“You and these dresses . . .” Max murmured.
“Is there an end to that sentence?” I asked, eyebrows raised in a challenge.
“Yeah, they make me want to fuck you in them,” Max said without hesitation.
I sucked in a breath at his confession, heat pooling in my belly, and raised my eyebrows. Our eyes darted across each other’s faces, each scanning for a sign of what was next. Max inclined his head, a silent question. All I could do was give him a smirk.
“If I asked you to take off your panties, would you do it?” Max asked.
“What?” I asked, eyes blinking.
“Can I do this with you? Can I be like this with you, right now?” Max asked as he placed his hand on my cheek, his eyes never leaving mine.
I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but I could only hope where it would lead and so I nodded.
“Say it, Isabella. Tell me yes or no. If you say no, I’ll pick a wine and head home, no questions asked.” Max’s breath was heavier now, the room felt warmer.
“And if I say yes?” I asked.
“Then I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to do so I can fuck you and you’re going to listen,” he replied.
God, my heart was going to beat out of my chest. “Then, yes.”
“That’s my girl,” Max said slowly. “Now slide your panties off those gorgeous hips and hand them to me.” Max lifted his hands off my waist and took one step back.
I took a deep breath, slid my hands up the fabric of my billowy dress, hooked my fingers around the band of my panties, and started tugging them down. I let them fall past my knees and kept my eyes on Max as I felt them pool at my feet.
Max held out his hand, waiting.
I stepped my heeled feet out of each leg of my panties and scooped up the yellow lace fabric. I held them in my hand before reaching out to give them to Max.
He cupped his hand beneath mine, waiting. I dropped the fabric into his open palm and watched with wide eyes as he slid them into his pocket. Max took a step closer to me and found his spot back at my hips. He squeezed roughly and slid his hands to my backside to grip my ass over the fabric of my dress.
His eyes were dark, and he groaned as he squeezed hard enough to bring me to my tiptoes.
“Do you know the first time I saw you, you were wearing a dress like this one?” Max said in my ear, inhaling deeply.
I wracked my brain for the time he was talking about but came up blank. “No,” I whispered.
“It was your mother’s birthday,” Max said. “You flew into town just for it. You were wearing this red dress and whenever the sunlight would catch the fabric I could see the outline of these hips,” he said as he moved his hands down my sides, “and you would turn and I’d see the curve of this ass,” he cupped me again, scooping me up.
My legs dangled on either side of his waist and with only the thin fabric of my dress in between them I felt his hardness pressed against me. I nearly moaned at the friction. Max walked forward, to the edge of the table in the center of the room. This table was normally meant for unloading new boxes of wine and the marble felt cool as I was placed on top of it.
Max brought a hand up my side slowly. He left goosebumps in his wake as he rounded my shoulders and across my chest. His large palm rested on my throat as his fingers reached up to grab my chin gently.
“I’m going to check in with you one more time, Isabella,” he said as he locked eyes with me. “Is this okay?”
This time I didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” I said. My body craved his. Needed him. Wanted him.
“I knew you would be a fast learner,” Max said as he smirked. In a flash, his hand left my chin and gripped the back of my head, hair twisted in his grasp. He tilted my head up to his as he crashed his mouth to mine.
The kiss wasn’t slow, it wasn’t soft, and it wasn’t gracious. It claimed me. It marked me. It devoured me.
His mouth was hot as it opened up against mine. Max pressed my head into him as if he could get me to climb into his skin. I moaned against his mouth as his tongue found mine in a frenzy. He hardened his tongue as it flicked against mine and I wondered what that tongue would feel like in other places.
If this was the kiss he would’ve given me at the winery, I’m ninety-nine percent certain we would’ve been kicked out. I opened my mouth and let him fully invade my space. He tasted like berries and chocolate.
I leaned my head back as his mouth trailed down my neck to my collarbone and into the skin between my breasts. Max rubbed my breasts from the outside of my dress, pushing them up as he inhaled deeply.
