Page 78 of Beside Golden Irish Fields
“Have any glasses?” he asked.
Biting her bottom lip, she shook her head. “No. ’Fraid not. I suppose we could drink from the jar I wash my brushes in, but why would we do that when we could drink from the bottle?”
“I like the way you’re thinking, Yank.”
He held the bottle out to her, and their hands met as she took it. Her head dropped, and she paused, staring down at their hands holding the bottle in perfect unison. He knew she was memorizing the scene. He wanted to give her more.
I am unafraid.
When she lifted her gaze, her brown eyes were full of desire and vulnerability. “Are you ready for another direct question?” she asked, her voice soft as a whisper of grass brushing his skin as he walked the fields.
“Tell me.”
Her mouth lifted as she tipped the bottle up and drank. “Kade had this idea…”
Of all the things he’d imagined her mentioning, his friend wasn’t one of them. “Keep going.”
“You might recall me saying a little something about men ruining my life.” She cast a free hand back to her workspace. “Me not being able to paint.”
“How could I forget?” He took the bottle from her and drank. “I seem to remember turning you down for sex.”
“A very good decision,” she said in a rush. “Then.”
The word hovered in the air like a feather falling from the sky.
“Then,” he repeated, his voice silky smooth as her skin.
“Right!” She drank from the bottle with more gusto this time, wiping her mouth. “So, his idea sounded really interesting. Almost scientific. If you’d care to give it a try with me.”
He could feel his shoulders shaking in amusement. “Scientific, eh? Come then. Tell me this idea.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I think we should kiss, then see if I can still paint.”
He took the bottle and drank so he wouldn’t laugh. Kadewouldcome up with something like this. He was all about taking little steps and noting one’s feelings afterward. Progress was made this way, his friend was fond of saying.
Then he realized what she was really saying, and all humor left him.
She trusted herself, her very voice, with him.
“You humble me.”
Her beautiful eyes gleamed, and she swallowed thickly, nodding. “So what do you think?”
He pulled her to him and pressed his mouth to hers.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Desire shot through her body as he wrapped his arm around her back, his lips sizzling against hers. She closed her eyes and welcomed the burn.
My God, he could kiss.
After the first feverish passes, as if they both couldn’t believe what was happening, he gentled his mouth and set the champagne down on the floor. She knew what he wanted now. She could all but hear him whisper,Let’s make this count, Angie.
She softened into the hard lines of his body. His hand came around to cradle the back of her neck. Her arms surrounded him, anchoring him in place against her, and their lips met in short, simple passes. Her heart warmed her chest, along with the rest of her body, until the inside of her felt open and full of light.
She wanted more, and he gave it to her, his tongue seeking entrance. She welcomed him in for the dance, and oh, what a dance. Sounds rose in their throats to accompany it, and their bodies rocked against each other in tune with it.
When he tore his mouth from hers, desire rained from his eyes, but there was shock there too. Something she felt down to her toes. “My God!” he said.
