And then Birdie stopped. Dead.
Alexis nearly plowed right into her back.
“What the hell,” she muttered, but then Birdie let go of Alexis’s hand and tilted her head skyward.
“Look up,” she whispered.
Alexis did.
The sky was completely drenched in stars, and not the polite kind Portland sometimes offered when it wasn’t buried under clouds. This was an all-out spectacle. Like someone had spilled a vat of glitter across black velvet and forgot to clean it up. Stars on top of stars on top of stars. More than Alexis had ever seen in her life. It was breathtaking. And for a second, Alexis forgot all about the chill, or being frustrated with Birdie for dragging her out here, or annoyed at the uneven ground. She wasn’t even conscious of her flip-flops digging into her toes.
“Wow,” she muttered, completely and utterly awestruck. Alexis didn’t dare blink. She simply stared at the sky until her eyes watered and the Milky Way blurred, and she nearly forgot about everything. “This is…”
“Beautiful,” Birdie finished, her voice sounding so distant, so far away from Alexis she wondered if this was actually a dream. “Like you,” Birdie added.
Alexis tore her gaze away from the stars to roll her eyes, but then Birdie’s face was suddenly there. Just inches away. Close enough that she could just make out the curve of her lips under the starlight. Alexis smelled Dolce Gabbana and suddenly there weren’t just goosebumps on her arm; they were everywhere.
“I can’t believe I haven’t looked up until now,” Alexis muttered softly.
“I’m glad you didn’t. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be nearly as romantic.”
“Are you trying to woo me?” Alexis asked, half-teasing, half-breathless, because damn it, her chest was pounding like she’d just run a mile in flip-flops.
“Is it working?” Birdie said, grinning. Then she leaned in, and the world snapped into a single point. Birdie’s lips crushed against hers. Birdie’s fingers in her hair. Birdie’s body so close it stole her breath.
“You have no idea,” Alexis whispered, skimming her hands down Birdie’s neck to her chest. Her skin felt extra soft, silky even, and incredibly warm. But then, out of the blue, goosebumps prickled under Alexis’s fingertips, and she relished in the ability to make Birdie’s body react.
“Good,” Birdie muttered breathlessly.
She tugged lightly at the roots of Alexis’s hair, tilting her head just enough to deepen the kiss. Although not even the Mariana Trench could compete with the depth she was pulling Alexis into. And then she nearly blushed for thinking something ridiculous and was glad Birdie couldn’t read her mind. She let her fingers slide along the small of Birdie’s back, memorizing the slight curve, and then she couldn’t think of any reason why the slip dress shouldn’t go. Immediately.
Her fingers brushed over the strap, tugging one from Birdie’s shoulder. She paused, waiting for Birdie to say, no, this isn’t a good idea. Because when was it ever a good idea to have sex in a vineyard? But then again, when wasn’t it? Instead, she said nothing.
Which Alexis took as a sign.
They shuffled back a step.
Alexis’s fingers found the other strap, eager to get rid of Birdie’s dress. And Birdie’s tongue slid over hers before she tugged Alexis’s bottom lip between her teeth. It felt so good to be in Birdie’s embrace that Alexis barely even noticed the uneven ground until something jabbed square into her shoulder blade.
“Ow!” she cried. It was a jagged vine or a stake or something worse that she couldn’t see in the dark. She winced and pulled back with a breathless laugh. “I think it’s a little too dangerous out here to be kissing like this.”
Birdie grinned against her cheek. “Well, should we go somewhere else?”
“Where are you proposing?” Alexis asked. The only place she could think of was her bedroom with its cushy king-size bed. Which frankly sounded a lot more comfortable than where they were standing right now.
Alexis felt a wave of relief when Birdie said, “Let’s sneak back into the villa to your bedroom.”
Chapter Eighteen
Alexis’s bedroom was warm, even with the windows cracked open to the night air. Or maybe Birdie was just hot and sweaty considering they’d jogged all the way back to the villa, fingers locked, acting like two giddy teenagers who had successfully snuck out of their homes and were trying to sneak back in.
“I’m all sweaty,” Birdie muttered breathlessly. She pulled her dress over her head while Alexis was shrugging out of her jeans. It would’ve been hotter if they’d taken each other’s clothes off, but honestly, time was of the essence. The hum between her legs from that kiss in the vineyards had made the jog back to the villa feel like a marathon, not to mention the actual sneaking around through the back door and through the echoing hallway. Then came the near heart attack Birdie had suffered when Claire slipped out of her room and almost bumped into them.
“Me too,” Alexis said, busying herself with her bra. “And I think I might’ve stepped in something.” She glanced down at her feet. Dark brown dirt covered her big toe and the side of her foot. It was either vineyard mud or something a little more suspicious. Neither of which would go down so well on the snow-white sheets.
“I think we should…” Alexis started.
Birdie didn’t need the rest. She already knew.
