by Anthology
“Take off your pants,” he ordered.
Mia heard his request as though it came from far away. She had been floating on the feelings his hands were creating. Without thinking, she responded by rolling over, raising her hips and allowing him to undo her pants and pull them off along with her underwear. It wasn’t until she felt the couch beneath her naked skin that she was fully aware of what she had done. She shut all thoughts out and didn’t argue…didn’t want to.
His touch was wonderful. Her body had hungered for this attention and when he moved his hand down her stomach and trailed a finger toward her pussy, she willingly let her thighs part. His fingers moved lower and teased the lips at her entrance. Heat became wetness as she responded immediately to the caress.
“Does that mean you need more, my star?” he asked huskily.
My star… She hadn’t heard that in so long. It was the endearment he’d given her, because he’d said she glowed from within. It melted her as much as his attention. “Yes. More.” And that was what he gave her.
He adjusted the position of his hand so that one finger entered her pussy while another found the hard tip of her clitoris. Mia lifted her hips to give him better access. Sensations flooded her and she gripped the material of the couch as she started to grind on his hand. She couldn’t believe how completely she responded to his touch.
Xander’s body covered hers as he bent over and whispered in her ear, “You want even more than this, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“This,” was all he said.
“Oh God!” she screamed as his finger moved from her pussy to her ass and sent heat coursing through her. The awareness of her own desires had been his gift to her and no one had ever been able to excite her the way he did. With his fingers still creating their magic, she didn’t notice his weight shift and was surprised when she felt his mouth on her entrance.
Mia was lost. Her body was a mass of nerve endings. She surrendered to her reactions until she knew she wanted one more thing. “I want… I have to…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Tell me,” he growled against her pussy.
“Touch you. I need to touch you.”
His mouth moved away from her mound but his finger continued teasing her ass. She heard him getting out of his clothes completely one-handed. Thank God for his work as a stripper, she thought.
Xander settled his body over hers, his cock above her face. As she took him into her mouth, he rolled them both over so that she was on top. He began to lick her pussy again.
As she breathed in his masculine scent, her mouth became reacquainted with his cock. Mia cupped his balls with one hand, ran her tongue around the tip of his penis and was rewarded with his gasp of pleasure, which she felt on her pussy lips. His tongue and fingers were working together to bring her to a rapid climax. Not wanting him to be left behind, she increased her attention, fingering his ass gently. Their moans blended as they pressed their bodies together for deeper contact.
Soon she reached that almost magical point, the point where her muscles were contracting and climax was beginning. She couldn’t hold back any longer. Mia took him deeper into her mouth to signal her near-orgasm and knew he understood when his fingers moved faster and his hips rocked, matching her movements. His free hand grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer. Her hand around his balls, she felt him tighten. Thrilled to know he was as close to coming as she was, she intensified her sucking motions and heard him groan “I’m coming!” against her pussy before he pressed closer to her mouth. She eagerly swallowed his cum and then her own climax hit in endless waves. Her cries were muffled by his cock but the experience was no less powerful.
When she stopped shaking, Mia rolled off him, boneless, satisfied and unable to speak. Her mind had wanted to move on from her past with Xander but clearly her body wanted to be with him. Her heart was beginning to feel torn between the two. After a time, Xander turned around so they were face-to-face. He cupped her chin and kissed her.
“That was…” she started.
“Yes, it was,” he finished, running his fingers gently up and down her arm. “Muscles more relaxed now?”
“Definitely. The perks of modeling are much better than lawyering. You may not get a lot of work done if this is how all of our sessions are going to end.” Mia wasn’t sure what she had said that hurt him, but his eyes became cautious and he pulled away.
“Let me worry about my work.” Xander sat up, looking for his clothes. “You can sleep here during your stay. I’ll get you some bedding and call in for Thai food for dinner.”
She nodded her response as he walked away. Mia had no doubt that she would want to be close to him again in the heat of the moment, but after the intensity of their passion passed, she was left with more questions than answers. She was going to have to do something about that.
Chapter Four
“Wake up, time to get going.”
“Mom?” Mia said groggily.
“Not quite. Here’s coffee. Drink, put on this t-shirt and get up. The light’s perfect for what I want to do next.”
She did what Xander said—in the order he’d said it. It was Monday morning and she’d slept on the futon. While slipping on her underwear, Mia made a call to the office to let Ruth know she would be out this week then shuffled sleepily to the dining space of his loft.
“Sit at the table, please.”
“Do I have to give up my coffee?”
“No, which I say is lucky for me since you look as though you’d do bodily harm to anyone who tried to take it from you.”
“Damn right,” she grumbled.
“This picture is going to be called Waking, so you only have to sit at the table as you normally would and read the paper. There’s a bagel too, so feel free to eat.”
“That’s exactly what I can handle. Am I allowed to turn pages?”
“Yes, but try to go back to the same position after.”
