The Sweetest Secret

by Jacquie Underdown

  He opened her mouth, slid his tongue against hers. His body swelled with lust as he tasted her.

  Slowly, he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers. When he spoke again, even to his own ears, his voice was grainy, breathless. ‘You want to take this further?’

  A deep breath in, then a nod.

  He drew away and stood. Both hands held out to her, she gripped onto them and he helped her to her feet.

  ‘Can I ask one question, Sam?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Why did you turn Julia’s proposition down?’

  He stared into her eyes. No holding back, Sam. ‘Because I’m falling for you, Ellie. I don’t want anyone else.’

  She nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving him, then kissed him so fiercely, it took him a moment to find the pace. He gripped the back of her thighs, lifting her until she was in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist.

  ‘My room is that way,’ she said between kisses, finger pointing towards a hallway.

  He chuckled. ‘I like a woman who is direct.’

  Chapter 21

  Ellie woke as soon as the morning sun peeked through the cracks of her curtains. She wasn’t used to a man in her bed, especially not someone as big as Sam. She’d need a king-sized bed if this was going to continue.

  Not that she was complaining. She snuggled in against his back and wrapped her arm around his waist, letting his warmth sink into her bones.

  After last night, she wasn’t letting this man go. He was the most deliciously exquisite lover—patient, commanding, tender, mind-blowing. What a dream to have run her hands over his hard body and felt the strong inclines and peaks of his taut muscles.

  And yes, he did have tattoos—beautiful art on both shoulder blades.

  No doubting he was experienced, but that didn’t seem such a terrible thing when she was the sole beneficiary of that practice.

  She allowed her hand to roam over his stomach, so strong, to his hip, down his long, powerful thigh.

  ‘Keep that up,’ came his sleep-laden voice, deep and husky, ‘and you might be able to guess what will happen.’

  Ellie giggled, sliding her hand back up his thigh, down to his stomach, a little further over. A resounding pang between her thighs to feel that he was already aroused.

  He rolled over so he was facing her. His brow was arched as if to say, ‘I told you so’, but he was grinning cheekily. She could really get used to seeing his face every morning and exploring his body each night.

  ‘Good morning,’ he said.

  She smiled, somewhat bashfully. It had been a while since she had a man in her bed, let alone sharing it with him intimately for the first time. ‘Good morning.’

  He edged closer, pressing flush against her, so she could feel every inch of his desire. With a firm hand on her hip, he rolled her onto her back and straddled her waist, his big body arching over hers.

  His brown eyes burned into hers as he hovered above her and whispered, ‘I’m beginning to think I won’t be able to get enough of you.’

  She reached up and stroked his stubbled cheek, caressed the curve of his broad shoulders, down the back of his arms, muscles engaged from holding his weight. ‘That’s good. Because I’m starting to think the same might be true about you.’

  A guttural rumble sounded in his throat as her acceptance and permission obviously strummed the right strings in his body. Chest lowering to hers, he kissed her neck. She sighed; his soft lips right there …

  ‘You weren’t planning on getting out of bed anytime soon?’ he whispered, hot breath against her ear forming tingly goosebumps across her flesh.

  ‘Not a chance now.’

  Afterwards, Ellie lay in Sam’s arms, so warm and comforting, until she nearly fell back to sleep.

  ‘I probably should get going so I can get ready for this meeting.’

  Her stomach pulled with nerves. The mention of the meeting brought all the details about last night back. How Sam reacted to hearing about Julia and John’s affair was a strong indication that he would not take Ellie’s own past easily.

  Not that she presumed he would. She just hoped that it wouldn’t be an issue. That he’d be accepting enough to realise that she didn’t equate herself with who she was back then.

  But when he had touched her and told her he wanted her, her body came to life, a tingling mass of desire, and her mind said to keep her secret buried. He didn’t ever have to know.

  Her mind said that she wasn’t that person anymore, so why even bring it up.

  Her body begged and begged that she just give up in that moment and let nature take its course.

  Her body won. And boy did it win.

