by Dark, Aubrey
With him inside me, I felt complete somehow. Whole. It was as though I had never been satisfied before, and nothing could ever satisfy me again. Nothing except this.
He held me in his arms, waiting until the waves of my orgasm had subsided. I was breathless, gasping ragged breaths from the air.
“Oh, my beautiful. My Lacey,” he said. He pressed a tender kiss to me. That was the last tender motion, and then I shifted beneath him and his eyes turned wild.
Jake rolled into me again and did not stop, his body shuddering mine with his thrusts. The rhythm grew faster and faster as he thrust into me again and again. I could feel the pressure inside me building even then, even as the thrills of my last orgasm were waning.
My hands scrambled at the canvas underneath me, but the paint there was wet and there was nothing to hold on to. I gripped Jake’s shoulders and twined my legs around him to try and hold on as tightly as I could. Moaning, I matched his rhythm, rocking my hips up to meet him.
“Oh Jesus, Lacey,” he said. His hair hung over his face. I put one hand to his cheek. His skin was hot, moist with sweat. His eyes drilled holes into me.
“Harder,” I whispered.
Before the word was out of my mouth, he’d gripped me into his strong arms and thrust again. I screamed as he jackhammered his cock into me, slamming into my flesh over and over again. My nerves were exploding with pleasure and I held onto him, my body clenching tight around his shaft. He was hard as rock. His body crashed into mine, unraveling any last resistance I might have had.
My body was uncontrollable now, my hair tossing in the wet paint, my hands scratching at his back. He thrust into me over and over again in a raw, primal rhythm that sent me higher, higher, until I was standing at the precipice looking over into the abyss. I closed my eyes and saw stars.
Then he took me over the edge, fucking me hard and raw, fucking me with wild abandon. Rutting like animals, we rolled over each other, clawing at skin. He kissed me and the kiss turned into a bite, and then his teeth were on my shoulder and I was spasming in his arms.
There was nothing left of me, Lacey. There was nothing left of the girl who had walked into this place. There was only need, a sharp hot need, and as my orgasm ripped through me I disappeared and all that was left was pure sensation, hands and mouths and the waves of pleasure coursing through my body.
Another spasm went through my body and then I felt him jerk once and still over me. He moaned, a thick noise in his throat, and his hot seed spilled inside of me. I pulled his mouth to mine and shuddered once more with him as we spent our last climax together.
Chapter Eleven
I lay my head back against the hard canvas, gasping for air. After the orgasm’s last throes had faded, Jake rolled to his side. I let out a soft sigh as he withdrew, his cock sliding slowly out of me. My body grasped for him, clenching, and then relaxed.
He clasped me to his side, and in his arms I breathed easily. He held me as though I was some delicate, fragile thing, cradling me softly. There was no hint of the man who had thrust hard and fast into my body, no whisper of the man who had bit down on my shoulder as he came, groaning and hard, into my core.
There was only him.
As I breathed in deeply, my chest rose and fell. I felt myself relaxing. A week of sleeping as long as I wanted to, a week of painting my heart’s desire—and now this.
He’d taken me in completely, taken me completely. But it was only now that I felt his outer walls crumbling down, letting me into his private world.
“Lacey,” he said. His thumb tilted my chin up, and I looked into his deeply concerned eyes.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Are you alright?”
I burst out laughing, and if he hadn’t been holding me so tightly I would have rolled over the floor in laughter. He looked at me curiously until I had stopped. I wiped a tear of laughter from my eyes.
“Seriously? You kidnapped me, blindfolded me… you’ve been using hot wax and chains and whips on me, and now is the first time you think to ask me if I’m alright?”
“Well, I—”
“I’m fine. That’s your answer. No, I’m more than fine. I’m thrilled.”
“Thrilled?”
“Yes, that’s the word,” I said, placing both of my hands on his broad chest. “You thrill me in every way. It started with the elevator.”
“The elevator?”
I nodded primly.
“I was scared to death of that thing. It made my stomach do somersaults. And then your art collection—”
“You can’t be thrilled by a bunch of paintings.”
“I can and I am. And they’re yours.” I poked him in the chest, remembering the revelation that had led to all of this.
“Mine?”
“You are Kage. You! How could you not tell me? How could you not let me know?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Nobody?”
Jake’s brows knitted together.
“Lacey, you’re the only one who’s ever even come close to guessing. Except the police commissioner, of course. He’s the one I had to bribe to get out of jail the one time I got caught.”
“How’d you get caught?” I asked.
“Oh,” Jake said, slumping his head back and smiling at the ceiling. “It’s stupid. I was so stupid.”
“Tell me. It’ll help me get over my inferiority complex.”
“If anybody shouldn’t have a complex—”
“While lying next to a handsome multitalented billionaire.”
“Multitalented?”
“Your art. And your tongue. Two excellent talents.”
“I’m glad that I have you to practice my talents on,” he said. “And I was caught in an alley behind one of my own buildings. Of course, I had to pretend that it wasn’t my building, because the cops who caught me would never have believed me. I was putting up a piece next to one of those COPS tags. Have you seen them?
