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“It’s more than a vineyard. Coyote Ridge is a smaller version of Blue Star—cattle, bees, and more. I’ll send you the real estate sales video. I think I’ve watched it like twenty times. Thefinancials I’ve seen so far look decent. Next week, I’m going to go look at the property with Jude.”
“Well, I’m excited for you.” She squeezed my arm, and her eyes sparkled with happiness. And despite telling myself I wouldn’t get excited, the blood that raced through my veins was full of heart-pounding anticipation.
“It’s time.” The rightness of the words resonated through me. I wasn’t getting any younger. If I didn’t do this now, it would be too late. Rae didn’t know, but she’d inspired so much of this decision it was humbling.
“Congratulations.” She leaned in and pecked my cheek.
Oh, hell no. Other than Jude, she was the first person I’d dared to tell about potentially buying Coyote Ridge. It wasn’t the kind of news you celebrated with a peck on the cheek. Life-altering news deserved a life-altering kiss. I set my wineglass and hers on the coffee table.
I threaded one hand through her slick hair, clutching a handful at the back of her neck. Her eyelids drifted closed, and she sighed. Her lips parted in a subtle invitation I didn’t waste any time in accepting. I pressed my mouth to hers, exploring hers in soft, shallow strokes. Our kiss tasted like the wine, rich and full-bodied.
She clutched fistfuls of my shirtfront, pulling me closer. The kiss grew deeper, more heated. I wrapped her in my arms, pulling her to straddle my lap. Her dress bunched at the top of her thighs, exposing her legs to my roving hand. She was warm and supple in my arms, bending into the kiss.
If we were going to dinner, I had to end this now.
I reluctantly lifted my head and tried to calm down. “I promised you three dates and all the romance. We have to stop.”
I slipped one hand up her leg and under her skirt, only to discover she was wearing the world’s tiniest thong. How could I eat, in public, sitting across from her, knowing about her almostnonexistent panties and staring at the endless swath of cleavage her dress revealed? Lord, give me strength.
“Flowers and steak dinners aren’t romance.” Her words were more breath than sound as they passed her kiss-bruised lips.
“What?” I searched her face, trying to square her statement with what I knew about dating. Flowers. Wine. Fancy dates. That was How to Impress a Woman 101.
“When you took me skinny dipping and trail riding, that was romantic. Getting me port-a-potties at the last possible second was even more romantic. Tacos andJeopardy!Super romantic.” She braced her hands on my shoulders, driving her words home with a brave stare that bored the truth of her words into me.
“You’re sure?” I’d done those things because I wanted to. Not as part of a plan to sweep her off her feet. Spending time with her had been fun, rewarding… wonderful.
“Yes, any idiot with a credit card can buy flowers or make dinner reservations.”
I leaned back into the couch cushions, confused by her explanation. “But wine, flowers, dinners? That’s what women want, isn’t it?”
“I can’t speak for my entire gender, but no. I want a million small things that, added together, are a grand romance. Want to know the most romantic thing any man has ever done for me?” She teased the short hair at the back of my neck with her fingers, and shivers raced down my spine.
“Yes.” And then I wanted the jerk’s name and address so I could kick his ass for impressing Rae before I’d even met her.
“The lights you bought for the walking path. I never asked for them. You saw what I needed, what would improve my life, and did it. And you didn’t gloat about it.” She cupped my face in her hands, holding my gaze. “It was utterly romantic… a game changer for me.”
“I hated seeing you walking the path in the dark.”
“I know.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips over mine. The playful touch pulled a growl from my chest. “How hungry are you?” she whispered with a smirk.
“For steaks? Not at all.”
“Then what are you hungry for?” She sounded as breathless as I felt.
“You.” I slid my hands up her back and pressed her to me. Our mouths met for an all-consuming kiss that lasted until we both were starved for air. We broke apart, and she leaned back in the circle of my arms.
The deep V of her dress called to me.
“I want to see all of you. I missed your body.” Tugging at the straps of her dress, I bared her to my gaze, inch by glorious inch. Down the material slipped, right to the top of her nipples, where it snagged and stopped, hanging, suspended in an affront to gravity.
“Oh, shit. Boob tape. I kind of forgot.” She reached to fix the problem, but I caught her wrists. She giggled a little nervously, biting her lip when I didn’t release her hands. My cock throbbed against my zipper. Fuck, she was flawless. I’d been a million kinds of an idiot to have done anything to risk this.
“You taped your dress on. Very naughty.” I kissed the valley of skin between the strips of tape. “All night I’ve been trying to sneak a peek, hoping for a more tantalizing view, and you’d already outsmarted me and gravity. That seems very unfair.” I nipped the tender spot where her shoulder and neck met.
“It was in case we made it out for dinner. A wardrobe malfunction at Bowie’s would be bigger news in Elmer than Janet Jackson’s nip slip during the Super Bowl.” She tried again to pull her hands free. No way she pulled down her dress. She was my present, and I’d unwrap my gift.
“Such temptation. I’m going to have to reacquaint myself with your gorgeous tits at length.” I pulled her hands behind her back, taking both her wrists in one hand and forcing her back to arch.
