By midday, I needed to see him. I needed to see that his skin was still tinted with a slight blush of red, and his flesh wasn’t turning white with illness. I needed to know he wasn’t in pain even though the doctor weaned him off the painkillers he’d prescribed. This man was my world, and I needed to know he was perfectly okay.
I didn’t check in with his assistant and just walked inside exactly the way he told me to. He was behind his desk talking on the phone, looking healthy and vibrant. I knew this was the place where he’d been shot, but I didn’t spot any signs of violence. The hardwood floor looked as good as new, as well as the rest of the furniture in the office.
Calloway acknowledged me with a nod before he hung up the phone. “Hey, sweetheart. Need something?” He sat back in his chair, looking like a president with his crisp suit and tie.
“Just wanted to check on you.”
He propped his elbow on the armrest and rested his fingertips over his mouth. He looked sexy no matter what he did, but he looked particularly sexy with a freshly shaven jaw and a haircut. With the new energy and life that had entered his body, he looked like a brand-new man. I loved this version of him, not the weak one that struggled to combat the pain every single day. “I’m doing great, sweetheart. You really don’t need to worry.”
“I’ll always worry.” I sat on the edge of his desk and let my legs hang over the floor.
“The doctor said he’s taking the stitches out tomorrow. I’ll be back to new. And I’m sure you can guess exactly what I want once that time comes.” He gave me a charming wink, his arrogance cute rather than obnoxious.
“That sounds nice.”
“We’ll go somewhere nice for dinner, and then we’ll spend the night in bed together.”
“Depends,” I said. “Who am I having this dinner with?” I hadn’t seen the beast in a long time, so I suspected he was on the mend. After my ordeal with Hank, I didn’t think I wanted to see the beast for a while. But when I remembered that Calloway was still the man underneath, I knew I could handle it.
“Me,” he said quietly. “Just me.”
“You know, the beast can come back—”
“He’s not interested in coming back for a while. So let’s not worry about it.” His eyes darkened in anger, reliving the nightmare behind the privacy of his eyes. After what he witnessed, he probably didn’t want to go down that road for a while.
That was fine with me. “Okay.”
“As much as I would love to sit here and talk with you, I should get back to work. I haven’t even made a dent in my inbox yet.”
“I should get back to work too.” I slipped off the desk even though I ached to be close to him. Over the past few weeks, all I’d been doing was tending to him around the clock, but even a few minutes apart was too much for me.
“We’ll be home in a few hours.” He left his chair and walked around the desk until he was in front of me. His arms circled my waist, and he pressed his forehead to mine. Instead of a kiss, we shared something far deeper. “I love you, sweetheart.”
I loved it when he called me by something so sweet. It contrasted against the fierce way he spanked me and bossed me around. That was how I knew it was true, that his affection was sincere. “I love you too, Calloway.”
He kissed my cheek the way a husband kissed his wife. “I’ll see you later.”
The doctor removed Calloway’s stitches and sent us on our way. There was prominent scarring in the area, but most of his muscle remained intact. Various lines in his flesh were now permanent, and he didn’t have the flawless skin that he once possessed.
But he was still beautiful.
We went home and changed for dinner then arrived at the restaurant Calloway selected. It was a fancy French bistro right in the middle of the vibrant life of Manhattan. The place usually possessed a six-month waiting list, but Calloway somehow managed to get us in with just a few hours of notice.
We took our seats in a private booth near the window and ordered our drinks and appetizers. Calloway had had a new suit delivered to the house for the occasion. It was midnight black with a beautiful custom fit. It was tight on his impressive shoulders and stretched across the prominent muscles of his back.
He looked delicious.
He hadn’t shaved since that morning, so his five-o’clock shadow was coming in strong. The stubble contrasted against the fair skin of his jaw, giving him the features of a movie star. His blue eyes stood out against the dark colors he wore. He was a very handsome man.