Free Discovering Pleasure by Marie Haynes

husband’s neck.
    Rose saw Nathan’s eyes darken as she removed her clothing and knelt before him.

Chapter Ten

    Pear Wine — With just a hint of honey flavour, this sweet, yet crisp wine perfectly complements soft cheese and ripe fruit.

    The next morning, the four friends drove to the first of five wineries they wanted to visit. After considering their cover story, Vincent had decided that adding local Illinois and Missouri wines to the bar would actually be an excellent idea. At the moment, his bar specialised in shots and cocktails with sexy sounding names, but it seemed that more and more customers were asking for wine, local varieties in particular. Vince’s decision pleased Rose very much. She’d hate to think that the trip had inconvenienced her friends. This winery, Fruitful, specialised in non-grape fruit wines. Rose carefully inspected the wine glass used for samples, wiped a small spot with a clean tissue, then tasted all seven wines offered. Her favourite had to be the sweet pear wine. Crisp, clean, with a vanilla finish. She could easily imagine serving this wine with turkey, chicken or perhaps a salad.
    On their way to the second winery, Joe received a phone call.
    “What? Really?” Joe questioned excitedly.
    Dozing off a bit, Rose registered only a few words of Joe’s one-sided conversation—“Southern Illinois…we’ll make room…can’t wait to see you…”
    “Rose? Rose. Wake up, honey.” Nathan’s voice broke through the sweet darkness.
    She smiled. “Hi,” she said.
    “Hi yourself,” he answered. “You took a bit of a nap. Ready for round two?”
    Rose nodded and unhooked her seat belt. Walking into the winery hand in hand with Nathan, she couldn’t help but notice the lush beauty of the vineyards.
    “So, which one is this?” she asked.
    “Skylight,” Nathan informed her.
    “Isn’t this one next to…?” Rose’s voice dropped off quietly.
    Nathan slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his chest. Rose cuddled against him, trying to absorb a bit of his strength.
    “You’ll be fine. Besides, Blue Jay is about ten miles around the bend, over the hills and behind a forest. My understanding is you can’t see even a hint of it from the main road. Besides, we’re all here with you, but if you feel nervous at all, let me know and I’ll get you out of there,” he promised, dropping a kiss onto her head. “You were asleep, so we decided to hit this one first and then, if you’re up to it, do a cursory visit to Hidden Vines afterwards.”
    Rose nodded. She was anxious to visit her father’s winery but frightened as well. Seeing the encouragement on her friends’ faces, though, she realised she had no need for worry.
    While the four friends sipped a light Reisling and enjoyed a simple meal of cheese, fruit and sausage, they chatted.
    “So, when I was falling asleep in the car, I think I heard you sounding excited about something, Joe,” Rose said.
    “Oh! Yeah. I was talking to my cousin, Alicia. You know—the one who is a full-time submissive to her husband? As it turns out, she and her husband, Maverick, were able to catch an earlier flight. They’ll be in St. Louis tomorrow morning so Vince checked with the Lodge and the cabin next to ours is open, so they’ll rent a car and drive down here after they land. I can’t wait to see Alicia. You’re going to absolutely love her. First, she’s the best cook in the world and, second, she’s just a fantastic person,” Joe rambled.
    “Wow, that sounds wonderful, but wouldn’t you rather have her all to yourself? If you need to head back to be with your cousin, I won’t mind a bit,” Rose reassured.
    “I already suggested that,” Nathan interjected.
    “I told Alicia where we are and what we’re doing. The wine tour piqued her culinary curiosity. I think I told you she is a gifted personal chef. Also, Maverick is a talented photographer. When I described the landscape here, I could practically hear him