Keep Romance Alive!

Welcome back, Eydie. Thanks for sharing your latest story with us. I hope you all run over to her website and check out her other work and to read the rest of the story. :)


Romance is not just a story, it’s a lifestyle! To keep the romance percolating in your life I’ve included an excerpt from Basque in the Splendor, my most recent novette. It is part of the Castillo Brothers Trilogy. The story takes place in the Basque country of Spain.

Sensual Gourmet


Estevan followed her outside and led her to his ice blue sports car. Inside she was exploding with delight, this man, this day and this car, she couldn’t believe it! Keeping her cool exterior in place she casually asked him about the car.

“Is this your Jag? A 1974 E-Type, V12, right?”

She said it as though she rode around in this sort of car every day. He was impressed.

“Yes, it is, fully restored.”

Lewella smiled in silence. She didn’t want him to know what a secret car fanatic she was and that this was the car she’d always dreamed of owning. Estevan opened the door and she got into the passenger side. As she fastened her seatbelt, he started the engine. Oh that sound, that glorious sound of the Jaguar’s engine, it was arousing to her all by itself, but sitting here next to Estevan…well it was almost more than she could bear. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath to hold the moment. Her nostrils filled with the combined scents of leather upholstery, expensive cologne and the tiniest hint of something primitively exhilarating that was decidedly male in origin.

Lewella opened her eyes to the uniquely picturesque countryside rushing past her. All around her were scenic hills with tiered plateaus in every tint and shade of green. She was awed by the beauty. Here was a paradise all its own. Wordlessly drinking in the landscape, she noticed Estevan was slowing the car. Ahead was a delightful little café.

“Are we stopping?”

Estevan looked at her and smiled.

“I thought you might be hungry. You couldn’t have had much to eat since leaving New York.”

They pulled into the small parking lot and went in. The air was cool inside and the lighting was low. The interior of the restaurant was far more elegant than its exterior had suggested.

They sat down at a small table in an intimate corner of the restaurant. Fragrant flowers graced the linen tablecloth. Gleaming, sterling silver cutlery waited in their arranged place settings. Soon, an attractive young waiter appeared with menus.

“¿El generalmente Sr. Castillo?”
Estevan nodded and soon the waiter returned with champagne and fresh, plump strawberries. The first sip created a delectable taste sensation as the bubbles hit Lewella’s tongue and exploded in her mouth.

“I hope you do not mind that I ordered for you. As you told me you do not speak Spanish, I thought this would be easier.”

“I’m sure whatever you ordered will be fine. I love to try new things.”

The waiter returned again with an appetizer of fresh oysters. She watched with hungry delight as Estevan lifted one of the shells to his open mouth and let the slippery mound slowly slide down the back of his throat. He looked at her expectantly and Lewella did the same, licking her lips after she swallowed. The waiter was back with two crisp, colorful salads of arugula with slivered almonds and crushed basil, topped with sliced avocado artfully arranged around an open fig. Lewella noticed one, long, thick slice of avocado boldly protruding straight up above the greens below. She picked it up with her fingers, softly pushed it between her lips and gently mashed it against the roof of her mouth with her tongue, licking her finger as she slowly pulled it out of her mouth. Estevan smiled, mesmerized.

“My, you do that very well.”

Lewella was mildly horrified. She couldn’t believe what she’d just done. What’s come over me? I don’t usually act like this with people I barely know, especially men, she thought to herself. She didn’t have much time to ponder. Estevan took the open fig from the center of his salad and keeping his eyes glued to hers, he elegantly licked out all of the fruit’s pulp. Finally, he took the spent fig’s outer skin and sucked it dry. Lewella was breathless.

The waiter returned and placed two plates in front of them. On each was an artfully arranged serving of broiled salmon and white asparagus. Lewella realized that she was still completely famished. She ate her salmon with abandon and licked the butter off each piece of asparagus with sensual delight. Estevan watched with rapt attention. Finally, she dabbed her mouth with her napkin and felt complete.

“Would you like any dessert? The Crema Catalana is fabulous here.”

Lewella shook her head no. She didn’t want to spoil the wonderful feeling of having a long, slow-building hunger satiated.

When they got back to the car, Estevan held open the passenger side door for her. Lewella thought she could feel him gently tracing the curve of her back low and slow as she got in. She looked over her shoulder to be sure, but he was already on his way to the other side of the car, whistling a happy tune.



Is your interest piqued? Please visit http://romanticstorytelling.com/ for the complete story. Enjoy!

Thanks,
Eydie

Here's a little bio on Eydie and she'd love for you to know the artist of all her artwork is Johanna Uribes.


Eydie Starling Bio

Born: August 2, 1970, Suffolk, England

Favorite flower: The Primrose

Favorite color: magenta

Ms. Starling was born in the county of Suffolk, England. When she was eight her family moved with her younger brother to Boston. They finally settled in Greenburg, New York taking frequent trips to New York City to see the art museums, ballets and Broadway musicals.

On graduation from high school, Ms. Starling travelled throughout Europe for a year before entering college. She studied at several universities in England prior to receiving her Masters degree in Creative Writing.