“Yeah, the ones with the donut for the O? I see those everywhere.”
“And they thought I was the one who’d done it. Never mind that my painting was right there, obviously wet. So they put cuffs on me and took me in.”
“You criminal,” I teased.
“Well, I didn’t have any ID on me. I was dressed for it, you know, hoodie and ripped jeans. Nobody knew who I was at the police station. But I’d had dinner with the commissioner just the week before. Oh, man, the look on his face when he came in and saw me in a jail cell!”
“Lucky for you,” I said.
“There’s no luck to any of it,” Jake sighed, his eyes turning dark. “If I was a poor kid, I’d still be in jail. This city runs on money, as stupid as that is.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re out of jail,” I said. “Although I think I’d like to see you in cuffs sometime.”
“You’ll have to put me in them first,” he said, a smile breaking across his face.
“I’ll take that as a challenge.”
He stood up and lifted me off of the floor. His head tilted at the canvas, and when I saw what he was looking at, I could have died.
Where we had been lying down, there was a splotch of my blood. I looked down and saw a smear on the inside of my thigh.
“I didn’t even feel it,” I whispered. “I mean, I felt it, but it wasn’t… there wasn’t much pain at all.”
“Take a break from art,” he said. “Take a bath. Go read for a while. Eat something.”
“Sure,” I said. My face burned red. I turned quickly away from the canvas.
“I have some more work to do,” Jake said. “I want you dressed and ready to go out by eight tonight.”
“I’m going to need something to wear other than dresses.”
“Not tonight. Not where I’m taking you.”
I put my hands on my hip and stared after him as he strolled down the hallway.
“Oh?” I asked. Despite trying to sound vexed, I was sure he could hear the thrill of anticipation in my voice. �
��And where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere awesome,” he said.
“Awesome?”
“Awesome,” he repeated.
“Awesome,” I said, and sighed as he walked away from me.
***
I actually spent quite a bit of time getting ready. After my bath, I picked out a dark red dress that hung sleek and silken over my curves. The top was a bit low, but I thought it would be nice to give Jake what he wanted.
I spent a half hour in the mirror, trying on different shades of eye shadow. I settled on a smoky gray, like the kind Steph had put on me that first night.
It had been a week. The days had passed by quickly, but I felt, strangely enough, that I’d been living here forever. The rooms had become familiar. And most of my hours had been spent in total focus, painting in the studio by myself.
As I stood up and examined my dress for any lumps or bumps, I could hardly recognize myself. This wasn’t the Lacey who had strolled through here with a cake in her arms. I felt taller, more confident. I felt…
I felt beautiful.
Jake’s mouth dropped open when I walked into the living room.
“My God, Lacey,” he said, standing up to greet me. I felt so elegant as he bent his head to kiss me lightly on the lips.
“You like?”
“I—wow. Yes. Very much.” Jake was stammering, and it was cute to see him look so astonished. Maybe I would have to wear dresses more often.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a secret,” Jake said.
“Right. Somewhere awesome.”
“Come on,” he said, taking my elbow. “I can’t wait. You’re going to stop everybody in their tracks.”
“Stop who?” I asked, but he only led me to the elevator, winking in secrecy.
There was no limo downstairs.
“We’re not going far,” said Jake, but he didn’t tell me where.
We walked down the street slowly. I rested my hand on Jake’s arm, but the heels didn’t bother me all that much. Not now that I was walking by his side. As we walked, heads turned to stare at us, both men and women.
I felt so confident with Jake by my side. As we turned the corner, I realized that we were on the street of art galleries. This was where I hung out on my days off, pretending that I had enough money to buy any of the painting that hung inside.
“Do you see it?” he said, stopping in front of a gallery window.
I looked inside and my heart skipped a beat.
“Oh my. Oh my,” I repeated. I didn’t know what else to say. “Oh. My.”
It was my painting. My paintings. A whole wall of them. The sign in front of the shop said Show Opening.
“No,” I said, gripping Jake’s hand with all my strength. “It’s not—”
“It’s your show.”
My lips trembled. My own gallery show? I shook my head.
“You didn’t… you did this?”
“I did this,” Jake admitted, laughing slightly at my reaction. “I put some of Kage’s stuff in there as well, just so you know. A week of your stuff will almost fill a gallery, but not quite.”
I saw one of the Kage paintings hanging inside on a wall, right next to mine. I swallowed hard. To have my stuff on display here—next to Kage—was just incredible. As much as I tried, I couldn’t let it sink in.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.” Jake tugged at my hand.
The attendant inside the door handed us glasses of wine and plates of cheese. I ate and drank as Jake led me around the gallery, but I couldn’t taste a thing. All I could do was stare at the paintings—
My paintings—
He had taken my paintings and put them in a gallery. And people—oh, God, people were walking around and looking at my work, talking about the pieces. Women in cocktail dresses and men in suit jackets, sipping wine and looking at my pieces like they were real art, not just something on the side of a subway car.
