He couldn’t sell the Oasis. Not when he’d finally found the perfect businesses for each of the storefronts.
But he didn’t want PRO-TEM to have the Heck place, either.
Chapter Fourteen
Callie looked out the front window.
No Gage.
She paced into the kitchen, checked the big cat clock with the tail swiping side to side. Nearly nine.
When Gage had called to tell her some unexpected business came up and that he would meet her at her house later, she had been disappointed. But she’d packed up her gear because his business was probably a blessing in disguise. Her couples massage room didn’t need to be christened with great sex, and she knew that was exactly where things would wind up.
She’d been seeing Gage for less than a month and spent one weekend in his bed. It was all so new and exciting, and she refused to feel badly about it. There was enough talk, though, about what was happening between them. She didn’t need to add to the rumors.
Instead, she checked the portable table she’d bought when she first came back home. She pushed the low oak coffee table and the blue-striped sofa against the wall to make room, set up candles, and had low music playing on the stereo. All she needed was Gage.
Lights flashed in her windows, and she went to the door. Not him, just someone using her drive as a turn-around.
This was silly. Waiting for Gage was one thing. Doing absolutely nothing while waiting was another. Tomorrow was opening day, and the spa had five appointments. That deserved a little celebration.
Callie opened a bottle of white wine and curled up in her favorite chair. She toasted the empty room. It felt weird to be drinking alone, so she set aside the glass and opened her tablet. She wrote a quick email to her mom about the grand opening and asked where they were headed next.
She texted Mandy about breakfast the following morning.
Returned a few work emails from people who hadn’t been able to make it this afternoon.
Checked her calendar.
For the next week, the spa had regular appointments. Enough to keep Callie and Mandy busy but not so much they would need their own massage therapy appointments to work on the kinks in their hands and wrists afterward. She took another sip.
There was nothing left to do but wait. And apparently obsess over why Gage was late.
It was her own fault—kissing him that way in the massage room, getting herself worked up. And for what? Because he was the cutest thing in the spa? Because she was excited about the possibilities for the spa and for their more personal relationship? Callie shook her head. She refused to be mad at herself for kissing Gage, even for kissing him in the middle of the grand opening party.
The wine and post-party exhaustion took hold, and Callie’s eyes grew heavy. She forced them open. It was ridiculous to be so sleepy at barely eight thirty. She doodled on the back of a magazine cover. Yawned. Maybe she would just rest her eyes. Just for a second. Setting the magazine aside, Callie relaxed and leaned her head against the back of the seat, pulled her legs up under her, and felt her body go boneless.
She swiped at her temple. Why was there a cat in her condo? And why was said cat caressing her head? Another swipe. Callie burrowed farther into her pillow. Why did her pillow feel like it had a steel center? She waved her hand to ward off another swipe. This was the weirdest dream. She really had to start getting more sleep. Should be simple enough now that the grand opening was over with and the spa on more solid ground.
Spa.
Swipe.
Gage.
Swipe.
She jolted awake.
“Hey.” He’d pulled another chair over to hers. His intense brown eyes were watching her, and his strong fingers tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Her head rested on the chair arm, and her arms were wrapped around her middle.
“Hi.”
“I knocked, but you didn’t answer. And the door was unlocked. You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked.”
“Didn’t plan on falling asleep. I guess the day just caught up with me.”
“The day, the last couple of weeks. The spa looks great, Cal.”
“Thank you.” Callie sat up and stretched. “What time is it?” She yawned the words. At some point he’d lost the suit jacket, rolled the long sleeves of his Oxford shirt to his elbows, and loosened his tie. It gave him a reckless air, and Callie loved it.
“After eleven. The contract I was going over took a little more time than I wanted. I should go. Just wanted to see you tonight.” He swiped the back of his hand over her temple again.
Callie smiled. “I’m glad you did.” There was a look in his eyes, not distraction exactly, but she could tell a part of him was still at work. Now that every storefront in the Oasis was filled, he probably had another project on his mind. “Do you want to stay?”
He nodded.
“Do you still want that massage?” Lord, she hoped not. After sleeping in this chair for a couple of hours her muscles felt cramped.
He nodded again. “Not really.”
Callie chuckled. “Did you eat anything?”
“Not hungry.”
“Television?”
“Nope.”
“I could get you a glass of wine, and we could talk about the day.”
“All I want is you,” he said. There was a fire in his gaze, and it ignited a similar blaze in her belly. “Too direct?”
“No.”
He held out his hand. Callie stood. She walked to him and turned her face up to look into those deep brown eyes.
“Hi,” she said.
He tucked the hair behind her ears again. “Hi,” he repeated and walked his fingers down her spine. Callie shivered.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped up on her tiptoes. She pressed her lips to his and felt the flame burn hotter. This was getting dangerous. Kissing Gage. Sleeping with Gage. It was all tangled up. Messy.
She didn’t care.
Gage’s arms were tight around her waist, his talented hands kneading her ass. She tangled her hands in his hair, urging his mouth harder against her own. Messy had its advantages. Messy was fast, quick. Left her excited about what happened next. Energized.
