His body had ached for this for so long, his body had ached for her. And as a climax continued to rip through them, he knew that, no matter what, Gemma Westmoreland was what he needed in his life and there was no way he would ever give her up.
Eleven
Sunlight flitting across her face made Gemma open her eyes and she immediately felt the hard muscular body sleeping beside her. Callum’s leg was thrown over hers and his arms were wrapped around her middle. They were both naked—that was a given—and the even sound of his breathing meant he was still asleep.
The man was amazing. He had made love to her in a way that made her first time with a man so very special. He’d also fed her last night the tasty meal he’d prepared, surprising her and proving that he was just as hot in the kitchen as he was in the bedroom.
She drew in a deep breath, wondering which part of her was sorer, the area between her legs or her breasts. Callum had given special attention to both areas through most of the night. But with a tenderness that touched her deeply, he had paused to prepare a warm, soothing soak for her in his huge bathtub. He hadn’t made love to her since then. They’d eaten a late dinner, and returning to bed, he had cuddled her in his arms, close to his warm, masculine body. His hands had caressed her all over, gently stroking her to sleep.
And now she was awake and very much aware of everything they’d done the night before. Everything she’d asked him for, he had delivered. Even when he had wanted to stop because last night was her first time, she had wanted to experience more pleasure and he had ended up making it happen, giving her what she wanted. And although her body felt sore and battered today, a part of her felt that last night had truly been worth it.
Deciding to get a little more sleep, she closed her eyes and immediately saw visions of them together. But it wasn’t a recent image. She looked older and so did he and there were kids around. Whose kids were they? Certainly not theirs. Otherwise that would mean…
Her eyes sprang open, refusing to let such an apparition enter her mind. She would be the first to admit that what they’d shared last night had overwhelmed her, and for a moment she’d come close to challenging everything she believed about relationships between men and women. But the last thing she needed to do was get offtrack. Last night was what it was—no more, no less. It was about a curious, inexperienced woman and a horny, experienced man. And both had gotten satisfied to the nth degree. They had both gotten what they wanted.
“You’re awake?”
Callum’s voice sent sensations running across her skin. “Who wants to know?”
“The man who made love to you last night.”
She shifted her body, turned to face him and immediately wished she hadn’t. Fully awake he was sexy as sin. A half asleep Callum, with a stubble chin, drowsy eyes and long eyelashes, could make you come just looking at him.
“You’re the one who did that to me last night, aren’t you?”
A smile curved his lips. “I’m the one who plans to do that to you every night.”
She chuckled, knowing he only meant every night she remained in Australia. She was certain he knew that when they returned to Denver things would be different. Although she had her own little place, he would not be making late-night booty calls on her Westmoreland property.
“You think you have the stamina to do it every night?”
“Don’t you?”
She had to admit that the man’s staying power was truly phenomenal. But she figured, in time, when she got the hang of it, she would be able to handle him. “Yes, I do.”
She then reached out and rubbed a hand across his chin. “You need a shave.”
He chuckled. “Do I?”
“Yes.” Then she grabbed a lock of his hair. “And…”
“Don’t go there. I get my hair trimmed, never cut.”
She smiled. “That must be an Austell thing, since I see your father and brothers evidently feel the same way. Don’t be surprised if I start calling you Samson.”
“And I’ll start calling you Delilah, the temptress.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I wouldn’t know how to tempt a man.”
“But you know how to tempt me.”
“Do I?”
“Yes, but don’t get any ideas,” he said. “Last night you made me promise to get you to your new office by ten o’clock.”
Yes, she had made him promise that. He’d told her she could set up shop in the study of the house. He would have a phone installed as well as a fax machine and a computer with a high-speed Internet connection. The sooner she could get the materials she needed ordered, the quicker she could return to Denver. For some reason, the thought of returning home tugged at her heart. This was her third day here and she already loved this place.
“You do want to be on the job by ten, right?”
A smile touched her lips. “Yes, I do. Have you decided when and if you’re returning to Denver?” She just had to know.
“Yes, I plan to return with you and will probably stay until after Ramsey and Chloe’s baby is born to help out on the ranch. When things get pretty much back to normal for Ramsey, then I’ll leave Denver for good and return here.”
She began nibbling on her bottom lip. This was September, and Chloe was due to deliver in November, which meant Callum would be leaving Denver a few months after that. Chances were there would be no Callum Austell in Denver come spring.
“Umm, let me do that.”
She lifted her gaze to his eyes when he interrupted her thoughts. “Let you do what?”
“This.”
He leaned closer and began gently nibbling on her lips, then licking her mouth from corner to corner. When her lips parted on a breathless sigh, he entered her mouth to taste her fully. The kiss grew deeper, hotter and moments later, when he pulled his mouth away, he placed his fingers to her lips to stop the request he knew she was about to make.
“Your body doesn’t need me that way, Gemma. It needs an adjustment period,” he whispered against her lips.
She nodded. “But later?”
