by Andrews, Amy
‘But you want it.’
It wasn’t a question. ‘Yes.’
‘You need a dress for tonight, right?’
Callie nodded. ‘Yes. I’ve packed one though.’
‘Well sure...But you want this one.’
Callie’s teeth sank into her bottom lip as she stared at the dress. There were a lot of things she couldn’t have in life including the man standing right next to her...
‘Come on.’ He grabbed her elbow and tugged her towards the door. ‘You should at least try it on.’
She almost said no as she resisted his tug but then...what the hell, right? Acquiescing, she let Sebastian drag her into the shop.
The elegant shop assistant, who could have been Marion’s twin sister, gave Callie a polite, perfunctory smile and then leapt to attention as Sebastian swept in behind her, telling the woman Callie wanted to try on the dress in the window.
Callie watched bemused as the boutique owner fell over herself to help. Sebastian was ushered to a plush leather lounge situated in a large sitting area outside the fitting rooms as the owner found the dress in Callie’s size and hung it in the cubicle. She even made him a coffee.
Ensconced in a cubicle she could have thrown a party in, it all felt very surreal to Callie. Like a scene from Pretty Woman. Staring at the dream of a dress, Callie touched it reverently., wanting it but afraid to ruin its crisp perfection by putting her body inside it.
Still, it called to her and she couldn’t resist.
The second it floated down over her head, Callie had to have it. The deep purple fabric was satiny cool against her skin, close fitting but moving and stretching with every flex and twist of her body. The strapless bodice was smooth over her breasts.
It emphasised the thrust of her chest in a way she’d thought only screen sirens from the 1940s had been able to perfect. The fabric clung to her hips and her long legs and the contours of her butt and draped to the floor, the ruffled hem flaring a touch and pooling in a slight train behind her.
It was simply the most stunning thing she’d ever worn.
‘You’re not going to make me come in there, are you?’
Sebastian’s voice brought her out of her daze as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her belly heated at the thought of him seeing her in it. It was a dress a woman wore for a man.
Sexy. Slinky. Suggestive.
One shimmy of her hips and it’d pool at her feet in a tempting puddle of purple.
She looked at the tag and sighed. ‘It’s too expensive.’
‘Some things are worth it.’
Callie rubbed her hands along the silky fabric knowing he was right but...it was just a dress. She didn’t need it. It’s just a dress. Maybe if she recited it enough she’d actually start to believe it.
‘It’s just a dress,’ she said. Out loud this time.
‘Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?’
Callie was temped. Very tempted. After all, she was never going to buy it, but admiring herself in the mirror there was a tiny female part of her that yearned for someone else to see her in it too.
Yearned to see a man’s reaction. Even the man outside the curtain who she should definitely not be indulging.
But...screw it. Taking a breath she reefed the curtain aside and stepped out.
Callie flushed as his thorough gaze travelled all over her, lingering in all the places he already well and truly knew. Her nipples hardened at his frank assessment and, predictably, in a dress that clung like a satin glove, their arousal didn’t go unnoticed.
His gaze zeroed in on her breasts and her breath stuttered to a halt. Standing, he shoved his hands on his hips. ‘Wow.’
Callie would be lying if his close attention and the hushed awe of his wow didn’t go to her head a little. But that still didn’t negate the practicalities. ‘It’s six hundred dollars.’
He nodded slowly, his teeth playing with his bottom lip for a beat or two. ‘Trust me, it’ll be the best six hundred dollars you ever spent.’
Callie tried really hard not to think about those teeth rubbing against her painfully tight nipples and failed. ‘It’s frivolous,’ she protested half-heartedly.
He shrugged. ‘What’s wrong with frivolous?’
There was nothing wrong with it, Callie knew that, but working where they worked, knowing what they knew about the harsh realities of life for so many people it seemed like an incredible indulgence. The heat and hunger in his eyes however, overruled all her sensibilities.
She turned to the shop assistant. ‘I’ll take it.’
