Breathe Read Online Free Page B

glass.
    “This helps me shape it before I start the glassblowing.” Her eyes flicked from the glass to him, just briefly. “That’s when you’ll get your paler green.”
    “How?” Elijah watched intently.
    Samantha rolled her eyes, then put the ladle aside. Seating herself on a low stool, still rolling the glass back and forth on the narrow table, she ran her tongue over her lips.
    “Breath is the magic of glass art.” Her eyes darkened, a small smile curving her lips, which sent a surge of need straight to Elijah’s groin.
    Magic indeed. As she placed her lips around the edge of the metal blowpipe and exhaled, her focus entirely on the glass, Elijah would have absolutely believed she was a witch if someone had accused her.
    He couldn’t look away.
    She blew delicately into the pipe, turning it evenly all the while. The glob of glass expanded like a balloon, thinning and stretching and, as she had said, becoming a paler shade of green.
    “There.” Her voice was satisfied and slightly breathless as she removed her mouth from the pipe and stood, her tall, slender frame in motion the whole time. She picked up a flat paddle and held it to the bottom of the blown glass, flattening it. Then she picked up a thick stack of what looked like soggy newspaper and shaped the object some more, steam and smoke issuing from the paper as it rubbed against the hot glass.
    She scored the green glass where it met the blowpipe, then picked up a nozzle and flicked a switch. “This is compressed air, to cool it.”
    Once she’d cooled it, she hurriedly carried the blowpipe to the first furnace.
    “Now I put a bit of hot glass on the bottom of the piece.” Removing the project from the furnace, she picked up a long metal rod and attached it to the piece with the hot glass. “This is a pontil. It’s essentially a maneuvering rod.”
    Elijah found that he didn’t want to say a word even though he had a million questions . . . He didn’t want to disturb the rhythm of Samantha’s work. She was clearly aware of him, spoke to him, but her attention was fully on her work.
    It was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
    He watched as she dipped a stick into a bucket of water, shaking it until a fat droplet landed on the glass.
    Samantha then broke the glass off the blowpipe, picking up another pontil and moving back to the first furnace. She used yet more hot glass to plug the hole that had resulted from breaking the glass off of the blowpipe.
    Her breath was now coming faster, her breasts pushing against the thin fabric of her tank top. The sight, combined with her unholy beauty as she worked in front of the glowing furnace, had Elijah shifting uncomfortably, willing his cock to behave, lest he scare her off.
    “Almost done.” The tension in the air eased just the faintest amount as she used a small machine to polish the edge of what Elijah could now see was a simple, elegant vase. She aimed the nozzle with the compressed air at it again.
    “There.” Satisfaction rang true in her voice as she picked up the piece between stacks of damp newspaper and held it up for him to see. “That last blast of air was to equalize the temperature throughout the piece. Now it goes into this electric kiln. It will cool slowly for twelve hours, so that the glass doesn’t crack.” As she opened the kiln, Elijah, unable to stay away from her any longer, moved to stand just behind her.
    She placed the vase on a shelf in the kiln, amid a forest of glass palm trees.
    “These are quite different from your sculpture at the show.” He reached out a hand to run a finger over the glossy trunk of one tree, and Samantha smacked his hand away. The movement caused her scent to waft toward his nose, and he inhaled the smell of wildflowers and smoke.
    “Tourist tchotchkes are easy cash.” Samantha closed the door to the kiln, then turned. She started when she looked up and found him right behind her.
    Yet she didn’t move away. Heat began a low burn in