Gage pulled her hips in to his, and she felt his erection hard against her. She made quick work of the buttons on his shirt. Gage slowly pulled the zipper of her dress to her hips. His chest was hard beneath her hands, with a light dusting of hair around his flat nipples. She flicked her thumbnail against his nipple and was rewarded with Gage deepening the kiss.
His hands were warm against her back, and he played her spine like a piano. It was the best massage she’d ever had. Gradually, his hands worked up to her shoulders, and he pushed the dress off her shoulders. It slipped over her curves to pool at her feet. Callie mimicked the action, and his shirt followed her dress to the floor.
Gage lifted her into his arms and started down the hall. Callie directed him into the master suite, with its canopied bed and crisp, white linens. He put her down on the comforter and followed, pushing a few throw pillows in lavender and blue satin out of the way. Callie scooted up on the pillows, watching him. His knee pressed into the mattress, making it sag slightly, and then he was on her. His lips pressed to hers, his chest against her breasts.
She thought she could feel his belly button moving against hers, her skin was so sensitized. Then there was the weight of his penis, pressing against her softness. Callie brought her legs around his hips, wanting to feel him more fully against her, but there were too many layers of clothes. Her lace panties. His trousers. The boxer briefs he wore underneath.
Callie reached between them, unbuttoning Gage’s pants and taking the zipper slowly down, down, down. The metal rasp was an aphrodisiac and made her heart beat faster. She sighed when his hands teased her nipples through the lace of her bra and gasped as his fingers slid beneath to pull the straps from her shoulders. Then he lifted her up to release the catch. He tossed the bra to the side and took her brea
sts in his hands. He flicked his tongue against one nipple while this thumb toyed with the other.
Callie fisted her hands in his hair as if that might make him stay in just that spot for the next hundred years or so. Back arched, she invited him to take her deeper into his mouth. Gage complied and then shifted to her other breast.
She wanted more. More than his mouth on her. More than her hands on his back or tangled in his hair. Callie pushed his trousers and briefs over his hips and was rewarded with the feel of his smooth backside in her hands. That wasn’t what she wanted either, though. Reaching between them, she took his length in her hands, squeezing the shaft gently. She liked the feel of him—strong, hard. She ran her thumbnail gently down the vein on the underside of him, and Gage drew in a breath.
“This is going to be over pretty quick if you keep doing things like that.”
She smiled at him. “There’s always round two.”
“We passed two and then four the other night.”
Callie giggled. “I meant two tonight. And you’re counting?”
He nibbled her lower lip and allowed his hands to work down her abdomen toward the apex of her thighs. “Counting. Seared-across-my-brain memories. You make the call.”
She squeezed again.
“I call.” He removed her hand from his penis and left her on the bed long enough to kick off his shoes before removing a foil packet from his pants and discarding them, too. She slid her own panties down her legs and tossed them to the floor.
Gage sank onto the bed and into her in one motion, making Callie gasp. She drew her lower lip between her teeth and curled her toes as he filled her.
“Cal,” he said, placing little kisses along her lips and then continuing on to the base of her ear.
Callie wrapped her legs around him, urging him farther in, and he began to move. She felt him all around—over her, inside her—and she never wanted the feeling to end. Gage sucked her earlobe into his mouth, and Callie clutched at his shoulders. He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, and she wrapped her arms around him. Their bodies seemed to sync as he quickened the pace. Callie’s muscles clenched, gathering as he pushed her higher and higher, and then it was as if she were flying. She squeezed her legs around his hips as if to start the whole thing over again, and then her body went limp as Gage charged over his own precipice.
Breathing ragged, Callie sank into the pillows. Gage rolled to the side but brought her with him so that their legs were entwined on the soft bed.
“That’s a nice welcome home.”
“I was going to say that was a nice wake-up call.” She kissed the soft skin above his pec and slid her tongue against his hard nipple.
“You looked so cute, asleep in the chair.”
“I thought you were a cat, and I couldn’t figure out why a cat would be in my condo.”
Gage chuckled. “Never been mistaken for a cat before.”
Callie yawned and pillowed her head against his shoulder. “You should stay the night. We could work on round two before work in the morning,” she said sleepily.
He settled his arms around her after pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. Gage kissed her temple. “Sounds like a good plan,” he said.
Callie tucked her foot between his legs and threw her arm over his chest. She sighed and allowed her eyes to close.
This was perfect. He was perfect. Work was perfect.
She was going to get what she wanted this time.
She was going to get it all.
• • •
Gage considered disengaging himself from Callie’s body, but couldn’t. No, wouldn’t. He didn’t like post-sex cuddling, not usually. Cuddling with Callie, feeling her sleeping against him, was different. He didn’t feel closed in or restless.
He felt peace. Contentment.
