She wandered through the garden, breathing in the beauty surrounding her. How she loved to come here, be engulfed by nature’s canvas and filled by the sound of its music. This was Marie’s favorite escape from the turmoil and tensions of everyday life. Her flowing white skirt brushed against her silky legs as she slowly traveled the rows of roses. Every so often she stopped briefly, leaned her curvaceous figure forward to take in the soft sensuality of a half-opened bud. The scent filled her senses and her mind. Such a flower caught her eye, as she settled onto the soft grass beneath the shade of a large magnolia tree in full bloom. She pulled her skirt over her knees and adjusted her sketch book onto her lap, ready to try and capture that beauty for her own collection. So absorbed in this world she was, Marie was left oblivious to the stranger observing her from across the garden’s stream.
His eyes had caught her as soon as she entered the garden. He watched as she made her way among the blooms and foliage. The bright sun seemed to sparkle off the dark tresses that tumbled over her shoulders. The waves that framed her face drew his attention to the exquisiteness of her fair skin, and her dark rose colored lips. Rick had never before been overcome with such feeling, such emotion. Immediately he longed to touch those full lips, to trace them with the tip of his finger, and to feel them press their softness to his own. But most intoxicating to him were those dark eyes. As soon as she looked up from her drawing he noticed their intensity. He felt the instantaneous warmth spread through his senses. He could only imagine the passions those ebony eyes were windows to. How he longed to gaze into them, to be lost within them as he reached the heights of those passions with her. All this ravaged Rick’s mind and senses as he watched her. When she finished her sketch, and began to gather her belongings, he knew he must catch this lovely creature before she left. The idea of letting her slip away before having the chance to just speak with her suddenly terrified him. To lose that chance, though sure to be slim, at sharing in such fervor was something he would not do.
Still oblivious to the man with her among the flowers, Marie collected her tools to head back to her dreary apartment. How she hated the city, its dark streets, shuffling shadows and gray demeanor. This garden set apart in the center of it was her only escape. She had promised herself long ago that someday she would flee its monotony for the flowing meadows of the country she had grown up in. Goodness that seemed so long ago, but she still had not lost hope of returning. The gloom of spending another evening alone there though made it even more foreboding. Lost in these thoughts and memories, Marie did not hear the man approaching until she felt his presence almost right next to her. Startled, she whirled around to find him standing only a few feet away, simply gazing at her.