Discarding his bowtie, Elyse helped Christoph remove his tuxedo jacket, and was pulling his shirt from his shoulders when he whispered, “Stop.”

Drawing back from him, Elyse noticed how tense he had suddenly become. Both distress and shame were clear in his expression.

“I need…to show you something,” Christoph said, cautiously peeling his shirt off. His body glistened with perspiration from the heated air in his room, and he was trembling.

Shifting away from her, Christoph moved so that Elyse could see his back. Her heart instantly broke by what he exposed to her. Gouged deep into the flesh on his right shoulder were scars in the form of a swastika.

She was speechless with Christoph revealing, “A month ago when visiting Augsburg, I was attacked. It was dark outside, and we had just finished a performance at a concert hall. The other violinists were Jews. That didn’t matter to me, as they had been my friends since childhood. However, the men who attacked me sought to punish me for being a Jewish sympathizer. They chased me until I stumbled, breaking my ankle. They then stripped me and carved the swastika into my skin.” Struggling to finish, Christoph mumbled, “They beat me, and left me naked in the street. I have no idea what happened to my friends. I tried to find them before I left Augsburg, but they were gone.” He turned his face back to hers, and Elyse’s heart broke when he tearfully whispered, “I thought the men were going to kill me. There was no way to resist their cruelty.”

With tears welling in her own eyes, Elyse responded, “I…cannot resist you.”

Wrapping him in her arms and lying down with him, she silently resolved to comfort him there within her gentle embrace. For the longest time, they withheld further words as they lay side-by-side. The rapid throbbing of his heart felt with her hand resting on his chest, eventually finding a more tranquil beat. Gazing at his face, she watched as his eyes stared at the ceiling. Although his body lay next to her, she believed his mind to be elsewhere, possibly returning to that dark night.

And then Christoph looked at her. Serenity had returned to his expression. His face edged closer to her as serenity succumbed to desire. Soon their lips rediscovered the passion that overwhelmed them. One kiss after the next followed until they released what lingered of their anguish.

After helping Christoph shed the rest of his clothes, Elyse asked a question, causing him to smile. “Do you play any other instruments?”

Slightly laughing, he responded, “I also play the cello.”

“Show me.” Silently urging him to ease further onto the bed, Elyse then sat with her back to him with his legs on each side of her. She felt the stiffness of his erection against her, fueling her longing for him. “Play me,” she seductively demanded.