The Colour of Mermaids

by Catherine Curzon

  A deep sigh escaped Eva and she parted her legs wider for him, lifting her hips from the bed as he traced his lips across her. Every nerve in her body was tightened to a soaring pitch. She felt everything, even his breath against her as he moved his mouth on her body, and the gentle rasp of his evening stubble on her sensitive skin.

  The sensation was so intense that she clasped the bedclothes tighter as she moaned his name. In response he moved more deeply, his tongue making deep, sensuous strokes against her core. Shivers ran through her, radiating from the centre of her being, reigniting the heat from the oil on her skin. Desire pushed through her veins and she lost all control as she moaned, her breaths shallow as the force of her climax made her buck and shudder against the mouth that still tormented her.

  Daniel’s response was to simply redouble his efforts, possessing her with every sweep of his tongue. He was an artist in every sense of the word, and he knew his craft well. Through the heat-haze of her satisfied pleasure, Eva’s desire grew again, faster this time as she still tingled from her orgasm, and stronger, too, as Daniel took her to a height of bliss that she had rarely visited before.

  Even now he didn’t stop, and through her ecstasy Eva was dimly aware of his arm reaching up to the bedside table where he had thrown the condoms earlier. She heard the sound of the tearing wrapper somewhere, and if the world outside was still there, it had faded out.

  “I want you…” Eva’s moan was long and low, barely sounding like speech. “Have me…take me…”

  The bed shifted as Daniel’s mouth left her, and the next kisses were on her shoulder, tracing along to the nape of her neck. His arm encircled her waist, that strength she’d sensed in him even before they had touched now holding their bodies together. Eva heard him whisper her name as his erection pressed to her, seeking out the place where his mouth had been.

  Entwining her fingers with his against her stomach, she tilted her hips just enough for him to enter her. Eva turned her head, seeking his lips for a kiss as he possessed her. He captured his own moan of pleasure in their kisses and trailed their linked hands together, guiding them down over her stomach and lower until together they drove her pleasure even further, their bodies moving as one.

  Intense pleasure still rolled through her, like waves across the sea beyond the window. Eva tightened her fingers with his against her body, never wanting to let go. She stirred against him, moving with his thrusts, wanting to repay him the pleasure he had given her.

  “Eva,” he groaned, breathless against her lips, his hips moving harder. “God—”

  Eva’s champagne spilt across the bed as, unthinking, she let go of the glass to reach back and tangle her fingers in his hair. “Have your pleasure of me, Mr Carswell,” she whispered, as a shudder of joy went through her again. His teeth caught Eva’s earlobe lightly and his fingers tightened on her hand, then he was thrusting harder and faster, and she felt the tension in his muscles building and recognized that this meant he was on the edge of his own release.

  As his body pressed to hers, his chest against her back and his arms around her, Eva felt cared for and wanted, secure in her desires no matter how wild they became. As his orgasm grew closer, so too did Eva’s, stronger and more intense than before because they were experiencing their bliss together.

  He gasped her name again, his face pressed tight against his neck as pleasure claimed them as one, and together they soared. They were truly one now, their bodies combining in the sunset.

  Eva sank against the bed, the spicy scent of the oil surrounding them making the room’s opulence exotic and exciting. They could be anywhere, but Eva only wanted to be in Daniel’s embrace.

  “That really was rather marvellous,” she murmured, and kissed him softly on the lips. His eyes were closed and he trembled when he returned the kiss. It seemed to ripple down his whole body, running through every muscle. “Can I hug you?” she asked.

  “I’d like you to,” he whispered. “If you want to.”

  “I do.” Eva nodded. “Just a little one.”

  Daniel turned her in his arms and drew her against him. He buried his face against her hair and whispered, “You’re really something, Eva Catesby.”

  “I could say the same thing about you.” She smiled against his cheek, her arms around him, his body sheened with perspiration. “You’re magnificent.”

  “Hugging is…” He sighed, obviously seeking out the word. “New.”

