[4 Seasons 01] Seducing Summer (12 page)

The next morning, Gene was on his second
cup of coffee when Callie finally appeared at the breakfast table at eight.

“Afternoon,” he said, turning off his phone
and sliding it into his pocket.

She stuck her tongue out at him and took
the seat opposite. “It’s hardly late. Anyway, I forgot to set my alarm.”

“You slept well, then?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Her eyes met his. He was
glad to see the emotion of the night before had vanished, and she seemed
relaxed, if a little cautious. “Um… about last night…”

He waved a hand. “Just another of my PA
duties. Nothing needs to be said.”

She sucked her bottom lip for a moment.
Then she said, “Okay,” and turned to smile up at the waiter.

Gene surveyed her while she listened to the
waiter relay the breakfast options. She wore a smart pantsuit today, in a light
gray, with a sleeveless cream top, and she’d clipped up her hair, which made
her look fresh, cool, and classy.

The night before, he’d lain there for an
hour while she slept in his arms, enjoying the warmth and softness of her body
against him, and just the feel of being close to someone. It was eight months
since he’d broken up with Angela, and although he didn’t miss her as much as he
felt he should, he did miss the human contact. And the sex, of course. He
missed the sex very much.

That was the main reason he’d risen from
Callie’s bed and left her sleeping, because he’d known that if he’d continued
to lay there, eventually he wouldn’t have been able to fight the temptation any
longer. His hand would have stroked higher, brushing her ribcage, then finding
its way to her breast, which would have felt uncaged and soft in his hand, and
then it would only have been seconds before he would’ve rolled her onto her
back and kissed her senseless.

“I’ll have the full breakfast,” she said.
“With coffee, please.”

Gene grinned. “I’ll have the same,” he told
the waiter, who left to place their order.

“What are you smirking at?” She glared at
him.

“Every other woman I know would have chosen
toast or grapefruit.”

“Boring,” she said. “Besides, I need to
keep my strength up. We’ve got a busy day today.”

That was true on several accounts. They had
visits planned to six stores throughout the day, and Gene knew it was going to
be up to him to make sure Callie didn’t run late.

Not only that, but he was expecting Kev to
keep in touch during the day with any updates. When Gene had returned to his
hotel room, with Callie’s scent lingering on his skin and her tearstained face
imprinted on his memory, he’d opened up his laptop and sat there for a while
staring at the screen, wondering how he could help. He ran a security firm, not
a detective agency, and the Special Tactics Group would have the hunt for
Darren Kirk well in hand. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to think for
himself.

After the same dark-haired man had been
spotted on two separate days near Phoebe’s house, Gene had instructed Kev to
submit the photo to the STG and ask them to run it through their Australasian
database to see what it threw up. The STG had sent the death threat to their
labs to see if they could discover anything about its origin. They were keeping
tabs on Kirk’s family and friends that they knew of, and everyone involved in
the trial had some form of security.

But Gene now had a personal, emotional
investment in Callie’s safety, and it wasn’t enough for him to just sit around
and wait to save Callie’s life. He needed to do something. So he’d requested
that his team leaders email in detailed hourly reports that Kev would scan,
summarize, and then forward to him, rather than relying on an end-of-day
report. They were to take photos of every person Phoebe interacted with, and
these would be emailed to him, too, so he could compare them day to day. Any
recurring faces he would immediately forward on to the STG.

He was sure the STG would find Kirk and
arrest him before any danger was done, but Kirk probably wouldn’t have made any
personal attempts on the lives of those he hated. He would have hired a hitman
or gotten one of his own crowd to do it, so it wasn’t as simple just keeping an
eye out for his face.

“You’re quiet this morning,” Callie said.
“Did you sleep okay? How long did you stay in my room for?”

“Just an hour. You were sound asleep.”

She accepted a cup of coffee from the
waiter and dipped her spoon into the foam on the top. “I thought I would dream
about the earthquake all night, but I didn’t, thank God. I probably snored,
though.” She sipped the coffee.

“You did, very loudly. And dribbled all
over my chest.”

“I did not.” She nudged his knee under the
table.

He had to resist the urge to lean across
and kiss away her pout. “Have you heard from Jamie again?”

She put down her cup. “No, and I doubt I
will. We’re not in regular contact, and he was just concerned because of the
quake. I have no desire to get in touch with him again.”

“So it’s definitely over?”

She studied him. “Yes, it’s over. I could
never date him again. Once the trust is gone, you can’t regain it, can you?
It’s like baking a cake. You can’t get the eggs and flour back once it’s been
in the oven. The act of baking it changes it, and it can’t be undone.”

Gene looked out across the river, shifting
in his chair. Trust was obviously an important factor for her, as it should be
in all relationships. He hated that he was lying to her about his true
identity. Would she understand when he finally told her, when Kirk was found?
Or would she be angry?

It was a thought that would trouble him for
the rest of the day, as he drove Callie from appointment to appointment,
keeping a close eye on the time so she wouldn’t be late. As he waited in
another coffee shop for her to finish a visit, he wondered whether he should in
fact tell her he was doubling as her bodyguard. But what would happen if she
sacked him? He couldn’t force her to have him as a personal protection officer.
Shadowing her when she went out for a walk was one thing—doing it full time was
another, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her properly from a distance.

For now, he had to put his growing feelings
for her to one side and concentrate on keeping her safe. The best way to do
that would be to continue working as her PA, which meant he could practically
glue himself to her side without her noticing. Everything else would have to
wait.

And if, when he eventually told her who he
really was, she became angry, he’d have to deal with that when it happened.
Hopefully, she’d come to see both he and her mother were acting in her best
interests. If she refused to accept that, well, there would be little he could
do about it, and he’d just have to deal with the fact that she would be the one
that got away.

