Callum leaned back in his seat behind his desk. It had been a busy morning of meetings with clients and researching information only he could source for the team. It was damn lucky he liked his job, because there was always a lot to do.
His gaze flicked to his phone. Despite being busy, his mind had been a bit…distracted this morning. All because of one woman. Fiona. He couldn’t get her out of his head. He was constantly waiting for her call or text. Listening to hear if she’d arrived. She’d messaged earlier that she’d stop in on her lunch break, so he’d been watching the minutes tick by all day.
With a long exhale, he pushed up from his desk and moved down the hall. He didn’t just need Fiona here because he wanted to see her. He needed to look into those damn messages.
It had to be the sister, right? Because who else seemed to hate her so much?
He stepped into the kitchen to find Blake lifting a coffee from the machine.
Callum moved to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. “Hey, brother.”
Blake grinned. “Hey. How was your weekend away with the librarian?”
His entire team knew where he’d been over the weekend and why. They didn’t keep secrets from each other. “Her name’s Fiona, and it was good.”
“Did you break through that tough exterior, or are you still the book killer?”
He grinned. “I haven’t damaged a single book since the coffee spill a month ago.” Although, he still had one at home, so there was time. “And yeah, I think I had a breakthrough.”
He wouldn’t be sharing the finer details of his relationship, but he would share the information his team needed to know. He uncapped his water and drank some. “She’s coming in today actually, but that’s because someone’s been sending her threatening text messages.”
The smile slipped from Blake’s face. “What do they say?”
“Shit about her being a whore and not touching what’s theirs.”
“From an unknown number?”
“Yep. I’m gonna see if I can trace the number back to a person.”
Blake nodded. “Good idea. It doesn’t take much for an unhinged asshole to escalate.”
Exactly. “How’re Willow and Mila?”
Blake’s eyes warmed, and that smile returned to his face. “Amazing. Willow’s the best mother, and Mila’s just…” He shook his head. “She’s amazing, man. Being her father is more than I deserve.”
Callum was happy Blake was back with his wife and five-year-old daughter. It was all the man had wanted since being forcibly separated from them all those years ago. “That’s great.”
Aidan stepped into the room and headed for the coffee machine. “Hey.”
“Hey. I heard you and Cassie are planning an engagement party,” Blake said.
“Sure are. If it was up to me, I’d just marry the woman today, but everyone’s convinced Cass she needs an engagement party first, so an engagement party it will be.”
By everyone, Callum was assuming Aidan meant their friends’ women.
Blake smiled. “I remember feeling like that. I just wanted to put a damn ring on Willow’s finger. Where will the party be?”
“At the event center.”
Callum’s brows rose. “So big?”
“We’re inviting a lot of people from town. Also, the guys from Marble Protection and their partners.”
The men from Marble Protection lived in Marble Falls, Texas, and had also been part of Project Arma. They were actually the ones who’d broken Callum and his team out and ended the project.
“It will be good to see them again,” Callum said with a nod.
A distant voice from the reception area hit his ears. Fiona’s voice. He didn’t try to contain his smile.
“You are so screwed,” Blake said with a shake of his head, clearly hearing Fiona too.
He couldn’t even argue with that. “See you guys later.”
He dropped the empty bottle in the recycle bin and went to the reception area. Cassie was just lifting the phone when he stepped into the room. Fiona looked up at him, and immediately, her throat bobbed.
One side of his mouth lifted. “Hey, Fi.”
Memories flashed of waking up with this woman in his arms. Of listening to her soft sighs as she slept and loving the way she clung to him.
“Oh, Callum, I was just going to call you,” Cassie said, setting the phone down. She paused, and he felt her eyes jumping from him to Fiona.
Yeah, any person would be able to see what was going on here. Hell, they could probably feel it too.
He dragged his gaze from Fiona to Cassie. “Thank you.”
Cassie’s grin was wide from behind the reception desk. “You’re welcome.”
He moved forward and touched Fiona’s waist, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. “Thanks for coming in, honey.”
He straightened to see her smile wide. “Thanks for offering to help me.”
It had been less of a request and more of a demand.
Instead of touching the small of her back or just preceding her down the hall, he skimmed his hand down until he reached hers, then interlaced their fingers. “I’ll show you to my office.”
He gave one more smile to Cassie as they left the room. She still had that grin on her face, and if anything, it had grown. Yeah, he was making a statement. This woman was his. They may not have discussed the finer details of their relationship, but it was official to him.
Fiona lowered into the seat Callum held out for her, almost shuddering when he gently squeezed her shoulder before walking around the desk. She watched as he folded his large frame into his chair. God, the guy even looked hot at work. His dark pants hugged his powerful thighs in the best way, and the tight gray shirt left nothing to the imagination.
“How’s your morning been, honey?” His deep, raspy voice brushed over her skin like silk, causing every fine hair on her body to stand on end.
“It was okay. The library was quiet, and Rick was in his good-mood phase.”
