Even with my insecurities from the night before, I was excited and eager to do more. After a glass of wine, he’d sat me down in front of the fireplace and started massaging my shoulders. I enjoyed the feel of his hands and tried to memorize all the movements and pressure points he was using.
“It feels wonderful,” I said.
“Sometimes, you can turn someone on without touching any of the more intimate areas,” Levi said, his voice low and husky as his fingers glided down my shoulders to my biceps.
Pleasant chills crept up my back, and I took his words to heart, but I really,reallywanted his fingers on my intimate areas. I wanted him to pinch my nipple, wanted his tongue between my legs. I desperately wanted a replay of the night before, but I was too nervous to ask outright.
“Do you want another drink?” Levi asked.
“Uh, sure,” I said, stifling a groan of disappointment as his hands left my body.
He stood and went to the kitchen. The cabin was nice and toasty, and I was wearing the tank top I’d had on the day I ventured out, grateful I’d take the time to use the village laundry. The cabins were too small to hold a washer and dryer, so a makeshift laundromat with three washer and dryers had been set up. Those who didn’t want to wait washed everything the old-fashioned way, with a washboard and drying lines. Thankfully, I’d managed to slip in early that morning to wash all my clothes before breakfast, including the new items Linnea had given me.
While Levi poured more wine, I stood and looked around his cabin, really taking it in for the first time. It was fairly austere, and what I’d expect from a bachelor, who spent more time as a wolf than a man, but there were still a few things that piqued my interest. There were several framed sketches and paintings on the wall, all of them breathtaking in detail.
“Did you draw all these?” I asked, turning a curious and surprised glance at Levi.
“I did,” he said. “It’s one of the few things I truly enjoy. A hundred years of practice makes things a little easier to master.”
“Can I look a little closer at them? Is that okay?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug.
I moved down the small hall that separated his living area and kitchen from his bedroom and bathroom. Pictures lined the hall; a landscape of a nearby mountain range, a still life of a dinner table, and at the very end of the hallway, a larger painting, a woman.
She was beautiful. Dark hair spilled down her back, and her bright blue eyes were filled with energy and understanding as if she were truly alive rather than a painting. Something about herdrew me in. I’d never seen this woman before, but something about her tugged at me.
“Who is this?” I called.
There was a pause followed by Levi’s hurried footsteps, coming down the hallway. He shook his head and took the painting off the wall.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just a little experiment I was doing. Working on my shadowing and dimension. That’s all.”
He carried the painting into his bedroom and tucked it into the closet. He was handling it so delicately, it had to be more than a simple experimental work. The woman in the painting was clearly someone who meant a lot to him. I wanted to ask more, but something told me not to. If Levi had wanted to talk about it, he would have.
“How about I draw you?” he said once he closed the closet door.
“Excuse me?” I said, surprised and somewhat flattered. He was an exquisite artist, and the thought of someone of his talent drawing me was a little nerve-racking. It also helped pull my attention from the painting I’d seen.
Smiling, he led me to the couch. “Sit here. Let me get my supplies.”
I sat as he went to the kitchen and took a large sketch pad and charcoal pencils out of a drawer. He took a seat in the armchair across from me. I chewed at my lower lip, an idea forming in my head. I was here to learn the art of seduction. Shouldn’t I give it a shot and see if I’ve learned anything yet?
“How do you want me?” I asked.
“Whatever is comfortable for you,” he said, crossing one leg over the other and resting the pad on his thigh.
Swallowing hard, I grabbed the bottom of my tank top and pulled it over my head. “Uh, how’s this?”
Levi’s eyebrows shot up, and even from a distance, I watched his irises dilate. My cheeks burned. Was I being too forward? Had it been a mistake? Had I misread the situation? Had last night been nothing more than a fluke?
But then Levi smiled, and I could breathe again.
“I think you’ve given me somethingveryinteresting to draw.” He winked at me as he touched the tip of his pencil to the paper. “You’re a quick learner.”
As I spreadbutter on my toast the next morning, I stared off into space. After Levi had sketched me, I’d gone back to my room to sleep, but that painting of the woman had plagued my mind all night long.
“June?”
