The Emperor: Secrets Bared (7 page)

She frowned. “Uh-uh, no way.” Besides, Lori knew she was terribly shy. The idea of stripping with the lights illuminating her imperfect body was not the same as making love in the softly lit bedroom the way they had the previous night.

“I’m turned-on right now too, but I’m not as open about my sexuality as you.” Heck, if she took off the one thing preserving her modesty, she’d fall into his arms and do anything he asked. Lori knew he’d ask for plenty too.

“Yes, I would,” he confirmed. “I want everything from you, and soon you’ll not feel a need for such ludicrous modesty.” Her back stiffened in annoyance at having once again been caught thinking of him.

“Stop it, Gideon. I mean it.”

“Fine,” he conceded. “If it makes you feel more at ease around me, I promise to stay out of your head…for now.”

He could easily lie to her; tell her he wasn’t slipping into her mind even while he did 35

as he pleased. If she knew nothing else of him, she did instinctively feel he was a man of his word. If Gideon said he would block her thoughts, then she believed him.

Her lips quirked up despite her worries. “You just couldn’t resist adding that last part could you?”

He smiled broadly and left the couch. “I do know my own limitations.” He held out his hand and said, “Let’s get this sketch out of the way. Then we can concentrate on more exciting things.”

His smile was contagious and Lori relaxed. She wouldn’t have to shield her mind from him. She had free rein to think all the naughty things about his sexy body she wanted. He’d be none the wiser.

She grinned shamelessly and took his hand. “Ready when you are.”

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Gideon perched her atop the hard wooden stool and instead of posing her, he’d insisted she sit whichever way was most comfortable. With her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, she seemed as relaxed as she was going to get.

“Turn to the side a little and give me your profile.”

She moved to the right. “Is this better?”

“Perfect,” he said then arranged her hair until part of it spilled down her back. She took his breath away. “I know it’s difficult, but try not to fidget too much.”

“How long will it take?”

He went behind his easel and started arranging things. “Not long.”

“Why did you want my profile?”

“It allows me to see your curves better.”

She shrugged. “You’re the artist with all the millions.”

He laughed. “And you’re my sexy model with the legs that could stop traffic.”

She didn’t respond, but the pleasure in her eyes was enough. She liked his compliments.

A few minutes passed and she said, “It seems as if I’ve been sitting here for hours.

My knees are getting stiff. How much longer?”

Gideon tsked. “You’ve only been sitting for fifteen minutes, love. Have some patience.”

For some reason, the use of the endearment seemed appropriate. He’d never called a woman that before. It was too intimate. Somehow it fit Lori.

Long minutes passed and Gideon was having a difficult time keeping his mind on the task. Her curves and shadows fascinated him, and she was an easy woman to sketch.

To recreate such beauty with his own two hands was pure delight. But his thoughts kept straying into sexual territory.

It was obvious Lori didn’t think she had sex appeal, but she was way wrong. She could make a monk sit up and take notice. With a body like hers men probably went weak in the knees all the time, she just wasn’t aware of it. Her sexy cat eyes and full round breasts made his mouth water. He wasn’t even going to think about her legs.

Christ, they seemed to go on for miles. Legs that led up to a delicious ass.

He needed to get his mind off sex. There’d be time later for all he had in mind. As his gaze locked on hers, he realized she’d been looking him over. He was tempted to slip inside her head, but he refrained. He wasn’t used to holding himself in check, and he realized he’d become spoiled with his ability to read her so easily.

“You’re very focused. The room could be set ablaze and you wouldn’t notice.”

If she only knew how easily she’d distracted him. “You’re easy to sketch, and you’re being very patient. That helps my concentration a lot.”

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“Thank you.”

Her shy response to a simple compliment made him angry. Hadn’t anyone ever praised this woman? Her ex-fiancé was a fool. She deserved so much better.

Watching her now, fairly quivering with excitement, Gideon knew he’d enjoy spending days pampering her. He ached to show her what a treasure she was. As her eyes slid over his upper body, the only part of him visible, he had to wonder if she was getting as worked up as he. Were her breasts tingling at the idea of his hands paying avid attention to them instead of the sketch? Was she thinking of his fingers plying her nipples instead of a pencil? God, he badly wanted to drop the pencil.

When Lori licked her lips and fidgeted on the stool, he knew she was on edge. Hell, a man didn’t have to read a woman’s mind to know if she was ready and aching. When it came down to it, if it weren’t for the easel hiding the lower half of his own body, she’d know just how eager he was as well. Looking at her was a delight, but it was pure hell not being able to touch.

Time to take his mind off what lay just beyond his reach.

“So, tell me more about yourself, Lori. What do you do for a living?” Surely talking about her job was safe territory.

“I’m a teacher at Sunbury North.” Lori smiled. “My students would never believe what I’m doing right now. They all see me as mundanely settled and far too serious. Ha!

Wouldn’t they be surprised?”

“Will you tell them?”

She shook her head. “I don’t usually share too much about my private life with them.”

“I never imagined you a school teacher.” He thought of Mrs. Frasier again and laughed. “I went to Sunbury East, and I don’t ever remember having a teacher that looked as delectable as you. Clearly, I went to the wrong Sunbury.”

She laughed. “I don’t think any of my students have ever called me delectable.”

He stroked the graphite pencil over the canvas and said, “I would’ve.”

“I think flirting with your teacher could get you a detention.”

“It’d be worth it.”

“Wait, I thought you said your mother tutored you.”

“She did for awhile. By the time I was old enough to attend high school I’d learned how to put up mental shields.”

“I see.”

“So what do you teach?” Health class was his first thought. Oh yeah, he could easily see Lori with her come-hither eyes and voluptuous figure teaching a bunch of horny teenage boys all about the birds and the bees.

