She shrugged, a casual gesture that sent her black hair over her shoulder like a ripple of silk. “I came downtown to talk to my accountant. Thought I’d swing by and see what you’re up to.”
He had the space divided up. In the front was a small area for a reception desk and waiting area complete with a couch, chairs and a table. In the back, several sections had been divided by expanses of wall, where he snapped portraits, and behind that, a storage room for supplies.
She walked into the back. After locking the front door, he followed her. She trailed a hand over a few set pieces, and he once again experienced an overwhelming urge to toss her against the nearest wall and take her. She wore a long skirt over brown boots and a sweater that looked soft to the touch. Her breasts, large, round, and so appealing, fit her frame perfectly. Maya constantly tempted him to touch, indulge and not come up for air until he turned sixty. At least.
He coughed to clear his throat and prayed his jeans masked his arousal. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Sure.” She stopped by the back corner, where he’d hung a few prints taken during his stint in Germany. Ancient castles in full fields of green surrounded by clear sky. Like a fairy tale come to life. “I like this one.”
“Pretty grand, eh? I liked the structure of it, the hard lines softened by the flora behind it.”
She smiled. “Well don’t you sound all artistic?”
He took a sip of his coffee to keep himself from reaching for her. “Something we have in common then.”
“Yeah, but my stuff is pretty basic.”
“I wouldn’t call your work basic.”
“It’s just clay.”
“If it’s so basic, why isn’t everyone as successful as you are?” He knew Maya made a living off her art, and by any creative person’s standards that counted as success. The termstarving artisthadn’t been coined by accident.
She flushed and turned away. If he hadn’t been looking closely, he would have missed her reaction. The woman responded to praise like a child staring longingly through a toyshop window, wanting something out of reach. It saddened and angered him that she never accepted her due, rather she shrugged compliments away as if she didn’t deserve them. That hadn’t changed in the time he’d been away either.
“I’m not rolling in riches like you. I’m living okay, I guess.” She moved away from him toward another print in the corner, a vibrant picture of the setting sun over the Cathedral of Basil the Blessed in Moscow. “Did you really go there?”
“Yeah. Gorgeous detail. Russia’s a beautiful place.” He moved closer to her and didn’t stop until he stood directly behind her. “It’s full of warmth, but most people only think of its cold and unforgiving climate. It’s not all Siberia in the middle of winter.”
She stiffened, no doubt feeling him right behind her, then turned around and put a hand on his chest. “Whoa. A little close, aren’t you, Black?”
“Not close enough.” He leaned in slowly, to give her time to move away should she want space. He planned to seduce her at a leisurely pace. From her reaction to their kiss in the truck, he thought he’d been making headway. Great on the one hand, yet doing no more than kissing her left him aching.
It was too tempting to have her so close. He set his coffee down on the nearby table, then took hers and put it down as well. Eliminating the small distance between them, he gave in to desire and kissed her.
She let him, let the heat build between them, then gripped his shoulders and pushed him back.
He didn’t release her, not sure at what point his hands had gripped her by the waist. “Now isn’t that better than a cup of coffee?” He tried to joke off his desire, but the glare she shot him told him he’d overstepped.
“No.”
Damn it. Before he could apologize, she yanked him forward and kissedhim. She took charge, penetrating his mouth, licking and stroking until he felt himself taken, seduced and thoroughly overwhelmed.Jesus Christ.
She pulled back, her eyes so dark they looked black. “That’sbetter than a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll do you one better,” he growled and shoved her back against the wall. He plastered his mouth to hers, determined to be the one in charge. Maya as the aggressor sent his body into overdrive…and recharged his kink to dominate.
Knowing how strong she was, wondering how much she could truly take, made his need to control her an all-encompassing urge.
Then her hands snaked under his sweater. She scraped her nails up his chest, plucked at his nipples, then trailed down his belly, sliding past his jeans and underwear to graze his cockhead.
He hissed his approval, and she dug deeper, trying to touch more of him. He hadn’t planned to have sex with her until at least date five, but damn if his cock remembered that. He couldn’t deny needs long buried. He fucking wanted her with every breath he had. With every cell in his body.
He trailed his lips to her ear and whispered, “If you don’t want to be fucked up against this wall right now, you need to pull your hands away and leave.”
She responded by finding his cock and gripping him tight.
He shuddered, closed his eyes, then nipped her earlobe. “That’s all the warning you’re gonna get.” Pulling back, he studied her, noting her full lips, the shine of desire in her eyes, her heavy breathing… “Take off your top. Let me see those tits.”
