For the following hour, Miss Finch sat on that stool and spoke to Evander about her childhood as if the two were old friends. She told him of how her mother had raised and educated her. She told him about her fondest of memories from when she was a little girl. She told him about her past jobs, some of her darker days after her parents’ passing, and everything in between.
Evander listened to it all.
He had not meant for the night to turn out this way. When he found Miss Finch in the kitchen, his first thought had been to pick up where they’d left off. In his mind, that sort of physical contact was a most personal and intimate mode of exploration, and he wanted it for him and Miss Finch… he wanted to know every inch of her.
But as he painted, as she spoke, he came to realize that this right here was far more intimate. He was learning about Miss Finch in ways that he never could have done through physical intimacy. And she was learning about him, just the same.
“There…” Evander sighed when he finally finished the portrait.
Well, it wasn’t finished entirely. He would spend more hours with it still, touching it up, adding to it, making it a perfect reflection of the woman who sat just behind him. But the first layer was complete, a good start… with so much more to go.
“Oh, we’re finished?”
“We are.” He turned and looked at her. She sat back up, she licked her lips, and her body started to shake with anticipation.
“Might I…” She tried to peer around him.
“Not yet,” he said. “I have finished the initial stages, but there is still some work to be done.”
“What sort of work?”
“Capturing your likeness is one thing, and that’s what I did tonight. But that is only the first step. Before it is finished, I will need to…” He considered her for a moment. “I will need to learn more about you. Not facts or your history, but who you are. Not to mention, who I am too.”
“And who are we, exactly?” she asked him, meeting his eyes.
“I suppose we will find out, in time.”
Now that they were done, Evander’s mind went to the natural place. Alone as they were, having experienced a most intimate moment, it was the perfect time to cross the room, take her by the hand, pull her body into his, and devour her.
Only… as strange as it was to realize… the moment did not feel right for such a thing.
Evander had convinced himself that he wanted Miss Finch for her physicality only. Her body. Her sexual appeal. The way she made him shake and shudder and moan. That was what drew her to him, and that was what he desired most of all.
After tonight, what they had just been through just now, he was starting to see her differently than he had done. He knew her physically, that was true, but to know her on a deeper level… he realized now that this is what he wanted most of all.
And just as he wanted to know her, he wanted her to know him.
“I think it is time for bed,” he said.
“Oh…” She deflated. “Are… are you sure?”
His heart raced. An energy rose inside of Evander, demanding that he cross the room and take her right now. But he resisted, pushed that energy down, and reminded himself that such moments were sure to come later.
“I think so,” he said softly. “It has been a long night for both of us.”
“If… you say so.”
He saw clearly the disappointment on her face, which made him smile. “Thank you for tonight, Miss Finch. For looking after Aaron, and for… well, this. I won’t forget it.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You better not. And I expect you to show me the finished product when it is ready.”
“You will be the first person I do,” he said. “I only ask that you do not judge.”
“I think you know that I never would.”
Tonight had been more important to Evander than words could possibly describe. While there was still a small gap that existed between himself and Miss Finch, he felt it closing, just as he felt them growing closer.
But did he want them to grow close? Was that not the antithesis of what this relationship was supposed to be? It was easy for him to claim that he was strong enough to resist her… that he wanted to resist her. But then he would remember that look in her eyes and how it made him feel.
