ANGOMA Secondary Villa
"You planning on staring at that painting much longer? I'll admit the colors are beautiful, but it doesn't deserve that much of your attention," Céline remarked.
It depicted a rowboat gliding across a lake, framed by a pine forest on a sunny autumn day. Leonora's favorite painting, made by her own hands.
Hung on the wall of their bedroom, facing the bed, Josh studied it every night before sleep. A way of finding his late sister in his dreams and reliving their moments of closeness.
Céline stepped out of the shower and walked toward him with a self-assured stride, her jade eyes making her desire unmistakably clear. Lying on the bed, Josh paid her no attention and simply sighed. She climbed on top of him and unwrapped the towel from her body, revealing her golden skin and feminine curves at their most flattering angle. He simply watched her, his gaze empty of any interest.
"Get off."
"No."
She flashed a seductive smile and brought her face closer to his.
"You're not going to reject me today — that I can guarantee you."
"I said get off. Don't play deaf," he ordered, his black eyes cutting through her like blades.
She didn't flinch despite his harsh tone.
"I'm not a dog you can send away whenever you feel like it. Josh, your sister is dead and you have to accept that. I understand what you're feeling and I feel for your pain, but is that really a reason to become a shadow of yourself?"
In one sharp movement, he flipped their positions to gain the upper hand.
"Watch your words, Céline. This is really not the time to push me."
"I'm not trying to. I'm only saying out loud what you want to bury deep inside yourself. Naming the crack running through your heart. It's hurting you a little more every day. But I need you to realize that I am here with you, and I always will be. Don't keep your grief and your feelings to yourself. Share them with me. Let me feel them too, and set yourself free of this pain in me."
She brought her hand to his cheek, holding his gaze with quiet conviction, before sealing their lips in a kiss that was soft and tender, like a bandage pressed to the heart.
Reluctant at first, he eventually gave in to that urgent call for release. He deepened their kiss, making it burning and intense, pouring his grief into a passionate embrace and shedding the weight of his suffering in a slow, raw pleasure.
They spent the entire evening intertwined in a knowing silence. Josh still struggled just as much to accept his sister's death. Yet he was convinced it was no suicide that someone was behind it. Who? And why? He pulled himself from his daze at the sound of his wife's voice. A being who held so much mystery and so much else in the depths of those jade eyes.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you should move that painting to another room. It only brings you pain and resentment. I know how much it means to you, but Leonora wouldn't want you to torture yourself with her constant presence like this."
Josh considered her words for a moment, his gaze tracing the contours of her body, still marked by the intensity of their lovemaking. He ran a hand through her curly hair, breathing in the intoxicating scent rising from her skin.
"Perhaps..."
He stroked her back and let out a slow, quiet sigh.
"Tomorrow, we go to the family manor. Everyone will be there, along with the inspectors on the case. They have new details about Leonora's affair."
Céline sat up and fixed him with her naturally insolent gaze. Josh knew better than anyone how little his wife cared for his family and for many reasons.
"You can pass along my regards and make up an excuse they won't believe anyway," she said, trying to slip free from his arms without success.
"We're going together, whether you like it or not, my love," he said, tightening his hold.
Céline firmly resisted the idea, meeting his eyes in defiance, but Josh's black irises had shifted to a deep blood-red, betraying an unmistakable danger. Bold as she was, she looked away and buried her face in the curve of his neck, pressing a tender kiss to his bronzed skin.
"Don't be angry with me. You know how this always ends — your family's humiliations, their cutting remarks. I hate going through that, and you know it better than anyone."
She tried once more to free herself, this time with force. Josh tightened his grip again, his gaze pinning her in place.
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen. Relax."
Céline relented, not without making her displeasure clear before finally letting herself be soothed by her husband's words. Once again, she allowed herself to be held captive by a gaze empty of any real empathy. Even as she knew, somewhere deep down, that he would keep his word.