Tempting the Artist

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Would he give it another shot if an opportunity presented itself? “I don’t know. I’ve been here for months and haven’t run into her. I don’t see our paths crossing.”

  “You could always call her. I’m just sayin’.” When Luke didn’t respond, Zack continued. “Well, whatever you end up doing, just know you’re not the only one who has had to deal with a Jenkins woman. It’s not easy, man, but it’s worth it. I’ll have to let you know when Craig, Toni’s husband, starts that support group.”

  Luke frowned. “What support group?”

  “A support group for any man married to or dealing with a Jenkins woman.” Luke chuckled and bumped his beer bottle to Zack’s in a toast.

  “Let me know when and where the first meeting is being held.”

  They hung out for another hour, and Luke realized how much he had missed his old college buddy. He was also reminded that he needed to get a life.

  Luke walked the short distance to what was quickly becoming his favorite hamburger joint in Mt. Adams. Not because the food was all that great, but because it was near his condominium and the service was fast.

  He reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He had been trying to stop smoking for over six months, and though the nicotine craving was fading, he hadn’t totally won the battle. His mind immediately went to Christina. While they were together, he had come close, only having one or two cigarettes a day. Once they parted ways, so did his will power to quit.

  Stopping a few feet from the entrance to the restaurant, Luke lit a cigarette. That first puff always relaxed him. Not that he was stressed, but there was something about the smoothness of the smoke when he’d inhale, that brought a certain peace.

  Leaning against the brick of the building, he took in his surroundings. At nine o’clock at night, the area was still lively with twenty and thirty year olds bar hopping. But it was nothing like New York. He had to admit, there were some aspects of New York that he did miss. The bustling sidewalks, the Broadway shows, and the food. God he missed the food. New York had some of the best restaurants in the world, and it would be worth a trip back for a slice of real pizza.

  Yeah, he missed those things but gone were stressful cases, sleepless nights, and cray-cray clients. Those things alone made the move worthwhile.

  Luke took a long drag from his cigarette and almost choked on the smoke when he glanced up the street. He’d know that sexy walk anywhere. The bounce of her hair, the gentle sway of her hips from left to right, and that long stride that made her look as if she were gliding instead of walking.

  Christina.

  What were the chances of him running into her, especially roaming around this time of night? In all the time of living in Cincinnati, he hadn’t seen her. At first, he had been glad. Seeing her would bring back memories, and he didn’t want thoughts of her to distract him from starting his new life. But it hadn’t work.

  He knew the moment she saw him. She missed a step and almost dropped the paper bag she was carrying. She slowed, and her mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed it.

  Still beautiful.

  All the Jenkins women were gorgeous, but it was Christina who had captured Luke’s attention from the moment they met. He had never believed in love at first sight, but that was exactly what he felt when he saw her at Zack’s birthday party months ago. Even now, his pulse pounded, and his body stirred with passion at the sight of her.

  Picking up dinner all but forgotten, his gaze took her in. Her head full of curls hanging well past her shoulders were unruly as usual. Just the way he liked them. He could still remember how soft they were to his touch, and he couldn’t help but notice her attire or lack of. She was one of those women who believed in being comfortable in whatever she wore. And the fewer the clothes the better, especially when it came to wearing a bra … or not.

  Damn.

  The multi-color T-shirt only emphasized the fact that she was braless. Her firm, more-than-a-handful breasts dangled freely behind the thin material, and of course, his body reacted immediately. Those baggy cargo pants that he never liked might have fooled some, but he knew what lay underneath. A tight ass and hips that had just the right amount of curve, which had brought him more pleasure than any man deserved.

  She stopped two feet away, and they stared at each other, neither saying a word. Luke could look at her forever and not get tired. Her exotic eyes with naturally long eyelashes had brought him to his knees plenty of times. His gaze took in her perfect nose now sporting a small diamond stud nose-ring that enhanced her sexiness. And those lips. Good Lord. Those full, luscious, tempting …

  Damn. Why the hell was he torturing himself? Upon seeing her, he should have nodded a greeting and headed in the opposite direction. He also should still be angry with her for the way things ended between them. Heck, he should just walk away and pretend he never saw her. But he couldn’t. Like smoking, there was an insatiable draw. She was an addiction he couldn’t quit.

  “You look good.” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. No hello, no how are you, and no I’ve missed you like hell. Instead, he said the first thing that popped into his head.

  Real brilliant, Counselor.

  Chapter Three

  “Uh, thanks,” Christina said, totally caught off guard. At first, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, especially since she had been thinking about Luke only moments earlier. Thoughts of him had plagued her mind every day since returning from New York. If only she could take back that night or get a do-over. There were so many things she would do differently.

  “Hi.”

  The one word seemed so insufficient, but it was the only word Christina could form at the moment. Seeing him, the light scruff on his jaws and chin making him look sexier than she remembered, seemed surreal. When she was walking toward him, he had checked her out from the top of her head to the flip flops on her feet. Now his penetrating eyes studied her face as if seeing her for the first time.

