was more than half the reward, wasn"t it? Women, after the first encounter, turned predictable and mundane, he found. He planned on spreading this feeling of anticipation out for the whole night, enjoying the feeling of conquer and control.
Electra shied away from him ever knowing about her circumstances. She wanted to be normal and telling him she was the ward of a king would not be a normal issue. “No, don"t worry about this. It"s nothing I can"t handle,” she said and moved away from him to lift a soft, white flower to her nose. “This smells wonderful. What is it?” she asked.
He allowed the subject change, simply because her movements pulled her dress tighter across her derriere and allowed him a better view of a very nice part of her anatomy. “Gardenia?” he suggested, unsure of the flora and fauna of this region. “I have no idea,” he said softly, his eyes not even looking at the flower but more on the expression of joy on her lovely face.
Electra laughed softly and shook her head, unaware of the impact her laughter had on her companion. She didn"t glance back or she"d have caught the expression of intensity on his face. She might have run from the penthouse. But then again, she might have slipped the zipper down on her dress and enticed him to finish what he"d started at the doorway. Her body was so tense, so primed for more of his touch, his kisses, that she felt like a bow that was being pulled tighter and tighter.
“No, this isn"t a usual gardenia. I"ve seen them in other places and would recognize them. This is something special,” she said and moved toward the next flower, trying to distract herself from the man standing behind her. She had to do something with her hands besides reach up and loosen his tie. Good grief, she was considering all the different ways she could cut the man"s suit off of him. She had to get a grip on herself. “This is a pretty rose,” she said, her fingers caressing the petals gently, unknowingly sensuous as her fingers trailed down to the ends of the delicate flower.
“You like to garden?” he asked, following her as she moved from one plant to the next, his eyes watching her hands hungrily. Each time she touched another plant or flower, he thought of how he would make her do the same to him, to specific parts of his anatomy.
Her fingers were long, slender and delicate and for the first time since he"d been initiated into the world of sexuality, he had to grit his teeth as the desire stormed through his body, almost uncontrollable in its intensity.
Electra grimaced and moved on to the next lovely, delicate bloom. “No. I"m not very good at keeping things alive,” she said, her laughing gaze turning back to his as she spoke softly. “I prefer strolling through the botanical gardens or nurseries, pretending I have a green thumb.”
“Why the interest in plants?” he asked.
She turned and smiled brightly at him. “Just because I can"t grow them, doesn"t mean I don"t appreciate their beauty and scent. The complexity of the flowers never ceases to amaze me,” she said and turned back to walk further along the pathway. “I mean, have you ever really looked at a plant? The perfect shape of the petals that are designed to encourage and entice bees and other bugs to rest and take their nectar. Each bloom has a particular insect that it is trying to entice and all parts of the flower are specifically created for only that insect. It"s amazing,” she said, unknowingly enticing him further with her talk of the sexuality of the botanical world.
“What can I get you to drink?” he asked abruptly, walking ahead of her toward an open area that contained a table laid with white linen and candles along with a bar to one side.
Electra followed, a little surprised and hurt by his angry tone but tried to breeze through the moment. Perhaps he just wasn"t interested in flowers and she was boring him with her silly talk. Biting her lip in confusion, she leaned against the bar and looked around at the various bottles available. Unfortunately, she didn"t drink very often so she had no idea what sophisticated women would request.“I"ll have whatever you"re having,” she replied, hoping whatever he drank wouldn"t taste too awful.
Standing behind the bar, he thought he had his libido more under control. At