Complementary Colors (28 page)

The ringing in my ears muffled the shop owner’s yell.

Roy’s lips moved, but there was only the sound of mud-sucking rotting flesh. The monster filled me, overflowed, dulled my senses until there was nothing to feel, nothing to think about, nothing but the fury of its need to be heard.

It roared, and its anger rolled out of me in waves.

I snatched something from the table behind me, a toaster, a skill saw, I had no idea. It hit the TV, causing it to topple back. Roy tried to restrain me, but I slipped out of his arms, grabbed the TV, and hurled it at the window. It struck the metal bars and fractures spiderwebbed up the glass.

Roy pinned my arms to my side. But he was no match for the monster. If anything, his attempts to stop it only fueled its rage. I thrashed, kicked, and got loose. Items on shelves became missiles, punching holes through display cases, knocking TVs onto the floor. Roy hooked an arm around my ribs. I elbowed him in the side of his face. He went back.

There was a chair off to the right. I had no idea where I threw it. Glass shattered under my fists, and the blood of my sins dripped from my hands. I think Roy tried to stop me again, but the monster was stronger than he would ever be. Other people poured out of the creature’s cesspool. They grabbed at me, pulling me toward the pit. I kicked them. I bit them. I clawed at their eyes. They struck me with lightning, and a searing pain rode down from my shoulder.

Then there was nothing.

It left me destroyed.

Muck sloshed under my skin, and it took everything I had to stay upright.

Julia shoved past me and stormed into my apartment. “You are an embarrassment, Paris. Do you have any idea what your little temper tantrum could do to your career? You better be glad the storeowner agreed to a check, otherwise you’d be in jail right now. And wouldn’t the reporters love that?”

When had the stairs to my room gotten so tall?

“Are you listening to me?” She blocked my path. “I swear to God I will sue the whole department if they hurt you. A Taser. I cannot believe they used a Taser.” Julia started to pull my shirt to the side and examine the burn on my shoulder. Instead, she flicked her hands and wiped them on her skirt. “Go change. No telling what’s living in those clothes. Make sure you throw them in the trash. Good God, what the hell were you thinking?”

Alice came from somewhere. She hugged me. “We were so scared.”

Could I get up the steps, or would I need a ladder?

“Why didn’t you call?” Alice petted my cheek.

“I’ll tell you why, because he’s worthless.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true. He doesn’t respect this family. He doesn’t even respect himself.”

Alice pushed my bangs back. “If you’d called, I would have sent a car.”

“He was with that…” Julia made a disgusted sound.

“What happened to your hands?” Alice touched the bandages.

“I cut myself on some broken glass. It’s nothing. I didn’t even need stitches.”

“Quit babying him, Alice.” She dropped her gaze and stared at my feet. Julia said, “Go upstairs and make yourself presentable in case I decide to call Dr. Mason.”

Everything solidified. “No.”

Julia smirked. “I don’t think you have a choice.”

“I’m sorry. I just…”

“What? Wanted to whore yourself out to some bum?”

“Roy isn’t…” I rubbed my temple, hoping to stop the coming pain.

“I’ll get you some aspirin.” Alice went into the kitchen.

“He doesn’t need an aspirin; he needs a swift kick in the ass.”

“And I bet you’re just the person to do it for me.”

The tendons in Julia’s neck stood out. “Do not test me.”

“Don’t worry. You’ve already proven yourself a hundred times over.”

She drew back her shoulders. Alice walked into the room. “Here.” She handed me a couple of white pills and a glass of water. “Take that. They’re extra strength.”

I took the pills. If anything, it might delay getting hit by Julia. “Thank you.” I handed back the empty glass. Alice smoothed out the front of my shirt.

“Make sure you wash your hands,” Julia said. “No telling what kind of filth those rags have on them.”

“You should go lay down, you look tired.” Alice guided me to the stairs.

I was tired. The exhaustion went beyond my body and into the core of my being. There, everything I had lay broken.

“You better hope that piece of white trash doesn’t sue us,” Julia said. “He probably will. People like that aren’t satisfied by just having their hospital bill paid. When he does, it’s going to come out of your allowance.”

“Fine.” I hoped Roy would sue. I deserved worse. How bad had I hurt him? I climbed the stairs.

