Davis twisted and turned uncomfortably in his king-sized bed. It was a hot summer night and he could not sleep. He kicked off the damp sheet that had somehow twisted around his body and went to the mini fridge he had set up in his bedroom and took out a bottle of water. The cold liquid felt so refreshing as it slid down his parched throat.
He then opened the French doors to let in what he hoped would be a cool breeze. He could have switched on the air conditioner, but he did not like to sleep in artificial cold air. He preferred the real thing. He walked around the veranda while slowly sipping his bottle of water.
His gaze wandered to the house next door and his eyes spotted a tall slender figure emerging from a swimming pool in the backyard. Davis narrowed his eyes as he tried to catch a glimpse of the person’s face in the pale moonlight. The woman picked up her towel and dried herself slowly.
As Davis watched her gracefully walk around the pool he felt a sudden heat rise up in his body and he began to take short quick breaths, almost panting. When the woman finally turned her head so that Davis was able to get a clear look at her face, his body turned stiff and rigid and beads of sweat matted his brow.
She is so beautiful, he thought as he continued to observe her. I wonder who she is. Then suddenly, without warning, the bottle slid from his fingers and fell to the ground making a lough noise. The woman was startled and instinctively raised her eyes up to the veranda where Davis was standing.
Their eyes locked and neither of them said a word, but their eyes spoke volumes. Abruptly the woman turned away and walked quickly back into the house but not before she turned to give the man one final glance.
Davis tipped his head back and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had no idea who that woman was, but he had to find out. She had certainly piqued his curiosity. No other woman had ever had such an immediate and powerful effect on him like that. He had to find out who she was as soon as possible.
In the morning, Davis sent his servant to find out who the mysterious woman was that he saw at the house next door.
The servant returned promptly and replied, “The woman’s name is Sabella and she is the wife of Ulric Hartley.”
“Oh yes,” Davis murmured. He remembered that Ulric Hartley was his new neighbor who recently became a partner in his jewelry business. When they first became partners Mr. Hartley had mentioned that he had a wife who was away at the time visiting her family.
But Mr. Hartley was somewhere in his late fifties and Davis had assumed that his wife would be about the same age. He had never expected her to be so young or so very beautiful. He was not exactly thrilled with the idea that she belonged to another man, but against his better judgment, he knew he had to see her again just to gaze upon the beauty of her face.
Before dismissing the servant, Davis instructed him to invite Ulric Hartley and his wife to his home for dinner that same night. He did not know what he was going to say or do when they arrived, but he longed to find out as much as he could about Sabella Hartley.
That night Davis stood by the window sipping a glass of red wine. There was soft music playing in the background and his thoughts strayed to the beautiful young woman he had seen the night before. He saw Ulric Hartley and his wife approaching the front door and his heart began to beat faster. He took a deep breath, trying to control the rapid beating of his heart, and smiled broadly as his servant admitted the Hartleys into the dining room.
“It’s good to see you again, Ulric,” said Davis as he shook the elderly man’s outstretched hand. He glanced at the man’s wife and was unable to tear his eyes away from her. She was wearing a shimmering royal blue full-length evening gown that accentuated her round hips and narrow waist. A diamond necklace was perched just above the swell of her breasts. “And this must be your wife.” His voice trembled slightly as he tried to control his heavy breathing.
“Oh yes. Davis, this is Sabella. Darling, this is my new business partner Mr. Davis Letang.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Letang. Thank you for inviting us.” A bolt of lightning sent a shock throughout his body as he held her hand in his own. Davis looked into her eyes and sensed she felt the same electricity. He gently kissed her hand holding it to his lips for seconds longer than necessary but the woman’s husband did not seem to notice or seemed the least bit interested.
“Please, Mrs. Hartley, call me Davis,” he said softly.
“All right, but you must call me Sabella,” the woman replied with a shy smile.
The servant re-entered the dining room and announced, “Dinner is served.”
Davis led the couple to the table and noticed that Mr. Hartley sat down immediately without attending to his wife first. Davis held out the chair for Sabella and she sat down. She mumbled her thanks and lowered her head. During the dinner, Davis and Mr. Hartley mostly spoke of business matters. Davis tried to include Sabella in their conversation whereas Mr. Hartley did his best to exclude her.
Towards the end of the dinner, Mr. Hartley’s phone rang and he excused himself to answer the call. Mr. Hartley returned a couple of minutes later and said that he had some business to attend to. “I’m sorry, Davis, but I must leave immediately.”
“Is everything all right? Can I help with anything?” Davis asked.
“One of my other companies has a technical issue that needs to be taken care of,” Mr. Hartley replied. “But I can handle it.”
“It’s too bad that you and your lovely wife could not stay longer,” Davis replied.
“My wife?” The man looked confused for a moment but quickly recovered. “Oh yes, Sabella. Darling, there’s no need for you to leave with me. Why don’t you finish your dessert? I’m sure that Davis here will see you safely home. I’m heading straight to the office anyway. You don’t mind, do you, Davis?”
Davis shook his head slightly. “No, I don’t mind at all. It would be my pleasure.” He took a peak at Sabella but was unable to read the look in her eyes.
“I’ll be home late, darling, so don’t wait up for me,” called Mr. Hartley as he hurried out the door.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Davis kept his eyes on Sabella, but the woman could not bring herself to meet his gaze.
“Your husband is a good businessman,” he remarked to break the silence.
The woman nodded her head. “Yes, he is.” Davis was not sure but he thought he sensed bitterness in her voice.