Sebastian knew the minute he walked into the function that night that Callie was already there. He couldn’t see her but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing to alert, just as they had that afternoon when she’d emerged from the fitting room.
And then the crowd seemed to part and he caught a flash of purple and there she was, her head thrown back, laughing in that all-out way of hers at something someone in the little crowd around her was saying.
His heart practically stopped. The deep purple suited her colouring and the dress hugged and flared in all the right places. She looked like a movie star on a red carpet or a model poised at the end of a catwalk.
He’d seen her in jeans and T-shirts, in tailored trousers and silky blouses - hell, he’d even see her naked. But this Callie was something else again. Yet another facet to the woman who seemed to have many.
Girlie Callie.
And girlie Callie was a sight to behold.
That afternoon in the boutique she had looked amazing. Tonight, with her eyes heavily kohled and her hair loose around her shoulders rather than bunched in a hastily constructed ponytail, she looked sensational.
It was hard to believe she had to be talked into the purchase and hell if Sebastian hadn’t been a hair’s-breadth away from telling her he’d pay for it. But he’d stopped. Deep in his bones he’d known it would be a very bad move. A woman who’d told him only a couple of hours prior she wouldn’t sleep with him certainly wouldn’t let him pay for an expensive dress.
Luckily she hadn’t been unable to resist the power of the dress either.
She tipped back her head again and laughed, one hand at her throat absently toying with a chain of sparkly baubles glistening in the magnificent crystal lights overhead. Chandelier earrings also dazzled in the light and drew his gaze to her neck.
To her bare shoulders.
To the expanse of flesh above her cleavage.
To her cleavage.
As at the restaurant that first fateful night, people turned and looked at the sound of her laughter and Sebastian could see more than casual interest in several appreciative male glances.
A sharp nudge to his ribs bought Sebastian back to his surroundings. Brent Cartwright, an emergency physician at the Royal Melbourne and one of his oldest friends, handed him a beer.
‘She’s a bit of all right.’
Sebastian frowned at Brent, who went through women as though the Apocalypse was upon them, and thought, over my dead body. ‘She’s not your type.’
Brent hooted and clapped him on the back. ‘Oh, and what is my type?’
‘Younger, blonder. More party, less...’
Brent raised an eyebrow. ‘Less?’
Sebastian looked his friend straight in the eye. ‘Substance.’
Clearly impervious to insult, Brent laughed. ‘I don’t know, Seb, old man, that dress has party girl stamped all over it.’
Sebastian frowned at the naked appreciation in Brent’s eyes. That dress has his stamped all over it.
‘Callie is not the party type.’
Brent eyed him speculatively. ‘Callie, huh?’
Sebastian shrugged. ‘She’s the colleague of mine I was telling you about this afternoon.’
‘Ah.’ Brent nodded slowly like things were clicking into place. ‘Curious you never mentioned how gorgeous she was.’ He drained the dregs of his beer. ‘Come on, introduce me.’
Sebasti
an resisted Brent’s urging. ‘I thought some hot babe gave you her room number this afternoon?’
Brent winked. ‘You know I never pass up an opportunity to meet a beautiful woman. Unless...’ Brent raised an eyebrow ‘I’m trespassing?’
Sebastian thought how furious Callie would be to be talked about like she was some chattel to be traded. ‘For God’s sake, Brent, she’s not a piece of land,’ he said, more sharply than he’d planned.
‘All righty, then.’ Brent grinned. ‘I’ll take that as a yes. Now I definitely want to meet her.’
Sebastian followed him reluctantly, snagging another beer from a passing waiter — he was going to need something to get through watching Brent unleash his considerable charm on Callie. He hadn’t met one woman yet who’d been able to resist the whole tall, dark and handsome thing Brent had going on.
‘Excuse me, Callie,’ Sebastian said as he approached and attention turned their way. ‘I’d like you to meet an old friend of mine, Brent Cartwright.’
