JustOneTaste (10 page)

The woman was hell on his common sense. That move last night
had come out of nowhere. Delaying sex to force a weekend commitment out of
her—it wasn’t his style. Yet he’d done it, afraid that if he gave her what she
so clearly wanted, she’d sneak out in the dead of night and he’d be left
hanging, not knowing when, or if, he’d see her again. All he needed was time to
prove to her the attraction between them went deeper than mere lust. Then maybe
she’d agree to keep seeing him long-term. That way perhaps she’d never want to
stop seeing him and then…

Way ahead of yourself, Genero.
He knew it but he
couldn’t prevent the hope from fizzing inside him like champagne. She fit right
in at his winery. She could discuss the fermentation process as well as he
could, she had a talent for upselling without ever being pushy and she had no
qualms about doing menial tasks like washing wineglasses and serving trays of
cheese. Her beauty and poise enchanted every single person she came in contact
with—most especially him.

At a little after three, there was nobody in the shop for
the first time since ten that morning. David sidled up to Kerri. “You want to
watch the store for a bit while I take a break?”

“Just you?” Kerri posed. “Or am I going to lose all my
helpers?”

“Sarah’s been working all day and not getting paid a cent
for it.”

Kerri scoffed. “Oh, I think she can afford to go without the
pay.”

Something fierce gripped him at the sarcastic lilt threading
Kerri’s words. “Don’t, Kez. She doesn’t deserve that.”

Blinking in surprise at the harshness of his rebuke, Kerri
said, “Okay, you’re right. I didn’t mean to shoot my mouth off.”

Remorse set in immediately. “Geez, I’m sorry. I’m just a
little cranky.”

“You’re being protective of Sarah.”

“Maybe.” He showed her a rueful smile. “Is it that
noticeable?”

“That you’re falling like a ton of bricks for the woman? Oh
yeah, it’s noticeable.”

Was it true? Hell, yes, David realized. He was falling for
Sarah, big-time, and there didn’t appear to be anything he could do to talk
sense into himself. Something which obviously bothered Kerri. “You don’t need
to be protective of me, you know. I’m a big boy.”

“With a big heart. I don’t want to see you get hurt like
before.”

“Sarah’s not Melissa.”

Kerri shrugged, obviously not as certain of that as David
was. “Your call. Go on then, take a break. I’ll watch things here.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.”

“You may as well call it a day. I’ll ring Phil to come pick
me up and he can stay here with me until five, on the off chance we have
another influx. I don’t want to see you back in here.”

David arched a brow. “You do know I’m the boss of this
place.”

“Yeah, but you never think to take time for yourself.” Kerri
smiled. “Someone’s got to look out for you.”

David found Sarah behind the shop front, perusing the racks
of produce with an expert eye. She must have heard him approach, because she
said, “You won a bronze medal at the Melbourne Wine Show with this Merlot.
That’s impressive.”

“That was the last one my uncle produced. I was sorry he
wasn’t around to receive the accolades.”

“Don’t sell your contribution short. If it weren’t for you
the wine might never have been entered in the competition. And if it weren’t
for you this place might not be operating now.” She turned to study him. “I
watched how you interacted with the customers today, how they responded to you.
You do good work here.”

The praise and the implication made his blood start pumping
faster. “You were watching me?”

Her smile held a touch of shyness that intrigued him.
“Occasionally.”

She didn’t try to conceal the irony of the word, and David’s
heartbeat accelerated further. “Those jeans you’re wearing have been driving me
crazy all day.”

“They’re Kerri’s.”

“I’ve never noticed them looking so good on Kerri.”

The women must be of a similar build for the denim to even
fit Sarah, but David would swear the jeans had never hugged Kerri’s butt so
lovingly. And as none of Kerri’s shoes had fit, Sarah had donned the heels
she’d arrived in. Tight jeans that were a little too short, exposing the bottom
part of her calves, and high heels. Not even the unisex long-sleeved polo shirt
with the winery’s emblem on the front pocket could dim the outrageous sexiness
of the outfit.

“Let’s get out of here.” His voice sounded strangled.
“Before I start making out with you behind the wine racks.”

