Page 31 of The Chase
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“I saw you do it.”
“No, I know the Pollock intimately. I sat at the National and stared at it for hours.” I broke his gaze. “I was trying to understand what Pollock was telling us.”
“What about your reputation? Your knack for fakes?”
“Art intuition? I suppose it runs in my family.”
Tobias blinked at me. “Do your best. That’s all I’m asking.”
I gave a reluctant nod. “Can I keep my dress on?”
“You’ll stand out.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“I just have to look at the painting and then we can leave?”
“I promise.”
“You’ll be with me the entire time?”
His eyes crinkled with kindness. “Won’t let you out of my sight.”
My breath stilted when I realized he was waiting for me to take off my dress.
He turned around.
How far was I willing to go for a painting? The question was glaring.
It’s like being at the beach, my nervous thoughts reassured me.This is no different to wearing your bikini.
I shimmied out of the gown and found a hanger to place it on. I left it at the end of the rung so it’d be easy to grab later.
Dressed merely in my underwear, or rather strips of silk barely covering me, my palms cupping my cheeks, I waited for him.
“Zara? Can I turn around?”
“Yes.” I assumed a confident pose, even though I didn’t feel it, and straightened my back and raised my chin.
Tobias blinked as he took me in. A flexing of his jaw muscles.
“Do I look okay?” I wanted to hear him say I looked beautiful to him.
The way his taut posture betrayed his secret desire for me spiked this dizzying rush of exhilaration.
My delight rose that he found this moment just as thrilling, never had I felt so desirable, so capable of this stark sensuality that had a man like Tobias Wilder looking so confounded.
“Don’t cover yourself.” He snapped back to unreadable and swept his hand through the air. “The women here are comfortable with their bodies.” His gaze swept over me and he gave a nod of approval. “Own your sexuality and you’ll do fine.”
Which I assumed was “Tobias” for act confident.
My left hand twitched to reach out and grab his hand to soothe this vulnerability.
This grand house kept too many secrets. I didn’t want to be in and out, I wanted to stroll along the hallways and drink in the art, saturate my soul with the work of the Old Masters.
