Vegas Knights
Page 11
Rick laid her gently on the bed, then slowly stripped for her. The snick of each button on his oxford sent little spikes of desire to Kelly's core. The only time they lost eye contact was when he pulled his t-shirt over his head. All the while his arousal was evident at the front of his tailored suit pants.
Kelly could no longer wait. She grabbed the waistband and pulled him to her, tearing away the belt, and nearly ripping the button from the pants at her eagerness to reach what lay beneath. It seemed as if weeks had passed since she seen him, touched him. The head popped out before she even could pull the zipper down, and she sucked him into her mouth immediately.
"Kelly," he moaned as he clutched at her hair.
Alternating between licking and sucking, she slowly — and very carefully — eased the zipper down until he was was fully released. She took him in her mouth, her lips and tongue never leaving his cock. She needed to show him how she felt, how much she cared for him, how much she wanted to be with him. Taking his girth into her mouth was telling him how much she'd taken him into her heart.
Rick started moaning her name and she moaned in return, the vibrations in her throat amplified against the head. Her hands were always moving, from cupping his sack to sliding up the length her mouth couldn't reach. She consumed him, she couldn't get enough.
She was dimly aware of a shout and a shudder as she greedily sucked at him. It wasn't until he held her head still that she realized he'd given her all he could.
She helped him finish undressing and crawled under the covers with him. He kissed the top of her head and wrapped her in his arms. She nestled into him, kissing his chest and shoulder, patiently waiting for him to be ready again. Emotion overwhelmed her. God, I love you, she thought. She gasped and clamped a hand to her mouth. Shit, she'd said it out loud!
His silence spoke volumes. Backpedaling, Kelly said, "I mean, I've missed making love. I know it's still early in our relationship, I just was, well, you know."
Still, he didn't speak. Oh lord, what have I done? Kelly craned her neck to look into Rick's face. He was dead asleep.
"Are you asleep?!" Her voice was loud enough to rouse the whole building, but he merely grunted and rolled over.
Kelly sat up, looking at him in shock. That was it? It had been two days since their last lovemaking session, and now she was left hanging. How selfish could he be?
A thought struck her. What if he'd taken shit at work for the gossip column and he just wasn't that attracted to her anymore? Cold despair clenched at her heart, her chest tightened. No, she tried to tell herself, he was just tired. It was two in the morning, after all.
But...what if? It was all too possible that Rick got back to the land of thin, svelte women and decided a big girl like her didn't reflect well on him. He was used to being seen with stick-thin model types, and it wasn't lost on her that this was the first sexual activity they'd had since the photo in the paper had come out.
He was embarrassed by her.
Her breath hitched in her chest. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Kelly slipped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. Sobs wracked her body as she cried into a towel. Part of her screamed that she was being an idiot, that Rick was crazy about her. He'd told her he wanted more out of their relationship, hadn't he? But that was before the news story, she screamed right back. Oh, sure, he probably liked her, was maybe even still attracted to her, but every part of her knew that she wasn't the type of woman a CEO of a big company wanted on his arm.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She should have known better, she should have kept that wall up inside her heart. But she just had to fall for this handsome biker who was so far out of her league that his league was a speck in the night sky from where she stood.
It all made sense now. All the time he spent at the office, not calling or texting her, not wanting to make love. The only thing to do now was to patch up her shattered ego and pretend nothing was wrong.
And who knows, maybe that little voice inside her was right. Maybe he really was just tired. It was possible. But until she found out for sure, she would put the wall back up, and stop herself from falling even more in love with him.
As if that was possible.
Chapter Twelve
Kelly was coming to loathe the big wide bed. It had felt luxurious, even sinful, at first. But every time she woke up in it, she was alone. Or lonely.
A glance at the clock showed her she only had a few minutes to freshen up before she had to rush down to the Pinyon to prep for the day's diversion: painting a model.