  “Hi,” he finally said. His dark eyes narrowed as he took a long drag on his cigarette and blew the thin cloud of smoke away from her. His gaze never wavered.

  She hated to see he was still smoking, but damn if he didn’t look sexy doing it. He had been trying to quit for the longest and was doing so well before they broke up.

  “I thought you were quitting.” She nodded toward the cigarette between his fingers.

  “I am.”

  She waited, thinking that he’d say more. Oookay. Silence stretched between them, and he took two more puffs before snuffing his cigarette out against the brick wall behind him.

  “So how have you been?”

  Terrible without you in my life is what she wanted to say, but instead she said, “I’ve been okay. With the summer quickly approaching, things have been pretty busy at work.” She had been assigned the lead on one of their larger projects, making her days longer and busier than usual. “How are things with you? Are you all settled in?”

  “I’m getting there. For the most part, I’ve settled in. Still trying to get acclimated at the firm.” He shrugged. “But I know it’ll take time.”

  He pushed away from the building and shoved his left hand into his front pants pocket. Of course, her gaze followed his every move, appreciating how good he looked in his blue pinstripe suit with a light-blue shirt and a designer tie knotted perfectly. Most people would’ve rushed home to relieve themselves of the confining material, but not him. That late at night, he was still dressed in one of his ridiculously priced suits looking like a walking marketing campaign for Armani. He definitely looked out of place.

  That area near downtown typically attracted the hipster, free spirited type who wore colorful, baggy clothing, and sometimes clothes with holes in them. And then there was Luke. He looked as if he should be making deals on Wall Street. But then again, there was a side of him that most people didn’t get to see. A conundrum, the sexy bad-boy who grew up in Harlem could freestyle the lyrics to a 2 Chainz song and th
en turn around and passionately discuss the latest Senate bill. One of many aspects about him, which fascinated her.

  Say something.

  They never had trouble communicating. So his silence was unnerving. Maybe he was still angry with her, but she wished he would yell, curse her out or something. Anything to get a conversation going.

  Christina shifted the paper bag in her arms. They needed to talk about what happened in New York. Or at least she wanted them to talk about that night.

  “I take it you were able to find an apartment,” she said, assuming he was waiting for her to get a conversation started.

  “Yeah, a condo about a quarter of a mile that way.” He gestured with his thumb in the opposite direction in which she lived. She was surprised to learn that they lived so close to each other. “I heard you purchased Zack’s old loft. Impressive.”

  She shrugged. “Don’t be too impressed. He gave me an unbelievable deal.” Christina knew Zack could have easily gotten a cool mil for the place.

  Christina fidgeted under Luke’s scrutiny. She always felt as if his dark eyes could see into her soul. But if that were the case, he’d know how much she missed him and how she regretted the way things ended.

  “It’s good seeing you again.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  She self-consciously rubbed the back of her neck, her fingers tangling in her hair. She wanted so bad to ask him why he hadn’t returned any of her calls. Yet, she kept her mouth closed. She had hurt him. Why would he call?

  Christina couldn’t take it anymore. The uncomfortable silence was just that, uncomfortable.

  “Well, I’d better get going. Take care.” She forced her feet to move and started to walk around him. What she really wanted to do was pull his face to hers and taste the lips that were just as tempting as they used to be. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t put herself through that torture. Besides, one kiss would never be enough.

  His brows drew together, but she kept moving, now anxious to get away from him. He touched her arm. “What are you doing walking alone this late at night?”

  She glanced down at his hand on her arm, trying like crazy not to show how much his touch affected her. Following her gaze, he quickly released her.

  Hurt lodged in her gut. Luke had always been a touchy feely person when it came to her. Even after they had broken up, she had held out hope that they would find their way back to each other. Now it seemed as if that would never happen. He didn’t even want to touch her.

  Hiding her disappointment, she backed away and forced a smile to her lips. “I needed some air and wanted a snack,” she lifted the paper bag of chips and cookies, “and it’s a nice night. Besides, I only live a couple of blocks—”

  “CJ, we’ve talked about you walking alone at night. It’s not safe.”

  Was that concern she heard? Was it possible that he still cared?

  “That was in New York.” She loved walking along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan at all times of the day, window-shopping, and people watching while Luke was at work. He hated it. He didn’t care that there was usually a ton of people out and about. He never wanted her walking alone.

  He moved closer to her and she swallowed hard. His sexy, confident swagger always turned her on. Tonight was no different.

  “It’s not safe for you to walk this time of night alone, anywhere.” He reached for her small bag of food, cradling it in his left arm while his right hand landed at the small of her back, nudging her in the direction of her loft.

  They had made it a half a block before he dropped his hand from her back. Immediately she missed the warmth she hadn’t felt in months. They walked in silence. She wanted so bad to beg for his forgiveness and ask for another chance, but he didn’t forgive easy. He had lost so much over the years. His mother had died when he was ten and his father, former military who eventually became a cop, had died in the line of duty the same year Luke graduated from law school. Besides some close friends who were like brothers, he was alone.