She smiled brilliantly at Brent driving a hot spike of jealousy between Sebastian’s ribs.
‘Pleased to meet you, Brent,’ she said, sticking out her hand.
‘My pleasure,’ he murmured, shaking the proffered hand. ‘Seb tells me you work together.’
‘That’s right,’ she confirmed, her expression neutral.
Sebastian kept his expression just as neutral as Brent entertained Callie in that charming witty way of his, aware that despite the dresses and the tuxedos, they were still surrounded by colleagues and this was a professional gathering. She was delivering a paper tomorrow. Looking at her with frank, hungry eyes was inappropriate.
But occasionally, when the conversation involved him, her gaze strayed in his direction, flicking over the jacket of his tuxedo and lingering on his shoulders and his throat. And that’s when things got really heated, when he felt the hunger in him reflected in her and his facade slipped again for a beat or two.
It was a relief to be called to dinner especially given they’d been seated at different tables. Hopefully he could relax and enjoy the evening now. The company was fun and the surroundings were sumptuous with the ballroom transformed into a teeming jungle complete with greenery and live, lush tropical blooms.
Myriad fairy lights amidst the foliage gave it a other-world feel as did the candles and frilly orchids arranged into masterful centrepieces on all the tables. They reminded Sebastian of the hem on Callie’s dress and their wild heady aroma reminded him of rain dripping off leaves, damp earth and hot, sweaty sex.
Unfortunately for him, Callie’s table was opposite which meant every time he looked up, she was in his direct line of sight. Looking at him. All tall and curvy and sexy and totally undressing him with her eyes.
It was crazy. And a total turn-on.
Business, he told herself.
Business. Business. Business.
But it was hard to listen to the MC’s prattle with his attention straying a little too often. When the auction commenced he bid on everything because it gave him something to do with his brain and his hands that didn’t involve dragging Callie upstairs and getting her out of that dress.
But every now and then a glint would catch his eye - a twinkle of an earring, a glimmer at her neck as the flame from a table candle caused the jewellery to flash like a beacon - and he glanced over. Then their gazes would lock and he had absolutely no doubt from the flare in her amber eyes that he was naked in her head.
By the time dessert was served Sebastian was about at the end of his rope. So too, it seemed was Callie, as she stood and left the table. Sebastian assumed she was going to the restrooms but when she sailed past and made for the exit, so did he.
She was at the lifts by the time Sebastian caught her up. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
She punched at the button wildly, giving him a tight smile. ‘I have a really bad headache.’
Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glittered with something that could be fever but Sebastian doubted it. Not a normal fever, anyway. A sexual one? Absolutely. ‘I have some medication in my room,’ he offered.
Her mouth parted as their eyes met and Sebastian could see she knew he was inviting her to his room for more than some paracetamol and a cold compress.
‘I’ll be fine.’ She pressed the button again.
‘Let me come with you.’
She shook her head and shut her eyes briefly, opening them again when the lift dinged. Sebastian slid his hand onto her wrist as the doors slid open and Callie took a step inside. His thumb brushed the pulse fluttering at her wrist and he actually felt her shiver.
‘Don’t,’ she whispered, pulling against his light hold. ‘Please don’t.’
Sebastian released her instantly even though he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms. She fled into the lift, stabbing at a button on the console. She looked hot and sexy in her purple dress but utterly forlorn as she stood there raising her gaze to meet his and holding until the lift doors closed and took her away.
CHAPTER SIX
Callie heard the amplified calls of a coxswain setting the pace a minute or so before the slap of oar against water could be heard and a rowboat came into view. The sun was barely up and it was chilly in the early morning along the banks of the Yarra, but the river was alive and, even at this hour, the city pulsed around her as she walked along the boardwalk.
She’d given up on sleep about an hour ago. Her king-size bed was the ultimate in cloud-like comfort but its sheer size conjured up pictures of rolling in the sheets with a lover.
