Love's Harvest (A Salmon Run Novel Book 1)

by Gwen Overland

  “Oh my gads, Diego. That was one of the craziest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life. Every time I think about that look on James’s face when he saw the two of us together, I lose it!” She laughed so hard, she could hardly catch her breath.

  At first Diego snorted as well, but then launched into a series of full-bodied belly laughs which sent Julia even further over the edge. Several times they tried to quit, but each silence seemed to fuel the next onslaught uncontrollable laughter. By the time Diego and Julia reached the winery, they were swimming in a sea of happy tears.

  The two of them didn’t settle down until Diego finally pulled the Crestliner up to Julia’s front door and turned off the engine. In the hushed silence which followed Diego opened his door and came around to Julia’s side to help her out. As soon as he pulled her up onto her feet, he took her into his embrace.

  She leaned into Diego and pushed her breasts against his chest. She felt his erection against her thigh and longed to feel him inside her. She desperately wanted to invite him in but was unsure as to how to go about it. The hungry part of her wanted to drag him into her house and lock the door behind them—to ravish his body from head to toe.

  Instead, the refined business woman within her thought it perhaps best to act more like a lady. Or at the very least allow Diego to make the first move. Julia’s body was making all kinds of demands on her, yet she found it impossible to speak a single word.

  Diego laid his cheek against hers and softly spoke into her ear. “Thank you so much for this evening, Julia. You’ve made me feel like a very lucky man.”

  He then brushed his lips against her cheek until he made contact with her silent mouth. As soon as his lips met hers, she let out a moan, signaling he was doing things exactly as he should. Diego deepened his kiss, and using all of his mouth, massaged her lips open. Julia gave in, permitting Diego to explore the inside of her mouth with his tongue. As soon as she did, Diego echoed her own sighs and whimpers moan for moan.

  ~ ~ ~

  He wanted her so badly he thought he might explode. Yet so far, Julia hadn’t invited him in, so he pulled his body back only enough to allow her to catch her breath. When nothing was said, Diego smiled, placed his forehead against Julia’s, and tried to catch his own.

  “I’d better go, Señora,” he half-whispered in a husky voice. “We don’t need any more gossip than we’ve already ignited.”

  She wasn’t going to ask him to come in and Diego was at a loss to know why. He wanted to ask her why but couldn’t find the right words to express his yearning and disappointment.

  “I suppose you’re right, she replied. “I had a wonderful evening as well, Diego. Perhaps we can do it again sometime soon.”

  Diego hesitantly took in Julia’s formalities. “Of course, Julia. I look forward to spending dinner again with you soon.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Julia felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach as Diego walked her to the door. Good God, Julia. Can’t you do better than that? ‘Do it again sometime soon?’ What the hell?

  Why he didn’t wish to come in was clear. The business at the restaurant with James had no doubt scared him off. What else could it be?

  As soon as she put the key in the lock, she turned back one last time, waiting for him to invite himself in. When he didn’t, she stepped inside her house, turned back to smile at warmly, and said, “Good night.”

  “Good night, Julia. Sleep well,” he answered and then broke away.

  As soon as she closed her door behind her, she felt the same familiar rush of disappointment. She wanted to cry but knew if she did, she’d merely be giving in to James’s treachery. Instead, she changed her clothes, took a warm bath, and slipped into her nightgown. She thought of calling Gayle or even Barbara for support, but decided for both her and Diego’s sakes not to do so.

  The less said about this evening the better. At least Diego agreed to his new job title and position at the winery. That was some consolation, for if he wasn’t yet ready to be her partner in bed, at least he was now her partner in business.

  Julia found it pointless to try to fall asleep, so she turned to what she always did when restlessness overtook her. She sat at the piano to play whatever her mood demanded. Thinking at first to calm her thoughts by playing the slow movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, she pulled the sheet music off the shelf and thumbed her way to the appropriate page.

  After a dozen measures or so, however, she realized this was no more doing that trick than the two glasses of wine she’d had at dinner. Going back to the shelf, she chose instead the second movement of Alberto Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas with its lush chords and sonorous melodies. This time when she sat at the piano and opened her music, she smiled. This was precisely what the doctor ordered.

  ~ ~ ~

  There was so much more Diego wanted to say. Hell, so much more he wanted to do. But he didn’t want to rush things. Or put the woman in an uncomfortable situation. But damn! Why did that pendejo have to make a scene at the restaurant when everything up to that point was going so well?

  Diego pounded the top of the steering wheel with the heel of his hand as he sped out of Julia’s driveway, careful not to lay tire tracks. Julia leaned against the inside of her front door, listening to Diego fly down the gravel lane and out toward the main road.

  ~ ~ ~

  Duncan D’Angelo was a man with little or no conscience. For him, taking matters into his own hands wasn’t drudgery but rather an emotional high. He took no issue with breaking the law, particularly if he thought he could get away with it. That as much as anything fed the rush he felt of achieving something this risky and this dishonorable. Duncan was exhilarated by his next venture of stealing the winery and vineyard away from the Reynolds woman and earning his cut of the acquisition.

