It seemed silly to her now, to have brought the wine with them on their walk, but she’d needed something, some kind of crutch to get through their time alone together—and this time they had been alone for real. There hadn’t been any flirty waitresses or helpful bystanders, or limo drivers or work colleagues just down the hall. No, they were out wandering the countryside beyond the Cardinal Winery all by themselves—alone.
Lucy stumbled slightly in the overgrown grass that filled the vineyard row between two lines of flourishing vines full of clusters of plump purple grapes. Glancing down at the oversized, black rubber boots on her feet, she silently cursed the galoshes the vineyard staff had provided for them to complete their trek. Besides being awkward to walk in, they were also a constant reminder of her hindered escape, since there was no possible way she could run in them should things with Cal take an intimate turn.
“Here, let me,” Cal said as he removed the dark glass bottle from her grasp. “I think this may be putting you off balance.”
Lucy had wanted to refuse him, wanted to fight for her alcoholic crutch, but she knew it’d be useless and that he’d only get his way, anyway. It was obvious he was used to having things just so, used to getting that which he wanted. Besides, there were other more important things to fight Cal on—like getting him used to the fact that rekindling their friendship was no longer on offer.
While she may have appeared far too fond of the bottle, a stumbling dipsomaniac of sorts, it wasn’t as though she’d actually gulped the wine or chugged straight from the cold lip at the tip of the neck. Though she may have taken one sneaky sip as they’d strolled outside, she’d barely thought about drinking it during their trudge through the vineyard. If anything, the bottle had been brought along to keep her hands busy and to remove them from the danger of accidentally falling into his. It had seemed a sort of romantic temptation, walking through the magnificent botanical scenery, side by side as the afternoon waned and the sky warmed. She just hadn’t trusted herself not to fall into that trap and hadn’t wanted to risk him falling into it either. But now he had the bottle and her hands were empty. Now all she was left with was her own self-control and she knew that didn’t bode well at all.
Wringing her hands together as they walked, Lucy tried to force herself to relax. Boy, did she wish she had pockets. Whose idea had it been to wear a slinky, indigo dress anyway?
“I wasn’t sure you’d hand it over so easily.” Cal’s deep, silky tones woke Lucy from her fretful thoughts.
“What?” Her voice came out in a pathetic peep as she tried to get her mind in order.
Cal waggled the wine around in front of him and grinned teasingly.
“Oh. Yes. No.”
Quirking an eyebrow at the vagueness of her answer, Cal searched Lucy’s face. “What made you bring it along?”
Lucy swallowed nervously and then tried to shrug nonchalantly. “It’s good wine.”
Accepting her answer, Cal nodded and then took a sip for himself. As he lowered the bottle again, he let out a sigh of pleasure. “That it is.”
Lucy forced herself to smile and then to stop wringing her hands. What did she really have to fear? Their conversation had been innocent since they’d left the restaurant. They’d discussed the weather, the winery, Cal had spoken about his work and told her more about his plans for the Calypso. He hadn’t continued to reminisce with her as he had earlier and, though she feared it, there seemed to be no danger of the conversation or the situation becoming intimate.
With a deep, steadying breath, she relaxed herself slightly and tried to enjoy the stunning location. “It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?” Although she spoke the words aloud, they had almost escaped her of their own accord, as though such a strong internal admiration had to be released to the world.
“I’m glad you think so,” Cal agreed. “Because I’ve made sure we’ll have tonight and tomorrow to enjoy it.”
His words hit Lucy like a hammer to the back of the head. She froze on the spot and her jaw dropped.
“Pardon?” She knew her tone was abrupt, rude even, but she couldn’t help it.
What the hell had he just said? Tonight and tomorrow? Together?
She was suddenly feeling very cornered by his announcement and her disobedient mind fell blank in its effort to offer escape routes.
Coming around to stand in front of her, Cal offered her a reassuring smile. “I’ve arranged for us to stay the night,” he continued slowly, but with recognizable charisma. “In separate rooms, of course. I’ve checked it with Julia. She agreed that it would be beneficial for us to spend some more time together—getting on the same page.”
Lucy’s gaze narrowed on his, suspicion clouding her vision. “For the project?”
Cal nodded. “For the project.”
