[4 Seasons 01] Seducing Summer (7 page)

Except she was certain that if he was her
brother, she wouldn’t be thinking about kissing him all the time. The more she
was with this guy, the more she liked him. How was she going to cope spending two
weeks with him glued to her side?

The flight attendant was coming toward them
to collect their rubbish, so she gathered her cup and serviettes and sugar
packets together, then promptly dropped them, scattering grains of sugar across
her skirt.

“Jeez.” She scrambled to pick them up.

“Are you normally this clumsy?” he asked,
amused, before raising his coffee cup to his lips to drain it.

“It’s probably orgasm deprivation,” she
said with exasperation. “It’s making me jittery.”

Gene coughed into his coffee cup, spilling
some of it over his hand.

“Want a bib?” she said.

He wiped his bottom lip and then his hand,
checked that the person sitting beside him was still wearing his earphones, and
glanced at her. “Do you always say what’s on your mind?”

“Do you ever say what’s on yours?”

He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the
edges, and Callie melted a little. He was opening up to her, a bit, revealing a
glimmer of the man inside, like cracking open a chest at the bottom of the
ocean and seeing the glint of gold doubloons in the dark. She couldn’t wait to
see what other treasure lay within.

Dunedin was cooler than Wellington,
although the cloud-free sky shone a brilliant blue. After arriving at the
airport, they collected their bags and picked up the hire car, a blue Toyota
Corolla that Gene was relieved was comfortable to drive, as they wouldn’t be
giving it back until they reached Wellington, nearly four hundred miles away.
He’d booked it on Friday, because Becky had made a note that Callie would
forget, which indeed she had.

They were going to spend a night in
Dunedin, then drive up the coast via Oamaru, Timaru, and Ashburton to
Christchurch, checking out the high street stores on the way. At Christchurch,
they would stay two nights because Callie had hopes that a few shops would
stock their brand there. After that, they were going to drive through Kaikoura,
where people went to see the whales and dolphins, to Blenheim, center of the South
Island’s wine country, and then the sunny town of Nelson, before returning to
Wellington for Willow’s baby shower. The following week, they would head north
and tour the major cities of the North Island until they reached Kerikeri in
the Bay of Islands, where they’d fly back down.

“I feel knackered already.” Gene glanced at
the map of New Zealand on Callie’s knees as he took State Highway One to
Dunedin town center, noting the marked route across the country and all the circled
towns, presumably organized by Becky.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty of stamina. I
can keep going for hours.”

He raised his gaze to her face, but she was
concentrating on the map. Had she meant that to sound as suggestive as it had
sounded? Or was it just his sex-starved brain trying desperately to join the
dots?

He looked back at the road, stifling a
sigh. He should have insisted to Phoebe that one of his operatives take his
place. The next few weeks were going to be torture, and not only because every
time he looked at Callie, he wanted to kiss her. There was something about her
that managed to cajole details out of him, like wheedling a whelk out of its
shell. Normally, he never revealed details about himself to a client, but it
seemed rude not to answer her questions. And she had an uncanny ability to
analyze everything that came out of his mouth. How he said things, and even
what he didn’t say, seemed to tell her as much about him as the actual words,
which was rather unnerving. But the main problem was definitely going to be the
fact that he found her attractive.

Okay, so that was a massive understatement.
Callie Summer was like a cool glass of lager on a hot day, or a fillet steak
when a guy was really, really hungry. It was all he could do not to salivate
when he looked at her. From her shiny blonde hair that always looked
just-washed, to her generous breasts he was desperate to weigh in his palms, to
her wide blue eyes that gave him the shivers, to the plump lips he wanted to
kiss to see whether they were as soft as they looked… He’d not met a woman for
a long time that he hungered for so badly, and that he couldn’t have.

It was the story of his life. He felt as if
everything he’d ever wanted had been placed on too high a shelf, just out of
reach.

The therapist he’d seen when he first came
out of the Army had told him he set his sights too high, which was why he was
always disappointed.
Am I asking for the moon?
he’d snapped at her. What
did he want that was so incredibly ambitious? Some would say that a father’s
approval, a mother to love him, a supportive brother, a partner who loved him
the way he was, a career that didn’t end in near death, and friends who managed
to reach the age of forty wasn’t particularly ambitious.

