Tangled Vines by Melissa Collins Page A

all of this?” I ask against his back, wrapping my arms around him from behind as he unbuttons his shirt.
    His hands cover mine as he turns me around in the circle of his arms. Pressing his lips against the top of my head, he holds me for a minute before speaking. “Yeah, I am.” Instead of being leery and unsure, his words are hopeful and happy.
    “It’ll be good for her to get away for a while.” I pull back from him and scan his face, trying to gauge his reaction. When his brow crinkles, I can see there is some kind of lingering concern. “What is it, Owen?”
    He pulls me over to my bed. “Mom’s house is over an hour away. I’ve been spending so much time here that I forget what a pain in the ass it is to commute, especially when I need to be out in the fields with Peter at five in the morning.” He huffs a breath of frustration; a sense of his obligation hangs in the air. He turns to face me, pulls my hands into his on his lap, and takes another deep breath. “And then there’s you,” his soft words tumble from a lopsided and genuine smile.
    I don’t remember exactly when it started, but we stay at my place a lot – at least five nights a week. In fact, I don’t think Owen has been to his mom’s house in the last week. At first, it was that we were both working long hours with the construction and fall harvest, but those excuses quickly went out the window when we both had trouble falling asleep without being in the same bed. The idea of changing the routine to which we’ve both become so accustomed must be weighing on him.
    “I don’t want to change what we’ve got going here. Things have been…” he pauses, searching for the right word.
    I supply it for him without a second though. “Perfect. It’s been perfect and we’ll continue to make it that way,” I assure him with a gentle squeeze of the hands and kiss to the cheek.
    “Since I inherited the vineyard, my life has been crazy. I’ve learned things about myself and what I want out of my future that I never even thought possible. And then there’s you.” He leans forward and places a soft, sweet kiss to my smiling lips. “Loving you is the best part of everything that’s happened.” His confession is laced with needless concern, because all I can focus on is the fact that he said love .
    “Love?” My question is meant to be airy and light, but it’s anything but.
    Cupping my jaw, he pulls me close for another kiss. Speaking against my lips, he says, “Yes. Love.” Pulling away once more, his eyes lock on mine. “I love you, Elle, so much. And now that I have you, I don’t want to be away from you.”
    Speech totally eludes me. Opening and closing my mouth a few times, I can’t put to words the feelings blooming in my heart.
    Sweeping his thumb over the bow of my upper lip, his smile widens. “I love when you get so flustered you can’t speak. I love how caring and honest you are. I love how passionate you are about everything you do. I love how you’ve never once given up on me, on your dreams, on our future.”
    Well, if he thinks that little speech is going to cure me of my inability to speak, he is certainly mistaken. All I’m capable of is sealing my lips over his in a searing kiss. My fingers dive into his hair as my tongue twists against his. We fall back on the bed, a breathless heap of tangled legs.
    Feverishly, I strip him of his unbuttoned shirt. As I run my fingers over his chest, his eyes widen, his cock hardens beneath me. Straddling his hips, I gaze into his ocean blue eyes. Finally finding my voice, my feelings dangle on the tip of my tongue. “I love you, too. All those things you said about loving me, those are the same reasons I love you more than I ever thought I would love someone.”
    With quickness I don’t see coming, he wraps his arms around me, pulling me underneath him. Our remaining clothes fall to the floor and his lips travel over my heated skin. His thumbs strum over the tightened points