Summer Wine: Taste of Seduction, Book 1 (4 page)

There was no other way to describe it. His actions were unapologetically carnal. They reduced her—or should that be raised her?—to a trembling mass of physical sensation. Nothing else mattered. Just this. Just them. Lily and Angus.

And in the back of her mind, Blake. He was always in the back of her mind. And thoughts of him only made her hotter. More aroused. Perhaps one day it would be his hand where Angus’s was. Maybe both of their hands together…

Well, if
that
idea didn’t shoot her straight onto the path to orgasm. The climb was fast and furious. There was no way could Lily remain at this level of arousal, maintain this level of pleasure, when Angus continued to plunder. When his touch continued to delight and his taste still intoxicated.

When thoughts of Blake titillated.

Good wine never had this effect on her.

Her knees trembled, straining as she strove to reach her peak. Her breath stuttered and vanished, forcing her to share Angus’s breath. Lily arched her back, chasing that ultimate descent into bliss.

Close, so close. So incredible. So necessary. So—

Angus stroked her clit.

The orgasm crashed over her, wiping conscious thought from her mind. Her muscles tensed as wave upon wave of ecstasy took her.

Long moments passed before Angus stilled his hands. Before his fingers ceased their relentless pursuit and delivery of her rapture. Before she collapsed back against the support of her seat, her breath coming in fast, short spurts.

It took even longer moments before she could open her eyes and her body stopped humming to the beat of Angus’s very sensual, very sexy touch.

“Take a left here,” Lily instructed, her voice still husky.

The eye-catching sign on the side of the road confirmed they’d reached their destination.
Rolling Hills Vineyard and Boutique Hotel.

Hallelujah. Or not.

Angus turned the car, pointing the nose of the SLK up a long, narrow drive. The roadster felt a lot less stuffy since he’d climbed into the driver seat, put the roof down and taken the wheel.

Lily had not objected when he’d suggested he drive. In fact, she’d happily slid over to the passenger side, not bothering to climb out of the car first. Angus had, but before he rounded the SLK to the driver’s seat, he’d taken the time to strap Lily in. The dreamy look on her face told him she probably wouldn’t remember to do it herself.

Vineyards lined the drive. Thousands of lush green vines, their branches heavy with grapes. Would the fruit be picked soon or left to ripen for the rest of summer? When was the best time to pick the grapes to make the finest wine? The thoughts skittered through Angus’s mind, none of them really holding his interest. Nope, his full attention was on what lay at the end of this road. Or
who
lay there, at any rate.

“Angus?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you call me Duchess earlier?”

“I did?”

“You did.”

Oh, shit. Serious slip of the tongue there. He shrugged.

“That’s not an answer.”

Jesus, how did he answer? “You’re a classy woman, Lily.” With a shit-ton of money, but he wasn’t about to mention that. “You remind me of a duchess.”

“I’m no more classy than you are.”

Angus snorted, not even bothering to argue that one. The blades of a helicopter caught his eye. Lily’s too.

“Looks like Blake’s here.”

“That’s his?”

“Yeah. He must have flown up.” She turned to look up the long drive. “I don’t see his car.”

Jesus, fuck. Angus hadn’t met the guy, and already he disliked him. What kind of asshole flew to the Hunter in his own helicopter?

Angus followed her gaze. A stunning, modern glass-and-wood lodge loomed ahead, while a larger white building with a thatch roof stood proudly far off to the right. The hotel and the winery.

Ah, hell. He was way out of his depth here. Driving a car he’d never be able to afford even if he worked every day of the rest of his life. Sitting beside a woman he craved, who was in love with another man. What the fuck was he thinking, silently competing for her attention against a guy who flew his own helicopter—and bought hotels and vineyards in his spare time?

He didn’t stand a chance. Should probably call an end to the competition before it even started.

Angus pulled into the car park outside the lodge. As promised by its description—boutique hotel—the building wasn’t enormous. A double story with fifteen rooms in total, according to Lily. But it was stunning. And with windows that size, it must offer extraordinary views of the vineyards from every direction.

The only thing that didn’t blow Angus’s mind was the garden surrounding the lodge. It was…dull. Plenty of grass and a few half-dead flowerbeds, but that was it. Not an area that inspired outdoor living. Several well-placed rockeries and a pergola would change the entire facade of the huge garden. Maybe a koi-filled pond and a wooden bridge leading from the manicured lawns to the vineyard…

Yeah, Angus could do a whole heap to improve the landscape—and those were just ideas that popped into his head at first glance. But it was irrelevant. He wasn’t working with the asshole Lily loved.

He closed the roof, and with every intention of opening Lily’s door, Angus’s plan was foiled when his own door was swung open and a male face with a big smile appeared directly in front of his own.

Stunned green eyes blinked furiously. “Holy shit. You’re not Lily.”

Angus grimaced. “Not last time I looked. No.”

Lily giggled beside him. “He most certainly isn’t.”

The green eyes recovered quickly, surprise turning to recognition. “Then you must be the miracle landscaper Lil’s been harping on about.” He stepped back, giving Angus space to climb out of the car. The second he had, the other man grasped Angus’s hand in his own.

“Blake Seymour.”

“Angus Lowe.”

“Good to meet you.”

“You too.” Jesus, he wanted to hate the guy. Wanted to point out the hand Blake now clasped in such an amiable shake was the very hand that had fingered Lily less than twenty minutes ago.

“Lil has only good things to say about you. Promised the two of us would get along brilliantly. I look forward to it.”

Damn it. How the fuck could he hate a guy who seemed so decent? “Yeah. Uh, me too.”

