The black Mercedes SUV was parked across the street, a literal and metaphorical shadow following me everywhere. As I paid the bill for the café au lait, Sebastian’s Bentley GT pulled up. I looked around like an inept spy before I stepped inside. With a relaxed smile on his handsome face, he leaned in and kissed me. I felt shy, out of my comfort zone. I tried pulling away but he held my chin and deepened the kiss. “You look nice.”
I looked down at my clothes: my ivory silk blouse, my best jeans, and my black heels. I looked far from nice, although unlike him, I didn’t have any choice. My eyes did a slow and slightly annoyed perusal of his Majesty. Freshly shaved and dressed in beige linen pants and a white shirt, he looked nice, he always did. An alligator belt and Italian driving moccasins put an exclamation mark on his terribly expensive and extremely understated attire.
“What’s that look for?” he asked, mild amusement on his face. I was sulking. I couldn’t help it. It also wasn’t his fault that being near such sophistication made me feel a little homelier, a little less of everything good.
“Why do we have to leave the estate? You look splendid by the way.” The small, juvenile whine in my voice couldn’t be missed. I turned to stare out the window while the car sped down the country road. He grabbed my hand and rubbed my knuckles.
“Splendid, huh?” His lips twitched, his warm eyes smiling. Then he kissed each knuckle and bit my thumb. I pursed my lips and gripped my knees together. This man had a direct line to my libido. “I just want us to spend some time together without having to sneak around. I have something special planed for tonight.” There was something wicked in his voice, alluring.
“I need to ask you something,” I said matter-of-factly, and looked over.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, even though the guardedness had already crept into his expression.
“Paisley…she’s your sister-in-law.”
He had the grace to look a little guilty. When he continued to stare ahead, I thought he was going to dissemble.
“Paisley and I dated in high school,” he said and exhaled deeply. “When she got tired of waiting for an engagement ring from me, she seduced my stepbrother and married him instead.”
Exactly like a soap opera. He looked over to gauge my reaction. I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“Maybe my ego was a little bruised at first. But it’s not like I was in love with her. I got over it quickly…she never did,” he claimed. “She was unfaithful to him from the start. Although, from what I hear, so was he. By the time I moved to Geneva, Marcus was doing extremely well as a currency trader––” I shifted in my seat to face him and he placed his hand on my knee, his thumb lazily stroking back and forth. Again, that vital link. “So when he called asking for a job, I hired him. Right about that time, Paisley decided she wanted to stay Mrs. Redman more than she wanted to stay in Texas.”
He paused for a while, unsure how to continue it seemed. When he began to speak again, his voice grew quieter. “After my wife died…I…I was in a very bad place, for a long time. It wouldn’t be fair if I blamed Paisley entirely for taking advantage of the situation––but that’s when it started.” His eyes darted back and forth from me to the road.
“Are you attracted to her?”
“No.”
“Then why her?” Another deep exhale told me he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the question…well, neither was I.
“She likes it rough, Vera. Very rough. What you saw in the library––that was nothing. Let’s just say I was happy to slake my anger out on her.” He searched my eyes for disapproval and found none. Who was I to judge him?
“Thank you for telling me.”
I noticed the almost imperceptible way his muscles relaxed at my words, the way his breathing changed. “Honesty cuts both ways,” he replied. I shrank away from his searching gaze.
* * *
We pulled up to an elegant, turn of the century building across the street from Lake Geneva. The Cologny district was the most exclusive in the city. I wasn’t even inside yet and I already felt as out of place as an atheist at a Christian summer camp. It was quiet, no Vespa’s speeding by, no honking of horns or traffic congesting the streets. We parked in an underground lot and took the elevator up to the penthouse. As the elevator doors shut, Sebastian pulled me into the shelter of his warm body and pressed me closer, until the stiffness was gone from my spine. I sighed as he cradled my face in his large hands and kissed me slowly. He was such a tactile man––I loved that about him. When he touched me, everything felt right.