Breathe Him Deep (Pursued By The Shenandoah Valley Billionaire) (2 page)

"And
I hope that's the last kind of wine tour you ever have... except if I am your
guide."

With
that he turned and left. I stood there with my knees shaking, my heart racing,
and an overwhelming feeling that I wanted to taste him again. By the time I got
myself straightened up and went back out to the area in the cave where my
friends were barrel tasting, they had left and returned back up to the tasting
room above the cave. Thank goodness for the old gentleman pourer at the
barrels. If it wasn't for him, I might still be down there. But, he gave me a
glass of wine and directed me back upstairs where my friends were paying for a
few bottles of wine.

As
we got into the back of the large SUV limo for ride back to Sacramento, I could
hardly contain myself. Actually, my head was spinning. I had planned for a
great day with my friends at some fine country wineries. Instead, I was taking
home more than a few bottles of the vintner’s finest. More like taking home the
finest vintner I have ever laid eyes on.
Damn,
was he gorgeous!

"Isn't
that right, Katie?" I felt a nudge on my shoulder.

"I
think someone's had a little too much of the juice today," winked Camille.
I shook my head coming back to the conversation.

"Yes,
I think you're right, Camille," not sure what I was agreeing to. "I'm
okay. Just thinking about what an awesome time I've had today with my best
friends."
 

"It
was a great day. What a way to top it off on the last winery. That server was
hot!" exclaimed Meg.

"Yeah,
I think he may have given me a little extra," Camille said, I believe
referring to the wine. But I knew she had no idea how much little extra he
gives.

"Katie,
where did you disappear to while we were in the cave?" asked Anne.

"I
got a little distracted and turned around. Fortunately, I ran into Mr. Hot and
he led me back to you guys." After quite a detour in the wine cellar, but
there was no way I was telling them that at this point.

"That
was the biggest and cleanest cave I’ve ever seen, which is not saying a lot as
I don't spend my time touring many caves," added Meg.

"Oh,
we've some of the places you've stayed in overnight," joked Rachel. Meg
gave her a teasing scowl.

"You
know, Mr. Hot was not just a server. He owns the place."

"Really?"
My head spun towards Rachel. I knew he seemed just a little too comfortable
showing me a different
tasting room
,
per say, to be just a standard employee.

"I
saw a picture of him with what must be his prize best friend, a collie. And not
the dumb blonde type," Rachel giggled at her lame joke. Although, I was
glad to hear it was a dog in the picture with him and not his wife or someone
else.

She
continued, "Below the picture near the door was a brief inscription about
how he recently honored his mother, who died of multiple sclerosis, by naming a
special wine after her that won many awards."

"Wow,
not only a maker of fine wine and hotness, but a man with a heart as well,"
surmised Meg.

"What's
his name?" I asked still reeling from the news that he owned the place.

"I
think our server was the one and only Michael Cinder," said Camille
nonchalantly.

"The
Michael Cinder who owns half of Sacramento?" I blurted, my eyes wide. I
hoped they did not see the shock on my face.

"Yes,
I think he not only owns Sacramento, but the arts museum and the minor league
baseball team there as well," added Camille looking at her nails.

My
heart raced at who this man was and what I had just done with him.
Oh, my God!

"I
thought he was married or something," Rachel said with an edge of doubt.

"Yeah,
I think he was engaged to a movie star or something," said Meg.

"Not
a movie star. He was engaged to that famous newscaster here in Sacramento,"
shot Camille.

"Oh,
yeah. The really gorgeous one that took down the governor a couple of years ago
in that sex scandal," agreed Anne.

"Oh,
well, another hottie bites the dust," sighed Meg.

That's for sure
, I thought.
I'm not going after this guy
. At least I got one hell of an orgasm
with probably one of the hottest guys on the planet. As we neared the end of
our long day and drive back to the city, I looked at my friends who were a
drink past tipsy and thought how lucky I really have it. But, disappointment
was quickly setting in my heart. After my cave encounter with Mr. Cinder, I
desired to see him again somehow. But after what my friends told me, Mr. Cinder
was quickly off the market for me. An attached man could never have my heart
again.

* * * * *

I
awoke two minutes before the alarm went off.
 
For me the alarm is just a backup. Ever since I took the
role as project manager at one of Sacramento's growing number of Internet
technology companies, my biological clock has always been set for 5:58 AM. I
guess it's just one of the many perks for a striving 28-year-old
middle-management woman. As I sat on the edge of the bed slowing pushy my feet
into my slippers, Misty lumbered over to me, gently nudging her head against my
forearm. Misty was the finest cat a single woman could have as she seemed to
always do well when I was gone but never left me alone when I was there.

"Good
morning, Misty." I scratched behind her ears gently and stroked her back
as she purred and laid down next to my leg. "Well, girl, we better get
going this morning to embark on another rousing day at the office." She
didn't look amused by my attempt at early morning humor. I made a cup of coffee
in my single brewer coffee maker. I have a single brewer not because I'm
single, because it makes the best damn coffee besides my favorite Starbucks on
the corner. I filled Misty's bowl and headed down to the second-floor mezzanine
of the condo building to have a quick workout. As I left the workout room to head
back to my place to get ready for work, Mr. Jones, the daytime doorman was
coming out of the employee locker room and met me in the hallway.

"Good
morning," he said with a bright smile.

"Good
morning, Mr. Jones. So, good to see you today. Do you think the weather will be
sunny again here in Sacramento?"

He
laughed, "I would probably put a Ben Franklin on that bet."

