A Dance with Indecency
Page 6
Elise sighed, setting down her coffee mug. She’d returned to Paris on the next ocean liner, swearing to leave her memories far behind. But six months after leaving, she still found herself wondering what had happened to Harry...and what might have been between them if she’d stayed. To be sure, he’d once again managed to break her hear that day—but remembering their last lingering touches, she’d known he’d truly regretted his actions. She knew in the depths of her heart that he hadn’t meant to hurt her—but it didn’t mean that she could stick around. The wound had been too fresh, and so she’d done the only thing she could: she’d escaped. Now, however, she wondered if she’d done the right thing. After all, they’d both had ulterior motives at some point, and they’d both been trying to play the other for a fool. But after having such a good time together, she was sure they had put the past behind them.
Oh, well...
She exhaled and tucked a stray lock of her black hair behind one ear.
“If you sigh one more time,” someone said in a deep baritone, “people will start to think you’re not happy here.”
Elise frowned. She knew that voice, and she knew it well. She spun around in her seat, her blue eyes searching. A familiar figure stood leaning over the wrought-iron fence, a wry smile on his face.
“Harry,” Elise breathed in disbelief.
“Good afternoon, Elise,” Harry said genially, touching his hat in greeting. “May I join you?”
“Please do,” Elise said with a genuine smile.
Harry circled the café’s fence and strode over to her table, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Elise stared as he pulled out a chair and sat, pulling off his hat and setting it on the table. The six months had not dulled his good looks; his hair still shone, his eyes were inviting and his features were handsomely chiseled. But there was something different about him.
“How have you been, Elise?”
“I’ve been well,” she answered. “And you?”
“I’m better now,” he said with a shrug.
“And what brings you to Paris?” she asked playfully. “Hoping to start a hotel chain here?”
“No,” he answered with a slow smile.
“Then what?”
“Well,” he said, “I’ve left the hotel business.”
“Why?” she asked incredulously.
“It wasn’t for me anymore,” he answered with a secretive smile. “Instead I’ve been traveling abroad—I need ideas if I’m to write a book.”
“Writing!” she exclaimed excitedly. “How marvelous.”
Harry nodded. He’d left behind his family fortune—his father had been less than pleased. But Harry felt the need to leave in order to finally put the past to rest and to reinvent himself.
“You don’t think it’s silly?” he asked hopefully. “To want to start fresh?”
“Not at all,” Elise answered, shaking her head. “Just take me for example. Sometimes starting over is the best thing you could choose to do.”
“That’s how I felt, too.”
“So,” Elise asked with an encouraging smile, “what inspired you to leave your old life behind for writing?”
“Have you heard of Fitzgerald? He just published a book about New York. Fantastic story—you should read it,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But anyway, it inspired me to start writing as well.”
“That’s wonderful, Harry,” Elise said, beaming. “I am so pleased for you.”
Harry drummed his fingers against the tabletop.
“But that’s not the real reason I’m in Paris,” he confessed, reaching over to cover her hand with his.
Elise felt her heart begin to race, a familiar flutter beginning in her stomach. She swallowed nervously.
“Then what is?” she asked, almost afraid to hope.
Harry smiled and then lifted her hand to his lips, gently pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
“You are,” he announced boldly.
“Oh, Harry,” she sighed, her eyes wistfully gazing at his sincere expression.
“Is that all you have to say?” Harry teased. “After I crossed an ocean to find you again?”
“How do you know I’ve even forgiven you yet?” she huffed. “You were a right blockhead, you know.”
“Oh, I know,” he admitted with a salacious grin. “But I know a few ways that I can make it up to you.”
He flipped her hand over and planted an openmouthed kiss on the underside of her wrist, his tongue darting out to lave her pulse point. A shiver of delight raced up her spine.
“Naughty,” she tutted, pulling her hand back with a wink.
“You’ve no idea how naughty I want to be with you,” Harry said. “And besides, I’m sure Paris has all sorts of outdoor locations, if you know what I mean.”
Warmth pooled between her thighs, her mind already racing. She barely heard the scrape of the chair as Harry pulled his seat around the table so he could sit right beside her. But she definitely felt his palm slide up her leg as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“And I know you like the outdoors, Elise.”
She grinned mischievously. His lusty gaze was full of seductive promise. They couldn’t undo the wrongs of the past, but they could press forward into the future—and who knew what pleasurable diversions they might uncover together?
“Indeed I do,” she said, her eyes dark with desire. “And I think we should start exploring, don’t you?”
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781460314296
Copyright © 2013 by Linda Skye
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Linda Skye, A Dance with Indecency