“After you …” he pauses.
It takes me a second to realize he’s asking my name.
“Oh … Bella,” I say, voice weak. Knees weaker. Nipples aching so badly I’m starting to wonder if the friction of my clothes is going to make my toes curl and an orgasm erupt in me right now.
“After you … Bella,” he says.
I walk up the stairs.
The whole way, I know Alex is watching me. I can feel his savage gaze on my ass.
So, sue me …
I move my hips from side to side. Something I never would’ve dreamed of just thirty minutes ago.
But a man like Alex wanting me—if that’s what’s going on here—makes me feel powerful.
And that’s one hell of a feeling.
2
ALEX
“Are you sure this is okay?” Bella asks.
Leaning against the balcony railing. Her sundress holding on for dear life as it rides up her thick thighs like her clothes know she’s hungry for me. She looks at me over her shoulder. Pouts those perfect lips.
“I don’t want to put you out,” she murmurs.
It’s a struggle to speak. My steel pushes against my pants.
“We’ve got paint. Canvas. All the supplies you need.”
She turns. Rests her back against the railing while facing me. Her cheeks are flushed and red and naïve. Her eyes are wide and curious. Her pretty lips look ready for kissing. And for other things—for my huge hungry cock sliding between them.
Every time she moves, her gorgeous curvy breasts shift in her sundress. I somehow don’t reach down and press my hand against my pole. Somehow fight that urge. A fucking miracle.
“What about getting back to the village?” she asks.
“I can arrange that for you,” I tell her.
“Are you sure?”
I step forward. Only mean to take one step, but when I smell her perfume, I almost lose it. I close the distance until I’m standing so close to her I could reach out and sink my hands into the voluptuous beauty of her hips. Squeeze to feel her soft flesh give me a little resistance, then yield.
She arches her back. Tilts her head up at me.
She looks shy, excited, cautious and reckless all at once. In other words—so perfect.
“Bella, you need to have more confidence.”
She huffs out a laugh. “How do you know? Maybe my art is cruddy.”
“Nope,” I growl.
Giggling this time. “You seem pretty sure.”
“The way you look at this place, Bella … the passion, the gleam in your eyes.”