Frowning, Lucy took a step away from him, toward the main house of the winery estate. “Maybe I should give Julia a call? To double check.”
With a pleasant grin, Cal shook his head. “No need. I phoned her before to get confirmation.”
“That was the call you had to make after lunch?”
He nodded again.
Lucy couldn’t have felt more trapped. One of the few things getting her through this whole experience was the knowledge that she would be going home soon—alone—and that she would be able to process the events of the day—by herself—in order to get things back in proper perspective and remind herself that these strong feelings she had for Cal, made worse when she was around him, were unfulfilling at best and ridiculous at worst. She desperately needed that space away from him and, if she didn’t get it, she feared wanting to hold his hand during a romantic stroll would be the least of her problems.
In a gesture that seemed both temptingly sweet, yet quite outdated, Cal offered Lucy his arm.
“It must be getting on. Shall we head back? I can show you to your room and we can get settled before dinner?”
As Lucy opened her mouth to answer, to remind him that they’d only just eaten lunch, the dusty pinks of the sky and the sight of the falling sun stopped her. They must have finished lunch hours ago and while she did note the gentle rumblings of a building hunger, it completely shocked her to think that they’d spent so much time together, roaming the vineyard, talking. Although Cal may have behaved himself, keeping to safe, surface topics, he’d still managed to bond with her through all the stress and anxiousness, creating a space in which time moved quicker, in which she must—though she hated to admit it—have actually enjoyed his company.
Glancing down at the galoshes on her feet, Lucy tried to decide how best to proceed. Did she continue to try to fight Cal on his inconvenient arrangement? Did she ignore him and call Julia anyway or did she just bite her tongue and take his arm? It was in this instant of turmoil that she realized a bigger problem.
Looking up at him, Lucy felt her expression become more helpless than she would’ve liked. “I can’t stay overnight. I haven’t brought anything with me.”
Cal’s grin widened and without further hesitation, he slipped his arm through hers.
The sensation rocked her and stole away her already shallow breath. His hard, muscular arm was pressed so close to her, so tantalizingly close to her side and to the plump, fabric-covered flesh of her breast. From the thrumming nucleus of his touch, sparks of electricity vibrated and tingled to the furthest reaches of her body. She shivered.
“No need to worry, Luce,” he told her as his warm, rough palm covered the smooth, supple skin of her hand. “It’s all been sorted.”
With her mind distracted by the deliciousness of his proximity, Lucy was powerless to stop him as Cal turned her and began guiding her back to the main building of the Cardinal Winery estate.
***
Lucy wondered how Cal had managed to keep his plans a secret for so long. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said that he’d had the situation “sorted”.
As she washed her hands at the porcelain sink in the modern bathroom attached to her private room, Lucy glanced over at the neat arrangement of toiletries on the black marble countertop beside her. He’d included everything she could have wanted. Shampoo, face wash, moisturizer, toothbrush, razor, hair brush, hair straightener, etcetera, the array of cosmetic products continued. Yet, this display had surprised her just slightly less than that which she’d been confronted with once she’d first opened the door to her room.
While simply styled with minimal necessities—a bed, desk, chair, and closet—the room was cleanly contemporary, but warmed with lush, wooden antiques and a large, bright picture window framed with crimson curtains. In the center of the queen-size bed, atop the ebony and gold bedsheets, sat a robust gift basket of wine, chocolates, and other goodies, surrounded by neat little bundles of clothes. Tied with gold ribbon in tidy parcels of like items, each pile presented something different—a choice in bras, panties, and pajamas.
Then, when she’d turned her attention to the closet and opened the elegantly carved mahogany doors, Lucy had tried not to gasp. An assortment of stunning dresses, sleek pant suits and casual wear filled the space, while below shoes of various styles—heels, flats, sandals—were placed perfectly paired on the closet’s floor. It was an extravagant spectacle, an amount of special spoiling just for her the like of which she’d never experienced before in her lifetime and which had her wondering whether she ever would again.
It had been a little over an hour since Cal had left Lucy to the privacy of her own room to get ready, and she was sure he’d be due to collect her for dinner very shortly.
After turning off the faucet, Lucy dried her hands and then looked over her reflection in the huge fluorescently lit bathroom mirror.
