That is an easy one. I can recite this in my sleep. “My employer owns a vast majority of the wineries across Australia and New Zealand. You can call me his right-hand man. I travel from vineyard to vineyard to oversee everything from the books to the harvest.”

  She nods. “I see. Do you have family?”

  “Yes.” She’s waiting for more of an answer, but I don’t budge.

  “Do you see them often?”

  “I visit when I’m in between vineyards.”

  She gives me a quizzical look. “This is like pulling teeth with you. I just want to understand you better. I’m not asking you to tell me anything identifying.”

  None of the other women were interested in knowing about my family, so I’m not well prepared for how to answer. “My oldies live outside Sydney. I have a younger brother. He’s married and has two little girls. I also have a younger sister still living at home. She’s a year younger than you and studies at a culinary institute.” That’s all she’s getting from me. “What about your rellies?”

  “It’s just my mom and me.”

  She doesn’t have a father? “What about your old man?”

  “That’s a long story.”

  Maybe it’s not fair of me to ask since I’m unwilling to share much about my family, but I want to know her story. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

  She looks like she’s settling in for a long explanation. “My mom was a rising musician when she got pregnant with me. My sperm donor was a famous country music star. They met when my mom signed with his label.” She shrugs. “He was married so they started having an affair. His wife didn’t take too well to finding out about her husband’s pregnant mistress, especially since she was pregnant too. I have a half-brother I’ve never met and he’s almost the exact same age as I am. Isn’t that charming?”

  She lifts her wine glass to her mouth. “So, as you can see, I wasn’t joking when I said I had daddy issues.”

  “That’s why you immediately asked me if I was married.”

  She’s pushing food around her plate. “It’s only one of the reasons.”

  “You didn’t eat much. I thought you weren’t scared to eat on a date.”

  She shrugs again. “Nervous stomach, you could say.”

  “If you’re finished, you want to get out of here?”

  “Sure.”

  We leave through the same revolving doors we used the previous night, but under very different circumstances. We stand on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant and Daniel pulls to the curb from across the street where he’s been waiting. He gets out to open the door, but I don’t have a clue where I’d have him drive us since I’m unfamiliar with Wagga Wagga. “It’s a beautiful night. Do you feel like walking?”

  “Sure.”

  I tell Daniel, “I’ll call when we’re ready to be picked up.”

  He shuts the door. “Of course, sir.”

  “Which way? Lady’s choice.”

  She glances in both directions and shrugs as she points to her right. “Always go right and you’ll never go wrong.”

  We start walking and I remember the shoes she’s wearing. She looks great in them, but there is no way they will be comfortable for walking. “Those heels are sexy as hell but don’t they hurt your feet?”

  She laughs. “I’m used to wearing high heels. I’ll be okay. But it’s very considerate of you to think of my feet.”

  I’m not sure if she’s being honest. “I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, so please tell me if they hurt and I will call Daniel to pick us up.”

  “I will.” She surprises me by looping her arm through mine. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers and breakfast you sent. Addison and I were almost drunk by ten o’clock. It was great.”

  Flowers and breakfast were nothing compared to what I would give her if she agreed to be with me. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked the champagne. What about Australia? Are you enjoying it?”

  “I like it very much, but I can’t get use to the idea of Christmas during summer.”

  I had forgotten December is winter in the US. “I’ve never thought of it being any other way.”

  “Will you spend Christmas with your family outside of Sydney?”

  Her questions aren’t identifying, but they still make me uncomfortable. “Yes. Everyone gathers at my parents’ on Christmas Eve and we spend Christmas Day together. It makes for an interesting night with my brother’s kids waiting for Santa to come since the oldest is three now.”

  “Oh, that sounds like fun.”

  I can tell she’s an only child. “It is fun for about two minutes, and then everyone is sick of each other.”

  She stops dead in her tracks and places her palms against the glass window of a store. “Look at that. I think it’s a Martin D-45.”

  I inspect the guitar on the stand in the window and see nothing special about it. It just looks like any other to me. “I take it that’s good?”

  I think she might be amused by my question when I see her grin. “Yes, that’s very good. I’ve dreamed of having one forever.”

  “Why haven’t you gotten one?”

  She gazes into the window and reminds me of a child wishing for a toy at Christmas. “Because a D-45 costs about twelve grand.”

  “Shouldn’t you have one if you’re going to be a successful musician?”

  “Sure, I need one, but that doesn’t mean I can afford it. I have my mom’s guitar to get me by until I can afford one. It’s older than I am, but it’s still good.” Her hands are still splayed against the storefront glass. “She’s never told me so, but I think the sperm donor gave it to her. Sometimes I catch her playing it and she looks like she’s been crying.”

  She wasn’t kidding about having daddy issues.

  “I’ll have a Martin one day,” she sighs as she steps away from the storefront.

  We continue our walk until we come to the next street and I see the sign for Stout Avenue. “The Blues Club shouldn’t be far from here. You want to swing by and see what’s happening?”

  “Sure. Which way do you think it is?”

  “One way to find out.” I pull out my phone and use an app to find it several blocks to the north. “It’s six blocks that way.”

