Dangerous Stranger - Piper Stone Page 0,71
to my lips, licking the rim. He’d spent the better part of four hours handling business, only allowing me to venture outside an hour before. I’d remained in the same position the entire time, trying to escape into the rippling waves.
He slowly turned his head toward me, a skeptical look on his face.
“I am serious. Very bold and graphic paintings of BDSM-style art. You’d have to meet my aunt to understand the kind of woman she is. Bodacious is what most people would call her.”
“Very... unique. You mentioned you sold a painting?”
“I’ve sold two. Granted, they sell for thousands of dollars, so I was thrilled. That’s why I was going to the bank. The last painting was forty thousand dollars and the man insisted on paying cash, which is crazy. Poor guy. I wonder whether the girl who works in the galleria sent him his prized possession. At least I left his address on the desk.” I laughed at myself. As if that mattered in the least given what might happen to me.
“Art is in the eye of the beholder, my lovely Savannah.”
“Yes, and there are many forms of art, like the subtle strains of Spanish guitar.”
He smiled, much like I’d seen the first night we were together. “My mother’s fault. She wanted her sons to be cultured, well educated, while my father wanted us to join the military prior to coming to work for him.”
“Your mother’s influence is special,” I said quietly, turning my attention back to the ocean as I curled my legs under me. “Would you like some wine? I have a second glass.”
“It sounds like you were hoping that I’d join you.” He walked toward the small table, accepting the gesture and pouring a glass for himself.
“This is your house. Your rules.”
While he did sit down, the tension remained swelling within him. He’d placed his weapon in the small of his back, no doubt loaded with fresh ammunition clips in case anyone found us, including the police.
“Do you ever have a chance to relax?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
He pushed the glass from hand to hand, his gaze transfixed on the water. “Sometimes, but it’s always in the back of my mind: ways to leave the situation or make certain I have protection with me.”
“That’s a horrible way to live.”
“It’s the only way I’ve known my entire life. I don’t second guess my family or the rules my brothers and I had to live by. I live a good life in comparison to so many. How could I complain?”
“Because you’ll always have a target over your head.”
He smiled again, dropping and shaking his head. “That is true. More so now than ever.” He took a sip of the wine, closing his eyes and savoring as if it was the last taste he’d ever have.
We remained quiet, only the sound of the waves slicing against the shoreline.
“Can I ask you a question?” His tone was so tender, almost loving.
“Okay.” I bit my lip in anticipation.
“What did you do in the United States? You certainly know your way around weapons and criminal activity and I honestly doubt it’s all about your stepfather.”
I smiled, rolling my eyes. “Nothing so glamorous as an assassin, doctor, or lawyer if that’s what you’re thinking.” When he kept his eyes locked onto mine, I shivered, the same heated electricity searing every nerve ending. “Please don’t laugh.”
“I would never laugh at you.”
“I was a teacher. An elementary schoolteacher. Nothing glitzy and certainly nothing spectacular.”
He reached over, taking my hand into his. As he brought it to his lips, another shudder carved through my very muscle and bone. “That is amazing. Being a teacher is probably the most amazing and honorable profession there is. I respect that more than you know.”
Floored, I swallowed the same lump of trepidation I’d felt so many times. “It’s all I ever wanted to do. Coming here was... far too impetuous. I just wanted something different, if only for a little while.”
“Just amazing,” he said under his breath. “My mother was a teacher before she met my father.”
“Really?”
“I believe this is what they call a small world.”
“Is that why she wanted you to learn music and have an amazing education?”
His eyes twinkled as he rubbed his lips across my knuckles. Every move he made excited me. Every time he touched me, my pussy quivered and my nipples hardened. And every time he looked into my eyes, I swooned like some schoolgirl with a crush. Today was