The idea excited her. She hadn't worked with a live model since art school. There was some something about it that was intimidating and thrilling at the same time. Knowing they were there for her, sitting in the same pose for hours at a time just so she could draw them, made her feel powerful. She wasn't proud of it, but there it was, no denying it. It was almost a form of non-sexual bondage.
Several people she'd never met before were already set up when she arrived. All had chosen the stations farthest from the small stage that had been set up. Newbies, she thought as she set up at the one nearest the stage. It was like in high school when you'd choose the seat farthest back in hopes the teacher wouldn't call on you. No one was going to call on you in this class but you did need to have a clear view of the model.
"Why am I not surprised you took this spot?" Greta was as radiant as ever in a flowing raspberry number.
"Your new clients seem shy," Kelly noted with a glance over her shoulder.
Greta smiled patiently. "They'll get there. There are a few real gems in this bunch. You being the brightest."
Kelly was overcome with gratitude and affection for Greta. She'd taken her in and lifted her up emotionally, and she'd be forever grateful. She threw her arms around the older woman and whispered, "Thank you, Abuela."
Greta seemed surprised at first but then took Kelly into her warm embrace, patting her gently on the back. "Everything okay, dear?"
Kelly pulled back and wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just..."
Her words were cut off by the door sliding open with a bang. Expecting to see another artist, Kelly glanced back at the newcomer and did a double take. No, it can't be. She turned a questioning look at Greta, who was already gliding away from her.
Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the doorway again. "Shit." Spinning back to face forward, her heart started racing and her skin reddened from embarrassment. She fought the overwhelming urge to flee, knowing to do so would only cause her more humiliation because she just had to pick a spot right up front.
"Artists, I'd like to introduce our model for the next two days." Greta's voice barely penetrated the fog in Kelly's brain. Did she just say two days?
"Everyone, this is Brandon. Brandon, this is everyone." Voices behind her greeted Brandon warmly while she took great interest in arranging her pencils.
Kelly was horrified when she heard Greta introducing Brandon individually to the artists behind her. She steeled herself. She'd just have to suck it up and pretend she wasn't mortified. "And finally, I'd like to you meet my star artist. Brandon, this is Kelly Saunders."
Hoping her face wasn't the color of a boiled lobster, she meekly met Brandon's gaze. "Nice to meet you."
A familiar wicked smile played at the corners of his mouth, the same as it did at the bar a couple nights earlier when she shamelessly flirted with him. His gaze bore into her, through her, churning her insides into a miasma of acid and adrenaline. Maintaining eye contact was impossible. Instead she found something fascinating to focus on between her feet.
He was hovering just a little too close for comfort but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to move farther away. He wore a light, spicy cologne that smelled so good it made her toenails ache. Brandon took one of Kelly's hands and lifted it to his lips, barely grazing it but leaving a burning trail behind. Her nipples leaped to attention at the brief touch of his lips on her skin.
"The pleasure is all mine." His husky voice sent lit
tle ripples of warmth from her breasts much farther south, the effect pooling between her legs.
Kelly dragged her hand from his and cleared her throat. Not trusting her voice, she looked into his rich brown eyes and gave him a curt nod. His gaze held her for moment longer before Greta pulled him toward one of the studio's smaller rooms. Brandon gave her one last lingering look and a small smirk.
"What the hell was that?" Kelly jumped at Syndee's words, knocking a tray of sketching pencils to the floor.
Both women kneeled down to collect the pencils, Kelly trying hard to conceal how flustered she was. "What?"
Syndee snorted and rolled her eyes. “Girl, that dude is so hot for you this building's about to burn down."
"I...I don't know...just, shut up!"
Laughing, Syndee straightened and got her station set up. Kelly remained on the floor, taking much longer than was reasonable to pick up a few drawing implements.
Sorting her thoughts as she sorted her pencils, Kelly finally managed, "He was the bartender the other night, remember? I got a little tipsy and flirted with him. It was nothing at all."
