Kindle Notes & Highlights
I was seriously having second thoughts when the door swung open and a tall man strode into the room. His dark curly hair shone beneath the lights, and I sucked in a breath when our eyes met. His were the most piercing blue I’d ever seen. I stared, my mind churning with how I could recreate that color with paint. It was probably an impossible task—I’d never seen a color quite like it. But I knew I had to try.
I’d basically admitted to him that I was a virgin. Which I was, but he didn’t need to know that.
This close, I noticed that her eyes were gray. A beautiful shade of gray like gathering storm clouds—both alluring and potentially destructive. I was so focused on her eyes, on the curvature of her lips, that I didn’t notice the fact that she’d loosened the tie on her robe. I held her gaze as the material slid from her shoulders, puddling at her feet. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and her skin flushed with color, which only made her more appealing. I didn’t just want to draw her; I wanted to consume her.
“I want you to pose for me.” I blinked up at him owlishly as if I’d just imagined what he’d said. “You mean…model?” I tried to swallow, but the word got lodged in my throat. “For another class?” “No.” He shook his head, his dark curls glinting in the light, tempting me to touch them. I wondered if they were as soft as they looked. “For me.”
“You did fine, and I’ll show you exactly what I need.” “You seem to have an answer for everything,” I mused. He leaned in close, close enough his breath brushed against my ear. I got a hit of his scent—leather and charcoal. “I’m very good at getting what I want.”
“A feeling, huh? I bet you say that to all the girls.” “Just the ones I want to see naked.” He winked.
“I’m flattered, truly. But you should find someone else. Someone who’s not a student. Someone with more…experience.” “I don’t want someone else.” He peered down at me, his blue eyes swirling with some unnamed emotion. His gaze was so intense, I almost had to look away. It reminded me of when I’d stood before him naked, and it felt like he could see through me. “I want you.”
“You can’t do that.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why not?” He tilted his head to the side, genuinely perplexed. “Well, because—” I glanced around before lowering my voice. “You’re a professor, and I’m a student.” He shot me a wicked grin as he dropped a few bills in the tip jar. “You’re not my student.”
“So, you came all the way over here just to tell me it was a bad idea?” The corner of my mouth twitched, itching to smile. She nodded. “Yeah.” “You could’ve just called.” “I could’ve,” she agreed. “Or—” I leaned forward, stepping closer. “Perhaps you came in person because you wanted me to talk you out of it.”
“I think you know exactly what you want,” I husked. My lips were a hairsbreadth from her ear, and I could hear the uptick in her breathing. “I think you’re just afraid to say it.”
The pull I felt to this woman was…overwhelming.
“You’re trying to corrupt me,” she said, but I suspected it was in jest. “Nah. Just trying to get you naked.”
“I’m…” He glanced around as if searching the air for the right word. “I worry that I won’t do your figure justice.”
With his back to me, I took the opportunity to study him. Those dark, luscious curls, the broad planes of his shoulders, his narrow waist. He’d commented on my perfect proportions, but if anyone was perfect, it was him.
“Place your hand over mine,” she said, and I hesitated a moment before she gave me an encouraging nod. “Come on. I won’t bite.” I shuffled closer to both her and the easel, our bodies nearly touching. The scent of her hair, her skin, calmed me, making me forget about my worries, my fears. All I could see and feel and think of was her. “Now,” she said, and I could almost feel her voice vibrating through her back and into my chest, my heart. “I’m going to close my eyes. Pretend I know nothing about drawing. Teach me.”
I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the delicate skin behind her ear. “Thank you.” She sighed, her body relaxing, sinking into mine. And it encouraged me to continue. “Thank you.” I placed another kiss on her neck. “Thank you,” I said, kissing lower still. I didn’t know if I could adequately express the relief, the joy she’d given me.
“So…” She stepped aside, giving me a better view of the canvas. “How did it feel?” Kissing her? Amazing. I could only imagine what it would be like to kiss her lips, and a soft smile played at my own.
Though, perhaps an angel, I thought, picturing Kate’s halo of golden hair and easy smiles. She was like a balm to my soul. Her lyrical voice, her graceful movements, everything about her was soothing.
“Yeah, but what if no one wants to buy them? What if—” I stepped forward, placing my finger against his lips. “Let me stop you right there,” I interrupted him, my eyes intent on his lips, on my finger on his lips. “What if everyone loves it? What if they can’t buy them fast enough?” He huffed a laugh, his breath warm against my finger. And I wondered what his lips would feel like against mine. What his breath would feel like against my skin.
“We’re going on a field trip.” “A field trip?” He peered down his nose at me, his eyes darkening. “I thought I was the professor and you were the student.” “This time, I get to be the teacher.” I smirked, enjoying this role reversal. “Mm.” He tucked my hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down my shoulder. Any trace of joking left my face at the way he looked at me, at the serious tone of his voice. “And what lesson do you intend to teach me today, Ms. Pruitt?”
“Kate,” he growled, and it sent a wave of desire through me, hearing such a possessive tone. It also made me want to fight back, to tell him to go to hell.
I liked the confident, brazen, brave woman I was with Xander. I liked that he gave me the courage to embrace my inner strength. I might be lying to nearly everyone else in my life, but with Xander, I’d never felt more like myself.
I stared with horror as one stuck his finger in his mouth before attempting to shove it in his classmate’s ear. Dear god. They were savages.
“Come on.” “Oh, hell no.” I shook my head, eyes wide. She wanted me to go in—there? Into an enclosed space with the hooligans? She couldn’t possibly be serious.
He’s just like me fr
But it was Kate who had captured my attention, smiling at the children. She was one of the most beautiful people I’d ever met, and it wasn’t just her pouty lips or full breasts. It was her heart. It was the way she took time to help others, to encourage them. Encourage me. I realized that’s what had drawn me to her—she was so genuine, so honest. And I’d never been with a woman quite like her. Most of them were always “on,” always playing a part. It was exhausting. But with Kate—she was never anything but herself.
I’m nervous that you turn my world upside down. I’m nervous that you challenge everything I thought I knew about art, about myself. I’m nervous that I’m falling for you.
“I want to kiss you. God, I want to kiss you,” I said, holding her tightly to me.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you.” “No.” She shook her head, advancing on me until her face was inches from my chest. “You shouldn’t have stopped kissing me.”
“I don’t care. Do our roles bother you? Does our age difference?” “No. I don’t give a fuck about either of those things.” “Then what—” A look of uncertainty flashed in her eyes. “You don’t want me like that.” “What?” I grasped her hands in mine. “Are you kidding?” She bit her lip, her doe eyes peering up at me. I wondered if she could hear my heart because it felt like it might damn near beat out of my chest. “Angel, I want you so fucking bad. I’ve wanted you ever since the first time I saw you.”
He crushed my mouth with his, backing me toward the sofa as we raced to take each other’s clothes off.
“You are… My god, you’re breathtaking,” he whispered like a prayer.
“It’s not always like that?” He shook his head, cupping my cheek, and I leaned into his touch, reveling in his warmth. “With you, it’s…something else.”
He dotted kisses down my neck, his lips brushing over my collarbone. “Kate,” he murmured, his scruff tickling my skin. “Go out with me. Please?”
“Haven’t you realized by now…” He inched closer, cupping my cheek, his thumb stroking my skin. “Anything to do with you, I’m interested.”
When it was no longer convenient, or easy, to be with me—he gave up. Just like he had with his art.
She was my muse, my love, my everything. And I was never letting her go.
