“Ah,” Leo nodded. “I get it. Stereotyping me.”
“Excuse me?” She knew what he was saying but was embarrassed to admit that he was right.
“You think that because I work as a trainer and have muscles that I’m a muscle-head. That, aside from worrying if I’m getting enough protein or too many carbs or if I should’ve tried ‘riods to get that extra bulk, I’m pretty mentally challenged.”
Calli opened her mouth to protest but what emerged was a laugh. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I guess I’m guilty.”
“Not the first time it’s happened.”
“That really doesn’t make me feel any better. Just says I’m as much a moron as the rest of the idiots who’ve typecast you. I’m really sorry. But also surprised. Not because you’re…” she waved her hands in an encompassing gesture, “built like that, but just in general. I don’t meet many people who know much about mythology.”
“Love the stuff,” Leo said with a smile.
“Me too.”
“Nice to meet a fellow fan. But you didn’t answer the question. Muse or instrument?”
“Muse.”
“Cool. Wish I had one of those sometimes.”
“Really? Why?”
Leo blushed. Actually blushed. That did it. Something warm, pink and fuzzy curled up around her heart and made her want to sigh.
“I’m a…I’m trying to be a writer.”
“Oh my gosh, so am I!”
“You’re kidding? What do you want to write?”
“Romance.” She looked away, ready for the inevitable diatribe that most people delivered, about if you’re going to write, at least write something worthy.
“I thought about trying my hand at romance but I don’t seem to have the knack for it. Maybe we could have a drink and talk writing later on.”
Calli thought her heart would stop. That she’d just keel over then and there, tag on the toe, dead. This kind of thing never happened to her. Not from someone who looked like Leo. Then the voice of reason intervened, nuisance that it was, reminding her that he hadn’t asked to father her children. Just talk writing. He probably saw her the way everyone else did. A dowdy little mouse. Some androgynous little bookworm. Still, having someone to talk to was better than hiding in her villa the rest of the weekend.
“Sure, that’d be nice.”
“Great. I’m off at six. You want to hit the buffet then grab a couple of chairs by the pool?”
“Would that be the bare-naked buffet?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh no. Thanks. I was thinking more along the lines of room service and sitting on the balcony fully dressed.”
“Oh. Okay then. Why don’t I drop by around half past six?”
“That’d be nice.”
“See you then, Calliope.”
“Calli,” she corrected. “To my friends anyway.”
Leo grinned, causing her blood pressure to rise at least twenty points. “Then Calli it is. See you soon.”
“Okay.” God, couldn’t she come up with a better word? She was just chock full of the four-letter variety today. Cool. Okay. Damn. He probably thought she was a moron. Hurrying out of the gym, she raced across the resort toward the villas, trying hard not to look at the naked people she passed.
Once safely inside, she pulled off her clothes and headed for the shower. Once her hair was clean and wound on top of her head, she lathered her body. Her hands moved down her stomach to her groin and her head lowered.
Oh good lord. She was a wooly mammoth. Her bush hadn’t been trimmed in so long she couldn’t even remember the last time she took a razor to that area of her anatomy.
Shit! She didn’t even have a razor! She rinsed off, wrapped in a towel and hurried into the bedroom to get the information packet on the resort. Yes! They had a store on site.
Calli started to pull on clean clothes then stopped. What in the world was she doing? Leo wasn’t interested in getting in her pants so what difference did it make if she was a cavewoman? He only wanted to talk writing.
That thought brought an unexpected rush of tears gathering in her eyes. She felt so foolish, getting so excited and allowing herself such fanciful imaginings. It wasn’t like her to give in to such things. Wasn’t like her to long for such things.
So why was she longing? Why did she want to rush to the spa, get waxed and polished and perfumed? Leo wouldn’t ever be interested in a woman like her. That hiked up the amount of tears that streamed down her face. Leo wouldn’t ever be interested in a woman like her. How utterly horrible that she found herself so terribly interested in him.
