serious instances, when she was asking questions about their business or meeting their employees, she sounded more east-coast U.S. When she was excited, she sounded decidedly more Southern. Only when she was teasing, or slaying with that sharp wit, did the deep drawl come through.
If he had to choose, he would say he preferred the drawl the most. And the sassy smile that partnered with it.
At one, when he suggested they head back to the castle for lunch, she seemed genuinely disappointed to be ending the tour.
“But we didn’t see the east fields yet,” she said.
“They’re not going anywhere,” he promised. “Besides, aren’t you hungry?”
“Starved, actually.”
He walked her to the car, hand pressed gently to the small of her back. They had done an awful lot of touching all morning. A caress here, a soft touch there. The accidental brush of their shoulders, or her elbow against his arm. Or maybe it wasn’t accidental at all.
And frankly, he couldn’t wait to get her alone.
“Couldn’t we see the east fields, then have lunch?” she asked.
“I could call ahead and have the cook pack us a picnic lunch,” he suggested, knowing most women ate that romantic sort of thing up.
Her eyes lit and he knew he had her.
She smiled and said, “I suppose the east fields could wait.”
Using his cell phone, he rang the kitchen, arranging for a variety of fruit, crackers and cheese, caviar and a bottle of their best champagne to be prepared. After he hung up, he helped Melissa into the car.
When they were comfortably seated, she turned to him and said, “I get the feeling, Your Highness, that you’re trying to soften me up.”
She didn’t miss a thing. He liked that about her, and at the same time it could prove to be quite an inconvenience. Although there didn’t seem much point in denying it.
He grinned instead and asked, “Is it working?”
She returned the smile, but added a touch of sass. “Ridiculously well.”
Chris knew without a doubt that it would be a very interesting afternoon.
Chapter Six
Melissa couldn’t help but wonder if something was up. While the tour of the fields he did show her was thorough, she had the distinct impression that the foremen she’d been introduced to were on edge about something. They seemed wary of her questions, especially when she brought up the subject of the downfalls of growing organic, things like pests and disease. And it hadn’t escaped her attention that, although the east fields were the closest to the castle and had the largest of their greenhouse facilities, they were the only ones he’d chosen to skip.
That couldn’t possibly be coincidence.
There was definitely something going on, something secret, and it could be any number of things. Possibly even something illegal.
Or maybe she was letting her imagination run wild. Just because the royal family of Morgan Isle was riddled with scandal, it didn’t mean the Alexander family was as well. She would just be sure to keep her eyes open and her ears perked.
When they got back to the castle, a basket packed with everything Chris had requested was waiting for them, along with a thick, soft flannel throw to sit on.
“We could walk down to the bluff and eat by the water,” he suggested.
That sounded like a wonderful idea to her, and she couldn’t help but think that if he really was trying to soften her up, he was doing an excellent job. “I’d love to.”
“Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm.
She took it and they walked to the bluff together, choosing a pleasant spot in the shade of a knotty old oak that looked as if it had stood on the property as long as the castle. It conveniently blocked the view from the castle windows. Which could be a good or a bad thing.
He spread out the blanket and they sat across from each other. Melissa kicked off her sandals and stretched out, breathing in the salty air, feeling the breeze ruffle her hair and hearing the rush of the ocean against the rocks below. They couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful afternoon for a picnic.
Chris popped the champagne—which sold for several hundred dollars a bottle—and poured them each a glass while she investigated the contents of the basket.
She found a box of gourmet crackers, a can of caviar, a variety of cheeses already sliced and a plastic container with different kinds of fresh fruit. “Everything looks wonderful.”
He handed her a glass of champagne and lifted his in a toast. “To new friends,” he said. “And new beginnings.”
Amen to that. She clinked her glass to his and sipped, the bubbles tickling her nose. She reached for the box of crackers and he gently pushed her hand away. “Why don’t you let me?”
He opened the caviar, spread a dollop on a cracker, and handed it to her, then fixed one for himself. She took a bite and the caviar exploded like little bombs of salty flavor across her tongue. She closed her eyes and savored the decadent sensation. “Delicious.”
“Try a strawberry. They were picked just this morning.”
He held one out to her, already hulled and cut in half, and on impulse, rather than take it with her hand, she leaned forward and took it directly into her mouth, grazing the tip of his thumb with her tongue.
The fruit was plump and juicy and sweet. She moaned and closed her eyes as another explosion of flavor overwhelmed her taste buds.
Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the company, but it was probably the tastiest thing she had ever eaten. When she opened her eyes and looked at Chris, saw the way he was watching her from under lids heavy with desire, she knew that he enjoyed her enjoying it.
“Let’s do that again,” he said. This time he chose a chunk of pineapple, and as he fed it to her, she caught his finger in her mouth to lick off the juice.
“It’s so sweet,” she said. “You should try it.”
She fished a piece out of the bowl and held it out for him. His eyes locked on hers, he leaned forward and took it from her fingers, his tongue brushing the pad of her thumb, and she went limp all over. She watched him chew, mesmerized by his mouth and his jaw and the movement of his throat as he swallowed.
He licked his lips. “Hmm, delicious.”
She wanted to try that again. This time she held out a cherry. He took it with his teeth and when the juice dripped down her finger, and he took the entire thing into his mouth, sucking it clean.
Oh. My. God.
He grinned, a lazy, sexy smile, and said, “Tasty.”
His lips looked so full and inviting, tinted pink from the cherry juice, that she couldn’t resist leaning in for a taste. And