  She lifts her foot from one of her shoes and inspects it. “I don’t know if I can walk six blocks. My heels are starting to rub.”

  “You said you would tell me if they hurt. I don’t want you to be in pain. I’ll call Daniel.”

  She lifts the other foot and inspects it. “Would you think I was weak if I let you?”

  “I don’t think for one minute there’s anything weak about you.” I spot a bench on the sidewalk. “We’ll wait for him here.”

  While awaiting Daniel’s arrival, we sit on the bench and I reach for her feet. “Let me see what we’ve got going on here.”

  She resists as I try to pull her feet into my lap. “What are you doing?”

  “What does it look like? I’m going to rub your feet while we wait for Daniel.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

  She gives in and twists on the bench to put her feet in my lap. I slip off her shoes and begin rubbing the first foot. “If you say yes, I will pamper you everyday like a princess.”

  She laughs, clearly not realizing how serious I am. “That certainly sweetens the offer and makes it more tempting.”

  I slide my palm from her foot up her calf. “I don’t want my offer to be tempting. I want it to be irresistible, so tell me what it will take for you to say yes.”

  She studies me and grins. “I need time, and I need to know you better.”

  She’s always guarded, but I’m impatient, so the time she needs for getting to know me is the one thing I don’t want to give her. Doesn’t she understand we can do that after she agrees?

  In a fine example of Daniel’s impeccably wrong timing, he pulls up as I am trying to warm Paige to the idea of us. I slip her shoes back onto her feet. When she stands, I scoop her in my arms and carry her to the car where Daniel is waiting with the opened door.

  Her arms are around my neck and she gives me a disapproving look. “I think this is a little over the top.”

  “I tend to be that way, and you’d do well to remember that. I meant it when I said I didn’t want you in pain and I’d pamper you like a princess.”

  She giggles again like that seventeen-year-old girl she pretended to be earlier. “I think I could’ve managed the few steps it would’ve taken me to get to the car.”

  We slide across the backseat. “This is me trying to persuade you to say yes, Paige.”

  “I thank you, but it’s quite unnecessary. And I hope you don’t think you’re carrying me from the car into the club because that’s not happening.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Daniel stops on the street in front of The Blues Club. “I’m not getting out unless I’m walking on my own. No sneaking to scoop me up again. Got it, Jack?”

  I whirl around before I get out of the car. She has called me Jack for a second time. “Yes, ma’am.”

  I get out of the car and offer my hand. “Thank you.”

  She’s standing in front of me and I can’t resist asking, “Why do you call me Jack?”

  “I don’t know. It’s something my mom has always said, so I say it too. Sort of like when I asked you if you wanted to dance when we were trying to dodge around each other.”

  “Oh.”

  We walk into the club and sit at a table close to the stage. There is a full band tonight and I recognize “Every Breath You Take” by The Police.

  Paige pecks the tabletop with her fingertips to the beat and a waitress comes to our table. We’re sitting right next to the speakers, so she yells out over the music, “What can I get for you?”

  Paige smiles and winks at me when she places her order. “I’ll have a screaming orgasm, please.” Hell, yeah. She’ll have plenty of those over the next few months if I have anything to do with it.

  “And for you?”

  Interesting drink choice. Interesting enough that I think I might need to try one. I stare at Paige as I call out my order. “I’ll have a screaming orgasm also.”

  I slip out of my jacket and toss it across the empty chair next to me. “Do you always wear a suit?”

  “I do when I have business meetings.”

  “I didn’t realize you had a meeting tonight.”

  “It was a brief one.” She watches as I loosen the knot of my tie and unfasten the top button of my shirt. I unbutton my sleeves and roll them up on my forearms. “You don’t like the suit?”

  “I like it very much, but I’m curious to see what else you wear.”

  “Then I guess you’ll have to see me again so you can find out.”

  Our waitress returns with our drinks and I pass her my card to start a tab. “I’ll be suitless for the next few days. Would you like to come out to the estate where I’m staying for a visit tomorrow? I’d love to give you a tour of the vineyard.”

  She takes a drink of her screaming orgasm as she watches me over the rim of her glass. “Okay.”

  Another yes. It isn’t the one I want, but it’s a start and could lead to the one I’m desperate to hear. “Perfect. If I pick you up around ten, that will give us time to drive back for lunch. Does that work for you?”

  One-on-one time is what I need to persuade her to accept, so tomorrow I will get the yes I so desire.

  Chapter Seven

  Laurelyn Prescott

  Four screaming orgasms later, which is two more than I usually have, Lachlan and I slide into the backseat of his car. I only make it to the middle of the seat as I glide across, so our legs are touching when he gets in beside me. The only thing separating our skin is the fabric of his trousers, but his touch sends a thrill of excitement throughout my body.

  Daniel peers at Lachlan through the rearview mirror. “Where to, sir?”

  He surveys me for an answer. I think he’s hoping I’ll tell him I want to go home with him tonight, but I don’t. I haven’t agreed to this insanity yet.

  “To Miss Beckett’s,” he tells Daniel.

