"You look deep in thought."
I whirled around, bringing my hand to my mouth and laughing as Grayson swooped me into his arms. "How'd you find me here?" I asked as he pressed his lips to my throat. "I thought I was properly hidden from you."
"You can never hide from me. I'll always sniff you out." Then he placed his nose to my throat and started sniffing around like an over-eager dog. Dragon. I squealed, laughing at the feeling of his breath tickling my skin. I pushed him away as he laughed, too.
"And here I went to so much trouble to plot and scheme so I might get you alone somewhere hidden and do all sorts of dirty dragonish things to your body."
I laughed. "Haven't you done enough of that already?" I asked teasingly.
"Never." He turned and it was then I spotted the basket, which he picked up and brought over to where I was standing. He glanced around, setting his sights on a small grassy area in a warm spot of direct sunlight. Opening the basket, he took out a large quilt and spread it out. Grayson turned to Sugie who was sniffing something nearby. "Give us some privacy, Sug. Go chase a mouse or something." Sugie chuffed, moving on to a grapevine further down the row, avoiding the fruit as she'd been trained.
"You have been plotting," I said. "What is this about?"
"This," he said, sitting down and tapping a spot next to him, "is about teaching you to recognize the different grapes. Come here."
I joined him, sitting next to him on the quilt.
"If you're going to be the proper wife of a winemaker, you need to know about the variety of grapes we grow so when people ask, you can answer them with confidence."
"Ah." I attempted to open the basket, but he snapped it closed, making me laugh.
"Patience, little witch. First, I'll need you to undress."
I raised a brow. "This lesson requires nudity?"
"Indeed. As all good lessons do," he said, leering suggestively, the glint of dragonish devilry in his dark eyes. My heart flipped and my feminine muscles clenched at his blatant masculine beauty, made even more compelling when he acted like a dragon.
"It's a little chilly for nudity, don't you think?"
"I'll keep you warm. Promise."
I laughed softly, but obeyed, removing my long-sleeved T-shirt, kicking off my shoes, and unbuttoning the top button on my jeans. I lay back and Grayson held the bottoms and tugged them off. A wave of insecurity came over me as he studied me lying there in my bra and underwear. No one had ever studied me quite so intently and under the bright light of the sun.
"You're so beautiful it hurts," he murmured. He leaned in, feathering his lips down my throat and then whispering in my ear. "I once thought to myself that when I made love to you, I'd always want to do it in the light so I could see every vibrant part of you—this beautiful, richly-colored hair," he picked up a strand and let it fall through his fingers, "eyes so green I want to fall into them . . ."
"Grayson," I murmured, dragging my fingers through his dark hair as my body relaxed, heated under the blanket of his warmth. He went up on his knees momentarily and removed his T-shirt and then leaned forward to unsnap my bra. It fell to the side, and he brought the straps down my arms, his eyes lingering on my nipples, hardening immediately in the crisp air.
"Just like rose petals," he whispered. And then he came back over me, his tongue slipping into my mouth. I shivered, sparks igniting between my legs.