"And who might that be, sister dear? Just because you have the perfect marriage and the perfect husband doesn't meant that's what I want or need."
“Don’t go turning the tables on me, Milan. You know it’s the truth. You’re just choosing to ignore it and be in severe denial. We all know it,” Jada cautioned her.
“If you are referring to Marco, then you’re wrong, very wrong. If I had to date a Brunetti brother, I’d rather date Miccah than Marco. But unfortunately, he's not even in the country, is he?” Milan shouted.
“Okay, will the two of you stop arguing? Let’s just drop it and go back inside and see how the biscuits turned out. I’m going to have to boot the both of you out soon anyway. I need to clean up and get ready; Marco will be here soon with the jet to fly Zane and me down to Adelaide. It is his first flight, and he is so excited. I am so proud of him.”
Milan screwed up her face at the mention of Marco’s name.
“I know; it’s great, isn’t it,” Jada said with enthusiasm. “Right, Milan, seeing as you’re here you can give me a lift; it’ll save Max an unnecessary trip. Let’s go. I need to prepare myself for my egg retrieval at Repromed on Monday.”
Jada turned to give me a hug and whispered in my ear, “Have fun and remember what I said before: tease, taunt and don’t give in. You’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks, and good luck with your IVF procedure. Let’s hope they get lots of little Brunetti eggs. I’ll be praying for you.”
“Great,” Milan said. “Just what we need: more Brunetti spawn to infiltrate the Barossa. Let’s hope you have girls, Jada; otherwise, I may not cope!”
Chapter Seventeen
MIA
I was cleaning the kitchen countertops when I spun around and a shiver travelled up my spine—Zane stood ten feet away from me. His molten stare was burning away every stitch of my clothing.
I wiped the sweat from my brow and went to lift the large container full of biscuits to put in the pantry. I stood on tiptoes, lifting my arms to reach the top shelf. The motion made my shirt ride up and I felt his searing gaze roaming over my exposed skin.
He was behind me in an instant. “Do you need some help?”
I pivoted to face him. “No. I’m fine, thanks. How did you get in?”
“I saw Jada and Milan leave and Jada let me in. Is that okay?
“Of course it is; you just caught me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting you for at least another hour.”
“Well, to be honest, I feel a bit guilty about this morning. I was hoping you’ve forgiven me and I could perhaps steal a kiss from you before Marco arrives.”
“Zane—”
“Mia.” He stalked me until my back hit the kitchen wall. “Your biscuits smell sweet, but not as sweet as the taste I had of you.”
His lips were so close. So warm and full. And tempting. My tongue darted out and licked the seam of his lips. Mmm. He was delicious. So much for listening to Jada’s advice and trying to tease, taunt and not give in to him. I was hopeless. I nipped at his lips again and his breath caught, but he didn’t take over as I expected him to. He allowed me to explore. I slid the tip of my tongue over his teeth and nibbled on his lower lip, then the upper. I kissed the corners of his mouth until he smiled. Then I stopped teasing and slipped my tongue inside.
He kept a firm grip on my wrists, almost as if he didn’t trust himself not to touch me. The kiss went on and on, both sweet and hot, and intense and lazy.
Reluctantly, I eased my mouth away. “You make my head spin.”
“I do?” he asked as if in shock.
“Yes, my head feels heavy and light at the same time because my body craves that heady rush you give me. I want to tear off your clothes. I want you to tear off my clothes. Then we can race out to the vineyard—”
“Stop. Jesus, Mia. Your brother could arrive any minute.”
“You’re nothing but a tease. Stop kissing me like you want to strip me then.” I looked at the bulge in his jeans and a tiny surge of pride arose. “I’ll walk out of the kitchen first, shall I? It will give you plenty of time to think about something else.”
“You really have to stop reading those magazines.”
“Why? I was thinking I could finally utilise some of those sex tips I’ve been reading about.” I ducked out of the kitchen to the sound of his frustrated male groan. One point to me.
A few minutes later, Zane followed me outside where I was pretending to wait for Marco.
“So, has it gone down at all?” I looked down to his groin, only to discover nothing had changed.
“No. I want you so fucking badly; I’m thinking of taking you right here on the porch in broad daylight. It might be worth someone discovering us.”