Page 31 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Irritation gnawed at my bones and tugged on my insides. Not with her. This damn need to taste her mouth that just kept growing and growing was going to be the death of me. Or at the very least cause a hell of a lot of self-love in the coming months.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Natalie just kept staring.
“What?” I gritted out.
My gaze flicked to the road, then back to her, just in time to see her tongue slide along her bottom lip.
“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or sarcastic.”
“What do you think?”
This time, she sucked her lip into her mouth and sank her teeth into it. Shit, I wanted to bite, too. And I definitely had something I wanted her to suck.
Fuck. I seriously had to stop. I was already rock hard from the images my brain had provided. And if I kept this up, I was going to be ten million shades of blue.
“I don’t know.”
It took me a second to remember what the hell we were talking about and what exactly it was that she didn’t know. When I was back on track, I slowed the car and gazed into her eyes.
“I don’t play games and I don’t say things I don’t mean.” I leaned closer just a little bit. “Got it?”
Natalie’s throat bobbed, and she nodded. “Yes.”
“Good.” My gaze returned to the road. “What would you like to talk about, Natalie?”
Shifting in her seat to face the window again, she was quiet for the longest time. Just when I thought we’d make the rest of our trip in silence, she finally spoke.
“How come no one knows you make wine?”
A corner of my mouth curved into a grin. “I don’t make it. I just own the vineyard.”
“Oh wow.” She made a noise; it was something between a snort and a giggle. “I know you don’tactually makethe wine yourself, I just assumed Clear Fountains was your only business venture. It’s the only one I’ve read about.”
Ah, so I wasn’t the only one who’d done some reading. I filed that information away for later use and focused on the question at hand.
“I built my first casino because it would be a good investment. I knew that’s where the money was. But the vineyard is where my passion lies.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t have to see it to know she was nibbling on her lip again.
“I wasn’t expecting that.”
Doing my best not to keep thinking about all the places I wanted that mouth, I said, “Business is one thing, but it’s not everything. You need something you’re passionate about, that holds meaning to you. Something you’ll fight for with your very last breath.” My gaze flicked to hers. “How about you, Natalie, what excites you?”
I hadn’t intended for them to, but my words made her blush. Red stained her chest and rose into her cheeks. Her eyes grew wide, and her mouth popped open. There was that damn innocent look again.
“I… uhm…”
Of course my phone chose that moment to ping to life. And of course it would be a call I couldn’t afford to miss. Pulling my brows together, I blurted out, “Business call,” before answering.
“Angus, give me a minute.”
I might have gone from disliking Natalie to desperately wanting to sink into her warm body but I still didn’t trust her. Or more importantly, I didn’t trust Trent, and there was no way I was going to let any information slip about the casino in Vegas.
Working fast, I disconnected the Bluetooth and pressed the phone against my ear. “Give me good news.”
The news wasn’t good. And this really was an important call. But as Angus listed the many reasons the permits had been denied, my gaze kept flicking to Natalie. If she was trying to listen in on the conversation, she was doing a good job at hiding it.
