her, blocking the photographer’s shot with no small feeling of satisfaction. Don’t even think about it, man-bun. She’s mine. Foiled, he turned his attention to something else. I turned over the scorecard and began a quick game of tic-tac-toe with her.
“Not to worry.” I set down my first X. “Almost everyone else here is in the same boat. They’re just faking it.”
Her brow raised, clearly doubtful. She scribbled an O. “Really? Show me….”
I dropped the game and picked up a fresh tasting glass of our 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon by the stem. Then I swirled it, holding it up to the light with a snobby flick of my wrist. “Deep violet color. No hints of browning.”
Then I raised a brow and with my nose in the air, I sniffed at the rim, making my best douchebag impression. She laughed, and it was like music to my ears. “Well developed bouquet. Full bodied with hints of berry, cedar and coffee notes.”
“Coffee…?” she repeated, leaning forward to sniff, then wrinkled her cute little nose at me. “I don’t smell nothing like that.”
“We’re playing along, pay attention.”
She grinned and nodded again. “Okay and…?”
I took the tiniest of sips, swished the sample in my mouth for a long time, puckering my lip. Making the most purposely inane face possible, I wrinkled my nose while she giggled at me. “And the taste? Pure… cranberry. I can’t get enough of the cranberry.”
Her brows shot up in surprise and our eyes met. Mine burned into hers. If I’d had an excuse to take her by the hand and go find a private shed somewhere, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Because damn, the door between us that I’d firmly kept locked had been smashed opened. And the only thing I wanted to do right now—and for the next couple of days at least—was fuck my wife. And make her come, all while moaning my name. As many times as possible.
“Yeah,” I continued. “I love the taste of cranberry. It’s all I want to taste for the next few days… or even weeks.”
Her gaze on me grew heated and suddenly there was tension in the air. She visibly swallowed and then bit her lip.
“You look a little afraid right now,” I observed.
One corner of her mouth quirked up. “I am, kind of… because I think I’ve created a monster.”
I hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her against me, uncaring if anyone was watching us. We were newly married, after all. Maybe man-bun would back the fuck off if he got an eyeful of us all over each other. I whispered in her ear. “It’s possible that you have. A monster who wants nothing more than to hear you moan… and beg for more.”
Her eyes widened and for a short moment, she melted against me until we were interrupted. Julia had bottles of chilled water in each hand. “I’m the water girl today. Do either of you need to wet your whistle or cleanse your palate?”
Unfortunately, Claire was standing right beside her and her full focus was on Kat. Uh oh.
“Why aren’t you partaking of the grape?” I asked my sister.
She and Kat exchanged a long look and then she shrugged, wiping the condensation from her hands as we took the water bottles. “I’m taking a break from winetasting.”
“Forever,” Claire muttered with a slight roll of her eyes.
Kat lowered her wine glass to the table and clinked her water bottle with mine. “I think I’m going to join Julia on the wine break.”
Julia beamed a smile at her, then leaned in to give her a big bear hug. What the hell was this? They spent a few hours together this morning and suddenly they are BFFs? Something dark collected in the pit of my stomach. Was this an innocent bit of bonding or was this history repeating itself?
Claire watched them, too. And she didn’t even attempt to disguise the fear in her eyes. Then she shot a look of pure venom at Kat before grabbing Julia by the arm and jabbering about some gossip she saw posted online.
Kat sipped at her water bottle as she stared after them with a puzzled look on her face.
“I’d stay as far away from that mess as possible if I were you,” I said.
She turned back to me. “Your sister isn’t a mess. She’s trying hard to be better. She’d probably love your support.”
My brow twitched up. “I was talking about Claire. I know that look she gave you. The claws are