Out of the enormous selection of outfits she had to choose from, Lucy had opted for yet another slinky dress. Even though a pant suit had seemed a safer option, putting a fabric barrier between her and making a carnal mistake, she hadn’t thought it would quite suit the occasion of a fancy dinner at a prominent restaurant.
Lucy smoothed the shiny black silk of her floor-length dress, ensuring the thigh-length slit up the side remained modestly closed and then adjusted the gold metal straps over her shoulders. The high neckline sat at her collarbone and the snug material clung to her hips, cinching at her waist. She admired the way the dress seemed to make her appear much curvier than she actually was. As someone who always felt average in appearance, it was satisfying when something actually made her feel pretty—beautiful even—but that seemed to be a rare occurrence.
Turning to glance over her shoulder to get a better look at the open back which revealed the even pale of her bare skin and dipped below her waistline, Lucy reminded herself that this sexy attribute of the dress was why she’d decided not to wear a bra. Of course, it was more than likely that she’d chosen not to wear one because of the sensual sensation of the material against her naked flesh. Or because of the memory of Cal’s body so close to hers, the tingling pleasure of his touch making her desire more, but she’d blame those reasons on her subconscious and not let her conscious self take any responsibility for the decision.
Moving back to face the mirror, Lucy’s fingertips went to her lightly made-up face. She’d neatened her brown eyeshadow and black mascara with the cosmetics from her own handbag, but used the light coral blush and dark pink lipstick that had been provided for her by Cal. A few wisps of her dark hair curled softly around her face adding further to the feminine sexuality exuding from the dress, while the rest had been piled and pinned loosely atop her head.
While her host had also included a choice of exquisite jewelry had she desire to change, Lucy had kept her plain gold hoop earrings, certain she wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing something that was sure to have cost above her daily wage or more. Glancing down at the matching black and gold stilettos that completed her outfit, Lucy hoped that this time she wouldn’t be swapping her shoes for another pair of galoshes.
As she left the attached bathroom and returned to the spaciousness of her room, she heard a soft knocking sound. Though she looked at the door which led outside, she was almost certain that the noise she’d heard hadn’t come from that direction, but from the wall to the right of her, near a bright cream painted door she hadn’t yet investigated. She had assumed it to be a built-in closet and, as she had already been more than pleased with the contents of the first mahogany one, she hadn’t thought to see what was inside.
“Cal?” She said his name as she glanced between the two options.
Is he behind door number one or door number two, she wondered. And if so, where exactly did door number two lead?
“Luce?” His voice sounded wary. “I’m at the adjoining door. I’ve unlocked my side, but you’ve got to unlock yours.”
The adjoining door?
Her gaze snapped to the right, to the bright cream color of door number two.
Yes, she’d heard that correctly. Cal had organized adjoining rooms. She would have been furious had the knowledge of it not sparked some deep enticement to tug at her libido.
She considered telling him to head around to the front, not wanting to unlock the door between the rooms and add further temptation to what her slinky black dress was already offering—but she didn’t.
Without a word, she walked over to the door and placed her hand on the cold brass handle.
“Lucy?” His tone was cautious again.
With a flick of her thumb, she turned the lock and then twisted the handle. Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled the door toward her, slowly revealing the tall, broad handsome figure behind it.
Cal was elegantly dressed, matching her quite perfectly in his jet-black suit, white fitted shirt and gold and silver tie.
Lucy tried to breathe, she knew she needed air, but the scrumptious sight of him kept each breath too shallow. She felt like some kind of animal, like a creature that had been caged too long without food and now found itself face to face with an extraordinary meal. The feminist in her was irked at the comparison, at the thought of Cal as a potential piece of meat, but she knew the reality was much worse than that. She had hungered for him nearly all her life and now here he was, presented to her in such a perfect situation—adjoining rooms, for heaven’s sake—that her once tight control over her lustful desires was ever weakening.
“Hi, there.” It was more of a purr from his lips than a greeting.
Lucy’s gaze rose to his and she saw a hunger there that seemed to mirror her own.
“Adjoining rooms, Cal?” She had hoped it would be a playful accusation, instead it came out with a betraying hopeful lilt.
