The Teacher's Billionaire (6 page)

The young woman had been flirting with him since they’d been seated, but so far he hadn’t reciprocated. Callie didn’t know if that was because he truly wasn’t interested or because she was there and he wanted to be polite. Either way she appreciated it. How embarrassing it would be to have him flirting back with her sitting right there.

Though she couldn’t fault the woman, Callie wanted to throttle her every time she smiled seductively in Dylan’s direction. It wasn’t that she was jealous or anything. She had no reason to be jealous. This wasn't even a date. Although the waitress had no way of knowing that. Did the waitress think she was too unattractive to be on a date with someone like Dylan Talbot?
What do you care?

Instead it was a matter of proper behavior. Having worked as a waitress in college, she knew what most restaurants considered proper behavior. Many restaurant managers considered flirting with customers a no-no. Although many women still did it often in the hopes of getting a better tip.

“
I’m all set tonight. What about you, Callie?” His voice pulled her thoughts away from how a waitress should act and back to reality.

While the white chocolate mousse on the tray looked delicious, she didn’t think she could spend any more time watching the waitress flirt with Dylan. After all a woman could only take so much. Callie shook her head and smiled. “Couldn’t eat another bite tonight.”

With obvious disappointment that her prey for the evening intended to leave, the pretty blond accepted Dylan's credit card and left.

“
Let me pay half.” Callie wasn't comfortable with him covering the whole meal. After all, it wasn't a date. Not even close.

Dylan pushed away the money she offered him. “Don't even think about it.”

“
But...”

“
But nothing. You're a guest down here this weekend.”

Callie wasn't deterred by his argument. “Still it's not...” she almost said date when their waitress returned with Dylan's card. Quickly he signed the receipt and came to his feet ready to leave.

“
Don't argue with me. You won't win.”

A little annoyed, she let the matter go and stood when he pulled her chair back. She really wasn't comfortable with him paying for her. But his clenched jaw told her any further argument would be useless.

With his hand on the small of her back, Dylan guided her through the crowded restaurant. The heat emanating from his large hand seeped through the light sundress she wore, nearly scorching her skin.

She wanted to quicken her pace and dislodge his hand. At the same time she wanted to lean into it. Lean into him. The powerful sensations his innocent touch sent through her body were exquisite. Callie hadn’t felt this physically drawn to a man in a long time.

That fact scared her.

No, correction, it out right terrified her.

She couldn’t be attracted to this man. Only heart ache could come from such an attraction to a man like him.

You’re not attracted to him. He’s only affecting you this way because your emotions are already on overload and because you’ve been single for so long.

She'd let her social life become nonexistent when her mom was ill. Since her mom's death she hadn't felt up to dating.
When she got home, she’d make an effort to date more, Callie promised herself as he opened the car door for her. Maybe she would even join that online dating site Lauren kept telling her about.

Once they were both settled, the Aston Martin's powerful engine roared to life but remained idling in the parking lot. Dylan turned his body so that he faced her. “How does a drive by the water sound? There’s a great cafe near First Beach that we could stop at for coffee.”

Lord, it’s warm in here.

She wasn’t sure if it was the confines of the small sports car or not, but suddenly Dylan seemed bigger, more masculine than before. If that was even possible.

“
Or if you like jazz, there’s a great Jazz Club on Thames Street.”

Uncomfortable under his direct gaze, Callie shifted nervously. The sound of her sundress moving against the leather seat seemed unusually loud in the silent car.

For the life of her, she couldn’t understand why he wanted to prolong their time together. Although she hadn’t thought it necessary, she understood why he’d taken her to dinner. He felt obligated because of his association with her father. With dinner over he’d completed his duty as a host. There was no reason for them to spend anymore time together.

Have I grown a second head?
Dylan couldn't read the expression on Callie’s face. Since proposing ways to continue their outing, Dylan refused to think of this as a date, she’d sat staring at him with the most unusual look on her face. He didn’t know what to call the expression exactly. To some extent it bordered on confusion, but at the same time there were elements of excitement and fear.

The splash of fear confused him the most. Fear was an emotion women never exhibited around him. At least not the women he usually took out. Perhaps a few business executives feared him. He could be ruthless in a boardroom when the need arose. But women tended to look at him with expectation. The expectation of an expensive gift. Or the expectation of a great night of sex.

“
If there’s something else you’d like to do just say the word.” He couldn’t stand the silence or her unreadable expression any longer.

If she doesn’t like my ideas let her come up with some.

Even as the thought passed through his mind, Dylan knew there was more to her silence than the fact that she didn’t like his suggestions. In the deep recesses of his mind, he knew her silence had something to do with him personally. In the same tiny corner of his brain, he also knew that his efforts to spend time with her had nothing to do with playing host until his stepfather arrived. And definitely nothing to do with determining if she had a hidden agenda where Warren was concerned.

Callie moistened her lips, and Dylan couldn’t help but follow the tip of her tongue with his eyes. He’d seen women of all ages do exactly the same thing. Yet it’d never aroused him before. When she did it though, he found himself wanting to run his own tongue along her lips. Taste her. See if any hints of the Merlot she had with dinner lingered.

“
Thank you for dinner, Mr. Talbot. It was very nice, but you can just take me back to my motel now.”

Though she hadn’t said it, he knew Callie was telling him that she didn’t expect or need him to entertain her.

You must be losing your touch old man.

