Page 146 of Rare Blend
“Yes, let’s go sit before things get started,” Marisa says and then turns her focus to Dom. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Nice meeting you,” he tells Marisa, and then he nudges my chest. “Let’s catch up soon man, it’s been a long time.”
“Yeah,” I tell him. “You know where to find me.”
As soon as we’re out of earshot, Marisa ushers me into a quiet hallway outside the ballroom.
“Okay, spill. Who was that and why did Elyse look like she wanted to murder him?”
“Like he said, we’ve known him for a long time. He grew up with us. His family used to own a farm that bordered ourproperty until they eventually sold it to us a few years ago, and we turned it into more vineyards.”
Marisa rolls her eyes at me. “Like I care about any of that. I want the juicy shit.”
I take a breath, not sure if Elyse would appreciate me talking about her personal life behind her back. But I also don’t keep things from Marisa.
“They dated in high school and a little into their first year of college. Elyse is the one who broke up with him, but for whatever reason, she’s harbored an anger toward him ever since, even though she insists he didn’t do anything wrong. None of us know exactly what went down, but he was friends with all of us before they dated, and the few times I’ve run into him, we’ve been friendly. They probably broke up because they were going to different colleges and the distance was too hard. Elle is being dramatic about the whole thing, because she’s dramatic about everything.”
Marisa’s lips purse, and her head cocks, taking in all the information.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so affected by a guy. She looked pissed. I’m going to bet there’s a hell of a lot more to the story than some simple breakup. People get over stuff like that. It’s been, what, ten years?”
I shrug. I don’t like to speculate, and frankly, it’s none of my business. Unlike my siblings, I know when to not stick my nose somewhere it doesn’t belong.
“Enough about my sister and her love life, let’s go inside. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get you home and naked.”
As I’m about to turn, Marisa grabs my tie and pulls me back.
“Just a few more minutes.” She stands on her tippy toes even though she’s already in high heels and wraps her arms aroundmy neck, bringing my head down to hers. “Have I told you how good you look tonight?” she whispers against my mouth.
My senses are flooded with the smell of her signature vanilla as it mingles with the sip of wine she had earlier. She crashes her lips to mine with an unexpected eagerness. It takes me a second, but I’m quick to catch on and pull her close. My hands wander down to her luscious ass, and I grab each cheek roughly as I hoist her against me. She moans into my mouth, sending a tingle down my spine. If we were in the privacy of our bedroom, I’d be seconds away from being inside of her, but that’s not an option in this exposed hallway.
I draw away from her lips and nuzzle her neck. “What has gotten into you? You know I can’t fuck you out in the open, no matter how badly I want to be inside of you right now.”
She giggles and presses her body even closer, rolling it forward like she’s desperate to ride my cock.
Fucking hell.Maybe I will fuck her here after all.
“It’s just that I realized something,” she says, but I’m almost too distracted to hear her, my mind drifting to thoughts of the empty upstairs and the lock on my office door.
She taps on my chest, bringing my focus to her face. “Are you listening to me?” she exhales.
“All ears, baby.” I place a delicate kiss to the dip where her neck meets her shoulder. “What did you realize?”
“That I’m so lucky to have you. Thatwe’reso lucky to have each other.”
The lust fog in my mind clears, and I pull back to meet her stare. Her eyes are slightly glassy, turning her chocolate browns into a black abyss, and there’s a tightness in her voice that makes my heart lurch. Her crying can bring me to my knees. In fact, it has brought me to my knees.
“Why are you crying, baby?”
“I’m not crying, just a little misty.” She sniffles. “Seeing Elyse get flustered over her ex reminded me that I have you to fight those battles for me and I never have to worry about stuff like that.”
“No, you fucking don’t,” I say firmly. “If that asshole comes within a mile of this town, I actually will kick his ass.”
She laughs a watery laugh. “No, what I mean is, I have you. I only want you. And that’s never going to change.”
“It better not.” I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear and try to ignore the way my heart is hammering in my chest. I’m nervous, and I’m not entirely sure why.
“Ethan,” she says, meeting my eyes. “You’re it for me. No one, no ex, no other guy, is ever going to come along to make me question if you’re the one. You’re it, it’s only you, and I want you to know that. I know it’s only been a few months, and I’m sure I drive you crazy with my messes and my rambling and my obsession with trashy TV, but just know that I love you so fucking much and I’m so happy you’re mine and I’m yours.”
