He laughed. “You’d be surprised how many women would love to audition for that role. If it was open, that is.”
“Really?” She stared at hm. “Audition? Do you have an application form, too?”
“Could be.” He winked. He definitely liked pushing her buttons. “Go do your tweets so we can get onto the food tasting.”
“Are you really getting into this, or are you putting on a big show for me?” she asked. “Or worse yet, mocking me.”
He walked over to where she stood, stopping barely two inches from her. “There are a lot of things I’d like to do to you, Avery Kurtz, but I promise you, mocking isn’t one of them. Now, go do your tweets.”
He left her standing there, gaping at him while he walked away, grinning. Oh, yes, he had big plans for Avery Kurtz. Very big plans.
But slowly, Tanner. Take it very slowly.
Chapter Three
Tanner thought he could spend forever looking at Avery’s body, stretched out before him like some primordial feast. Skin like ivory satin flowed over a delicate bone structure, and dark rose nipples with darker yet aureoles were ornaments on plump, ripe breasts. The soft hair on her mound was just a shade darker than the rich sable of her tresses, silken hair he loved to run his fingers through. Her soft lips were kiss-swollen, and tiny flecks of gold glittered in her hazel eyes, a reflection of the heat blooming there.
He had sucked her nipples until they had hardened into pebbled peaks and lapped at her cunt until he drove her to a screaming orgasm. Her taste was exquisite, sharp and spicy, bursting on his tongue like an erotic treat. Why, it certainly was.
They had made love once already tonight, then lay in bed recovering and stroking each other until he moved between her legs again and put his mouth to work on her body. He thought he could taste every inch of her forever, the flavor of her filling his senses.
He watched the pulse beating at the hollow of her throat accelerate as he began to tease her again. He devoted himself to every sensitive area, sucking and licking and stroking with his fingers. Her breathing hitched, and she arched her hips toward him, urging him to do more. Much more.
He had held off as long as he could, teasing himself as well as her, denying himself the luxury of sliding into her hot, waiting pussy. He’d had to literally drag her head away from his dick in her hot wet mouth. This time he wanted to come inside her, to feel the walls of her cunt convulsing around him, gripping him like a tight wet fist.
He shifted to his knees and leaned over to grab a condom from the nightstand drawer and…
Thunk!
What the fuck?
Tanner opened his eyes and realized he was on the floor, half the bedclothes with him. His shoulder throbbed, and when he touched it, he found a very sore spot. Fuck! He’d apparently hit himself on the edge of the nightstand as he fell out of bed in his sexually-induced frenzy. Fuck! He hadn’t done that since he was eighteen. And to frost the cake, his dick was still harder than concrete.
Damn!
He leaned against the bed, rubbing his shoulder. He’d close his eyes, but the naked image of Avery Kurtz would pop right back up in vivid living color. It wasn’t bad enough that thoughts of her kept teasing him during the day, interfering with his concentration at work. Now, she was invading his dreams and leaving him with a nearly unrelenting woody.
The dinner tasting had been as much torment as it was pleasure. Watching her lick a drop of sauce from her full lips or lick the crumbs from a fork nearly drove him mad. Her tongue swirling around the tines had no doubt given rise to the dreams of her sucking his dick and winding that same tongue around it. It had taken every bit of his slowly eroding self-control to keep from yanking her into his arms in the parking lot and seeing how far down her throat he could thrust his tongue.
Yeah, that would have gone over really well.
Damn!
He’d asked her out several times before, whenever they were in a group together, but she’d shut him down every time. Always politely, never with any hostility, but he just couldn’t get past the first pitch with her.
As he sat there a foghorn blared from his cell, signaling an incoming tweet from Avery. When he’d discovered her “tweet me” syndrome he’d set up a special Twitter account just for her tweets and given this account its own special sound. He unlocked his phone to read her message.
“@eventplanner B sr to meet me at winery at 5 pm”
Of course, he’d meet her at the winery. She had no idea how much he was looking forward to it, or to the big plans he’d made. Plans he hoped would be successful. He’d made sure his admin cleared his schedule so he could leave the office on time. No late arrivals for this event, please.
