Vistaria Has Fallen (The Vistaria Affair/Vistaria Has Fallen #1)(17)
“That’s something I can fix!”
“Okay.” Calli held up her hand, motioning for peace and realized the gesture echoed Nicolás Escobedo’s motion. She dropped her hand back to her lap and held it with the other. “God, I need sleep,” she muttered.
*
Something warm and soft supported her back. A hand, warmer still, pressed against the back of her shoulder, holding her. His hot heavy body moved against her. Hot skin touched hot skin, the moisture building between them. Sweat. And a softness of flesh over unyielding bones.
The pressure of his body against her was good. Welcome. It had been far too long since she last enjoyed the sensation of a man laying over her. It had never been like this. She had never been overwhelmed by a man’s size and weight and feeling smaller, weaker and more feminine.
He looked into her eyes. His hand was on her waist. It slid along her hip. The muscles there quivered as his thumb stroked across the little dip by her hipbone. Only, his touch did not give her the sharp jolt of pleasure she expected. It was ghostly, distant. She tried to protest only she could not speak, no matter how she struggled to get the words out...
*
Calli wiped the sleep from her eyes and let her hand fall back on the pillow with a sigh. Her body zinged with arousal. She swallowed, wishing she had put a glass of water by the bed.
Why couldn’t she speak in these dreams? What held her mute? The inability to talk shadowed both nights’ dreams, along with the thundering arousal.
The arousal was another novelty. She had not experienced a sexy dream since meeting Robert and never one this explicit, this stimulating.
The hand along the hip... Of all the images and sensations in the dream, this one burned in her mind. The possessive sweep of his hand against her hip had felt real in the dream, more real than the other ghostly, unsatisfying sensations.
She sighed again and turned over, bringing the sheet up and over her shoulder, burying beneath the cotton. The ache was worse now she knew he wanted her, too.
Why him? Why, after five years since Robert left did she now yearn for sex? And why with someone so impossibly out of reach?
Just before she fell asleep the solution occurred to her and astounded her with its simplicity. Sex was the issue. So go get some. Problem solved. Life back on track.
Chapter Five
“Everything takes longer here,” Uncle Josh explained, pouring Calli another cup of coffee. “You have to go with the flow.”
“My credit card company isn’t here. It’s in Montana, and it’s—” she looked at her new watch and added two hours, “—ten in the morning. They’ve had two coffees and a doughnut by now. They can’t plead they’re asleep.”
Josh smiled. “Is that a comment about my breakfast-making skills?” He picked up the broadsheet newspaper that covered the remains of his plate, piled high with blackened toast crusts. “You could always phone the competition and tell them they can have your business if they will give you a card sooner than your replacement will get here.” He buried himself behind the paper.
“There’s a thought,” Calli said.
“You’re late today, Dad,” Minnie said from the door to her room. She belted closed an apricot satin robe, her hair spiky from sleep and her eyes still half shut. She looked as though she had slept soundly.
“Speak for yourself,” Joshua returned. “I’m meeting people in the city for lunch. Actually, Calli, I meant to mention something and that reminds me. There’s a man on my staff, single, American. From Wisconsin. A lawyer—”
“Well, no one’s perfect,” Minnie said, pouring herself a coffee.
Calli smiled. “Are you setting me up on a blind date, Uncle Josh?”
He lowered his paper, considering it. “I suppose I am,” he admitted. “Although it didn’t play that way when Peter first proposed it.”
“Peter?” Minnie asked. “You’re talking about Peter Kaestner? He’s a creep.”
“He’s perfectly normal,” Joshua said. “That he told you to grow up emphasizes he has the necessary maturity for a man who holds the responsibilities he does.” He brought his gaze back to Calli. “There aren’t many Americans in Vistaria. Most of them are with the company. Single American women are unusual. I think he’s lonely.”
“Or horny,” Minnie added.
Joshua glared at her.
“What?” She spread her hands. “Am I wrong?”
He ignore her. “What about dinner tonight?” he pressed Calli
“Yes, I’d love to,” Calli said, without considering it. If she allowed herself to think, she would find a reason to say no.
“Good.” Joshua folded up the newspaper and plopped it onto the middle of the table, then stretched. “I should get going. There’s stuff to do at the Palace. I’ll talk to Peter at lunch and call you with details, okay?”
“Sure,” Calli said, staring at the front page of the paper, which faced her. The picture was grainy, yet unmistakable. It was a wide shot of the head table at last night’s dinner, with the General in the middle of the frame. Nicolás Escobedo’s features were clear. The headlines screamed in huge type, exclamation marks either side, the first one upside-down.
Uncle Josh picked up his briefcase, jiggling his pocket for keys.