Paint Me Curious Bronze [Curious] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Silke Ming

  The lady with the Irish accent, whose name was Angela, stood at her side.

  “What I wouldn’t do to have a view like this!” she said. “Isn’t it just exquisite?”

  “It is breathtaking,” Summer replied.

  Liam seemed to be living the good life. A butler appeared carrying six glasses of champagne. A few minutes later, caviar was offered at the buffet. Summer had never tasted caviar and stared at the little black pearls which glistened in the light. She hesitated, and soon a small plate was placed in her hand. Seamus, realising her plight, discreetly set a plate out for her. She watched as the other guests ate and enjoyed the expensive delicacy, but it was not at all to her liking. She moved the ingredients around the plate, and at the first opportunity, set it down among the other plates laid down by the other guests. Next came the hors d’oeuvres, and Angela packed her plate high with one of each of the little tasty delights.

  “They are delicious,” she said, laying stress on the word delicious. “Come on. Try this one.”

  Summer, not wanting to offend her, took the coconut-wrapped shrimp and slipped it into her mouth.

  “I just love these tiny morsels,” she said. “I got a hankering for them after my first visit to Thailand. Now I spend three months a year in that glorious country. And do you know what I do there?”

  Summer found her to be a very nice and interesting lady, but a little eccentric.

  “Come on, Summer. Guess what I do over there.”

  “You eat and you eat.”

  “Oh, Seamus, she is a clever one,” said the woman.

  “She certainly is,” he said, putting his hand around Summer’s waist.

  Summer found that Liam was on his best behaviour. He was quite the opposite from what he had been like the first night they had met. He was the perfect gentleman. When he spoke to her, it was not in the lecherous way he had done previously.

  Dinner was served, and the five invited guests took their places at the small circular dining table. Liam sat directly across from Angela. To his right was Summer, and directly across from her was Seamus. The other couple, David and Jean, sat across from each other.

  “It may seem a little informal here on the patio, but it’s such a lovely evening, I thought we should sit here and enjoy a bit of our short summer,” the host said. “It may be a little close, but I also have another reason for seating you here.”

  It was indeed close because elbows touched and legs touched. After the first courses were served, it was now time for the main. Quail in a cognac sauce sprinkled with truffles, new potatoes, and oyster mushrooms.

  “Divine,” said Angela, her voice telling the story of the goodness that lay on her tongue.

  “It certainly is delicious,” said Seamus, staring at Summer.

  Summer stopped eating, her knife and fork in her hand as if frozen in time. Something mysterious was happening to her. Someone’s foot was working its way under her skirt. She stared at Seamus, and he smiled but showed no signs of recognition of what was going on. Liam was busy savouring the tasty dinner on his plate and having a discussion with the other couple about mushrooms. The foot was now under her skirt and busy pushing her underwear to the side. She wanted to get up from the table, but couldn’t, because her body felt as if glued to the chair.

  “Aren’t you enjoying it?” asked Liam, staring at her dinner which had hardly been touched.

  “Yes, it is delicious,” she said unconvincingly.

  “May I have another glass of water,” she asked, hoping Liam would get up to fetch it.

  He summoned the butler, who left and returned to the table with a bottle of Perrier and filled her glass. She was still being toed at the dinner table in the company of strangers, something which had never happened to her. She tightened her legs around the intruding foot, but it only seemed to increase the pleasure. It couldn’t be Liam. He always wore laced-up black shiny shoes, while Seamus was wearing his slip-on moccasins.

  It is Seamus. But how can I be sure?

  She decided she would play along with his game. That should teach him a lesson, but it was so pleasurable and such an erotic experience, she didn’t want it to end.

  How could Seamus show such a poker face when he was busy toeing her to death? She opened her legs a bit wider and allowed him to carry on, a smile on her lips. Now totally unaware of what else was going on around her, she became fully absorbed with her new adventure. The toe kept moving and soon gathered up speed. Fully convinced it was Seamus, she started to savour her meal, shifting her body occasionally to gain the optimum pleasure.

  “You’re enjoying it,” said Liam, staring at her as she now seemed to be enjoying her dinner.

  “Oh yes. It is delicious. I love the mushrooms,” she said.

  “Now I’m convinced you are enjoying it,” he replied.

  Dessert was served! A delightful chocolate mousse! She sighed, and a smile plastered itself across her face. She put her spoon down and stared at Seamus. Her face turned a bright shade of red, and she closed her eyes. Her body shivered slightly, and her hand tightened around the offending toe. This brought instant enquiries about her health. Convinced all was well with her, Liam stood up and addressed his eclectic group of friends.

  “Dear friends,” he said. “I brought you together this evening to see my new acquisition. The esteemed artist Seamus Balsam has gracefully allowed me to purchase this very exotic painting from his latest exhibition. It has brought me great joy from the very first moment I laid eyes on it.”

