Read Online Hold Back the Night by Abra Taylor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Abra Taylor
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doorgate closed before he could reach it. Domini hugged her new nutria-lined corduroy coat close to her chin and pretended that all her attention was directed towards the view, but for once she took no pleasure in the panorama of Paris laid before her in such spectacular detail. Of course she wouldn't approach him! Did he think she had no pride?
Two minutes later she risked another quick look around, only to see that Sander was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he had moved around to the other side in order to avoid her? It seemed a natural conclusion. She turned on her heel, looking neither left nor right, and aimed for the only instant escape route she could think of.
They practically collided at the top of the stairs. Sander stared and she stared, and then suddenly, in unison, they burst into laughter.
'It's a long way down to the next level,' said Domini when she was able. 'Am I that bad?'
'Worse,' said Sander, but with laughter in his eyes. Domini's legs turned to liquid; it was the first time he had smiled at her in weeks. In hip-hugging suede trousers and a heavy white cable-stitch turtleneck, with his dark hair curving over its high collar, he looked immensely virile and vital, a man who enjoyed life, a man who would be good at teaching a woman what it was to be a woman.
'I'd run all the way to the ground if I had to,' Sander went on, his eyes still fixed on her in friendly fashion, 'just as they did in The Lavender Hill Mob .'
'What's that?'
'An old movie, a good one. Too bad you're too young to have seen it.'
'Until a few weeks ago I'd never seen a movie in my life,' Domini said, tilting her head to one side with an artless and age-old coquetry the knowledge of which had been born in her bones. She was breathless with his nearness and wanted to prolong it. 'I'd never seen television either. Papa won't have one around, even in a hotel suite.'
Sander laughed again, delightedly, as if he had just opened a Christmas present. 'What an astonishment you are,'he said.
Domini knew it was a compliment of sorts. She glanced down the dizzy descent of the airy spiral staircase, with solid earth nearly a thousand feet below. She felt lightheaded, and not just from the view. 'Have you ever tried the stairs before?'
'Once.' He smiled. 'But not all the way down, heaven forbid. What about you?'
'Never,' she replied, excitement leaping in her eyes and in her veins. 'I'd like to go all the way!'
Sander frowned, perhaps uncertain of her meaning. 'Not with that sketch pad, you wouldn't,' he cautioned dryly, but Domini laughed with the joie de vivre of a child. Abandoned to the happiness of the moment, she ripped the day's efforts off their heavy backing and flung them to the air. The pages fluttered, caught by a high breeze, soaring like her spirits.
'Dare you! We'll catch them at the bottom!' she cried and took off with a flying leap before he had even agreed to the challenge. At ten revolutions of the stairs she was giddy; at twenty she was reeling; by the time she had gained the halfway mark all Paris was reeling. When she reached the bottom, her head was spinning like a top, her chest aching with laughter, her inner ears ringing at the wild distortion of balance.
Sander was close behind. Still reeling himself, he caught her before she had staggered very far. The sketchbook pages, some still fluttering down at a distance, were forgotten. They clung together, Domini laughing to the point of tears, conscious of Sander's deep amusement, too, too far gone to be aware of the curious glances of others.
And then suddenly their mouths were also clinging. To Domini it seemed the most natural thing in the world ... his mouth was there and she met it. She did not need Berenice's advice to know what to do, because her body had known all along and needed only the right instructor. She responded out of pure instinct, and her lips parted as eagerly, as unselfconsciously, as a rose responding to the natural rhythm of the seasons, unfolding
Two minutes later she risked another quick look around, only to see that Sander was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he had moved around to the other side in order to avoid her? It seemed a natural conclusion. She turned on her heel, looking neither left nor right, and aimed for the only instant escape route she could think of.
They practically collided at the top of the stairs. Sander stared and she stared, and then suddenly, in unison, they burst into laughter.
'It's a long way down to the next level,' said Domini when she was able. 'Am I that bad?'
'Worse,' said Sander, but with laughter in his eyes. Domini's legs turned to liquid; it was the first time he had smiled at her in weeks. In hip-hugging suede trousers and a heavy white cable-stitch turtleneck, with his dark hair curving over its high collar, he looked immensely virile and vital, a man who enjoyed life, a man who would be good at teaching a woman what it was to be a woman.
'I'd run all the way to the ground if I had to,' Sander went on, his eyes still fixed on her in friendly fashion, 'just as they did in The Lavender Hill Mob .'
'What's that?'
'An old movie, a good one. Too bad you're too young to have seen it.'
'Until a few weeks ago I'd never seen a movie in my life,' Domini said, tilting her head to one side with an artless and age-old coquetry the knowledge of which had been born in her bones. She was breathless with his nearness and wanted to prolong it. 'I'd never seen television either. Papa won't have one around, even in a hotel suite.'
Sander laughed again, delightedly, as if he had just opened a Christmas present. 'What an astonishment you are,'he said.
Domini knew it was a compliment of sorts. She glanced down the dizzy descent of the airy spiral staircase, with solid earth nearly a thousand feet below. She felt lightheaded, and not just from the view. 'Have you ever tried the stairs before?'
'Once.' He smiled. 'But not all the way down, heaven forbid. What about you?'
'Never,' she replied, excitement leaping in her eyes and in her veins. 'I'd like to go all the way!'
Sander frowned, perhaps uncertain of her meaning. 'Not with that sketch pad, you wouldn't,' he cautioned dryly, but Domini laughed with the joie de vivre of a child. Abandoned to the happiness of the moment, she ripped the day's efforts off their heavy backing and flung them to the air. The pages fluttered, caught by a high breeze, soaring like her spirits.
'Dare you! We'll catch them at the bottom!' she cried and took off with a flying leap before he had even agreed to the challenge. At ten revolutions of the stairs she was giddy; at twenty she was reeling; by the time she had gained the halfway mark all Paris was reeling. When she reached the bottom, her head was spinning like a top, her chest aching with laughter, her inner ears ringing at the wild distortion of balance.
Sander was close behind. Still reeling himself, he caught her before she had staggered very far. The sketchbook pages, some still fluttering down at a distance, were forgotten. They clung together, Domini laughing to the point of tears, conscious of Sander's deep amusement, too, too far gone to be aware of the curious glances of others.
And then suddenly their mouths were also clinging. To Domini it seemed the most natural thing in the world ... his mouth was there and she met it. She did not need Berenice's advice to know what to do, because her body had known all along and needed only the right instructor. She responded out of pure instinct, and her lips parted as eagerly, as unselfconsciously, as a rose responding to the natural rhythm of the seasons, unfolding
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