Secrets After Dark (7 page)

‘Ah, Beth,’ Mark says. ‘I wondered where you’d got to. Oh, hello, Dominic, how nice to see you again, I didn’t know you were here.’ He looks from me to Dominic. ‘Have you two been introduced?’

I nod and Dominic says breezily, ‘Yes, we’re just getting to know each other a little better. How are you, Mark?’

‘Oh, very well, very well.’ He frowns again and looks over at me. ‘I’ve had a good look at the painting, and done some quick research. I’ll need to do more, of course. I’d like to take some photos of the painting and complete my work back at home.’

‘I thought it looks very promising,’ I venture.

‘Oh yes, it’s certainly a very good candidate to be a Fra Angelico. But I need to consider when it could have been painted and why it’s remained hidden for so long. I certainly need to talk to the abbot about exactly how it was found.’

Dominic, looking completely cool and collected – and still sending hot waves of lust through me, despite Mark’s presence – says, ‘But Andrei will want a decision more quickly than that.’

‘It’s my professional reputation,’ Mark replies soberly. ‘I can’t risk that. He’ll understand.’ He looks about. ‘Wasn’t there a rumour of some coffee around here? Or did I dream it?’

The rest of the day is a kind of sweet agony. It’s both wonderful and torturous to be in Dominic’s presence again. I can’t take my eyes off him unless I remember that we are supposed to be virtual strangers. I know that Dominic doesn’t want anyone to guess that we’re involved, so I do my best to remember that we have to act our parts but I’m not very good at it. All I can hope is that no one is really paying much attention to me.

We drink coffee in the sitting room. Anna joins us after a few minutes, talking easily to Mark. I should be paying attention but I can’t concentrate on anything but Dominic, and obsessing over how or when we might be together. When a brother arrives to show Mark and me to the rooms where we will sleep, Dominic manages to get close enough to murmur ‘Trust me’ and give me a heart-breaking smile.

I have to force myself to walk out of the room, leaving him behind me.

My room is a bare, white-painted cell with a small barred window high up in the wall. There is a bed, a chair and a desk and a washbasin, and a shared bathroom is next door. It is simple and just as monastic as might be expected. I’m left alone to rest and dress for dinner. As soon as I’m by myself, I throw myself on the bed, my fists clenched, almost shaking with the pent-up excitement and happiness I’ve experienced this afternoon.

Thank God we came to Croatia!
I hadn’t wanted to come all that much – imagine if I’d stayed behind and then found out afterwards that Dominic was here. It would have killed me.

But... what is he doing here? It’s odd that he and Anna should be here, isn’t it? What do they have to do with the painting? But then again, who knows how Dubrovski’s mind works? I can imagine he’s perfectly capable of making people fly across the world because he wants to see them for twenty minutes.

I think of how on earth Dominic and I are going to meet later. I won’t be able to stand it if we can’t, I won’t be able to sleep knowing that he is so close to me. But there’s nothing I can do about it now – and I want to concentrate on looking my best at dinner. Thank goodness I brought a dress, something silky and easy to pack, just in case of a formal occasion.

I spend the hour before dinner getting ready. When I look in the mirror, I can see that my old sparkle is most definitely back. My eyes are glittering with expectation and there’s a flush on my cheeks. In fact, I’m glowing.

I can’t wait for dinner to be over, so Dominic and I can be alone.

We are entertained in the private room, with the abbot our host once again. Dubrovski is not quite as impatient as he was earlier. Now he waits for the long grace to finish before beginning to eat. The one disconcerting thing is that all the way through the prayer, he is staring at me. The others have politely bowed their heads or closed their eyes – Anna, glamorous in a black sleeveless shift dress that shows off flawless brown arms, appears deep in prayer herself – but Dubrovski’s blue gaze is fixed on me.

What is it? Do I look wrong? Have I put on too much make-up?
I dab discreetly at my lips in case I’ve gone overboard with the lipstick, but that doesn’t stop him looking at me.

