“Yeah, right. Did you already forget about my run-in with Sara?”
He forced her to turn around. “Sara has been burned by people in the past, so she has some trust issues. She’ll come around. Just give her some more time.” After dropping a quick kiss on her frowning lips, he continued, “Now, no more talk about Sara. I can think of many other more enjoyable things we can be doing.”
Moving slightly, he placed a trail of kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Joy bubbled up inside her and all thoughts of Sara Sherbrooke left her. “I thought you were hungry,” she asked, sounding slightly breathless.
Dylan stopped kissing her long enough to yank her shirt over her head and toss it on the floor. “I am. For you.” He pulled the elastic out of her hair, causing her hair to cascade down her back. “I’ve missed you.”
He didn’t give her a chance to respond. Once again, his lips settled over hers, sending every coherent thought into outer space. As
his lips slanted over hers again and again, Callie melted against him and held on tight for the ride. Her entire body pulsed with desire, with expectation. Finally, when she thought she could no longer take it, Dylan picked her up, cradling her lovingly against his chest, and carried her back to his bedroom.
He had no desire to move and disturb the woman sleeping in his arms, but if he didn’t get up soon and get them something to eat, his growling stomach would wake her anyway. Carefully, Dylan untangled himself and pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt.
After ordering from his favorite Thai restaurant, he selected a wine from the rack. Opening the bottle, he poured himself a glass and gazed down at the street below. Since the food wouldn’t be there for another thirty minutes or so, he figured he would let Callie sleep. When she’d gotten off the train, she looked exhausted.
He knew from their phone calls that she’d been busy all week. The students’ last day had been Wednesday and her final day of school had been Thursday. Then she’d immediately started her summer job earlier that morning. They’d spoken almost every day that week. He never spoke with anyone that much unless it related to business. Still, it hadn’t been enough. Every night, he found himself thinking about her. Wanting her by his side and in his bed. When he’d seen her step off the train, his first instinct was to pull her into his arms and kiss her, then lock them both in his apartment for the entire weekend.
So far, he’d only done two of the three. The jury was still out on the last one. Would anyone really notice if they didn’t emerge from his apartment this weekend? These political fundraisers were hectic. Perhaps Warren would think he’d just not seen her there among everyone else.
Fat chance of that, Talbot. Accept it. He was just going to have to share her this weekend. At least for a little while. Tomorrow night, he had every intention of getting them as much alone time as possible. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it up to Massachusetts at all next week. This weekend might have to hold him over for a while. Maybe he could convince her to come back to the city next Friday after work. They might not get a lot of time together during the day on Saturday. He had a business lunch he couldn’t get out of that day. They’d have the nights together, though, and most of Sunday. If he could convince her to take his private plane instead of the ridiculous train, they would have even more time together.
It was a definite possibility. Something he really liked the idea of. For someone who doesn’t do emotional relationships, you’re getting yourself pretty damn entangled.
“I’ve got everything under control.” Dylan spoke the words aloud as if they would help convince him it was true. In the deep recesses of his mind and heart though, he knew that was the furthest thing from the truth. Somewhere along the line, he’d entered uncharted waters despite his best intentions.
Dylan took another sip of wine with his thoughts turning to what his family might be thinking. They knew Callie was staying with him that weekend. They also knew he was escorting her to the fundraiser tomorrow night. His mum already knew about his agreement with Phillips. She’d been all for it. He got the feeling she also knew their relationship had crossed into intimate territory. She hadn’t come right out and said it, but she dropped several hints. Warren, though, seemed oblivious to the possibility.
Was that because his stepfather was so distracted by the campaign? Or did Warren trust him so implicitly that he assumed Dylan would never fool around with his daughter? Dylan just didn’t know.
Warren wasn’t one to lose his cool. Perhaps that was why he made such a good politician. He could hide his true emotions whenever he wanted. Dylan could only recall a handful of times when his stepfather had become visibly irate.
“How’s he going to react if he finds out?” Warren knew exactly how Dylan approached relationships these days. Most likely he would not be pleased. “I’m not going to do anything differently, so why worry about it,” he muttered before taking another sip of wine.
Dylan was still staring out the window twenty minutes later when he heard Callie enter the room. Turning to watch her, an unfamiliar feeling of contentment settled over him. Having her here in his apartment just felt natural. Reaching for her hand, he tugged her close. “Have a nice nap?”
Callie nodded. “You should have woken me,” she replied just before yawning.
“Obviously you needed the rest,” he pointed out, laughing. “Besides, I plan on keeping you up tonight, so I figured letting you sleep now was in my best interest.”
She blushed at his comment, and he couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her. Dylan forced himself to pull away before they ended up in his bedroom again.
Damn. He’d only intended a quick kiss. Yet once again, he got carried away. It happened so easily with her. It wasn’t something he was used to. He always remained in control, no matter who he was with. Yet with Callie, all his control went not only out the window but down the street to the next block, and Dylan kept forcing himself to not think about why.
“Dinner is on its way.” He moved further away, putting a little more space between them. “I opened some wine. Would you like some?”
“Sure.” Callie walked closer to the windows, which stretched from the ceiling to the floor.
With her back toward him, Dylan couldn’t tell what was on her mind. Was she thinking about him? Her surroundings? Her father? The fundraiser? Whatever it was, he wanted to know.
“You have a spectacular view from here.”
Dylan thought he had the best view, and it had nothing to do with the view outside. “I sure do,” he agreed, his tone letting her know he wasn’t talking about the city below.
Handing her a glass of wine, he asked, “Are you looking forward to tomorrow night?”
Callie sighed very softly. In fact, if he hadn’t been so focused on her, he probably would’ve missed it.
“Yes... I guess so.” She nibbled slightly on her bottom lip, which Dylan knew either meant she was deep in thought or nervous.