Grapes of Wrath (Billionaires' Secrets Book 2) (16 page)

He snorted. “This is not a Disney World theme park. And we have T-shirts.”

Susannah winced slightly. ‘Those bright blue ones? They look like they’re advertising a local election.”

Irritation at the insult rose inside him, but he couldn’t help laughing. “Ignacio ran for local office a few years ago, and we did purchase a large batch of shirts and used them for both.”

Susannah’s sensual mouth tilted into a smile as she tried not to laugh. She leaned back and crossed her arms. “The vineyard deserves its own unique brand. You’ve gone far on the quality of your wines alone, but to penetrate markets in the U.S. it’ll help to have a more distinctive style.”

He hated to admit she was probably right. Decided not to. “Where are your clothes?”

“Back there, actually.” She tilted her head toward his office bathroom with its attached changing room. “I changed here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not in the least. I only wish I was here to watch.” He waited for her reaction.

She gazed at him steadily. “Why did you leave me alone in the barn?”

“I had business to take care of.”

“One of your workers found me there.”

He sat upright as guilt snaked through him. “Who?”

“I don’t know. A kid in a blue winery T-shirt.” She shrugged. “I just thought I should warn you.”

Great. It was probably Rosa’s great-grandson Nahuel, whose lips flapped even more than hers.

But Susannah still didn’t look embarrassed. Those dark eyes were cool and appraising. Perhaps studying him for faults and areas for improvement, much as she’d examined his estate.

No doubt leaving her in the barn was one of those. He’d done it to regain control over his body and mind. “I have no interest in idle gossip, and I assume you don’t, either.”

Her long, dark hair was falling from a loose knot, tumbling around her high cheekbones to her slim shoulders, and he longed to push his fingers into its softness. Control? Only so long as he wasn’t anywhere near her.

“I spoke to Clara.” She frowned and shoved a lock of hair behind her ear. “I tried to reassure her that nothing has truly changed. I think I succeeded. She loves Ignacio very much.”

Her audacity astonished him. Who was she to stick her finger into a bleeding wound?

“You should stay out of our family business.”

“That’s what Ignacio said when I spoke to him.” She licked her lips, which sent heat spiking through his groin.

He cursed silently. “Stay away from him. You have no idea what you’re doing.”

Amado wasn’t sure he could ever forgive Ignacio for driving away the woman he loved. Feelings he’d kept locked away for a decade scratched at him now, raw and painful.

It was Susannah’s fault. Not only because she’d exploded a bomb in his family’s midst.

Worse, her warm caresses and heartfelt passion reached inside him to dig up the sharp, broken pieces of his heart.

She had awakened sensations and longings he’d forgotten. Jolted to life areas of his body and mind that he’d thought permanently shattered by a woman who’d said she loved him, but had left him anyway.

“Ignacio said I should leave immediately.”

His gut tightened. “Your boss wouldn’t like that.”

“No.” Her eyes searched his face. “And I wouldn’t, either. I want to bring your wines to the States. I’m sure they’ll acquire an excellent reception. Your prices could increase quite dramatically with some critical acclaim.”

Amado leaned back in his chair. Drew in a slow, silent breath. He couldn’t deny that the prospect appealed to him, partly because it would assert his independence from the man who lied to him for thirty years. Who’d distorted his life and driven Valentina out of it.

He refused to let Ignacio run Susannah off the estate. He wasn’t ready to lose her. Not yet. Not until he was finished with her.

Chapter Fourteen

I
t infuriated Amado that Susannah seemed to think she could run his life. That she knew how to sell his wines better than he did. That she thought she could bring news that shattered his family, then glue them all back together and stick a pretty bow on top.

But she wasn’t in control. He could seduce her right now, right here, and she wouldn’t refuse.

That gave him a grim sense of satisfaction. And also aroused a mess of feelings he didn’t even begin to know how to examine.

“Perhaps you should get dressed.”

“I guess so.” She glanced down at the stained overalls. “Though I rather like wearing wine.”

He couldn’t help smiling. And watching closely as she stood and stretched those long, lean limbs. She glanced over her shoulder as she entered the large bathroom, which had a spacious changing area. He often used it to clean up before a group of guests arrived. The wide sofa would provide a soft and comfortable surface for...

Who was in danger of losing control here? He blew out a hard breath and sprung from his chair. Maybe it would be better if Susannah went back to New York as soon as possible. Her presence was a distraction. Already his name was on the lips of gossips and scandalmongers, he didn’t need them to get started on this brief and inconsequential affair.

“What should I do with these?” She held the stained overalls out through a crack in the door.

His eyes narrowed. He strode across the room and snatched them from her hands. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help glimpsing a flash of silky, bare skin in skimpy, lace- trimmed underwear.

Arousal flashed through him like heat lightning.

He entered the changing room and closed the door behind him. Susannah’s eyes widened. Her thick lashes lowered for a second in a display of modesty.

But her nipples, peaked beneath her silky, champagne-colored bra, made a mockery of her reserve.

He ran his palm over the dip in her waist. Her belly contracted at his touch. He marveled at the way her body responded to his—every time.

Thoughtful and sharp, Susannah couldn’t help also being sensual, instinctive.

He heard her breathing quicken. “Why did you really leave me alone in the barn?”

“I had work to do.”

“You could have woken me.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you.” He held her gaze. Pictured her waking up, alone. Searching for him.

His arousal quickened.

“I was worried. I thought maybe...” She bit her lip. “What?”

She flicked a dark glance at him. “I couldn’t open the door. I thought you locked me in.”

