Tempted (21 page)

I tuck my laptop under one arm, and once I have my teacup firmly in hand, I hobble into the sunroom, my knee stiffening from the little bike accident, and other limbs complaining of aches and pains even though they weren’t really involved.
 
I open my laptop and find a comfortable position to sit in.
 
Drat!
 
I left the Chocolate M
cVitie’s on the counter.
 
But oh my, it looks like I have something better to feast on
–
a missive from Alex.

3:01pm

Alexander Armstrong

Greetings, Lady Claire. I'm delighted that it wasn't me alone in Elysium, and that you were there with me, where you led me. Sublime? Assuredly. Fantasy? Not in the least. I fell asleep at 11am. And I'll now get a couple more hours of rest. But I saw your letter and could never refuse your call. I've been considering your poem. Rolling you around in my mind and waiting for words with courage enough to dare to adorn you. I'll dwell on you while I slip back into dreams, tumble your graces in my heart's arms and listen for the song you sing from me. It is my fondest wish that you'll bless me with your presence later this evening, when I awaken.

Feel muscular arms around you, one high, the other in the graceful curve of the small of your back. Feel
our
bodies pulled tightly together with gentle strength, close enough that neither of us remembers where the one begins and the other ends. Feel moist, warm breath on your neck, where I've buried my face in your hair. Feel a soft lingering kiss on your honeyed skin there, just to the side of your throat. Feel. And I'll see you in my dreams.

3:03pm

Claire Nichole Eden

I
'll be waiting...
breathlessly

I quickly learn that waiting breathlessly is not my forte.
 
I try to work
,
but am getting virtually nothing done.
 
All I do is stare at the teeny message no
tifications quadran
t on my Facebook page.
 
I decide to take off for a couple of hours while Alex sleeps, so as not to drive myself mad.
 
On a whim, I go to visit Mom.
 
At first, my unannounced call makes Mom even more cantankerous than usual.
 
But she calms down quickly and enjoys the visit, assuring me that the eclairs and coffee I’ve brought have nothing to do with her change in attitude.
 

Upon my return home
,
I repair to the sunroom and tentatively open my laptop, fearing disappointment.
 
A message from Alex patiently awaits, written about 45 minutes after my last one to him.
 
I sit down to relish his gift, and notice my earlier tea and treats untouched.
 
Who would’ve thought such a thing possible?

3:48pm

Alexander Armstrong

I haven't slept. I tried. But thinking of you and trying to sleep seem diametrically opposed. So I thought about your poem. And this is what I came up with in the last two hours. I'm not sure I'm happy with it. But I never am. I hope you enjoy it, Miss Claire. I'm headed out to dine. But I'll be back this evening. Strange to think it's only 3 something on the left coast. I hope you're basking in the summer sun.

Bend to Me

I made answer to the siren song:

Slide between the silk sheets of my soul

And drape yourself across the skin of my heart.

Come, bend to me.

Whisper soft-sighed dewy abandon to passion's ear

And let the elegant dance of your flesh mouth the depths of desire.

Come, bend to me.

Offer yourself to my gentle-handed restraints, freely

And bathe me in the misty heat that simmers beneath your graceful curves.

Come, bend to me.

Invite my lips to learn the secrets of your will

Teach my hands and sugar-soaked tongue what beauty means.

Come, bend to me.

Permit your pulse to race and pound, your breasts to gasp, your song to scream

And wrap me in your lusting thighs, and draw me in, ignite the world.

Come, bend to me.

Drown me in your sacred streams, and carve me with ecstatic nails

And lay your head upon my chest as I release you from the rails.

And come. Bend to me.

I love the poem.
 
I
love
the poem!
 
Quickly, I scrobble a response, doing my best to hide my exuberance behind a veil of cool.

5:49pm

Claire Nichole Eden

I
just came on to your message page in order to lament
the duration of the wait

and lo and behold...

methinks I shall grab a cuppa

with a bikkie or two

and sit down to
delight in
the morsels you've shared

as you dine, out and about, in sleepless stupor

S
till dying to talk to you voce a voce

and bending........... even now

I quickly grab fresh tea goodies and return to the computer to read his message again while he’s out to dinner.
 
A moment later
,
a happy ping alerts me to a new message.