  In Duncan’s opinion, James was weak. Not only that, his children were spoiled and his wife a goody-two-shoes. If James was going to do what Duncan wanted him to do, then Duncan needed to keep him broke, half-soused, and scared. Duncan also needed to hire someone to help him carry out his next brainstorm. A smile swept across his face as he recognized the genius of his plan.

  He laughed to himself when he thought of James making his own way home from the restaurant. The guy was such a loser, but he was Duncan’s ticket to wealth and freedom from the boring and tedious work of being an accountant. He swung into the parking lot of the local Safeway, pulled his Caddie into a slot as far from the front of the store as he could get, and grabbed his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. As he speed-dialed the number he’d recently added to his list of contacts, Duncan glanced out his car window to make sure he remained unseen. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him and put one and one and two and two together.

  The phone on the other end of the call rang four times before it was picked up.

  “Sí?” a deep voice answered.

  “It’s me,” Duncan said. “Are you still interested in what I spoke to you about earlier?”

  The voice grunted. “When do you want it done?”

  “Tomorrow night would not be too soon. And remember, if anything goes wrong, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Understood?”

  Duncan was covering as many of his bases as he could. He didn’t trust this guy as far as he could throw him, but the man needed cash and that was something Duncan had plenty of—illegally, of course.

  “Whatever,” the voice responded and then the phone went dead.

  Duncan grinned as he put his phone back into his jacket pocket. He then got out of his car. He was too far along in his scheme to take any chances. Had someone seen him in the Safeway parking lot, he wanted to make sure he had an excuse for being there, beyond the phone call he’d just made. He continued through the automatic doors and waved at himself on the video sc
reen above as he made his way to the photo center. Reaching into his pants’ pocket, he pulled out a ticket stub and presented it to the clerk.

  “Good evening, Mr. D’Angelo,” the high school girl greeted.

  “It is indeed, young lady. I’m here to pick up my photos if they’re ready.” He smiled.

  While she rummaged through the drawer, Duncan greeted as many people as he could before turning his attention back to the girl. “I’m sorry, Mr. D’Angelo. It doesn’t look like they’re here yet. Would you like me to give you a call when they come in?”

  “Oh, nuts!” Duncan did his best to look disappointed. “But no, that’s okay. I’ll check in again later in the week. Have a good night!”

  “You too, sir.”

  Duncan knew damn well it was too early for his film to have been processed, but he needed an excuse to come in and make his presence known. He nearly danced his way out the store and across the lot to his car. Everything was working out perfectly, exactly as he’d planned.

  “Oh, Duncan, you’re one crafty son of a bitch!” he said as he pulled his car out of the lot and made his way toward home.

  ~ ~ ~

  The last thing Diego wanted to do was leave Julia at her door. At the same time, he wanted to make sure he gave her all the time she needed to feel comfortable about their relationship. By the way she responded to his kisses, however, Diego knew Julia wanted him as much as he did her.

  The problem was timing. Logically, he understood more time was needed before Julia would feel totally free to follow her heart. Emotionally, however, Diego wasn’t sure he could wait much longer.

  After he parked the Crestliner in the rented garage where it lived during the hours of the day, he climbed back into his beater truck and headed toward his own bed at the compound. As he drove the short distance, he mulled over the events of the evening, still somewhat bewildered as to how it’d all fallen apart. To blame it all on James would’ve been ludicrous, for Diego already felt an awkward tension between him and Julia as soon as she directed the conversation toward his new position at the winery.

  Why he’d reacted so suspiciously at first to her offer had him baffled. The more he thought about it, however, the more he realized he probably had an even bigger issue of being under her employ than he’d earlier imagined.

  For his entire adult life, Diego had made his own decisions. Lived his life the way he chose to without the benefit of anyone’s demand or influence. It wasn’t only because of his male pride, but the pride of being a Mexican immigrant. He wanted to accept the new position, but at the same time he didn’t want anyone for a moment to think he was using his charm to dictate Julia’s actions.

  But dammit! He deserved to be a partner at the winery, yet he doubted if anyone else would see things that way. After all, it was far too easy for the people of Salmon Run to assume the worst of the Hispanic workers here from Mexico. During the few years he lived in this valley, Diego had experienced this first hand.

  However, that was a different matter entirely. Julia was merely being generous, and he blew it by his hesitancy. And now he was hesitating again. The more Diego thought about it, the more he wanted to end this evening with the woman he loved underneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands gripping his muscled arms. As he drove down the winding road toward the compound, he noticed her living room light was still on.

  He slammed his truck into its parking slot, jumped out of the cab, and sprinted full speed up the hill. The furious Latin-rhythms he heard emanating from her piano matched the beat of his own heart. When he finally reached her door, he loosened his tie and finger combed his hair.

