There was a chair across from the bed, big, carved, almost a throne. He sat in it. He watched Miriam Blaylock play, watched and listened. This was one talented lady. What the Veils was about was limitless wealth and the power of human genius. If you had the cash, the Veils could rebuild your soul.

Or if you were a damn dogface on a lucky streak, like yours truly.

Miriam was wearing a white nightgown cinched just under her breasts with a pink ribbon. He thought, I have never been in such a wonderful place with such a wonderful person before, and I think I’m about to get laid.

Christ almighty. Now, he had to prepare himself. When she was finished with that sweet prelude, she was going to raise her eyes, and he was going to see once again her angelic and spectacularly sexy face. He was already as hard as iron. The issue was, how did he do it, if indeed he was to be afforded that privilege, without wadding her on stroke two?

The music came to an end. She put down the flute.

When he applauded softly, she laughed. “I was just fooling around.”

“You fooled around with the Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun better than anybody I’ve ever heard. Better than Galway.”

“I adore James.”

“You know him?”

“We’ve played together.”

“Okay.”

Silence fell. He didn’t know what to do next, what to say. He was way out of his class; that was the truth of it. He looked up at the ceiling, which was painted with a night sky, dark blue with gold-leaf stars and a moon that looked more like it had a snake in it than a man. The constellations were strangely off, too.

“That’s an antique ceiling. Do you like it?”

“Oh, yeah. How old is it?”

She got off the bed and came over and sat on the arm of the chair. “It’s from Atlantis.”

“Okay,” he said again, and instantly felt like a total jerk. What was he, a stroke victim, here? Couldn’t he come up with something a little funny at least, in response to a funny remark from her?

“Okay what?”

“Sorry, I’m just—well—I gotta be honest. I’m just totally overwhelmed, here. Your club—I mean, Jesus. I admit to feeling just a little outclassed.”

She leaned down and grasped him through the silk pants. There was no underwear involved in this outfit, so it was a pretty intimate contact. The pleasure was intense.

“You need to cool down a little,” she said.

“I need to cool down,” he repeated.