Callum (14 page)

“Is there something you need?” she asked, not making eye contact. It was odd. Since the day he had met her, she’d always been brutally direct, but she seemed to avoid him now. It was no wonder with his behavior the night before, and more than anything in the world he wanted to sooth her pain. He didn’t have the right. Especially not now.

“I wanted to apologize for last night.”

With that her head shot up. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

The chill in her voice could have frozen the devil himself. “I know that I behaved badly, and I wanted you to know that I would never step over that line again.”

“Is that all?” she asked as she turned away from him. He didn’t like it, the way she spoke, the fact that she seemed to be dismissing him. They both needed distance, but he wanted to be the one who did it—not her.

“I just wanted you to know that I regret what I did.”

“Really?”

Her voice was oddly neutral. With her back to him, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Yes. I should have never touched you and imposed on you. I know that you are an employee, and it was completely unprofessional of me.”

She said nothing, the icy silence weaving tension in the air around him. Usually, he thrived on this atmosphere. It gave him something to use against his adversary. A weapon to twist his opponent’s will. He had the patience to wait the other person out, let them dangle. But this time it was different.

Now, he itched from the inside out. The need to clear the air warred with the need to touch, soothe. Even though he understood it put him in a weaker position, he needed to speak his peace and get out. The longer he stayed, the better the chance that he would make a fool of himself.

“I took advantage of the situation.” Still nothing. “You work for me and I put you in an irrevocable position. I embarrassed you. You had no way to disagree—”

She turned around, her face flushed with anger, her eyes shooting venom. Settling her hands on her hips, she approached him. “I don’t need your pity.”

It was his turn to back up a step. “I dinna say that I pitied you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I heard it there in your voice. So you used your skills on me to prove a point. Don’t pity me because a man like you would never have anything to do with me.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice rising. He was trying to follow her words, but the moment she had started ranting at him, he hadn’t been able to think. It didn't seem to matter what she was saying when she griped at him. Lord in heaven, there was something wrong with him if he was getting this aroused by a woman who was yelling at him like a fish wife.

"I understand I have something lacking in my..." she made a motion to her body. She was making no sense at all to him.

"I've no idea what you are talking about,
still
."

"Then you are being deliberately obtuse. Do you mean to tell me that when you kissed me last night, you were attracted?"

He couldn't help be continue to stare at her. "Did you think I was faking my arousal?"

She glanced away, apparently embarrassed by the subject. The blush that tinged her delicate skin deepened the mystery around her. She'd been married, but she acted like a virgin. It was an oddly attractive combination.

"Well, of course. Most men when they...do get aroused, when they, you know."

She was embarrassed, yes, but there was something else. Something that ate at him. But he couldn't allow her any purchase. Not when she had been kissing him like a temptress the night before.

"No, I don't. Why don't you tell me?"

Her gaze flew up to his. "Men don't take much to be aroused. But, it doesn't always mean they want that particular woman."

He stared at her. She was smart…brilliant. The background check they had done had told him exactly how intelligent she was. Because of that, what she was saying was just absurd.

“You really believe that I would kiss you like that, be that aroused, and it has nothing to do with you?”

She glanced away. “I understand, and you don’t have to spend time trying to convince me otherwise.”

"You have got to be the stupidest smart person I know.”

Her spine straightened, and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. It was then that he realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Holy mother of God.
She wasn’t making this easy for him. Hell, he was always half-aroused whenever he was near her. Knowing she was standing there, and was so very close to naked, had his body reacting. His fingers itched to touch.

"I do not have to take this. I understand only too well what was going on last night and your arousal wasn't...real."

"Well, for your information, it
was
real, I was aroused, and dammit, I am now."

She was a mixture of innocence and temptress, and it was eating him up. He strode toward her, his body humming with the need to take, to conquer, to touch.

Her eyes widened as he approached, and she took a step back. Holding out her hand, she said, "No. Wait."

"I've been waiting forever, lass. I’m no’ in the mood to wait anymore."

He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her against him. Her gasp filled the air between them. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but he did the one thing he knew would shut her up. He bent his head and took her mouth in a hot, open-mouthed kiss.

Just as the night before, he lost himself in her. She wasn't the most experienced of kissers, he could tell. She hesitated, as if unsure of what to do. As if she didn’t understand the concept of kissing. But after a little bit of resistance, she softened against him. The moment he felt her tongue slide against his, he groaned and slanted his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. He slid his hands down her spine and to her ass. She pressed her body against him and slipped her hands up over his shoulders and then tangled them in his hair.

He knew that it was bloody stupid to do this. But every bit of resistance dissolved the moment she moaned. The raw, needy sound sunk into his soul, pulling a long-lost primal instinct to the surface. Everything in him urged him to take, and take he did. He walked her back until they fell against the massive bed.

Something was telling him to stop—probably his good sense. But he didn't. He couldn't. This need had been burning in his gut for days. It clawed at him night and day. She tasted just as she had the night before. Enticing, thrilling…alluring. Good God, passion exploded between them, and he knew there was a good chance he might go up in flames before this was over.

He pulled away enough to look down at her. She frowned and opened her eyes. The look almost had him laughing. Her lips were bruised, her face flush, and her hair a tangled mass against the comforter of the bed.

She looked like a disgruntled angel who had just been denied a treat.

He gave her a quick kiss, the pulled back, and she was still frowning.

