“You’re tense.”
Startled, I jump and turn to look at Callum. He sits beside me in the back of the sedan with his long legs spread open and a predatory expression on his face, as if he’s about to lunge at me.
My eyes widen. My pulse flutters. A flash of heat burns between my thighs.
Dammit, pull yourself together!
I clear my throat, then say tartly, “If the large and intimidating stranger who walked into your bookstore and proposed marriage were looking at you as if you were his next meal, you might be tense too.”
A note of darkness creeps into his voice. “If I were looking at you like you were my next meal, you’d already be eaten.”
Wow. This guy is something else. Vagina, settle down and stop moaning.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Instead of answering my question, he asks his own. “Intimidating?”
I give him a sour look. “There you go fishing for an ego stroke again. I already told you, Cal, you came to the wrong place for that.”
His gaze drops to my mouth. That muscle in his jaw flexes again. “And I already told you, it’s Callum. Don’t call me anything else.”
I know it’s only my imagination that adds an unspoken threat that if I do, I’ll be punished.
Or it could be that look in his eyes, the shiver-inducing dark disapproval.
Fighting to maintain my composure, I gaze at him coolly. “I realize you don’t often hear the word no, but I don’t take orders. If you want me to do something, you’ll have to say please.”
He gazes at me in weighted silence for a moment. Then in a low, stroking voice, he murmurs, “Please.”
My panties erupt into flames. My nipples harden, and my lungs stop working. I gape at him, helpless to respond coherently.
How am I’m going to get through an entire lunch with this man without having a spontaneous orgasm?
It’s impossible. I might have multiple orgasms just sitting next to him. His sexual magnetism is astonishing.
Holding my gaze, he says, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I’d rather die than admit my panties are on fire, so I deflect. “It’s just that you have something between your front teeth. It’s green. Could be spinach.”
“You’re funny. How unexpected.”
“No, I’m serious. It’s a big clump of green stuff. You should find a toothpick before we get to the restaurant and everyone starts laughing at you.”
“And you should find a cold compress. Your face is bright red.”
I lift a hand to my cheek. Sure enough, it’s burning. Embarrassed, I blurt, “I’m still trying to get over that plague I caught last month.”
His expression remains the same, but his eyes sparkle with amusement. “Plague? Sounds serious.”
“It was. It is, I mean. I’m highly infectious. You could break out in boils any minute.”
I have no idea what the hell I’m saying, but one thing is clear: my brain has melted under Callum’s scorching-hot proximity. If I don’t get away from him soon, my entire body will liquefy into a pile of goo and ruin the upholstery.
The car slows to a stop at the curb. A valet in a red vest opens the door for me. Breathless and disoriented, I climb out of the car. In a moment, Callum comes to stand beside me.
Taking me by the elbow, he gazes down into my eyes.
He says, “It’s only lunch. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
It’s chilling how strongly I suspect both those statements will turn out to be lies.
Four
It’s a good thing this gorgeous stranger and I aren’t married, because the way the pretty hostess swoons when he approaches her and asks for a table is exasperating.
I mean, it would be. As it is, I’m simply considering this an interesting education in the power of a charming smile.
“R-right this way, Mr. McCord,” she stammers, reddening.
When she turns and starts to walk away, I say drily, “Come here often?”
“Something like that.”
He steers me through the restaurant by my elbow, nodding at people here and there as we pass by. He’s obviously well known around the place, which makes me relax a little.
If he were a murderer, he probably wouldn’t be so popular.
The hostess leads us to a table in the back of the restaurant, next to a window overlooking a tree-lined courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Callum pulls out my chair, makes sure I’m comfortably seated, then takes the chair across from me. He snaps open a white linen napkin and elegantly settles it over his lap.
Without looking at the hostess, he says, “I’ll start with the usual, Sophie. And the lady will have a vodka martini.”
“Yes, sir.” Gaze downcast, Sophie turns to leave, but I stop her.
“Actually, I’d like an iced tea, please.”
Startled, she looks at me with wide eyes. Then she glances at Callum, wanting permission to change my order.
When he inclines his head, I laugh in disbelief.
Sophie scurries away before I can ask her if she’s ever heard of the feminist movement.
I catch Callum looking at me and say, “Don’t mind me. It’s just that I’ve grown so accustomed to making my own decisions that it’s a huge relief to discover I no longer have to.”
He leans back in his chair, rests one hand on the edge of the table, and considers me thoughtfully for a moment.
“You’re being sarcastic.”
I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. “How gratifying to know that your brains equal your—”
I bite my tongue. Heat rises in my cheeks. Mentally hitting myself over the head with my chair, I remain silent.
Leaning in and clasping his hands together, Callum stares intently at me.
“My what?”
I cast around for something that will sound reasonable. “Your…um…I forgot.”
Congratulations, Em. Your brain has left the building.
“You forgot?”
There’s a trace of humor in his voice, but his expression is serious. The tips of my ears begin to burn.
“Let’s talk about something else.”
“Tell me what you were going to say first.”
“No.”
His stare is unwavering. The heat in my cheeks burns hotter.
“I mean, no, thank you.”
I want to cover my face with my napkin, slide under the table, and hide, but won’t give him the satisfaction. I remain stiff and embarrassed in my chair, staring back at him with what I hope is convincing confidence.
Holding my gaze, he commands softly, “Tell me what you were going to say, Emery.”
Whew. If I’m going to have to beat my vagina into submission every time this man says something sexy and commanding, my arms will fall off.
I blow out a hard breath and decide to go with the truth. What the hell, this whole thing couldn’t get any weirder.
“Beauty. There you have it. I was going to say that your brains equal your beauty. Now let’s talk about how you know my name.”
“I overheard your employees say it at the restaurant. Then I researched your business. Don’t change the subject.”
“You researched my business?” I repeat, surprised.