It was an image that had not been conducive to sleep after she’d fled to her room last night so hyped up from the overt sexual chemistry pumping between her and Sebastian she’d had to leave. They’d made the decision to be work acquaintances only and it would be stupid to go back and undo two months of collegiality.
So she’d left.
But separation hadn’t stopped her blood thrumming loudly through her veins all night. It hadn’t stopped her tossing and turning either as she tried to ignore its insistent call. Eventually she’d just had to get out of the damn bed.
‘Hey.’
Callie startled as Sebastian’s voice came from behind her. She turned to check she wasn’t imaging his voice. Nope. There he was in full Technicolor, his jogging gear exposing a lot of his superb, sweaty body. His broad shoulders and bare biceps. And those muscular thighs - the quads lengthening and contracting with each footfall.
Last night in his tuxedo she’d thought she’d never seen him look more magnificent. The dark suit had emphasised the breadth of his shoulders and the lush brilliance of his hair and she’d wanted to reach out and brush non-existent lint off his shoulder just so she could feel all that coiled strength she knew lay beneath the jacket.
He’d looked tall and commanding, a standout in a room full of black tuxedos. Confident and assured, with a touch of arrogance.
Just as he had been on the bridge.
But, jogging Sebastian was pretty damn fine, too.
She turned back to watch where she was going but also because she was afraid she’d start to drool. ‘Hey, yourself.’
He drew level with her and slowed to a walk, pulling the cool morning air into his lungs.
‘I didn’t know you jogged,’ Callie said.
He grimaced. ‘I don’t. Not really. I love it along here, though.’
They walked on for a few moments, their gazes tracking the glide of the rowing boats through the water as Sebastian caught his breath.
‘How’s the headache this morning?’
‘Fine.’ The lie slid easily off her tongue but she didn’t believe for a minute that he believed there’d actually been a headache.
‘I thought you’d still be tucked up in bed, sleeping it off.’
Callie snorted. ‘I couldn’t sleep.’ She regretted the admission instantly. He didn’t need to know that. A smart man like Sebastian could probably join the dots himself.
‘Neither
could I.’
She faltered a little at his quiet admission then determinedly picked up the pace. It was that or give into the crazy urge to stop and bury her face against his throat.
‘How long have you known Brent?’ she asked distracting herself from the ridiculous craving.
‘Since uni.’
‘He seems like a real jack-the-lad.’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Sebastian nodded. ‘He wasn’t always, though. He was engaged at twenty to this girl from uni. He was besotted with her, wanted the white picket fence and two-point-four children, the whole catastrophe. She broke his heart.’
‘Twenty?’ Callie’s mind boggled. How could someone know at that age they wanted to spend their entire life with one person?
She looked back to herself at that age. She’d been in the middle of her nursing degree and trying to keep her family together. Life had been chaotic. She couldn’t even begin to fathom being so sure about anything, let alone a happily-ever-after.
But she supposed that’s what normal adults in their twenties did — she’d just never had the luxury.
Thankfully they’d arrived back at the hotel, passing the doorman on their way to the lifts. ‘Are you ready for today?’ he asked as he pushed the button a couple of times.
‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ she replied, concentrating on the day’s programme and not the way his bicep bunched as he gave the button a third push. ‘You?’
‘Yep. Are you on before or after lunch?’
‘Before.’
‘Same here. Maybe we should do lunch afterwards — compare notes?’
Callie hesitated. Lunch was usually a stand-up affair with finger food. A time to network and mingle with other attendees. Not a cosy affair for two. But, oh, with perspiration making his shirt cling to flat abdominals, she was so tempted!
The lift arrived as Sebastian said, ‘It’s just lunch, Callie,’ and she was so grateful for the reprieve of the opening doors, she almost skipped into the lift.
Except it was a little too full for skipping. Sidestepping as they were herded to the back was more accurate, crowded on all sides by bodies but conscious of only one.
‘Eleven please,’ Sebastian asked and Callie tried not to groan at the row of lit buttons she could just see through a gap between arms and bodies.