by Maddie Wade
She headed back upstairs and then set about explaining what had happened to the detectives. Detective Brant, who was probably in his early forties and sporting that sexy silver fox look, was kind and patient with her. A glance at his ring finger told her he wasn’t married, and she wondered if her friend and agent Sophia Lovelace would be interested.
They had explained they’d need to look around and take some pictures but would stay for a while and asked if she had any family, she could call to come sit with her.
“I have a friend travelling down from Hereford,” she explained and frowned as the two men exchanged a glance and a raised eyebrow.
“Good.”
She thought the comment and the look they exchanged was telling but she didn’t know how or why. Now it was two hours later, and she was sitting on her sofa waiting while they finished looking around.
Callie heard a commotion at the door and looked up to see Kirk Reid in the flesh. He strode across her living room as if he belonged there and did so in a way that made it look like he owned the room. Despite the long night and scary experience, Callie felt her nipples bead and wetness rush to her panties at the sight of the tall, muscled, tattooed hunk.
Oh yeah this was definitely going to be interesting.
The first words out of his mouth made her belly do a little flip. “Nice to meet you, Ma’am.”
Oh, hell, that Southern accent, so familiar and sexy, almost had her throwing herself into his arms. Instead she did the unthinkable and burst into tears. Next thing she knew Reid sunk to the sofa and she was surrounded by strong arms, her face planted into a warm, solid chest as he held her while she cried. He murmured soft words into her hair, as the warmth of his breath tickled her neck.
He handed her a tissue as she pulled away a few minutes later. “Better?”
Callie nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
It was then she noticed two men standing behind him talking to Detective Brant and his partner. Both were tall and imposing, with lean, strong builds and an air of danger that seemed to vibrate from every pore. The one closest to her was a tall beautiful black man with muscular forearms and butt most of the male models she worked with would die for. He was probably late thirties by her guess and had a deep rumbling voice as he talked to the Detective.
The other man had short mousy brown hair, a strong jawline, and as he turned to look at her, cool blue eyes and cheeky smile.
“Who are they?”
Reid leaned into pet Bono, who by some miracle hadn’t even growled when she’d been pulled in to this stranger’s arms. Reid looked to his friends and smirked. “That’s Mitch and Liam,” he said, introducing the two men who had walked over to them.
Mitch, the gorgeous black man stuck his hand out and she took it. “Good to meet ya.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mitch.” Her smile felt genuine in the wake of his easy manner.
Mitch turned to the other man. “This is Liam. He’ll try and flirt with you. Please ignore him or spray him with water if he tries anything, we’re still trying to house train him.”
Callie laughed and took his hand, which he flipped and kissed her knuckles. “Wonderful to meet you, Calista.”
“Please call me, Callie.” She looked around at Reid and almost blushed at the heated look in his eyes.
“Let me get some real clothes on and I’ll brew some coffee and tell you everything. I know this is a favour for Clay, so I won’t waste too much of your time.”
“Miss Lundholm, we’re all finished here.” Detective Brant handed her a card. “If you need anything, please call. Although I expect you’ll be in safe hands with these three,” he said waving his hand at the three men now heading toward her roof terrace.
“Thank you.”
The detective nodded. “Don’t be a stranger, Mitch,” he called, and Mitch saluted him.
Slipping into her bedroom downstairs, Callie quickly pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a simple vee-neck white tee before scrunching her hair into a sloppy bun on her head. She looked down at Bono at her feet. “So, what do we think of the hot guys in the living room, boy?”
The question obviously went unanswered and she shrugged. She was usually immune to hot guys, but the three men in her living room couldn’t be described as guys. Oh no, they were all man, especially the tattooed one with the sexy Southern drawl and eyes she wanted to drown in. Unfortunately, he was her brother’s oldest and most trusted friend so that wasn’t going to happen.
The thought made her suddenly sad, which was crazy. She didn’t even know him; he could have a girlfriend, or be an asshole who cheated, or have some strange venereal disease with a super long name.
Callie took one last look in the mirror and decided lazy Sunday chic was going to have to do because she didn’t have it in her for anything else. Which reminded her, she needed to call Sophia and tell her what happened. She had a six-thirty call for make-up in the morning and the make-up artist would throw a fit when he saw the bags under her eyes.
She would cancel if she could, but she hated to let anyone down. Gaining a reputation as a diva or as an unreliable booking could kill a career in the industry, and she’d worked too hard to fuck it all up because of some asshole who wanted to scare her.
Still, a shiver raced up her spine as she thought of the eyes that had seemed to penetrate her. With any luck, all of this would soon be sorted.
Chapter Three
Reid moved to the edge of the terrace and looked over the side, quickly identifying where the intruder had come in. The walled area seemed secure, but with the ledge from the wall, it was only a jump of a couple of metres to the roof of the next building. From there, it would be easy grab on and haul yourself up and over.
He would see about getting some razor wire on the top of there to stop that happening and close the hole in her security. He wasn’t sure who was handling her protection, but they needed a kick in the ass. The fact that he, Liam, and Mitch had been able to walk past the front desk and up the stairs without being stopped was a joke.