  “Though it’s not necessary, thanks for walking with me.”

  “It’s not a problem. I just wish you would take heed to my numerous warnings. We might not be together, but I still care about your safety.”

  “I appreciate your concern.”

  “But let me guess, you’re going to keep doing it,” he said in resignation.

  A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. Apparently, he remembered how stubborn she could be. She couldn’t help herself. It was in her genes. All the Jenkins women were stubborn.

  They continued walking in silence. When two guys, who looked as if they had had a few drinks staggered up the street toward them, Luke moved closer to her. His hand went automatically to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Christina’s pulse kicked up. It took everything she had not to wrap her arm around his waist and never let go. Instead, she molded against his side, loving the feel of him against her body.

  The moment the men walked past, Luke dropped his hand and moved slightly away, still keeping in step. Christina wanted to cry. Because of her and her stupid secret, she had lost the best thing that had ever happened to her. And the worst part, she wasn’t sure what to do to get him back. Her grandmother often said that anything meant to be, would be. Christina wasn’t so sure about that. From the moment she met Luke, she had felt that he was the one for her. That they were meant to be together. How could she have been so wrong? And what could she do to fix it?

  “I’m right up here.” She pointed to the next red brick building on her right. The old warehouse had been converted into lofts twenty years ago.

  “I know.”

  She wondered what else he knew. Had he asked Zack about her?

  She took out her key card and accepted her bag of food from him. The moment felt like the first time she had gone out with him, and he had taken her home. Like then, she didn’t want to say goodbye.

  “Would you like to come in?”

  “No,” he said without missing a beat, his gaze steady on her.

  All righty then. She tried not to take offense, but she would be lying if she said that that one word hadn’t cut deep.

  He stood back, his hand in his pocket and his dark eyes boring into her.

  “Okay, well thanks again for walking me home. I know I said this before, but I’m sorry for the way things ended. I feel awful. I never meant to mislead you or hurt you. Just don’t leave yet. Give me a chance to explain because we need to talk about—”

  He lifted his hand and shook his head, stopping her words. “The last time you said that we needed to talk, you walked out on me.”

  “Technically, you’re the one who left me standing in the middle of your living room.”

  “Christina,” he growled her name. “The only thing that I’m going to say about any of this is that I thought we were building something special, but that night—”

  “We were.” She reached for his hand. “We were building something special. You meant … you mean so much to me. You and I, we fit. I screwed up something very special.”

  He slipped his hand from her grasp. “I’m not interested in talking and I sure as hell don’t want to rehash—”

  “Fine.” She cut him off, wanting to throw her bag at him. He was acting like a total jackass, and she would have told him so, but she looked into his eyes and her heart stuttered. The pain she saw caught her off guard. It was then she realized just how much she had hurt him.

  He broke eye contact and glanced up the street, as if knowing what she was thinking.

  “Have a good night, Luke.”

  His gaze found hers again. “Yeah, you too. And,” he sighed, struggling with his words. Instead of saying anything, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. Seconds passed, and Christina held her breath. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but her stomach churned in anticipation. She needed him to forgive her and give them another chance. He finally looked at her. “Listen … it was good seeing you again.”

  Now she was the
one who wanted to say more, but didn’t. She nodded and unlocked the door, forcing her feet to take her inside, away from the man who tempted her to make a complete fool of herself by asking him for another chance.

  Chapter Four

  The next day, Christina rambled around her luxury loft near downtown Cincinnati. She stepped over boxes that still needed to be unpacked, thinking about the brief encounter with Luke. The chemistry sparking between them last night was as potent as ever, even if his mouth said otherwise. She not only felt the spark, she saw it in his eyes. A lot of good that did though. She had no idea how to make things right. She had no idea how to get him to listen to what she had to say. She had no idea how to gain his forgiveness for not being completely honest.

  Her grandmother’s words floated around in her head. Anything meant to be will be. This was one of those times she needed to have faith, and trust this situation would work itself out. In the meantime, she had to get ready for her visitors. Her sister Peyton and their cousins, Toni, Jada, and Martina were expected in fifteen minutes to help unpack.

  Christina jumped at the sound of her door buzzer. Hurrying to the wall near the entrance, which held a monitor and an intercom, she saw her cousins standing in front of the camera. She grinned when Martina Jenkins, a.k.a. MJ stuck her tongue out at the camera. A carpenter by trade, that girl was the silliest of them all as well as the one person who drove the entire family nuts most days, but loyal to a fault.

  Christina swung the door open just as MJ started to knock. “Hey, you guys.”

  “All I want to know is what’s up with that piece of crap you call an elevator?” MJ asked the moment she stepped across the threshold. “That thing is an accident waiting to happen.” The dilapidated freight elevator was Christina’s favorite part of the converted warehouse, giving the modern space a little rustic vibe. It serviced her unit only, which happened to be on the top floor.

  “At least it had automatic doors and we didn’t have to lift them.” Toni Jenkins-Logan kissed Christina on the cheek and walked in. “What’s up Cuz?”