“I don’t have the patience tonight to deal with your defensive posturing. So, change the attitude or leave. It is entirely your choice. The door is just behind you.”
“No, I am not leaving. Let us deal with this issue of caring.”
“Let’s not.”
He smiled broadly. “Are you going to invite me upstairs, Edwina?”
“No, Klaus. I don’t think it’s wise at the moment.”
“Suppose I promise you that when I leave you will still be a virgin?”
“Haven’t we already discussed hypothetical questions?” she asked quietly.
“Invite me upstairs, Edwina. I’ll behave.”
“Well or badly?”
He smiled at her. “However you want me to. Tell me that you don’t want me and I’ll leave.”
She looked at him for a long time without saying anything. “You know that I can’t honestly do that. I won’t lie to you.”
He smiled. “I want to make love with you, tonight.”
“No, Klaus, goodnight. Please leave now, before I do something I ought to regret, but probably won’t.”
Instead of leaving, he took her into his arms. Then he picked her up and carried her towards the stairs. “Nothing more than you allow will happen tonight between us. But we both need something more than a simple goodnight kiss.”
He took the stairs with ease two at a time.
“You’re not even breaking a sweat.”
“You don’t weigh anything.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I could carry you around all day.”
“Obviously.”
When he got upstairs with her still cradled in his arms, he walked across her living area and over to the window seat. He sat down bringing her into his lap. He continued to hold her firmly within his arms.
“This is silly,” she told him. His arousal was obvious. It was all she could do not to reach down to stroke him. But the civilized part of her knew that would be wrong, since it would be starting something she didn’t know if she could afford to finish.
“It is silly indeed. I’d far rather be in bed with you than cuddled together on this window seat.”
“That’s moving too fast for me,” she told him reluctantly.
“Tell me that you wouldn’t rather be here in my arms than here alone?”
“I’m never alone.”
“There is someone with here you?” he demanded, his voice harsh.
“My cats.”
“Cats,” he replied in an echo. “How many cats do you have, Edwina?” he asked indulgently.
“Just the two. Heather and Phlox. They normally sleep in my bed.”
“Lucky cats!”
“Not really. I snore.”
“Do you? How do you know?”
“My cousins and dorm-mates have told me so.”
He laughed in real amusement. “Only you would name your cats for flora,” he said changing the subject.
“They are as good of names as any.”
“Edwina, you would perhaps rather have only your cats for company? Is that what you are trying to tell me?”
“I don’t lie, Klaus,” she replied softly. “Well, not usually,” she added wryly.
“Not even a ‘white’ lie, Edwina?”
“Honesty doesn’t have to be brutal. But, the truth should never be avoided.”
“What is the truth between us, my sweet?”
“I care about you. Probably more than I should given how short of a time we have known one another. That’s all I’m willing to admit at the moment.”
“It’s a start, my darling,” he said. “That makes me quite happy to hear. When will you marry me?”
“Don’t push me, Klaus.”
“You are frightened.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you should be,” he offered lowly.
“Maybe. You are a powerful man, physically and economically. But I believe that you have learned to be careful as well,” she agreed. “I don’t believe that you would ever purposefully harm anyone smaller and weaker than yourself.”
He smiled at her. “You are beginning to know me and to trust me.”
“Perhaps I am, at that.”
“I won’t promise not to rush you, Edwina. I want you desperately.”
“Thanks for the warning,” she teased. “I had figured that out. The ridge of your erection poking me in the hip tells me that.”
“Does it? Good.”
“Why is it good?”
“I have recognized the inevitability of our being together, my dear. I try not to delay the inevitable.”
“But, then, if something is inevitable, why rush it? Why not simply enjoy the journey? Of all the things that are truly inevitable, death heads the list. I plan on doing everything in my power to delay that particular inevitability.”
“You are in no hurry to meet St. Peter,” he offered quietly.
“I’d like to put that particular meeting off as long as humanly possible.”
He sighed. “There would be costs to being immortal. Costs that might be difficult to pay.”
“No one wants to die.”
“And no one really wants to live forever. People—like flowers—are meant to bloom only for a time, some longer than others, but a limited time for everyone.”
“I still plan on putting off meeting St. Peter for as long as possible.”
“As long as you do not plan on putting me off as long as possible.”
“No. I believe that you fall into an entirely different category.”
He laughed. “Good.” Then he began to pluck the pins from her hair. “Have I told you how much I’ve fantasized about seeing you naked with this hair streaming down over your bare breasts.”
She felt the heat rise to her face again and knew that she was blushing boldly.
“Come and dance with me,” she said quietly as her hair flowed down. She rose to her feet. Dancing had to be less risky than sitting in the window seat with him.
“There is no music.”
She picked up a remote and pressed one button. Guitar music filled the air. It was music meant for romance. “Now there is music.”
He smiled and stood. He took her into his arms and began dancing slowly with her. “I don’t recognize the piece or the artist.”