His sexy smirk in return seemed to promise things that Lucy was sure her sex-starved mind was falsely interpreting. Those sparkling teeth weren’t promising to nip at her flesh in all the right, intimate places. Those luscious lips weren’t vowing to devour hers and yet, that’s exactly what her mind was imagining.
Lucy forced herself to breathe. “Are we going through your room to dinner?” This time it came out with just the right amount of mockery.
Cal chuckled. “You’ve caught me. Dinner will be held in my room.”
Once again, Lucy was left with visions of the hunger they could sate with their mouths locked to one other, then on supple skin and taut flesh as their lips roamed each other’s naked bodies.
Another deep, shaky breath failed to calm her.
He was kidding, she told herself, he had to be kidding.
Cal’s smile grew wicked as he gestured for her to walk through and into the danger of his room.
Obediently, Lucy did as instructed, and saw that the space inside was arranged similarly to her own. The only difference that was obvious was that his room looked to be at the edge of the block of elevated units and appeared to have a private balcony at the external end. Or that was what the candlelit table on the porch outside through the open exterior door seemed to suggest.
Lucy paused in step at the sudden realization. They really were having dinner in his room or, at least, in sight of it. The slight nervousness that had buzzed through her as she slipped over the threshold turned up a notch and she was left wondering how she would feel about being so close to Cal and to an available bed throughout the entirety of dinner. The mere thought had her mentally chiding herself for not deciding to wear pants. Pants were always safe; a dress was slut city.
“You are unbelievably gorgeous, Luce.”
The words were whispered so close to her that she swore she could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck. As she turned her head to glance up at him, Lucy felt his fingertips brush against the bare skin of her back. The gentle touch was like a jolt to her system as though he’d just administered a defibrillator. Her heart raced while hot lust fired through her veins and pooled in her depths, at the very core of her. Her whole body craved him and she knew, if she wasn’t careful, that she could easily jump him right then and there and have her wicked way with him.
A little heady at the thought, Lucy compelled herself to step away from Cal, walking deeper into the room. Free of his grasp, she could finally think a little more clearly. With another gulp of air, she spun around to face him, only to find herself at eye-level with his strong, kissable throat only mere inches away.
Lucy swallowed and pushed her hands behind her back, clasping them tightly over the rise of her derriere. Her fingers itched to touch him, her palms burned in anticipation, but she wouldn’t let them have their way. It was simply mind over matter, that was all.
“Lucy,” Cal asked slowly, a playful inflection drawing out her name. “Tell me what you’d like?”
Her ragged breath escaped her, and she became certain there wasn’t any more air left in the room.
You. In that bed. Naked. Her thoughts betrayed her.
Cal quirked a brow. “Chicken or beef? I think the chicken is a risotto. Or I can have them bring something else?”
Any air left in her lungs whooshed out in a relieved sigh, partly because she’d been mistaken in her understanding of his question and partly because she hadn’t managed to embarrass herself. Yet.
“Chicken,” she told him and definitely felt the part.
He smiled down at her, his alluring smoky-blue eyes glinting slightly as though admitting they knew more than they should.
Without touching her this time, Cal led her out onto the balcony into the crisp, but comfortable night air. He helped her take a seat and then took his own, opposite her.
The small round table was laid with a burgundy colored tablecloth, white porcelain plateware and silver cutlery. Although the tabletop was bare of flowers, the fragrant jasmine blossoms that bloomed along the wooden balustrade of the balcony seemed to add just enough of a romantic atmosphere without seeming cheesy. As it was, they could’ve been dining on newspaper wrapped fish and chips on the floor and Lucy still would’ve felt the romantic pull.
“Bon appétit.” Cal motioned for her to remove the stainless-steel dish cover from her plate as he followed suit.
Once lifted, the cover revealed all kinds of scrumptious smells and Lucy suddenly felt another hunger rise, not just in the carnal sense. The generously sized risotto was delicate in appearance with its neatly chopped chicken and mushroom pieces, light sprinkling of spices and tidy green garnish. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of it. Pushing aside her desire for Cal, Lucy decided to focus on sating this new hunger, knowing that it was at least something she had control over.
Maybe dinner would help put things in perspective, return her thoughts of their relationship to the platonic working arrangement it should be? Maybe pigs would fly and she could click her fingers and finally be wearing pants? Lucy thought she seemed to be mulling over a lot of doomed maybes.