  She gasped when he walked over to the painting and removed the material which had it hidden from view. He was wearing slip-on moccasins instead of his usual laced-up shoes.

  “Dear God,” she said, under her breath.

  “Are you all right?” whispered Seamus.

  She couldn’t reply. Her mind was turning somersaults as the blood totally drained from her face. Was it Seamus or was it Liam who was guilty of the crime?

  Liam continued on his quest to show off his newest acquisition. Turning on the light above it, the glow reflected on the long, lean body, and the light accentuated every curve on the very intriguing figure. All eyes turned toward the painting.

  “Seamus, you get better and better with each exhibition,” said a very thrilled Angela.

  “Thank you. I was very disappointed that you didn’t show up.”

  “Darling Seamus, I only returned from Thailand earlier this evening. I know it doesn’t show, but I am just about dead on my feet.”

  “That’s what young lovers do for you,” Liam whispered to Seamus.

  “Is that painting of you?” asked Angela, softly creeping up beside Summer.

  “Definitely not,” she replied.

  She had to get away from there. With everyone wishing her a quick recovery after she feigned a sudden migraine, she quickly made her escape from Liam’s posh Manhattan condo. She could barely look him in the face him when they said good-bye.

  “Go home and have some good sex with Seamus,” whispered Angela in her ear. “It always works for my migraines.”

  * * * *

  “You don’t seem like your old happy self?” said Seamus as they settled into the limo for the ride back to the hotel.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she replied.

  “Didn’t you like it?” he asked, grinning.

  She breathed a sigh of relief, and he knew what accounted for her sudden migraine.

  “Who did you think it was?”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  “Did you enjoy what I did to you?”

  “It was you all along,” she said, playfully slapping him.

  “Who on earth did you think it was?”

  “I didn’t know what to think. I thought it was you and then I thought it was Liam.”

  “When did you realize it was me?”

  “I knew that Liam wore laced-up shoes and it couldn’t possibly be him, but when he stood up and I saw that he was wearing mocca
sins, I almost fell off the chair. I thought I had made a horrible mistake.”

  “You are really special, Summer,” he said, laughing so loudly that the limo driver peered in the mirror to see what was going on. “After all that, would you say you enjoyed it?”

  “It was something new,” she replied.

  “Are you trying to tell me you’ve never been toed at a dinner table in the midst of a group of strangers?”

  “I have never been toed, period!” she replied.

  “There’s much more adventure to come,” he said, kissing her on the cheek.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Two hours before the limousine arrived to take them to the airport, the couple looked out the window at the beautiful view of New York City.

  “I loved it here, but I am happy to be going home,” she said.

  “Didn’t I make it exciting enough for you?”

  “You certainly did,” she said, smiling with him. “I had a wonderful time. Most of all I liked the restaurants. There was such a variety of foods to choose from.”

  Seamus put his hand around her shoulder, and he started to laugh.

  “Are you going to share the joke?”

  “I was recalling the look on your face as we sat at Liam’s dining room table last night. I wish I had had a camera with me. It was priceless.”

  “I was worried, but I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Why didn’t you get up? Were you enjoying it too much?”

  “As a matter of fact, after the initial shock, I really started to enjoy it. Didn’t matter who was doing it.”

  “I hope you are joking,” he said.

  “Of course not! It felt really good.”

  He stared at her, not really knowing what to believe until she burst out laughing.

  “I knew you weren’t serious. I just allowed you to lead me on,” he said.

  “You had no idea I was teasing you. You should’ve seen your face,” she said, kissing him full on the lips.

  “What if it had been Liam O’Shea? What would you have done?”

  “I would’ve stood, given him a piece of my mind, and left. What would you have done?”

  “I would have punched him in the face, and then we would have left,” said Seamus.

  “Why does everyone think I was the model for the painting?”

  “Because you were!”

  “What?” she shouted. “I never posed for that painting.”

  “No one knows but me,” he said. “When I met you, I thought you had the most beautiful body I had ever seen. Long legs,” he said, running his hand along her thigh. “Curvy hips, lovely breasts,” he said, cupping them. “And the loveliest pair of dark eyes. The only thing I didn’t think did you justice was the color of your hair.”

  “What was wrong with my hair?” she asked.

  “Did no justice to your curves,” he said, running his hands along them and undressing her with his eyes.

  “So without my permission, you put my unclothed body out there for the perverts like Liam O’Shea to glare at every day?”

  “There are no facial features. No one knows who it really is. Not even Rachel. I am the only one who knows it is your beautiful body.”

  There was a look of confusion on her face.

  “I am an artist. I have seen, visualized, and memorized every corner of your body, Summer.”

  “That doesn’t mean you should put it out there without my permission,” she said, lifting his hand and looking at his watch.

  “We’ve got lots of time,” he replied.

  “We’ve only got a little more than hour,” she said. “Have you finished packing?”

  “Almost. How about you?”

  “All done.”

  “You mean there is time for a farewell celebration?”

  “Not enough!”