Or maybe it was. Many people weren’t lucky
enough to have all those things, he was sure. But he couldn’t stop wanting
them, even if he was shooting for the stars.

He gripped hold of the steering wheel and
glared at the road. He wasn’t going to think about the past now, about all the
things he’d lost. And he wasn’t going to let a surge of hormones deter him from
his task. He was a grown man, not a teenage boy. Desire was all in the mind,
and God knew he’d learned to deal with not thinking about certain things for a
while now. He’d trained his brain to sidestep memories and triggers that evoked
emotions he no longer wished to feel. He could damned well add lust to the list
and put thoughts of Callie Summer to the attic of his mind in a dusty old chest
where they belonged.

“Have you been to Dunedin before?” Callie’s
gentle voice stirred him from his dark thoughts.

He glanced at her. She was watching him,
and something in her eyes told him she was perfectly aware of the gloomy path
he’d been heading toward, and she was attempting to distract him away from it.

Half of him resented her for being so
astute—it was intrusive, and he didn’t like being so transparent. But the other
half felt a surprising lift of heart at the fact that she’d noticed but had
been nice enough not to ask him directly about what was bothering him, because
she knew he didn’t like to talk about himself.

Forcing himself to loosen his grip on the
wheel, he took a deep breath and released it slowly before answering. “Yes, a
few years ago, though.” He’d done the training course to become a protection
officer there. “You?”

“Once, although the same as you, many years
ago. I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I know we won’t get to see much of the
city in one day, but even the road in is gorgeous.”

Her eyes were alight with excitement, and
warmth spread through him at her enthusiasm. She had such a ready smile. It had
upset him when she’d talked about her ex and had gotten all emotional. He
hadn’t found out as much as he’d hoped because he’d distracted her by talking
about himself. Did she still see the guy? Did she still have feelings for him?
He wanted to know, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up.

He also found it strange that she seemed so
unaffected by the fact that she’d had death threats. Clearly, she hadn’t taken
them seriously, and that wasn’t good, because it meant she might take
unnecessary risks and put herself in danger. He would have to work hard to
ensure that didn’t happen.

“So what’s the plan?” Callie asked.

Becky had stated on her instructions that
he would have to arrange their itinerary, because otherwise Callie wouldn’t
allow them enough time to get from one appointment to another, and she’d forget
about lunch, and then suddenly realize they didn’t have a hotel room booked for
the night.

He glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
“It’s nearly eleven thirty. We’ll head straight to the first appointment with
Hollywell’s at twelve. You said each one will probably take around thirty
minutes, but I’ve allowed plenty of time so you don’t get stressed if one runs
over. After Hollywell’s, we’ll probably catch some lunch, then go to Fernz for
appointment number two at two thirty. We can check in at the hotel and leave
our bags there afterward, and head off for Lingerie Plus at three thirty. Onto
JimJam’s at four thirty. Then we’re done, so we can return to the hotel for the
evening.”

“Wow. I’m impressed.”

“Army life,” he said. “Forces you to get
organized.”

“Forces. Nice pun.” She grinned.

He smiled. They were in the city center
now. Following the GPS, he took the road to the first high street store, turned
off the State Highway into Stuart Street, and headed for the Octagon. “Well, I
hope I’ve planned it all okay.”

“Gene, whatever happens, you’ll have done a
hundred times better than I would have done.”

“Why are you so disorganized?”

“I’ve worked very hard to maintain this
level of incompetence, I’ll have you know.”

“It makes things much easier when
everything’s in order.”

“Sir, yes sir.” She saluted him.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

She turned her gaze out of the window. “I
don’t like having my life planned out. Where’s the fun in that?”

“So what would you have done if we’d landed
here and you’d forgotten to book a car?”

“One of the firms would have had a spare
one somewhere.”

“And if they hadn’t?”

“I’d have gotten a taxi. Or hitched. Come
on, don’t you think there’s some excitement in not knowing what’s going to
happen?” She turned her bright gaze back to him.