  ~ ~ ~

  She heard the gentle knocking at her door and didn’t think twice. She knew who it was and what the rest of the evening bode for both her and this man whom she desired in every way possible. Nothing could stop her now as she ran toward the man who if she wasn’t mistaken was here to save her from herself, to take her both body and soul.

  As soon as she flung the door open, Diego forced his way in and pushed her flat against the wall. With his body pressing up to her, he placed both of the hands on either side of her loosened hair and kissed her deeply. When he came up for air, he gazed into her darkened eyes and smiled.

  “I can’t wait any longer, Julia. Our time is now, so let’s take it for everything it’s worth!”

  Julia was aware of her legs weakening as she moaned in submission.

  Chapter 12

  Julia felt the heat from Diego’s lips burn through her skin as his mouth made its way down her neck and onto her collar bone. She knew she was trembling but she couldn’t help it. It’d been well over a year since she had sex, and even at that it was never as hot as this.

  Diego branded her with kisses as she worked to remove his coat and then his shirt. As she unclipped the cufflinks one at a time from his sleeves, Diego pulled the straps of her night gown down over her arms, exposing her breasts for his perusal.

  “My God, Julia, your skin’s like silk. And your breasts are even softer than I’d imagined.” He held onto her arms as he used the tip of his tongue to flick the tight rosebud of her nipple. He then did the same thing to the other breast before suckling them both.

  Julia leaned into him and felt her pulse accelerate between her legs. She gripped his hair each time she felt a bolt of sexual excitement hit her hidden moistness. Diego slowly peeled the rest of her nightgown off her body and knelt so as to be eye level with her tight blonde curls. He stared up at her as he gently kissed the most private place on her body.

  “I love the way you smell, Julia. Like roses and lavender at the same time,” he said between kisses. “Hold on to my arms, darling.” He commanded as he picked up her left leg and draped it over his right shoulder. He kissed his way into her warm cleft, widening her slightly with his fingers so his tongue could have a straight shot to the tiny nub where all her nerve endings stood at attention.

  She gasped as he once again flicked his tongue over the most sensitive part of her exposed womanhood. Her right leg lost all of its strength as she slammed into an orgasm which she up to now had never known was waiting for her. “Diego! Oh my God, don’t stop!”

  He steadied her with his body as he continued to lathe her. As soon as the shuddering passed, her boneless body folded over the top of his. In one balletic movement, Diego picked her naked and spent body up and into his arms. “Julia, mi amor, I think it’s time for us to move into your bedroom. Tell me where take you.”

  Julia snuggled against his bare chest as she motioned toward the hallway on the left. She loved the feel of her pale skin against his sweaty tanned chest. She felt like silly putty compared to Diego’s strong and muscled body.

  Diego was also turned on by their differences. Julia was all woman, and he all man. As he carried her down the hall, he noted the weightlessness of this tall, curvaceous woman. Her body, nearly fragile in appearance, didn’t match the strength and ferocity of her sexual response to him. Diego relished the contradiction. His own tender feelings for Julia coming into contest with his desire to ravish her to the point of complete exhaustion.

  He laid her gently on the top of her bed and warmly kissed her mouth. Julia moaned as he then placed soft little kisses about her breasts and stomach.

  “I want to make love to you, Julia. I want to put myself all the way inside you and make you mine. Tell me you want me, Julia.”

  She thought she’d go crazy with the careful respectfulness of this man. She smiled at her own desire to have him bury himself deep within her core. “Hurry up and take off your pants, Diego. You know I want you as much as you want me, you big tease!”

  Diego smiled back and winked. “Yes, Señora. Whatever you wish is my command.”

  Julia watched through the moonlit window as Diego shed his clothes. He was so virile in his nakedne
ss. Rippled with muscle with a light dusting of body hair. She couldn’t help but allow her eyes the pleasure of studying his protruding phallus, thick with desire and expectation.

  Diego noticed her staring at him and smiled. “Do you like what you see, Julia?”

  “You’re beautiful, Diego. Had I known you were this sexy underneath your clothes, I would’ve made sure you finished what we started in the vineyard the other night,” she teased.

  “We have each other for tonight, my darling. Everything I have is yours!” he answered as he moved toward the bed. Yet before Julia felt his body stretched over hers, she sat up and raised her palm.

  “Wait, Diego. I want to take you in my mouth first. Come here.”

  Diego stood at the edge of the bed next to her. Julia turned to face him, and as she did she placed her hands around his pulsating shaft. The tip glistened with a bead of moisture. She then leaned over to allow her tongue to move the liquid round the entire head.

  It was now Diego’s turn to moan. “Oh, my God, Julia. Keep that up, and I’ll not last another second.”

  Yet, keep it up she did. Julia no longer thought about herself, but only about how to pleasure this man who up to this moment had only thought to pleasure her. She encircled her lips around his manhood and began to pump him with her hands and her mouth. At the same time, she twirled her tongue around the silky head. She played with the slit and tasted the sweet and salty liquid of his seed.