Wanted: Fairy Godmother by Laurie LeClair Page B

path from her mouth to her toes, singeing everything in between. Callie deepened the kiss, lashing her tongue out and slicing apart his firm, yet gentle lips. She gasped the moment she felt his long, hot tongue mating with hers.
    The sensation of floating through the air gripped her as he moved backward, holding onto her. In the back of her mind, she heard something metallic hit the floor. The razor, she supposed.
    His back hitting the floor jarred her. Jake let out a harsh puff of air at the impact. The hot, blasting breath stole her senses away.
    A deep-seated, primitive longing seized Callie. When his large, warm hands caressed her back, he stroked a storm in her center. She kissed Jake with a needy desperation that stemmed from years of denial, years of pining for him.
    He held her close, wrapping her in a cocoon, and appeasing the yearning in her heart.
    Slicing her fingers into his thick, wet hair, Callie held his head for another long embrace. His answering groan vibrated from his chest and into his throat. She swallowed the sound like a starving woman. Framing his face between her hands, her palms slid in the leftover shaving cream.
    Jake inched her shirt from her waistband, and then touched her bare skin. The pads of his fingers brought the most exquisite ache to her core. His kisses made her dizzy with want. His heart beat a wild tempo, bringing her sweet, blinding pleasure.
    On the edge of something scary, yet wondrous, Callie wavered precariously.
    A sharp rap on the door jerked Callie from her passionate trance. Pulling away, she twisted to the opening bathroom door. Jake held her to him, clearly refusing to surrender.
    A short, round woman filled the doorway. Her bib apron covered her from neck to hem. Her pewter gray hair, in a tidy bun atop her head, matched her eyes. “My, my, Jake,” she admonished. A smile hovered on her twitching lips. “Is your lady friend helping you shave this morning?”
    Callie rose quickly and wiped the remnants of the shaving cream from her face. Hot stinging color shot across her cheekbones.
    “Damn,” he snapped, getting to his feet in one lithe motion. He grabbed at the sagging towel around his hips. “Mrs. Hudson—”
    “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your lady friend?” The older woman winked saucily at Callie, and then scanned a disheveled Jake. “It looks like she’s got you in quite a state.”
    Callie closed her eyes as a fresh wave of embarrassment rolled over her. In order to save the last vestiges of her tattered pride, Callie raced past Mrs. Hudson. “Excuse me,” she mumbled, mortified.
    How in the world can I hide my increasing feelings for Jake now? Callie wondered. And how in the world can I save my job after what just happened?
    Grim determination stole over Callie. She slowed her descent down the staircase. Whatever it took, she’d buy some time. Time to plan and sock away some money so she could buy back Gramps’ ranch, she figured.
    If she had to beg, cajole, and promise her soul to the devil, she’d do it. And Callie suspected Jake Lassiter could very well be the devil himself, stealing her sanity, tempting her beyond reason, and breaking her heart.

 
     
     
Chapter 10
     
     
    Twenty minutes later, Jake heard Ada Hudson’s voice before he walked into the kitchen. He caught Callie’s name, and then his. Fire burned in his chest.
    With his hands on his hips, he halted a foot away from his housekeeper. Her back faced him while she clutched the phone to her ear.
    “I tell you, Flossie, you should have seen it. But, my, you can feel the sexual tension in the air—”
    Jake snatched up the receiver, causing Mrs. Hudson to gasp and spin around. Her jaw dropped, her mouth rounding in surprise.
    Jake spoke into the phone. “Why don’t you mind your own business, Flossie?”
    Her distinctive cackle reached him over the wire. “Can’t do that, sugar. I promised Duke I’d keep an eye on you.”
    He cursed under his breath. The colorful