“You know why.”
“How about we take this one day at a time.”
I nodded my agreement. “Go get cleaned up.”
I pulled a black lace robe over my body and tied it off at the waist. The hem barely made it past my ass, but it would do for now. Kai was near a window, looking at one of my paintings, his jeans loose around his hips, belt still undone, and bare chest beckoning to be licked despite my muscles still singing from just minutes ago.
“Amalia, these are—amazing. I had no idea you were this talented.” He glanced back with a knowing grin. “As an artist.”
“Nice save.”
He winked and turned back toward my painting, brushing his fingers along the edges of the canvas. “Who is she?”
The aged face of a woman with deepset eyes and a crooked smile took me back to several weeks ago when I thought I was alone in the stable, crying like a damn baby because I’d been coerced into marrying a stranger. Milly’s good friend, Daisy, snuck up on me. She didn’t ask questions or show pity. She smiled that crooked grin and held me until I could hold myself. Not one word was exchanged between us, but they weren’t necessary. I was sure Milly had told her everything.
“She’s someone special who showed me kindness when she could have just pretended I didn’t exist.”
I hadn’t noticed when he’d returned to where I was standing. Not until his arms were around me, his lips to my forehead.
“Impossible. You’re a presence everywhere you go. I remember being taken by you that day you showed up. Every time you spoke, no one else existed. You owned the room.”
“Well, I don’t remember hearing from you afterward either.”
He laughed into my hair. “You didn’t exactly seem to be interested.”
“I noticed you, Cain. And that’s all you need to know.”
“Fair enough.” His gaze was set beyond me, to a far corner of my studio. I didn’t have to turn to know what had caught his attention.
“What’s that, under the white sheet?”
“Something I’m working on.”
Kai’s hands slid down to the small of my back. “Sounds important.”
“It is. But you can’t see it…yet. And if I find out you were snooping, I’ll gouge out those pretty eyes and keep them as souvenirs.”
“I’m just flattered you want to keep them,” he said with a chuckle, sliding his hands farther down until he pulled me onto his waist. “So, you’re beautiful, good with a knife…” He kissed up my neck, forcing my head to tilt back and my eyes to close. “A good shot...” His teeth nipped gently at my lips. “You have the sweetest fucking pussy.”
“Keep going,” I said, as I tangled my fingers into his soft hair.
“You can take a cock.” Laughter bubbled up my throat. “And you’re a goddamn talented artist. I’ve wanted to come here since your mother mentioned it at dinner that night. But I wasn’t sure if—”
“All you had to do was ask.”
“Well, we haven’t exactly been on the best of terms. Though I’m not sure why. I’m not that ugly, and I think I have a shining personality.”
I found myself laughing again, and I honestly couldn’t remember the last time anyone outside of my family had made me feel this way in…maybe forever.
“I won’t disagree. But I have my reasons.”
Kai brushed his nose along my jaw, making it hard to catch my breath.
“Have or had?”
“You think that because you fucked me, that all is good?”
“I fucked your throat too. That has to count for something.”