The only thing that had stopped whatever this sick weirdo had planned for the very delectable Calista Lundholm was the Rottweiler who’d been sitting on her knee like an oversized lap dog.
Reid moved to inspect the locks on her patio doors and twisted to Liam. “We need to do a full rundown on her security.”
Liam nodded. “Agreed.”
Reid watched the woman in question walk back into the kitchen, which was off the large open plan living room. She had changed into yoga pants and a white top, her hair piled on top of her head. She at once looked young and innocent and incredibly sexy.
Seeing her had been a punch to the gut he hadn’t expected. The tears and vulnerability she’d shown him unexpected. He hadn’t been able to stop his reaction to her as he folded her in his arms and comforted her as he hoped someone would do for his sisters in a similar situation. What he wouldn’t want was the instant surge of desire that had shot to his dick as she burrowed in close to his body, her tits soft against his chest.
It had taken every ounce of control he had not to lay her back on the sofa and kiss the tears from her lips. Picturing her brother was the only thing that kept him from acting on his thoughts. If Clay knew he was thinking that way, he’d string him up by his balls.
“She’s beautiful all right,” Liam said from beside him.
Reid turned to his friend and glared. “Yes, she is, and she’s also off limits so keep your fucking dick in your pants.”
Liam held up his hands in surrender. “Not me, brother. I have enough trouble of my own to deal with, but I saw the way she looked at you like you were an ice-cream she wanted to lick.”
“Liam, you’re depraved if all you can think about is some model licking me.” Reid knew he was deflecting and didn’t care.
Liam chuckled. “Maybe, my friend, but it doesn’t change the fact that the sexual tension in that room was instant, and it wasn’t me she was looking at.” With that, he clapped Reid on the
shoulder and went back inside to Callie and the coffee she offered.
Jesus Christ, why him? The only reason he was here was to make sure his friend’s baby sister was safe and do a run down on her security. That was a mantra that was going to become all too familiar in the coming days.
With a silent groan, he followed a quiet Mitch inside and closed the door behind him.
“Coffee?” she asked, lifting a cup.
Reid nodded. “Please.”
Callie poured them each a cup before bending down to fill the dog’s bowl with water. The action pulled her yoga pants tight across her ass, and he almost moaned at the sight. His discomfort wasn’t lost on his friends, who he threw daggers at with his glare.
“Callie, can we go over a few things real quick and then we’ll let you get some sleep,” he said as he saw her yawn. He noticed she was drinking green tea, which made him grimace. That shit tasted like dishwater.
“Sure,” she said, moving to the sofa and taking a seat, pulling her feet under ass and tucking her knees up.
“Tell us again what happened tonight.”
Callie hugged the mug in a comforting gesture as she began to talk through exactly what had happened. Reid knew from experience that the chance this was the only incident were small. Most stalkers built up to physical contact, starting small with watching and taking photos of their target for weeks and sometimes months before it got to this stage.
“Have there been any other incidents like this?”
He watched her pull her full bottom lip in between her teeth, biting on the tender flesh. How he wanted to soothe the tortured flesh with his mouth.
“Not like this, but there have been a few things.”
“Like what?” he asked, sitting forward and placing his cup down.
“Well, last week someone sent flowers to the set with a strange message on the card.”
“What was the message?”
He saw her frown and wrinkle her nose. “It said, ‘the time has come to step away’. I didn’t take a lot of notice to be honest. I get flowers from admirers or fans all the time, but my security didn’t like it, so they assigned me an extra guard for when I have location shoots.
Reid glanced and Mitch and Liam and saw they were all on the same page. This was an escalating situation. At least her shit security had picked up on that
“Can I have the name of your security team and all the names of the people you’re working with currently and over the last six months?”
Callie’s mouth dropped open. “I can’t do that, there are hundreds.”
“It’s necessary.” Reid wouldn’t give an inch on this.
“Fine, I’ll have my PA handle it tomorrow, but now I really need to get to sleep. I have an early call for a shoot down by the docks first thing tomorrow, and my make-up artist is already going to have a fit seeing these bags.”
Reid had no clue what she was talking about—she was stunningly beautiful, with high cheekbones, full lips and green eyes that seemed to darken to brown in the middle. “I’ll be on set with you tomorrow and will be staying here tonight.”
“But you can’t.” She returned to looking flustered which he found cute as fuck. Sharing that probably wasn’t wise, though.
“Fine, I can call Clay have him catch a flight and handle it,” he said, taking out his phone.
“No, don’t do that,” she said, putting a hand on his arm.
The electricity shot up his arm, across his chest, and landed in a tingle down his spine, finishing at his balls. This woman was fucking dangerous, and she seemed to have no fucking clue either. Burying his reaction to her was going to be an exercise in control he’d thought wasn’t a problem for him. It seemed he may have been wrong.
“Fine, I’ll sleep on the couch. Mitch and Liam have family I believe they can stay with,” he said, giving the two men a pointed look.
Mitch’s lips twitched at the not so subtle hint to get going. Liam outright grinned.
“No need for the couch, I have a bed.” Her eyes flashed to him as she realised her mistake. “What I mean is, I have spare bedrooms. You can crash in one of them.”