"Oh yeah?" Syndee's cynicism irked Kelly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. And now he's here. How did this happen?"
"Dunno. Didn't even know we were having a model till I came in this morning." She grabbed a pencil and started violently shading a portion of her paper. "I'm always the last to know."
Greta called everyone's attention to the front of the room. "I know for some of you, this will be your first live model. Don't be nervous, just remember your training and do your best to draw what you see. And remember, the best way to study the human form is to work with nude models. Just raise a hand if you have any questions."
Kelly cast a wild look at Greta, then Syndee, whose attention was focused on blackening her paper. Nude? Brandon was going to be nude?
The door to the little room creaked open and out stepped the second most glorious male body she had ever seen in real life. Brandon was a little shorter than Rick — just about her height — but his chiseled frame belied his fondness for the gym, especially the weight room. Broad shoulders, bulging with mass, tapered down a perfect set of eight-pack abs, which melted into impossibly narrow hips, which came to a very impressive, very thick, and very long point.
Kelly's mouth went dry. She'd been taught to never stare at a live model, and the sight of a nude standing in front of her had never so much as given her pause. But this, this was a different story.
A whack on her arm brought her out of her daze. She cast a dazed glance over at Syndee, who placed the back of her hand under her own chin and mimicked closing her mouth. Kelly hadn't realized her jaw was slack. Good grief! She was not only staring, she was practically drooling.
"I get it but man up!" Syndee was absolutely right. She was a professional. What really clinched it was what Greta might think of her if she spotted her ridiculous behavior.
Trembling fingers fumbled with a pencil and she tried to get her heart to stop running wild. It was a little harmless flirtation, and now he just happened to be standing naked in front of her. Nothing weird about that, nothing at all.
She peeked at Brandon as he settled himself on the stage. Greta had set up an old-fashioned fainting couch for him to recline on. It was frayed around the edges, much like Kelly's nerves, with little bald patches spotting the velvet upholstery. Kelly did her best to focus on these little details first, hoping to have collected herself when the time came to focus on the model.
A warm, calming sense of well-being washed over her as she sketched. She was in the zone now, so she braved a full look at Brandon's exquisite body. She was still impressed by his physique but it no longer flustered her. Shadows caressed his bulky arms, light glanced off his perfect pecs, and his abs were shiny with either sweat or a light coating of oil.
As her gaze moved lower, a vision of her rubbing massage oil all over Brandon's body popped into her head. She shook the thought away and moved to his feet. She'd never been particularly interested in feet, but Brandon's were almost pretty. His toes were long, but not ungainly and a light dusting of hair gave them a seriously masculine quality without making them look like hobbit feet. Another vision of her licking the long curve of his instep clouded Kelly's thinking.
What are you doing?! Focus!
Sketching up his long, muscular legs might not be the wisest choice at the moment, considering where her mind was taking her, and the only part left to sketch was his head. She'd carefully avoided looking directly at his face since he'd walked away, but now she had no choice. She slowly took in the long sinewy neck, glistening with oil, the three-day scruff along his strong jaw, the dimple in his chin, his oh-so-kissable lips, a bold nose and those eyes. Those intensely brown eyes that looked like warm chocolate. Those brown eyes you wanted to get lost in. Those brown eyes that...were looking directly at her!
Pencils went flying when Kelly jumped. She once again dove to the ground to collect them, and hopefully herself. Syndee just sneered at her from above. Kelly wasn't sure, but she thought she caught the word "pathetic" mumbled.
Syndee was right. She was pathetic. She had a boyfriend she was utterly in love with and there was no way a girl like her could attract two such knee-tremblingly hot men as Rick and Brandon. The odds were astronomical. Brandon was just pushing her buttons because she’d flirted with him at the bar.
She flicked a glance his way and he was still staring at her but this time with that painfully sexy smirk on his lips. She went back to picking up pencils.