“No reason you should recognize the recording. I’ve never shared it with anyone. It’s just too evocative. I play it sometimes for myself.”
“And what do you do to that music all by yourself?”
“Dream.”
“Dream of what?”
“A man who will love me for who am I, and in spite of who I am will still love me,” Edwina replied quietly.
Klaus kissed her forehead. “There is no need to dream. I am here.”
“I can see that.”
“I’m honored to hear your music.”
She smiled at him. “That was the idea.” Then she took his face in her hands and kissed him gently. Or at least, she intended the kiss to be gentle. But there was just too much need on both their parts for the kiss to remain soft for long.
He returned the kiss with equal hunger as he unfastened the row of tiny pearl buttons on the back of her blouse.
She pulled away from him as she felt the touch of his hand on the bare skin of her back above her camisole. “No,” she said with a smile as she removed her blouse. “Last night, you gave me pleasure, tonight is for you. I don’t exactly know what I’m doing, Klaus. But you’ll find I’m a quick study. And we have time tonight to play a bit.”
“Play?”
“Any objections?”
“How can I when I set the conditions of your remaining a virgin?” he asked dryly.
She smiled at him. “You can’t.”
“I’m all yours.”
“Are you? Good. If you are all mine, then it’s up to me what I do with you, isn’t it?” she asked as she pushed the suit coat away from his shoulders. She ran her hands down his arms until the coat hi
t the floor.
“Yes. What do you have in mind?”
“Ah, that would be telling. Just relax and enjoy the ride, Klaus. Just don’t touch me unless I ask you to. I’m not exactly in control.”
“One can have too tight of a control on oneself.”
“Or too little.” Then she removed his tie clasp. She looked at it. “That’s a nice diamond,” she said quietly.
“It’s yours if you want it. I could easily have it reset into an engagement ring for you.”
“Diamonds are beautiful, but I’m not partial to them,” she said as she placed it in the pocket of his pants.
“What kind of stone do you like?”
“I’ve always liked sapphires and emeralds.”
“There are some good sapphires and emeralds among the family jewels.”
Edwina laughed as her hand lingered in his pants pocket. “Oh, Klaus. In American slang, the ‘family jewels’ refer to something completely different.”
“What?”
“This,” she said quietly as she moved her hand to gently cup his testicles through the double fabric of the pocket and his boxers. “These are the family jewels, Klaus. No woman in her right mind would want to lose them.”
“How in the world did you remain a virgin this long with your being this bold?” he asked hoarsely.
“I’m only bold with you,” she told him, releasing him.
“That’s good, because I’d murder any man with whom I discovered you in an intimate embrace. And then I’d take you to bed and keep you there until you couldn’t think of loving anyone but me.”
She smiled at him as she untied the Windsor knot in which he had tied the silk of his tie. “There’s no danger of that situation arising. I’m the faithful type.”
“You are the type to drive a man to distraction.”
Edwina smiled again. “Good. Then you know how I feel around you.” Then she added as she began to unfasten the gold studs on his shirt. “I rather like these shirts of yours.”
“Why?”
“It’s like unwrapping a gift one has waited for all of one’s life. It should be done slowly, deliberately, and with full enjoyment. When the wrappings are so pretty, it would be a shame to rush through them,” she said just before she slid her hand between the fine linen of his shirt and the furry pelt of his chest.
Klaus made an inarticulate groan of pleasure as her fingers retreated quickly and resumed unfastening the studs on his shirt. “Woman!”
“Klaus?”
“You’re driving me mad.”
“I have barely begun.”
“You are wicked,” he said with affection in his voice.
“Am I?” she asked as she unfastened the last of his shirt studs she could see and pulled the shirt from the inside of his trousers.
“Completely.”
“Then I’m succeeding,” she answered as she finished the studs and began working on his cuff links. “It’s rather amusing to be wicked.”
“You know that turn about is fair play,” he offered quietly.
“That, Klaus, is the point of this particular exercise.” She peeled off his shirt and let the linen garment hit the floor with his suit coat.
The only sexier sight she had ever seen had been his completely naked body, but that had been only in her dreams.
“Michelangelo could have sculpted you,” she said quietly, almost reverently as she touched his chest. “You have a beautiful form, Klaus.”
Edwina dropped a kiss at the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
“I’m glad that you think so,” he said hoarsely.
She looked at him and smiled as she stroked his face. “No false modesty, Klaus. You are all too aware of how attractive you are and of how deeply women ache to touch you.”
“Do you ache to touch me?”
“Only when I’m not touching you. When I’m touching you, there is a decidedly different sort of ache.”
“I can ease that ache,” he offered as he cupped her breasts through the cotton of her camisole. His thumbs lightly rubbed her hard nipples.
She drew a deep breath then she smiled at him. “Did I ask you to touch me?”
“No.”
“Then hands off.”
“Yes, m’am,” he said as he dropped his hands to his sides.
