Greek Billionaire's Uncontrollable Attraction (The Rosso Family Series Book 3) (6 page)

His lips were soft. Soft and questioning and demanding. Eva fell into the kiss. She opened her mouth and let him explore. He tasted of beer and tomato and something that was just the taste of Callum. His hand stayed on her neck, his touch warm and safe. She didn’t want the kiss to stop, but her back was starting to protest the awkward position.

Pulling back, she stood, came over and sat down in his lap. Callum’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something, but she put a finger on his lips. “It’s just a kiss. A few kisses.” Then she leaned over and kissed him, letting her hair shadow his face and fall around them.

He tasted so good. Of spices and warmth. He tasted like a slice of heaven. She wrapped her arms around him and kept kissing him. His hand came up to touch her breast, a soft caress that had her catching her breath. His thumb rubbed over her nipple and she could feel wetness gathering between her legs. She leaned into him, pressing against him, feeling just how much he wanted her—he was hard against her thighs. She wrapped her fingers into his hair. He brushed her nipple again.

And then he took hold of her arms and pushed her back. “Time for bed.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, it is.” Getting up, she went to the connecting door and held it open. His pupils snapped from wide to pinpoints, but he got up, smoothed his jeans and headed into his room. Eva shut the door and leaned against it.

It had cost her everything to make him leave—but she wanted him begging for her. No…she wanted him crawling to her. Yes, that would do nicely. She wasn’t done making Callum Woods suffer. Meantime, she was wet and aching. She unzipped her jeans and put a hand down into her underwear. Thinking about Callum’s kiss—about his mouth on hers, about his hand on her breast—she started to rub the hard nub between her legs. That was one thing about going to an all girl’s school—you learned how to pleasure yourself, you learned what every girl and woman wanted from a hand between the legs or a mouth on your clit.

Closing her eyes, Eva thought of Callum kneeling before her, begging, crawling to her. She rubbed harder, pushed two fingers in and smiled as the warmth spread through her. And she hoped Callum would be dreaming of her tonight.

***

Callum stripped, took a cold shower, and fell into bed. But he was still hard and he had Eva’s perfume in his nose. She kissed like a siren—and that’s what she was, one of those temptresses from Greek legend. She could lure a man to his doom. He kept telling himself that. She’s Antonio’s kid sister. She’s a woman who can kill you with a kiss. She’s a kid—but that idea was dead and would not come back to keep him comfort. He could still taste her on his lips. He’d wanted to unzip her jeans and pulled them from her long legs. He’d wanted to see her naked—without even one of those skimpy bikinis she liked.

He palmed a hand over himself and pulled hard. He needed something to get his mind off Eva, but he kept going back to how soft her skin was, how her nipples had hardened from just a graze of his thumb. He jerked off thinking about her, wanting it to be her he was plunging into and not his fist. It helped, but not much. He drifted off thinking about Eva—about how he shouldn’t kiss her again like that, and wondering if she’d go for a fantasy of naughty schoolgirl and stern teacher.

The phone rang way too early with a wake-up call. He listened to the voice inviting him to have a wonderful day and groaned. He had breakfast. And Eva was going to go with him—she’d been the one to agree with his mom about that very bad idea.

He grabbed the robe the hotel had provided, and knocked on the connecting door.  She opened the door. She had on a robe that matched his. And it wasn’t belted that tight. His fingers itched with the urge to open it—to put his hands on her.

She smiled at him, leaned against the doorjamb and pushed a hand into her sleep-rumpled hair. “Morning.” His throat dried. Her voice sounded sexy and sleepy. He wondered what she’d look like after sex, with her skin warm and roughened from his beard. She smiled. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”

Leaning down, he kissed the corner of her mouth. A nice, safe kiss. “Get dressed. We’ve got breakfast with my mom. Remember.”

Her eyes widened. “I’d forgotten.”

“Yeah, well she won’t have.” Turning, he headed for the bathroom. He showered, shaved and dressed in ten minutes. It took another fifteen for Eva to show up back in his room, dressed in a long-sleeved sweater, leggings and leather boots. She’d packed for the weather. He wished he had.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Callum swallowed as his body reacted to the scratchy huskiness in her voice. “My mother and the captain will be here soon. We should meet them in the lobby.”

