“That was delicious,” she said, her voice husky.
“Another?” he managed, through a throat that had suddenly grown thick with desire.
His plan had been to woo her tonight. Slowly, deftly, with every sensual weapon in his considerable arsenal, before bringing the evening to its inevitable climax. He would have smiled at the unintentional pun, but all he wanted to do was skip the pleasantries and cut straight to the chase—or, more particularly, the main stateroom that awaited them belowdecks.
He forced himself to clamp a lid on his needs, to slow his reactions to her. To savour every second of this intricate dance. But it proved a great deal more difficult than he had imagined.
“My turn first.”
Callie surprised him, taking the initiative, and his advantage from him, as she selected another canapé and held it to his lips. Advantages in human affairs, as in business, could easily be wrested from the inexperienced, he decided, as he took the bite-sized food into his mouth, his lips closing around her forefinger and thumb, and his tongue sliding up to suckle between them.
Her startled gasp broke the heaviness of the air between them as she withdrew her hand and cradled it in her lap. He couldn’t have said, later on, what it was that she’d given him to eat but he could describe the expression on her face in intimate detail.
Callie’s eyes looked huge, her pupils dilated. A faint hint of colour swiped her cheekbones and mirrored itself on the smooth, slender line of her neck. Beneath the filmy black fabric of her dress, her chest rose and fell, as if she couldn’t draw quite enough air into her lungs.
She was the first to break eye contact, and he acknowledged the silent victory with a surge of triumph. Oh, yes, tonight would be spectacular. She was so responsive, so open. In the world in which he lived, such transparency was a novelty, one to be savoured.