“You’re still going to the showing at the Vanguard.”

“What if I don’t feel like going?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Make sure you wear the Armani.”

“I still don’t feel like going.”

“You’ll have to talk to the press. They’ll want to know where you were. I’ll speak to Bruce to see what he suggests.”

“You could always let me tell them the truth rather than some lie thought up by a lawyer.”

“Don’t be stupid. Depending how we spin this, it may help more than hinder.”

“You mean it will sell more paintings.”

“I’d think you’d be grateful. That piece of rubbish you painted went for 13.5 million.”

“You could kill me, then sell the lot. You’d be richer than God.” I leaned against the railing.

Alice joined me on the steps. “Do you need me to get you something else?”

Sweet Alice. Innocent Alice. I kissed her cheek. “I’m fine.”

“You’re pale.”

“He said he’s fine.”

Alice looked at Julia, then me. I said, “You better go do the shopping.” I had no idea if she had any. Alice went over to the couch and picked up her purse. The elevator door slid shut behind her.

“Three days,” Julia said. “That’s how long you have to get your shit together. And if you know what’s good for you, you’d better do just that. Dan Brunswick will be there.”

She started to turn, and I said, “How much am I worth now?”

“What?”

“You sold the painting for 13.5 million. How much are you getting from Brunswick for me?”

“Hopefully, he’ll buy the Woman in Red. He’s been eyeing it for a month. You going home with him is just a courtesy for his patronage.”

I headed up the stairs and shut myself in my room.

If I could have tolerated the stench of blood, sweat, and jail grime, I would have skipped the shower just to make it unpleasant for Dr. Mason and to piss off Julia.

When I was done, I left the clean clothes in the drawers and the towel on the rack. Water droplets made puddles on the tile. Goosebumps spread down my arms when the first breath of cool air rolled into the bathroom, and a cloud of steam followed me out.

On my bed, the black comforter on black sheets was smooth and perfect. I wanted rumpled bedclothes, worn thin by the movements of a muscled body, stained with the scent of musk and spicy cologne. The quilt would have small holes in some of the patches and bits of fluff would poke out. But it would be so warm.

I lay on the thick rug next to the bed. It was just me and my reflection in the mirror on the ceiling. Paint concealed my sin on canvas, and flesh concealed the vile creature staring down at me.

As the evening faded, my room transformed into a dark cube divided by the strips of manmade light sliding through the gaps in the curtains. I shivered, and my bones ached, but I couldn’t will myself up any more than I could will my body to stop breathing.

There in the quiet, all the good things Roy had given me peeled away. I didn’t fight it. It was better they disappear now, or Julia would take them. Even if I never put the moments to canvas, she’d burrow into my skull and dig them out.

“Let me love you…”

Now that I had, I didn’t know how to live without him.

When I inhaled, Roy’s scent washed through me. A current of air preceded the filling of space. The bedside light clicked on.

My heart jumped.

“Paris?”

Even zipped only halfway, the coveralls he wore were stretched tight across his shoulders. A city ID badge hung from the chest pocket.

Roy knelt beside me. There was a line of butterfly stitches over his right eye and a bruise on his cheek. “What did you take?”

“Are you real?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

He pushed my bangs back. “Tell me what you took and how much.”

“If you’re real, why are you here?”

“To make sure you’re okay. Please tell me what you took.”

“How did you get in?”

He thumbed the badge. “Borrowed it from a friend. Now tell me what you took.”

“Nothing.”

Roy pressed his lips together.

“I didn’t take anything.”

“Then why are you laying on the floor?”

There was another cut on his ear. I touched it.

“It’s just a couple of scrapes and bruises,” Roy said.

“I put them there.”

“You were upset.”

I petted Roy’s arm. “You’re such a good man.” Better than anyone I’d ever known.

“Can you sit up?” He slipped an arm under me.

“I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Then we’ll leave. Dr. Howell still wants to help you.”

I slumped against him, my face in his neck. He was so warm and his scent so calming.

He cupped my chin. “That’s not what you meant, is it? About not being here?”

“I’m a rabid dog. I need to be put down.”

Roy petted my head. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.”

