“You’ll give it a go?”
“I will.”
My insides settled. I took her hand and we followedAnna, who’d been watching our exchange with interest, through to the studio. The room had off-white walls and was awash with golden light. A bouquet of lilies stood in the center of the room with two canvases set up a few yards away. Fiona went to stand behind one of them, studying the lilies intently. I joined her, picking up a small wine glass from the edge of my easel and sipping it.
“The food and drinks are over here.” Anna gestured to a hand-carved wooden table against one wall. “I’ll be through there.” She waved toward another door. “I won’t come in unless you call for me. If you need anything, just knock.”
“Thank you,” I told her.
She smiled. “Have fun.”
I picked up a paintbrush and scanned the selection of paints. I didn’t know much about them, although I’d done enough online research to not make a total ass of myself. I watched Fiona surreptitiously as she did the same and twirled the paintbrush between her fingers. I dabbed mine into the fuchsia pink paint and made a start, hoping it would take the pressure off her. She walked over to the bouquet, circled it, and returned to her canvas. Eventually, she sighed, and turned to me.
“I need a more inspiring subject,” she said. “The flowers aren’t doing it for me.”
Damn. I set my paintbrush down.
“What did you have in mind? Maybe we could use one of the wine bottles?” I suggested.
Her lips curved wickedly. “I was thinking more along the lines of you stripping off those clothes and posing for me.”
My jaw dropped. “Nude?”
I almost laughed. I sounded like a scandalized old-fashioned housewife.
“Nude,” she confirmed, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
I glanced at the door that Anna had left through. “But…”
“She said she wouldn’t come in unless we called her,” Fiona reminded me.
So she had. I chuckled. What the hell. Why not?
I kicked off my shoes, shucked off my clothes until I was in my underwear, then cast one last look at the door before peeling them down. “Where do you want me?”
She guided me to stand in front of the bouquet, using her hands to adjust me into position. She stood back to survey me, then shook her head and gripped my hips.
“Turn around,” she said. “I want you to look over your shoulder at me and give me that smolder that says you want to take my clothes off. You know the one.”
I smirked. I did know the one. I followed her orders and held still while she returned to her canvas.
“Fantastic.” She grinned, and my heart kicked in response. “Now, don’t move.”
That didn’t seem like a hard ask, but before long, I discovered that standing in one place and trying to hold the same expression wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“I have a whole new respect for models,” I grumbled.
She laughed. “It isn’t easy. I posed nude for an art class once. I had the worst crick in my neck at the end.”
My cock stirred. I really hoped Anna didn’t pop in to check on us.
“Do you have any of the paintings from the class?” I asked. I bet she’d make a stunning nude model. She’d put Rose fromTitanicto shame, that was for sure.
“Nope.” She sounded gleeful. “But this one is definitely going on the wall.”
“Can I see?”
She pursed her lips and eyed it critically. “In another few minutes.”
