Mewling from the living room had Samson backing away from her and moving toward the sound. Callie straightened and smiled at Reid who had taken her hand in his. They followed Celeste into the living room as Zin held out a hand for them to go first. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the small fluffy bed where a fluffy gold and black puppy was woofing at Samson, trying to get him to play while the big dog looked on with a tilt of his head.
“Oh, she’s adorable.” Callie’s face pulled into a grin.
Zin snorted. “Not at two, four, and six am she wasn’t.”
Celeste laughed. “Oh hush, you big grump. You’re the one who suggested she sleep in the bedroom, so don’t pretend you don’t love her.”
Zin growled and pulled Celeste into his arms as she laughed and squealed. “Pixie, I love you, and that means that I’ll put up with almost anything to make you happy.”
He kissed her upturned lips and Callie watched with unabashed voyeurism at the apparent love and passion between the couple. It was magnetic and beautiful and the sort of love that she and girls the world over dreamed of. She sensed Reid watching her and turned to see an intense look on his face as he studied her.
“Almost anything?” Celeste said snapping Callie from the spell Reid had cast with his eyes.
She turned to see Zin whisper something in Celeste’s ear that made her blush and then sigh before she pulled away but not far enough that she lost his touch.
“Sit down, and I’ll get us some drinks.”
She and Reid sat on the couch while Celeste disappeared into the kitchen and Zin knelt on the floor and gently shoved Samson aside so he could lift the puppy into his arms. Despite his size and gruff exterior, he handled the puppy with infinite tenderness. Celeste had his card marked all right. He was a giant teddy bear.
“This is Delilah. She’s a Belgian Malinois.” He set the puppy who was trying to chew on his knuckles on Callie’s lap, and moved away to sit on the floor beside Samson.
Callie glanced at Reid as she petted Delilah and fell a little bit more in love with her. Her eyes caught Reid’s and she smiled loving that he had thought to bring her here. He always seemed to know what she needed.
Celeste came back in with a tray of drinks and the four of them caught up. Callie realised Celeste worked for Fortis too and heard the story of how she and Zin had met. The frown that settled across Zin’s face indicated it still pained him.
“My stalker problem seems tame in comparison.”
Reid slid an arm around her waist. “Your stalker problem is far from tame, Callie. They murdered a woman.”
“Do you have any leads?” Zin asked.
“A few,” Reid said, and Zin nodded.
“If you need anything you only have to ask. I’d be happy to hand out a little punishment to someone willing to scare a woman, especially your woman.”
A tingle went through Callie at the sound of someone, especially a friend of Reid’s, calling her his. It should be irritating, and the fact she loved it probably put feminism back forty years, but she didn’t care.
She was a confident, self-assured woman who ran her own life, but she also wanted to be Reid’s in every way. That thought made her body light up wanting more.
As if sensing her change in mood, Reid stood. “Time to go. Thank you so much for having us around. Maybe when this over we can go out for a few drinks?”
Zin and Celeste walked them to the door, their arms around each other, her so small against his big body. The name Pixie fit her perfectly, but she wasn’t a delicate fairie, no she was fierce like Tinkerbell.
“Sounds good to me.”
They moved to the car in silence, hands clasped tight as the electricity fizzed and pulsed in the air around them. She wanted this man like an ache in her abdomen, and she was done waiting.
Chapter Sixteen
Reid held Callie’s hand as they walked up the steps to his home, his body shielding her as he watched for threats and found none. The electricity in the car had been off the charts; his dick was harder than steel. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything, but despite her confidence and apparent desire for him, he sensed she was relatively inexperienced.
He wanted to make this good for her, make it last and spend the night worshipping her body. His primal part wanted to rip her clothes off the minute they closed the door and take her. Brand her and mark her as his own. It was a feeling he’d never had before and wasn’t sure he liked it now.
Love made people weak, made them vulnerable to getting hurt, and in his profession that threat was tenfold. Yet, as he stepped inside his home and closed the door, having her in this space felt right in a way he’d never experienced before.
Reid let her hand go as he slid his jacket off and tossed it on the couch. He needed a moment to calm down, or he was going to maul her like an animal and frighten the fuck out of her.
“Do you want a drink?” Reid walked to the fridge and grabbed a coke.
“No, thanks.”
Reid heard the nerves in her voice and looked over to catch her biting her lip, a worried expression on her stunning face. He was confusing her, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her, her body and her mind, and whatever else she was willing to give him, and the truth was it terrified him. But scared or not, he wouldn’t hurt her because of his uncertainty. “Come here, sunshine.”
Callie walked towards him slowly. She looked like a vision of innocence, and he knew it wasn’t fake or put on for his entertainment. His sunshine was famous, wealthy, one of the most photographed, lusted after women in the world, but to him she was Callie. A woman who loved her dog, who cared for her friends, adored her brother, and wanted him as much as he wanted her.
She stopped as she reached him and looked up, her expression open and so damn beautiful he wished he were a painter. He lifted his hands, then placing them on her hips, drew her flush to his body. A hiss left her body as her nipples rubbed against his chest through her shirt.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you?” He saw the flare of hunger in her eyes at his words and his fingers flexed on her hips as he fought the urge to rush.
“I think so.” Her hands moved up his chest, and he felt the bite of her nails as she gripped his shirt and pressed deeper.
Reid went on as if she hadn’t answered. “I want you more than my next breath, more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
Callie wet her lips, and his control slipped another notch. “Then why don’t you stop talking and take me?”
Reid growled low in his chest at her words and the husky way she said them, but it was the slight shake of nerves at the end that was his undoing.
Bending, he swung her into his arms. Her laughter curled around him as she threw her head back in enjoyment at the gesture, her arms moving around his neck. Reid strode to his bedroom, pushing the door open with his boot, and kicking it shut behind them. He kept his gaze on her the entire time as he stalked to the bed, watching the way her irises darkened with desire.
Placing her on the bed, he stood back and stared at her as she lay there, her top half propped on her elbows as she waited for him to move, anticipation thick in the air around them. Going to his knees, he removed her shoes as she watched, tossing them behind him. Then he kissed her ankle before he slid his hands higher over her supple thighs. Callie tilted her head as she watched him, and he smiled.