  And, even her mind now was a little like, ‘Yeah, I think sleeping with Sam was a brilliant move. Do that again. And just to make sure you do, I’m going to team up with your body and flood your brain with chemicals that make you deliriously blissed out every time you do.’

  How could rationality compete with all that? It couldn’t. It had hidden away somewhere. Not completely, though; the tugging in her belly was evidence of that. But it was quiet enough to be ignored.

  And with how Ellie felt right now in Sam’s big, strong arms, a sweet soreness between her thighs, nipples still aching with the remembrance of Sam’s mouth tasting them, skin aware with the memory of his hands, her rationality was going to remain quiet for some time.

  Hopefully forever.

  ‘I wish we could stay in bed all day,’ she whispered.

  He stroked the hair from her face and kissed her temple. ‘Don’t talk like that because I’m so close to chaining us to this bed and throwing away the key so there is no choice but to do that.’

  She giggled. ‘Kinky, hey?’

  He laughed, her head bouncing against his shaking chest. ‘Not quite.’

  Silence fell between them; the only sound was their breathing, sometimes interrupted by the motor of a car in the distance.

  ‘Screw it,’ Sam said suddenly. ‘Have you got handcuffs?’ He chuckled.

  Ellie buried her face in his chest and laughed. ‘Unfortunately, no.’

  ‘Damn it. So it means I actually have to be a responsible adult and business owner and go to this meeting?’

  ‘I’m afraid so.’ She reluctantly rolled off of him and lifted herself up onto her elbow. ‘But, if you like,’ she said running her finger around his belly button, ‘you can visit me again tonight. We could have some dinner, maybe watch a movie. I’ve got coffee.’

  He laughed. ‘If you move that hand of yours any lower, I’m definitely not getting out of bed. Just warning you. And, yes, dinner and a movie sound like a perfect plan.’ He peered into her eyes, a cheeky smirk on his face. ‘Should I bring my toothbrush?’

  She crept her hand lower, her breaths shallowing the lower she got. ‘Do you really need to ask that?’

  He narrowed his eyes until she gripped his hardening member, and his eyes closed on a long intake of breath. ‘Ellie,’ he grumbled, an attempt to reprimand her for leading him astray, but the pure arousal could not be hidden in that deep rumble of sound as he spoke her name. Never had she heard her name uttered with so much promise.

  She licked her lips then smiled. ‘Problem, Sam?’

  He shook his head as she crawled over him, knees on either side of his lap. ‘No problem at all.’

  Chapter 22

  ‘What a fucking circus,’ Mitch said, fingers entwining behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.

  The three brothers had just finished the scheduled Skype call with John and Julia. To say that shock wasn’t a solid force in the boardroom would be a lie.

  Sam sat back and watched his brothers’ reactions now that they were free to say how they really felt. During the call, social masks were worn by each of them, unwilling to show their truer emotions until they had time to look into the situation more deeply.

  Tom pressed his palms against the shiny tabletop. ‘Circus? What kind of bloody business have we been dealing
with?’

  Tom and Mitch turned to face Sam. They both shared this wide-eyed look of incredulity. It would be funny seeing their expressions mirroring each other like this if he still wasn’t incensed at how Mitch had jumped down his throat Sunday night without a care for the truth.

  Sam didn’t say anything; he wouldn’t until they apologised.

  ‘I’m sorry, mate,’ Mitch said. He must have intuited Sam’s state of mind from the rigid hold of his body or strong clenching of his jaw. ‘I well and truly jumped the gun on this one. I never believed that people would make this sort of shit up.’

  ‘You and me both,’ Sam said.

  ‘I owe you an apology too, mate, for not taking your side in this,’ Tom said.

  Sam’s breaths were becoming deeper, heavier. Yes, they had apologised—he was grateful they’d seen how they hadn’t had his back this entire time—but the anger wasn’t ceasing.

  Sam leaned forward, elbows on the table. ‘Here’s the thing. I’m your fucking brother. I’m your business partner. I have only ever worked my arse off for this company. I have never done anything to jeopardise the success of this vineyard.’