  “I’m going to take a shower. Are you going to join me?”

  He removed his shirt and threw it on the bed, and then he dropped his pants and his boxer shorts. She stared at him.

  “Like what you see?”

  “Is it all yours?” she asked with a serious face.

  “Every inch of it,” he said, pulling it to its full erect length. “If you are nice to me, I’ll let you play with it.”

  “Get into the shower,” she said, tossing his shirt at him.

  “Not without you. Undress,” he said, the smile disappearing from his face.

  Summer let her dress fall to the floor.

  “Beautiful,” he said, slowly walking toward her. “No bra! No underwear! I like it. We’ve got enough time for a quickie.”

  “No we don’t. I’ll shower with you, but you’re not to touch me.”

  “That will be difficult, Summer. You know how hard it is for me to keep my hands away from you. Come,” he said, reaching out to her.

  She was in and out of the shower in a matter of minutes. Their flight was leaving in under just three hours, and they wanted to be at the airport on time. She could hear him singing, and he came out of the bathroom, his head wrapped in a towel, stark naked and doing a Frank Sinatra impersonation of “New York, New York.”

  He didn’t know the rest of the lyrics, but he swayed around the hotel room dancing to his version of the popular song. Summer could only stare at him and think of the happiness he had brought into her life.

  “Do you know what we will do when we get back to Whitney?” he asked, sprawling across the bed.

  “I don’t know, but I know you are going to tell me.”

  “I will place an ad for a housekeeper,” he said, watching her as she put on her makeup.

  “Didn’t you just hire one?” she asked.

  “I did, didn’t I? But that was short-lived. She was a whole lot better in the bedroom than she was in the kitchen, so I had to replace her.”

  “Have you told her yet?”

  “No. I’m waiting for the right moment. Yes, that’s what I need. A housekeeper! So will you place the ad for me?”

  She did not reply, but continued to put her mascara on.

  “Are you angry?” he asked, putting his shirt on.

  “Why should I be? You hired and fired me in the space of thirteen months. What do you expect?”

  “Oh Summer, I thought you understood what I was saying. You are no longer housekeeper, assistant, lover. You are my partner in every way. I know it has only been a short time since we met, but I love you. I want you to be a part of me. When I breathe, I want to take a breath for you, too.”

  She continued to stare at him in the mirror.

  “You didn’t actually think I wanted to get rid of you, did you?” he asked, staring at her.

  “I have learnt never to take anything for granted.”

  “Summer, you must know how I feel about you. I have bared my soul to you. You know everything about me, and I will only be complete with you in my life.”

  The tears flowed down her cheeks, and she wiped them away quickly. She had no doubt that he loved her, but why was she suddenly feeling this way?

  “What is it, Summer? You were so happy before.”

  “I don’t know if this is real. Everything seems too right, and I am beginning to ask myself if it is really true. I lived with three roommates in an apartment with barely enough room. Now here I am in New York City with a man who loves me and has given me things I never dreamed I could ever afford.”

  “It is true, Summer. I love you. I have waited a long time for someone like you to come into my life. I have had girlfriends, but none of them could ever compare to you. Tell me you’ll stay in my life. I’m not perfect, but I will do everything I can to make you happy.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “You don’t want anyone to think I was mean to you, do you? I want to see you smiling and happy.”

  “All right,” she said, staring into the mirror.

  “Just a moment,” he said, walking briskly to the bathroom and returning with a handful of tissues, and proceeded to clean the
smudge lines around her eyes.

  He held her and kissed her on the forehead.

  “There is no need to feel insecure. I want a housekeeper, so that you wouldn’t be so tired when we go to bed at night. Also, I want someone to clean up after me. You know I am not the tidiest person around, and when we travel there will always be someone to look after the house.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “Who knows? The big wide world will be yours. Just say the word.”

  She laid her head on his neck and hugged him tightly. Then she started to laugh.

  He stared at her.

  “He is the greediest person I know,” she said, looking down at his erection.

  “He will just have to wait until we get home.”

  “You’d better get dressed. The limo will soon be here,” she said, staring at his half-naked body.

  It was waiting when they reached the lobby, and the concierge stored their four cases into the vehicle. Summer stared out at the city they were leaving behind. She loved New York City, but there was nothing like the peace and quiet of Whitney. She loved the forests and the birds. Yes, there were lots of pigeons in New York City, but she hadn’t seen the variety they had outside their home in Maine, ranging from sparrows to wild turkeys. Yes, New York was wonderful, but she was happy to leave the hustle and bustle behind.

  When they arrived at the airport, they found out that their flight was delayed due to fog at their destination. That meant they would be getting home late into the night. There wasn’t much that they could do, so after a two-hour wait, their flight was finally off the ground. They napped most of the way and only opened their eyes when the pilot made the landing announcement.

  “I hope the limo is there when we arrive,” said Seamus.

  “It’s there,” she said, pulling her case behind her.