“It’s okay, you can take them out and look at them.”
There were hundreds of books and her chest rose visibly when she said. “Were these all excavated?”
“No, they came with the house and have been an excellent source of information.”
Again, she licked her lips and it made me smile. Her expression was similar to mine when I had a large, well-cooked steak on my plate.
She was hungry! Hungry to explore my estate and all the history that it contained.
“You like it?” I asked.
“I love it! It’s like time traveling. This should be a museum for the rest of the world to see. It’s so rare to see something this old and beautiful.”
“I know. It takes a lot of money to maintain old properties like this one. That’s why no one does it.”
Her hand was running over a curved doorframe with delicate carvings in it. “Such craftsmanship,” she muttered and walked inside the room.
“What is that?” She stiffened.
“The kitchen,” I said and followed her eyes to the glass wall behind which meat hung on large hooks to age. “Oh, you mean the hanging,” I continued. “It’s just a culinary process to improve the flavor.”
“Those are dead animals,” she said in a brittle voice.
“That’s right. There’s deer, cow, and wild boar. I shot them myself.”
Her eyes closed, she turned away, and it took her a while to gather herself, but to her credit she didn’t address it further.
“Why is this kitchen so modern?”
“Because I like modern kitchens.”
She shot me a curious look.
“Christina,” I said and waited for her to meet my eyes. “You know it’s my house, right?”
“But you said…” She tilted her head.
“That the owner was handsome, wise, and sexy,” I finished. “That should have given you a clue.” I laughed.
“Hmm.” She shrugged and continued the tour, but I quickly caught up to her in the dining room and stopped her with my hands on her hips, turning her around to face me.
“What’s ‘hmm’ supposed to mean?” I demanded.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Insecurity was a new thing to me, but then everything about her was new to me. “Are you saying you don’t find me handsome, wise, or sexy?”
She leaned her head back looking up at me. “I’m used to pretty men. You’re not exactly that.”
“Pretty?” I spit out the word. “I would be offended if you called me pretty.”
Her eyebrows were raised. “Okay, well, in that case it’s a good thing that I don’t find you pretty.”
My jaws tightened and I walked her back to the dining table, pressing myself against her. “Just answer me this: do you find me attractive?”
She swallowed hard and leaned back to get some distance between us.
With my index finger, I lifted her chin and made her look at me. “Last night, Christina, when we had sex – did you find me attractive.”
