For His Eyes Only, or The Sensuality of Art

"It's your body that I want to draw, not your clothes." 

Well, that's what she was afraid of! Hardworking estate agent Natasha Gordon finds her reputation in tatters when an ad she created gets bungled. She'll do anything to restore her good name--even beg seriously sexy artist Darius Hadley to give her another chance to sell his ancestral home. Only, he drives a hard bargain:  Natasha must pose naked, for his eyes only...! 

He's asking Natasha to take him on trust. But she's learned the hard way not to trust men--particularly those she's working with...and let alone men she's taking her clothes off for! 

Darius's next outrageous statement? "I will, too--if it will make it easier for you..."

There's a reason why Liz Fielding's been nominated for the RONA Rose Award.  Not only are her characters well-developed and stunningly gorgeous, but her prose is to die for.

The penultimate paragraph of the entire book has made me dream of Christmas.  (Due to the spoilerific content of the quote, you'll have to highlight it as I've written it in white):

Wedding bells, fairy lights glistening over a white frost.  Red berries and ivy twisted around the Christmas roses in her bouquet.  White velvet and her grandmother's pearls.  And Darius.

Isn't that just gorgeous?!  It almost makes one decide to opt for a Christmas wedding!

And the whole concept of this book is grounded in the beautiful.  After their first meeting, Darius can't help but sketch Natasha from memory, so when she turns up asking for his help, he's determined to be able to paint her in the flesh.

Woman Standing in Front of a Mirror, by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1841

When you look at paintings - whether old or new - there's something so very intimate about capturing a person on canvas.  In Edgar Allan Poe's The Oval Portrait, through painting a girl, the painter steals her soul and in doing so kills her.  Nothing so macabre happens in For His Eyes Only, but it does emphasise how very intimate the whole act of sitting for someone can be.

Therefore, it is no surprise to us when this develops more.  The passion transfers from the canvas to the characters and soon they're embroiled in an affair that will result in love.

Utterly enchanting and beautifully written, these two stubbornly different characters are drawn together through a sensuality that cannot be denied.  Delightful.

NB.  Mills & Boon boy Kevin likes to take along a decent Modern Tempted books in his armoured car...