ELLIE
We were both breathless. My entire body craved a single touch from him. I swallowed hard, fighting against the desire.
“Get out of my way!” I growled.
He stepped aside just enough for me to pass.
I rushed out of the bathroom after grabbing a towel and wrapping it around myself. My hands were trembling as I stopped near the bed. How much longer could I keep saying no when every part of my body wanted to scream yes?
The desire was driving me insane. It was stronger than my reason, making me realize I wouldn’t be able to resist forever. *Just one week, Ellie. Be strong.*
After we had lunch at the vineyard restaurant, we started the tour with a guide from the place, and a few more tourists joined our group. We walked through the vineyards, tasted grapes straight off the vines, learned all about the wine production process, and now we were in the tasting room.
In thirty minutes, I could already say I’d had the best wines of my life. And an hour later, I was feeling a bit tipsy.
I couldn’t help but notice how especially attractive Ethan looked in yet another casual outfit—a gray shirt that showed off his massive biceps and tucked into dark pants that highlighted his incredible ass and thighs. God! I had to stop drinking or he’d notice I was staring at him the whole time.
I also noticed that Mr. Morgan seemed completely at ease, chatting with Neil for most of the tour. I concluded that they must be very close, considering Neil lived in London and Ethan had just returned from there.
My plan to stop drinking completely fell apart when my friends decided to head back to the vineyard restaurant, which also had a bar. After enjoying some delicious local dishes for dinner, we moved over to the bar, where some tourists were dancing to traditional music.
Phillipa, the most carefree of us all, came over to me and tried to drag me to the dance floor. She had a fun spirit and incredible energy. I gave in, figuring I could blame the alcohol later.
I danced with her, not caring about anything else, having fun like I hadn’t in ages. Then a slow, romantic song started playing, and I stepped aside, giving my spot to Jason.
I was so focused on how the two of them looked so in love when a tall, blonde, and handsome man approached me. He had light eyes and a distinctive nose.
"Excusez-moi, puis-je avoir cette danse?" he said with unmistakable French charm, extending his hand to me. Even though I couldn’t understand more than a word of what he said, I took his hand, smiling, assuming he was asking me to dance.
The music was slow, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I let the blonde lead me. He placed both hands on my waist, making me automatically rest mine on his shoulders as we began to move slowly.
“Are you American?” he asked in my language, his strong French accent a relief since I didn’t know more than five words in French.
“Thank God you speak my language,” I smiled. “I thought we’d need to use Google Translate or something. Yes, I’m American.”
“And what brings you to France?” he asked with a smile, seeming genuinely curious.
“I’m on a holiday trip with friends. I just realized I don’t know your name.”
“Valentin. It’s a pleasure, Miss?”
“Ellie.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Ellie.”
“The pleasure is mine. And sorry if I end up stepping on your foot, dancing isn’t exactly my strong suit, especially after drinking so much wine.”
“As long as I can keep looking at your face, I won’t complain, I promise,” he said, making me smile.
After a few minutes of conversation, I realized that, in addition to being charming, Valentin was quite the gentleman.
When a second song began playing, we kept dancing slowly, enjoying ourselves as he tried to teach me a few French words, leaving me enchanted by how incredibly sexy every word sounded.
“Your language is so sexy,” I said with a smile.
“Pas aussi sexy que toi.”
“And what does that mean?”
“I said it’s not as sexy as you.”
“Oh...” I felt my cheeks heat up. “Thank you.”
When a third, even slower song started playing, I noticed Jason and Phillipa had disappeared. I looked toward the spot where I had left my friends sitting, but they were no longer there either.
Where the hell were they? Before I could worry about it, Valentin moved around me, stopping behind me. His hands slid around my waist, and his chest pressed against my back.
“This song, we have to dance like this,” he whispered in my ear, and just as I was about to tell him I needed to find my friends, Ethan appeared in front of us, freezing me in place.