He laughed. “Keeping you my prisoner until such time as I should have need of you again?”

She smiled. “It sounds silly, doesn’t it? I guess I panicked.”

“Still, it’s not a bad idea.” He turned and flicked the lock on the door. “I do like having you at my disposal.”

“Ignacio was in the barn, too.”

He froze. “He saw you?”

“No, he was gone by the time the boy found me. But he could find out. I don’t want to cause any more trouble.” She looked so earnest, standing there in her expensive underwear.

Life was full of cruel but humorous contradictions. She stared at him, apparently oblivious to her state of undress. “Ignacio says he’ll
never
do business with Tarrant Hardcastle.”

“I run the estate now.” He didn’t want to talk about business. Not while his body ached for the feel of her skin against his.

“But isn’t he still the legal owner?”

He frowned. A nasty sensation snuck over him, warring with his desire. Had she researched proprietorship of the estate? “Are you afraid you’re wasting your time trying to do business with the wrong person?”

“No, of course not. I just...I don’t want to cause trouble.” Apprehension shone in her dark eyes. She bit her lush lips with those delicate white teeth.

“You don’t want to cause trouble?” He let out a harsh laugh. “It’s a bit late for that.” His life had been so easy once. Before she came. The estate humming smoothly, everyone prosperous and content.

All the family skeletons safely buried in the backyard.

And now? Pain torqued through him in equal measure to the fierce passion that racked his body.

And it was all Susannah’s doing.

He stepped toward her, invaded her space. When he brushed his thumb over her chin, her lips parted.

He cocked his head. “You do want our wine, don’t you?”

“I do, but—”

“If I want to sell wine to Tarrant Hardcastle, I’ll do it. Business is business.”

Her telltale wrinkle deepened. He wanted to tell her to stop thinking, but he didn’t want to waste breath on arguing, or even talking, so he leaned in to silence her with a kiss.

Relief flashed through him as her lips softened under his, and her mouth opened to welcome his tongue.

Stray thoughts hacked at his consciousness, fighting with the thick and inviting distraction of lust.
If Ignacio truly considered him his son and rightful heir, he’d not interfere.

Tension ached in his muscles and he longed to lose himself in her arms. Nothing was certain any more.
If Ignacio no longer saw him as his son and heir, because everyone now knew he was another man’s illegitimate son, then let things come to a head.

His breath grew ragged as he drew Susannah close, wrapping his arms around her slim, lithe body. Her long fingers dug into his back, holding him tight, and the first sweet strains of relief rang through him.

In her passionate embrace, the troubles of the world fell away. Nothing was left but the silky touch of her skin, her sweet breath on his face.

Already, his muscles stung with anticipation of the release they’d share. He nuzzled her neck, and enjoyed her sweet moan.

As his fingers roamed over her back and he buried his face in her hair, his heart ached with fierce longing to forget everything, everyone, except her.

Susannah lay in Amado’s arms, their breathing the only sound in the still air after they made love.

Made love.

Such a common expression. Could you actually bring love into the world by having hot sex? Maybe you could. Something stirred in her heart, painful and difficult to name.

Probably because this was a kind of love that was inappropriate and should never have happened. A passion born of simple lust. The kind of thing she’d been raised to stay away from, and thought herself smart enough to avoid.

A love with no future.

Susannah had a weird sense of being on the edge of a precipice, looking down over the stunning view, admiring it and enjoying its beauty, knowing all the while that at any minute she could plunge into the abyss. .

Amado’s chest swelled with a deep breath, shifting her weight. “I’ll drive you back to the house.”

“Okay.” Her heart stung at the thought of separating from him. She wanted this magic moment to last a little bit longer.

But she couldn’t even protest and say that she wanted to see more of the winemaking operations. Not with any conviction. She’d already proved to both herself and Amado that all thoughts of work and business crumbled in the face of her disturbing hunger for him.

She wasn’t even that embarrassed by it. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, so what was the point? Would something be gained by denying them both these moments of pleasure? It was too late for them to ever have a crisp business relationship or a casual platonic friendship. If their relationship was going to be messy, then why couldn’t it be hot and rough and affectionate, too?

Though, of course it would have been better if they never did any of this in the first place.

Amado’s arms closed tightly around her and squeezed her in an embrace that was almost painful in its intensity. “What’s going on in that dangerous brain of yours?”

She hesitated. Was there any harm in telling him the truth? He must surely feel the same way. “I was just wishing that we never slept together.”

His eyes narrowed.

“It would have made things so much easier if we never got started, don’t you think?”

His muscles tightened. “I dare say.”

The air around them seemed to cool. He eased out from under her and leaped off the sofa.

Goose bumps rose on her skin, deprived of his warmth. He grabbed his pants off the floor and shoved them on. “Let’s go. I don’t want to waste any more of your valuable time.”

She eased herself into a sitting position. Wrapped her arms around her suddenly chilled body.

But she didn’t regret her honesty. She didn’t want to become the kind of person who only told someone what they wanted to hear. “I don’t think it’s a waste of time. It’s beautiful when we...”
make love.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “It’s just that the desire doesn’t go away. It comes back stronger each time.”

Amado paused in buckling his belt. He stared at her.

“Am I being too frank?”

“No.” He frowned, then a gleam of humor entered his eyes. “Yes, maybe. But I like that about you. I’m tired of people who say things they don’t mean, so better that you speak the truth.” He stepped toward her and cupped her face in his hands. “Even if it might get you into trouble.”