“Right.” I exhaled a laugh, still shaken. “And you look like a sin incarnate.”
Her fingers flexed on my thigh. “Merci, mon mari.”
By the time we crested the hill and pulled up to the vineyard, I was already half-done spiraling. But that spiral went full send when I actually saw the estate again.
I knew that my wife came from money. I wasn’t stupid. But this was next-level generational wealth.
Every inch of it was breathtaking. Rows of grapevines curved like sculpture across the hills on the east side in perfect lines.Their deep green leaves glowed under the golden evening sun. The lavender fields on the west side buzzed with bees and smelled like summer as the breeze drifted through the open windows. And the house—no,château—rose from the earth like a goddamn oil painting.
It was a fucking work of art. Elegant. Timeless. Ridiculously large.
I let out a low whistle. "Jesus." I rolled to a stop and engaged the e-brake. Auri wasted no time unbuckling her seatbelt like this was just another Tuesday.
"You never mentioned you lived in a fucking château," I muttered.
Aurélie slid her glasses up into her hair. “It’s not that fancy.”
“Baby, this isliterallya château. There are spires.Spires, Auri.”
She shrugged—actually shrugged—and opened the door, not even bothering to wait for me.
“Did you sleep at the top of one of those towers?” I called after her. “Braiding your hair and waiting for woodland creatures to bring you tea?”
She ducked back down to grin at me through the open car door. “No, that’s the east wing, where Étienne sleeps. The birds on the west wing only bring champagne.”
“Wings.Unbelievable,” I grunted, climbing out. We met at the front of the car, her bare shoulders glowing in the warm light, sundress rippling in the breeze.
She reached for my hand without thinking. I took it just as instinctively. We stood there for a second, side by side, looking up at the place that made my pulse stutter.
“I’m not saying I feel like a Victorian orphan about to ask for more gruel,” I said. “But I am saying this might be the part where I get smited for impure thoughts.”
She bit back a laugh. “You nervous, Premium Fraser?”
“Premium?Is that a joke?” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re literally French royalty. I’m clearly the Discount Fraser. I married up so hard I’ve got altitude sickness.”
She hummed, all faux elegance. “You do have that limited-edition, high-performance look. Like you come with a warning label and a maintenance manual.”
“Iamhigh maintenance,” I protested. “You’ve read the fine print.”
“Cover to cover,” she said sweetly. “And I annotated it. And tasted it with my tongue.”
I snorted. “You terrify me as much as you turn me on.” My hands landed on her hips before I even realized I’d moved. Her dress shifted in the breeze, silky fabric brushing my knuckles. She was heat and honey and chaos andmine.
“Good,” she whispered, eyes dropping to my mouth, pupils dilating. “Keep that energy.” She bit her bottom lip, like she’d just had a thought she wasn’t ready to admit. Then her voice dropped into something low, sultry, almost shy. “This version of you makes me… très—uh… fuck—how you say… slippery?”
I choked. “Slippery?”
She cringed, stifling a laugh. “I meant seductive. Or hot. Or—damn it, I don’t know.” She grabbed the lapels of my shirt and yanked me closer, lips barely brushing mine. “My nipples are hard. My panties are soaked. And I’m used to your cock keeping me full enough to forget my name, mon mari. I’m in withdrawal and I swear to God, if you don’t ruin me the second this visit is over, I’ll do it myself.”
“Auri.” Her name fell out of me like a moan and a warning. “Christ, lass.”
Rational thought no longer existed. I pressed her against the hood of the car, my hips flush to hers, her dress caught between us like a fucking tease when her legs parted.
She gasped, her head tipping back with a wicked smile. “You’re hard,” she breathed. “Sohard. What happened to Victorian orphan energy?”
“I lied.” I dipped my face to her neck, dragged my mouth over the pulse there, and whispered, “I’m gonna fuck you so hard your ancestors feel it.”
Her breath stuttered. “You’re not even inside me and I can still feel you everywhere.” Her hands slid down my chest, gripping my belt, pulling me impossibly tighter. “I want the primal version. The one that growls and doesn’t ask. The one that?—”