“High school accelerated English. Specifically reading and literature.”

The excitement in her voice was easy enough to catch. “You obviously love what you do. I bet you’re a terrific teacher. Teachers like you are rare. I hope your students appreciate you.”

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She shrugged. “If I’ve made a difference to even one student, then it’s worth it.”

Gideon had been so preoccupied with getting her into bed, he hadn’t considered her choice of professions. Her life outside of his home hadn’t seemed important. Until now.

He wanted to know everything about her.

“What’s the best part of teaching?”

Lori fairly lit up with enthusiasm. “Seeing them get keyed up when they learn something new is the best part of being a teacher. I knew when I was very little I’d be a teacher. There was never any doubt.”

What would it be like to know exactly what you want out of life and then go for it with gusto? He’d always been unsettled. Never quite feeling complete. Sure, his art was his passion, much like teaching was for Lori, but it didn’t fill him. No, there was still a part of him left wanting.

He stared—for a moment taking his mind off his work and onto the woman—and the warmth on Lori’s face captivated him. A surge of pride welled up as he realized she was growing more and more comfortable around him. Gideon wanted her to let go completely. And he wanted to be the only man to witness it.

He stiffened his spine, shaking off the effect she had on him, and got back to the nearly completed sketch. The sooner he finished, the quicker he could get onto seducing the refreshingly guileless Lori Fontaine.

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m actually starting to relax even though I’m sitting here almost-nude.”

“We’ve been intimate, sweetheart. There’s no reason to feel uncomfortable.”

“Aren’t other women shy about posing?”

“Some. Others are more confident.”

“I’ve never been comfortable under the spotlight.”

“I understand, but I don’t want you feeling awkward. Not with me. Okay?”

She nodded and he went back to the task.

“Have you been…reading my mind?”

It was so out of left field it took a second for her words to sink in. Didn’t she trust him to keep his word? “I made a promise, and I don’t break my promises.”

She blushed. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine. I admit it’s not been easy, but I want you to trust me. Besides getting inside your head right now would only distract me.”

“Right, got it. So, um, is this the way you normally go about creating your beautiful sculptures? I’m desperate to learn all I can of the process that brings about such wonderful artwork.”

He’d always taken pride in his work, but he’d never blushed over someone’s praise.

Lori’s admiration felt different; it was special.

Gideon shook his head. “Actually no. Normally, a customer will commission a specific piece from me.” Gideon saw the intense interest in Lori’s expression, and he smiled to himself. She was such a curious little thing. It was a desirable quality. She was 39

so open and honest. He’d come across so many deceitful people, and it was refreshing to sit and talk with someone who merely spoke her mind.

Gideon kept sketching as he continued to explain the process. “I meet with them and discuss details. I need to know exactly what it is they desire and where the piece would be displayed.”

One final stroke with a graphite drawing pencil and Gideon’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest at the image he’d created.

“For instance, if the piece is for an intimate setting, such as a home, then the sculpture would be smaller in size, but if it’s intended for a business, then it would be larger.”

Gideon placed his pencil in a cup on a table next to the easel and stood back. He stared at his handiwork as he mechanically explained the final stage of the process.

“After some basics are established, I give them a ballpark quote. Then a sketch soon follows. Of course, the party requesting an Adrian Original will need to understand the sketch is not a blueprint, but more a rough draft. If they like what I’ve drawn up, they give me a deposit and I start on the clay.”

“Wow,” Lori said, with a certain amount of awe in her voice. “I had no idea so much was involved. Then her face took on a look of horror, and Lori seemed to panic. “Oh no, Gideon, I can’t afford to buy a sculpture from you! Not that I wouldn’t love to, of course,” she quickly clarified, “it’s just that I’m a teacher, and teachers do not make that kind of money.” She bit her lip in worry. “I think somehow I’ve managed to give you the wrong impression.”

“It’s done,” Gideon said, as a confident smile slowly emerged.

“It’s done? Really?”

It was obvious her curiosity at what she looked like in curving lines of black and grey caused her to momentarily forget what they’d been discussing. Gideon treasured the excited interest in her tone.

“Would you like to see for yourself?”

Her eyes widened. “Could I?”

Gideon held out his hand and murmured, “Come here.”

***

His hand, his deep voice, they were tempting enticements, and Lori knew she was helpless to them both. His heavy brows had bunched together while he’d worked. His confident fingers constantly, moving the pencil in slow steady strokes. Lori had been going crazy wondering what she would look like when he was through. Now, she wasn’t really sure she wanted to see the way he viewed her. Still, she was curious. Would she be disappointed?

Lori stepped off the stool, stretched out her stiff legs and spine, then closed the distance between them. She became aware of the growing anticipation and tension 40

filling her. Some of it due to seeing her picture, but most of it was because Gideon’s gaze devoured her as each step brought her closer to him.

The minute Lori reached him; he grasped her hand in an unyielding hold as if he were afraid she would slip through his fingers. If she was capable of forming words, she would’ve told him she wasn’t about to go anywhere. The hard roughness of his touch had her nearly purring. She was putty.

He pulled her directly in front of him. The entire length of his body pressed against her back. She trembled and closed her eyes. The picture was forgotten.

“Look at yourself. Open those pretty eyes and see what I see.”

Gideon’s deeply whispered words effectively drew her out of the web of desire he’d wound around her. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring at a stunningly beautiful woman. Lori was struck speechless by the alluring shadows and lines on the canvas.

“That can’t be me.”

“Don’t be nervous, sweetheart. You are so unaware of your own appeal. How could you not know how sweet and sexy you are? I draw what I see, Lori. Nothing more, nothing less.”