28. The Risk
On their way back Hunter ensures Chloe he understands why she couldn’t believe that anyone on the farm would endanger her life. It is quite clear that everybody is mad about her and he now cannot envisage any of them would harm her.
Isaac’s BMW is parked in front of his house when they reach the island. Probably busy to prepare the dinner for tonight! Hunter wants to leave for George at first light. When he walks over to his car to leave, Chloe pushes a roll of R200 notes in his trousers’ pocket. He stops just before he gets into the Mercedes to see what Chloe was up to. He takes out the notes.
“Goodness, Chloe! Don’t be daft! This is way too much.”
“Take it, or else I will fire you.”
Hunter only shakes his head and smiles: “Promise me you are going to be very alert, my girl.”
“I promise, I shall really, Hunter.”
Chloe immediately takes a shower and later she stands in front of her wardrobe and ponders indecisively what she is going to wear. She suspects Isaac plans something romantic and she wonders whether she should try that audacious evening dress and high heels. Hayley bought it for her as a birthday present and it took serious persuasion before she eventually relented because she has never worn dresses and make-up. Hayley even chose the appropriate make-up and dragged her to her home where she showed her to put on the make-up because she argued that a day will come when the right man crosses Chloe’s path and then she must be ready to floor him.
No, that dress is hopelessly too daring but what is she going to wear? What if he is dressed smartly and she enters with her usual tomboy clothes? It won’t work. She now realizes that she only has that one dress because she always wears trousers and shirts! This is a major problem! She has never thought about this. She is not ready for the man’s world. Shit! What now?
Chloe jumps when her smartphone rudely awakes her out of her deep thoughts. She grabs it and sees it is Isaac and it is 7:30 already. Only half an hour left. She feels a little bewildered and wonders why she feels this way.
“Hello, Isaac, how are things at that side? Have you phoned me to tell me you’ve burnt the food?”
“I want to see you in a nice dress this evening because you always wear that damn tomboy farm girl rubbish! Just tell me if you don’t have a dress and I will go and buy one for you at this moment together with a pair of smart shoes.”
The detestable pest! Is there any limit to his blatant arrogance?
“You don’t even say: Hi, Chloe, how are you? You just barge in and criticize my clothing without shame! You conceited hooligan! The next punch might hit you at a far more sensitive and strategic place! Be warned, Doctor!”
Isaac is splitting his side at the other end. “And if I ask like a dear, sweet boy? Chloe, I would have liked to see you in a dress from the first day we have met. Please, I’m asking you so meekly, no, I’m pleading, please, please.”
“Do you now try the mockingbird trick? It seems to me you are trying to mock me. I’ll pluck your feathers, little bird! Don’t try me!”
“I am serious, Chloe, I will buy one. Let me leave everything here and we go and buy you a dress, okay?”
“To tell you the truth, Isaac, I am standing here now deciding how I must dress when you phoned but it sounds very dangerous that you want me in a dress. I am wondering whether I must hide my pistol somewhere.”
Isaac laughs heartily. “Hunter thinks you are dangerous enough barehanded. I believe him, after all, he is a detective and a war veteran and I don’t want to lose my manhood.”
“Well, I am glad you realize what you have on your hands! Okay, Isaac, I’ve got an ancient dress that I inherited from my great- grandmother’s mother. The colors have vanished because of age but they still call it a dress. They said it was made in the 18th century.”
“Oh, my goodness …”
“Goodbye, Doctor, see you soon at your front door.” She cuts him short instantly.
She dries her hair and combs it. She grabs the dress out of the cupboard and pulls it over her. Then she studies herself in the full-length mirror while she turns around. Her eyes widen in surprise when she has difficulty in recognizing herself. Hayley chose the perfect size. The black satin fits tightly over her like a second skin. She looks at the high slit at the side and moves her leg and each curve of her thigh shows dangerously up to her hip. Her breasts look extra full and round and show off nicely against her thin waist. They are hopelessly over-exposed and their roundness show appealing. She is amazed at how well the dress stresses her full behind and supple hips. Her shoulders are bare, with only very fine, thin strings and her back is bare down to where the dress splits just above her buttocks.
