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“Has Cane ever considered leaving the business and joining you?”
“No.” His heart was sided with the family business. He would never abandon the company my father built on his own. “Wine isn’t his interest.”
“Just explosions and women,” she said with a chuckle.
I noticed she spoke of Cane more highly than she did before. Actually, she never spoke of him at all. I didn’t know where the change stemmed from but I didn’t care enough to ask. “Are you finished?”
“Yes. It was delicious, like always.”
“Let’s take a walk.”
She left her chair and immediately took my hand. Our palms stuck together like glue, perfectly cradling one another like they were meant for each other. I guided her outside where the sun set over the horizon and we walked along the trail around the vineyards.
“Did this estate belong to your parents before you moved in?”
“No.” I bought it on my own once the winery was successful. “But I hired Lars once he had no one to serve.”
“Does he live here?”
“Yeah.”
“Then he works around the clock.”
“He likes it here. He has weekends off and vacation time but he never uses it. His wife passed away ten years ago, and his only daughter passed away as well. I think working here gives him a purpose, takes his mind off things.”
“Oh...that’s so sad.”
“Indeed.” Lars understood loss the same way I did. That was a connection we shared. Neither one of us spoke of it, but it hung in the room constantly. Loss was something that couldn’t be escaped. It followed you around like magnet to steel.
Button dropped my hand and hooked her arm through mine instead. She walked close to me, her cheek touching the top of my arm. Her hair brushed against my skin as the breeze caressed it. “Lars is a sweet man. He’s always been so nice to me since I arrived.”
“He likes you.”
“He does?” she asked with a smile.
“I can tell.”
“What about the rest of the staff?”
“I think they like you too.”
“Good,” she said. “Because they are all so sweet. I can tell they love being here. You’re a low-maintenance employer.”
“I don’t know about that...” My own brother broke into the house and knocked everyone out before he tortured my guest. I wouldn’t consider that to be low-maintenance.
She stopped in the middle of the row and examined one of the vines. A horde of grapes dangled from the deep green stem, purple and plump with juice. She eyed it before she turned to me. “Can I eat one?”
“Yeah. But I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why?”
“It hasn’t been washed.”
“Whatever.” She plucked one before she tossed it into her mouth. “I have a dirty mouth anyway.” Her eyes leapt with playfulness.
I chuckled and pulled her into my side, feeling the life return to my body. Button was the biggest distraction I’ve ever had. She stopped me from thinking about things I couldn’t change. She kept me focused on pleasure and joy. My despair and misery faded to the background because she took up center stage.
“So, when are you going to take me out again?”
“Not for a long time.”
“Oh, come on.” She pinched my side. “I’ve been cooped up in the house for weeks. Let’s go somewhere.”
“The coast isn’t clear. Those cops are probably still looking for you.”
“Then I’ll wear a disguise.”
“What kind of disguise?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get some glasses and dye my hair.”
“You’d look cute in glasses.” I could picture heavy frames sitting on the bridge of her nose while she bent over my desk and I took her from behind. “But don’t change your hair. I like it the way it is.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded and pulled her tighter into my side.
“You like long, dark hair?”
“Definitely.” I stopped walking and fisted her strands, loving the hold I had on her. It was easy to overpower her with just a single grip. I had her right where I wanted her and she couldn’t get away. I pulled her head back so her lips were tilted toward mine. “I like you.”
“I think you more than like me.” She ran her hands up my chest, her nails digging into my chest with desperation. She eyed my lips seductively, wanting my mouth tight against hers. With subtle moves she turned into the sexiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Even without the whips and chains she turned me on like crazy.
There were no words I could use to describe exactly how I felt. All I knew was I wanted her beside me—now and forever. I want her to share my bed every night and I wanted her to ride my cock every morning. Without her I would return to the ghost I used to be. “I think so too.”
***
Her ankles hooked together around my waist and her nails clawed down my back. Her nipples were hard in arousal and her chest was flushed with a red tint. Sweat collected on her neck and her forehead, the heat between us burning us both. “Crow...”
