Page 17 of Inescapable Gravity

"I guess so." She moved back to her chair and sat down, her posture impeccable. The fingers that lifted her bow, long and graceful.

When she placed the bow against the strings, he saw the faintest cloud of rosin lift from the strike. Her gaze was fixed on the music stand before the large, floor-to-ceiling windows and while he didn't see anything physical dividing them, he knew that she wasn't going to give him any more of her attention.

He crossed to the other side of the room, finding a chair nearly against the wall, and sat down in it to listen to her play.

At first, the notes seemed forced. Hard. Nearly sharp. Riding the high end of their tone.

As she went on, the energy mellowed. The notes rode the melody with deep, strong sweeps of her bow.

It was incredible to watch.

Knowing that she was the one making the sounds? That she was the one creating such beauty with the vibration and pressure of her hands put him in awe of her talent.

No, they may not have been together during the years, but she certainly hadn't wasted her time.

There were secrets between them.

On his end and hers.

Secrets that she might never disclose.

She already thought that there was too much between them to even talk about it.

He didn't.

He would wait it out, he decided.

He could focus on his job and keep her alive.

He could give it whatever time it took to end the danger threatening her life, and then he'd take the rest of the time to work things out between them.

Being in the military, seeing the things that he'd seen, he knew what he wanted.

He wanted her to give him a chance to love her.

If it only went that far, it was fine.

He wanted more. He wanted everything.

First, he had to find out what happened to Heather to give rise to Nix.

And hope that it wasn't too much of a chasm between them to get to her on the other side.

* * *

It was dusk before she knew it. The light outside of the window was deep purple beyond the trees and dark inky night above the house.

There was just enough time for her to clean her instrument and pack it away into the safe behind the desk.

She didn't think twice about doing it in front of Marius.

He was in charge of the violin's safety as well, he likely had the safe combination, but she wasn't going to ask him.

The last thing she wanted was to start a conversation.

She had already fought a mighty battle to keep from telling him everything that had gone on in her life.

It would be all too easy to cuddle against his warmth and try to forget the years of pain she'd suffered through and take the comfort that he could provide.

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