“That’s a very selfless way of thinking.”

“That only proves you don’t know me. I assure you I’m anything but selfless.” I don’t want to talk about myself anymore. She makes me afraid I will slip and say too much. I’m not used to so many personal questions. “What about Paige Beckett? Does she see a band of gold in her future?”

She gets that twinkle in her eye like most women have when they think about weddings and babies. “I want to get married and have children one day.”

She finishes making a sanger from the fresh bread and deli meat and passes it to me. “Children? That must mean you want more than one ankle-biter, huh?”

“Oh, definitely. I want at least two because it sucks being an only child.”

“That’ll be hard to juggle with a music career.”

“I didn’t say I had all the details worked out, but there’s plenty of time for that.” She holds her arms out toward the rows of vines. “I want to know more about this.”

I tell her about the vineyard, the grapes, and explain winemaking while we eat. She watches my face, truly interested and mesmerized by the process, which is unlike the other women I’ve been with. They weren’t interested in me—only what I could do for them. Except for one.

She has no idea, but this is a huge stretch for me. It’s the first time I’ve brought one of my companions to any of my homes on the vineyard. The remote distance from town doesn’t leave me much choice, but I feel comfortable bringing her here since she isn’t from Australia and won’t be showing up on my doorstep six months from now.

After we finish eating, I stand and reach for her hands to help her up. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you. I think you’ll like it very much.”

We pack the remains of our picnic and drive toward the property behind the house. I park the ATV outside a pair of large ornate wooden doors leading to the storage area for the wine.

“Where are we?”

“This is a wine cave.”

“I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It’s where wine is stored.” I reach for her hand and help her from the ATV. “Come on. I can tell that you’re going to appreciate this.”

I open one of the doors to the cave and lead her inside to see the products of my livelihood. She’s mesmerized as her eyes study everything from the stonework dome over our heads to the rows of wine barrels lining each room. “This is … incredible. How was it built?”

“It’s dug out of the ground like a basement and a frame is constructed to keep it from caving in from the weight of the ground around it.”

She notices the ceiling. “The stone arches are gorgeous.”

The arches aren’t the only beautiful thing in this room. The dim glow of the lanterns dances across her face as she studies her surroundings, and I have no doubt that the next three months are going to be spectacular. But first, she has to tell me yes.

She is going to say yes. I’m going to see to it.

I follow her into the next room where the special events are held and she explores like a curious child. She sees the tables and is about to ask for an explanation, but I don’t want to talk anymore. I want to feel her against me again. I’m eager to finish what I started two nights ago.

She’s surveying the long dining hall table when I creep up behind her. “Why is there a … oh.”

I slide one of my arms around her waist and pull her back against me. With my free arm, I push her hair over one shoulder. I press my lips to the exposed skin on her neck and trail kisses toward her ear. “I can’t stand it any longer. I need to touch you.”

She leans against me and laces her fingers through my hand on her waist. This is her way of showing me that she’ll welcome more of what I’m doing. I sneak my hand under the hem of her shirt and glide it upward until my palm finds her lace-clad breast. I feel her nipple grow hard through the lace as I slowly stroke it. I push my hand inside the cup of her bra from the top so I can free it from its entrapment.

She moans softly and grinds herself against my groin as I gently knead her breasts. “I think I have a promise to made good on, don’t I?”

She doesn’t answer but nods in agreement.

I slide my hand down her flat stomach and feel a piercing in her navel. I make a mental note to investigate that later, but I have other plans in mind for right now.

I tug on the button at her waist to unfasten her shorts. It opens after a light jerk and I slowly slide the zipper down. I put my hand flat against her stomach and rub it in a circular motion, each rotation bringing my fingers closer to the spot she so desperately wants me to touch.

I slip my hand inside the top of her lacy panties. I smile against her neck when I feel the smooth skin beneath. “You have no idea how much I like that.”

She tilts her head up and back against me. Her breathing is deep and fast. I have her right where I want her, so I slide my finger down through her slickness and back up once in a slow, torturous stroke. She likes it and wants more because she’s pushing her hips hard against my hand. “Paige, you haven’t given me an answer yet.”

