A Christmas Night to Remember(29)
Like a magician producing a rabbit out of a hat, Zeke placed a thick, imitation fur throw across her legs. ‘Is that better?’ he murmured softly.
‘Where did that come from?’ Melody asked, surprised.
‘I know this theatre from old. It’s too hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but its charm cancels out such inconveniences.’ Zeke topped up her champagne as he spoke, his voice warm as he added, ‘Relax and enjoy the show. You’re doing great. I’m proud of you, my darling.’
It was the look in his eyes rather than what he said that caused her to flush and gulp at her champagne. She had forgotten how he made her feel when she was with him—no, that was wrong. She bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t forgotten, had merely tried to bury the memory along with a host of others. And he would never understand, not in a million years, because she didn’t understand it herself. It was just this sort of thing that made it imperative she walked away from him now, while things were still civilised between them. She couldn’t bear to experience a slow whittling away of such moments as their relationship went sour.
Was she crazy? She sipped her drink, staring unseeing across the theatre. Probably. Almost definitely. And certainly cowardly and weak and spineless.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and his dark gaze was soft on her face. ‘Thinking again,’ he stated ruefully. ‘I would like to flick a little switch in here—’ he touched her brow lightly ‘—and turn your head off for a while. How can I do that, my sweet wife? How can I make you live in the moment?’
She shrugged, pretending a nonchalance she didn’t feel.
‘I only know of one sure way, but that’s impossible in here,’ Zeke went on contemplatively. ‘Impossible to do properly, anyway, and after waiting so long…’
Melody took another hurried sip of champagne, deciding silence was the quickest way to end this disturbing one-sided conversation. She pretended an interest in the stalls below.
‘Remember how it was between us?’ He stretched his long legs, sliding one arm along the back of her seat, so close his body warmth surrounded her as his quiet, smoky voice wove a deliberate spell. ‘Those nights when we didn’t fall asleep until dawn? The taste of pure ecstasy, long and slow and lasting. You’re mine, Dee. You’ll always be mine, as I’m yours. There’s no other way for either of us now we’ve feasted on perfection.’
‘Don’t.’ Her breath caught in her throat, his words causing a chain reaction in her body she was powerless to control. And he knew it, she thought helplessly.
‘Don’t?’ His husky voice drifted around her like a sensuous cloud. ‘Don’t speak the truth? But the truth will set you free. Isn’t that what they say? And you’re not facing the truth. Not yet. Our lifestyle, my work, other people—that’s all on the perimeter of us, you and me.’
He was confusing her, blurring the edges. She shook her head, on the verge of getting up and leaving. It was the dimming of the lights that forestalled such an action, but she sat stiff and taut as the show began, every nerve and sinew in her body stretched to breaking point.
In spite of her acute distress, the drama being enacted on stage began to work its magic after a while. The special effects were spellbinding, and the heroine’s voice enchanting, but it was the dancers who took most of Melody’s attention—especially the lead female, who was as supple and graceful as a young gazelle. It was bittersweet watching the girl, and at first pain overshadowed her perception, but then she felt herself swept into the performance to such an extent she had to bump back to earth when the interval arrived.
‘Well?’ Zeke’s eyes were waiting for her as the lights brightened. ‘Enjoying it?’ he said gently.
Melody nodded, still half lost in the performance. ‘It’s brilliant—absolutely brilliant. And I’m not criticising, but—’
‘But?’ he pressed her when she stopped abruptly.
‘I’d have arranged that last dance number differently. It would have been far more poignant if the lead dancer was taken by the underworld after it finished rather than pulling her out at the beginning. The scene lost something without her present.’
Zeke nodded. ‘I agree.’
‘That way the roles of Cassandra and Alex could have been tweaked to make them more involved in the struggle, rather than being almost observers.’ Melody stopped abruptly, aware of the half-smile on Zeke’s face. ‘What?’