The balance of the day raced past as Josh worked to get up-to-date on the time he’d missed in the office. He fired commands at Callie like an army general and she earned every cent of her high-priced salary before she finally gathered her things and headed for home.
Heady anticipation saw her race through a shower and, once it was dry, twist her hair up in a loose knot on top of her head. Even as she reapplied her makeup, tendrils glided down to frame her face. She shivered a little at each tiny caress, wondering what it would be like to feel Josh’s lips, or the trace of his fingers, along her neck.
She studied her reflection in the mirror. Already her cheeks carried the soft flush of desire and her eyes gleamed with a need she’d always been able to keep firmly under control before.
A quick glance at her bedside clock reminded her to get her act together and stop daydreaming. She quickly slipped on a pair of black lace panties. The tiny diamantés, sprinkled on the lace, flashed in the overhead light, bringing a smile to her lips. Always a magpie, one way or another, she conceded. After so many years of deprivation Callie unashamedly loved pretty things.
And when it came to pretty, she considered long and hard about the dress she was going to wear tonight. Unsure of where Josh was taking her for their meal, she chose a black halter-neck dress with a chiffon overlayer that floated to just above her knees. The deep V neckline made it impossible to wear a bra and as she gathered the ties into a knot at her nape, she wondered if she should have chosen something a little less obvious.
The summons of her doorbell made that thought redundant. She had no time to change now. She slid her feet into black-and-silver Prada sandals and raced from her room.
Callie’s heart hammered in her chest as she opened the door. Her hungry eyes consumed him as Josh filled the entrance. He was dressed all in black, from the handmade loafers on his feet to the open-necked shirt that clung to his broad shoulders like a lover’s caress.
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.
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.
There’d be no faking with Callie. He’d know with every sigh, every shudder, every heated flush over her skin, exactly what she was feeling and how much she liked it. The thought was intoxicating, far more so than the excellent champagne.
It was time to turn down the heat a little, though, he decided and he turned to general conversation to offer some respite to the cacophony of need that threatened to derail his legendary cool.
“You were a bit nervous on the flight out. Is flying a problem for you?” he probed as she took a sip from her glass.
He watched as she slowly replaced her glass on the table, noted how the sun gilded the light sheen of moisture on her lips. So much for turning down the heat. He fought with the urge to lean across and trace that shimmer with the tip of his tongue and then to delve into the moist heat of her mouth and find out how she tasted with the hint of vintage champagne on her tongue. It would be so easy.
“I’ve never been a relaxed flyer. No real fear, but just that sense of not being in control. That unnerves me.”
“You don’t trust easily?”
Josh reached out and took one of her hands in his, and lightly stroked his thumb across the inside of her wrist. Her pulse responded beneath his touch with a sudden flutter.
“No.”
She pulled away from his touch, ostensibly to help herself to another canapé but he knew it was to distance herself from his question. And what she didn’t say intrigued him.
“But you did trust the Palmers?”
Her eyes sharpened. “Why do you ask that?”
“Well, you spent time in one of Irene’s homes and you’ve worked for them ever since. That implies a certain level of trust.”
“No, not at all. Do you trust me?”
“Should I?” she hedged, meeting his gaze briefly before her eyes flitted away again.
Josh let one side of his mouth draw up in a half smile. “What’s not to trust?”
“What, indeed? Maybe I should ask the same of you? Do you trust me?”
“Would I have hired you if I didn’t? Don’t worry, Callie, I trust you.”
Her eyes flew back to his. Silently he cursed himself for letting the mood of the evening grow too clinical. General conversation was one thing, but right now he preferred the loaded atmosphere that had undulated between them. An atmosphere heavy with promise, one he intended to deliver on.
“Dance with me,” he commanded, rising to his feet and offering his hand.
“Is that what’s necessary right now?” Callie parried, even as she lay her hand in his.
“Oh, yes, it’s absolutely necessary.” Josh smiled in return. “What would a beautiful evening, out on the water like this, be if we didn’t make the most of every second?”
He drew her close against his body. He was more than semi-aroused, a state he’d grown used to in her proximity, and he wasn’t afraid for her to know it. He sensed the moment she recognised his desire for her, and felt her stiffen in his arms before relaxing once more. As their steps moved in perfect synchronicity across the deck, he made sure she understood that this dance was only the beginning of what they would achieve together tonight.
Her breasts brushed against his chest—their movement confirming his suspicion that she wore no bra. It was all he could do to restrain himself from undoing the knot of fabric at her nape and letting the pieces drop to expose her to his sight, his touch.
The light spice of her fragrance teased his nostrils. It was a headier perfume than the one she wore in the office, which was so light it was a mere hint of femininity. But this perfume, it spoke of so much more.
Josh bent his head and inhaled her scent more deeply, letting his lips graze across the curve of her neck where it met her deliciously bare shoulders. Callie trembled at his touch, but he knew it was not in fear. The tips of her breasts hardened against his shirt. The knowledge that only two layers of fabric separated their skin was both a torment and a thrill.
He traced the cord of her neck with the tip of his tongue, punctuating its track with small kisses. Fire roared in his veins as she moaned with pleasure, and he captured the sound with his mouth, his lips closing over hers, his tongue gently caressing the soft membrane within with intimate care.
He was rock hard, his body now trembling with suppressed need. With one kiss she drove him to the brink as no woman had ever done before. He wanted her with a passion that bordered on compulsive. He dragged his lips from her mouth and rested his forehead against hers.
“How hungry are you?” he asked, his voice little more than a growl.
“For dinner?” Callie replied, a tiny hitch in her voice. She shook her head ever so slightly. “Not very.”
“For me?”
“Starving.”