  I’m feeling the effects of my four cocktails. Liquid courage pulsates through my veins. I feel brave. And flirty. I put my hand on Lachlan’s thigh and use my fingertip to trace an imaginary infinity symbol. I feel the muscle in his thigh grow taut through his pants. “Mr. Henry, does Daniel have any idea what it is you do with the women you keep in your company?”

  Without being asked, Daniel reaches for the control on the radio and increases the volume of the music in the front of the car. I hear “Talk Dirty To Me” for a brief second before he changes the station to classical. Or maybe opera. I’m too buzzed to tell. Either way, I don’t care for it.

  I lean forward. “Daniel. Change it back to Poison.”

  I see him eye his employer in the rearview mirror. Lachlan gives him a curt nod and I hear Bret Michaels singing again.

  “I love this song.”

  “I do too, but I’d like it much better if you were singing it to me instead of Poison.”

  “I’ve been known to take requests.”

  “Me too. I can talk dirty by request anytime.”

  I become hypersensitive to everything about this man. His breathing sounds louder and his scent stronger, so masculine. I love the feel of his leg beneath my finger. “You didn’t answer me. Does Daniel know what you do with women?”

  It’s dark and I can’t make out his expression. “I pay Daniel to be available when I need him. He isn’t my confidant, so we don’t discuss what I do with the women I date.”

  “The women you date,” I whisper as I turn to stare out the window. The streetlights flash like strobes as we pass. If I say yes, I will be number thirteen. I can’t imagine that going well. Thirteen is always unlucky.

  He puts his hand on my knee and heat radiates up my thigh. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”

  His intimate gesture gains my full attention. “I would be number thirteen.”

  I’m not certain, but I think he’s amused by my observation. “I suppose you would be.”

  I’m superstitious. I always have been. “It’s an unlucky number.”

  “I don’t think it is. I was born on the thirteenth.”

  If I do this, something will go wrong and this man will hurt me. I know it as sure as I’m sitting here next to him feeling how much he makes me want to say yes. “How can you think it’s possible to have something this hot without one of us getting burned?”

  I see him grin in the darkness. “You think this thing between us is hot?”

  Daniel pulls to a stop in front of Ben’s apartment building. I don’t reply to Lachlan—it’s never wise to throw fuel on a fire already raging out of control.

  Daniel opens the door and I get out of the car behind Lachlan. We walk up the sidewalk to the building’s entrance and he shocks me by reaching for my hand. It’s such a sweet and intimate thing to do. “Do you have your own bedroom?”

  “No. Addison and I share the guest room.”

  “Good.”

  What? Did he think I was sharing a bed with Ben? What if I were? He didn’t have a claim on me. Yet. “Where did you think I was sleeping?”

  “I had no idea since these apartments are so small. However, I do know your friend’s brother would like nothing better than to have you in his bed. Then again, so would I, so I don’t guess I have room to say much.”

  There he goes again, saying whatever is on his mind. I’m not sure if I should appreciate his honesty or brace myself for whatever might come out of his mouth next. “Are you missing your filter, or is it an Aussie thing to blurt out every inappropriate thought you have?”

  We’re standing at the entrance to the building and I sense what’s coming next. I feel it in my bones. And my groin. He’s going to kiss me. And I want him to. Badly.

  But then that isn’t what he does.

  He pushes me until my back is against the building. He pins me with his hips so I’m trapped. There’s no escape—not that I would try. His eyes dart from mine to my mouth, then back up to my eyes. “I say exactly what’s on my mind because I don’t have time for silly games. I told you I don’t do pretenses, and this is me showing you what I mean. I want you to know exactly what’s on my mind.”

  It’s unnerving the way his eyes pierce mine. “And what’s on your mind right now?”

  His mouth is so close to mine, I feel his warm breath on my lips. “Right now, all I’m thinking about is how I’m going to get you in my bed so I can show you all the ways I can make you come.”

  Umm … yes, please and thank you.

  He makes me want to get on all fours and crawl like a tigress. I’m burning from the inside out, and he hasn’t even kissed me yet. This man is talented. I wonder what he’d be able to do if we weren’t standing in a very public place.

  He takes my mouth with his hand and squeezes my jaw inward before he rubs his thumb over my lips. “I’ve been wanting to devour this mouth since the first time I saw you.”

  “Then, why don’t you?” I feel audacious so I issue a challenge. “I dare you.”

  I watch his face as I wait for him to take me up on my invite. Come on, I want you to do it. My chest heaves up and down so hard, I can see it moving in my peripheral vision, and my breathing is embarrassingly loud. I’m stunned by my sudden and unexpected urgency for him. I shove the bells and whistles I hear aside—the ones alerting me to how wrong this is—because I don’t want to heed my subconscious warnings. I only want to feel what this man is offering—to make my fantasies come true.

  The next moment, his lips are on mine and my mouth opens to invite his tongue inside to play. His hand slides from my face to the nape of my neck and pulls me hard against his body, holding me prisoner. Through the thin material of my dress, I can feel how hard he is for me.

  His tongue finds mine and begins a slow, seductive dance. This man knows how to kiss. He has the ability to weaken my knees, and my body is no longer my own to control. It belongs to him, to do with as he wishes. He’s my puppeteer.