"Don't tell me you're going to stop again."

She sounded ready to challenge him to a duel if she thought he would walk away.

"Not on your life, lass."

She smiled as he slipped his fingers under the edge of her pajama top and pulled it up and over her head. She gasped again, and he could see that she was moving to cover her breasts.

He grabbed her hands and held her still.

“Holy Mother in Heaven.” He muttered the words as he released her arm and skimmed the back of his knuckles over the delicate skin. It was so pale. He could see her veins beneath the surface. Her breasts were full, bottom heavy, and tipped with the most beautiful pink nipples. Her flesh was so pure she looked like she was made of fine porcelain. She shivered against his touch. Without a word, he bent his head and took a nipple into his mouth. Immediately she responded. Her moan was long and loud. He would have smiled if it hadn't affected him so much. The sound ratcheted up his arousal one more notch and made his cock unbelievably hard. At this rate, he might not make it to completion. Hell, he wanted her so bad, he was afraid he might not be able to get his pants off before he embarrassed himself.

Even so, he took his time, teasing first one nipple, then another. Just like the woman, they responded immediately, tightening into small little buds. He slid down her body, kissing and nipping at her skin as he went. She tasted of cinnamon and sin. How did a woman get her skin to be so scrumptious? He didn’t know. It had to be some kind of magic that had been concocted by a witch. It was as if she was some treat baked up just for him. At the moment, he didn't give a damn. As he reached her tummy, he slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms and tugged them down along with her panties. He didn't hesitate. He continued kissing her, moving down to her sex, enjoying the way her entire body shivered the closer he got. He kissed his way down, teasing her, nipping at the delicate skin of her thighs. Never in all his life had he had a woman so perfectly put together as she was. Not skin and bones like so many of the women he knew today. No, this woman was generous curves and silky skin. Anticipation rushed through him but he tried to fight it. He wanted her, wanted nothing else then to feel the tight, hot clasp of her body

Inch by inch, he moved closer to her sex. He settled between her legs then closed his eyes and took a huge breath. Lord, she smelled divine. She was already aroused, of course. Her musky scent wrapped around him and pulled at every one of his senses.

"Callum." He heard her worry but he ignored it. For a woman who had been married, she was apparently not that experienced in bed, or acted that way. She wasn't telling him to stop, but instead embarrassment colored her voice. It was as if she had never been in this position before. She was so responsive that her husband had to have been an idiot.

He slipped his hand under her ass and raised her to his mouth. The first taste of her danced over his taste buds and sent another wave of need crashing through him. Over and over he sampled her. Knowing that her arousal was for him and only him touched something in his soul. He growled against her, not slowing down the assault. Over and over he pushed her until she was panting in pleasure, writhing against him, moaning his name over and over. He took her clit into his mouth and sucked. That was all it took.

"Callum!"

Her voice echoed through her bed chamber, and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. Excitement and surprise filled her tone, and he couldn't help the satisfied smile that curved his lips. She shivered and then convulsed as her orgasm took over. Just knowing that, knowing what she looked like when she came, had his entire body ready to take.

Callum needed her now, needed to feel the tight clasp of her body. He settled her down on the mattress and then tore at his clothes. He leaned down, but she stopped him. She sat up and boldly wrapped her hand around his cock. As her delicate fingers worked over his fevered flesh, he had to fight his growing need for release. She pulled one drop of pre-come out of him.

"Lass, I'd be careful if I were you. You might just get more than you expected if you keep doing that."

She looked up at him with a smile, and the breath clogged back up in his lungs. She sat on the bed, looking thoroughly debauched and smiling up at him as if she knew all his secrets. If he could speak, he would probably tell her what he was feeling. At least, if he knew what that was. Never before had he felt this connection with a woman—and that was saying a lot considering his life.

He pushed that thought aside and eased her back on the bed. She released him as he covered her body. He used almost no delicacy when he lifted her hips and thrust into her. She gasped at the intrusion, and he wanted to apologize, but he couldn't. In his mind, all he needed was completion. And lord help him, her muscles clenched over his cock, and he couldn't think. He started moving, and she came along with him. Every thrust pushed them both closer to completion. He wanted to hold back, to draw out the pleasure. He had been waiting for what seemed like a lifetime. Even knowing that, he couldn't. He needed his release. It had been building up for days now, and he could barely keep himself in check. Soon, she was approaching another orgasm. He could feel it in the way she moved. Then she exploded, her body convulsing with another release. He could no longer hold back. Instead, he thrust one last time, those tiny inner muscles of hers rippling over his cock, and he gave into his need.

He groaned her name as he came, the tight clasp of her body holding him tight as he poured himself into her.

Long moments later, he collapsed on top of her. He knew he should be a gentleman and apologize, but at the time, he felt too bloody good.

"I don't think I can move," he said.

She slipped her arms around him and gave him a hug.

"I don't believe I asked you to."

He rose to his elbows and looked down at her. God, she was beautiful. In the soft light, she looked like a sex goddess, flushed with satisfaction. He knew he had been a bit rough at the end, with little to no finesse, and he regretted that. In the morning, he was sure he would regret a whole lot more, but he couldn't right at the moment. He felt a tug at his heart and ruthlessly ignored it. This was about basic needs and nothing else.

He bent his head and kissed her. Sweet, slowly, and really not at all sexy.