Mia sank onto the seat with one foot on it, her knee bent, elbow on knee, head in her hand. She was comfortable and soon relaxed. She had finished half the mug of coffee before she realized Xander had made it exactly as she liked. He remembering this detail hit her hard. He’d always noticed the small things and it had pleased and unnerved her. It still did. It didn’t matter that she was wearing clothes. She felt exposed again.
One of the things she appreciated about her work as a lawyer was that it required her to keep an emotional distance from clients and be professional with coworkers. She was good at façades. She had been ever since the first school counselor had asked if things were all right at home and she’d been able to answer “Yes” with a convincing smile. No need to tell anyone that her mother had been having an affair with her boss and was now heartbroken and unemployed. No reason to show them how tired she was from being the adult in the family.
In her new business, she rarely had to meet her customers since most work was done by e-mail or phone. Now sitting here with Xander staring at her made her feel far too vulnerable, even more than during sex where the sexual haze gave her cover.
“Bad news in Boston?” Xander’s question interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and noticed his pencil had not stopped moving.
“No, why do you ask?”
“Your face. You look very serious and troubled.”
Mia tensed, realizing she couldn’t even drink her coffee without him noticing what she was thinking. She consciously schooled her features into a relaxed pose. “Same stuff, different day. I have to admit it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit and read the paper without being interrupted.”
“Busy at the firm?”
“Nothing extraordinary. But I’m fairly certain I’ve kept still more in the past twenty-four hours than I have been in the past twenty-four months.”
“And you don’t like that.” It was a statement, she noticed.
“It’s not that I don’t like it…”
“Oh, come on. Remember that
trip we made to the Berkshires? Two nights to get away in the off-season, time to catch up on books we wanted to read, a chance to relax. Make love.” He dropped his tone suggestively at the end. “You were practically pacing. You’d read for an hour, make notes for work for a while and then try to find a way to get Internet access.”
“I had some ideas for a case we were working on that I didn’t want to forget.”
“You badgered the innkeepers.”
“I did not badger.” Xander gave her a steady look instead of a verbal response. “Okay, maybe a little but it was my first time away from the office in ages and it was tough.”
“You had books, the great outdoors and me. Couldn’t that be enough for a weekend?”
Mia looked at him and wisely, she thought, stayed silent. She was thankful when he went back to the canvas. She didn’t have an answer for him and found that she couldn’t stop thinking about what he asked.
She remembered that weekend clearly, remembered looking forward to it for weeks. He was right. She hadn’t been able to sit or allow herself to relax. It was as if she had forgotten how. Assuming she had ever known. She had always been a doer. It was how she lived her life, the only way she knew to keep things in control. He was asking her to just…be and she didn’t know how to manage that request.
Three weeks later she had ended their relationship which, she now realized, answered the question about whether he’d been enough. She shuddered at her actions.
“Are you cold?” Xander asked.
Mia took a sip of coffee to delay her answer. “No, trying to wake up.”
“Never something you particularly liked.”
“Nope. I’m still more of a night owl. I don’t understand anyone who wants to get out of a nice warm bed. Someday I’ll have a job that lets me sleep in every day.”
“That will be an unusual law firm.”
“Maybe it won’t be law.” She waited for him to look at her— He didn’t.
“Yeah, right, Mia. Like you’d walk away from all the hours you put in at the firm of Work, Work and More Work.”
“I might for the right reason,” she said.
“Sorry, can’t imagine it.” He sounded so sure of himself. She decided to eat her bagel instead of answering, which wasn’t easy with the lump that had appeared in her throat. She knew that he still believed she was a workaholic. For the first time, it bothered her.
* * * * *
Wake, eat, pose, eat, pose, work for Forget-Me-Not while he napped, eat, read and sleep. The following days had a lazy and predictable quality to them. Xander told her what he needed and she did it. Mia found herself enjoying having so few responsibilities. There was only one thing that was not going well.
It had been four days since he had last touched her. Technically they were sleeping in the same room since the loft was one big space, but she slept on the futon, he in his bed. She wore his t-shirts and boxers when she wasn’t modeling since she had no other clothes than her conservative ones with her but that was the only part of him that was close to her skin and it was driving her insane.
Each day’s poses left her physically and emotionally exhausted. She had never thought she was capable of sitting and doing nothing for such long periods but it was wonderful to be so close to him as he created. He would work long past the time she would stop modeling and she spent that free time reading. Every day while he was resting—having a “creative nap”—she was busy catching up on calls and sending out reminders for Forget-Me-Not. She hadn’t found a way to tell him about the changes in her career, even though they spoke about nearly everything else.
Sometimes they talked when he worked, at other times music was the only sound in the loft. Xander usually stopped for a break around dinnertime and they’d eat whatever they could find or have something delivered. Since her arrival, she hadn’t had any direct contact with anyone other than him—and surprisingly she didn’t miss it at all. She loved being the focus of his attention. That was the most unsettling revelation of all.
“Are you going to invite your family to the opening of your show?” she asked over a late dinner. That evening’s pose required darkness, so they had gotten a delayed start on the day and Xander had called the club to say he wouldn’t be in that night.