Why was she having this reaction to him? Guilt and desire were battling inside her, each trying to take control. She'd done nothing wrong, so she didn't have anything to be guilty for — other than openly desiring another man. Oh, that.
But Rick had been less than attentive for the past few days, and last night's anticlimactic — for her, anyway — escapades had left her feeling rejected and frustrated. Here was a gorgeous man showing her the attention she so sorely wanted from Rick. Instead of being embarrassed or ashamed of it, she should embrace it and express her attraction for him in her art.
Kelly popped back up and eyed Brandon, all of him, with a critical eye. Her hand moved of its own accord, dashing from one side of the paper to another. A pinky rubbed the charcoal into a smeared shadow, a bold flick of the wrist outlined a sharp contrast. Time was lost to her as she worked, putting every last ounce of emotion she'd been fighting into the drawing.
"And that's lunch." Greta's voice snapped Kelly out of her daze, bringing her back into the room with everyone else. Greta handed Brandon a robe as he stood and stretched the stiffness out of his muscled frame. Some of the male students turned their heads, but every female eye was trained on him as he slowly shrugged into the robe.
"Wow, that's fantastic," a voice piped from behind Kelly. She turned to see a young woman peering over her shoulder at her sketch. Kelly smiled and turned back.
"No, really. Hey, you guys, you've got to see this." Kelly looked back, alarmed at the girl's drawing attention to her. This drawing wasn't just of Brandon; it was imbued with pent-up frustration, lust, guilt, love and fear. It wasn't something for others to gawk at; it was her diary.
She started to pull it from the easel but it was too late. A group had formed around her, everyone staring at her soul, commenting on the raw emotion it evoked. The bodies were pushing in on her and she felt trapped, claustrophobic. Panic was starting to flow through her when a hand reached through the throng and pulled her out.
"Why don't you get a breath of fresh air, dear." Greta patted her toward the door and Kelly nodded, eyes wild.
The moment she rolled the door shut behind her, a deep, husky voice sent a shockwave through her. "Crazy scene in there. What part of me did you draw, exactly?"
Kelly turned to meet Brandon's cocky smirk. She was suddenly irritated by his brashness. "Down, boy. You're not all that, ya know."
"Oh?" Amusement crinkled the corners of his eyes.
Kelly's blood was boiling. This hot stud thought he could knock her for a loop. He did catch her off guard earlier, but now she was ready to fight back. She planted her fists on her hips and jutted out her chin in defiance.
Brandon's gaze raked up and down her body, soaking in every curve. His tongue dipped into the corner of his mouth — his wickedly inviting mouth — as he stepped closer to Kelly. She could feel the heat radiating off him, but she refused to budge, to give him the satisfaction.
His face was mere inches from hers. His cologne, fainter now, clouded her senses. He leaned in close, his stubble lightly raking her cheek as his lips nestled close to her ear.
"I never doubted it for a second,” he murmured. Hot breath tickled her ear, sending a shudder down her body. She could feel the dampness between her thighs growing, the frustration from the night before returning with the force of a runaway train. The urge to press her ripe body into his was overpowering.
Suddenly Brandon was stepping away as the studio's door rolled open. Kelly was left swaying and dazed as Syndee stepped out and lit up a cigarillo. Eying the pair, she leaned against the wall.
"Sup?"
"Kelly and I were getting to know each other a little better," Brandon said in a smooth, even voice. Kelly had no idea how he did it; she couldn't have sounded so calm at that moment.
"I bet." Syndee kicked a foot back to rest on the wall and slouched into a more comfortable position, making it clear she was there to stay, at least until the end of her smoke.
"Maybe we can pick this up later, Kelly." As the door rolled closed behind him, she could breathe again.
Syndee cast a cool gaze at her through the smoke wafting up in front of her face. "Thought you had some hot-shit boyfriend."
"I did...I do! I just...Brandon was only..." Kelly slumped against the wall next to Syndee in frustration. "I don't know what the hell is going on. He's got me all mixed up."