I'm about to knock again when a shadow falls over the peephole. She must be checking to see who's out here.
"Calli?" I call through the door. "Are you there?"
At last, the door swings open.
I smile. "Glad you're home. I tried to call first, but you didn't answer."
She winces and slaps her forehead. "Fudge. I forgot to recharge my phone last night. It's probably out of juice."
"Fudge?" I repeat with a laugh. "Never heard anyone say that as a curse before."
"I admit it's not as colorful as the devil's penis, but it works for me." She waves for me to enter while she trots to the kitchen bar to dig her mobile out of her purse and plug it into the wall socket there.
"That's what I love about you," I say, shutting the door. "You're not like anyone else on earth."
"Yep, that's me. A weirdo."
Two furry wee bodies erupt from the other side of the sofa, bounding over its back to crash-land on the floor. They rocket toward me. I kneel to embrace the puppies and babble rubbish to them the way anyone who loves dogs will do. They lick my face and hop up and down, panting and furiously wagging their wee tails. I've never seen puppies the color of these two, with their brown-spotted golden coats. They are almost as beautiful as their mistress.
Calli ambles over to us, smiling and shaking her head. She folds her arms over her chest. "Better watch it. They'll decide they want to go home with you."
"What are their names?"
"Misty and Mandy. They're sisters. Littermates, which means they were born at the same time from the same mother. Misty is the bigger one."
I straighten, but Misty leaps up to slam her big paws onto my stomach. I scratch behind her ears, then gently push her away. The puppies hop back and forth in front of me, panting and wagging their tails. As much as I love dogs, I came here to see their mistress, so I turn to Calli. Misty and Mandy seem to realize it's time for the adults to talk, and they bolt out through the puppy-size plastic flap set into the rear wall beside the sliding glass doors.
"Don't be jealous," I say to Calli, moving closer to curve a hand over her elbow. "The puppies are sweet, but I came for you."
"When did you do that?"
Is she flirting with me? Aye, she definitely is. The sultry tone of her teasing question confirms it.
"When did I come for you?" I say as I glide my hand up her arm, exposed by her short-sleeve T-shirt. "Last night. This morning. More often than I should probably admit to."
Her hand floats up to her throat. "Was it good for you?"
I skate my fingers higher up her arm, sneaking them beneath the sleeve of her T-shirt. "The best I've ever had."
"Guess you don't need the real me. But for the sake of total honesty, I was thinking about you right before you knocked on the door."
"Thinking?" I move my hands to her waist, tugging her closer. "Please tell me they were salacious thoughts."
"Very." She bends her head back, and our gazes collide. When I lean in, she fans her palms over my chest, swirling them in lazy circles. "If I hadn't been interrupted, I might've come for you."
Bod an Donais. Is she trying to get me hard? Whether she intends to or not, it's happening.
My breathing grows heavier with every inhalation, and I clamp my teeth together to stop myself from tearing her clothes off right now. Tugging her hips into me, I speak in a huskier voice. "Is iomadh rud a nì dithis dheònach."
"What does it mean?"
"Two willing people can do many things together." I slide my hands down to her buttocks, dipping my head until our lips nearly touch. "Youfannadhfor me, Ifannadhfor you. If we're both willing, why donnae ye let me show ye all the things I can do to ye? Ye'll stay a virgin, technically. But I have to touch ye, to feel your slick littlebrilleanwhile I make ye come for me."
She clutches fistfuls of my shirt, all but panting with need. "I only understood half of what you said, but it sounds…good."
I glide my tongue over her bottom lip, and my voice turns gravelly. Cannae stop myself from sounding like a ravenous beast, not with myslatrock hard and the scent of her lust inundating my senses. "Fannadhmeans masturbate andbrilleanmeans clitoris. The rest I think you understand. Let me show you."
Chapter Ten