In the state he was in, making out would lead to other
things, things that—no matter what he’d said last night—he wasn’t sure he could
deny himself much longer.

And he’d rather not be within Kerri’s earshot when he lost
every last thread of restraint he possessed.

Chapter Eleven

Taking Sarah’s hand in his, David led her through the
vineyards, talking about his experiences planting each row of vines and his
hopes for each vintage he planned to produce. Sarah possessed enough knowledge
about the process to suggest blends and barreling methods, which David couldn’t
help but be enormously pleased by. It wasn’t merely her beauty that attracted
him but her brains as well. Her business acumen was the icing on the cake, and
the fact she was willing to put it to use thinking of ways for him to increase
business.

“Promoting this place as a wedding venue is a great idea but
it’ll take a fairly big financial investment,” David said at one point. “Not to
mention the services of an event planner. It’s one of those things I’d like to
do someday.”

“I’m pretty good at drafting business plans,” Sarah replied,
“if you ever need help convincing your bank manager to give you the funds.”

David noticed she didn’t try to put herself forward as a
potential benefactor and he couldn’t help but be relieved. Perhaps she was
finally starting to believe he would never take money from her. Not only that,
her offer assumed an association between them that stretched beyond the
weekend.

Lifting their linked hands, David placed a kiss to her
knuckles. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They continued their stroll around the property, the slow
pace not reflective of the sense of urgency gathering inside him. Sarah’s
nearness, the touch of her hand, hell, even the feet she’d bared when she took
off her shoes, fired his every sexual impulse.

“David?” Sarah’s prompt made David realize they’d both
fallen into contemplative silence. The sun was beginning to sink toward the
horizon, taking some of the day’s warmth away.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you alone here?” She scanned the rows and rows of
vines. “Something Kerri said this morning indicated there’d been someone once.”

David grunted. “Kerri ought to keep her mouth shut.”

“She was only concerned for you.”

“Warning you off, then?” He took her shrug as confirmation.
His exasperation with his supposed friend grew. “She had no right.”

“She didn’t upset me if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Sarah’s blithe assurance reminded David she was used to the cutthroat world of
business. Whatever sniping match she’d gotten into with Kerri probably didn’t
compare. “But it’s clear she doesn’t like me.”

“She thinks you’re just like my ex-girlfriend. Melissa moved
here with me when I first inherited this place. She quit the job she’d always
hated anyway, swore she wanted the relief from the stress of the advertising
game. I think she started to go crazy after three days.” David showed Sarah a
rueful smile, recalling Melissa’s agitation at the quietness of the cottage,
the lack of activities to hold her interest. “Not enough excitement around here
compared to what she was used to. After a while she took another job in the
city and commuted but the visits began to dwindle before too long. I think we
both realized it was over months before she left for the last time.”

They walked together in silence for a while. Somehow it
wasn’t the slightest bit odd sharing such intimate details of his life with
Sarah, when usually he was a very private person. He wondered if Sarah felt
that same easy sense of intimacy, hoped that she’d freely volunteer a little
information about her own past.

But when she at last spoke, it was to ask another question
about his. “Did she break your heart?” Her voice was little more than a
whisper.

“To hear Kerri tell it, you’d certainly think so.”

Sarah stopped strolling, compelling David to halt his
strides as well. She stared at him, her expression earnest, even worried. “How
would
you
tell it?”

There was no doubting Melissa’s leaving had hurt. He’d been
with her a total of three years and he’d always assumed their future was
together. But by the same token, if he’d wanted that future as badly as he
should have, wouldn’t he have asked Melissa to marry him at some point? He
hadn’t even used a proposal as a last-ditch attempt to beg her to stay with
him, perhaps because having her stay wasn’t so vital that he was willing to
commit the rest of his life to her to achieve the aim.

What did that say about him? Was he disinterested in
marriage in general or had his apathy only pertained to his relationship with
Melissa? As David gazed at Sarah’s arresting face, an image of her standing
before him wearing white, shrouded in the pale netting of a bridal veil came to
him unbidden. His heart rate spiked, rushing his blood in a way that made his
veins feel both full and lighter than air at the same time.

