Enticing An Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

as she
turned to the lobby door and used a key to let them inside.
    Michael laughed and found that it was easy to
be honest with this woman, and that's exactly what he did next.
    "Look, Melanie. I'm not going to turn down
sex, but I'm really enjoying myself and don't want the evening to
end. If that means drinking a cup of coffee and having you kick me
out afterwards, then fine."
    Melanie turned back to him for a second and
appeared to analyze him again. She didn't seem to come to a
conclusion about whether she believed him, but she did shrug her
shoulders and continued to lead him through the lobby. They headed
up old creaking wooden steps, past small landings, and to the top
floor.
    "Well, this is it," she said as she opened
the door to her apartment.
    It was an odd shaped room that reminded
Michael of a Tetris piece. He looked up to the high vaulted
ceiling— a perk of being on the top floor—and noted the large wood
beams that cut across the space for support of the roof. The red
brickwork of the outer walls could be seen in patches, peeking
through a poor attempt to plaster the walls, and the warped floor
was made of similar wood as the beams; the entire place had an
endearing rustic feel.
    "It's very nice," Michael said as he noted
the small open kitchen with an island in a far corner and the
sparse but usable furniture.
    He moved farther into the space and tried to
take in the rest of the apartment. The bedroom, if it could be
called that, was actually a loft stuck to the far wall with a steep
wooden staircase for access. Michael could see the large bed set
upon the floor of the loft and had to wonder how she had gotten it
up there.
    Melanie headed for the kitchen, presumably to
make his coffee, and Michael suddenly found his eyes drawn to one
odd corner of the room; it was more of an alcove really. The
lighting was softer here and he headed over to the recess, flipping
on a light switch as he did. The entire area lit up with floor
lamps and a single, but bright, overhead light.
    "Oh, wow!" he exclaimed.
    He couldn't take his eyes off what he was
seeing.
    "Melanie, did you paint these?" he asked
without turning to her. He just stared at the multitude of
canvasses stacked in several places; they were leaning against the
outer walls and hung in a mismatch array on the brickwork
    "Yes," she replied as she fumbled about the
kitchen.
    Michael moved in closer. There were three
easels set about the area with one primary one in the middle. Each
one had a current work on its stand in some mode of creation. As he
scrutinized the work, he found himself enthralled. The artwork was
exquisite.
    "Is this wet on wet?" he asked as he saw the
sheen from the far left canvas.
    "Well, one of them is. Then I have an acrylic
and a standard oil painting."
    Michael looked at the various array of
brushes and paints strewn about; there didn't seem to be much
organization to the area. He gingerly picked up a tube of paint and
glanced at it.
    "Oh, wow," he said again. "You're painting
with lead based paint!"
    "Yes, careful with that," she said as she
chuckled while watching him.
    "Don't worry," he replied. "I wasn't going to
eat it."
    "I'm not worried about your health, but that
tube of paint is a hundred dollars."
    Michael's eyes widened again, and he suddenly
realized that he had lost count of how many times today this woman
had amazed him. Looking around at the various tubes on the floor
and workstations, he did some quick mental math and concluded that
she had thousands of dollars in material.
    "Melanie, these are unbelievable. Look at
this one here," he said as he pointed to the center easel. "Your
perspectives are clear, and your brush strokes are so well defined
that the image seems to have a photographic quality."
    Melanie came to his side and stared at him as
he stared at her work. He didn't realize she was there until she
spoke, and when she did, he startled.
    "Are you familiar with art?" she asked.
    "Yes, I already told you I like