“Your house surprised me. I didn’t take you for a reader of Russian classics.”
“They’re Marcus’s books. What do you think of the rest of the place?”
“I love it.” Did he flinch at her use of the L-word? “It’s spectacular. I didn’t think you’d be a four-poster bed man.”
“Oh, what did you think I’d sleep in?” He took a step toward her. She backed against one of the posts and he put his hand above her head, hemming her in. Her heart rate tripled and she took a calming breath. All that did was fill her head with his scent.
“I don’t know, a plain platform bed?”
“That would have been my first choice. Marcus insisted this bed was better. More romantic, I think his words were.”
Lorelei nodded. Her throat was too tight for speech. How many women had enjoyed the romance? She was beginning to feel awkward in the room where so many other women had stood before.
“So, was he right?” Liam put his hand on her cheek, gently raising her face.
“What?”
“Was Marcus right about it being more romantic?”
“Why ask me?” Surely more sophisticated women had given their opinion.
“Because you’re the first woman to see it, aside from the cleaner.”
She searched his eyes. “Really?”
“Really.” He lowered his head and kissed her so gently she thought she’d imagined it. “Now, let’s have lunch. You’ll have plenty of time to explore this room later.”
“Promise?” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.
He groaned. “Promise.”
Chapter Twelve
A soft breeze blew up the hill from the vineyard, cooling the terrace. A faint scent of lavender floated on the air from two large pots at the top of the concrete stairs leading down to the lawn. Liam poured a glass of wine for Lorelei as she filled her plate with the delicacies Jason had packed for their lunch.
Popping an olive into her mouth, she studied her companion. She wasn’t sure why Liam was so reticent about making love to her. He seemed to desire her; the look in his eyes when he’d found her in his bedroom spoke of a deep passion. Yet she could tell he was holding back. Could he still think she wanted time to get to know him? Enough already. For once all three—head, heart, and body—were in agreement. She wanted Liam.
He sliced a loaf of bread with sure, precise movements. Maybe he was too programmed to follow a set course of events? Well, she was going to take a leaf out of his book and see if she could find a weakness in his firewall.
First step, disrobe a little. She pulled off the sweater that had been the modest touch to her dress, yet another one of Mandy’s selections. It had a halter neck, tying up at her nape, with a deep vee at the front. Plucking the clip from the back of her head, she shook her hair until it tumbled around her shoulders. With both hands she lifted the hair off her neck and gave it another shake before letting it fall again. Liam’s hand tightened on the knife, his knuckles showing white. That had attracted his attention.
When Liam sat across from her, she leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs and pulled the skirt of her dress up higher on her thigh. Picking up her glass, she swirled the red liquid in the glass as she’d seen wine connoisseurs do on television. She took a sip and let the wine slide over her tongue. It was smooth and full of flavor, but she could never taste the things usually written on the back of the bottle—blackberries and peaches and such.
The bottle on the table had no label so she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be tasting. It was kind of liberating that way, allowing her taste buds to discover the flavors. Of course, her senses were too tied up with the handsome man next to her to spend a lot of time analyzing the wine.
Twisting in her seat, her skirt slid up another couple of inches. She caught Liam staring at her legs before she waved toward the rows of grapevines a hundred feet from the house. “Is this wine from here?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes. Do you like it?”
“It’s fabulous. Do you produce many bottles?”
“We don’t sell commercially. I give some away to friends and business acquaintances, and enjoy the rest myself. It’s a hobby, really. I have a full-time vintner who cares for the vineyard. We can tour the vines after lunch if you want.”
“Hmmm,” she answered noncommittally. If Liam was still thinking of any other tour than his bedroom she had better ramp up her seduction attempts.
She ran a finger down the V-neck of her dress and up the other side. Liam’s eyes followed her movement and she saw his jaw clench in response. When his eyes met hers they were full of hot desire.
“You’re playing with fire,” he murmured.
“I hope so,” she said.
Liam picked up a piece of the fresh bread and loaded it with a selection of cheeses and cold meats from the tray. He took a huge bite as though trying to hurry lunch along. Lorelei rolled up a piece of ham and popped it into her mouth. She wasn’t really hungry.
As he watched she took a pickle, then slid it into her mouth slowly, savoring the sharp vinegar taste after the tart wine. A couple pieces of cheese followed. Putting her plate on the table, she leaned back and sipped her wine, waiting for Liam to finish.
“I thought I saw a swimming pool from the upper deck,” she said as silence loomed between them.
“Yes, there’s a pool and hot tub on the other side of the house. I wanted the view from the terrace to be of the vines and hills. I didn’t realize it was going to be so warm today or I would have told you to bring your swimsuit.”
“As we’re the only ones here, I don’t mind skinny-dipping.” Heat invaded her face. Okay, so skinny-dipping was way beyond her comfort level, but she’d laid her cards on the table; time for Liam to call her bluff.
He laughed, sat back, and took a sip of his wine. “So that’s how the day is going to go. I thought you might enjoy a tour of the valley, to visit some of the famous wineries, maybe have a quiet dinner in one of the local restaurants. There’s a very nice French bistro over in the next town.”
Lorelei plucked a strawberry off the table, rolling the fruit on her tongue before taking a bite. So far she was a complete failure on the seduction front. “If that’s what you want…”
She stared at the view, wondering what her next move should be. The scraping of metal chair legs on the concrete terrace made her turn back to Liam. He was standing now, putting a cover on the food.