The response had nothing to do with fear.
So not against
marriage in general then. Oh, Christ, you are in so much trouble, Genero.

“If you’re asking if I’m over her, the answer is yes.” David
took a step forward, invading Sarah’s personal space. He cupped her cheek and
ran his thumb along her lower lip. “All I’ve been able to think about since
that night three weeks ago is you.”

Sarah’s eyes grew misty. “Oh, David…”

“Don’t say it.” He could tell by the expression on her face
she wanted to reiterate her belief that there was no possibility of a future
between them. And right now, David didn’t want to bloody hear it. “Don’t say a
damn thing. Shut up and kiss me.”

Swiftly, he closed the distance between them. Her lips were
pliant, already open by the time he crushed his to them. He delved into her
mouth immediately, tasting her as he’d yearned to since this morning. Hours
upon hours, almost a whole day and he hadn’t kissed her. It was too damn long.

Her arms twined around his neck, urging him closer. David
ran his hands over her, his touch frenetic on her back, her waist, the
undersides of her breasts. She sucked in a breath and drew back, allowing him
to cup them. He molded and shaped, gently squeezed and pinched, until she
wiggled with impatience, grinding against his erection.

Grasping her hips, David drew her forward, settling fully
into the V of her thighs. “Christ, Sarah, you win. You don’t have to promise me
anything and you can call it whatever you want. Just let me inside you again. I
want you so bad I hurt.”

She responded by taking a slow step back and lowering to her
knees on the grass. She held his gaze the entire time, fire and promises in the
blue depths of her irises. When she reached for his waistband and unsnapped his
jeans, David’s heart flat-out stopped. The lowering of his zipper sounded so
loud in the afternoon quiet, but he was sure they’d walked far enough away to
be concealed from the house and the retail section of the winery. A row of
vines on either side of them offered further privacy. Nobody would find them
unless they specifically came searching.

Still, was he really going to let Sarah Harrington, heiress
to a small fortune, a woman of substance and class, get down on her knees
before him in the grass?

She reached for his underwear and pulled it down, freeing
his aching cock. Her breath was hot as it fanned over the tip and even that
mere suggestion of her nearness, her willingness, was enough to have pre-cum
forming.

By God, yes, he was going to let her.

Grabbing hold of his shaft with one hand, David threaded the
other through Sarah’s hair. “Suck it.” His command was rough, needy.

Her eyes flashed with both surprise and base sexual
response. She moved forward without hesitation, opening her lips and taking the
tip of his cock between them. David couldn’t stifle his groan as her tongue
swirled around his head, teasing and thrilling him.

“Deeper,” he said, tilting forward so he sank into the wet
heaven of her mouth. She took him in eagerly, sucking and licking his shaft. He
angled her head to his liking and eased his erection in and out of her mouth.
The visual coupled with the heady sensations swirling in his loins had his
balls drawing tight, filling with liquid fire. He could come in under ten
seconds if she kept at it.

David was tempted, very tempted. But it wasn’t what he’d
been craving all day, all night in the hours he couldn’t sleep. Pulling out of
her abruptly, he reached into his back pocket for the condom he’d been carrying
around all day.

“Your cunt.” He saw that he’d shocked with his use of the
word—shocked and aroused her. Well, it was what she wanted, wasn’t it? A man to
talk dirty, to be hard and ready whenever she wanted him to be. On both counts,
he could accommodate. “Lie back on the grass. I have to fuck your cunt.”

She dropped to the ground as though his demand had knocked
the wind out of her. With frantic fingers she went for the snap of her jeans,
undoing them and pushing them down her legs. David liked her impatience. It
granted him a modicum of control, if only by comparison. He watched her strip out
of her borrowed panties as he rolled the latex over himself. Then he dropped to
his knees between her spread thighs.

He could smell her arousal mingling with the earthy scents
of soil and the subtle fragrance given off by the grapes. It made him want to plunge
brutal and deep in one thrust. “Touch yourself. Make sure you’re wet enough for
me.”

Her laugh was wry. “I am. Trust me.”

He pinned her with his gaze. “Do it.”