Dylan couldn’t recall ever meeting a woman more reluctant to spend time with him. Then again it was probably better if she kept her distance. After all, he wasn't looking for a relationship.
You're merely playing host in Warren's absence
. A pang of guilt jabbed him swift and hard at the thought of Warren quickly dousing the desire he'd felt seconds earlier. This was his stepfather's daughter. Under no circumstances should he be feeling anything toward her.

“
If that’s what you want.” He shifted the car into first gear and eased the car out of its parking spot. He wasn’t going to try to change her mind on this one. He doubted he could anyway. Just look how much effort it took to get her down to Newport in the first place.

Chapter 4

The sand was warm against the back of her thighs as Dylan slowly trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck. Without warning he sat up, yanked her shirt up and over her head. His own shirt followed. “You're beautiful,” he whispered before covering her body with his.

Water tickled their feet as Dylan kissed her. Before she realized it he managed to finish undressing them both. The fact that they were outside completely naked about to make love should have bothered her but it didn't. Instead she eagerly anticipated the joining of their bodies.

The lyrics of her favorite Bon Jovi song, Bad Medicine, jarred Callie awake. Reaching for the cell phone she switched off the alarm. “Eight o'clock already,” she groaned. Normally, she would consider eight late, but she had trouble sleeping the night before. Instead of falling asleep right away, as she usually did, she stared at the ceiling for hours thinking about Dylan. She just couldn’t figure him out. When she’d finally fallen asleep, he’d invaded all of her dreams. She could feel herself blushing just thinking about the one she'd just woken up from.

Despite the late start, she wasn’t going to waste the day in some motel room. According to the weather forecast, it was going to be beautiful. A perfect day for sightseeing and reading on the beach. Unfortunately the water would still be a little to cold for a swim, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the view. If her father should feel well enough to fly, it'd be easy enough to change her plans and shoot over to Cliff House.

Armed with everything she’d need to spend time outdoors, Callie closed her motel room door behind her and headed toward her car. Popping open the trunk, she tossed in her bag and started to close it when she heard someone call out her name. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Though they hadn’t spent that much time in each others company, his voice with its sexy English accent was permanently stored in her memory.

Waving to acknowledge that she’d heard him, Callie leaned against her car her arms by her sides and watched Dylan approach. He moved with an athletic grace and carried himself in such a way that told the world he was confident and sure. Watching him approach made her pulse flutter.

Annoyed by her body’s reaction to him, Callie silently cursed herself for sleeping late. If she’d left even just a few minutes sooner, she would’ve been able to avoid seeing him this morning.

For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why he was there. If her father arrived at Cliff House, a phone call would’ve been sufficient. She’d given him her cell phone number for that very reason.

Had he lost her number and come to tell her Warren had arrived? Although possible, it didn’t make a lot of sense. He knew where she was staying and could have gotten in contact with her through the motel's front desk.

Maybe he'd been on his way out of town and stopped by to tell her Warren wasn't going to make it this weekend because he still didn't feel well enough to travel. It was a reasonable explanation, Callie thought. It was a polite gesture. And so far Dylan Talbot had acted the part of the polite gentleman. If that was the case she would spend her day sightseeing and leave first thing in the morning. It didn't make sense to leave immediately just because things had not gone as planned.

Perhaps it was for the best if Warren wasn't going to make it this weekend. Now that she was here, Callie didn't know if she wanted to meet her father and the rest of his family just yet; especially if they were anything like Sara. Some extra time to consider things would be nice. She had felt a little pressured into this meeting in the first place.

But if you had to be pressured into anything having Dylan Talbot do the pressing certainly made it easier. He really was a sight to behold.

Back to Earth, Callie Taylor. He's only here because of Warren. If it wasn't for that connection, he'd never look twice at you. Don't forget that.

Unexpected desire ripped through Dylan’s body as he approached Callie. Instantly, an image of her sprawled out beneath him on the beach sprang to mind.

Back it up there old boy. This is Warren's daughter, remember.

Dylan slowed his pace and reined in his thoughts. Stay focused, he reminded himself. My job is to keep her company until Warren arrives. That doesn't require getting naked and horizontal.

It would hopefully only be another day until his mother and Warren arrived. Once they got there he could minimize the amount of time he spent with Callie. If he wanted to, he could arrange it so that they were never in each others company again. That way he wouldn't have to deal with this inconvenient desire that continued to plague him.

Assuming things did work out and she saw her father on a regular basis, Dylan didn’t need to be around. While he did try to see his family regularly, it would be simple enough to make certain that his visits didn’t coincide with Callie’s.

Oddly, he didn’t like the thought of not seeing Callie again after this weekend. Now wasn’t the time to be wondering why though. Right now he had a job to do, play host again in Warren's absence.

“
Warren called this morning. He said the doctors will let him fly tomorrow so he and my mother should be here in the morning,” Dylan said after they exchanged greetings. “So I thought you might like to do some sightseeing today.”

“
It’s on my list of things to do,” she replied, her voice friendly.

Before leaving Cliff House he’d mentally mapped out an entire itinerary for their day. He liked to be prepared. Yet if she wanted to see something specific, things could be changed. “Good. I thought we could head over to Fort Adams first. Then stop at the Old Stone Mill before lunch if there’s time.” She mentioned during dinner how much she loved history, so he made sure to add some historical landmarks to their day.

Callie’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “We? Mr. Talbot you don’t need to escort me around. I'm a big girl. I’ll be fine on my own.”