  Mitch frowned. ‘Well, there is the matter of your glasshouse—’

  ‘Bullshit!’ Sam said slamming his fist on the table. ‘We don’t know who did that. The suspects we assumed it was, didn’t work out. So you can’t use that against me.’

  ‘No, but your behaviour—’ Tom started.

  ‘Is irrelevant. That’s my personal life and you’re blowing it out of proportion. It’s your go-to excuse for anything that goes wrong. And that’s bullshit. How am I ever going to move forward when you, my very own brothers, keep throwing it in my face?’

  Mitch nodded slowly.

  ‘Yeah, fair enough,’ Tom said. ‘I get it. I’m sorry if you think I’ve been doing that.’

  ‘I don’t think it, Tom. I know you’ve been doing that. It’s bad enough that I struggle with it myself. I need you to have my back. Because if you guys don’t, then who in the world does?’

  ‘Yep,’ Mitch said, his words clipped. ‘But I’m not going to accept the way you’ve been conducting your life. I don’t agree with it. Brother of not, that’s not going to change how I feel. I’ve got a daughter. Do I want some guy in her future using her for a few nights? A week? A month? Of course I don’t. The thought of it makes me sick.’

  Sam scrubbed his hands over his face. ‘I don’t fucking use women. Don't you think they’re as keen as I am? You don’t think in some instances I’ve actually wanted more, but they’ve never even given me the chance? I don’t know what kind of 1950s bubble you’re in, Mitch, but there are girls out there who just want sex with no attachments too.’

  ‘I still don’t like it. It’s not my way.’

  ‘Fine,’ Sam said. ‘You don’t have to approve of it. Just stop bringing it up. Stop blaming me for everything.’

  ‘I will give you the benefit of the doubt from now on. And I apologise that I haven’t done that.’

  Sam nodded. ‘Good. And just so we’re clear, I’m serious about Ellie. I feel …’ He stopped and wrinkled his nose. He’d learned to suppress talking about emotions so much over the years that he found it hard to do it now, especially with his brothers.

  But if he couldn’t be open with them, who could he be open with? ‘I feel more for Ellie than I have about anyone. I’m giving it my best to make this relationship with her work. But I need your support. Both of you. I’m changing, and I need you both to recognise that.’

  Mitch closed his eyes and sighed. He rubbed his palm over his chin. ‘And I nearly fucked it up for you, didn’t I?’

  ‘Yeah, you did. If you had have just given me the benefit of the doubt—’

  ‘Ok. I get it. I’m sorry. I will give you the benefit of the doubt in the future.’

  Tom’s forehead was furrowed when he asked, ‘Everything is okay between you and Ellie now?’

  Sam bit back his smile. ‘Everything’s good.’

  Tom arched a brow, a cheeky smirk curling his lips.

  ‘What?’ Sam asked, taking the bait.

  Tom grinned, shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

  Sam couldn’t hide his own smile any longer.

  Mitch laughed. ‘It’s going better than good, by the looks of it.’

  Sam shrugged. ‘It’s very early days. But enough about me. As long as we’re clear, I think we can move on.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Mitch said.

  ‘Can do,’ Tom said.

  ‘So that leaves the dilemma of what we’re going to do about this business deal,’ Mitch said.

  ‘Do we move forward with John and Julia knowing what type of people they are?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Or do we take this as a warning?’ Sam added.

  Mitch leaned back in his chair. ‘Maybe we’re doing to them exactly what we did to Sam. Mixing their personal life with business. We know their business skills are solid. We know their performance, their reach, and their growth, is phenomenal. We know that we can expand our own business exponentially with this deal. Do we judge them on this affair, or do we keep it purely on a business level?

  Tom sighed. ‘That’s a tough one.’

  Sam nodded. ‘I agree. I don’t think it’s that simple.’

  ‘Okay, well what if I put it this way: The fact that John is having an affair with Julia, does that put our vineyard at any risk?’

  ‘What if John’s wife finds out, and she wants a divorce and half the business? It gets messy. We do all this groundwork and it goes nowhere,’ Tom suggested.

  ‘Good point,’ Mitch said. ‘But what if that doesn’t happen?’