When the meal begins, the conversation starts to flow. Anna seems so sophisticated as she talks effortlessly to the abbot and then to Mark, fluent, amusing and knowledgeable. I wonder what her relationship is to Dubrovski. She seems very intimate with him, smiling at him flirtatiously, calling him darling and occasionally reaching out to put a perfectly manicured hand on his sleeve when she is making a point, but he barely responds to her. I don’t understand how he can be so little affected by such a beautiful woman flirting with him. Perhaps he’s used to it. I’m just glad her attention is on Dubrovski and not on Dominic who is sitting on the other side of her. I have the abbot and Mark next to me, so I’m definitely not on the sexy side of the table, but at least I get to look at Dominic, although I have to be careful not to focus exclusively on him, as Dubrovski is still landing his piercing gaze on me from time to time.

‘So, Mark – this painting,’ Dubrovski says suddenly, cutting through Anna’s words. ‘What are your thoughts?’

‘I’ll need to do some more research, Andrei,’ Mark says, ‘but I’m in high hopes about it. From my examinations, the brushwork, the paint, and everything else is as it should be if it were going to prove a genuine find. But I’ll need to know more about it before I can say for sure.’

Dubrovski frowns and sighs impatiently. ‘How long?’

‘I can’t say. I’ll make it my top priority, obviously.’

Everyone is quiet as Dubrovski drops his fork to his plate and sits back, his expression stony. He stares at Mark and then says in an ominously quiet voice: ‘I’m going to buy it.’

‘Andrei, is that wise—’ Mark begins.

‘Yes. That is my final word. I believe it is genuine, and I want it.’

The abbot begins to smile. ‘That is wonderful news, sir, wonderful—’

Dubrovski interrupts again. ‘Mark, see to the negotiations and the details, will you? Now, if you’ll excuse me –’ he gets up, flinging his napkin onto his plate ‘– I still have work to do. We’ll be returning early, as soon as this is settled.’ He fixes his gaze on me again, letting it linger for a moment that seems to stretch on. I have the unsettling feeling that he knows precisely what I am thinking and the roller coaster of arousal and tantalising waiting I’ve been on today.
Perhaps he even knows that right now I’m tingling all over with anticipation of what might happen later.

Then he turns and heads for the door. As soon as he is gone, the atmosphere lightens, except where Mark is concerned. He looks worried.

‘I don’t like this,’ he mutters, almost to himself, ‘I don’t like it at all.’

He doesn’t linger long after dinner, but also excuses himself, telling the abbot that he will make his offer for the painting in the morning. That leaves Dominic, Anna and me remaining at the table with the abbot. I’m impatient for Anna to depart as the others have, so that Dominic and I can go somewhere together, but she shows no sign of wanting to make herself scarce. I can’t bear sitting there, so close to Dominic but unable to touch him, and after a while I get to my feet.

‘I think I’ll turn in too,’ I say lightly, looking as meaningfully as I can at Dominic. ‘I’m tired. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ Anna says cheerfully, almost as though she’s glad I’m going. ‘Sleep well.’

‘Goodnight,’ Dominic says a little too loudly. ‘See you in the morning.’

I walk back to my little cell, wondering how long it will be before Dominic arrives. I try to read but I can’t keep my mind on my book. I don’t undress but lie on my bed, observing the hands on my watch moving round. Time moves excruciatingly slowly. What can be keeping him so long? Surely he must have made his excuses by now!

But he doesn’t come. When two hours have passed and it is almost one o’clock in the morning, I realise with bitter disappointment that he isn’t coming at all. Hot tears of anger and disappointment sting my eyes, but I brush them away. I’m not shedding more tears over Dominic letting me down. I change into a nightdress, clean my face and teeth, and climb into bed. Despite my agitation, I’m exhausted and fall into a sleep within minutes.

I’m roused by the sound of a gentle tapping on my door. Instantly I snap wide awake.
Is it him?

I scramble out of bed and go to my door. There is a small sliding panel in it, and I push it back so that I can look out into the corridor. Outside there is a hooded figure, the face shrouded in shadow.

‘Dominic?’

The whisper comes back: ‘Open the door.’

Who else can it be?
I pull back the iron bolt and open the door. Immediately I know it isn’t Dominic – this person is far too short. I gasp and go to close the door again, but the figure slides a foot between it and the jamb.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ it whispers. ‘I’ve come to take you to Dominic.’