Montrose Winery was located about ten miles beyond the city limits, producing wine that had an international reputation for excellence. He could see why Will and Janice would choose it for their wedding. The property was located up in the hills, in a stunning setting. Fieldstone buildings housed the offices, the tasting room, and an elegant restaurant that opened to a patio. Tanner knew the owners and had brought clients here occasionally when he wanted to make an exceptional impression.
Now, mindful of his highly erotic dream and the lingering aftermath, he decided he really had nothing to lose if he kicked up his low key campaign to show Avery he wasn’t the high flying playboy she thought he was but a genuine person. At least, he hoped he was. And that they had some serious chemistry between them. He scrolled through his cell for the number of the winery. He needed to check on his own preparations for the evening.
But first, he needed a very, very cold shower. He hoped it would cool his cock down enough to stay hidden behind his fly as soon as he saw Avery.
****
“Just ask the Johnsons to give you three dates they are considering,” Avery told Noelle. “Check our books to see if we’re available, then tweet me the info.”
Noelle laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell me to hang up and just tweet this to you.”
“Please,” Avery protested. “I’m efficient, not stupid. This would take more than 145 characters. So take care of the Johnsons and then send me the date.”
She disconnected, then pulled up her twitter feed, which had been sending her chimes as she drove up the winding approach to the winery. Her clients now seemed to embrace her “tweet me” philosophy, although it often meant she got ten times as many tweets as she would have with texts. Still, it allowed her to read far more messages and answer with an economy of words. She thought it amazing how much you could actually say in one hundred and forty five characters once you learned the Twitter shorthand.
She answered the most important ones, flagged others for later then shoved her cell in the pocket of her slacks and climbed out of her SUV. She was a few minutes early, but it gave her time to collect her thoughts. Maybe collecting wasn’t the right word where Tanner Voss was concerned. Submerging, maybe.
God, why had she gotten herself into this? The man intruded on her thoughts nearly every hour of the day, not to mention into her dreams at night. How was it possible she was having more sex while she was asleep than she ever had while she was awake? And why did it have to be with a man who was such a big risk in the heart department? Somehow, she’d make it through the next couple of weeks. Then maybe she’d take a week off and go someplace to take the Tanner Voss cure.
And speak of the devil, here he came now. He parked next to her and unfolded himself from his car. The navy suit he wore was obviously custom tailored, as were all his suits, befitting a successful litigator. Funny, but on him it didn’t look pretentious. In fact, while his legal reputation had five stars next to it, he didn’t seem to have developed an ego from it. Confident but not egotistical. Nor, if she was honest with herself, did he look like the manwhore she assumed him to be.
Quit it, Avery. Next thing, you’ll be telling yourself it’s okay to take a chance with him.
Maybe she should tweet herself to get a brain here. If only she could find a way to get rid of those incredibly erotic dreams that were making her think about things she shouldn’t do with a man she shouldn’t want.
A heavy sigh escaped her, but then she pasted on her public smile as he stepped close to her.
“Ready for this?” she asked.
“You keep asking me,” he pointed out with a tiny smile. “Do you think I’m going to flake out when we still have so much to accomplish?”
“As a matter of fact, I have to admit you surprise me. I didn’t expect such a level of participation.”
A grin teased his lips. “I’m sorry you have such a low opinion of me. I’m actually enjoying this. Unexpectedly,” he added.
“I believe you are.” And wasn’t she just surprised about that. “By the way, the invitations were ready this morning. The printer tweeted me, I ran over and checked them out, then called the messenger service to pick them up for delivery.”
“I have to admit that was a great idea.” He waved toward the winery. “Shall we?”
Avery always loved the interior of the main winery building. Visitors walked into a tasting room with slate flooring and oak paneling, discreet wine-related art on the walls, wine-themed merchandise here and there, and a long bowed counter for tasting. There were also small patio tables and chairs scattered throughout the room for those visitors who bought wine and decided to consume some on the premises.
