Chapter 3
Lorenzo feigned interest in what the man sitting in front of him saying while not hearing a damn word of it. He knew it had something to do with grapes… the growing, handling, and whatever else the hopeful vintner had thought appropriate to speak about. None of it was any different to the two vintners he’d interviewed previously to this one, and if he heard one more person spout on about the flavours and scents found in the wine, he might just take a leaf out of his cousin Ryland’s book and bury the bastards beneath those very grapes.
It wasn’t as though Lorenzo had no understanding of wine at all. However, his knowledge came with the drinking of it…the more expensive, the better and always red. All the talk of front notes and back notes and whatever the fuck else notes always bored him to fucking tears. Pissed him off too because he couldn’t pick up on any of it. So long as it was enjoyable to drink then that was all that mattered. Although there was one taste that Lorenzo already appreciated, and that was the taste of red wine on Andretti’s lips… any of his flesh really, even if it wasn’t so good for the longevity of their sheets.
Realising the vintner had stopped speaking and was looking at him expectantly, Lorenzo quickly thanked the man for attending the interview and ushered him out the door. Closing it, Lorenzo sighed and thudded his head on the wooden door, questioning again why he and Andretti had agreed to take this venture on. Right, because they were both ambitious as fuck, and this entire process had started long before Everett had stepped into Albie’s shoes.
But if this was what running their own organisation was going to be like… maybe he and Andretti should change their minds on the whole deal.
“Did you lock the door, or something, Lo?” Andretti asked while trying to push the door open.
Lorenzo stepped back from the door and chuckled as Andretti stumbled through it. “The ‘or something’ I guess,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Did the interviews not go well? I really don’t want to advertise out of state, but no one in the family with vineyards is prepared to give us their winemaker… not even Ryland. His fiancé isn’t willing to help us secure one either…and by that, I mean help us poach one of the winemakers working for his family.”
“That’s so unfair of them,” Lorenzo replied with a pout before sinking onto the couch in his office and dragging Andretti onto his lap. “They should really learn to share. But the interviews went well; they were just…boring. Should’ve let Angus deal with it.”
Andretti snorted. “Angus would’ve told you to ‘go fuck yourself’ but in a more creative manner before telling you to come back to him when we decide to grow hops.”
“For a man who’s more than happy for his MC’s name to be associated with the wine label, he has very little interest in running the actual business.”
“Honestly, if the Devil Hawks are prepared to take on all the grunt work that happens behind the scenes, then I’m more than happy with the exchange. It might be our money getting this off the ground… but it’s their distribution network that we’re taking advantage of.”
“Fair… I guess.”
“Or would you rather I go to Everett and tell him that we’re no longer interested in?—”
“Nope. You’re not doing that. Even if we weren’t ambitious as fuck, I can appreciate that the size of the family means we need to expand our territory.”
“We still need to pick our Capo Bastone… one who’ll stand on equal footing to Everett’s, even if we’ll only appear at his level for now.”
“If Samuel weren’t already expected to fill that role for Everett, I’d claim him for us. He’s only been here a few weeks… but he really fits, more than anyone else we’ve brought into our bed, and the bonus is he already knows the business.”
“Agreed… except Samuel comes with Pauli.”
“Not seeing the issue… if anything, a clothes horse like Pauli would be good at entertaining wine tour guests.”
“Fuck, you’re right about that. He’ll flirt with the ladies until they purchase several bottles of wine… But what I’m getting at is that I think Pauli is the reason Samuel’s here in the first place.”
“Everett did say Samuel needed to get out of Melbourne… hinting that it was because of a relationship. You think things went sour between them?”
Andretti shook his head. “No… not exactly, more unrequited I think.”
“Not something to think about right now, then?” Lorenzo said as Andretti shifted on his lap to straddle it making it far easier to kiss.
No point in them seeking pleasure from one another if someone was only going to end up with a kink in their neck. Getting older really wasn’t much fun, and maybe that’s what also appealed about being with Samuel. Their cousin was closer to thirty than he and Andretti were, though his energy levels at times were as though Samuel was still in his early twenties. But there were advantages too, to being older. Like no longer being in a rush to get to the climax and being more willing to take the longer way there. Although…that could simply be because they both liked to teeter on the edge of orgasm for as long as possible and especially when they had another partner in their bed. There was nothing, they’d quickly learned, like having Samuel strung out and begging for release between them.
And if Samuel’s reasons for being there were because his cousin Pauli couldn’t see what was in front of him, then that was Pauli’s loss and their gain. Lorenzo had no plans of letting Samuel go anytime soon, and he knew Andretti felt the same. Pauli… well, he was an issue they’d deal with when it arose. They’d be ignorant to think Samuel could leave Melbourne without Pauli eventually coming after him. Because once a Beltrame was assigned a partner—whether it developed into a sexual relationship or not…and mostly it did—they took their responsibilities to them seriously.
“Do you reckon we can manage a quickie before someone comes looking for us?” he asked, undoing the buttons of Andretti’s shirt to reveal the gorgeous skin that awaited him beneath it. Skin that had gone far too many days since they’d last been covered in bite marks. Okay, so it had been three days, Lorenzo’s fingers grazed over the fading bruises that dotted Andretti’s chest.
“Would you stop even if they did?” Andretti asked, smirking as he worked to strip Lorenzo of his clothes too.
Lorenzo snickered. “Good point. Because, no, I won’t.” He leaned in and snatched a kiss from Andretti before his ardour was damped an unfortunate realisation. “Our new vintner can’t be prudish either…”
“Yeah, true… but Lo, I don’t think asking potential candidates about their views on exhibitionist sex is a recommended interview question.”
“Don’t think a trial by fire is appropriate for the workplace either,” he muttered.
“Worked for Angus and his boys.” Andretti shrugged his shoulders.
“Somehow… I don’t think they count.” He lifted his head from where he’d rested on Andretti’s chest, but not before capturing his lover’s nipple between his teeth and drawing a low moan from Andretti’s lips.
“Probably don’t… but we really don’t have time this.”
“Somewhere you need to be, Retti?”
“Yeah, in the middle of the damn vines pulling weeds, seemingly. Didn’t think it’d be one of my jobs… but Angus sent a few boys up the coast to Adelaide to make a drop, meaning the crew is shorthanded in the fields.”
“Work on a vineyard is never ending,” Lorenzo groaned. “We shouldn’t have left it near abandoned after we purchased it.”
“Yeah, well, shit happened that we couldn’t have planned for.”
Lorenzo couldn’t argue that either. Because no matter dangerous their world had the potential to be, no one could have predicted the Family heirs being gunned down on the church’s steps in broad daylight. A lot of plans were put on hold while Everett and Ryland got to up speed on it all.
Plans that had included their expansion into South Australia.