Eva smiled. She chatted on the elevator ride down like nothing had happened between them last night. But she was the only thing that got him through breakfast.

They met in the lobby, decided to eat at the hotel. Eva insisted on treating everyone. She also asked his mom about the best places to shop for good deals on great clothes. Stan did come along. He mostly smiled at everyone and drank his coffee.

Afterwards, Callum’s mom herded them into Stan’s car. Stan—Callum had to admit—knew the city. He showed Eva around, taking her not just to the tourist spots like Times Square, but the old bits of New York that still remained. Old fire stations, the old hotels, and a few of the old police precincts. Eva admired everything, and they parted at lunch time.

Getting out, Callum glanced at Eva. “Thanks for running interference.”

She shrugged. “Not at all. It’s hard to deal with change, especially when we aren’t expecting it.”

Callum nodded, and he straightened. “And now…we’d better get to your lessons. You have a test coming up way too fast.”

He wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn Eva paled a little.

***

Eva watched the snow falling, fascinated with it. She’d been in snow before, but it always amazed her. She’d never seen snow until she’d been eight and had gone skiing with Antonio in the Swiss Alps. The way it was coming down now here in New York, in thick globs that splattered into the windows, she wondered if they’d be able to get out of the hotel at all.

Turning, she glanced over at Callum who had the books spread out in the sitting room. She like the sprawl. They also had a fire going in the fireplace and snacks from room service. “We should go skiing,” she said.

He looked up from the books, eyebrows raised. “In New York? There’s not a mountain in sight.”

“No. In Aspen. After I take my tests there won’t be anything else to do. And what…we should just sit in our hotel rooms.”

He glanced around them. “I can think of worse things. This place has everything and then some—bars, restaurants, spa, a dance club even. Two weeks here sounds like a holiday to me.”

She wrinkled her nose and came over to sit down on the sofa next to him. “And when the holidays come? Will you spend them with your mom?”

Frowning, he turned back to the books. “We should go over your last science lesson again. You’re still struggling with the thermodynamic principals.”

“Oh, come on. Colorado ski slopes for a week! Fires at night.”

He shook his head. “I don’t ski.”

She sat up. “But you could be the perfect ski bum.” She ruffled his hair. “Or a surf bum. Would you rather spend Christmas in Hawaii? I wouldn’t. I’m tired of sunshine.” She waved at the windows. “I want snow.”

Callum smiled. “You want snow. Okay, grab your coat then. I’m taking you to Rockefeller Center, and we’ll see about getting you on some ice skates.”

The Rink was open, and the giant Christmas tree set up and lit already. The ring wasn’t that large, and seemed crowded. She tried to get Callum to buy VIP tickets, but he insisted they were going to be a couple of average tourists. He bought tickets and they waited their turn. He pointed to the gleaming gold statue over the rink and told her about it as they waited.

“You should know that guy—Prometheus, one of the Greek Titans.”

“Yes, yes, I know. He stole fire. That’s why his statue is golden—like fire.”

“Actually, it’s bronze with gold leaf on it. But a real guy—Leon Nole—posed for the statue. He was a teacher. And the inscription on the granite wall behind is a paraphrase from Aeschylus. ‘Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends.’ Cool, hun.”

She gave him a sideways look. “Are you trying to make this a lesson?”

He smiled. “Bet you’ll remember it. Now, let’s talk about the physics of ice skating.” She gave a groan, but he ignored her. “We’re dealing with friction—and what does that do?”

Eva parroted back the answer. “Reduces energy.”

“Right. And what’s the law about an object in motion?”

“That’s going to be you when I push you!” She punched a finger into his chest.

“No, it’s going to stay in motion. Meaning you move on ice or you fall on your butt. Now, you’re going to need to use friction to stop on skates.”

“I know—just like skiing.”

“I don’t know about that, but this is about the angle of your blades. Keep them straight, and you keep the kinetic energy going so you keep moving. Angle the blades out and you can push off the ice—or slow down.”

