Free Callum by Melissa Schroeder Page A

plain on her face. The fact that she wouldn’t object added another level to his lust. Every primal instinct urged him to mount and conquer. Thankfully, Alastair had pulled him back from the brink with just a quick comment, and he’d turned away before he’d made an ass of himself.
    He blamed the woman. Every time she found something new or discerned a clue, she gasped and sighed. It wasn’t even sexual, but his cock didn’t seem to care. Just seeing the look of rapt study as she read the diary left him hard, and after she retired at the end of the day, her scent lingered. He needed this break, a quick shag, and then he would be fine. But he knew now that wouldn’t happen.
    A strong gust of wind hit him, pulling him out of his irritating memories. He tugged up the collar on his coat and stepped off the curb to cross the street. Anice had asked if he would pick up a watch she’d had repaired, and while he usually hated doing errands like this, he’d latched onto the idea of spending more time away from Phoebe. It only took a few minutes to finish his task, and he was heading for the door. As he pulled it open to exit, the object of his thoughts tumbled in right into his arms.

     
     

Chapter Four
     
    The instant Callum touched Phoebe, his body reacted. His pulse jumped as most of the blood in his brain headed south. The cold air that rushed in behind her did little to cool him. He tried to right her, but she slipped and laughed. The sound of it sent a rush of heat racing down his spine. When she finally stood up and tossed her hair out of her face, her eyes widened, her lips parted, and a flush of heat filled her cheeks with a delightful blush. She looked like a woman who had just had a good tumble. Since he hadn’t seen her in a few hours, perhaps she had. After the debacle at Calista’s, the thought that she had succeeded in a liaison when he could not both provoked and disturbed him.
    “Oh, my.” Her breathy voice held a note of worry and something that sounded like arousal. It slipped beneath his skin, danced along his nerve endings. “I didn’t think to find you here.”
    He still hadn’t let go of her arms—and didn’t want to. They stood there blocking the doorway as he fought the urge to pull her closer.
    “Were you looking for me?”
    She shook her head as confusion puckered her brow. “No. I came in to look for a trinket.”
    Someone stepped up behind her, and he finally grabbed a few brain cells and pulled the two of them inside, out of the doorway. It forced them closer, his chest brushing against her breasts, the scent of her invading his senses.
    “Trinket?”
    She nodded. “My mother’s birthday is coming up.”
    “Oh.”
    She trembled, brushing up against him again. Bloody hell, he wanted her. Her lips were wet, and she pulled the bottom one through her teeth. He wanted to taste her. That one thought dominated his mind, and he bent his head to satisfy his need.
    “Mr. Lennon, do you mind letting me go?”
    She whispered the request. Her voice had deepened, stroking his arousal. Dammit! He tightened his fingers, unwilling to comply. He craved her with an almost consuming passion that was embarrassing for a man his age.
    “Mr. Lennon?”
    When he realized her voice had gone sharp and several of the store’s patrons were staring at them, he jerked back and relinquished his hold. Drawing in a deep breath, he took a moment to compose himself before looking at her again. She wasn’t looking at him but rather straightening her clothes and her hair.
    “What did you say you were doing here?” he asked.
    Her head shot up, her eyes narrowing, and he realized accusation laced his tone.
    “Not that it is any business of yours, but as I told you, my mother’s birthday is approaching. I thought to shop for a trinket to send her.”
    Maybe…but wasn’t it just a bit odd that she ended up in the very shop he was in? Edinburgh wasn’t a massive city like London, but it wasn’t small. There