Page 30 of A Sip of Sherry
I scoffed and grabbed a reel of ribbon, smacking it into his hand.“No, but I am going to love watching you suffer through arts and crafts.Now, be a good boy and make me a bow.”
“Do I get a gold star if I get it right on the first try?”
I blinked toward him with an unamused glare.“What do you think?”
“Gold star is asking too much.What about a kiss, then?”
The way his mouth curved at the corner, I knew it was a joke, but my lips were begging me to seal the deal.My teeth slid over my lip, biting into the skin as I tried and failed to divert my attention away from his mouth.
His gaze swung around the room and settled on the table.“This room.Hell, this table is reminding me how good of a kisser you are.”
Visions of New Year’s Eve slammed into me again.My legs wrapped around him, our bodies pressed together, the sound of the table rocking across the floor as he pumped into me over and over and…
“You’re remembering it, aren’t you?”He had an annoying habit of making me throw my inhibitions out the door.I wasn’t going to fall under his spell again.
I inhaled a steadying breath, busying myself with the wine tasting glasses, pretending like my entire body wasn’t tingling.“You really have no shame, do you?”
He leaned against the table, arms folded, his green eyes locked on mine.“Not when it comes to you.”
I snapped my gaze away and kept my hands moving.“Well, whatever you’re trying to do, it’s not working.”
“Who said I’m trying anything?Maybe I just like to watch you squirm.”
I grabbed a wine bottle and pointed it at him like a knife.“Keep at it, and you’ll be drinking Merlot through a straw.”
“You’re only turning me on more.”
I threw my hands in the air.
“Tell me.Are you more frustrated with my words or the fact that you’re turned on too and can’t act on it?”
“Neither,” I snapped, even though it was a lie “I’m frustrated that you said you were here to help, but all you’ve been doing is running your mouth.”
“I’m multitasking.”
“How about you narrow that focus to one task?”I scooped up the rest of the lights and deposited them into his arms.
He took them, his attention snapping toward me.“I prefer to focus on you.”
“And I wanted a pony growing up.You don’t always get what you want.”I stepped out of his hold, and his laugh echoed around us, loud and warm, causing my traitorous lips to curve upward in amusement.
“Touche.I’ll get started on this.”He held the light up, and I nodded my approval.We worked in silence, but though his mouth wasn’t moving, his presence was just as loud.I tried to focus, but his presence filled the space.I knew when he was closer, or when he moved farther away.
He stepped near me, and my heart beat faster, the air shifted, becoming thicker, charged and impossible to ignore.
I narrowed in on my own task, arranging the wine glasses at each seat, placing the bottles to be tasted as a focal point on the table.My movements slowed as I caught Ben out of the side of my eye.He reached over his head, his shirt lifting slightly and revealing the tanned, taut skin of his stomach.I swallowed as memories of my hands roaming over the hard ridges slammed into me.
I shook my head, trying to force the images away, but they were stubborn.
The last couple of weeks, I managed to keep our distance, fight the urge to be near him, but a few teasing words and a strand of lights undid any attempt.
I placed a tasting menu on each plate, and my eyes drifted toward him again, standing on a chair, perfectly wrapping the last strand of lights around the far rafter.A soft golden glow cast across his features, highlighting his strong jaw and accentuating his charmingly good looks.
“What’s behind that door?”Ben nodded to the dark wood arched door.
I paused, my hand halfway to the chair I was adjusting.No one outside of family and close friends had ever been in there.For a second, I thought about brushing him off and keeping one of my favorite rooms to myself.
Something in his voice, more curious than pushy, made me reconsider.A small smile tugged at my lips as I pushed the chair into place.I moved past Ben, my smile expanding despite the flicker of nerves.“This is one of my favorite places of the entire property.”My fingers wrapped around the cool doorknob, and I pushed it open to a space so undisturbed and sacred it felt like stepping into a memory.