Edwina giggled as she dropped to her knees and began to loosen his shoes. One foot at a time, she removed his shoes and socks. “Klaus, what am I to do with you?”
“I could make some pertinent suggestions,” he offered as she rose to her feet once more.
She giggled again as she unfastened her skirt’s waistband and let the garment drop to the floor. She stepped out of the circle of fabric. “I’ll just bet you could,” she said as she stood before him in her white cotton floor length slip and camisole.
“You are so beautiful, Edwina Elizabeth.”
She shook her head in denial. “I’m glad you think so. Now, come with me.”
He followed her into her bathroom, leaving the door open behind him. As bathrooms went, this one was more than merely functional, and less than truly sybaritic. There was a separate garden tub and a shower. There were green plants all around the room, green plants and some of the most beautiful rare orchids that he had ever seen. The delicate scent of the orchids was enticing. There were also two cats—both seal point Siamese—curled up on the marble ledge of the tub. The cats opened their eyes and stretched before standing and jumping down from the ledge. The cats meyouwed and left the room.
She started the water running in the tub. The water pressure was strong and the tub was beginning to fill quite quickly. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Stay here. Shut the tap off when the water is about a half of an inch over the jets, any more than that and it will overflow when we both get in.”
Klaus looked at her departing back and smiled. What was she up to? The idea of having her in his arms naked with the water massaging them without possessing her was almost more than he could bear. This woman was a temptress, or at least a temptress in training. He could hardly wait until she became surer of herself.
It was a pretty room. It suited her. She had pillar candles set all around the room. Those candles had obviously been burned before. He could imagine her in this room, the lights off, the candles burning providing soft light, and her naked form in the tub soaking away the tension of the day.
When she returned to the bathroom, she was wearing a green tankini-style swimsuit and had piled her hair on the top of her head in a loose knot. In her hand was a man’s extremely brief swimsuit with a well-known brand emblem printed on the right front. It took little imagination to know that suit was new as the price tag was still attached. In her other arm, she was carrying a silver wine cooler with a bottle in it. Two tulip glasses were in her hand.
She looked at the tub. It was just about full enough. She put down the glasses and the wine on the ledge around the tub. Then, she snapped off the plastic string holding the price tag onto the swimsuit. “I’d bought this for a cousin as a joke going-away present. He’s spending a year in Antarctica at a research station. But at the last moment, I decided not to give it to him. He would have found some way of sending me a photo with him wearing it outdoors in a snow drift, even if he had to manipulate a couple of digital photos to do that. I would have never lived it down.” She realized that she was rambling. “The suit should fit you.”
Then she turned off the flow of water into the tub and turned on the jets.
Klaus smiled at her. “You are full of surprises.”
“Am I?” she dismissed as she stepped around him and began to light the candles around the room. “Do you like candles?”
Klaus followed her around the room. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to be this nervous.”
She looked up into the mirror and spoke to his reflection. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked him. “It’s a very nice bottle of white wine.”
“Edwina, do you want me to lea
ve?” he asked hesitantly.
She bit her lower lip. “No. Come and sit in the tub and relax with me. I’ve had fantasies about relaxing in that tub with you.” She didn’t tell him that she had those particular fantasies since before she had seen the tub at the plumbing supply house. And that she had redrawn all of the plans for the rooms in this apartment to accommodate the tub. It was a luxury item and had taken quite a chunk of money she could have put to better use. Yet, tonight, she believed it to be worth every cent she had spent.
“Face me, Liebling,” he said gently.
She turned to face him.
“You are trembling.”
There was no sense in denying it. “Yes.”
He murmured a string of endearments in rapid German as she came into his arms.
“I have to be insane,” she said quietly. “I can’t think of anything that I want more than to be with you and I’m putting obstacles in our way.”
“There is no hurry. Time is not of the essence in this relationship.”
“I was planning on taking off your pants and pulling on those tight little trunks that leave so little to the imagination.”
Klaus laughed. “Like that swimsuit of yours?”
“Something like that.”
“The water will cool.”
“There’s an in-line heater. It will stay hot for a long time.”
“Good. Like I said earlier, I’m all yours. Do as you wish.”
Her fingers closed around his belt buckle. “I’m a coward, Klaus.”
“Hardly.”
She smiled at him as she unfastened his belt, then the zipper and hook on his trousers. The garment puddled on the floor at his feet, leaving him standing there with only his boxers on.
Edwina’s mouth went dry. Gathering her courage, she pushed that remnant of his clothing from him as well. Smiling, he stepped backwards out of the clothing that lay at his feet.
“Edwina?” he asked carefully.
“I stand by my earlier assessment. It is a shame we cannot transport Michelangelo through time to sculpt you in marble, life sized. You are a beautiful man.”
Klaus stepped over his clothes and came to her. “Marble is terribly cold to the touch.”
“And you are anything except cold.”
He smiled at her. “Now that you’ve gotten me out of my clothes, what are you going to do with me?”
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