Page 235 of Modern Romance November 2024 5-8

He’d stayed in his office while she ran it. Had somehow heard over the blood roaring in his ears the sloshing of water as she’d stepped into it. Only when he’d assured himself that she was safely settled did he move downstairs to the kitchen, the furthest point in his apartment from his en suite. With the electricity racing through his veins it could be the other side of the bathroom wall.

He ripped the seal around the steaks with his bare hands and placed them on the heated pan as the Internet instructed. Washing his hands, he closed his eyes in another effort to eradicate the image of Victoria submerged in the bath. Naked. Fully naked. Water swirling around her breasts and pubis...

He groaned and dragged his wet fingers through his hair.

Earlier, it had taken superhuman control to back away from her but there was no self-control of his mind. Not any more.

The so very erotic images behind his eyelids became suddenly distorted.

Snapping his eyes back open, he found himself in darkness.

Victoria had been trying to summon the strength to get out of the bath when the lights extinguished.

It wasn’t physical strength she’d been seeking but the mental strength needed to leave this temporary sanctuary from Marcello and deal with seeing him again. Talking to him. Pretending.

Pretending that when the storm passed and she’d fully recovered, things could go back to how they used to be.

And then she found herself lying in the bath in the pitch black.

The door was closed. No light spilled through the cracks from the bedroom. It must be a full-blown power cut. She’d closed, too, the expertly fitted blinds. No residual light from the outside could penetrate it.

Groping carefully for the rolled sides, she sat up and called Marcello’s name. The bathwater had been cooling and now goosebumps flecked her skin.

She hugged her knees and called his name again. She’d put a towel on the chaise longue but couldn’t even make out its shadow.

And then she heard her name.

‘I’m still in the bath,’ she called back.

‘Are you okay?’ His voice came from behind the door.

‘Yes, but I can’t see anything at all.’

The door opened. A circle of orange light filled the doorway. It took a moment for her brain to catch up and see it was the torch from Marcello’s phone. Of him, she could see nothing, not even his outline.

‘There has been a power cut,’ his disembodied voice informed her grimly. ‘From what I can see, most of Central Park is down.’

Acutely aware that he could see her, she covered her breasts and tried to speak normally. ‘Doesn’t the building have a back-up generator?’

‘I would assume so. I will check with the concierge once you’re out of the bath. Can you see enough to get out safely?’

The orange glow now coming from the doorway was emanating just enough light by the bath to create shadows. ‘I think so.’

He must have picked up on her uncertainty. The light moved closer until its source stopped by the double sink. ‘Better?’

‘Yes...’ She swallowed and strove even harder for normality in her voice, as if what she was about to ask were an everyday occurrence. ‘Can you pass me the towel please? It’s on the chaise longue.’

‘Sure.’

The light source moved again. She saw the gleam of an outstretched arm at the same moment she heard the rustle of a bath towel being lifted.

The light moved closer.

She reached for the towel. Once she had it in her clasp, the light source retreated a few steps.

‘I will stay close in case you need me,’ he said tightly.

She nodded and tried to open her throat to breathe. The light from the phone had put her under a dimly glowing spotlight. The man behind it was still indistinguishable but she could feel him through the vibrations of her naked skin that no longer felt cold. Could hear the long pauses between each of his breaths...

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