Page 96 of Love Among Vines

The bouquet was delicate and fragrant—raspberry, vanilla, and a hint of grilled bread. There was a good number of bubbles, and they were minuscule.

With eyes on each other, they raised their glasses and took a sip. Effervescence rolled over his tongue, bringing with it an acidic sting of green apple and a refreshing finish of lemon.

It was good. Maybe better than good.

Relief flooded him, and he nearly sank to his knees. It hadn’t all been for nothing. Maybe it wasn’t the best sparkling wine in the world, but it was damn good for a first try.

Would it be enough to turn things around?

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

JADE

Lightning rushed down her spine.

“Rett,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“It’s so good.”

He took another sip, then set his glass on the table. He turned back to her with serious eyes. Slowly, a smile spread across his face.

“It’s good,” he repeated.

“Fuck that. It’s amazing.” She set her glass on the table and gripped his arms. “I know I’m not a sommelier, but that’s a damn good bottle. You did it.”

“I did it,” he said, looking back at the bottle as if expecting it to disappear.

“And this was your first attempt. Just imagine the possibilities.”

“I did it,” he repeated.

“You did it.”

She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him. He greeted her with a hard kiss, remnants of champagne flavors on his tongue. One hand buried itself in her hair while the other slipped beneath her skirt to hold her up. Her heart thumpederratically. Was it finally time, or was he going to tell her she had to eat dessert first?

She ground against him, eliciting a soft moan. Every part of her body was tense and primed, like she was at the starting line of a sprint.

She unwound her legs and dropped to the ground. His suit coat slid off and puddled on the floor. Her fingers gripped his shirt as she slowly, carefully undid the buttons. She ducked her head and kissed her way down his neck and chest, enjoying the quiver of his muscles beneath her touch. The sting of salt hit her tongue as she teased each ab.

She looked up at him and made steady eye contact as she undid the buckle of his belt. She whipped it to the side like a cowgirl withdrawing a lasso. On her knees, she slowly undid the button and glided the zipper down. His pants fell to his ankles.

Oh, he was a boxer briefs guy. His eyes bored into hers as she released him from the cotton confines. The force of his spring nearly nailed her in the chin.

“Concussion by erection” had not been on her bingo card, but there were worse ways to go.

The earthy scent of sandalwood was all that separated them. He inhaled sharply when she trailed her tongue down his full length, teasing and tasting the velvety flesh. His head fell back, and he gripped her shoulders so hard she suddenly realized what it was like to be the bar in her barre classes back home.

Oh no, he wasn’t going to be a head-shover, was he? She knew he was too good to be true.

But he didn’t. Ragged breaths tore through him as she took him into her mouth, slowly at first, then faster. She pumped with one hand while raking the other down his exposed torso. He tensed beneath her touch.

This was it. It was finally happening.

But after a minute, he took a step back and separated himself from her.

She looked up at him again, a question in her eyes. The tension that had been building since the first time she saw him unaware in his bedroom was reaching a fever pitch.

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