She sighed inwardly at the sight of Reid in the doorway looking good enough to eat as he leaned a shoulder against the frame. He walked toward her, a cocky grin on his face as he removed his jacket and lay it across the back of the chair. Reid’s eyes held her immobile as he moved behind her, and she lost sight of him. Her belly went liquid at the gentle touch of his lips to her crown. It was sweet and tender and her feeling for him were so much more than sexual.
“Ladies,” he said in greeting.
They all responded with knowing smiles and greetings of their own. She caught the look Pax sent Evelyn and grimaced at being the centre of attention. Callie was used to people looking at her, at journalists poking into her life, but this felt different more intimate but not only that. This, whatever it was they were doing, meant something.
Callie was pulled from her thoughts when her phone rang on the coffee table in front of her. She tried to stifle the groan at seeing her agent’s name on the screen. Standing, she excused herself to take the call, catching an unreadable look on Reid’s face.
Moving into the hallway, she answered the call. “Hey, Sophia.”
“Don’t you ‘hey, Sophia’ me. I have a shit storm of epic proportions here, and you’re nowhere to be found. Mel is losing his mind because he can’t find you. You seem to be ghosting our calls, and now I have Claude threatening to pull out of the Gucci shoot next month unless I tell that fucking little diva where you are.”
Sophia took a breath and Callie tried not to sigh. “I know this is hard on you, Soph, but I can’t tell anyone where I am.”
Callie heard the soft resigned tone in her voice. “I know you have a lot going on with the stalker and now your housekeeper, but I need something. The press is going mad over this. Just give me something or better yet, call Mel so he can work out what to tell the media.”
“Fine, I’ll call him. I am sorry, Soph, but my security thinks this is for the best.”
Sophia snorted. “Yeah I get it. If he were my security, I’d be holed up someplace private, too. Just don’t ghost me again.” The soft reprimand stung for doing it in the first place. But she’d needed to get away even if it was for a few hours.
“Fine. Can you handle Claude?” Callie didn’t bother to deny the relationship between her and Reid, it was pointless at this stage.
“Of course I can handle him. Handling divas is my job, remember.”
Sophia hung up, and Callie looked down at the phone with a smile. Hearing voices, she looked up as Reid showed Roz, Evelyn, and Pax out. He caught her eye, and she waved at the three women as they left.
Reid closed the door and moved toward her. His steps slow and measured, with no excess energy used. He was like a sleek panther, and she felt like the very willing prey.
He stopped in front of her and raised his hand to gently cup her cheek. “Everything okay?”
Callie leaned into his touch, letting the settling feeling of safety flow through her as well as a hefty dose of lust. “Yeah, that was Sophia. She was just unhappy I ghosted her.”
Reid’s jaw twitched, but he said nothing, just pulled her closer to his body and enfolded her in his arms. She sucked in a lungful of his scent and felt a pull of desire shoot through her body. Her arms snaked around him, and she sighed at the rightness of being in his arms. This felt like home, but different in some ways. It felt like—everything.
Callie tried to push the notion aside, knowing it was way too soon to be thinking things like that. They hadn’t even slept together yet. What if he was crap in the sack? The thought made her giggle to herself, as if a man like Reid would be bad in bed. He was built for sex and sin, and she shivered at the thought of all the naughty things she wanted him to do to her and the things she wanted to do to him.
He must have felt the shiver because he groaned before taking her hand and dragging her towards the door. “Let’s get out of here before I forget I’m a gentleman and drag you into that bedroom and show you everything I’ve a dreamed of doing to you since I first laid eyes on you.”
Callie laughed as she let him pull her to his car. “I’m okay with that.”
He waited until they were in the car before he turned and tipped her face to his, so their eyes met. “Maybe, and God knows I want nothing more than to sink into your warm heat, but my Mama would whip my ass if I didn’t at least take you on a date first.” Her mouth dropped open in surprise and Reid dropped a quick kiss on it before he started the car and reversed.
Callie grinned again wondering how being with him made her so happy when her life was a disaster zone. A drizzle had begun as they drove west, and she pulled her jacket around her. She’d only just snagged it as they went out the door and was thankful, she’d picked it up. She looked down at her clothes and then regarded Reid, who was still holding her hand. “So where are we going?”
He glance at her as he pulled into a long street on an incline. Big Victorian period homes sat on either side with big bay windows. “I thought you might like to meet a friend of mine. His name is Zin. He works for Fortis Security.” He stopped and indicated a house with a big red door. “That’s where he and his girlfriend Celeste live. They just got a new puppy, and I know you miss Bono so thought you might like to meet her.”
Callie’s heart jumped at the sweetness of this man. She hadn’t mentioned Bono, but he’d known and had thought to do this for her. It would be all too easy to fall for a man like Reid, and she had a feeling she was halfway there already.
“Thank you, Reid,” she said as she leaned in and kissed him, offering all the gratitude she felt in the kiss.
He pulled back as things began to heat up. “Killing me,” he said with a wicked smirk before exiting the car as she laughed.
He opened her door and helped her out, keeping her close with his arm around her waist as he led her to the door, his eyes on the space around him. He rang the bell, and they heard a deep woof followed by the sounds of a man and woman.
The door flew open and she was greeted by a beautiful woman with dark hair to her shoulders that shone like a shampoo commercial, skin that was so flawless it looked airbrushed, and a smile that lit up her emerald green eyes. She was breath taking, as was the giant who stood behind her, a protective hand around her small waist.
“Zin, Celeste, good to see you.”
“Reid, Callie, come in,” the woman said as she pulled open the door with a smile.
They stepped inside, and Callie caught sight of a beautiful black German Shepherd sitting quietly behind Celeste, watching them intently. He didn’t move or jump at them just waited, his eyes moving between them and his mistress.
“Oh, he’s beautiful. Can I pet him?” Callie directed her question at Celeste.
Zin scared her slightly; he had a dangerous vibe about him and yet Celeste looked at him with adoration, as did the dog.
Celeste grinned. “Of course.” She nodded at the dog who immediately moved forward to greet them, his entire body moving as his tail wagged. “Say hi, Samson.”
Callie dropped to her haunches and greeted the big dog with scratches to his ears. He nuzzled her face, giving her a lick on the ear. Callie laughed as she looked up at Reid. His face was soft as he looked at her, and she felt her tummy dip and her heart stutter again.