Page 39 of Stalker's Toy

I blink, caught off guard by the shift. "Paint me?"

He nods, his eyes roaming over my body in a way that makes me feel both exposed and worshipped. "You're my muse, Mia. Let me capture your essence."

I hesitate, uncertainty creeping in. "I... I'm not sure I know how to pose."

Henrik's laugh is low and rich. "Oh, my dear. You won't be posing. You'll be feeling."

He picks up a brush, dipping it in deep red paint. "Do you trust me?"

I shouldn't.

Every rational part of my brain is screaming at me to leave, to maintain boundaries.

But the pull between us is too strong to resist.

I nod.

"Good girl," Henrik purrs, and the praise sends a jolt of heat through me. "Now, close your eyes."

I obey, my heart racing as I hear him move closer.

He unbuttons my black blouse, giving himself a few inches of canvas, so to speak.

The first touch of the brush against my skin makes me gasp.

It's cool and wet, tracing a line from my collarbone down between my breasts.

"Beautiful," Henrik murmurs. "You're a living canvas, Mia. So responsive, so alive."

I shiver as he continues to paint, the brush dancing across my skin.

It's intimate in a way I've never experienced before, each stroke feeling like a caress.

"Open your eyes," Henrik commands softly.

I do, meeting his gaze.

The hunger I see there takes my breath away.

"Look," he says, gesturing to a mirror I haven't noticed before.

I turn, and my breath catches in my throat.

My pale skin is adorned with swirling patterns of red, orange, and white, like flames licking across my body.

It's beautiful and terrifying all at once.

"This is how I see you," Henrik says, his voice low and intense. "A creature of fire and shadow, darkness and light."

I can't look away from my reflection. "Is this... isthis really me?"

Henrik moves behind me, his hands settling on my hips. "It's who you truly are, beneath the masks we all wear."

His lips brush against my ear. "Let me show you more."

I lean back against him, feeling the solid warmth of his body.

"Yes," I breathe.

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