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“Wicked,” I say in all sincerity and his eyes deepen, his gaze flowing down my body like he’s undressing me with his eyes. “You make me feel wicked.”
Reaching my fingers out, I clasp his cigar and drag a smoke but immediately start coughing like a twelve year old and put it down. He doesn’t say anything, just gives me his hand and I hesitate before I take it. I don’t object when he pulls me to him and as if knowing exactly what I need, he starts kissing me innocently, his lips moving like whispers on my skin and it causes a humming on my body like the kind honeybees make on wild zinnia’s.
I let out low moans as heat coats my heart, the precursor to a fire that I know will burn and burn until it never can be put out. Bram represents transformation but right now he feels perfectly safe. Being like this with him feels like sighing secrets to each other in the dark under the sheets.
His lips slide over my jawline, his hand stroking my waist and he doesn’t try to touch me between my legs or anywhere that would be considered too inappropriate. I’m about to undo a couple of buttons to let him kiss my bare skin when there’s a soft knocking on the door and I tense up like crazy even though its locked.
“Yoo-hoo, Mr. Rowe,” Miss. Pattie calls, “it is me. May I talk to you?”
Bram’s eyes turn steely in annoyance but his voice is perfectly polite when he replies. “I’m afraid I’m not decent.”
I try to jerk away from him but he holds me down, until I panic and wriggle out of his arms.
“Please open,” I whisper, “otherwise she’ll think something is going on.”
His face tenses but I pleadingly nod at him, before jumping into the closet and get enveloped in darkness. I hear him stand up and then he opens the door and the sound of Miss. Pattie’s old fashioned skirts dances over the carpet.
If she finds me in here, everything is over but I know that if Bram didn’t open the door, she would start to have doubts anyway.
“Alone are you?” she asks sounding relieved. “Yes, of course you are. I shouldn’t let the help’s gossip get to me.”
“Gossip?” Bram asks. “Are they saying anything I should care about?”
“No, no never mind,” Miss. Pattie laughs. “Have you seen Zinnia by the way?”
“Not since our promenade.”
“Oh yes, the willows. Are they not lovely this time of year?”
“Couldn’t keep my eyes off of them,” Bram replies and I scarcely dare to breathe while they chitchat. There are a couple of cracks in the closet, allowing some of the light in and I slowly get used to the dark.
I’m able to distinguish Bram’s clothes, his coats and suits and shirts and they all smell of him and I automatically bury my face into the sleeve of one of his suits. My eyes sharpen when I notice something sticking out of the pocket and I gently clasp my fingers around it.
Photos.
Two of them.
One is of me and I remember when Miss. Pattie shoved it into Morton’s palm, telling him that he needed to have a memory of me. But what is Bram doing with Morton’s photo?
And then there’s the other one.
It looks to be older and it shows a man and a woman in front of a manor. There’s a boy beside them who has his face turned away from the camera. The woman has her hand on a stroller and the man is kissing her so passionately that I almost blush. They seem happy. Who are they?
Bram’s family? Or maybe just relatives?
“Don’t forget the party at the Locklear’s tonight,” Miss. Pattie says and I jerk. I’d forgotten about that.
“Thank you, Pattie but I don’t think I will be going. I didn’t get an invitation and I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You must go. You’re the only thing this town is talking about ever since you arrived. I would be very disappointed if you don’t come.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Miss. Pattie hums. “Good. And if you see Zinnia tell her that she needs to get ready for the party. I cannot have her showing up and embarrass me by looking anything less than immaculate.”
“I will do that,” Bram says and I can tell by listening to his voice that he’s relieved to close the door on Miss. Pattie and her endless insults of me.
Breathing out, I put the photos back and I notice that my heart has been hammering all this time. I bite my lip when Bram opens the closet and raises his brows at me. The secrecy bothers him and I know he’s the kind of man who can walk down the street and not care about what anyone says but I am not like that.