The notion of that made him a little
depressed, but his time in the Army had taught him it was pointless to worry
about things that hadn’t happened yet, and to live for today. So he drank his
coffee, ate his brownie, and read through Kev’s latest report while he waited
for Callie to finish her appointment.

Halfway through the day, he made sure she
stopped for some lunch. It was difficult, because she was on a high, super excited
because two of the three morning appointments had brought definite agreements
to stock the brand, and the other was open to discussion once the manager had
spoken to his head office.

“I really think this might work,” she
announced as they tucked into pasta salads in a food mall conveniently placed
between two stores she would be visiting.

“Of course it’s going to work,” he said.
“You’re so enthusiastic—how can anyone fail to be won over?”

Her brow furrowed. “Am I overdoing it?”

He chuckled and speared some pasta on his
fork. “Of course not. It’s nice to see you so happy. Especially after last
night.”

“I’m just glad the earthquake didn’t do any
lasting damage. I couldn’t believe what the 2011 one did. It really makes you
realize how small and insignificant you are compared to the wrath of nature. It
was as if an enormous monster had taken both sides of the city in its hands and
torn it apart. Whole houses destroyed, roads cracked and buckled. I’ve never
seen anything like it. It was terrifying.”

“Well, it seems as if this one was too deep
and too far out to sea to have done much damage,” he said.

She chewed on her pasta, her lips curving
up. “You’re good for me,” she said. “I’m too airy-fairy and prone to panic.
You’re very calm and practical. Were you like that before you went in the Army?”

“Yes, although the Army taught me a lot
about patience, and waiting. And that running around screaming doesn’t get the
job done. We’re taught to work through our fear, and the chain of command means
you have faith in your superiors and trust them to lead you through any dark
times.”

“I think you would have made a good leader
yourself. I’m surprised you’re not running your own company.” Her eyes were
cool, appraising. What was she thinking? Had she guessed he was hiding
something?

Afraid she might look into his eyes and see
the truth, he lowered his gaze and scraped up the last of the pasta. “I might
do, in the future. I’m quite happy where I am at the moment, though.”

“That’s good.” She pushed her plate away.
“So, where are we off to now?”

He finished off with a swallow of soda.
“Lacey’s first. Then Prim & Proper.”

“Come on, then.”

So they set off for their second round of
appointments. It was a busy afternoon, racing across the city. Thank God for
GPS, Gene thought as he navigated his way to the last store. It made things a
whole lot easier.

The afternoon turned out to be even more
successful than the morning, with all three stores interested in stocking the Four
Seasons brand. Callie was on an absolute high. She talked all through dinner
about her plans for the business, a completely different girl to the one who’d
shaken in his arms the night before.

She asked him his opinion of some of her
ideas, and Gene was happy to talk, but mostly he just listened, captivated by
her enthusiasm and the sheer force of her sparkling personality. He felt as if
she were casting a spell on him, gradually encasing him in invisible threads
that drew him slowly closer to her, binding him. What was wrong with him? He
hadn’t drunk anything, and he wasn’t sick, and yet he felt feverish, his heart rate
up, the blood racing through his veins.

“Oh my God, I’ve talked far too much this
evening,” she said when they eventually left the restaurant. “My voice is
almost hoarse. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve had a great time. I like
to see you so enthusiastic. I’m glad the day went well.” He pressed the button
for the elevator, and the doors opened immediately. They went in, and the doors
slid shut. He could smell her body wash, something fresh and fruity, winding
around him like ribbons.

“Me too. It’s such a relief.” She leaned
against the wall. Her cheeks were a little flushed, her eyes sparkling.

“And I’m glad you feel better after last night.”
Their words were polite and courteous, but seemed disconnected from their
bodies, which were having another conversation all of their own. This girl
fitted her name perfectly—Sunny Summer. From her eyes to her dazzling smile to
her curvy figure that made him think of bikinis and tanned skin damp with
sweat, she was like a strawberry warmed by the sun, sweet and mouthwatering,
filling his dull life with bright color and flavor.

“I do.” Her gaze fixed on his, impish,
challenging. “I think it was because I slept well.”

Was she talking about him lying beside her?
Gene couldn’t think what to reply to that. It was as if all his social niceties
were fading away and his prehistoric caveman tendencies were coming to the
fore. He’d had enough of talking. The memory of being with her the night before
had haunted him all day, and now it rose to overwhelm him.

He wanted her, so badly it made him ache.
He wanted to crush his lips to hers and wrap his arms around her until he could
feel her soft body against him. He wanted to rip off her cream top, then her
trousers, and cover her warm skin with kisses. Peel off her flimsy lingerie
with all its straps and lace and sexy satin. Take her then and there on the
elevator floor.

“Oh, Gene,” she said, scolding,
mischievous. “There’s only one thing I can do when you look at me like that.”

She pushed off the wall. Not sure what she
was going to do, Gene just stared at her, eyes widening, heart pounding, as she
strode across the floor of the elevator. He inhaled sharply as she walked right
up to him and cupped his cheek with a hand. Before he could say or do or think
anything, she lifted up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

Because he hadn’t initiated it, and because
he knew it was wrong, he didn’t move. He didn’t return the kiss, and didn’t
wrap his arms around her, pressing his hands against the wall of the elevator
so he wasn’t tempted to touch where he shouldn’t.

But neither did he move away. Instead, he
closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet, fruity scent of her body wash,
tasting cherries on her lips. They were as soft as he’d dreamed, and he
couldn’t stop a small groan of pleasure rising within him as she pressed her
lips to his a few times, sedate and gentle, but sexy as hell.