Page 61 of Pleasure Payback
On the menu tonight:
Beethoven’sSilence
A solo fromLa Bohème
Vivaldi’sFour Seasons
A surprise
Most importantly...you
‘You did all this because I called your choice in opera stuffy?’ I murmured, attempting to divert my focus from that last item.
His bright smile lit up the semi-darkness. ‘Haven’t you noticed that I relish proving you wrong? By the time we’re done, I guarantee you’ll change your mind about me, Neve.’ The words were easy and offhand but his gaze was solemn. Weighted.
He clinked his glass against mine and I watched him take a sip. His gaze locked on mine as he swallowed and I felt intensely moved by that simple but profound action.
The music started up.
Within minutes I was lost. Converted. Reborn.
I glanced at Damian and saw he was equally enthralled. He turned his head and our gazes met. Something shifted in his eyes and he reached out and caught my fingers in his.
The link was tenuous, easily broken. And yet it snagged and locked onto something deep inside me.
I’d never stopped to appreciate classical music. But seeing its effect on Damian, hearing it for myself, I was thrilled and humbled by how it moved him. Movedme.
So much so I did the unthinkable and disregarded the insult to my dress as I left my chair, stood in front of him for one long minute before I slid into his lap.
Surprise lit his eyes but he didn’t say a word. Probably because neither of us wanted to ruin the exquisite music with speech. When I rested my hand on his chest he immediately covered it with his.
We stayed like that, eyes on each other as the music transported us. Every now and then, he raised his champagne glass to my lips, then took a sip himself, his fierce brooding eyes fixed on me, searching, reading my every expression.
I raised one gloved hand and traced my fingers over his cheek, jaw. His sensual mouth. His eyes dropped to half mast but remained locked on me. Parting his jacket, I trailed my hands down his chest, over his hard six-pack to his waist, then laid my head on his shoulder.
Damian exhaled, thick and heavy, then discarded his glass to curl his hand over my hip.
Warmth I shouldn’t have craved suffused me and when he brushed a kiss against my temple, I shut my eyes against the wave of emotion racing towards the heart I knew was under serious siege.
‘I understand now,’ I murmured.
He nudged my chin up until our gazes met. ‘Understand what?’ he asked, his deep voice a little gruff.
‘Why this music moves you.’
Something shifted in his eyes, again probing, searing. ‘I thought I did too. But I’m learning there are many more ways to be moved.’
A tremor shook my body...one he couldn’t have missed considering our proximity. I wanted to ask. Wanted to delve beneath his surface and pry the meaning I wanted from him. Fear made me silent. The corners of his mouth curved in a serious little smile, as if he understood, before he brushed his knuckles over my cheek.
‘Neve.’ My name was a solemn whisper on his lips.
I threw my arms around his neck, felt his groan resonate inside me as I offered my lips.
He took them, scooping me up in his arms and standing to stride to the back of the room.
The shrouded object turned out to be a large divan, draped in heavy silk. A tug revealed an opening.
Damian stepped through and laid me on the bed. Shrugging off his jacket, he lay down next to me. My breathing turned choppy as he stared at me with a fierce intensity for a long spell.