“Absolutely. They’ve always supported me, even when they worried I might end up homeless and starving. Or worse—a lawyer.” Mia laughed at the face he made, knowing that the ribbing was meant to make her smile. “What about you? Think your folks would want to see what their daughter’s been doing for the past week?” he asked.
“I thought you said I wouldn’t be recognizable?”
“You won’t be but you could always tell them it’s you.”
“I could tell my brothers and sister, but my mom? No way. She’s not interested in any event that’s not about her. Unless you plan on painting her, don’t expect to see her at a gallery.”
“From your tone I’d say I hit a nerve. Sorry, I didn’t mean to. You still don’t want to talk about her or your family?”
Mia shrugged. “My mother wasn’t the best role model when it came to mothering or relationships.” She stopped poking at her food, looked at Xander and since he looked like he was waiting, continued, “Mom was either taking care of her newest husband or herself, so she could attract a new husband. No one stayed in her life very long when it came to men. Her choices were terrible. As soon as I could get out, I did.”
“You never said… How many siblings do you have?”
“Two half brothers and a half sister. I’m the oldest.”
“And the responsible one.”
Mia nodded. “Didn’t ask for the job but someone had to do it.”
He took her hand and kissed it. She was grateful for the touch and the lack of additional questions.
“So,” he said finally, “if you’re done eating, are you ready to get naked?”
* * * * *
Mia lay on Xander’s bed completely nude, lit only by candles, surrounded by and leaning on pillows. She’d known when this week had begun that he would ask her to pose naked. She’d struggled with the idea at the time but tonight shedding her clothes felt natural, comfortable and, more surprising, it was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to be bare, heart and body, for him.
The setting gave her the sensation of floating. She could almost believe she was alone since Xander was hidden behind his canvas. Like many women, Mia had found the movie scene in Titanic with Jack sketching a naked Rose highly sensual and romantic, but it couldn’t compare with how she felt now—knowing Xander was looking at her constantly and transferring what he saw onto the canvas. There were times when Mia swore his pencil and brush were stroking her skin, making her aware of every part of her body…including her heart.
Without her noticing, it had happened again. With every picture sketched, joke shared, meal prepared, her love for him had returned and grown stronger. She could completely relax and be herself with him—even complain when she was tired. It wasn’t only that she didn’t have to keep up a front for him, it was that she didn’t want to. Three years ago, even with Xander, Mia had always looked for distance in her relationships, because she refused to be hurt or left. Being with him now was showing her that, by not risking the pain, she had also rejected the possibilities of deeper pleasures.
She wasn’t aware that her emotions were so close to the surface until the wetness hit her ear. Being undressed didn’t make her feel half as vulnerable as falling in love did. Days of sitting still stopped her from wiping her cheek and she thought that the darkness would keep her crying private until she saw him get up from behind the canvas. He walked over, sat on the bed next to her and passed his hand over the tear.
“Is everything okay, my star?”
She turned her face fully into his hand. “Everything is just right.”
“I didn’t believe it was possible,” he said softly, “but I’d forgotten how deeply beautiful you are. How you glow.” Xander leaned in and
tenderly kissed her. His lips covered hers and her entire body softened. She hadn’t enjoyed a touch this much since leaving him and didn’t know how she had longed for such tenderness until this moment.
Mia reached out and threaded her fingers through his hair, deepening the kiss. He tasted so good, familiar, yet in this instance, new. She needed more and she wanted it now.
“Touch me, Xander. Please. I need to feel. I have to feel you, feel connected,” she whispered against his lips. She was afraid he was going to ask her questions when the last thing she wanted to do was talk. Instead he kissed her again and she was grateful she wouldn’t have to explain herself. Not yet.
“This is a nice switch,” he said against her neck as his kisses moved lower.
“What is?” she murmured.
“You’re naked and I’m completely dressed.”
“Not for long, I hope.”
“Definitely not.” He shifted to his knees and pulled his t-shirt off. Then he reached for the button on his jeans but she stopped him.
“I’ll do that.” Mia gave him a playful push. He fell back against the bed pillows and stretched his legs out, allowing her to take off his jeans and boxers together. When she looked up, she smiled at the sight of him naked and hard, lit only by candles and the moonlight coming through the windows. “Now this is an image that makes me wish I could paint.” She slid herself up his body, stopping to lick his cock and play with his balls.
Xander allowed her to touch him in this way for only a little while before he put his hands on her shoulders and moved her mouth away from him. “Oh no, you don’t. Not tonight. Tonight I want to be inside you.”
She smiled, moved up on the bed and straddled him. “Then be inside me.” With no other warning, Mia took his cock halfway into her. She was wet and ready. Her reward was his groan of pleasure. Gyrating slightly, she allowed his shaft to sink a little deeper. She could stand the gentle contact for only a moment before she moved down on him in a rush, completely sheathing him inside her. His hips lifted off the bed in an obvious effort to be as deeply in her as possible.