I pause, wondering if I trust this stranger.

‘Come.’

I take a deep breath and step out into the corridor.

‘Follow me.’ The man beckons me onwards and sets off at a swift pace down the corridor. The lights have all been dimmed and we walk along in an eerie shadowy twilight, our footsteps quieter than I would have expected, as though everything has been muffled by the darkness. We seem to walk for a long time, turning now and then until I have no sense of where we have come from. This is like a labyrinth. I wish suddenly that I had left a little trail of stones or unfurled some thread, so that I could find my way back if I’m left alone.

Then, we stop. The hooded figure puts his hand on the door handle and says in a strong accent, ‘I will be back later to collect you.’ Then he pushes the door open and I step inside. The room beyond is in total darkness and I’m unable to see anything at all after the murky light of the corridor.

‘Dominic? Are you there?’ A shot of fear rushes through me at the sudden thought that perhaps this is some of awful trap. I’m in utter darkness in a strange place in a foreign country – isn’t that the stuff of horror films and nightmares? I’m overcome by a nasty sensation of panic, and immediately put out my hands and begin flailing in the darkness, desperate to feel something, anything, to anchor myself in the real world. The terror grows larger, it seems to loom out of the blackness to possess me and I gasp.

Then warm hands hold mine and a voice says, ‘Beth.’

Relief washes over me.
Dominic.
I grasp his hands.

‘It’s okay. I’m here. Did Brother Giovanni freak you out?’

‘What, you mean the hooded monk with the hidden face who ordered me to follow him through a pitch-black monastery? Er – yes, just a bit.’ I’m able to laugh weakly as the terror recedes. I’m still completely blind though. I reach up and feel Dominic’s face. ‘Is it really you?’ I say wonderingly.

I sense rather than see his smile. ‘It’s really me. And you are really with me.’ His whisper becomes husky. ‘It’s so wonderful to be with you again...’ His warm sweet lips fall on mine again and we kiss as we did earlier in the day, with the kind of depth I have only known with him and I think I only ever will. How could two mouths be so perfect for each other? When we meet, lips to lips, tongue touching tongue, probing and exploring, it’s as though we’re set free to roam within one another. The darkness is velvety and all encompassing, and the feeling of surrender to everything my body yearns for is delicious. All we want to do is offer one another the pleasure of our body and receive pleasure in return: I want to feel that hard muscle, the rough hair on his chest, lick his fingers and the tiny bullets of his nipples, while he is hungry to feel my soft breasts and suck on my nipples, smoothing his hands over my waist and hips and back. For this reunion, so sweet because it has been so long in coming, we don’t need anything at all except each other.

My nightdress is pulled over my head and I stand before him naked, but he can only see me with his hands, and he groans as he takes my breasts in his palms, rubbing his thumbs over nipples that are already stiff and sensitive. He bends down to take first one in his mouth and then the other, sucking and nibbling, bringing each one to a peak of hardness. But I can’t bear to be away from his mouth for too long, and I bring his face to mine so we can kiss. He presses against me and I gasp again. He’s naked, and his huge erection, hot and iron-hard, juts out from his body and into the softness of mine. I put one hand down to it, and caress its velvety top.

He breaks our kiss. ‘I can’t wait long for you,’ he says softly, and kisses at my ear, sucking on my lobe and sending hot rivers of desire gushing through me. I feel his hand at my belly, and a moment later, he is cupping my sex in his hand, pushing one finger into the depths that are already wet and waiting. He presses the ball of his thumb against my mound, creating a delicious pressure on my clitoris, and he pushes a second finger inside me, making me moan and tighten my grip on his shaft.

Unable to bear it much longer, we release one another and move without words. Within a moment, he has pressed me down onto a narrow single bed and I open my arms to him, desperate to feel his weight on me, the sublime pressure of his body against mine. His mouth finds mine again, but our kisses can’t be restricted only there; now we’re hungry for every part of each other. He is kissing my shoulders, pausing to tug deliciously on my nipples again, and then he is burning a trail down my body.