Tempting the Artist (18 page)

He scooted lower in his chair and
adjusted himself. Oh yeah, she definitely had his
attention.

She pulled the top over her head and
tossed the material to the floor, her breast hanging free as she
gyrated to the music. Luke sat staring. No, actually it was more
like gawking. Gone was that confident air that he wore like a
shield, and in its place was the look of desire.

Christina loved to strip for him,
loving how he responded.

She crooked her index finger back and
forth, giving him her most seductive smile, and summoned him over
to the chair, her gaze holding his. For a moment, she thought he
would continue sitting there, staring, no words or reaction, but
then he sat upright in his seat.

A burst of giddiness shot through her
as Luke toed off his shoes. It was only a matter of time before
they came together.

Standing slowly, he flashed that
crooked, sexy grin that always made her wet. Her heart hammered
wildly when he lifted his T-shirt over his head, his muscular chest
and flat abs on full display. The man had a body that was meant to
be caressed, licked and worshiped. And she planned to do all of the
above.

She bit down lightly on her bottom lip
and watched as he took his time walking toward her. Her heart rate
picked up in speed. Luke slowed his steps, unbuckled his belt, and
carefully unzipped his jeans.

Christina was cool. Staying in
control, at least until he stopped. He snaked his tongue across his
lower lip and cupped his package.

Damn
him
!

He hadn’t even stepped out of his
pants and she was already panting and squeezing her thighs
together. Knowing that he had her complete attention, he let his
pants drop around his ankles and stood in the middle of the floor,
his erection pressing firmly against his black boxer briefs.
Suddenly she wasn’t the one controlling this show. As a matter of
fact, she was about ready to scream uncle and pounce on his
ass.

She was enraptured by the slow,
precise movement of his hand, stroking himself. She found the way
he gripped and massaged his package, sexy as hell. The throbbing
between her legs grew more intense and she teetered on the edge of
control.

Luke finally claimed the chair that
she had placed in the center of the floor, still holding and
caressing himself, watching her behind lower lids. “Don’t let me
interrupt your little show,” he said.

Yes, this had been her show, but
somehow, within minutes, he had distracted her with his erotic
moves. But there was a chance that she could regain some of the
control.

Suddenly the song in the background
changed and R. Kelly started singing about licking Oreos and giving
up the cookie.

How
appropriate
.

Christina fiddled with the two buttons
on each side of the coveralls, her gaze locked with Luke’s as he
sang along with one of his favorite music artist. Christina undid
the buttons and let the material slide down her legs.

Luke sat up and she almost burst out
laughing when his mouth dropped open.

“
Damn, girl.”

He acted as if he had never seen her
naked before. He was out of his briefs and had sheathed himself
faster than she had ever seen him move before.

“
Have I ever told you that
I’m glad you’re not a fan of underwear?”

She cleared her throat, distracted by
his thick shaft. “You might have mentioned it a time or
two.”

Something inside her
stirred. The lustful glint in his eyes practically forced her to
move.
Really
feeling the music, she snapped her fingers above her head and
bounced to the beat as she eased up on him.

Luke groaned. “Aw, baby. You’re
killing me here.” His arm snaked out and pulled her to him. He
lowered his head to her breast and flicked his silky tongue around
her hardened nipple before pulling the taut bud into his
mouth.

Christina whimpered as he stroked,
teased, sucked. With each lash of his tongue, heat singed every
nerve ending within her and she gripped his upper arms to keep from
sliding to the floor. He performed the same pleasures on her other
breast, the sweet torture almost too much.

“
This seduction scene has
been fun, but I need to be inside you,” Luke said in a husky groan
when he made his way back up to her lips. He ran his hands down her
hips and palmed her butt, moving rhythmically in beat to the music,
his mouth ravishing hers. Christina felt as if she would burst if
he weren’t inside of her soon.

As if Luke were reading her mind, he
lifted his head and backed them up to the chair. She straddled his
lap and cried out with pleasure when he entered her in one smooth
motion.

“
Ah, yeah,” she moaned, her
eyes closed and her body slowly adjusting to his size. She savored
the feel of him inside of her, rotating her hips wanting, needing
to feel all of him. The wood chair creaked under their weight, but
Christina was too far gone to care whether it held them or
not.

Luke’s large hands gripped the bottom
of her thighs, lifting her up and down his slick shaft. Christina
held on for the ride as he went faster, harder, deeper. Her
sensitive nipples grazed his chest with every move, sending a whole
new wave of pleasure pulsing through her body.

“
Luke,” she said on a
breath, unable to form any other words, barely able to
breathe.

He picked up speed, thumping in and
out of her like a man possessed and she loved every moment. She
loved the intensity she saw wading in his eyes. She loved the
erotic sounds he made as he plunged even deeper.

A surge of ecstasy throbbed through
Christina’s body and her stomach tighten. Heat sizzled along her
spine and her body bucked and bounced on top of Luke. She was
losing her grip on her control, her climax within reach. One
powerful thrust and Christina screamed out, her nails digging into
Luke’s shoulders as she surrendered to the whirl of sensation that
hurled her over the edge.

Luke growled his release with such
force, his fingers digging into the skin of her thighs as the
turbulence of his explosion rocked them both. Christina’s heavy
breathing mingled with his and they collapsed against each
other.

“
Maybe we can just stay
like this,” she wheezed, her head resting in the crook of his neck.
“I don’t think I can move.”

“
Fine by me,” he panted
near her ear, “you done wore me out.”

Christina had no idea of how long they
sat there. Her limbs were weak, her mind blank.

