Saturday morning the weather turned to rain and as Josh had excused himself after breakfast to attend to an urgent call from one of his business contacts in Europe, Callie found herself with time on her hands and very little to do.
She wandered through the downstairs living room that led out to the pool area where they’d dined together only a week ago. She shook her head slightly. A week. It felt like so much longer.
Her body appeared to be in total agreement. Already she missed Josh’s proximity with a physical ache—or maybe that ache had more to do with the way her body had been thoroughly, deliciously, used through the dark hours. A smile pulled at her lips.
She’d loved every second of last night. After they’d both dressed, they’d gone to the kitchen where they’d cooked a meal together, taking their plates out onto the tiled terrace where they sat on the descending stairs overlooking the pool. With their dinner balanced on their laps and a glass of red wine each, they’d eaten in companionable silence before heading back indoors.
They’d started to watch a movie in Josh’s home theatre but it hadn’t taken long before the gentle stroke of his fingers across the back of her hand had ignited desire once more. They hadn’t even made it out of the room before their clothing had hit the carpet. Callie had to admit to a distinct soft spot for the wide and comfortable armchairs that had allowed for some inventive foreplay before Josh had pulled her to the floor where she’d straddled his body, taking him deep inside, and riding him to an incendiary climax.
Even now, the memory pulled at something deep inside her. Something she’d never allowed herself to feel before. Something that felt scarily like the beginnings of love.
Don’t be crazy, she told herself sternly. You’re not supposed to fall for the guy. You’re supposed to be gathering information—and what had she discovered? Nothing other than the fact that he worked hard and expected the same in return from his people. That and the fact that the man made love like a dream. His hands, his mouth, he used everything in his arsenal to bring her pleasure such as she’d never known—and it was addictive. He was addictive.
Men like Josh Tremont should definitely come with a warning firmly plastered on their foreheads, she decided.
But still there was that niggle. Despite the man she was growing to know, there was still the matter of the information he’d gathered on the Palmers. He’d delved deeply into their personal lives. Knew every minor detail, right down to Bruce Palmer’s dental appointments. It was bizarre and not a little obsessive.
Callie shook her head. Thinking about it wasn’t going to prove anything. If she was to do what Irene expected of her, she needed to find out more details about Josh Tremont himself. More than the fact he was a completely unselfish lover. More than the fact that the mere sound of his footfall coming toward her on the polished wooden floor was enough to set her heart beating like the wings of a startled flock of pigeons.
“Sorry about that,” he said as he moved behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him.
Callie inhaled deeply as his unique scent enveloped her. In itself it was an aphrodisiac to her. Already her body stirred in response. She laughed inwardly. At this rate she’d barely be able to move by Monday.
“I imagine you’re never fully off duty,” Callie replied, relishing the feeling of protection she felt within the circle of his arms.
“I promise you have my undivided attention for the rest of this weekend. What would you like to do today?”
A squall of rain splattered against the glass doors in front of them.
“I suppose a swim is out of the question,” Callie said, gesturing to the rain-washed terrace and sheets of rain that peppered the tiles.
“Why should it be? It’s been years since I swam in the rain. How about you?”
Callie gave an inelegant snort. “I don’t think I’ve ever swum in the rain.”
“Not even as a kid?”
“Especially not as a kid.”
In fact, she hadn’t learned to swim until she’d been at the Palmer Home for Girls. At first the prospect of putting her face under water had terrified her, but eventually she’d overcome that fear and had learned to use the experience to tackle bigger fears, bigger problems, and overcome them. It was another opportunity Irene had opened up to her. Another reason to be grateful.
“So how about it?”
Callie thought it over for a minute. She’d had little enough time in her life for frivolous fun, now here she was at twenty-eight and she hadn’t even done something as fun and simple as swim in the rain.