“How long have the two of you been married?” he asked.
Sabella raised her head and looked straight into his eyes. “Too long,” she sighed. “It is more like a business arrangement than a marriage.” What Davis saw was a mixture of sadness, loneliness, and a silent cry for help.
“A business arrangement?” asked Davis. “If you don’t mind, I would like to hear more about this. Please, continue.”
She stood up gracefully and wandered over to the window. “My father was Ulric’s business partner. They worked well together. They were co-owners of a car factory. Everything was fine at first, but then my father suddenly found himself deep in debt. I had found out that he had gambled away most of his fortune. He almost caused Ulric to lose the factory. He begged Ulric to lend him the money to pay off all of his debts and in return, I would become Ulric’s wife. He was not thrilled with the idea, but he and my father were such close friends that he could not refuse…”
“And so you married Ulric,” said Davis.
“Yes, I had to,” she replied sadly. “I am very grateful for everything Ulric has done for me and for my father. He was a good friend to my father and he is taking care of me as he promised, but…”
“There’s something missing,” Davis finished for her. She nodded in response. He walked slowly towards her. “There’s no chemistry… no passion… no…” Their eyes locked.
“Love,” she added softly.
He now stood a couple of inches from her. “Where’s your father now?” he asked gently.
“He died last year,” she replied softly. “Heart failure.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. A lock of hair fell into her eye and he gently brushed it away with his thumb.
Just to be so close to him had awakened her senses. She was fully aware of his masculinity. She closed her eyes and breathed in his manly scent and when she opened them her heart skipped a beat when she saw the look in his eyes. She was sure that she was not mistaken. That look was one of desire and longing.
“Davis?” she asked feeling suddenly shy and uncertain of what to do next.
“Dance with me,” he suggested and took her hand as they swayed slowly to the music.
She felt so delicate and fragile in his arms. He wanted to keep her there forever. Her brown skin was so feathery and soft and her perfume was intoxicating. He could hardly control his growing urge to be with her. He planted light kisses down her throat and held her even tighter.
Time seemed to stand still as they swayed across the dance floor. Sabella moistened her lips with her tongue and Davis could not hold back any longer. He bent his head and kissed her. Sabella eagerly responded. He had awakened her sense of womanhood that she had long since forgotten.
She felt an equal desire so strong that she was unable to control it. She pressed her body against his rock-hard chest and deepened her kiss. Davis swept her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom.
The next morning, Davis woke up and reached out to touch Sabella but her side of the bed was empty. He felt very confused. Was last night only a dream? Was she only a figment of his imagination? This could not be so because he could smell the faint aroma of her perfume left on the pillow. He also could not ignore the tingly sensation of his body as memories filled his head of how he tenderly and passionately made love to her.
Davis needed to see Sabella again. She had captured his heart and he wanted to be with her more than ever before. He had not forgotten that she was married to another man. He knew that what he did was wrong but he could not deny his feelings for Sabella. He tried to ignore his conscience.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her. All he wanted to do was free her from the life of misery she was experiencing with Ulric Hartley. But he knew he had to face reality. She belonged to another man, but that did not stop him from wanting her even more.
He jumped out of bed and got dressed. He went downstairs to get his breakfast. As soon as he sat down to eat there was a knock at the door. The servant announced that Ulric Hartley had come to see Davis. He was very surprised that Mr. Hartley seemed very calm. He was not angry or agitated at all.
His thoughts were filled with his night with Sabella and he did not think about how Mr. Hartley might react if he found out about his wife’s infidelity. He wondered if Sabella had confessed to her husband that she had slept with him. He decided to play it cool and see what Mr. Hartley wanted.
“Good morning, Ulric,” Davis greeted him. “Would you like some coffee?”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’m not staying long,” the man replied. “I just came to drop off the reports from my meeting with one of our clients. I forgot to give it to you last night. I’m on my way to the bank.” He dropped the documents on the table and closed his briefcase. “Well, I must be going now. See you at the office later, Davis.”
“Uh, Ulric…” He could not believe what he was about to do but he had to at least ask about Sabella, even though Mr. Hartley might suspect that something happened between them last night. “How is your wife?”
“Sabella? She’s fine. She’s on a flight to New York as we speak,” he replied.
Davis shook his head slightly in disbelief. “Excuse me? Did you say she’s on a flight to New York?”
“Yes. Sabella left very early this morning. She was invited to spend the rest of the summer with some friends.”
“When will she return?” Davis asked in a shaky voice.
“She’ll be back at the beginning of September, although she was considering staying in new New York a bit longer. I will be traveling to New York to meet her in a couple of weeks.” Mr. Hartley glanced at his watch and moved towards the door. He did not seem to notice the look of distress on Davis’s face. “I’m sorry, Davis, but I really must get going. I’ll see you this afternoon at the office.”
Davis suddenly lost his appetite. There were so many things he wanted to say to Sabella. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted her to know that last night had meant so much to him, but now he’ll never be able to tell her.
He wanted to know how she felt about him, and why she left his home so suddenly without telling him, but now he will never know. The only thing he has left is his memory of last night, the silkiness of her brown skin, the softness of her lips, the swell of her breasts as she breathed, and the sweet fragrance of her perfume as it lingered on his pillow.
Somehow Davis knew that he would never see her again, but he was glad that he had at least gotten a chance to show her how she had filled him with desire, passion, fire, and love. He knew he would never feel that way again with any other woman. Last night was most certainly a summer night that he would always remember.
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