Secrets of the Playboy's Bride(16)

"She's a little more independent than you expected, isn't she?" George asked, glancing in the mirror.

"Yes, she is," Leo answered, unable to keep the irritation from his tone.

"If you'd wanted a tamer kitten from the litter, you shouldn't have  chosen one with claws," George said. "She doesn't strike me as the type  to take orders unless she sees a good reason for them."

Leo frowned. "Maybe."

"Odd that she won't quit her job. She's either very independent … " George said and paused a long moment.

"Or what?"

"Or she isn't sure the marriage is going to last."

The statement jarred Leo. He'd thought the prenup would hold her. "What the-"

"Just a thought. I could be wrong," George said as he pulled in front of the condo.

"Good night, George. Pleasant dreams," he said in a dry tone and got out of the car.

"You too," George called cheerfully.

Leo took the elevator to the penthouse and stepped inside. He stopped,  listening for any signs of Calista. His housekeeper, Brenda, approached  him. "Welcome home, sir. May I get something for you? A drink? Something  to eat?"

He shook his head. "No thank you. Have you seen my wife?"

"Yes, sir. She came in about twenty minutes ago and went straight to the exercise room."

"Thank you, Brenda," he said and decided to fix his own drink. He went  to his study and poured himself a scotch. Ditching his tie, he sat down  and checked the overnight stock markets for a few minutes. He glanced at  the clock and decided to head for the exercise room.

Opening the door, he spotted her running on the treadmill. She was  moving at a fast pace and perspiration glistened on her arms and back.  It wasn't at all unattractive to him. The way she ran reminded him of a  cheetah in the jungle. She would be difficult for even the smartest,  strongest predator to catch.

Seconds passed and she slowed. Gradually, she slid into a cooldown walk.  Leo leaned against the wall and waited until she stepped off the  treadmill and pulled out her earphones. She turned and her gaze landed  on his, her green eyes widening in surprise before a twinge of anger  came and went so quickly he wondered if he imagined it.

"Looked like a good run," he said. "Was it?"                       
       
           



       

She nodded. "Good stress reliever," she said and picked up a small dumbbell.

"Stressful day?" he ventured, walking forward, wondering why in hell he  hadn't insisted she join him in his bed since they'd returned from  Japan.

"Still catching up from my time away."

"Did you get a message from my assistant?"

She wrinkled her brow. "I'm not sure. I got some sort of spam, so I  decided to turn off my phone until I could contact my carrier about it."

"Spam?" he echoed, confused.

"It must have been. Some random guy I'd never met gave me all these dates and times I was supposed to make appearances."

He studied her for a long moment, but her eyes were wide with innocence.  He cleared his throat. "Was the message from Samuel Miles?"

She frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she said. "It was so ridiculous I just dismissed it as spam."

Leo felt another surge of something stronger than irritation. "What was so ridiculous about it?"

She chuckled. "Oh, really. Think about it. If my husband wanted me to  attend an event with him, he wouldn't send a message from his assistant.  For one thing, it's incredibly impersonal. Plus the message wasn't a  request. It was an order. Now that's insulting. And I just can't believe  my husband would do something so incredibly ridiculous."

He was peeved and inexplicably amused at the same time. Her eyes batted  in exaggerated innocence and he felt his lips twitch. "Point taken."

She met his gaze and took a deep breath. "Just so you know, I blocked his number."

"Whose number?" Leo asked.

"The person who sent me the spam," she said and lifted her chin. "I'm not your employee. I'm your wife."

He nodded. "In that case, wife, I'll expect you to join your husband in his bed tonight."

Her gaze flickered and she opened her mouth, but he spoke before she had a chance.

"Isn't that what husbands and wives do?" he challenged.





The next morning, Calista awakened after a night where Leo had pushed  her to unbelievable sexual heights. She felt stretched and sore and  amazing. Calista realized she'd never had a clue what sexual  satisfaction meant before Leo. She wondered if he knew that, too. She  glanced at the clock and dragged herself from Leo's huge bed. He, of  course, had left a long time ago.Stepping into the shower, she let the  water spray over her, washing away her soreness and worries. When Leo  made love to her, he took more than her body. He captured a bit of her  mind, maybe even her soul. If she had one.

Rubbing herself dry with the Egyptian cotton towels, she returned to the  bedroom and saw an envelope with her name on it propped on the bed. She  picked it up, opened it and read it.



Would you meet me for lunch today? I have a charity obligation on  Thursday and your presence would make it much more bearable. As it would  for my obligation on Friday night.

He gave her his BlackBerry number. His request was infinitely more  personal. Her heart twisted.She typed her response. "Yes, yes and yes."

Hours later, she sat down to lunch with him at one of Philadelphia's  most exclusive gourmet restaurants. "Thank you for meeting me," he said.

"Thank you," she said and took a sip of water from the glass that had  already been poured. She looked at him, the man who had owned and  occupied her body last night. "How's it going?"

"Could be worse," he said. "We got the Japanese account. I'm sure it's because of you."

"Not sure about that. Mrs. Kihoto made it easy. All I had to do was get naked in front of a group of Japanese ladies."

"Funny. Despite Mr. Kihoto's extracurricular activities, he respects his wife's opinion."

"Or maybe he just realized what a great deal you were offering," she said.

He flicked his gaze over her. "Maybe. What would you like for lunch? Anything is yours."

"Fish," she said. "I need all the brain food I can get. Especially after last night."

His lips lifted. "You flatter me."

"Not really," she said. "I just need to keep my mental energy going."

"Okay, salmon it is," he said.

Mere moments later, the waiter arrived with their lunch. Calista dug in,  enjoying her seafood and focusing on her own meal rather than Leo. She  needed her strength, her acuity. Heaven help her, she hoped the food  would supply it.

She sipped from her water glass, refusing wine. "That was delicious."

"Yes, it was," Leo said, clicking his water glass against hers. "Would you like to go to the lake house this weekend?" he asked.                       
       
           



       

"I have to visit my sisters," she said.

"Bring them with you," he offered.

"Have you met them? I love them, but my sisters can be a royal pain," she said.

"So can you," he said, his eyes hooded with sensuality.

"Okay," she said. "But I've warned you."





She joined him for the events, dressing quickly after work. The first  night he met her at home and made love to her. The second time, he took  her in the limo. She wondered if she would ever feel normal again."This  is kinda crazy," she told him as he held her in his arms.

"It's crazy in a good way," he said, kissing her.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am," he said.

Calista took a deep breath and deliberately drowned herself in him.

She felt him fold her around him as he slid inside her. She held onto him wanting more, wanting everything … .

"I'm rolling onto my back," he said. "You can take me any way you want."

And she did, but at the same time, she was completely taken.

That weekend her sisters joined Calista and Leo at his lake house.  Calista feared he would run screaming from extended close contact, but  he managed. She was impressed at the way he handled them on his yacht.  Then again, what wasn't to like about riding on a yacht?

Leo took Tina on an inner tube ride.

"Can I try it?" Tami asked, who was usually too cool to participate in what she deemed childish.

"Of course," Leo said. "You're up next."

After a few more minutes for Tina, Tami jumped off the side of the boat and positioned herself in the inner tube.

As Tina climbed on board, Calista wrapped a towel around her sister and  hugged her. "That rocked," she said and glanced at Leo. "Your husband is  the best."