A wide archway to the left opened into an equally elegant dining room, with a menu created by a chef cordon bleu. The Montroses had spared nothing when they created this place, and the business they drew was a testament to their taste and hard work.
“Avery. We’ve been watching for you.”
Avery turned to see Johanna Montrose enter the tasting room from the offices behind it. She hurried over to the woman who gave her a quick hug.
“I love coming here,” Avery told the other woman. “And you always take such good care of me.” She motioned for Tanner to move up to them. “Do you know Tanner Voss?”
“Of course!” Her face lit up, and she held out her arms to give him a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Avery wondered if there was a woman in the world who was immune to Tanner’s charms. It shocked her to realize, as she watched the two people next to her, that this really wasn’t an act with Tanner. He truly liked the woman, and there was nothing false about either his expression or his body language. Was it possible she—No, no, no. She couldn’t afford to go there.
Johanna turned back to her. “You’ll have to tell me sometime how you roped him into this.”
“Since both the bride and groom decided to leave town after dumping this accelerated wedding date in my lap, Tanner’s been good enough to stand in for them in making the necessary choices.”
“Why, Tanner”—Johanna winked at him—“what a nice thing for you to do. Well.” She turned back to Avery. “Shall we get started? Based on what you said, I have some suggestions.”
She led them over to the tasting bar where Avery and Tanner took adjoining stools.
For the next hour, they discussed the fine points of the wines Johanna had selected. She explained the particular flavor and essence of each one and poured them a taste. In between, they cleaned their palates with oyster crackers. When the wines had been selected, Tanner agreeing with all her selections, they turned to the champagne. They took their time with everything, discussing the pros and cons of each selection until finally all the choices had been made and Johanna had entered the information into her tablet.
“I’ll email you the official order tomorrow,” she told Avery. “Tweet me when you know what time you want everything delivered. Remember the whites have to be iced.”
Avery nodded. “Will do.”
Tanner chuckled. “Do you have everyone on your Twitter feed?”
“Only the important people,” she joked. “Thanks, Johanna. I’ll double check the schedule in the morning.”
“Excellent. Tanner, your table will be ready shortly. Would the two of you like a glass of wine to take out to the patio in the meantime? The sun is just setting, and it’s beautiful out there this time of day.”
Table? What table? Had he made a date with someone for after their meeting? She had vaguely entertained the notion of having coffee with him, but apparently his social calendar was full.
“Oh,” she said. “If Tanner has plans, I don’t want to—”
“Thanks,” he interrupted. “That will be great.” He slid off the bar stool and held out a hand to Avery. “How about losing that big messenger bag? I’ll meet you on the patio with our wine.”
“But you— But dinner— But—”
Johanna chuckled. “Tanner, I do believe you’ve finally made someone speechless. Avery, the dinner is for the two of you. Tanner called me yesterday to make special arrangements.”
She was completely stunned. “You didn’t say a word—”
“Because I was sure you’d find a million excuses to say no. This way, I was pretty sure you wouldn’t embarrass me in front of Johanna. So. Messenger bag?”
“Oh, well… Okay.”
Her mind was spinning as she carried the bag to the car and deposited it on the back seat, first retrieving a small pouch with her essentials. Dinner with Tanner? Here? What was going on? Her palms were sweating, and her legs were slightly unsteady. She was afraid she was going to make a big mistake like that other time.
But lordy, she was so attracted to the man, she had to fight it every single minute. Spending time with him, she’d discovered either he was a lot more than she’d believed, a lot deeper, or else he put on a very good act. She no longer trusted her ability to discern which. Taking a calming breath she entered the winery to hit the powder room and freshen up before she joined Tanner on the patio.
****
Tanner was standing by a small patio table when he heard the click of Avery’s heels on the flagstone. He had removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Hands in his pockets, aviator shades in place, he was enjoying the early evening warmth as he faced into the setting sun. When he turned to look at her, every order he gave his dick disappeared. She quite literally took his breath away.