Chapter 5

"Come in," smiled Darius extending his hand to the young blonde as the two women entered the old Victorian mansion. "You must be Cathy."

His touch was electrifying and Mioki almost giggled to see her friend's reaction. Cathy was as instantly infatuated with the painter as Mioki had been during her first encounter with Darius.

They sat in a drawing room where he offered them wine. They talked cordially for a few minutes, both women hanging on his every word as he described his life as a painter.

"... and as I said in class, Mioki, you must LIVE what you paint. The artist must FEEL, have a true PASSION for life, else the image on the canvas is a lie."

Mioki felt her heart in her throat. Never had anyone aroused such feelings in her. She felt as if she were awakening from a stupor to, at last, understand life and the hunger for that life the artist must experience. She also realized that her awakening passions were not just for life itself, but also for the man who stirred those feelings within her.

"Shall we adjourn to the studio?" he asked.

They followed upstairs to a modest sized room where an easel stood facing a stool and sofa.

"Tonight I simply wish to do some sketching. Mioki would you sit on the stool please."

She sat rather self consciously while Cathy sat on the sofa off to one side. Mioki was amazed at the speed with which he worked. His hands seemed to fly across the sketch pad. In a matter of moments he had her turn slightly and again the charcoal seemed to have a life of its own. After several more sketches were complete, he moved the sofa into position and asked Mioki to recline. She was a bit hesitant but with Cathy's urging, she lay facing him with her head propped on her arm. Not wanting to soil the sofa, she slipped out of her shoes.

"Lovely," he commented, "you have a natural talent for modeling."

Mioki blushed and Cathy giggled to see her new friend's embarrassment, but Mioki was slowly beginning to relax and coming to realize she enjoyed being the center of this handsome man's attention. She tried new poses and once when her skirt rose exposing her thigh, she pretended not to notice and wondered if he really thought her beautiful. The pages were turning now every few seconds and Mioki's amazement grew by the moment. How could he possibly be completing even rough sketches so quickly? At last he closed the pad and smiled.

"Enough for the first time. Would you like to see?"

"Yes very much," answered Mioki and Cathy also came forward to view his work. Mioki's breath shortened as she gazed at the amazing likenesses before her. Indeed there was a minimum of strokes, but somehow, he had captured her essence as even a photograph could not.

When Cathy remarked about how breathtakingly real the images seemed to be, Darius replied, "They are Mioki, for I sketch and paint who and what you are, not just what you look like."

"They're wonderful," she breathed.

"Take one, as a gift," he offered.

"Oh, I couldn't..."

"I insist. And while we're at it..." He pulled the last page from the pad. It, like the others, was a wonderful rendering of an attractive young woman, but the face this time was Cathy's.

Cathy squealed as he handed her the sketch.

"Just to reassure you both I am a legitimate artist. Cathy, you are welcome to return whenever you like, but I think you can see Mioki is safe with me. His eyes melted any resistance there might have been in the blonde's mind.

"Yes, I... I can see that," she responded.

"Here is your fee," he said handing Mioki an envelope. "May I expect you tomorrow evening?"

"Yes, yes of course," Mioki managed to say, unaware that the admiration she held for this man was quickly turning to adoration, but unaware also of the power, mortal though it was, that Darius was beginning to exert upon her.