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Chapter 17
Baron Oliver headed to London well before dawn. Athena entered the main foyer and seeing no sign of Felix decided to head into the library and go over her designs. There was no need to hide away in the greenhouse now.
She wore a delicate yellow linen dress tied under the bust with a pale green ribbon. Her brown hair was pinned up but already some stray tendrils were framing her oval face. Her expression was serious but content as the hours passed by at her drawing board.
When a glum-looking Sophie fetched her lunch, forcing her to look up from her work she gasped at the change in weather. Huge black clouds were rolling over the horizon.
"Look Sophie, there will be a storm tonight. Can you see it approaching?"
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Silently, deftly he peeled away the ruby silken robe leaving her standing in her white nightdress. Her hands replaced against the windows she let out a fresh pant of pleasure as his hands felt the outline of her body. The bumps in the fabric where her buttons rose caused his fingers to judder as they caressed up and down. Pushing herself more firmly against his rigid body she felt the teasing stubble on his chin and the increasing firmness in his trousers. Still kissing her neck, teasing her with rough and smooth embraces, his strong hands roamed her stomach, waist and rib cage until he reached her breasts. Lightning continued to crack across the sky and the pelting raindrops down the windows drowned out her heavy breathing. As he gently embraced their roundness,
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The morning after the thunderstorm saw a hive of activity in the gardens of Fairfax Manor. An immaculately clear blue sky had emerged from the storm, the spring flowers were in full bloom as they hugged the wide gravel driveway. Muttering servants milled around the edges of the lightning strikes impact mark which had burnt dozens of deep vein-like marks into the grass for several metres. "It looks like a bloodshot eyeball," the grizzled Jackson offered to a nodding group. "It's beautiful," murmured Lily to Sophie, "I wonder if it's still hot in the middle?" Craig appeared behind the girls and spoke up, "the centre should be like glass now if it is similar to what I have seen before. It's the heat of the lightning. Like turning sand into glass, same thing." Jackson wandered towards and announced to the group, "Mr Thornfiel
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Athena looked at the gathered crowd from her room, wrapping her arms around her waist. Practically she wondered whether the extracted lightning impact should somehow be displayed in the pagoda at the centre of the lake. Emotionally her mind was completely stuck in the depths of last night. She could not believe how brazen she had been. Of course, if he was as familiar with the whorehouses of Europe as rumours suggested, her actions were probably routine, perhaps even boring. To her, every interaction with him was an awakening of another locked piece of her soul. Looking out onto the gardens she felt like one of her bulbs bursting into bloom. Her skin was brighter, smile wider and eyes sparkling and he was the source. She had matched his supposed indifference by i
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Realising he had been quietly lost in his own thoughts for several minutes, Felix coughed, causing her to turn around. He softened his face to give her a gentle grin, allowing the pleasure of her company to show on her face. “Anything you wish to learn about me Athena, it seems only fair…I hear I come with quite the reputation these days?” Her solemn face yielded into a soft smile “I do not know whether I wish those rumours to be true or not Sir, some are so deviant as to be impossible.” “Well this is an opportunity, I shall tell the truth. You may decide if I am truly deviant” “Hmmm, I think I might already know you are less than virtuous Sir” she muttered as he pulled Achilles up alongside her. Their
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The arrival of Oliver's letters announcing his plans the following day caused enormous upheaval and welcome distraction to both Athena and Felix. Both buried themselves away in their respective studies focusing on arrangements, business and contractors. Oliver returned to Fairfax Manor without any sense of the raging tension between the two people. He was entirely focused on his mission to dazzle his party guests with the completed project. He had even begun to expedite Craig directly, no longer using the lake as an excuse to flirt with Athena. Oliver had to admit that they had performed an amazing transformation. Within two weeks the lake was completely dug, lined and slowly being pumped full of water. The ironwork pagoda had been delivered and was assembl
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