“You are the artist, yes?” He moved his lounge chair closer. “I saw your exhibit in Paris last month. In fact, I purchased one of your pieces, the Solitaire de nuit.”
“You’re kidding?”
It still astonished me that my art was becoming well known, particularly in France. My mentor at L'École des Beaux-Arts had thought me crazy for moving out of the country just as my career was gaining momentum. I agreed with him, and it was only one of the many reasons I was nervous about New York.
“No.” He shook his head and captured one of my hands in his. It was an overly familiar gesture but it was something that one of the twins would have done and I found myself beaming back at him. “I absolutely love it. It hangs in my bedroom at home in Greece, the blues of the fog over the ocean are masterfully brought to life. I really am a big fan.”
Pleasure unfurled in my stomach and sluiced through my veins like a drug. This wasn’t the first time someone had approached me about my work, but it was the first time outside of France and it gave me a flicker of hope for my artistic future in America. I allowed him to keep my hand and beamed into his face as I launched into my favorite kind of talk: the art world.
Fifteen minutes and three Sex On The Beach cocktails later, a sharp prickle of foreboding tickled the base of my spine. I rolled my shoulders to rid myself of the teeth gritting apprehension but it remained for the next five minutes as Stefan made me howl with laughter over the antics of a mutual friend.
“Stop,” I gasped, wiping the tears rolling down my cheeks. “Really, Stefan, you have to stop or I’ll die.”
“Well we can’t have that.” He chuckled but he frowned at something over my shoulder, squinting into the high sun to discern the intruder. “Can I help you?”
>
“No,” I closed my eyes briefly at the sound of Sinclair’s smooth French minted tone. “But I believe Elle can.”
Stefan frowned, catching my weariness and Sinclair’s obvious animosity. “I’m not sure if she can. We were just in the middle of sharing a drink, actually.”
“One of many, it appears,” he countered, coolly.
I flushed at the collection of glasses on the plastic side table even though I was more than capable of holding my liquor.
“Listen.” Stefan was getting irritated now, though he only rested back on his hands, exposing the mighty breadth of his chest like a gorilla seizing up his competition. “I don’t know who you think you are –”
“Stop it,” I said as I stood up to face Sinclair.
I blinked hard at the sight of him. Though it had only been a few hours since I last saw him, his astonishing beauty took my breath away. He wore a white linen shirt and light grey swim shorts that exposed his muscular calves and a pair of Ray Ban aviators were propped casually in his mane of deep red brown hair.
“Stop it,” I repeated. “Sinclair, stop being such a bruiser.”
“A bruiser?” His eyebrows rose almost comically into his hairline.
“Yes.” I nodded adamantly. “A bruiser. I was having a delightful time with Stefan before you barged in and I would like to return to it.”
He stared at me for a moment with dangerously still blue eyes before directing his gaze to Stefan. “I think it best that you leave.”
Stefan ran a hand down my arm but it was more friendly than sexual and I knew he only meant to reassure me. He would stay if I wanted him to and maybe even go so far as to tell Sinclair off, physically. After half an hour of conversation, I had the distinct feeling that I had made a friend.
“You know my room number,” he said softly, intimately, and I knew it was for Sinclair’s sake. “Call me if you want to get a drink.”
I nodded even though I didn’t really want to be alone with Sinclair. Cosima’s advice had given me a new lease on the idea of a holiday affair but I still wasn’t sure if I could face sex without intimacy. Even with a man like Sinclair.
When I remained facing away from him for a few moments and he didn’t speak, I wondered if he had left. But two knuckles drew delicate lines down the bare skin of my back and a second later his front pressed into me. One hand pressed against my hip, pushing us gently together, and he placed a heartbreaking kiss where my neck met my shoulder.
“I’ve made a decision.” I could feel him, hard already against the small of my back and a violent shudder wracked my frame. “Would you like to know what it is?”
His hand moved from my hip up over the curve of my waist between my breasts to my neck where he wrapped his fingers one by one over my throat to tip it for better access to his lips.
“Yes.” I was too enraptured with him to be aware of my surroundings but I was vaguely conscious of the fact that we stood in public beside a very crowded pool. When I tried to pull away, his hand tightened slightly around my neck.
“I’ve decided that we are going to have an affair.” He ran his nose up the side of my neck and gently nipped my ear. “I know you want me, Elle, I can feel it in your lush body. I know you’re scared that I’ll ruin you for other men.” His other hand made its way around my back down over my rump to tickle the skin of my inner thigh. “It will be worth it.”
Oh, I didn’t doubt it. I was already damp with arousal and trembling with need. My mind was whirring with thoughts of his lean fingers on me, in me, how he would taste in my mouth and feel inside of me.
“Do you believe me?” he crooned.