Chapter Two
Leo tapped on the door of the villa and waited. In one hand was a nice bottle of white wine. In the other was his laptop case. He’d debated on whether to bring it and had decided that since this date was ostensibly to discuss writing, he probably should. The truth was, he found himself less interested in the process of writing than the petite little writer, who opened the door and smiled up at him.
She looked like a little fairy or woodland nymph come to life. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, spilling onto the turquoise gauze dress she wore. Scooped at the neck, with short, puffed sleeves, it was belted at the waist and ended in a ragged uneven hem displaying bare legs and feet.
Her bright blue eyes were unadorned with makeup, as was the rest of her face. The smell of something sweet, like honeysuckle in the summer, wafted over him. “Hi,” she said in a soft voice. “Come in.”
“Thanks.” Leo entered and waited as she closed the door then offered her the bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure if you even like wine but I’m told this is pretty good.”
Calli smiled as she accepted. “Well, to be honest, I wouldn’t know good from bad. It all tastes like sour grapes to me.”
“Same here,” he said with a chuckle.
“Then how about we save this and maybe you can return it—or give it to someone who actually likes wine.”
“Works for me.”
“Is that your laptop?” She gestured to the case in his hand before she turned to take the wine and set it on the bar that divided the living area from the kitchen.
“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind. I thought if we were going to talk writing that maybe I’d take some notes.”
“Sure. You can set it up on the table over there where I have mine. Just scoot my stuff out of the way. I was doing a little work.”
Leo busied himself unpacking his laptop and clearing a space for it. “Working on your vacation?”
“Research.” She walked over to the table and took a seat, folding her legs beneath her, Indian style.
Leo wondered if she had any idea how completely adorable a picture she presented. Or how sensual. Not an ordinary “I’m trying to be sexy” kind of sensuality, but one that was natural and without conscious effort. He quickly took a seat before such thoughts could inspire action in regions he wasn’t ready to reveal.
There were a few moments of silence. Calli propped her forearms on the table, clasping her hands. “This is awkward. Sorry. I’m not exactly the most gregarious person on the planet—or the most interesting. So, instead of us sitting here being uncomfortable, why don’t you tell me how you ended up in a place like this?”
Leo smiled, grateful for her honesty. “I don’t really belong here. I’m just filling in for a friend.”
“That’s nice of you. And obviously you have a really nice boss to let you take time off from your job to do that.”
“Actually, I’m kind of my own boss.”
“Oh. You have your own business?”
“Yes. I own a few gyms back home.”
“That’s great! It must be wonderful to be your own boss.”
“It has its moments.” Leo made it a point not to be too forthcoming about his gyms or his success. It tended to attract the kind of women he preferred to avoid, namely the ones hungry to spend someone else’s money. “What about you? What line of work are you in?”
“I’m a librarian.”
“And you enjoy it?”
“Yes, I really love what I do.”
“And in the end that’s all that matters.”
The long silence that followed had Calli fidgeting in her seat. Man, she was horrible at this. If she didn’t have that strange alter ego pounding away at her, all libido and no brain, it would be easier. Being this aware of a man was new and really uncomfortable. Especially a man like Leo. He was handsome, had the proverbial body-to-die-for, was successful and seemed to be a nice person to top it off. The whole package. A package she didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with.
She almost wished she hadn’t agreed to get together with him. How was she going to make it through dinner when all she could think about was how attracted she was to him? Damn, what would her friends do?
Okay, that wasn’t the right thing to ask. Fenny would be the perfect lady, ask all the right questions, give all the right answers and be completely composed and utterly entertaining. Dini would tip his chair over and pounce on him and Dee would just come right out and say she had a case of the hots.
None of that was going to work. Which left her sitting there like a bump on a log, feeling her skin flush and grow damp with nervous perspiration.