He pulled her body a little closer, and she burrowed farther into his shoulder. From the time he left the spa until a half hour ago, all he’d wanted was Callie. He didn’t want to think about her spa or his development. Definitely didn’t want to think about Alan McKinney taking over the Heck ranch. He’d thought about waking her up and talking the whole thing through, but then she opened those clear blue eyes and all he wanted was to get lost.
The problem with getting lost was being found again, and he couldn’t get his brain to shut down so he could lose himself again.
True to his word, McKinney had emailed a copy of the countersigned contract. Gage called a lawyer friend who couldn’t find any loopholes or codicils that would either void the contract or keep PRO-TEM from developing the land any way they saw fit. In his eagerness to see that his ranch continued on, Walt Heck had signed it over to a company that would erase everything the old man had built over the past fifty years.
It pissed Gage off nearly as much as Alan’s offer.
Callie shifted in her sleep, rolling away from him, leaving Gage feeling alone. He pulled a light blanket from the foot of the bed and covered Callie before leaving the bedroom. She needed to sleep, and his brain was far from shutting down for the night. He should leave, but he didn’t want to, so he rummaged in her kitchen until he found the makings for a ham sandwich and grabbed a cold soda from the door. He flicked on late-night TV, but the inane chatter of Hollywood stars couldn’t hold his interest. Alan’s offer revolved around in his head.
Trade the Oasis for the ranch and get a nice five-million-dollar bonus on top of it. He could put the five million toward the angel fund.
And Alan might have no plans to relocate the businesses already in the Oasis. Maybe PRO-TEM wanted the property for the lease values. Stranger things had happened. Didn’t sound like Alan but then neither did buying Walt’s old place. Gage bit into the sandwich and chewed.
Protect a piece of Nevada land.
Continue working with his band of start-ups.
Create an eco-friendly resort outside of town that could impact how in-town properties treated the desert.
Keep the Oasis and ensure Callie’s spa was the success she dreamed of it becoming.
The ranch.
The Oasis.
Callie.
Possibilities rolled around in his mind. He finished the sandwich and soda, still thinking about the options. He wanted both, but he had to choose.
Gage focused on the darkened hallway as if he could see into Callie’s bedroom. Or maybe into her mind. What would Callie do? Probably make a pro and con list, maybe map out contingency plans for each project. At the heart, though, she would choose the project that held the most value. And value to Callie was tied up in her roots. The desert.
If he sold to McKinney, that could put Callie’s business in jeopardy, and she already had one false start under her belt in Vegas. Another might send her packing, because there was nothing else holding her to the town. Sleeping with him had nothing to do with the roots she wanted.
Come on, Gage, make a fricking decision. Gage blew out a breath and pounded his head against the soft back of Callie’s chair.
He couldn’t make this decision based on what might keep Callie in his bed. He wouldn’t prostitute his feelings like that. And the feelings were real. Undeserved and maybe a little unwanted, but real. He’d promised himself a long time ago that romantic feelings would never have a place in his life. It took two weeks with Callie to start thinking more like her. Wondering how her day was going. Thinking about how he could make that smile a permanent expression. How many times over the past few weeks had he wondered how she would approach a situation? Callie’s gentleness was as much to blame for his soft handling of Walt as anything. That soft handling was part of the problem. Walt didn’t know the kind of sharks PRO-TEM had feeding in their water.
Gage threw the paper plate and soda can in the recycling bins beneath Callie’s sink.
Thinking like Callie had gotten him into this mess. Thinking like Gage would get him back where he wanted to be.
And where he wanted to be was holding the deed to Walt’s ranch.
Chapter Fifte
en
A shaft of sunlight woke Gage from a deep sleep a few hours later. Callie had snuggled her rump into his side sometime after he came back to bed.
With one arm curled under her shoulders and the other flung over his head, he watched her. Her face was relaxed, that lock of hair falling forward to cover part of her face. He could feel her warm breath on his forearm, and her body was pressed so firmly against him that he could feel her spine move when she breathed. He tucked the lock of hair behind her ear, the way she did when she was nervous, so he could see more of her.
This was Callie. His Callie. The thought shook him. Made him want to hustle her down to The Little White Chapel before she woke up and realized what an idiot she was for dating him. But that thought terrified him even more, because what the hell did he know about marriage or commitment?
That would be a big, fat nothing.
Caleb had been so committed to Helena that he neglected his sons in favor of bringing her back from the casinos.
Jase was as steady as anyone Gage knew, but even he’d left the ranch and Nevada once his business was off the ground. He insisted the card circuit was a great way to keep the gaming arm of Reeves Brothers at the forefront of casino owners’ minds, but Gage always wondered if it wasn’t also a way to keep everything at arm’s length.
Connor was the most committed, at least when it came to work. Gage privately referred to it as Middle Child Syndrome. Connor didn’t want to be left out, so he made sure he led the way. That was fine by Gage.
Jase being gone was fine by Gage, too. He didn’t need them around.
Needing Callie was a whole other story. And it seemed as if need was as good an adjective as any to describe his feelings. Because if he didn’t need her, he’d have left in the middle of the night to close the deal with McKinney.
What the Bachelor Gets Page 20