“No. It isn’t.”

“You saw what I am.”

“I saw someone who needs help.” Roy moved me to the edge of the bed.

“Go home.” I meant it, but I couldn’t get my hands to let go of him.

“Only if you’ll come with me.”

“I can’t.”

Roy sat. “Yes, you can.”

I kissed his pulse, and it fluttered against my lips. “Why? So you can save me?” I slid my hand inside his coveralls and found the edge of his shirt. The heat of his skin flowed up my fingers.

“Paris, you need to…”

“Let you love me. That’s all I need to do.” I found one of his nipples. He growled between clenched teeth. “I like it when you make those sounds.” I pinched him again, and he hissed.

“You need to get dressed.”

The firmness of his body close to mine made it easy for me to forget what lay ahead of me and impossible for me to care what happened next. It killed the pain like no drug or drink ever had. I did not want to lose Roy, but I also knew I couldn’t keep him. But one more time wouldn’t hurt. One more chance to overdose on what he had to offer. Maybe it would take me from the world.

If only I could be so lucky.

I slid a leg across Roy’s thighs.

“Clothes, Paris.”

“Yeah, clothes.” I yanked on the shoulders of his coveralls. The zipper gave, sliding all the way to his crotch.

Roy caught my wrists. “We need to leave.”

I exhaled against his lips. “Love me, Roy.” I sucked on his bottom one. “Even if it’s just for a little while. That’s what you said.”

“Paris, we—”

I placed a finger over his mouth. “I’ll go, but not today.”

He held my hand. “Then when?”

“I have a showing in three days at the Vanguard. There’s a coffee shop on the corner. I’ll meet you there.” Roy searched my face. Even under the light of a forty-watt bulb, the green in his eyes was bright. Somehow I managed to look him in the eye when I said, “I promise.”

A tear rolled down his cheek, and I kissed it away. “And you don’t break your promises, right?” His voice cracked, and that was how I knew he understood.

“Never, Roy.”

“I’ll be there.”

“I know.” I peeled the coveralls off his shoulders. Roy freed his arms.

“I won’t leave till you get there.”

I pressed my lips to his and fed him the truth with long strokes of my tongue. I was his. I would always be his, even when I wasn’t here anymore.

Julia might have owned my body, but I’d freely given Roy my soul.

Ten aching points blossomed on my ass cheeks. One for each finger he gripped me with.

I urged Roy back and was grateful when he didn’t resist. As he moved to the center of the bed, I tugged off his boots, then the coveralls. He lifted his hips to help me with his jeans and boxers.

I pinned him down with a knee at each of his hips. His thick cock brushed mine, and a burst of static raced across my skin.

“Your shirt.”

He pulled it over his head, and I tugged on his long johns. They joined the shirt on the floor.

I ran my hands down Roy’s chest, following the planes of muscle down to the dips above each hip, then back up to his throat.

“I want you.” I kissed his chin. “But I don’t want to fuck you.” I nipped his earlobe. “I want to make love to you, Roy. Will you let me do that?”

Roy smoothed his touch up my body until he cupped my head with one hand and held my back with the other. “You know I will.”

I trailed a line of kisses down past his navel and nestled between his knees. I held Roy’s gaze and swept my tongue over the thick head of his cock. His nostrils flared. I did it again. The muscles in his legs tensed.

I took the tip into my mouth.

Roy’s chest expanded. He knotted his hands up in the comforter.

Deeper, and a low moan ticked out of his throat. I pulled back to the tip, and he whimpered.

“Do you like it when I suck you?” I blew across the tip of his cock. It jumped and tapped my chin.

He lifted his head. “Yeah.”

I ran my tongue down the length of his dick. “What else would you like?” His nuts were heavy in my hand. I gave them a slight tug. He grunted.

I pinched the skin below his navel between my teeth. Roy jerked. I soothed the spot with my tongue.

“Tell me.”

“You.”

I wet two of my fingers, and his eyes widened. I rubbed the wrinkled skin of his opening. Roy clenched his ass cheeks. I applied pressure, and he dug a heel into the mattress. “Breathe, Roy.”

He exhaled a breath.

“Now push.”

He didn’t.

“Aren’t you curious to know what it’s like?”