Food. She’d almost forgotten. They were supposed to eat. She jumped up and grabbed the menu on the coffee table.
“Are you hungry?”
That question prompted a reaction Leo had not expected and didn’t really welcome. Suddenly all he could think about was nibbling his way down her slender neck to the top of her shoulders then lower, to see what delights were hidden beneath the top of her dress.
What the hell? Calliope Howard had gotten to him and that made him nervous. He’d been burned more than once and was more than a little hesitant to act on an attraction. But the guileless blue eyes that searched his, waiting for an answer, were just that—guileless. Could she be that rare woman who wasn’t interested in his money or having a boy toy to brag about to her friends? He’d been caught in that role one too many times, finding himself a sex toy to be displayed in public like a prized pig, ridden hard in the bedroom and then ignored emotionally and intellectually.
He’d had his share of pretense, lies and deception and didn’t want any more. Which had his body in motion and his mouth going into gear before his brain had time to stop him. He rose and walked to her. “That’s a loaded question. Food? Yeah, I could eat. But honestly, right now I’m more interested in finding out whether you taste half as sweet as you smell.”
Leo didn’t consider himself a master at reading people, but he was also no slouch in that department. And two things he was certain of in her reaction were that she was stunned by what he said and tempted.
“I…I, ah, I…” She took a step back and came up short with her legs against the sofa. “I…shit. I’m no good at this Leo. Really. I blow. Big honking chunks. And right now I’m really scared that you’re playing me or feeling sorry for me or looking to do me a favor by pretending to come onto me. And I appreciate it, but I really really don’t think I can handle it. I mean if it was sincere—”
“Who says it isn’t?” Her nervousness made her even more appealing. She was so innocent, so unaware of her own beauty and sensuality.
Calli barked something resembling a laugh and held out her arms to her side. “Duh! Do you need glasses? I’m nothing special. Not sexy. Not like—like you. I’m just…just plain.”
Leo reached out to cup her face with one hand. “Calli, there’s nothing wrong with the way you look. Nothing at all. You’re not plain and you’re certainly sexy. And if you want proof of that…”
He took her hand and guided it to his pants where an erection strained along his upper left thigh. Her eyes rounded along with her mouth. “Oh. Oh my.”
Leo smiled and pulled her to him. “Yes, indeed. Oh my.”
With that he lowered his head and kissed her. Not hard or fast, just a slow gentle kiss. At first she was stiff, her lips frozen. He released her hand to work his arm around her narrow waist and pull her against him. The moment their bodies met, a small breathy moan escaped her lips.
Then she not only accepted the kiss but returned it. Hesitantly at first but only for a moment. One more breath of sound against his lips and hers parted. Leo didn’t hesitate. He took what was offered, tasting and exploring. She was sweet. So damn sweet. And her lithe little body molded against his, arms snaking up to circle his neck.
When her hands fisted in his hair and she began an exploration of her own, her tongue working against his, Leo pulled her even tighter against him. One hand tangled in the silk of her hair while the other roamed down her back to cup that firm, sweet ass.
He felt like a teenage boy. Just one kiss and getting his hand on her ass had him ravaging her mouth, wanting to grind his erection against her. What made it even more exciting was that her tight little body was starting to grind against his. She might look like a fairy princess from a mystical world but she knew how to move. And how to kiss.
They were both breathing hard when the kiss ended. Calli didn’t try to move out of his embrace. She simply tilted her head back to look up at him. Her lips were reddened from the kiss, and her face flushed. Her eyes wore a look that a man dreams of inspiring, the blue darkened to the color of storm clouds.
“Now I’m starved,” he said.
Calli considered it. She wasn’t stupid. The erection pressing against her belly let her know beyond all doubt that he was turned on. But by what? Was she simply another conquest, another notch in the belt or a temporary diversion?
It dawned on her that at the moment it didn’t really matter. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that there could be something starting here. She was in fantasyland. And with a fantasy man. The only real question was whether she wanted to take the fantasy further.
