The Marriage Contract(31)

Her body shook as she climbed the stairs to her room, and she comforted herself by blaming it on the workout. But she couldn’t lie to herself as well as she seemed to be able to lie to those around her. Her once steady hands had become as jittery as an old woman’s. Once upon a time, Callie had thought herself a woman with nerves of steel.

Now she knew better.

She stripped and stepped into her shower, turning the heat up until it nearly scalded her skin. She ducked her head beneath the spray, her mind going to the single bright point in the last week. Teague. They’d texted here and there over the last few days, enough that she knew he was thinking of her, even though he was busy. She envied that ability to keep occupied, but he never failed to make her smile and help her forget her frustrations, if only for a little while.

Though continuing to talk to him only made other frustrations more apparent.

She closed her eyes and pictured his face, painting those wonderful cheekbones and that strong jaw with her mind, moving over his sensual mouth and to those soulful dark eyes. Eyes that had looked at her as if he wanted her more than he wanted his next breath. And his hands, wide palms and long fingers, knuckles decorated with tattoos that she fully intended to explore at the first available opportunity. Those hands had felt deliriously good on her skin, but they were nothing compared to his mouth between her legs.

Her hand coasted down her body as she took a step back into the memory. God, the way he’d touched her, a strange combination of tenderness and animal need, stoking a fire inside her that burned hotter than she could have dreamed. Callie slipped her hand between her legs, letting the water beat against her back as she stroked herself. It was all too easy to imagine it was his fingers on her, dipping inside her and then back out to play over her clit. She hissed out a breath, and did it again. Pressure built low in her stomach, deep and demanding, and she was only too happy to give in to the release bearing down on her. She moaned as she came, her lips forming his name. “Teague.”

The water had started to run lukewarm by the time she opened her eyes. She hadn’t told anyone about how their date had ended, but she’d given in to these little fantasy sessions every day since then. She shook her head and finished washing off. Her time with Teague was the only few hours in the last week where she hadn’t felt totally and completely out of control.

A reprieve, he’d called it, and he’d been right.

She wanted another reprieve.

Desperately.

She dried off and reached for her phone, not bothering to dress yet. His number was already programmed in as a contact and she pushed the button to call him. The phone rang and rang, and she was on the verge of hanging up when he answered, out of breath as if he’d been running. “Callie?”

“I want to see you.” Touch him, kiss him, cling to him until the ugly realities of her life faded into the background.

He paused and, when he spoke again, he was more composed. “What are you doing tonight? I have an apartment up near Boston University where we can talk without having to worry about…things.” He meant eavesdropping ears—or maybe he meant that they weren’t in danger of a drive-by there. She shuddered at the thought.

“That sounds wonderful. What time?” The sooner the better. She couldn’t imagine Papa protesting to her leaving the house to see her fiancé. If worse came to worst, she could always tell him it was part of the wedding planning.

“I have some information I’m trying to run down at the moment, but I can be there at seven.” He laughed. “It would also give me the opportunity to pick up some food. The only thing in the fridge is beer and a bottle of ketchup.”

“The important food groups.” It didn’t sound like he spent much time there, but maybe he didn’t cook. When it came to Teague, she had more questions than answers. She knew he could drive her out of her mind with a touch, but she had no idea what his relationship with his many siblings was, or what he would have chosen to do with his life if he weren’t an O’Malley.

A part of her, simple and selfish, wasn’t sure she even wanted to know. He made her feel good, and that was enough for now. The more they talked, the greater the chance was that she’d find something completely unforgivable—and vice versa. What if he thought her goals to bring the Sheridans onto the legal side of business were laughable? The idea turned her stomach. No, it was better that they kept things physical, where at least they knew they matched up.

“Callie?”

She blinked. From the tone of his voice, he’d said her name more than once. “I’m sorry, I missed that last part.”