Page 39 of Ruthless Bonds

He studied me for a moment, his jaw clenched. “Have you been drinking?”

The question surprised me, and I scoffed. “It’s four in the afternoon on a Saturday. Of course I’ve been drinking.” I dropped my bag to the ground.

Oh, that didn’t make him happy.

He prowled over and towered over me. I had to lift my head to meet his hard gaze. “You shouldn’t be drinking; someone could take advantage of you.”

I grinned, the little bit of alcohol in my system making me bolder than usual. Right now, I wasn’t afraid of him. Besides, it was kind of fun pushing his buttons. “Maybe I want someone to take advantage of me.”

I gasped as he gripped me by the upper arms and brought me close to his chest. His nostrils flared with anger, and I realized too late that poking the bear wasn’t actually as fun as I’d thought it would be. “Kreos, relax. I’m just joking. It was my friend’s birthday. I barely had anything to drink.”

He let me wiggle free from his grip, and I stoodwith my hands on my hips. “Now explain to me why you’re here. I’m supposed to be working.”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to paint.” He loosened his silver cufflinks, rolling up his sleeves.

“Are you serious?” I looked around the room. “Where are the other students?”

“I’m the only student you need to be concerned about.” He walked over to his canvas. That was when I saw the purple velvet chaise with black pillows in the center of the room.

Hm. That was new. Something told me the art director hadn’t brought that in. He must have.

“Go change, Miss Wolfe. We don’t have all day.”

The snappiness in his voice sent a wave of irritation through me. So he’d hijacked an entire art class, and I was supposed to just—lie naked in front of him?

Fuck my life.

It was a good thing I’d had those few drinks earlier, otherwise I probably would have tried to run from him. I knew exactly what would happen if I did that.

I huffed, grabbed my bag, and headed behind the changing curtain. Once I wrapped myself up in a silk robe, I walked slowly over to the chaise and put my hand on it.

“How do you want me?”

He stopped and turned to face me with a smirk. Heat rushed up my neck as I realized how that came out.

“My pose, I mean. How should I pose?” I swallowed the lump in my throat. Why did it seem like I hadn’t drunk anything in days?

Water. I needed a bottle of water.

“Take off your robe.” His voice was low, smooth like silk, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment.

Scratch the bottle. I needed a bucket of ice-cold water to be thrown at me. No, wait. A fire hose. Yes, that was it.

I could do this. There was nothing embarrassing about being naked in front of him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it all before. Even though that had been a hundred cupcakes ago.

Without hesitating, I tugged on the sash, letting the robe slide down my shoulders and land in a pile at my feet. His gaze traveled from my toes, up my calves, to my probably bloated stomach, up my bare breasts, lingering on my lips, and then finally, my eyes. By the time he met my gaze, I was hyperaware of every inch of my body, and I was five seconds away from running out of there.

But I didn’t because I wasn’t a chicken. And the look he was giving me was one I would never forget. Desire. Lust. Like he wanted to taste every inch of my skin. I shook my head, snapping myself out of it, and stared down at the floor.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, and walked over with something white in his hands. “May I?” He reached over as if to pose me.

I nodded and let him guide me to the chaise. The velvet was soft against my skin as he sat me down. Unlike what I’d been thinking, his gaze didn’t linger on my breasts, or between my thighs. He was solely focused on holding my gaze as he moved me the way he wanted.

He bent my legs, spreading my thighs apart, feet flat on the cushion. I bit my bottom lip at how exposedI was, shivering at his touch. One of my hands was moved behind me for support, the other placed in my hair as he had me arch my back and tilt my head backwards.

The silk wrap he’d been holding trailed down my legs and wrapped around my hips, so that my pussy wasn’t on full display for him.

I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted was for him to be staring at me down there. That seemed too—personal.

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