She'd barely begun to regain her senses when she felt the hard nub of his erection at her entrance. She opened for him, welcoming him into her body-into her very soul.
Aftershocks of satisfaction from her orgasm soon built into something stronger as he stroked his length in and out, grinding against her, watching her face as she changed from sated satisfaction to hunger all over again.
This time he built her up more quickly than before. The direct pressure of his body, his long deep strokes, culminating in waves of spreading fulfilment that swelled through her again and again. Every muscle in her body tightened, and she held him to her, pulling him deeper, until she lost complete track of where she ended and he began. And then, when she knew she could hold back the tide no longer, she felt the power surge through him as he climaxed. A raw growl of completion ripped from his throat as he pumped against her over and over, sending her into the true oblivion of sybaritic bliss.
Callie stirred, noting immediately the tightening of Josh's arms around her as they lay sprawled together in abandon across the bed. The sun was lower now, and she could see streaks of purple and rich apricot across the sky through the window.
She lifted one hand to his abdomen and began to stroke, in long languid sweeps, with the tips of her fingers. Beneath her touch she felt goose bumps rise over his skin. She lowered her hand, tracing tiny patterns through the coarse hair at his groin until she reached the smooth length of him. She wrapped her fingers around him, sliding them gently up and down his shaft, squeezing ever so slightly more firmly as she reached his tip before beginning the same journey again.
Josh's eyelids opened to half mast as she stroked him, the cerulean glitter his only betrayal of control. Callie slid down his body and drew up onto her knees.
She bent down and traced his tip with her tongue before opening her mouth to take him fully while keeping up the momentum of her hand on his shaft. Beneath her she felt the muscles in his thighs clench and she took him deeper, increasing her rhythm, relentlessly alternating pressure with her mouth, her tongue.
When he came it was with giant shudders that wracked his body and shook the bed, in total contrast to the taut control he'd held over his body as she'd ministered to him. And, as the last waves of pleasure washed over him, Callie knew a completion she'd never known before. She'd brought him to this. She'd given him the ultimate satisfaction.
Josh pulled her into his arms, aligning her body over his, his hands stroking lazy circles across her back as she nuzzled against his chest.
"I suppose we should put the chef out of his misery and have dinner," he eventually said.
Callie's stomach growled in response, eliciting a hearty chuckle from Josh.
"That settles it."
He reached a lazy arm out and lifted a phone from the bedside cabinet. His instructions were brief and to the point. They'd serve themselves in the salon on the main deck and they didn't want to be disturbed.
Callie rose from the bed and stretched before reaching for her clothes. Josh came up behind her, his hands arresting her actions.
"Don't bother with those. There are robes in the en suite. I like the idea of sitting opposite you, knowing you're not wearing anything else."
"I wasn't wearing much else before," Callie commented but walked through to the bathroom.
"I know," Josh's voice followed her. "It drove me nuts."
"And this won't?" she answered, stepping back through to the bedroom and tying the sash on a rich emerald satin robe.
The fabric slithered over her skin, its touch triggering tiny ripples of sensation that brought an immediate response and saw her nipples peak in clearly defined outlines. Josh's eyes riveted on them. Unbelievably, she felt them tighten even more.
"Oh, yeah, it'll drive me nuts."
Callie handed him the large black towelling robe she'd chosen for him. "You'd better put this on then. We can torment each other."
She shoved her hands deep into her pockets as Josh pulled on his robe.
"Shall we?" he said, reaching for her hand.
It felt like the most natural thing in the world to have her hand in his. His fingers laced with hers and the warmth of his palm scorched against her skin, fusing them together.
In the main salon an intimate table for two had been set, a fresh bottle of champagne languished in an ice bucket to one side and the subdued lighting was enhanced by a myriad of squat candles scattered about.
By the time they'd dined on smoked salmon filo parcels, drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce, and a medley of seasonal roasted vegetables, Callie was on tenterhooks. The enticing glimpses she caught of Josh's bare chest as he leaned forward at the table distracted her from the flavoursome meal before them, and she was all too aware of the tension building up deep inside.
Tension that saw her shift every so often on her seat to alleviate the insistent throb at the juncture of her thighs. Tension that made her all too aware of the movement of the muscles in Josh's throat as he swallowed. Of the play of veins on his hands as he deftly sectioned his filo parcel and brought each bite to his mouth. He was as methodical in this as he was in everything else he did.
But she knew now exactly what it took to make him lose that fabled control and as the sash on her robe began to slide loose, she made no attempt to halt the gape of fabric.
Dessert was soon forgotten as by mutual assent they rose from the table. The distance between the main deck and their room passed in a blur of motion as their appetites for one another coalesced into a melding of bodies, sensation and gratification.
They were ensconced in the private confines of the back of a limousine, fingers still entwined. It was as if, having had a taste of one another, neither could bear to break the link between them. It was past midnight and while she was physically exhausted, Callie had never felt more mentally energised before.
They'd ended their harbour cruise standing by the aft railing on the main deck, Josh's arms wrapped around her from behind, her body fully supported by his strength. There was a bitter sweetness to the knowledge that the evening was drawing to a close, but even perfection had its boundaries. Their return to reality was as reluctant as it was necessary.
As Josh had said, a car was waiting for them at the Westhaven Marina as the boat drew in. Now that car was headed to Callie's town house.
"Stay with me this weekend."
The rumble of Josh's voice in the gloom of the car interior surprised her.
"You want me to stay at your place?"
Her heart leaped at the opportunity, but her head urged caution.
"You don't want to?"
"I didn't say that."
"Good, it's settled then. You can leave your car at work on Friday and we'll drive home together."
"Won't people notice?"
"Does that bother you?" Josh lifted her hand to his lips and drew her forefinger into his mouth. "I want more than just mind-blowing sex from you, Callie."
She gasped as his lips closed around the tip and the wet warmth of his tongue stroked against her skin.
"Wouldn't you like to explore this further?" he coaxed.
"Y-yes."
A shudder ran through her. She wouldn't have believed it possible, but she wanted him again. She'd thought her body was too tired, too sated, to want more. She'd been wrong. But hard on the heels of the desire that threatened to swamp her consciousness was the reminder that, all pleasure aside, she was supposed to be exploring him. Josh Tremont, the man.
"Yes," she replied again, this time more firmly. "I would."
"Excellent. You won't regret it."
But as the limousine pulled up outside her home and Josh walked her to her front door, Callie experienced a deep sense of foreboding that she most definitely would.
Eight
The next two days dragged on interminably, as Josh closeted himself in his office with intercultural advisors and the heads of his legal department. Even though only metres separated them by day, Callie felt as if they were suddenly worlds apart. If it hadn't been for the brief moments when their eyes met or their hands brushed as she handed him a file, she would have begun to wonder if she hadn't imagined their idyllic night together on the water.
Every time she looked out the wide expanse of his office window toward the harbour, she was reminded of what they'd shared and it made her want more. So very much more. And that was very dangerous indeed, because despite how hard she was falling for him, she had to remember her promise to Irene. She had to remember that Josh threatened the Palmers with every business move he made and somehow she had to find out why, and how to stop him.