Page 124 of Chaos
“If you’re really worried this won’t work, we can always go to my backup plan.”
“And what’s that?”
“We can get naked, paint each other’s bodies, and roll around on a sheet.”
Desire flashed in her eyes—and in the air between us—but she pulled herself together before taking another sip from her glass. “Maybe next time.”
Oh, definitely next time.
I wanted a commemorative canvas. I’d mount it above my bed so I could look at what we’d made together whenever I wanted. And now my dick was hard. No. This wasn’t about sex. This was about romance.
We were wooing.
Woo-ing.
Not fucking.
Yet.
Nearly an hour later, we’d finished the bottle of champagne, and Merri was deep in concentration on her art. I’d completed my portrait ten minutes before but was perfectly content just watching her work. She had this adorable habit of sticking the tip of her tongue out every time she brought her brush back to the canvas.
“Let me see what you’ve got so far, kitten,” I murmured as I came around the table to sneak a peek.
She gasped and spun around, blocking the artwork with her body. “No! It’s not ready yet.”
“Oh, come on. I just want to have a look.”
I couldn’t resist touching her, so I slipped my fingers around her waist and tickled the sliver of skin exposed by her shirt. She squealed and squirmed in my arms, bringing us face-to-face.
“You have a little paint on your face,” I murmured.
“I do not!”
“Do too. Riiiight there.” Before she could move, I swiped my index finger in what was left of her green paint and drew a line down her cheek.
“Sin!” she protested with a laugh.
I couldn’t help myself. She was so fucking beautiful, and all that squirming she was doing had her rubbing up against me. I leaned down and kissed her until she was still and breathless.
Then, glancing over her head, I said, “Looks good. Best stick figure I’ve ever seen.”
She huffed and shoved me back, but she was smiling.
As I returned to my place, I began humming a melody I couldn’t get out of my head. It had been haunting me the past couple weeks. This happened sometimes; a song would come to me in fragments, sometimes just a few chords or maybe onlysome lyrics. I knew better than to chase it too hard. It would come to me when it was ready.
I didn’t clock the change in Merri until I was back at my station. She’d gone pale, her eyes locked on to me, fingers clenched so hard around her brush they’d turned white. “Wh-where’d you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what? Oh, the melody?” I shrugged. “It’s just something that’s been stuck in my head. I think it might be the beginning of a new song.”
“Oh. Uh, okay.” She seemed flustered as she hastily put her brushes away and glanced at the watch she wasn’t wearing. “I have to go. I’m late for a session with Chaos. This was nice. Thank you.”
Before I could protest, she rushed out of the room and left me with the taste of her lie in the air. I knew she didn’t have any sessions this afternoon because I’d checked with both Chaos and Malice before planning my surprise.
So what the fuck was that about?
Chapter
Thirty-Two