  ‘It’s a risk,’ Sam said. ‘It’s a big dive into the unknown.’

  ‘And it always is. Nothing we do here at this vineyard has guarantees. Absolutely nothing. How do we know our staff don’t have lovers? We don’t know if they’re secretly alcoholics or dabble in drugs. And is it our business to know? Is it our business to judge them based on what they do in their personal lives?’

  Tom shook his head. ‘We aren’t the judge and executioner.’

  ‘I agree,’ Sam said.

  ‘Then, do we have an answer?’

  Sam and Tom nodded. ‘Yeah, I think we do.’

  Mitch pointed to the laptop. ‘All right, get them back on the line. I’ll tell them to redraft the contracts at their expense. We’ll be going ahead.’

  Chapter 23

  Ellie had eaten many curries, but she had never made one from scratch, actually not at all. But after the delicious lunch Sam had cooked for her on Sunday, she best make an effort to return the favour.

  She had phoned her mum during the day and asked her to email through the tried and true lamb curry recipe she had been making the family for decades. It was a no-fail hit.

  After closing the store for the night, Ellie popped into the local Coles, a small-town affair compared to the city stores she was used to. But it had a good selection, everything she would need.

  Once home, Ellie quickly showered and changed into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve thin jumper. The gas heater was pumping, warming the house to a comfortable temperature.

  First up, she got the lamb stewing so it was tender enough by the time Sam arrived. Then she started on portioning the spices so she could grind them up in the pestle and mortar her grandmother had bought her five years ago that she had not once used.

  This better taste good, Mum.

  A knock came at the door. Ellie washed her hands quickly, dried them on a tea towel then rushed to meet Sam. Her chest flooded with warmth, the smile unstoppable on her face.

  She opened her door to Sam dressed in jeans and a snug-fitting black jumper.

  His face had a few days stubble (which she freakin’ adored) and his hair was washed and combed.

  Against the dark backdrop, under the dim light of her porch, he was the most glorious man she’d ever laid eyes on. And especially so because she knew now firsthand what pleasure this sexy c
reature wielded.

  ‘Hi,’ she said, incapable of much more vocal noise than that until she caught her breath.

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Oh god, he smelled good, like soap and man. Her insides squirmed with delight, senses alive with the memory of his scent, his heat, the fiercely tender push inside her.

  ‘Hi,’ he said.

  ‘Come in.’

  ‘Something smells good. So you’re cooking tonight?’

  She laughed as she closed the door behind him. ‘Attempting to. It’s Mum’s recipe, so I know it tastes yummy. Let’s hope I can do it justice.’

  ‘I’m sure you can.’

  ‘Come in through to the kitchen with me. Wine?’

  ‘Sure. What you got?’

  ‘Oh, well, I’d heard there’s this local winery. Three brothers operate it.’

  He shrugged. ‘Never heard of it. You think I would have, being a local and all.’

  ‘I only really buy it because one of the brothers is hot …’

  He grinned sheepishly. ‘Is that right? How hot are we talking?’

  ‘Off the charts. I think his name is Mitch. Or maybe it’s Tom. I always get them mixed up.’

  Sam laughed. ‘You tease.’

  Ellie came closer to him and held his face with her hands, looking up into his deep chocolate eyes. She kissed his mouth. ‘No, it’s definitely you, Sam.’

  ‘Lucky me,’ he said, gaze flittering between her eyes and lips.

  She led him to the kitchen, poured him a wine, and one for herself, then held her glass up. ‘Here’s to hoping I don’t burn the kitchen down.’

  He laughed and chimed his glass to hers, then took a drink. ‘I must admit, you’ve got me a little worried now.’

  She winked. ‘I’m not that deficient in a kitchen. I’ve managed to take care of myself for nearly a decade. Although, is it cheating if I know the Chinese takeaway dishes by number?’

  He chuckled. ‘Definitely cheating.’

  She pretended to wipe her brow. ‘Phew. Luckily I don’t. Although, the hamburger shop does know my order by voice alone.’

  He rolled his head back and laughed. ‘Every takeaway joint in Alpine Ridge will be counting their lucky stars with you moving to town.’