The first stroke was emotion—raw and unafraid. That thick wash of blue invited more. More colors, uneven lines, mistakes, and feelings that only had one outlet. I took the rest of the brushes out of their packages to see what I had to work with. I pulled my hair into a messy knot on top of my head and returned to mix up a soft gray—early morning clouds that hovered above the water.
The music played, and the world disappeared. The once daunting canvas beneath my feet disappeared bit by bit, under an ocean of memory. I felt Ian’s gaze on me at times, but when my focus broke, I found him sifting through boxes of broken glass at his father’s workbench, seemingly adrift in his own creative magic.
I lost time. I had no idea how many minutes or hours had passed, but eventually my back and hand began to ache. I sat back on my heels and rolled my shoulders. I couldn’t finish tonight, but I had definitely left my mark. The design had worked out from the center, layers of color, uneven rings, and diversions. Seagulls cut through the waves of blue. Sand melted into the waves and clouds. Next time I’d bring out the sun.
I cocked my head, strumming with energy and unexpectedly pleased with the results. The painting was abstract but bright and vivid. Folding my happy memory into the piece for Ian to gaze upon felt right. I hoped I’d given him a measure of what he wanted to add to the space.
“That’s awesome.” Ian stood behind me a few paces, his focus fixed on my design.
I smiled broadly, pride beaming out of every pore. “You really like it?”
He nodded with a sweet grin. “I love it, Liv. Why the hell did you stop painting?”
I drew in a deep breath. Then I let it go the same way I’d let go of the fear that had held me back for so long. “I guess whatever made me stop is in the past now. If I weren’t so sore right now, I’d keep going. I feel like I could go all night.”
When I glanced back at Ian, a familiar heat darkened his eyes. His lips curved up into a wicked grin. “I can go all night if you can.”
A rush of desire surged between my thighs and made my breasts tight and heavy. “Ian…”
He held out his hand and I took it, rising as he lifted me against him.
“I’m a mess,” I murmured.
But he didn’t seem to care as he crashed his lips against mine. I moaned and melted into him. That familiar frenzy worked its way through me. It tingled along my limbs and exploded at my core, making me want him with a fierceness that made me question my own sanity.
“Let’s go home,” I said, desperate to get a bed under us.
“No. Here. I can’t wait.”
My gaze flickered up to his. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Dad always wanted me to bring a girl home to meet the family. Here you are. Close enough.”
I smiled, and he tugged my shirt and bra off, giving my nipples a teasing pinch. He knelt down, undid my jeans and pulled them to my feet. He kissed my thighs and belly on his way back up. When he stood before me, he sifted his fingers through my hair, angling me to meet his molten gaze.
“And every time I walk in here, I want to remember this moment. The war you won inside yourself. How perfect you feel in my arms…all around me.”
Tying me even further to this place that held such importance in his world felt dangerous, but I was too high on Ian and this perfect night to say no. He stepped away to unzip a duffle bag in the corner of the room. He pulled out a thick blanket and laid it on the floor. I went to him, my body flushed with heat, my heart skipping every other beat in his presence.
As he stripped, I lay down on the blanket and waited for him, enjoying the view a little more with each passing second. The man’s body would make sculptors weep. When he came to me, he wasted no time divesting me of my panties and burying his gorgeous face between my legs. I gasped, unprepared for his savage hunger. He nudged my thighs wider.
“Open up for me. I want to see every inch of you, baby.”
I obeyed, and in seconds, his velvet tongue against my sensitive tissues had me riding the edge of an orgasm. The hint of teeth against my clit pushed me over. I arched higher, and my cries echoed off the studio walls. As I came down, he lifted away and rolled on a condom. Sated as I might have been, I was counting down the seconds until he was inside me.
He moved up my body and took my mouth in a fevered kiss. My taste lingered on his lips, mingling with his as we devoured each other. Our tongues dueled, chasing and tasting. I held him to me, touching and tugging. Suddenly he couldn’t be close enough. When he pulled away enough to look into my eyes, his were hooded with lust and soft with emotion.
“I don’t know how to say it. It sounds crazy…but I want to love you, Liv,” he whispered roughly, like the words hurt to say. He closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’m not sure I know how.”
My heart twisted painfully in my chest, like a tornado of emotion powering through me. I wanted to love him too. Every cell in my body wanted that. My mind shouted yes.
I couldn’t deny him something I wanted so badly too. I cradled his face in my palms, accepting the fall where a different me would have fought it. I gazed into those captivating gray eyes and let myself feel it all.