She smiles. Hayley really has a naughty side. She remembers how elated Hayley was when she fitted the dress. Chloe wanted to get out of it right away and give it back because it was way too daring, but Hayley would have nothing of that. She also chose the right pair of high heel shoes that complimented the dress. The pair has thin, high heels with only thin strings that keep her bare feet on them. She will have to walk very careful to keep her balance on these thin heels. She just hopes she isn’t going to fall down on her way to Isaac.
Chloe sits down in front of the dressing table and applies her make-up. She has never done this before but Hayley also prepared her for this. They went from the clothing and shoe shops directly to Hayley’s home where she showed Chloe how to put on the make-up to compliment her outfit.
Chloe smiles at her image in the mirror. She has just decided she is going to kick that clever guy’s feet from under him. She is going to bowl that arrogant bloke out for a duck and kick over his stumps. Maybe she could succeed in taming his haughtiness for a few days.
Chloe knocks on the front door. The door opens and there the clever guy stands like a statue with a smart mustard shirt and dark brown trousers with interesting, fine patterns embedded in the material. It looks very expensive. He doesn’t say a word but only stands like a statue dumbfounded and gazes at her from head to toe as if he is hypnotized.
She comes forward and waves her hand in front of his face. “Hi. My world! Here is Doctor Isaac Horn. Are you still with us?”
He watches her every movement. It is clear that he shamelessly revels in each curve of her body. She punches him with both fists on his chest so that he has to step back quickly so as not to land on his behind.
“Hey! Wakey-wakey! Get a grip on yourself.”
He still looks flabbergasted. “I don’t know what to say, except that they had extraordinary taste in the 18th century! They knew exactly how to accentuate every facet of a woman’s sexuality!”
“Doctor Isaac Horn! I’m sure you are seeing women’s bodies on a daily basis. Don’t pretend this is something alien to you.”
“I’ve never experienced such a special edition in my life!”
“Well, you are welcome to go ahead and study your special edition as long as you keep your distance because you are way too unpredictable.”
He points at a comfortable, soft leather sofa in front of the fireplace in which a few logs burn in the snug sitting room. “Please make yourself at home on the sofa, my beautiful lady.”
Chloe gets the feeling that he is staying back a little longer to admire her curves. She leaves him at that and as gracious as possible sinks into the soft sofa. In front of her on a table are two slim wine glasses next to a bottle of Cold Duck sparkling wine. At both ends of the table flickering candles complement the light from the fireplace. The room’s lights are dimmed almost completely so that the yellow candle light and the fireplace’s radiance create a romantic atmosphere.
A thick brown carpet covers most of the white blue gum floor. The walls are from logs except for the stone wall in which the warm fireplace is located and the ceiling is pine. The warmth of the fire lightly caresses her body. The control of the surround- sound system is on a platform in the stone wall left of the fireplace. A giant, flat screen TV is mounted above the platform. Chloe is glad he didn’t put on the TV. It would have spoilt the romantic atmosphere. She looks around and sees Bose loudspeakers all around the room and she wonders where he got them because she has never seen loudspeakers like these before.
Isaac sinks into the sofa next to her and she realizes that there is little space between them. He picks up the remote of the sound system. She is immediately impressed with his choice of music when the clear voice of Michael Franks encircles her when ‘The Lady wants to Know’ begins.
Isaac looks quite content. “I’m mad about this place. They built it later on. It wasn’t here in my young days when I visited sometimes.”
Chloe agrees. It’s got a lot of atmosphere and is so cozy. I am also mad about your place. And your choice of music is perfect. I am pleasantly surprised, Doctor Isaac Horn. Even your clothes jell in with this place.”
He smiles contently. “I am so thankful the beautiful lady is feeling welcome.”
“If you persist in calling me ‘beautiful lady’ I will keep on calling you ‘Doctor Isaac Horn’.”
“Then I’ll call you ‘Princess’.”
