Page 35 of Back to Me

Pulling back, I swallow and glance around the room. I find Allison standing against the far wall, a crowd of potential buyers surrounding her, listening intently as she describes the piece hanging above her.

Without a word, I grab Graham’s hand and start pulling him behind me, muttering ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon me’ through the large crowds until we reach the back end of the gallery. Once the crowds open up, I take him through the back hallway and make a right to the storage room. It’s a decent sized room, containing more space than my and Graham’s closets combined. Various tools and paints litter the shelves set against the walls, along with office supplies and four rolls of toilet paper.

Locking the door behind me, Graham briefly walks around the room, his eyes grazing Allison’s art supply.

“Wow,” he says. “Allison has some really nice paint.” He picks up a bottle to show me. “Do you know how expensive this brand is?”

I shake my head. “Don’t tell me you wanted to sneak me away, so you could admire Allison’s paint stock.”

With two fingers, he dramatically drops the paint tube back onto the shelf as if he’s suddenly disgusted with it. Walking toward me, he smirks. I’m learning to recognize this as Graham’s flirtatious, teasing smirk.

“No.” Gripping the back of my thighs, he picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He places a deep, meaningful kiss on my lips and moves his mouth to my ear, gently biting the end. “I wanted to take you away, so I could do this.”

Pinning me against the wall, he pushes back my skirt. It’s already ruffled halfway up my thighs, but his fingertips ghost along my skin, pushing it up onto my hips.

Sliding his palm against my lower stomach, he slips his fingers into the top edge of my panties. My body ignites as his strong, warm fingers make their way to my core. Tilting my head back against the wall, I inhale a sharp breath, feeling his hand circling my sensitive spot.

Trailing his tongue along my neck, a deep, powerful chill runs along my spine. Graham’s body holding me to the wall is the only thing keeping me from falling apart. Hearing my moan, he quickly presses his lips to mine, attempting to keep me quiet. “Shh,” he says against my lips.

With his lips still pressed firmly against mine, I release a heavy breath through my nose, my legs quivering beneath his touch, reaching my climax. My legs shake against his strong core, and every nerve in my body shatters as I struggle to keep from screaming against Graham’s mouth.

Slowly, I loosen my legs around Graham’s waist, leaning against the wall for support as the blood returns to the rest of my body. I take a moment to calm my breathing.

Planting kisses along my jaw, Graham says, “Alright, let’s get you back out there.”

“What? That’s it?” I jolt my head up, confused. My thighs tense, feeling the absence of him between them.

Quietly laughing, he pulls back and runs his fingertips across my cheek, staring into my eyes. “For one, Allison might be looking for you if you’ve been gone too long. And two, we can finish the rest later when you get home.”

With a heavy sigh, I relax my shoulders and trace my finger along the stubble on his chin. “Okay. You’re right, but I wish you weren’t.”

When I’ve readjusted my clothes and my hair, I give Graham one more kiss before opening the door. I casually walk out first, just in case Allison happens to be nearby. I don’t want her seeing me and Graham walking out of the storage room together.

Scanning the room for her, I find her standing in the same place as before. She’s describing the same painting but with a different group of potential clients. Sighing with relief, I feel a hand slide across my lower back. His lips hovering in front of my ear, he whispers, “I’m going to take a look around. I’ll be right back.”

With a closed-mouth smile, I halfway turn toward Graham, trying not to appear too obvious about my relationship with him.

“Okay. Let me know if you are interested in purchasing anything.”

He’s already taken a few steps in front of me, but he turns around, walking backward. “Ha. Ha. You’re funny.” Wriggling his eyebrows, he spins back around and disappears into the crowd. Standing toward the back of the gallery, I lace my hands in front of me, watching the sea of people filling Allison’s gallery.

“You know, I have to say, Allison’s prices are quite high.”

My blood runs cold, and a chill runs along my spine hearing the voice beside me. I’m frozen still. My mind instinctively screams at my body to move, but it won’t. I tighten my jaw, and every nerve in my body follows suit. I swallow.

“Julian.”

Refusing to look in his direction, I keep my gaze focused on the crowd. The last thing I want to do is make a scene or seem fearful. Keeping my eyes straight, I scan the room for Graham, hoping I can find him. My lungs deflate, knowing he’s lost amongst the sea of people.

From the side of my eye, I can see Julian standing beside me, his hands shoved casually into the pockets of his suit—just as they were the night I met him outside of the graffiti park. The same feeling of fear washes over me, bringing me back to that night. The scent of whiskey fills my senses, and the skin on my chest crawls, remembering the way his finger dragged down my cleavage. Struggling to breathe, I count to ten. I stand there awkwardly, wishing I could move. I muster enough strength to speak.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice wavering with weakness.

“Come on, Sara. I told you the night we met, I’m an art enthusiast,” he says casually.

“No.” I nearly choke on the word, forcing myself to even speak to him. “You said you go down to the graffiti park to check out the artists. That does not make you an art enthusiast, Julian.”

He chuckles, and I see the corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk. “Are you always this feisty?”

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