5:54pm

Alexander Armstrong

Well then, just in the nick of time! I do hope you enjoy the poem. We can talk later if you like. I forget names, dates, places, facts. But I never forget voices. Even fri
ends that I haven't seen in twen
ty years, I can hear their voices as plainly as if they were here. And I'm not in a stupor. LOL Just a little weary. But you seem to infuse me with energy and make me smile.

5:55pm

Claire Nichole Eden

I have an annoying perky voice... and tend to laugh a lot
...
... and hope to annoy you soon

The poem re-ignited the stirring
s
, wrigglings and moanings of yesternight

as if on cue

How you so quickly tapped into my psyche is nothing short of frightening

5:58pm

Alexander Armstrong

I love annoying perky voices! And I'm delighted that your poem stirs you. I have a direct way of hearing people, I think. Especially intriguing and beguiling women. But that, I'd hope, would be comforting, not frightening.

A favor? I would love to see a photo of your eyes. I wanted to write about them, but can't seem to find a photo where I can discern what your eyes tell. Not even their color.

I sit upright in panic.
 
I forgot he doesn’t know what I look like.
 
Wow.
 
All this attention from someone who has never even seen a photo of me?
 
Could it be he is actually attracted to my character?
 
Double wow.
 
This guy is one in a bajillion!

Being a confirmed cameraphobe
,
I only have one or two photos posted of me online.
 
And those are with other people, at a distance, and blurry.
 
I don’t know how to handle Alex’s inevitable but unwelcome question, but I do know that I must
display my visage…
eventually.

6:00pm

Claire Nichole Eden

I
don't post photos of myself

just not my thing

M
y eyes are greenish blue

bluer in summer

6:01pm

Alexander Armstrong

Really? My eyes change colors too. Sometimes a bright blue. Other times green. Other times slate gray.

6:01pm

Claire Nichole Eden

H
ahahahhaha same colors with me

I am just really not into looks actually........ and as for my eyes..... ugh, i have a large scar over my eyebrow from a skiing accident as a kid

6:05pm

Alexander Armstrong

As for your scar? Eh. Why worry about such things? It's part of who you are, and so it's surely as beautiful as the rest. But I completely agree. Looks are a silly thing to measure a person's worth by. Love bathes everything in blissful beauty.

Desperate to end the conversation about my ‘looks
,
’ or lack of them, I change the subject.

6:10pm

Claire Nichole Eden

My dear, am I not delaying your noshing?

6:11pm

Alexander Armstrong

You are. But man does not live by bread alone.

You make me smile, Lady Claire.

6:12pm

Claire Nichole Eden

I
've been smiling for about the last 15 hours straight!

even in my sleep

6:13pm

Alexander Armstrong

OK. I have to bathe and run then. But I'll be back to meet you here. And if you like, to talk on the phone. Then you can ask me anything at all.

6:13pm

Claire Nichole Eden

Y
es

yes

have fun

and YES!

6:14pm

Alexander Armstrong

People will likely think I'm insane. As I eat alone and sit there with a great grin, and laugh thinking of our conversations. And yes!

6:15pm

Claire Nichole Eden

GO............. so that you may come

Wow.
 
Was that forward or what?

6:17pm

Alexander Armstrong

I shall. You bind me though, in the loveliest way. And I'm sitting here naked on my leather recliner. Waiting t
o get showered. By your leave, my l
ady?

6:22pm

Claire Nichole Eden

N
uh uhn

T
ake me with you

6:23pm

Alexander Armstrong

You're certainly welcome to join. And now I'm sitting here with anatomical incongruities. If you know what I mean. Damn!

6:23pm

Claire Nichole Eden

L
ove them incongruities

G
o, sweets

6:24pm

Alexander Armstrong

*bowing*
Until we meet again.

6:24pm

Claire Nichole Eden

C
urtsy

blush

adieu

Curtsy?
 
Blush?
 
Adieu?
 
Who talks like that?
 
 
And more to the point, whose life am I living?
 
The time inches by while waiting for Alex’s return.
 
My phone rings and I ju
mp in glee, expecting to hear
Alex’s manly voice on the other end.
 
Too bad I’d not bothered to take into account the fact that Alex doesn’t have my number.

Getting to the phone is difficult owing to my biking accident, and I grumble when I go to the effort to run to the phone
,
only to be greeted by a stranger who sounds like a telemarketer.
 
My felicity is further squelched by the news that my former talk show producer, Danielle, has been in a fatal car crash.