She stilled at the roughness of his command. He’d surprised
her again. But she didn’t delay long, snaking her hand down until it covered
her mound. David almost whimpered when she slipped her middle finger inside
herself, plunging it in and out in an action that mirrored exactly what David
wanted to do with the erection that now throbbed painfully. Watching her finger
her own pussy with those beautifully manicured hands was the most erotic thing
he’d ever seen. When she withdrew her finger it glistened with her juices.

“I could watch you do that for hours,” David rasped. “Maybe
you should get yourself off before I fuck you.”

“No. With you this time. Please.”

It was what David wanted too and he didn’t prolong things
any further. Grasping Sarah’s thigh, he held it wide so he had easy access to
her opening. Then he positioned himself and drove home in one fierce thrust.

Sarah cried out, the sound mingling with David’s groan of
pleasure. She was so tight and so slick the urge to come assailed him
immediately. “Jesus, lady. I won’t last long.”

In answer Sarah moved her hand between them, using the fingers
still covered with her cream on her clit. David stared at the spot, thrusting
into her as she rubbed and lightly pinched herself. “Yeah, that’s it. Fuck,
you’re beautiful. Come for me hard and fast.”

“Yes,” Sarah gasped, her fingers working ever faster on her
clit as David pummeled her tight cunt. “Yes. Oh
David
.”

She said his name again, over and over, as her internal
walls rippled on his cock. Her orgasm drew his forth and David joined her in
the mad whirlwind, swearing and grunting as he released himself in a torrent of
wet, ecstatic heat.

As the fury began to ebb, David fell to his elbows, resting
his weight above her and breathing harshly into the curve of her neck. When
reality once again set in, Sarah chuckled ruefully. “Oh my God, that was something.”

“That was a quickie on the ground in the open air,” David
supplied. “Bet none of your other blokes have shown you this good a time.”

“Oh, absolutely not. You’re a definite standout.”

“Hey, watch it or I’ll think you’re being sarcastic.”

Her tone softened. “I wasn’t.”

He raised his head so he could see her, his heart seizing at
the dreamy awe on her face. “Damn, Sarah. You shouldn’t look at a man like that
if you’re planning to leave him at the end of the weekend.”

Her expression sobered, a little furrow forming between her
brows. She lifted a hand to brush back the stray curl that always bobbed around
his forehead, then opened her mouth to say something, when a sharp bark halted
any reply she might have made.

They both turned to see Keaton barreling toward them,
followed closely by Buster carrying one of his ubiquitous sticks and emitting a
muffled yap. David sent Sarah a warning glance. “Uh-oh, we have company.”

With a curse he climbed off her and yanked up his jeans.
Understanding the potential for embarrassment, Sarah scrambled to locate her
own jeans and pull them on. Her hurried movements told David she was wondering
the same thing he was. Had the dogs gotten out of their fenced area on their
own or had Kerri let them out and come to find David?

Sarah was still struggling to do up the snap of her jeans
when Buster dropped his stick at her feet. David admonished him but Sarah
merely laughed and petted the dog. Keaton stopped trying to bathe David’s face
with his tongue and sidled up to Sarah, nudging her free hand with his nose.

“Oh, I see how it is. You’re a couple of turncoats.”

Ignoring their owner’s pretense at anger, the dogs continued
to circle Sarah adoringly, wagging their tails and whining in excitement. Sarah
sent David a cheeky grin. “What can I say? Dogs like me.”

“Then they have good taste.” Moving the dogs away with his
foot, David snaked an arm around Sarah and drew her to his side. He murmured,
“I really enjoyed our vineyard tour.”

Sarah smiled. “Me too.”

“But what just happened here—it wasn’t exactly classy of
me.”

“Who says I want classy? I’ve had it and it’s not all it’s
cracked up to be.”

“Still, I feel the need to make it up to you,” David said.
“How does a hot bath and a roaring fire sound to you?”

She sighed. “Heavenly.”

“Then heaven is what you shall have, my lady.”

* * * * *

Sarah sprawled atop David’s firm body, a quilt from wrapped
around her shoulders. Beside her, the fire flickered in the hearth, sending
warmth out to add to the sensation of being cocooned in a cozy shell. A shell
she had no desire to crawl out of anytime soon.