Page 50 of Love on the Vine
“Dude, it’s five in the morning,” he mumbled, his voice heavy with sleep.
Right, I’d forgotten about the time difference. “Shouldn’t you be heading out to the meeting soon?”
“It’s at ten.”
“I thought you might want to rehearse what you’re going to say.” He’d already called me to go over his talking points, but right now I’d rather listen to Jin going on about tariffs and import volumes in Mandarin than go back to that room.
“No, I would like to go back to sleep,” he groused. “What are you doing? Where are you?”
In hell. “I’m in Beaune.”
“What? You’re breaking up.”
“Beaune! In Beaune,” I shouted. Lightning crashed outside, illuminating the room.
“Boning? And you’re calling me now? In that case, you’re not doing it right.”
Christ, I was surrounded by juveniles. “Why do I even bother? You know what, just call me after your meeting.”
I shoved the phone in my pocket. For a quick second, I considered sleeping in the car. If there wasn’t a possibility of being swept away in the downpour, I might have done it. Instead, like a man condemned, I trudged up the stairs and stood outside the door.
Had enough time passed? The last thing I needed was to walk in on her changing. I groaned at the image that conjured up in my mind and cracked open the door, squinting. “Is it okay to come in?”
“Yes, just brushing my teeth,” Olivia called from the bathroom. I stepped in warily. Her open suitcase lay by the bed, a scrap of pink, lacy fabric peeking out of it. Those goddamn panties. They were out to get me.
“Did you get what you needed?” Olivia asked over the sound of running water.
“No, everything’s closed. Big surprise at midnight in a small town.”
“I think I have some almonds in my purse, if you’re really that hungry.” Oh, I was hungry all right, just not for a bag of almonds. The bathroom door clicked open and, though my brain was screaming, don’t look, don’t look,I did. And regretted it immediately.
She wore a pair of tiny shorts and a camisole top in a thin cotton that barely hid the outline of her nipples and gave me tantalizing glimpses of the exposed skin at her waist. I stood there staring at her dumbstruck, unable to pull my eyes away, as she lifted her arms to unwrap the towel from her hair and shake her fingers through the went strands in a way that made her tits bounce and strain against the fabric.
My entire body tensed, and I snatched up the remote control, praying that the hotel had the British Parliament channel or C-SPAN—anything that would get my mind off the idea of tossing her on the bed and finding out what was under her tiny pajamas.
“I don’t think the TV works,” she said as I punched uselessly at the buttons on the remote. “Do you want to use the bathroom?”
She climbed onto the bed and then crawled to the side against the wall. I just stood there, with my mouth practically hanging open, as she pulled the covers down and asked, “Which side do you prefer?”
“You take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.” I tossed a pillow on the armchair.
“Don’t be silly, it’s a big bed. There’s plenty of room. See?” She laid down and patted the place beside her. The sight of her laying there waiting for me was too much. There was no way I’d keep my hands off her if I stayed here.
“No, there’s not. Look, I really need to get some sleep, and I’m not going to be able to with you right next to me. I’ll sleep in the car.”
She stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Are you serious? But you were ready to drive all night. Now you’re suddenly exhausted?”
“Look, Olivia.” I dragged my hand through my hair. “If I get in that bed with you something’s going to happen that I’ll regret later. I promised your dad I’d look out for you this summer, andright now I pose the biggest threat to you, okay? So I’m just going to go somewhere else.”
“I’m not a kid, Jake. You don’t need to look out for me. In fact, I’m sick of people trying to make decisions for me. I know what I want.” She sat up and crossed her arms. I’d never seen her angry or quite so determined. She might think she knew what she wanted, but she didn’t realize how messy this could get.
I was about to tell her as much, when she continued, saying, “And anyway, you’re the one who initiated things back at the château. I seem to remember your hands on my hips and your mouth on my neck. If you don’t want me then why did you do that?”
“I never said I didn’t want you, Olivia. Christ, I want you too much. That’s the problem. There isn’t a single day since you’ve been here that I haven’t imagined doing a hundred different things to your body. But it would be a mistake. I can’t do it. I shouldn’t have touched you like I did earlier, and I have every intention of keeping my hands to myself for the next couple weeks.”
Before she could protest, I grabbed my bag and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.
Chapter 16