I hear a sweet, delicate whimper from her mouth. “Huh?”

“You still haven’t accepted my proposal.” I slide my finger downward again and then slowly back up until I feel the little swollen button where I rub in a circular motion. “I want you to tell me yes.”

“Ohh … what? I can’t think straight right now.”

I stop the circular pleasure I’m giving her and my fingers retreat because I’m determined to hear her say it. I don’t want to wait any longer. “Tell me you’ll be mine while you’re here.”

She reaches for my wrist and pushes my hand further inside her panties. “Don’t stop.”

I give her a few more soft strokes before I come to a standstill again. “Give me the answer I want to hear and I’ll keep going.”

She rocks against my hand, riding it hard. “That feels so good. Don’t stop.”

She’s desperate for my touch, so I use her need to get my answer a little earlier than she intended on giving it to me. She’s trembling under my touch and I give her a few more strokes. “Tell me, Paige. Tell me you’ll be mine.”

“Yes.”

“Yes to what?”

She’s squeezing my forearm. Hard. “Yes, I’ll be yours while I’m in Australia.”

I smile against her neck again. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

I want to show her how happy she’s made me. I pull my hand from her shorts and she whimpers at the loss of my touch, but it’s only temporary.

I turn her around to face me. She watches my eyes as I place my hands on her hips and push her shorts and panties down to her feet. I lift her onto the table. “Lie back.”

She knows what’s coming and she welcomes it.

I put my lips against her inner thigh and place a kiss against her scalding skin. “Tell me again. I like hearing you say it.”

I trail kisses up her inner thighs, waiting to hear her say it again so I can show her what being mine means.

“I’m yours,” she moans and I reward her for her acceptance. I place my tongue flat against her center and give her one slow upward swipe before I find her small, engorged bump and begin circling it. She tastes so good, even better than I’d imagined.

I feel her reach for my hair and fist it, so I know I’m right where I need to be. I lick and suck her until her screams echo from every wall inside the cave. When she stops screaming, she’s statuesque across the dining table.

Good thing everyone’s gone for the next several days if she screams that loud every time she comes.

I crawl up her body, kissing it as I go until we’re face to face. She’s breathing heavily and appears dazed. She blinks several times to focus on my face. A smile spreads and I’m relieved to see that she’s not angry with me about the tactics I used to get her answer.

I place a kiss against her mouth and smile because I know this is only the beginning. “You won’t regret saying yes.”

13

Laurelyn Prescott

I lie on my back, naked from my waist down, across an ornate dining table and stare up at the ceiling. I’m lightheaded and dazed during my postorgasmic bliss. Drunk almost. I’m no innocent virgin, but this is new for me. Blake never made me feel like that, not that he ever tried.

I don’t want to think about him. I won’t let him ruin anything else for me.

I feel Lachlan kissing his way up my body and it takes a minute before I’m able to focus on him when he hovers above me. I see his smile and I know he’s pleased with my acceptance of his proposal. He didn’t play fairly, but he got what he wanted from me. That’s something I’ll need to remember in the future.

I wait for the sound of his zipper sliding down, but it doesn’t come. Instead, I hear him tell me how I won’t regret saying yes and I can’t argue because I know he’s right. The next three months are going to be extraordinary.

I find my voice and whisper, “Caveman.” That’s going to be my nickname for him.

He throws his head back laughing and I join in soon after. He’s so beautiful when he smiles. The happiness in his dazzling blue eyes is unmistakable. I’m elated because it’s all for me; I’m the one making him beam, and I couldn’t be happier about that.

He lowers his face to my neck and nuzzles it with his nose. I know he’s smelling me because I hear his long, deep intake of air followed by a sigh. “A caveman. You think that’s what I am, huh?”

I feel the warm rush of his breath against my skin and chills cover my body. “You definitely have caveman tendencies.”

He places a kiss against my neck and I lift my chin so he can have full access. “You don’t like my tendencies?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I was only helping you say yes,” he reminds me, as if he’s afraid I have forgotten my agreement.