“
That was intense.” Luke
held her tighter keeping her in place, his breathing almost back to
normal. When she lifted her head from his shoulder, her hair
covered her face and Luke brushed it back with his hands. Of
course, there were a few stubborn strands that wouldn’t cooperate.
After several tries, he finally had the wayward curls under
control, holding them back while he cupped her face between his
hands, forcing her to look at him. “Can we agree that you won’t
listen to anything by R. Kelly unless I’m here? I wouldn’t want any
of your models to reap anything remotely close to what you just
gave me.”

A smile tilted her lips. She loved how
understanding he’d been. Most men would feel insecure and probably
act a fool knowing their woman had naked men posing for her for
hours sometimes.

She nodded and placed a kiss on his
lips. “I think that’s definitely something I can agree to. Besides,
nobody else turns me on the way you do. Not even when R. Kelly is
singing in the background.”

Christina didn’t care how many art
shows she participated in, her gut twisted with anxiety every time.
The Chicago show was no different. Despite Luke’s presence,
insecurity wrapped around her like an unwanted cold, refusing to
give her any peace and she couldn’t seem to shake the anxious
unease.

She and Luke had arrived in town three
hours earlier, their visit starting out perfect. They checked into
the hotel, and it hadn’t taken long for them to strip down and take
advantage of the luxury accommodations, specifically the king sized
bed. Christina didn’t think she would ever get enough of Luke. Even
after months of being back together, it was as if they were still
trying to make up for lost time. Still getting reacquainted with
each other’s body.

Christina moved slowly around the open
space, her heels clicking against the shiny hardwood floor. The
gallery was hosting three other artists, whose styles varied
considerably, giving her a chance to check out the other
talent.

She stopped in front of a
piece entitled: Between the Tides. Perusing the dramatic oil
painting, rich with blues, gold and purples she immediately felt as
if she was looking down from heaven viewing a cyclone hovering
above the earth.
Outstanding.
The colors complimented each other and the
artist’s brush techniques were precise.

She continued on her tour of other
paintings, glancing over her shoulder once to see if Luke had
returned. He had reluctantly stepped outside a moment ago to take a
telephone call from his office.

Christina slowed again when
she reached an abstract painting, appreciating the artist’s unique
way of using a combination of techniques. She always preferred
shows where she wasn’t the only artist featured. Less pressure.
Less stress. She had four nude pieces and two abstracts on display.
Already she noticed two of her paintings had
sold
signs hanging from them. This
was her fifth show in two years and so far they all had been
successful with her selling all of her paintings either during the
show or shortly after.

“
Sorry it took me so long,”
Luke said when he came up behind her, placing a kiss near her right
ear. “I thought I had taken care of everything at work before we
left this morning, but sure enough, an issue popped up that I
hadn’t anticipated.”

Christina turned to face him as he
stuffed his cell phone into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
Tonight he hadn’t worn a tie and instead left the top three buttons
of his striped dress shirt undone, a gold curb chain hanging around
his neck. That bad boy persona he rocked so effortlessly was in
full effect, turning her on without him even trying. He looked
sexier than usual and more relaxed. His workload had practically
doubled in the last two months, but according to him, he still
wasn’t putting in the type of hours he had while in New
York.

“
No problem. I’m glad you
were able to come with me. I can’t tell you how good it feels to
share one of my shows with someone. Jada attended my first one, but
normally it’s just me standing around trying to blend
in.”

“
What are you talking
about? I attended your last show with you.”

“
That was different. You
didn’t know that I was Sasha Knight at the time.”

He nodded. “True. Now some things I
noticed back then make sense, like why you seemed to be on edge
that night. I had also noticed you checking out the people in
attendance, more so than the art displayed.”

“
Yeah. That was a stressful
weekend. Between knowing I couldn’t travel with you that next day
and displaying the nudes for the first time, I’m glad I didn’t have
a heart attack. Talk about stress.” She shook her head thinking
about that night. She had no way of knowing how her paintings would
go over. Everyone wasn’t comfortable viewing nudes, but that had
ended up being one of her most successful shows.

“
Well, I’m glad that
weekend is behind us though I still wish you would have told me
what was going on. It would have relieved you of a lot of
unnecessary anxiety.”

“
I know. That will be the
last time I keep something from you.”

She stepped closer and slid her hands
slowly up his chest, needing to be near him, feel him.

“
You know if you keep
touching me like this, I’m going to pull you into the nearest broom
closet and have my way with you.” He snaked his arm around her
waist and nuzzled her neck. Having her hair piled up on top of her
head also gave him easy access to place feathery kisses against the
sensitive spot behind her ear.

“
I like the way you think.
Maybe we—”

“
There you are. I was
hoping you hadn’t snuck out yet,” Christina’s agent said. Valerie
Cook was a ball of energy and talked a mile per minute. Christina
didn’t know if she was on a natural high, or if her high came from
the four cups of black coffee she consumed on a daily basis. “There
are some important people in attendance who are very interested in
your work.”

“
Valerie, we already talked
about this. I know you think I should reveal myself as the artist,
but I’m not interested. I don’t want the attention. I prefer
staying anonymous.”

“
CJ,” she said on a
frustrated sigh and turned to Luke. “Can’t you talk your girlfriend
into stepping into the spotlight? She would sell twice as many
pieces and I’m sure there are a number of buyers who would love to
commission her work. Look at her.” She grabbed Christina’s chin.
“She’s absolutely gorgeous. This face alone would get her a ton of
business. Add her talent and how fast she paints and she’d be a
millionaire by the end of the year.”