The only answer to that question was a resounding yes. She was in fantasyland so why not live it to the fullest?
“And what might you be in the mood for?”
“That depends. What are you in the mood for?”
She smiled and pulled away. “Fantasy.”
“Fantasy?”
“Well, yeah.” She stretched out her arms and turned in a slow circle. “Take a look around. This isn’t real life. At least not my real life. This is fantasy. Just like you.”
“I’m very real, Calli.”
“Yes, you are. But this isn’t. Not for women like me. So, I just want to enjoy the fantasy as long as it lasts.”
“It doesn’t have to be—”
“Don’t.” She didn’t want him to try to come up with a sweet lie. She knew that whatever happened would be short lived and over fast. But it would be a great memory and that was enough. Calli stepped up in front of him, close enough to feel the heat from his body but not touching.
Leo opened his mouth again and she put her fingers to his lips. “Please. Just for tonight, no talk of real life or anything beyond these walls.”
He nodded and she reached up to trace her fingers along his bottom lip, across the side of his face and behind his head. When she pulled him down to her, she pressed against him. Their lips met and parted. Leo’s arms circled her and pulled her tighter against him.
The kiss enflamed her with an intensity she’d never known. All of the hidden passions she was unaware she possessed were set free. Her hands moved between them, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. That proved to be a frustratingly slow process and she was too impatient. Grabbing the shirt in both fists, she yanked.
Fabric tore and buttons popped loose but neither of them paid it attention. All she could think about was the feel and taste of him. She drew back from the kiss and slid her hands over his firm chest. Her fingers traced from the curve of his neck down. By the time her hands reached his belt, her lips had begun their own trek across his skin.
Leo’s hands tightened on her arms as her hand slipped down lower. She looked up at him. “I want you,” she whispered.
His eyes seemed to glitter like dark jewels as he looked at her. Abruptly, he released her and ripped the cloth belt loose from her dress. She made no protest as he slid the dress off her shoulders and worked it down her body. His hands moved to her breasts and she closed her eyes with a groan of pleasure. Leo swept her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. With her still in his arms, he sank down onto the bed.
Calli watched with lustful enjoyment as he stripped off his shirt. When he came to her, she pulled him down on her, savoring the feel of his hard body pressing against hers. He wound his hands in her hair and held her captive for a long kiss.
Her body responded, moving against his. He raised his head and looked down at her. “Tell me what you want.” His voice was rough with desire.
“To pleasure you,” she responded without hesitation.
His lips moved to her breasts, licking and teasing. She gasped as he bit lightly on one nipple. Her body ground against his, feeling his hardness pressed against her belly.
After a time, he sat back on his heels and traced his hands down her body. He worked her undies over her hips and down her legs. Calli felt a momentary rush of embarrassment, knowing he’d see the forest of hair covering her sex.
Leo didn’t make any expression of distaste. It didn’t slow him at all. His fingers dug into the tender flesh of her inner thighs as he spread her legs. A shiver of delight ran over her as his fingers parted the delicate folds and probed deeper. They emerged wet with her need.
“I didn’t exactly come prepared for this,” he said. “Do you have protection?”
“Never expected to need it.” She sat up and moved onto her knees in front of him. “But I can think of other ways that don’t require protection.”
“Oh?”
Calli smiled and pushed on his chest. “Lie back.”
He complied with a sexy smile and she knelt beside him, leaning over to place her lips against his chest. His taste and smell woke an unfamiliar longing, a need to please. Slowly she trained kisses down his body, stopping at the button of his shorts.
Calli paused to look at him and he smiled, briefly caressing the side of her face. She took that as agreement and quickly unfastened his pants to expose him. Her fingers and tongue took advantage of the new delights, moving through the hair that trailed down his abdomen to disappear from sight in the jeans. Commando-style, she noted, no underwear.
Working up a Sweat Page 2
