What a Westmoreland Wants - By Brenda Jackson Page 0,32

hoping the military would eventually make a man of him.

Callum decided that he didn’t want to dig himself in any deeper than he’d be able to pull himself out of when he finally admitted the truth to Gemma. “Would you like to go into the office with me for a while today? Who knows? You might be able to offer me a few decorating suggestions for there as well.”

Her face lit up and he thought at that moment, she could decorate every single thing he owned if it would get him that smile.

“You’d give me that opportunity?”

He held back from saying, I’ll give you every single thing you want, Gemma Westmoreland. “Yes, but only if it’s within my budget,” he said instead.

She threw her head back and laughed, and the hair that went flying around her shoulders made his body hard. “We’ll see if we can work something out,” she said, moving toward the stairs. “It won’t take long for me to dress. I promise.”

“Take your time,” he said to her fleeting back. He peeped around the corner and caught a glimpse of long, shapely legs when she lifted the hem of her outfit to rush up the stairs. His body suddenly got harder with a raw, primitive need.

He went over to the counter to pour a cup of the coffee she’d prepared, thinking he hadn’t gotten that kiss yet, but he was determined to charm it out of her at some point today.

“Welcome back, Mr. Austell.”

“Thanks, Lorna. Is everyone here?” Callum asked the older woman sitting behind the huge desk.

“Yes, sir. They are here and ready for today’s meeting.”

“Good. I’d like you to meet Gemma Westmoreland, one of my business associates. Gemma this is Lorna Guyton.”

The woman switched her smile over to Gemma, who was standing by Callum’s side. “Nice meeting you, Ms. Westmoreland,” the woman said, offering Gemma her hand.

“Same here, Ms. Guyton.” Gemma couldn’t help but be pleased with the way Callum had introduced her. Saying she was a business associate sounded a lot better than saying she was merely the woman decorating one of his homes.

She glanced around, taking mental note of the layout of this particular floor of the Le’Claire Building. When they had pulled into the parking garage, she had definitely been impressed with the thirty-floor skyscraper. So far, the only thing she thought she would change with respect to the interior design, if given the chance, was the selection of paintings on the various walls.

“You can announce us to the team, Lorna,” Callum said, and placing his hand on Gemma’s arm, he led her toward the huge conference room.

Gemma had caught the word us the moment Callum touched her arm and wasn’t sure which had her head suddenly spinning more—him including her in his business meeting or the way her body reacted to his touch.

She had assumed that since he would be talking business he would want her to wait in the reception area near Lorna’s desk. But the fact that he had included her sent a degree of pleasure up her spine and filled her with an unreasonable degree of importance.

Now if she could just stop the flutters from going off in her stomach with the feel of his hand on her arm. But then she’d been getting all kinds of sensations—more so than ever—since they had kissed. When he’d walked into the kitchen this morning looking like he should be on the cover of GQ magazine, a rush of blood had shot to her head and it was probably still there. She’d had to sit beside him in the car and draw in his scent with every breath she took. And it had been hard sitting in that seat knowing what had happened last night while she’d been sitting there. On the drive over, her body had gone through some sort of battle, as if it was craving again what it once had.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Gemma’s thoughts were interrupted when Callum swept her into the large conference room where several people sat waiting expectantly. The men stood and the women smiled and gave her curious glances.

Callum greeted everyone by name and introduced Gemma the same way he had in speaking to Lorna. When he moved toward the chair at the head of the table, she stepped aside to take a chair in the back of the room. However, he gently tightened his grip on her arm and kept her moving toward the front with him.

He then pulled out the empty chair next