"And
I think you would win, Mr. Jones. Just with that smile alone would be a win in
and of itself."

"That's
my line, Ms. Davis. I'm the one that should make your day a little brighter."

"Well,
you always do, Mr. Jones. You always do." I turned towards the elevators
to head back to the room when Mr. Jones called out to me.

"Oh,
Ms. Davis, I almost forgot to tell you. There are some lovely flowers waiting
for you down in the lobby that you might want to pick up before you leave for
work."

"Are
you sure there for me, Mr. Jones? I don't have any secret admirers."

"Well,
it looks like you do now. And they are as beautiful as you."

I
smiled fondly at him, he really did brighten most of my days. Such a kind man. "Thanks
Mr. Jones. I'll go down there and take a look at them."

"No
problem. Have a great day, Ms. Davis."

I
ran downstairs to the lobby and sure enough, there was a big bouquet of roses
waiting at the front desk. And my name was on them. I brought them back up to
my place, and after getting another cup of coffee, I sat on the breakfast bar
across from Misty as she ate her breakfast. I opened up the card attached to the
flowers. I really had no idea who they would be from as today was no special
occasion in my life and it had been a long time since any man sent me roses.

The
card read:

"
Thank
you for helping me find what I was missing. Would like to return your kindness
with dinner tonight in Sacramento at 7:00 PM. I have made us reservations at
Morton's steakhouse. I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Michael Cinder
.
(916) 555-1100.
"

Wow,
I thought.
I guess
that I was the missing piece
. I took a whiff of the roses. They were quite
beautiful. But a tinge of disgust had slowly entered my brain.
This guy moves pretty fast.
And how the hell did he even know my name
and address?
This guy is such a
player.
He's engaged and had a little
fun with me in the storage room of his cave, but that was all Mr. Cinder was
going to get from me.
I certainly
liked what we had yesterday, but I definitely wasn't going to get in the middle
of a love triangle.

"Misty
these flowers are all yours, girl. At least you and I can enjoy their beauty.
But as far as anything else with Mr. Cinder, we are not even going there,
girlie," I said as I ran my fingers along her smooth fur. I dropped the
little note card from Mr. Cinder in the wastebasket and headed to take a
shower.

Work
was of course work for another day. I was able to get some tasks from last week
accomplished that had lingered like a bad cold. Being somewhat productive made
me feel a little bit better as I left the office building and headed for the Bel
Air grocery store on my way home. I have always loved living in Sacramento.
It's the type of town, especially downtown, that's not too big, but just enough
city in her to make you feel the hustle and bustle of big city life. I have a
car but I hardly ever use it. I either take a cab or walk just about everywhere
I go in Sacramento. The grocery store was only a couple blocks away and I
hustled getting there as I felt my stomach start to grumble. I was sure Misty's
was grumbling as well back at home. As I stepped to cross the street to the
corner where the grocery store was located, I saw something large and black out
the corner of my eye pull right in front of me. It scared the crap out of me
and I jumped back to the curb. The large black limo came to a stop and the back
door opened. I closed my eyes to catch my breath and brought my hand to my
chest to calm my racing heart. I thought for sure that may have been my last
trip to the grocery store. When I opened my eyes, standing on the curb in front
of me was Mr. Michael Cinder.

"Hello,
you are a hard woman to get a hold of."

"Oh,
my God. You nearly killed me," I snarled.

"I'm
so sorry. I'll make sure my driver knows to be a little more cautious next time
he drives up on you."

"Next
time?" I asked slightly miffed by his presumption that seeing him would
happen again. "Why in the world are you driving up on me anyway, Mr.
Cinder? And how did you know my name and where I lived to send me the flowers
today?" My arms were now securely folded across my chest. But, just
looking at him standing there with those beautiful eyes had me flustered in
another way already. He was so fine.

"On
the first question, I just finished one of my meetings for the day and I was
driving down the street when I saw you and thought I've got to stop and at
least say hello. Regarding the second, you did fill out a wine club
application."

My
face flushed to crimson as I had forgotten I had filled out a wine club
application. I must have been tipsier than I thought yesterday. But concerning
the apparent coincidence that he just happened to come upon me tonight, I
wasn't buying so easily. I looked quizzically at him. "Mr. Cinder, this is
the second encounter I've had with you today. Are you sure that it was by
accident that you happened to be on the same corner as me as I was heading home
or more precisely to the grocery store?"

He
gave me the cutest smile. He stepped closer to me. I could smell his cologne. Masculine
and spicy, but warm. If his presence was as strong and inviting as his cologne,
I was definitely about to lose. He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. "I
would find you by accident anywhere. You are amazing."

I
couldn't believe his words as he pulled me closer to his chest and leaned down
and kissed me softly on my lips. My body felt as if it was in an unyielding
embrace just like yesterday in the wine cave. His arms wrapped around me. A
brief thought of him being engaged shot through my head, but the domineering
embrace of his arms and the sweetness of his kiss quickly eviscerated it. I
loved yesterday when he held me and brought me to ecstasy. That same feeling
was flooding me again. I let my tongue meet his, warmly sliding across his. He
tasted so good. He felt so good. This man was winning me all over again. All
sense of reasoning in that moment was thrown out. All I wanted to do was find
out what he was about to do to me next. I needed him to want me. I wanted him
to want me.

Michael
released one arm and reached back to open up the door of the limo. With his
other arm he pulled me into the limo and laid me down on the bench seat. He
pulled away from my lips and reached for a button just below the window on the
limo door, "Stanley, please keep driving around the downtown area until I tell
you otherwise."