by Kailin Gow
Serena typed out every word, all while keeping her eyes steadily on him. When his gaze swept across the room and stopped to connect with hers for the briefest moment, she didn’t see the masterful composer who spoke so eloquently about his passion for music, but a man who loved and needed love. Even with a room full of students between them, she felt his love.
“Some dare say,” he went on, “if you’ve not lived, if you’ve not lost, you cannot compose great music. True, a life rich with experience, pain and pleasure, gain and loss, love and hate, can beget profound melodies that evoke strong emotions even from the coldest and disinterested listener. However, this doesn’t preclude you, young and virginal, green and pure, to compose beautiful music. Everyone has a past, be it filled with sorrow or joy, pride or regret. Don’t be afraid to dig deep, to go behind doors you may have closed, to re-open old wounds you’d rather forget. Pour them out onto that blank sheet of paper staring back at you.”
He turned his back on the room and walked to the piano set behind him. Sitting down, he looked at the room of eager students. “If you would humor me, please close your eyes, listen, and allow your emotions to take over.”
With one finger, he tapped on a solitary low note for two measures before adding a slow and dramatic melody.
Serena closed her eyes and listened to every note. She could almost hear his voice calling out to her as his fingers played along the lower register of the piano. She could almost hear his heart break.
The melody ached, broke and fell apart with devastating heartache. As the song went on, brooding and dark, she heard a few sniffles, a few whimpers and finally a soft sob.
When Sebastian rested his fingers over the stilled keys of the piano, the room was silent save for the quiet sobs. Serena opened her eyes and caught Sebastian’s poignant gaze, a gaze filled with the very emotions his composition evoked. His blue eyes held her, mesmerized as the emotions filled her.
“Now,” Sebastian said with a clap of his hands. He cleared his throat and stood before the class. “Looking at you, I can see there’s plenty of emotion in the room. What did you feel?”
“Sad,” many students said at once.
“Yes,” Sebastian said. “I guess there is something rather sad about it. Anything else?”
“The rhythm was almost plaintive, as if the piano was crying.”
“Some of the combinations of low base notes with the high, sharp ones added something mysterious and enigmatic to the melody.”
“I felt sad, almost morose throughout the song, but in the end, it seemed to hold a faint note of hope.”
Sebastian cocked his brow. “Interesting. So we have a sad mystery with a grain of hope.”
“Where did you get the inspiration for such a composition?” a young woman in the front row said.
Wringing his hands together, Sebastian shot a wicked grin around the large room. He inhaled deeply as he hesitated. “All I’ll say is, when you find love, true love, hold onto it, because once you let go, it can easily become your greatest regret in life.”
“Are you in love with someone you can’t have?” another girl asked.
He grinned and clucked his tongue. “I’m happy to see my music touched you all as intended. Think about what you can bring to your own compositions and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Having dismissed the question and the class, Sebastian picked up his notes and jacket as students cleared the room. With the room almost empty, he walked to the back of the class to Serena.
“You came in late.”
“There was more traffic than I anticipated.” She slipped her laptop into her bag and pulled the strap over her shoulder. “I’ll make sure I leave home earlier tomorrow.”
“You look lovely today – surprisingly prim and proper. I’ll admit you're just as alluring buttoned up to the collar as you are in the nude. There’s something naughty behind that crisp blue shirt that makes me want to tear it off.”
“That wasn’t my intention. I wanted to show you I’m serious about my music.”
He grinned. “Speaking of which… I need to see you in my office. I want to discuss my expectations. As your advisor, I won’t tolerate tardiness, or laziness.”
“Yes, Sir.” Serena followed him out of the lecture hall.
His strides were long and forceful as he walked out of the building and into the neighboring one where his office was housed. On entering the building, she remembered her first encounter with him. How quickly they’d grown close. How quickly she’d developed such intense affection for him.
Now, as he pushed the door open to let her into his office, she knew she wouldn’t have the strength to resist him should he touch her.
“You know how I feel about tardiness.” His voice was hard with scorn as he closed the door behind them.
Book 2 of The Protégé, The Innocent is set to release late summer.
Another Steamy Adult Novel from Kailin Gow
Bestselling Novel…now available!
The Protégé
She was the young promising composer in search of a master to teach her and advise her. Serena Singleton was the beautiful up and coming talent brought to the attention of the eccentric, famous, and wildly wealthy Sebastian Sorenson, one of the foremost and most talented composers in Hollywood and in the Academics field. A chance encounter brings them into an arrangement that turns out beyond their expectations and desire, testing their boundaries. Who is the student, the protege, and who is the teacher? Nothing is as it seems in this romantic exotic thriller.
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What other books to read if you enjoy steamy adult romances?
Kailin Gow recommends the following great reads from authors she has signed with or will be signing with in upcoming book signings! Pick up these books along with other books from Kailin Gow, and visit during one of the signing events!
Masters of Menage by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day
Club Destiny Series by Nicole Edwards
Up in the Air Series by R.K. Lilley
The Blackstone Affair by Raine Miller
With Me in Seattle Series by Kristen Proby
Hard to Love by Kendall Ryan