Callum’s brows slashed together. “What does he do on a bad-mood day?”
“Where should I start? He’ll tell me I’m late when I get there two minutes past the hour. I apparently catalog books incorrectly, even though it’s usually another librarian. And the other week, I left some rotting fruit in the staff fridge, but I’m ninety percent sure that was Elaine, an older and very forgetful coworker.”
Okay, maybe eighty percent. She did bring an apple to work nearly every day, and often forgot about them, but she was pretty sure this one wasn’t hers.
When the concern on Callum’s face deepened, she shook her head. “It’s fine. He also has days like today where he’s sickly nice. He’s harmless. Just a bipolar old man who’s been in his job for decades.”
She tugged her phone from her pocket and searched for the messages. Without letting herself focus on the latest text, she slid the cell across the desk.
Callum lifted the phone, and the second he looked at the screen, his eyes hardened. Not only that, but the muscles in his arms flexed and the veins in his neck stood out as he continued to scroll up the thread. This guy was definitely not someone you wanted on your bad side. He’d always been kind to her, but he was dangerous. She’d seen glimpses of it around Freddie, but she knew that was barely brushing the surface.
Without a word, he turned to his computer.
She fiddled with the edge of the chair as he typed. The energy in the room had shifted. Thickened. And she almost didn’t want to speak and feed into it.
As he worked, a phone rang from the desk, but it wasn’t hers. His cell sat closer to her, plus, the man seemed to be in his own little world, so she reached out and lifted it to hand to him. She absolutely was not trying to look at the name on the screen…it just kind of happened.
Kasey. Her belly soured. What did the beautiful bombshell of a neighbor want?
“Thanks.” He slipped the device from her fingers, glancing at the screen before setting it down and letting it go to voicemail.
“You can answer that,” she said quickly, trying to force a nonchalant tone to her voice. “You don’t need to ignore it on my behalf.”
“If she needs something, she’ll call back.”
For some reason, that made the sourness in her gut strengthen. It was stupid. She knew it was. Callum had never done anything to make her question him, but she had trust issues that his beautiful neighbor provoked. And honestly, who wouldn’t want Callum? The guy was gorgeous, and he was also kind and successful and protective. If she got into a relationship with him, she’d be fighting off competition the entire time.
Callum cursed, and her attention flew back to him.
“What?” A curse was bad, right? Was the number from someone she knew? God, was it someone she trusted?
He swiveled his chair around to face her. “They’re using a burner phone.”
She frowned. “A burner phone?”
“Yeah, meaning they don’t want to be traced.”
Crap. That was bad, and it made this so much creepier.
Callum’s jaw ticked. “This person bought a phone with the sole purpose of harassing you. It means they’ve put time and thought into it.”
Time and thought into harassing her. Scaring her. Great. “Guess there’s not much we can do.”
“We can be careful,” he said firmly. “Don’t go out at night alone. Watch your back. Call me if you suspect anything isn’t how it’s supposed to be. And make sure you keep everything locked up at home, even during the day.”
She gave a slow nod, trying to take in every piece of advice and not let it fly over her head.
“I’d also like to get a security system put into your place.”
Her brows shot up. “A security system?”
He rose and moved around the desk before lowering to his haunches in front of her, hands going to her knees. “I know it’s a lot. But even if you weren’t getting these texts, a security system isn’t the worst thing to have.”
“What if I forget the code? What if I trigger the alarm and can’t get it to turn off?”
“You call the company and they help you.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and his gaze followed, darkening.
“Whenever you do that, every part of me wants to kiss you,” he said, voice quieter than a moment ago.
Her lip slipped from between her teeth, the security system and burner phone suddenly the furthest things from her mind. Her heart raced in her chest to a new, faster rhythm, and she had to stop herself from inching to the edge of the seat.
“Maybe you should,” she said quietly. “Kiss me.”
He growled, then his mouth crashed onto hers. She moaned as his tongue swept straight into her mouth and his fingers tangled in her hair.
She almost melted in the chair. This man’s kisses were like nothing else. They tugged her away from wherever she was and slipped her into a place that was just theirs.
She ran her palms down the planes of his chest, then bunched his shirt in her fists.
He was just pulling her to the edge of the seat when a knock came at the door.
She gasped and tugged her mouth away, while Callum cursed before shouting, “I’m busy.”
She tried to stand, but his hands tightened, keeping her in place.
There was a small pause before a man’s voice sounded. “Okay. Just letting you know the one o’clock meeting has been brought forward and starts in ten.”
All right, now she really needed to get up. She stood, this time relieved when he let her, standing as well. She went to walk around him, but he snagged her wrist and pulled her back into his body. Then she was in his arms again, his chest warming her.
“Go on a date with me this Friday night.”
There was no saying no to that, especially after that kiss and while she still stood in the sanctuary of his arms. “Okay.”
The single word was about all she could manage. Then his lips touched hers once more. This kiss was softer. Lighter. It was everything.
“Thank God,” he whispered.