“I don’t know. There’s not a lot of room
for impulsiveness in my world.” That was an understatement, to say the least.
Being in the Army and then working in security meant that his life had revolved
around timetables and structure for longer than he cared to remember. In his
world, trains always ran on time, meetings occurred dead on the hour, and he
was never, ever late. And he liked it that way. Not knowing what was going to
happen made him uneasy and edgy.

“How dull.” Her lips twitched.

“I am dull. Very boring and predictable.”
He turned into Princes Street and began looking for the store.

“Hmm. We’ll have to see what we can do to
loosen you up.”

He glanced across at her. The look in her
eyes sent a shiver running down his back as if she’d dropped an ice cube there.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warned
before he could think better of it. As soon as the words were out of his mouth,
he realized he’d opened a can of very wriggly worms.

Her smile widened. “Is that a challenge?”

“Fuck, no. I meant…” What had he meant? His
brain scrambled like cooked eggs at the suggestive look in her eyes. He was
only barely keeping this together by repeatedly telling himself it was a bad
idea to get involved with her, and that if he kept his cool, she would never be
aware of his interest. What the fuck was he going to do if she started coming
on to him?

Her smile faded. “There’s no need to look
so alarmed. I’m not a bunny boiler. I’m teasing you, that’s all.”

But he could see the hurt in her eyes. She
thought he didn’t find her attractive.

Jeez.

“Callie…” His words trailed off as he saw
the sign for Hollywell’s clothing store ahead. He concentrated on the road for
a moment, turning the car into a car park and finding a spot. He switched off
the engine, then turned to face her.

“You don’t have to say anything. I was
teasing,” she said, a little flatly.

Hating that he’d unerringly knocked her
confidence after her recent rejection by her ex, Gene met her eyes, and their
gazes locked. Heat rushed through him. There was something so intimate about
being in a car with someone. Her right knee in the cherry-colored skirt was
only an inch from his left, and her light, flowery perfume filled the car. Every
time he inhaled, he was breathing her in, until she was part of his system,
rushing around his body with his hot, hungry blood.

I was teasing,
she’d stated.

“Were you?” he said before he could stop
himself.

Her gaze remained locked on his, and she
must have seen the desire there, because her lips lifted up, and she gave a
tiny, sexy shrug of her shoulders.
Maybe
.

He wanted to kiss her… God, he wanted to
kiss her. She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, and his erection
sprang to life. It would be the easiest thing in the world to slip a hand
behind her head, lean forward, and press his lips to hers. He wanted to wrap
his arm around her and pull her to him, lift her onto his lap, and feel her
soft body against his. Cup her breast in the thin blouse she was wearing and
feel the heat and weight in his palm. Her arms would slip around him, her hands
searching beneath his shirt to find his warm skin. He wanted to get naked with
this woman, and find out if she was as fun in bed as he suspected.

At that moment, Neve’s warning rang in his
head, and he swallowed hard. “Callie, we can’t get involved. I have to stay
professional.” Once again, though, as soon as he’d spoken, he knew she’d read
between the lines and deduce that he wanted her.

Her gaze rested on his lips—she was
thinking about kissing him too. Her eyelids lowered to half-mast, her
expression turning hot and sultry. “I don’t see why the agency has to find
out.”

The agency? He realized she was talking
about his role as PA. For a brief moment, he’d forgotten about his cover story.

Cold sluiced through him, dampening his
ardor. What was he doing? Phoebe Hawke had placed her daughter’s life in his
hands. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he focus on the job?

“That’s not the point,” he said. He tore
his gaze away and yanked the keys out of the ignition. “It’s about integrity—it’s
nothing to do with the agency, although I can’t imagine they would approve of
their staff performing personal services for their employers.”

He’d meant the comment to insinuate that if
anything happened between them while she was employing him, it would verge on
her paying him for sex. He’d meant it to be insulting, half hoping and half dreading
the way the sparkle in her eyes would fade and her lips would straighten and
thin.

They didn’t, though. Instead, she just
laughed. “Personal services? I’m going to have to put that in my employees’
contracts.”