Her heels tapped on the patio. He heard the rustle of her clothes as she knelt down to pick up the child at his knees. The silk covering her breasts gapped slightly and blessed him with a glimpse of the smooth, bare flesh beneath. Her fragrance wafted up to him as she stood. Passionate longing raced through his body and centered in his loins, making him throb with desire.
“Mitsouko,” he spoke aloud, though he hadn’t intended to.
Kathleen stood stock-still and stared at him. “Yes,” she answered. Moving away from him, she took a chair across the table, keeping the boy on her lap. “I see you have a drink,” she said breathlessly. She didn’t look at him.
“Yes.”
“Where is Seth?” she asked, almost in desperation.
“He went inside with George to change clothes. He said he’d be out shortly.”
“Hazel?”
“Hasn’t made an appearance.” He took another sip of his drink and said, “So we’re all alone, Kathleen.”
Her head snapped up. He looked rakish in his crisp white shirt and navy blazer. The shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest and provided a view of the tanned column of throat and hard, hair-matted chest. Her fingers tingled in remembrance of how that hair felt over the contour of muscle. His beige slacks hugged the hard thighs and molded over taut hips and…
She raised her eyes quickly, hoping he hadn’t noticed the direction of her gaze, but he had. He insulted her by tipping his glass in a mocking salute.
“I must congratulate you, Kathleen. You’ve come a long way from the camp counselor in the Ozarks. How long has it been now? Let’s see.” He squinted his eyes, feigning concentration. “Two years? Yes, two years. There was an accident at the airport in Fort Smith. It was costly in lives and equipment, but I managed to survive. It happened on July sixteenth at two forty-three in the afternoon.” His tone was hard, intentionally hurtful, and Kathleen felt the tears swimming in her eyes.
“I’m glad… you… you survived.”
“Yeah. Your concern at the time overwhelmed me,” he said sarcastically.
What gave him the right to be angry with her? “I couldn’t very well join the crowd around your bed, could I?” she asked tersely.
Crowd at his bed? What in the hell was that supposed to mean? There had been no one there except Bob and Sally, and she had never even met them. He had quizzed them enough to know that.
Before he could pursue her enigmatic question, George helped Seth onto the patio. Erik had noted that everywhere there were steps, ramps had also been built to accommodate Seth’s wheelchair. Light switches and thermostats on the walls were also
placed low so Seth could easily reach them.
“Well, I’m glad to see that you two are getting better acquainted. You look ravishing, darling.” He wheeled over to Kathleen and she got up, setting Theron on the patio. Placing both hands on Seth’s shoulders, she leaned over to meet his chaste kiss. He held her hands as she straightened. “Isn’t she gorgeous, Erik? I’ll bet you thought I was exaggerating about her, didn’t you? Have you ever seen coloring like this, or skin so soft?”
Kathleen paled by several shades. Erik had seen much more of her skin than Seth ever had. Since he had brought her to this house, they had gone to separate bedrooms each night. He had only been in her room once, and that was when George had carried him up the stairs to see her completed redecoration. They kissed a warm goodnight each evening. But she went up to her room, while Seth went to his with George, who would get him into bed for the night.
“Your wife is indeed beautiful, Seth,” Erik said, but Kathleen could hear the underlying mockery in his voice.
“George, would you please tend bar? I’ll have a scotch on the rocks and Kathleen her usual spritzer.”
Involuntarily, Kathleen’s eyes went to Erik, who, unnoticed by Seth, again saluted her with his glass. They both remembered another time. Kathleen’s recollections were warm. Erik’s were obviously those of the triumphant seducer.
* * *
The scene on the patio set the mood for the remainder of the evening. If anything, Kathleen felt more strain when Hazel joined them for predinner drinks. As usual, she was polite and played the sweet sister-in-law and aunt like a grand dame of the theater, but Kathleen knew it to be an act. When they were alone, Hazel vented her hatred and resentment on Kathleen. Sometimes Kathleen would catch Hazel with a malevolent look directed toward Theron. She refused to leave Theron alone with the woman, whom Kathleen considered to be pathological in her possessiveness toward Seth.
By the time Alice announced dinner and relieved Kathleen of the squirming Theron, she was a tangle of nerves. Often, she had noticed Erik staring at the child. For once, she was thankful Theron always ate dinner in the kitchen in a high chair under Alice’s supervision. Kathleen had disapproved of this banishment, thinking that he should be included with the rest of the family. But early after his birth, Hazel had made clear her wish that he not be at the table with them. Seth had agreed by saying, “I think you need that time to relax and enjoy your own dinner, Kathleen. Hazel’s only thinking of you.”
They went into the dining room, and Kathleen was disconcerted to find that Erik sat directly opposite her, since Seth sat at one end of the table and Hazel at the other. The delicious food that Alice served so aptly stuck in her throat, and she was barely capable of eating a third of her portion.
She hated this room. It always seemed to stifle her. The walls were covered with dark blue moiré, a fabric she had always disliked. The furniture was dark and heavy, the china overpatterned, and the chandelier too ornate.
“Exactly what is this project that you and Seth are working on, Mr. Gudjonsen?” Hazel asked in her unctuous tone.
Erik laughed easily, in the manner Kathleen remembered so well, lifting the corners of his mustache and teasing at the possibility of a dimple hiding beneath it. His eyes shone a brilliant blue in the softly lit room. In spite of her earlier anger, her heart turned over at his masculine beauty.
“I’m sure that you, Ms. Kirchoff, and you…” he hesitated before he said, “Kathleen, are wondering why I suddenly burst upon the scene.”