Eva leaned on the railing and listened to him go on about
rotational inertia—turning by pulling her arms in, and angular momentum, which he seemed to think was really important. The snow drifted down in light dots now. She brushed one off his cheek.

He frowned at her. “You’re not listening.”

“And you’re not enjoying the day. Come on, they’re waving us onto the ice.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him with her. Laughing, she stepped onto the ice. She wobbled—she could ski, but she’d never been on ice skates before. Her balance started to go and she caught Callum’s arm. “How can you stay up on these?”

“Hang on. I’ll take you around a few times until you find your balance. If you ski, this isn’t that different. Except you don’t have polls.” He pulled her around with him, one arm around her waist. She loved the cold on her face, the warmth of his body next to her, the feeling of moving without really trying.

She gave a laugh and spread her arms wide. “This is like flying.”

They spent a full hour skating. She started to feel comfortable on the ice, and Callum showed her how to push off, how to skate backwards. She let go of him and tried a spin—and went flat on her backside. He laughed and reached for her, so she pulled him down with him. Their legs tangled and Callum’s face hovered over hers. His breath misted in front of her, mingling with hers. She thought for a moment he would kiss her—she wanted that. Just because—not to try and seduce him, not to prove anything, but just because she was happy. But he straightened and pulled her up with him.

Skating slowly around the rink, they watched better skaters weave in and out of the crowd or move to the center to execute spins and turns.

Afterwards, Callum took her out for street food. “You have to eat hot dogs and falafel from a street cart—it’s not a New York experience without that.” She liked the hot dog, but the falafel gave her heartburn. Callum laughed when she pulled him to a drug store to buy an antacid. “That’s a New York experience, too.”

Heading back to the hotel, Eva decided she didn’t want this day to end. “Let’s go dancing? Here in the hotel. Please?”

He shook his head. “You should study. But I’ll tell you what—you ace the next practice test I give you and I’ll take you out to the restaurant downstairs. Deal?”

She didn’t quite ace the test, but she passed it, and Callum said that was worth at least a drink at the Bull and Bear Bar. She insisted on trying a Manhattan—a drink invented at the hotel. She didn’t like it, and switched to red wine. Callum started to explain how the name—bull and bear—were stock market terms.

Eva put a hand on his lips. “No more teaching! My head will explode if you keep this up. Come on. All this ice skating and I’m hungry.”

“After two hot dogs and how many falafels?”

She shook her head and pulled him into the restaurant next door, ordering
Waldorf salads for them and New York steaks, and Red Velvet Cake. When they finished, Callum signed for the bill, muttering, “I’m glad your brother’s paying. This would empty my savings. And after that we’d better work off some of those calories.”

“Dancing?” Eva said, sitting up.

He shook his head. At the door, he asked a bellhop to bring down their coats. He tipped the bellhop and they bundled up and headed outside. “We’re going out?”

“Stop asking questions.” Tucking her arm into his, he started walking with her. “This is the way to see New York.”

He walked her to Broadway, to the noise of Times Square, and then to the quite of Central Park, and then back to the hotel. They didn’t talk as they walked—just walked, arms linked, steps matching. Eva thought it was one of the best moments of her life.

It was odd how she didn’t really need words with Callum. How sometimes it was good to just walk with him like this, or to sit and read while he read something else. He was always challenging her—and finding ways to make her see things differently.

Upstairs again, in front of their room, she turned and faced him. “Callum—”

“We should get some sleep.”

“Callum, I’m never going to forget you. What you’ve done for me. I don’t ever want to forget you.” She linked her fingers with his. “Stay with me tonight.”

He leaned against the door. “Your brother—”

“Is not here. Am I ready for my tests?”

He nodded. “You are.”

“Then you are no longer my tutor, are you?”

“Well, I guess not.”

“But you’re my friend?”

He nodded again and touched her cheek. “Eva, this…we’re from two different worlds. I’m not the guy for you, you know.”

“I’m only asking for a lovely memory, Callum. And I…I want you to teach me one more thing before you go back to your own life.” She stepped close and wrapped her arms around him. “Teach me how to make love.”