Vistaria Has Fallen (The Vistaria Affair/Vistaria Has Fallen #1)(41)

“Yes,” he ground out.

So many answers occurred to her. She picked and discarded a dozen. It came down to the fact that he had seen something in her, a potential she was beginning to discover for herself. “You know me,” she said at last. “Better than I know myself. You accept me.”

Her fingers resting against his chest were not enough. She followed a blind instinct. She leaned forward to kiss his neck, to follow the beating pulse with her lips, tasting him, the salty heat of him, up to his ear, where his hair tickled her cheek. She lifted her hands and pushed the jacket off his shoulders. The jacket hit the floor with a heavy thud. Of course, the gun.

His pulse raced beneath her lips and she heard his breath, a little unsteady, next to her ear. Still, he did not move. She thrust her tongue in his ear and he rewarded her with a deep groan. The sound fluttered through her with little tendrils of pleasure. His hands came down around her waist, almost defensively. Yet he did not push her back.

Encouraged, she brought his head down to hers and kissed him. Her hands dropped to his waist, to the belt there.

His hands came to life and snagged her wrists. He held her still. “Not here,” he said. “Not where Vistaria can intrude at any moment.” He looked her in the eye. “I want you for myself, with the world shut outside the door.”

She shivered at the implied promise. “Where, then?”

“My place.”

She gave a small laugh. “Where is your place? I thought it was here.”

“Here?” He looked around the room. “This is just a tool.” He took her face in his hands and gave her a firm kiss on the mouth, then smiled. “You are relentless, Miss Callida. You drug my sleep, invade my thoughts and bridge every defense I’ve built. I must concede because I am helpless to do anything else. Yet a voice inside me tells me this is right.”

“Yay for small voices.” Calli couldn’t prevent her own smile of pure happiness.

He pushed her away from him, bent and picked up his jacket. He slid it on. “Forgive me. For now we must be careful.”

“Soon, Nick. Please make it soon.”

“Is tomorrow soon enough?”

“No.”

He raised his brow. “I see. Then tonight it must be.”

“You’re serious?”

He laughed and kissed her mouth, his fingers sliding into her hair. Her breath deserted her again and she held onto his jacket. When he released her, she shook him a little. “Tonight?” she repeated.

He frowned. “Can we be together tonight? I think the laws of physics are against us. I can start the arrangements now, though, and we can start out tonight. I’m afraid that is the best I can do. Can you live with that, Calli?”

“If we start at once, yes. Can you walk away from here, just like that?”

“There’s an advantage to being a bastard son without a formal position,” he said. “I can come and go as I please.”

“Stop teasing.”

“I’m not teasing. I exaggerate a little, though. I will have to make certain arrangements and they can be put into place tonight.”

“You would do that for me?”

“Certainly.” He raised his brow again. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “It’s just that...after fighting so hard to reach this point, I’m suddenly in free fall.”

He pushed his hand into his pocket. Studied her. “That’s because the brakes are off. I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you and I’ve fought harder and longer than I’ve ever fought to resist you. No more. I want you so badly that if I took you now, it would not be soon enough to suit me. You will find me more than willing to speed up arrangements in any way I can.”

She swallowed, her throat dry and raspy. “And heaven help anyone who gets in the way?”

“Yes, indeed,” he agreed, his voice low. His eyes, his gaze burrowed into her soul again. He cleared his throat and looked away.

Calli shook off the spell.

He walked over to a desk in the corner and lifted the phone. “One moment,” he told her and spoke into the phone. He had a quick exchange in Spanish. Then a second conversation, at a slower pace. He finished the call and hung up, picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “All has been arranged.”

“Really?”

“You doubt me?”

“It seems a little simple.”

“Simple enough. I always keep my options open. Now, you must play your part.”

“What do I do?”

“You and Minnie must go to Pascuallita with Duardo.”

“That’s it?”

“Tonight.”

“Oh, yes, that might create problems.”

“Can you handle them?”

“I think so.”

“Good. Duardo can pay penance for interfering with my personal affairs by playing nursemaid to two American women who want to sight-see around the top of the island. He will be bored and charming in turns and you two will pretend a total fascination with the country.”

“That’s the easy part. Vistaria is a fascinating country.”

He smiled a little. “Vistaria can also be a deadly country. Don’t underestimate my fellow countrymen, Calli. You have only seen a glimpse of the passion and drive that runs in their blood. Vistaria has been self-determining since we threw off the Spanish yoke and men will give up their lives to ensure it stays that way.”