“Is everything okay, honey?”
“Yeah,” I say, waving the beast of a gadget at him. “Just knocked a couple of things off my desk.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Calder raise his eyebrows in surprise. I give him a small kick, hoping he gets the hint.
Dad is looking curiously at me, and I realize suddenly how disheveled I must appear. My hands skim over my shirt, my skirt. And—oh, God—my hair…
“It’s been a rough day,” I say, trying to brush it off, hoping against hope that my face isn’t as red as it feels. Crap, are my lips swollen?
But my dad either doesn’t notice or chooses not to see.
“That Collins woman again?” he says. “She’s been a real trip.”
I nod. “Called and changed her numbers again. I—”
Calder is touching me. His fingers are sliding up my leg—softly, slowly, sending shivers all the way up my thigh. I clear my throat and try to shift away from him, but his hand follows.
“I—I redid the invoices,” I manage, indicating the papers that are still on the floor. Calder’s hand has slipped beneath the hem of my skirt now, and it’s slowly inching its way upward. His breath is warm against my ankle. When I try to gently nudge his face away, he nips at my skin and flicks his tongue sensually along the back of my leg. I try not to squirm.
“How many do they have coming?” Dad asks.
It’s hard to remember the number with Calder’s mouth teasing my ankle and his fingers caressing my thigh. “Two hundred and twelve, I think?”
Dad whistles. “A big one.”
“We need it.” I lean forward and grip the desk, trying to keep my face blank. Calder’s ever-climbing hand is now tickling my strategically-closed thighs, trying to force me to part them. In spite of the situation, my body reacts instinctively to the touch. Heat pools in my lower belly, a contrast to the panicked lump in my throat. I’m having trouble breathing normally, and my face and neck feel warmer with every passing second. I swear, if my dad finds out about us like this, Calder’s going to get it. And by “it” I don’t mean the prize he’s currently seeking between my legs.
I shift again, and this time I feel my heel connect with Calder’s cheek. He sucks in a breath, and I cough to cover up the sound.
Dad’s frowning. Great, he must have heard.
But no—he’s shaking his head. “Didn’t you have dinner plans with a friend?”
“Yes. Yes I do.” I smile. “I was just about to change.”
Dad’s smiling again. “Good. You’ve been working too much these past few weeks.”
“I could say the same of you.”
It’s true, but if I’m being honest, Dad looks the best he has in months. When the Frazer Center for the Arts was on the brink of closing, he was a mess. I’ve never seen him look so old, so tired, so haggard. But now he might be a decade younger. He’s smiling more—laughing, even—and, as cheesy as it sounds, the sparkle is back in his eyes. We’re not completely out of danger yet, but we’re moving steadily in the right direction, and that positive energy has been enough to make Dad excited about this place again.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he says. “You have fun tonight, honey.”
“Will do.”
No sooner has he turned away than Calder grabs my hand and yanks me down beside him—or, more accurately, on top of him. I squirm as he wraps his arms around me, holding me hostage.
“That was an interesting welcome,” he murmurs against my hair. “First you forget about our date—”
“I didn’t forget,” I insist. “I just got caught up in—”
“And then you hide me from your father like we’re in high school or something.” His arms tighten around my waist. “Are you embarrassed by me?”
“No! Of course not! I just haven’t told Dad about you yet. He’s not—I mean, I don’t think he hates you or anything, but he…” I try to wriggle out of his grasp, but instead he flips me over so that I’m beneath him. His face looms over mine, but I don’t get a chance to read his expression before he dips his head and nuzzles my neck.Z6Npa
“You mean he won’t exactly be happy to know you’re dating the guy who almost brought this place down around your ears,” he murmurs before attacking my throat with his mouth.
I nod, too distracted by the thing he’s doing with his tongue to answer immediately. When I agreed to let Calder pick me up at work, I’d planned to meet him outside.
“Plus,” I manage after a minute, “he’s going to wonder how it came about, and I never exactly told him the truth about that weekend.” Ah, yes—those three days I spent trapped in the Cunningham mansion playing cat-and-mouse with Calder, letting him tease me and taunt me and give me the most intense sex I’ve ever had in my life. Even now I shiver at the memory.