The Teacher's Billionaire

only complicated the situation.
    As if I need this to be anymore complicated.
    “Feel like going for a walk, Lauren?” Maybe some fresh air would help clear her head. If nothing else it would help burn off all the extra calories she’d just consumed.
    ***
    Three days had passed since Dylan jumped on the family’s private jet and headed back to New York City. During those three days, he’d thought of not only Callie but his damn agreement with Phillips. If he’d honestly felt Callie was any kind of threat, he wouldn’t feel at all uncomfortable with keeping an eye on her or better yet having someone do it. But he didn’t feel it was necessary. Nevertheless late Wednesday afternoon Dylan found himself in front of her apartment door again. Earlier that morning he’d flown into Boston. After a long and tedious business meeting he’d checked into his hotel suite before driving to Slatersville.
    Once again running his excuse for being there through his head, Dylan knocked on the door. Immediately, he heard barking followed by Callie’s voice telling the dog to calm down.
    As usual she pulled the door open without asking who it was first. “Oh! Hey,” Callie greeted, her eyes wide. It wasn’t hard to tell she was surprised to see him. “Come on in,” she continued, pushing open the screen door.
    “I hope this isn’t a bad time.” He followed her into the kitchen. Today all kinds of papers and a laptop computer covered the table.
    Reaching for some papers she quickly started to stack things up. “No, no. I was just about done with this.”
    Dylan watched as she started to open her mouth to speak again, but then stopped and chewed her bottom lip instead. Automatically he envisioned himself nibbling on her lips.
    Back to reality. Stay focused. This is Warren’s daughter.
    “I have some business meetings in Boston this week. Today’s ended a little early, so I thought I would stop in and see you,” he explained using the story he’d settled on earlier. And it wasn’t a complete lie. Since he’d known he was coming to the area to check up on her, he had his executive assistant reschedule some meetings that he planned to attend in Boston next month to this week.
    “Sunday I had to leave suddenly and I didn’t get a chance to see how things were going for you.” While it had sounded like a plausible excuse in his mind, now that he’d spoken it aloud it sounded weak. Pathetic.
    Callie didn’t immediately respond. Instead her intense blue eyes held his gaze as if searching for something. Worried that she might learn something he didn’t want to share, he looked away.
    “Good... okay, I guess. A little surreal but I’m glad I went.”
    Dylan watched as she spoke and continued to remove papers from the table. Although she was trying to appear calm, he could tell from her rapid movements and haphazard manner that she was flustered.
    “Do you want something to drink? A coffee or some lemonade? Or something to eat? I was just about to start cooking dinner.” The words rapidly tumbled out of her mouth, and she clutched her papers and books tightly against her chest like a shield.
    Am I really making her nervous?
    Though she hadn’t actually asked him to stay, he pulled out one of the colorfully painted chairs and sat down. It felt like the right thing to do. “Whatever you’re having. I was going to see if you wanted to go out, but home cooked is even better.” He’d originally planned to take her somewhere for dinner as an excuse to spend time with her. Staying here would work even better.
    “Let me put this stuff away, and I’ll start cooking.”
    Dylan let his eyes follow her as she walked down to one of two doors off the short hall to what he guessed was her bedroom. Without intending to, he thought how shapely and tanned her legs appeared that afternoon on the beach. Much to his disappointment today her legs were completely hidden by a loose pair of gray yoga pants.
    Thoughts of their day on the beach immediately brought back memories of how soft her skin had felt when he’d rubbed sunscreen on her back. It had felt like satin under his hands. He wondered if the skin on the rest of her body was just as smooth and soft. Images of him peeling off her clothes to find out overtook him. Immediately he felt his body respond.
    Don’t
.
She’s not for you.
Untucking his t-shirt to hide the evidence of his arousal, he hoped she didn’t notice the change when she came back. If she did, would she