“I know. I figured that out for myself,” she said coldly.
“Russian lessons, maybe?” he said in a slightly cynical tone. She had all the makings of a gold digger and had finally tipped her hand. He hadn’t seen it before. She had played a better game at first.
She didn’t answer, and he walked out, and all she saw as she watched him go was the gold mine he represented, slipping through her fingers, again. She wasn’t sure why, but it always went wrong. She threw her empty wineglass at the wall, and started to cry when it broke.
And all Theo wanted to do was go home. She made him feel unclean somehow, as though it were all about a trade of sex for money. There had to be something more meaningful than that. He thought of Natasha then, and she was exactly what Chloe was talking about and aspired to, but Natasha wasn’t crass or cheap and didn’t seem like a gold digger, even though she was a kept woman. She seemed like a nice girl, and talking to her had been so easy and light and fun.
He walked into his studio the minute he got home, and stood there looking lost for a moment. He knew what he had to do, and felt compelled to, although he knew he shouldn’t. He couldn’t stop himself—it was a force more powerful than he was. He picked up the blank canvas he had pulled out the night before, and set it on his easel. He knew the only way to get her out of his mind was to paint her. He didn’t even lay the groundwork with a sketch before he started painting her in oil. He didn’t need to. She was seared into his memory, and he could see her face as though she were standing before him. He could see her laugh when he said something to her, and her wistful smile as the tender pulled away from the boat, taking him away from her. He could hear the way she pronounced her name when she said it. Natasha…Natasha…the sway of her hips, when he followed her down the stairs, the way her hair flew in the wind, when she stood watching him from the rail…she filled every inch of his mind and electrified his body as he started painting her, and within a short time he could see her emerge from the mists on the canvas…Natasha…she had bewitched him body and soul…he felt possessed as he continued painting her in a frenzy until dawn. He didn’t know or care what time it was, just so he could be near her. Her eyes were already looking deep into his by then.
Chapter 4
Vladimir landed back on the boat three days after Theo had delivered the painting. He asked to see it moments after he came onboard and sent one of his security guards to get it from his office. He unwrapped it carefully, and slowly unveiled it, as Natasha watched. He hadn’t asked who had delivered it, which was immaterial and didn’t even occur to him, so she had nothing to explain. She never had guests onboard, so the time she had spent with Theo was unusual, but there had been no harm in it. It was just a tiny slice of a “normal” life she had never had and never would, and had willingly given up to be with Vladimir. It was fun just tasting it for an instant, talking to someone close to her own age, who wanted nothing from her. She had so little contact with anyone beyond Vladimir’s world. In lieu of friends, she had Vladimir. And she had no regrets about it. But it had been nice talking to Theo about art and life, and showing him the boat, like two kids exploring each other’s homes, although she had a sense that Vladimir wouldn’t like it. He saw no need for her to talk to anyone but him. She wondered where and how Theo lived—probably in a small apartment somewhere, or a room, with his job at the restaurant. She didn’t know people like him. Theo was the first man she had actually talked to in years, other than Vladimir, or without his being present and watching her closely. And she could only have conversations with Vladimir when he was in the mood and on the subjects he chose. Her conversation with Theo had felt so open and free, although she knew nothing about him.
The painting was even more beautiful than Vladimir and Natasha remembered, and he was delighted with the purchase, particularly since Lorenzo Luca’s work was so rare. It had been a major coup to acquire it, and knowing him so well, Natasha wasn’t surprised he had. He could convince anyone of anything once he decided that he wanted something. He never relented until he had the desired object in hand, and now he did. Not unlike the determined way he had pursued her, and won her in the end. It was his way.
They had dinner on deck that night, and she could tell that he was pleased with his time away. He was in a festive mood, and they chose a spot for the new painting in their bedroom, and moved a Picasso into the hall. And then they went back on deck. He had told her that they were moving the boat that night. He had told the captain to go to St. Tropez.
“You can shop for a day. I thought we’d go to Sardinia after that. We haven’t been for a while. There’s a mistral coming at the end of the week. We can outrun it before it hits and stay there.” There was a spot in Porto Cervo just outside the port where he liked to anchor. They were too big to go in, which was the case everywhere they went. And he knew she liked to stop in Portofino on the way. They were all familiar places to both of them. They went to Croatia, Turkey, and Greece at times too, and Capri. Venice was one of her favorite spots and big enough for them to anchor comfortably, with a perfect view of the churches and the square. She was excited to go to St. Tropez and Sardinia, and she didn’t mind if the crossing to Sardinia was rough. She was a good sailor, and had been in storms with him before. She never got seasick, and sometimes had better sea legs than the crew.
They set sail around two A.M., once she and Vladimir were in bed and asleep after they made love. And when they woke up in the morning, they were anchored outside the port of St. Tropez. She went shopping that morning, with two deckhands with her to carry her purchases, and she met Vladimir for lunch at Le Club 55, which she always enjoyed. She had bought some bathing suits at Eres, and a white summer bag at Hermès, and had fun wandering in and out of the shops.