Blake flashed him another smile before rounding the car to open Lily’s door. He was a second too late. Lily pushed it open herself. Didn’t stop him. He reached in and pulled her out, right into his arms, where she stayed, happily cuddled into the man Angus began hating all over again.

Angus ran a critical eye over Blake. His shaggy brown hair was longer than Angus had ever worn his, and his jeans were torn in at least three places. And no, not fashionably torn like designer jeans that cost hundreds of bucks. These were just old, well-worn jeans. Angus had several pairs just like them.

And they looked good on Blake. Damn good. Outlined his hard ass and long, slim legs. Just like his T-shirt outlined a pair of slender but still decent-sized shoulders.

Okay, so Angus could see what Lily saw in her friend. The guy was hot—in a low-key kind of a way. Fact, if Angus’s balls weren’t already bright blue thanks to the woman Blake currently hugged, they’d probably be tightening just a bit for the guy. All right, so a lot.

Oh, great. Just fucking great. Another gazillionaire to lust over.

If Angus had driven here in his ute, he’d have climbed straight in and headed his ass back to Sydney. Instead, he watched as Lily hugged Blake—and wondered whose ass he liked more.

His dick reared up again, and he tried with little success to calm the ache in his groin. He’d been trying that the whole damn morning with no success. Why should things be different now?

“You can put me down now.” Lily laughed.

“No way. Need to hold you. I’ve missed you.”

“You saw me three days ago.”

“Feels like a year, at least.” Blake placed his hand on Lily’s back, pressing her breasts against his chest.

Lily
pshaw
ed out loud. “You’re a shameless flirt.”

“Nah, I just want to feel you against me for a while.”

Laughter pealed from Lily. “Bull. You’re jealous because I arrived here with a man hotter than you.”

Without releasing her, Blake turned to Angus, his gaze moving from Angus’s shoes to his eyes in a slow, thorough once-over that seared Angus right through his clothes.

“Yeah,” Blake agreed. “He’s hot.” His mouth creased in a teasing grin. “But not as hot as I am.”

Lily cuffed his biceps. “Or as arrogant.”

“’Course I’m arrogant.” Blake released her but kept his arm around her shoulders as he ushered both his guests toward the lodge. “Anyone as awesome as I am has to be arrogant, don’t you think?” He grinned again. The guy grinned a lot, something that held a lot of appeal for Angus. “C’mon inside. I got us some lunch in Sydney. It’s set up in the dining room. Maccas okay for you?”

Angus snorted. McDonald’s? From Sydney? Cold, soggy and greasy—yeah, that should be delicious.

Not.

Lily’s face lit up. “You got us Maccas? Really? Nuggets and chips?”

Blake looked at her sadly. “No, Lil. Not really. When are you going to grow up and stop eating that shit?”

She pulled a face at him, disappointed. “When I die.”

“Which will clearly be sooner than necessary if you carry on eating the way you do.”

Angus stopped dead as they stepped into the hotel. It was as stunning inside as it was out. High ceilings with wooden beams gave the space an airy feel, while the lobby furniture blended in seamlessly with the glass windows.

He could easily pass an hour or two on one of the couches by the window there. There were worse things to look out on than acres of lush fields. A little work on the gardens and this place would be as close to paradise as Angus could imagine.

Behind the reception area hung a massive painting. One of the very building they’d just walked into. There was something familiar about it, about the strokes—or millions of dots that made up the picture.

Impressionist art. That’s how Lily had described the dots. Before, when she’d pointed them out to him in her studio back in Sydney, he’d been unaware her paintings were even made up of dots. Now he spotted them instantly.

The more he stared at this painting, the more familiar it looked.

“Like it?” Lily asked.

She was closer than he expected, her voice just beside his left shoulder.

He nodded. “Very much.” And then it hit him. It was one of hers. “Must have taken a long time to complete.”

“A few months.”

He looked at her. “Amazing.” Both Lily and the painting.

“Thank you.” She smiled shyly.

“Your cheeks are still flushed,” he said in a low voice, loving that the effect of her recent orgasm hadn’t quite worn off yet.

She stood on tiptoes to respond softly in his ear. “And my pussy’s still wet. Go figure.”

Lily wandered away before he had a chance to react to her words. Which was just as well, because if he had reacted, Lily would not be wearing any clothes.

“She likes you.” Blake joined him as he followed Lily through a set of doors.

Angus raised an eyebrow.

“She’s laughing to herself. Lily only does that when she likes a guy.”

“Right. You know this how?”

“We’ve been friends a long time, she and I.”

Come to think of it, Lily had laughed the second Blake showed his face at her car.

“And you like her,” Angus observed. Lily may not think so, but Angus had no doubt. Blake looked at her as though she were a box of chocolates just waiting to be opened.

“I do. As I said, we’ve been friends a long time.”

Angus nodded and didn’t hesitate to call him on his evasive answer. “Dodging bullets?”

Blake grinned. “Not at all. It’s just that she’s…not all I like.” And there it was again. The once-over that seared straight through Angus’s clothing.

Jesus, his head was a complete mess. That’s what happened when he lusted over a woman for too long. He began seeing everyone as a potential sex partner. Or lover.

He should find the closest bathroom, beat out a quick one and get over the constant lust that plagued him. Because he was starting to confuse his hunger for a woman with desire for a man, and that was just all fucked up.

Sure he liked them both. Had never had a preference whom he bedded before, so long as the attraction was there. But lusting over a man and woman at the same time? Yeah. That was pretty fucked up.

Chapter Three

Lily quelled her disappointment. Okay, so there weren’t nuggets and chips. She’d live. The feast in front of her more than made up for the missing McDonald’s. Blake had stopped off at his favorite deli before flying to the Hunter and stocked up on enough food to feed an army. Certainly enough to keep all three of them fed for the rest of the weekend.