Reid let his lips tip up at her discomfort and saw a sexy blush heat her cheeks. “Thanks, but I’ll take the couch, that way I’m between you and any threat.”
“Oh.”
Reid saw the fear and worry creep back over her features and regretted that he’d been the one to put it there. “Why don’t I show these two reprobates out and lock up for you.”
Callie nodded and stood, moving the cups into the kitchen which was he noted immaculate.
Reid walked Mitch and Liam to the door. “Meet me at the docks at eight, and I’ll have a key ready so you can go through the security here and try and get a lock on any CCTV from the buildings opposite.”
Mitch nodded. “This is escalating.”
“I know, and she’s in more danger than she realises.”
Liam laughed. “Which is why she has the big hunky man to protect her now.”
“Fuck off,” he said with a shake of his head as he pushed him out the door and locked up. He looked down to see, Bono, looking at him. “What you looking at?” he asked the dog who just licked his hand.
“He likes you.”
Reid looked up and saw Callie watching him. “Dog has good taste,” he said as he walked closer to the woman he’d known all of an hour and yet knew so much about from her brother.
The dog abandoned him as he walked to Callie and nuzzled her leg with his big head. “Yeah he does,” she said with a playful smile that looked good on her.
She was beautiful, he’d thought so before when he’d seen her on the front of Sports Illustrated and other magazines. She had the kind of beauty that made a person feel like she was real. She had blonde hair and a slim figure, but wasn’t a stick-thin model which he hated. Callie had tits and an ass, and he was a tits and ass man. The long wavy blonde hair that made him think of long days at the beach made her even more appealing.
He couldn’t help but wonder why Clay had never told him what she was doing. He’d never made the connection between his friend’s little sister, Callie East and the model, Calista Lundholm. He saw her stifle a yawn and looked at his watch. It was already after three, and she was exhausted.
“Get yourself off to bed, I’ll let Bono out and lock up.”
Her sleepy eyes moved to him, and his body grew hot all over, as he pictured her waking up that way. “Blankets are in the hall closet.” Callie moved toward the stairs that led to the lower levels, and he watched her go.
“Come on, Bono,” he called, and he let the dog out for a wee, before locking the doors and pressing a button on the controls to close the automatic blinds. That was something he’d have to talk to her about tomorrow. Keeping her blinds closed.
Grabbing a sheet and blankets from the hall cupboard along with a pillow, he made his way back to the sofa. Bono had abandoned him to sleep with his mistress, the lucky little fucker.
Reid sat down on the edge of the sofa and untied his boots, before sliding his jeans down his legs and shucking his shirt. Pushing the sheet into the corners of the cushions, he lay down and pulled it over him. Tucking his one arm behind his head, he looked at the ceiling and pondered the events of the evening.
He’d gotten dressed to go out with friends and ended up meeting a supermodel who was his friend’s sister. To add insult to injury, his attraction to her had been instant and like nothing he’d experienced before. It was also something he could do fuck all about. Even though his body screamed at him to seduce her into his bed, which he had a sneaky feeling wouldn’t be that hard, he couldn’t go there. He’d have to friend zone her, act the big brother when he felt anything but brotherly.
It was going to be a long few days, but whether he wanted to fuck her not, she was in danger, and he’d fix that problem for her and amp up her security for her brother’s peace of mind.
That sorted, he ignored the ache in his balls that had been ther
e since she’d touched his arm and tried to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Chapter Four
The sound of the alarm on her phone had Callie shooting up in bed disoriented. Taking a second, she looked around, wondering what was different and not spotting anything. She grabbed the phone and hit the stop button as she swung her legs out. Callie had learned early on in her modelling career that hitting the snooze button was a sure-fire way to make her late.
Her brain was foggy as she padded for the bathroom to relieve her bladder and have a quick shower. Tying her hair up in a bun, she washed her body and replayed the events of previous night as she washed her skin in peach body wash.
A picture of Reid flashed through her mind. Tall, with a firm jaw, ink covering skin she could see on his neck, arms, and hands. The veins on his forearms deep and muscled, his soft blue eyes edging toward green, that danced with a promise she wasn’t sure she could handle.
Up close and in person, the image she had of him from the photos paled in comparison to the man in the flesh. The way he commanded a room with very few words or the sweet way he’d held her and let her cry called to her. To say there had been chemistry was an understatement, it was like a full-blown lab experiment in her living room last night.
Callie was no virgin, she’d dated, even had sex with a few of them, but the men she ended up with never lasted. For some reason, she always seemed to pick men who thought she was arm candy, an accessory like the jewels she sometimes modelled. She’d always been the one to end things, and to her knowledge, it was still amicable.
Exiting the shower, she looked around for her wide tooth comb and couldn’t see it, so ran her finger through her hair instead. Her stylist would have her guts if she put a brush through wet hair and split the ends. Leaving her face bare of make-up, she slathered on some moisturiser and then dressed in pink leggings and an oversized grey hoodie.
Walking up the stairs, she heard the tell-tale sound of someone moving around and felt a tingle of excitement to see the man who’d been the object of her fantasies. She hoped they could spend some time together and maybe get to know each other.