I swallowed hard. Conflicting feelings ran through me as I took in the people at the show. Then Jake took my arm and led me around a corner to the main gallery wall.
I stared at the wall, my mouth slowly dropping open in horror.
It was the painting we’d had sex on. There, up on display for all of New York City to see. My eyes traced the handprints, the dark red stain.
“How could you?” I asked Jake.
“How could I…” He arched his eyebrow at me. “Oh. That. I had them deliver it while you were in the tub. Just in time, too. I hadn’t decided what to put up as the main exhibit.”
My cheeks nearly burst with color.
“That’s not—I didn’t paint that for anyone else!”
“Oh, don’t worry. That one’s not for sale. It’s only on exhibition.”
“Only on exhibition?” I hissed.
“What on earth are you so upset about?” Jake asked, taking me by the arm and suavely leading me forward. “Really? I can’t put it on exhibition?”
“Tell me it’s not under my name.”
“It’s not under your name.”
“Is it under yours?”
“Let’s see,” he said. He gestured to the wall next to the painting.
“First Love,” I read. “By Unknown. K&L Studios.”
I turned to him with a question on my face.
“Kage and Lace Studios,” he said, kissing my temple. “I rather like your name.”
“Are you serious?” My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t understand Jake’s satisfied expression. I felt like everybody in the room was looking at us, staring at me. Like they knew that I was an impostor. Like they knew that the painting I was standing under was impossibly obscene.
“I can’t… why are you doing this?” I asked in a low voice.
“I thought it would make you happy?”
I wanted to scream. I wasn’t his wife or his girlfriend. I was an escort, someone he’d picked out at a birthday party to keep as a playtoy. He shouldn’t have done this. It was all so overwhelming, and now… to have him put up this painting for everyone to see…
I stammered as I tried to make my thoughts into words for him.
“It has! I mean, it did. I am. But all of this—”
I flung my hand out toward the crowd and hissed under my voice.
“This is too much for a one-week fling.”
It was barely imperceptible. Something in his face hardened, clenched. Then it disappeared, and a frozen smile stayed glued to his lips for the next second before disappearing too.
“I’m sorry to surprise you with all of this. Of course I should have given you more notice.”
“I only meant—”
“Come,” Jake said.
He gripped my arm and pulled me through the crowd, until we reached a door in the back. He opened it and motioned for me to go inside. I went. It was the back area of the gallery.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
Jake spun on me, green fire dancing in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said bluntly. “I thought you’d be happy with this. But I’ve obviously made a mistake.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying?” he asked.
“That I don’t understand what you’re doing here. Why are you doing all this for me?”
“Trust me,” Jake hissed, “it was only a small gesture. Do you know how much it costs to rent out an art gallery for a month?”
“I—I don’t know—”
“Neither do I.” He threw up his hands. “The cost doesn’t matter to me in the slightest.”
“So all this. Putting together an art gallery for me. It was that easy?”
Jake’s eyes were narrow slits, and my anger was bubbling forward, ready to boil out of me. Jake was looking so smug, so arrogant. So unlike how he really was.
Oh, come on, Lacey. Do you think you have the slightest clue who Jake Carville really is?
I wanted to smack my inner voice and respond w
ith a big fat yes, but I couldn’t. Not when Jake was acting like this.
“I point at things and I have them,” he said. “That’s how easy it is for me.” He shrugged, and my head nearly popped off.
“Great,” I said. “Then maybe you can point to one of the other girls out there tonight.”
“Lacey, for God’s sake—”
“Wouldn’t want you to leave a room empty overnight. That’s prime penthouse space. Wouldn’t want you to have to pretend to care about your weekly escort—”
“I wasn’t!” Jake yelled. I darted a glance to the door, but he grabbed my arm. My breath left my chest with a whoosh as he shoved me back against the door.
Chapter Twelve
“Ah!” I cried out. Jake’s body was pressed up against mine, his hand gripping my hip.
“I wasn’t pretending,” he said.
“Wh-what—”
“With you. I was never pretending.” Jake suddenly realized what he was doing, and he let go of me. I slumped back against the door, gasping for breath.
“I’m sorry, Lacey,” he said, looking down at his hands as though they were acting of their own accord. “I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“So you do care?”
He looked up at me then, his wounded emerald eyes seeking mine out for forgiveness. I crossed my arms. I wasn’t about to give in that easily, not even if his gaze made my heart melt in my chest.
“You do care about me. Is that what you’re saying?”
It took him a moment. Like a root being wrenched from the ground, his admission came struggling out of his words.
“I care more about you than anyone I’ve ever cared about, Lacey.” He reached forward and brushed my cheek with his thumb. I trembled into his hand. “I care about you more than you know.”
“Good,” I stammered. “I—I care about you too.”
“I know this is a bit much, but I wanted to show you how much I care.” Jake rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture that was oddly vulnerable and endearing. My heart swelled.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “Thank you. Really. I’m sorry I freaked out. It was just… it felt like a bit much. Especially the… uh, our painting. I didn’t mean to make you think I don’t appreciate it.”
