Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) by Sarah O'Rourke Page B

her neck.  “If my nipples
are hard, it’s because the room has gotten cooler since it started to get dark
outside.   And if I’m licking my lips at all, it’s because the air is dry in
here!  You are not seeing any come hither invitations, you horndog!” She
yelled, yanking the soft throw from the back of her chair and pulling it across
her chest when his lustful stare didn’t move from her chest.  Snapping her
fingers, she growled, “Hey, eyes on mine, asshole!”
    Slowly lifting his eyes
until he met her own blazing gaze, he smiled wickedly.  “Denial ain’t just a
river in Egypt, sweetheart.  You don’t need to feel ashamed.  If it helps, you
made my dick hard the first time you opened your mouth this morning to sass
me.”  He continued to smile as Melody’s mouth opened and closed several times
as she tried to speak.  “It’s okay, baby.  We don’t need words right now.  Just
know, that I’m feelin’ this sexual pull, too.”
    “There is no pull,” Melody finally managed to squeak. 
    Cal unhurriedly rose
from his seat on the couch to cross the room to Melody.  When he was standing
in front of her leather chair, he bent, bracing one strong arm against the
chair on either side of her.  Leaning over until his face hovered just above
hers, he smiled.  “Melody, I came here to make sure you were safe as a favor to
my friend and your brother.  I’m staying here because the woman I’m supposed to
protect has captured my attention in a way no woman ever has in all my
forty-two years.  And I’ll continue to remain here until I’m convinced you’re
completely safe from any threat and we’ve figured out what this very real pull between us is.  But I’m warnin’ you now, babe, if this pull is what I think it
is, you better get real used to seeing my face because I’m not going
any-fucking-where.  We clear?” he asked, nearly groaning when he felt the warm
bursts of her breath bathing his parted lips.
    Melody swallowed hard and
nodded quickly, her eyes bright and nervous as they stayed on his face.
    “Good.  Now, I’m gonna
go take Goose for a walk before I give into the urge and show your stubborn ass
just exactly how much of a pull there is between us,” he growled, unable to resist
dropping his head and claiming her mouth for a single rough kiss.  He groaned
as his mouth touched her soft lips and had to force himself to keep his touch
light, simply skimming those puffy pink lips with his tongue.   He moaned as he
tasted her for the first time.  She tasted exactly how he imagined.  Sweet,
heady, and addictive.
    Lifting his mouth, he
met her surprised gaze.  “Oh, yeah, baby.  There’s a pull.  Fuck, I’m fairly
certain there’s an invisible fuckin’ magnet drawing your body to mine,” he
whispered to her raggedly before pushing himself away from her and calling for
Goose as he strode toward the door.
    “Get ready, Melody,” he
ordered without turning around, “I’m gonna be coming for you, Princess.”
     

Chapter
Seven: Not a Hearts-and-Flowers-Kind-of-Guy
     
    Ten days later, Melody
knew exactly what the saying, ‘at her wit’s end’ meant.  Mostly, because she’d
passed being at her wit’s end and moved on to being three steps away from a
nervous breakdown.
    “Seriously, Harmony, I
don’t think my brother sent Callum Valentine here to help me.  I think it’s all
some kind of plot to drive me crazy and have me institutionalized,” she shared
to one of the few girlfriends she’d reconnected with since coming back to
Paradise.  Since Harmony had her own alpha male at home to contend with, she
knew the other woman got where she was coming from now.  “I swear to God that
man is going to drive me certifiably insane.”
    Harmony giggled.  “It’s
only been ten days, girl.  How bad can having a man around that looks as good
as Callum Valentine be?  If I weren’t married to my own dreamboat, I swear, I’d
give some real thought into takin’ a