Then I berated myself because he moved away from me.
“Tell me your name,” he demanded softly. “I didn’t get it yesterday.”
I smiled for the first time in months as I flirted with him. “Well, you didn’t ask.”
If I thought his voice was sensual, his chuckle was wickedly hypnotic.
“You’re correct, so let me rectify that. Please tell me your name.”
That was the moment—the moment I went back there for. That was the moment I knew that this man was going to change my life forever. Suddenly, I found myself wanting to change his.
“Chantel,” I informed him. “Chantel Rosenberg.”
I felt him step up close to me.
Not many people do that. I think my handicap scares them, but it didn’t seem to bother him as he whispered, “Chantel, you’re beautiful. I think I’ll call you…Beauty.”
I close the journal in a room that is still empty. The clock has just struck eleven a.m.
I have been sitting here for two hours. One of those has been on my own, and I have a feeling that for the rest of the afternoon, I will be hard-pressed to find the man who doesn’t want to be found.
Two
CURIOSITY
AS I MAKE my way down to the main dining room later that night, I find myself stopping in front of the painting by the stairs. Again, I discover that I want to reach out to run my fingers along her round curves. This time, I actually make the move toward the image, and just as I raise my arm, I hear the sound of a throat clearing from the landing below.
Almost as though I’m being pulled from a dream, I turn and find Phillipe standing at the foot of the stairs. Unflinchingly, his eyes lock with mine. This is the first time that I’ve seen him since he left me this morning. That’s how it felt. Heleftme. What an odd way to feel.
“She’s magnificent, isn’t she?” he asks.
I have no idea how to answer him. I’m so entranced, and at the same time, I’m shocked by the image because I never expected to feel so many emotions from observing the female form.
He saves me from having to answer him by making a move. He grips the wooden banister and takes each step one at a time, slowly ascending to where I am paralyzed. When he finally reaches me, he moves into the space between the railing and mybody. At this stage, I’m sure I should feel uncomfortable, but all I feel is anticipation.
Anticipation of what, I’m not sure.
“It’s her skin.” His smooth voice wraps around me. “She’s so fair and so plump.”
I’m not sure that’s it. Just as I’m about to ask what he means, I feel him shift, and a shiver races up my spine as he proceeds to answer my unasked question.
“It’s the way she seems to be lit from the inside out. She looks like God gave her skin that glows.” He pauses for a moment before whispering my unspoken thoughts out loud. “So, it’s completely natural that you’d want to touch her.”
As his intoxicating description ends, I move to turn and face him, but I feel two large palms come up to rest on my shoulders. I swallow deeply as he pushes me gently, urging me to take a step forward, closer to the artwork we are both facing. When we’re only a couple of feet away from the painting, he halts our movement, squeezing my shoulders. I feel his breath against my ear as he asks the number one question I can’t seem to answer for myself.
“You want to touch her, don’t you?”
Do I?I don’t know. I am definitely intrigued by her.Is it the painting I want to stroke or the woman portrayed?
He assures me, “It’s okay to say yes.”
His lips are so close to my ear that they are now brushing up against it. Turning my head to the left, I’m shocked when he doesn’t move away. Instead, his sage-green eyes are focused intently on me as he waits for me to react. His lips part ever so slightly, and I feel my heart start to flutter as he traces his right palm over my shoulder, coming up to cup my neck.
For a moment, I feel as if I should be frightened. In recent months, this man has been described as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but like a silly rabbit, I stay inert, enraptured by thepredator before me. My eyes start to feel heavy while desire pools in my stomach.
What is he doing to me?
“So? Do you, Gemma? Do you want to feel how smooth her skin is?”
