Midnight Sommelier - Anne Malcom Page 0,41

what other parts of you taste like. And because I know you’re imagining the same shit, despite the lies you’re trying to tell yourself.”

Holy. Shit.

He just said that. He said all of that.

“I’m not here to act on shit, as fuckin’ difficult as it is with you wearing those goddamn shorts,” he continued, while I was doing my best to look like a mute idiot, though not by choice. His eyes ran over me and the jersey short shorts I was wearing. My legs were on fire.

“But I am plannin’ on acting on it when you’re ready. And not so pissed.” Zeke’s voice was rough and full of sex. Something moved in his eyes. “Well, I’m okay with you bein’ pissed ‘cuz I like angry sex, but I’ll wait. So tonight, I’m here to drink your wine and sit with you so you’re not out here alone in the middle of the night.”

By the time Zeke stopped speaking I was about to jump out of my skin. Claw it off. Rip my clothes to shreds with my bare hands and leap across the coffee table and have that angry sex I knew was going to be fucking incredible.

I was gripping the stem of my wine glass so tight I was surprised it didn’t snap. Parts of my body that I was sure were dead jumped alive. And parts I never knew existed in the first place were making themselves known.

Zeke was sitting on my stylish patio furniture, in my perfectly aesthetic, organized nightmare of a life like some kind of dark angel. Some kind of demon. Some kind of devil. I’d spent the past year in Hell, so it made sense.

I didn’t tear off my skin. Or my clothes. I didn’t pounce on the man torturing me, nor did I string expletives together and shoo him out of my backyard. No, I just sat there, listening to music and drinking wine with this midnight man.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” I said to Marley as she sat across from me in my living room. It was raining outside, and Alexis, the boys, and Luna were at a movie.

I’d invited Marley over for wine and cheese because I had the feeling she might be the only true friend I’d have in Black Mountain.

“Me too,” she said, reaching forward for the Camembert. “I’ve been busy with the launch of new products, trying to get the base sorted here, employ people that aren’t complete idiots ... I’m well overdue for this.”

She lifted her glass. “This is excellent by the way.”

It was the Ridge Bella Rosso.

I was a crazy person.

“Yeah, a ... friend recommended it.”

“Does this friend happen to live next door, ride a motorcycle, and be hotter than sin?” she asked.

I gaped at her. Blinked a couple of times at the meaning in her voice. “How do you know?” I leaned forward. “Are you a witch?” I added on a whisper, mostly joking. Maybe I’d been watching too much Vampire Diaries.

She grinned. “I wish!” she said. “I’m just observant. I know the newest town hottie lives right next door. Know that he has turned down every single and not single married woman in this town. I also know you’re a hottie and you’ve been watching out your window and toward that house all night.” She shrugged. “My father was a detective. Rubs off.”

There were many reasons why I should lie to Marley. I didn’t know her that well, and I hadn’t told anyone about Zeke, not even my sister who I was supposed to tell everything. Telling someone would make my betrayal real.

I sighed. “It’s ... he’s … I don’t know.” I sipped my wine.

We were on our second bottle, and I was feeling more than a bit tipsy. Maybe that was why they charged so much for it, because it got you the special kind of drunk. One where I didn’t feel like bursting into tears or running over to the house next door and pouncing on the man that lived there.

“So tell me about David,” Marley said. “And don’t tell me he was a good husband and a wonderful father, which I’m sure he was. I’m also sure you’ve regurgitated the same shit to different people hundreds of times, thousands of times to yourself. But he was human. Humans are flawed. It’s okay to remember him that way. It’s healthier than turning him into a saint.”

I decided she was definitely some kind of sage witch.

Of course, I shouldn’t sit here saying anything