His lips curved in a wicked smile. “Yes, later.”
Callum was vaguely aware of the information the foreman of one of his sheep ranches was giving to him. The report was good, which he knew it would be. During the time he’d been in Denver, he’d pretty much kept up with things here as well as with Le’Claire. He’d learned early how to multitask.
And he smiled, thinking how well he’d multi-tasked last night. There hadn’t been one single part of Gemma he hadn’t wanted to devour—and all at the same time. He’d been greedy, and so had she. His woman had more passion in her body than she knew what to do with, and he was more than willing to school her in all the possibilities. But he also knew that he had to be careful. He didn’t want her to start thinking that what was between them was more lust than love. His goal was to woo her every chance he got, which is why he’d hung up with the florist a few moments ago.
“So as you can see, Mr. Austell, everything is as it should be.”
He smiled at the man who’d been talking for the past ten minutes, going over his sheep-herding records. “I figured they would be. I appreciate the job you and your men have done in my absence, Richard.”
A huge grin covered the man’s face. “We appreciate working for the Austells.”
Richard Vinson and his family had worked on an Austell sheep ranch for generations. In fact, upon Callum’s grandfather’s death, Jack Austell had deeded over five hundred acres of land to the Vinson family in recognition of their loyalty, devotion and hard work.
A few minutes later, Callum was headed back to his car when his phone rang. A quick check showed it was a call from the States, namely Derringer Westmoreland. “Yes, Derringer?”
“Just calling to see if you’ve given any more thought to becoming a silent partner in our horse-breeding venture?”
Durango Westmoreland, part of those Atlanta Westmorelands, had teamed up with a childhood friend and cousin-in-law nam
ed McKinnon Quinn, and bought a very successful horse-breeding and -training operation in Montana. They had invited their cousins, Zane, Derringer and Jason, to become part of their outfit as Colorado partners. Callum, Ramsey and Dillon had expressed an interest in becoming silent partners. “Yes. I’m impressed with all I’ve heard about it, so count me in.”
“Boy, you’re easy,” Derringer teased.
His words made Callum think about Gemma. She had said the same thing to him last night, but during the course of the night he’d shown her just how wrong she was. “Hey, what can I say? Are you behaving yourself?”
Derringer laughed. “Hey, now what can I say? And speaking of behaving, how is that sister of mine? She hasn’t driven you crazy yet?”
Callum smiled. Gemma had driven him crazy but in a way he’d rather not go into with her brother. “Gemma is doing a great job decorating my place.”
“Well, watch your wallet. I heard her prices can sometimes get out of sight.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
He talked to Derringer a few moments longer before ending the call. After he married Gemma, Ramsey, Zane, Derringer, the twins, Megan and Bailey would become his in-laws, and those other Westmorelands, including Dillon, his cousins-in-law. Hell, he didn’t want to think about all those other Westmorelands, the ones from Atlanta that Ramsey and his siblings and cousins were just beginning to get to know. It didn’t take the Denver Westmorelands and the Atlanta Westmorelands long to begin meshing as if they’d had a close relationship all their lives.
Callum’s father had been an only child and so had his father before him. Todd Austell probably would have been content having one child, but Le’Claire had had a say in that. His father had known that marrying the American beauty meant fathering at least three children. Callum chuckled, remembering that, according to his father, his birth had been a surprise. Todd had assumed his daddy days were over, but Le’Claire had had other ideas about that, and Todd had decided to give his wife whatever she wanted. Callum was using that same approach with Gemma. Whatever this particular Westmoreland wanted is what she would get.
After Callum snapped his seat belt in place, he checked his watch. It was a little past three and he would be picking Gemma up around five. He’d wanted to take her to lunch, but she’d declined, saying she had a lot of orders to place if he wanted the house fully decorated and ready for him to move in by November.
He really didn’t care if he was in that house, still living in his condo on the beach or back in Denver. All that mattered to him was that Gemma was with him—wherever he was. And as he turned the ignition to his car, he knew that making that happen was still his top priority.
“Will there be anything else, Ms. Westmoreland?”
Gemma glanced up at the older woman Callum had introduced her to that morning, Kathleen Morgan. “No, Kathleen. That’s it. Thanks for all you did today.”
The woman waved off her words. “I didn’t do anything but make a lot of phone calls to place those orders. I can just imagine how this place is going to look when you finish with it. I think Mr. Austell’s decision to blend European and Western styles will be simply beautiful. One day this house will be a showplace for Mr. Austell and his future wife. Good bye.”
“Goodbye.” Gemma tried letting the woman’s words pass, but couldn’t. The thought of Callum sharing this house with a woman—one he would be married to—bothered her.
She tossed her pencil on the desk and glanced over at the flowers that had been delivered not long after he’d dropped her off here. A dozen red roses. Why had he sent them? The card that accompanied them only had his signature. They were simply beautiful, and the fragrance suffused her office.
Her office.
