Page 24 of Bottles & Blades

“Tell me.”

“You like giving orders, don’t you?” she asks, stroking her finger along the rim of the glass. “Or is it that you’re just used to people obeying them?”

I laugh.

“What?” she asks, her brown eyes filling with some curiosity of her own.

“Tit for tat,” I say. “You ask something. I answer. I ask something.Youanswer.”

Her tone is tart when she says, “More orders. I should refuse on principle.”

“But you won’t.”

Her nose wrinkles.

Cute. She’s fucking cute.

“I smell berries,” she murmurs, and I can’t push down the wave of triumph that washes through me when she gives me what I asked for.

A good girl.

I can’t wait to seehowgood…and how bad she might be, just for me.

“What else?”

“Isn’t it my turn for a question?”

“You haven’t told me all you smell yet.”

An exhale. “Berries and chocolate and vanilla.”

“From the oak barrels it’s aged in,” I murmur.

“Is that why it’s called Oak Ridge?” she asks.

I nod. “Part of the reason.”

“Why else?”

“Drink,” I order, nudging the bottom of the glass up. “And I’ll tell you.”

“More orders.” She shakes her head, her mouth curved into a rueful smile but she obliges me and sips—then sighs in satisfaction and sips again, deeper this time.

“Good?” I ask.

“Much better than my bargain basement bottle from earlier today, that’s for sure. Now why else is your winery called Oak Ridge?”

“Because of the oak trees,” I tell her. “We have a grove of oaks that are over a hundred years old. They form this perfect circle up on the ridge, and if you step between the trunks, you’ll find a clearing filled with wildflowers and native grasses.”

“That sounds beautiful.”

“It’s my favorite place on the property. There’s nothing better than sitting on the flat rock that’s almost dead center, staring out at the view while listening to the leaves rustling and watching the clouds float by.” My mouth hitches up. “Of course, one time I found myself trying to share the space with a rattlesnake who was sunning itself on the rock and that was less enjoyable.”

“Then what happened?”

“I backed up slowly and decided that I’d go somewhere else to find my peace that day.” I grin. “Thankfully, she hasn’t been back since.”

“She?”

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