Pure Seduction by Frank, Ella (first ebook reader .txt) 📕

revealed a set of stairs leading down to a low-lit tunnel below. The walls were lined by brick and opened up wide once you reached the bottom, and it weaved and crisscrossed under the property, leading the guests to the wine cellar caves.

“Come with me,” he said, and my thighs clenched and the throbbing intensified all over again.

“Said the spider to the fly?”

Noah leaned back against the door, propping it open. “Said me to you, and not for the last time tonight. Come with me. You know you want to.”

I did, God, I really did. And that was half the problem. If I went with him now, there was no turning back, no delusions that I was here on this date. That I was here, with him. Was I ready for that?

I looked down to the glowing lamps that beckoned me and then back to Noah, and when he offered his hand, I made my final choice.

I stepped forward and let him lead the way.

23

Noah

ONE OF THE most impressive parts of the Chamberlin winery was the elaborate caves that were built into the mountain on the west side, housing the hundreds of French oak barrels in carefully controlled conditions.

You could access them one of two ways. The first was via the vineyards themselves, which was how most of the workers went in and out of the cellars. The second was through the underground tunnel that had been excavated from the villa to the caves below, leading our guests on a unique and extraordinary tour that they weren’t likely to forget.

The tunnels had always been a favorite of mine as a child, magical in the way that you gained entrance through a door under a staircase that led you down into a whole new world below.

The temperature dropped the second you were below ground, and when Laurel wrapped her arms around herself to rub at her bare skin, I shrugged out of my suit jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said as she folded the tiny shawl and slipped it in my pocket. “Though it is a shame to have to cover such a phenomenal dress.”

“It was your decision to bring me here.”

“Hmm, so it was. Remind me next time to get a brief on what you will or—in this case—won’t be wearing.”

“Next time?”

Oh, right, we’d agreed to one dinner only. I’d have to work on her about that. “Just a slip of the tongue.”

When her eyes fell to my mouth, my cock immediately began to harden. It didn’t take a genius to work out what she was thinking. All I wanted to know was exactly where she wanted me to slip my tongue.

Knowing I needed to get us moving, otherwise we weren’t going to get to the dinner portion of this evening, I held my hand out and led her deeper into the tunnel.

With walls made up of handmade brick recovered from sites in and around Bordeaux and Burgundy, France, the sturdy pillars, arched ceilings, and elaborate curves made the place look like an underground labyrinth. There were wall sconces every few feet lighting the way and setting the mood, and enormous wine barrels lined either side of the pathway, three rows high. It was stunning in its design, and functional at the same time.

When we reached a set of double doors, I entered the code and waited for them to unlock. Once they disengaged, I pulled it open and stepped aside for Laurel.

When Harry had taken over the property from his father—and my great-grandfather before that—the first thing he’d put into motion was the rather ambitious plan of adding a fine dining area to the underground storage cellars. The idea was to offer a VIP package that would not only provide a world-class dining experience, but one that would be enhanced by the diner’s surroundings.

Chamberlin Hall certainly lived up to that. With artwork from all around the world hanging along the walls, and a table fit for a king stretching out ahead of us, Harry had succeeded in elevating the word fine in “fine dining experience.”

Tonight, however, the table that could comfortably seat twenty would only play host to two. It was made of polished red oak so shiny it reflected the elaborate chandelier that hung above it, and the high-back seats looked like soldiers all standing at attention.

“It’s beautiful,” Laurel said reverently as she walked ahead of me to get a closer look.

“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.” She chuckled. “Just never on my own like this, where I could really drink it all in. Usually I’m surrounded by guests and working. But tonight feels”—as I came up behind her, she glanced back at me—“different.”

“Different?” I brushed her hair aside and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “Different as in good?”

The sound of her breathing increased as she tilted her head to the side, granting me further access.

“Different as in… I feel like we’re the only two people in the world right now.”

“Hmm.” I flicked my tongue over her earlobe. “Tonight, we can be. You wanted private—it doesn’t get much more private than this.”

Before I did something stupid, like give in to my baser urges, I moved beside her and gestured to the table, where two place settings had been made. “Where would you like to sit?”

The flush on her cheeks made me think she was on the same page I was, because the only place I wanted her was naked on my lap.

“Um, how about the head of the table.”

I swept my hand out toward the seat she’d indicated. “By all means.”

Laurel went to take her seat, but on her way to the end, she stopped and looked back at me. “Please tell me Pete and the waitstaff aren’t down here.”

I laughed at the sudden panic in her eyes and thought it a testament to how caught up she was in the moment that it hadn’t occurred to her until now to ask who had made the food we