“Just keep it simple: Chloe or you.” She suddenly smacks him hard on the shoulder. “Hey, come alive, it’s only me!”
“Ouch, that hurts!”
“You can’t be serious!”
“As serious as hell!”
“You are a real softie behind that smug attitude. It looks as if you bruise easily.”
“Maybe I am only unaccustomed to stunning, magical ladies. They catch you totally off-guard.”
“‘Magical? What a strange word in this context.”
“Pretty, lovely, delightful, beautiful, alluring, enthralling, charming, gorgeous …”
“Stop! You are trying to impress me with your vocabulary; it is totally unnecessary.”
“No, I am trying to get words which can define you but come up short every time because I think about another thing I find difficult to describe!”
“You are a danger, Sir. I wonder what unholy plans you have with me tonight.”
“I had planned the evening thoroughly; it is true, but the moment I opened the door all my brilliant plans went out of the window and I completely forgot them.”
“So, I bowled you over?”
“You demolished me!”
“I start to think that I have a serious effect on you. Heaven knows, soon you will plead not guilty and blame me for all your sins tonight.”
“I realized that the first day I opened my eyes in your sitting room, because you have a hypnotic effect on me right from that moment and it becomes more intense every minute.”
Chloe turns and looks straight into his eyes. “Focus both your eyes at the tip of my nose.”
“What?”
“Come on, I want those blue eyes of yours focusing on the tip of my nose so that they can pull together.” She then continues in a whisper. “Good. Just focus those eyes on the tip off my nose.”
Suddenly she screams on top of her voice while pulling a wild cat face. “Girrr!”
Shocked he jerks his head away. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m just trying to get you out of your trance.”
Isaac bends forward and gets the Cold Duck. He takes the cork firmly in his right hand and with his left the bottle and with brutal force turns the cork to and fro until it pops loose but he prevents the sparkle to escape by holding the cork tightly against the opening and gradually releasing his grip until the sparkle has no inkling to escape any more. He lifts her glass, tilting it and fills it to the top without disturbing the sparkle.
Chloe is impressed. “You know your wine, Doctor Winecork!”
Isaac smiles at her sarcasm. “Here! A little sparkling wine for the appetite because they say: hunger is the best cook.”
She takes the glass and he pours his own, puts down the bottle and instinctively they clink gasses for a toast which he pronounces on the spot: “Let tonight be the first of the rest of our lives.”
Chloe giggles sarcastically for his toast and he looks at her dismayed: “What?”
“You are very funny, Doctor Isaac Horn.”
“And you are magnifique, my princess! I am so honored with your presence.”
Highly amused they look at each other. Then his eyes go down and focus on her lips. “You find so many different kinds of lips.”
She hears the sound system changes the music and again she is pleasantly surprised with his choice when Francois Hardy begins with ‘Find me a Boy’ in her sexy French accent. Suspiciously she looks at him but his eyes are nailed to her lips. She tries to work out what his plans are from this moment onwards.
“Really Doctor, was it part of your medical training? Did you have to study people’s lips? I hope you passed those tests.”
With his eyes still fixed on her lips and even without a wink he replies: “Yes, I had to and scored full marks for my practical. You get the too thin lips, too wide, and too thick lips.”
He moves unknowingly nearer to her like a predator until they almost touch each other with their nose tips. She doesn’t move away and feels the warmth of his closeness when he continues. “And then you get those extraordinary, unique, irresistible lips.”
Chloe feels the warmth from inside rising and radiating from her being so that she feels dizzy and it influences her breathing and she hears herself repeating while she yearns for his touch. “ … extraordinary, unique, irresistible …”
Lightly their nose tips touch and his eyes looking into hers are extra blue. “These lips keep me awake at night because they are too sexy to ignore. I simply burn to explore them in every way possible and everything else feels like a waste of time.”
She cannot control her breathing any longer and hears how her breath rushes from exhilaration when she loses control. The dizziness paralyses her and her whole being yearns for him to overwhelm her with his manhood. It is as if the whole world has vanished and nothing exists except this moment.
Suddenly he takes the risk and their lips meet.