Second Sight Read Free Page B

far Gabriel had made no attempt to even take her into his arms, let alone carry her upstairs to one of the bedrooms.
    True, there had been many small, fleeting, incredibly exciting little intimacies: his warm, powerful hand on her elbow when he guided her into a room, a casual, seemingly unintended touch, a sensual smile that promised more than it delivered.
    All extremely tantalizing, to be sure, but not what one would call definitive indications that he desired her enough to make mad, passionate love to her.
    She was starting to worry that she had fumbled the business. In a few more days she would depart Arcane House forever. If she did not do something soon, her dreams would remain unrealized.
    “You have made excellent progress with your work here,” Gabriel said. He went to stand in front of the windows, looking out into the moonlit night. “Do you feel that you will be able to finish on schedule?”
    “Most likely,” she admitted.
Unfortunately,
she added silently. She would have given a great deal for an excuse to linger. “With all the sun we have enjoyed these past few days I have had very few problems with the lighting.”
    “The light is always a photographer’s greatest concern, is it not?”
    “Yes.”
    “The word from the village is that the weather is expected to hold.”
    More bad news, she thought glumly. Poor weather was the only reason she could think of for prolonging her stay.
    “How nice,” she said politely.
    Time was running out. A sense of desperation gripped her. Gabriel might feel some desire for her, but he appeared to be too much of a gentleman to act on it.
    Her plans for at least one night of illicit passion appeared to be evaporating before her very eyes. She had to act.
    Recklessly she tossed back the last of the brandy. It burned all the way down but the fire gave her the courage she needed to rise to her feet.
    She set the glass aside with such determination that it made a decided
clink
when it hit the table.
    It was now or never. Would he be appalled if she simply threw herself into his arms? Most certainly. Any true gentleman would be utterly shocked by such unseemly behavior. She was rather appalled at the thought, herself. What if he rejected her? The humiliation would be unbearable.
    This situation called for subtlety.
    She groped for inspiration. Outside, moonlight streamed down onto the terrace. It cast a very romantic spell, she thought.
    “Speaking of atmospheric conditions,” she said, striving for a light tone, “it has become a trifle warm in here, has it not? I believe I shall take some fresh air before retiring. Will you join me, sir?”
    She moved toward the glass-paned doors that opened onto the terrace in what she hoped was a suitably sultry, inviting manner.
    “Yes, of course,” Gabriel said.
    Her spirits soared. This just might work.
    He followed her to the door and opened it for her. When she stepped out onto the stone terrace the chill night air struck her with unexpected force. Her optimism failed abruptly.
    So much for her brilliant ploy, she thought. This brisk temperature was hardly likely to incline Gabriel toward a state of heated passion.
    “I should have brought a wrap,” she said, folding her arms beneath her breasts to warm herself.
    Gabriel braced one booted foot on the low stone wall that surrounded the terrace and examined the starry night sky with an assessing expression.
    “The crisp, clear weather tonight is another indication that we will, indeed, enjoy ample sunlight tomorrow,” he said.
    “Wonderful.”
    He glanced at her. In the moonlight she could see that he was smiling his cryptic smile.
    Good grief, was he amused by her poor attempt at seduction? That was an even more distressing thought than the fear that he might reject her.
    She hugged herself more tightly and imagined the photographic portrait she would have made of Gabriel if he had given her the opportunity. There would have been areas of intense, powerful shadow in the