And that was another mystery. She had assumed she would have an empty room on the main floor of the house with a table and just the bare essentials to operate as a temporary place to order materials and supplies. But when she’d stepped through the door with Callum at her back, she had seen that the empty room had been transformed into a work place, equipped with everything imaginable, including a live administrative assistant.
She pushed her chair back and walked across the room to the vase of flowers she’d placed on a table in front of a window. That way she could pause while working to glance over at them and appreciate their beauty. Unfortunately, seeing them also made her think of the man who’d sent them.
She threw her head back in frustration. She had to stop thinking of Callum and start concentrating on the job he’d hired her to do. Not only had he hired her, he had brought her all the way from Denver to handle her business.
But still, today she’d found herself remembering last night and this morning. True to his word, he had not made love to her again, but he had held her, tasted her lips and given her pleasure another way. Namely with his mouth. He had soothed her body and brought it pleasure at the same time. Amazing.
She turned when her cell phone rang and quickly crossed the room to pick it up. It was her sister, Megan. “Megan, how are you doing?” She missed her sisters.
“I’m fine. I have Bailey here with me and she says hello. We miss you.”
“And I miss you both, too,” she said honestly. “What time is it there?” She placed her cell phone on speaker to put away the files spread all over her desk.
“Close to ten on Monday night. It’s Tuesday there already, right?”
“Yes, Tuesday afternoon around four. Today was my first day on the job. Callum set a room up at the house for me to use as an office. I even have an administrative assistant. And speaking of administrative assistants, has the bank’s security team contacted you about Niecee?”
“Yes, in fact I got a call yesterday. It seems she deposited the check in an account in Florida. They are working with that bank to stop payment. What’s in your favor is that you acted right away. Most businesses that are the victims of embezzlement don’t find out about the thefts until months later, and then it’s too late to recover the funds. Niecee gave herself away when she left that note apologizing the next day. Had she been bright she would have called in sick a few days, waited for the check to clear and then confessed her sins. Now it looks like she’ll be getting arrested.”
Gemma let out a deep sigh. A part of her felt bad, but then what Niecee had done was wrong. The woman probably figured that because Gemma was a Westmoreland she had the money to spare. Well, she was wrong. Dillon and Ramsey had pretty much drilled into each of them to make their own way. Yes, they’d each been given one hundred acres and a nice trust fund when they’d turned twenty-one, but making sure they used that money responsibly was up to them. So far all of them had. Luckily, Bane had turned his affairs over to Dillon to handle. Otherwise, he would probably be penniless by now.
“Well, I regret that, but I can’t get over what she did. Twenty thousand dollars is not small change.”
A sound made Gemma turn around and she drew in a deep breath when she saw Callum standing there, leaning in the doorway. And from the expression on his face, she knew he’d been listening to her and Megan’s conversation. How dare he! She wondered if he would mention it to Ramsey.
“Megan, I’ll call you back later,” she said, placing her phone off speaker. “Tell everyone I said hello and give them my love.”
She ended the call and placed the phone back on her desk. “You’re early.”
“Yes, you might say that,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest. “What’s this about your administrative assistant embezzling money from you?”
Gemma threw her head back, sending hair flying over her shoulders. “You were deliberately eavesdropping on my conversation.”
“You placed the call on speaker and I just happened to arrive while the conversation was going on.”
“Well, you could have let me know you were here.”
“Yes, I could have. Now answer the question about Niecee.”
“No. It’s none of your business,” she snapped.
H
e strolled into the room toward her. “That’s where you’re wrong. It is my business, on both a business and a personal level.”
A frown deepened her brow. “And how do you figure that?”
He came to a stop in front of her. “First of all, on a business level, before I do business with anyone I expect the company to be financially sound. In other words, Gemma, I figured that you had enough funds in your bank account to cover the initial outlay for this decorating job.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “I didn’t have to worry about that since you gave me such a huge advance.”
“And what if I hadn’t done that? Would you have been able to take the job here?”
Gemma didn’t have to think about the answer to that. “No, but—”
“No, buts, Gemma.” He didn’t say anything for a minute and it seemed as if he was struggling not to smile. That only fueled her anger. What did he find so amusing?
Before she could ask, he spoke. “And it’s personal, Gemma, because it’s you. I don’t like the idea of anyone taking advantage of you. Does Ramsey know?”
Boy, that did it! “I own Designs by Gems—not Ramsey. It’s my business and whatever problems crop up are my problems. I know I made a mistake in hiring Niecee. I see that now and I should have listened to Ramsey and Dillon and done a background check on her, as they suggested. I didn’t and I regret it. But at least I’m—”
“Handling your business.” He glanced at his watch. “Ready to go?” he asked, walking away and heading for the door, turning off the light switch in the process. “There’s a nice restaurant not far from here that I think you’ll like.”
Gemma spun around to face him. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m mad.”
Callum flashed her a smile. “Then get over it.”
Gemma was too undone…and totally confused. “I won’t be getting over it.”
What a Westmoreland Wants Page 11