  “And fun.” Eva ruffled Daniel’s hair, wondering who could go to bed with him and not want to hold him afterwards. Unless it was Daniel who hadn’t wanted any closeness besides the thrill of sex.

  “Not very bad boy, though.” Daniel kissed her cheek. “Promise me you won’t tell?”

  “Gosh, no. I won’t dent your image by letting on that you once allowed a woman to hug you!”

  He laughed softly and said, “I could just stay here.”

  “Me too!” Eva said. “So…have you worked me out of your system yet?”

  “Nowhere near,” Daniel admitted. “How about you?”

  “Not at all.” Eva pouted. “I even worked up a sweat in the attempt!”

  “Let’s give that bath a try.” He pecked his lips to her hair and sat up. With another sigh Daniel reached his arms over his head and stretched, perhaps peacocking just a little for her benefit. Of course he knew how attractive he was, from the tousled hair to the paint-splashed feet. He knew and he made the most of it.

  “We definitely should.” As Eva got up from the bed, she remembered the champagne spill that she had barely been aware of at the time it had happened. She pointed to it. “Ooops! Have I got you into trouble?”

  “I’ll just have to buy the hotel.” He refilled the glasses and put them on the edge of the bath, then pulled back the curtains to reveal the world outside, where a bright moon sat high in the starlit sky. Only when the water was thundering from the taps did he ask her, “We want bubbles, right? Lots of them?”

  “Definitely.” Eva swirled her hand in the rising water. “And shall we turn off the lights? So it’s only the moon and the stars?”

  “And what’s left of the candles.” He picked up a glass bottle from the side of the bath and emptied its dark blue contents into the water. A relaxing scent rose up on the steam and Daniel breathed it in, then told her, “Let’s do it.”

  Daniel prowled across the room and extinguished the lights. All that was left of dinner on the room service trolley now was the bowl of strawberries and small box of chocolates, the hotel’s name inscribed ornately in gold against the white. Daniel picked them up and he glanced towards the discarded sunglasses, but he returned to the bath without them.

  “Who’ll draw the short straw and have to sit on the plug?” Eva grinned. “Me and my sister always fought over that!”

  “We could—” He laughed, suddenly bashful, and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I could get in first and we can snuggle up together if you like? I’m fast losing what’s left of my bad-boy credentials, aren’t I?”

  Eva arched an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, your reputation is safe with me, bad boy. If anyone asks if we snuggled, I’ll say, we enjoyed a frisson skin-to-skin.”

  “Did I snort a line off your naked body?” Daniel teased as he turned off the taps. Then he climbed into the water and settled down amongst the cloud of bubbles, looking as angelic as an enfant terrible could. “And do unspeakable things to you?”

  Eva held her hand out to him as she got into the bath. “Terrible things. Shocking things! And I loved every second.”

  “Tell me about them.” He caught her hand and drew her down into his arms, easing her back against his chest. “You might give me some ideas for next time. Or later.”

  “Oh, it’s far too naughty. I couldn’t possibly break a confidence and reveal what Daniel Scott…” Eva’s saucy tone dwindled away, and she held Daniel’s hand. In her jest, she had hit on something which hadn’t until then occurred to her. “Are the press going to come after me?�
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  “The tabloids aren’t too fussed about us artists,” he assured her, stroking his hands through her tousled hair. “We’re not box office, don’t worry. Anyway, what if they come after me for bedding the woman behind the dancing cakes?”

  “Do you know, that could be quite the scandal? The baker in question has a very sweet image, and if it became known who her illustrator’s been cavorting with…!” Eva laughed, and the water rippled around her.

  “I’ll illustrate her next one. Monsters from the id on the Yorkshire puddings?”

  “Yes!” Eva hadn’t stopped laughing, and the water lapped dangerously up against the sides of the bath. “Sorry… I’m going to cause a flood!”

  “You’ve already trashed the bed, why stop there?” He kissed her cheek. “I thought my days of trashing hotel rooms were way behind me. Bad boys have to grow up, but we never leave our sunglasses at home.”

  “So what do you become when you grow up from being a bad boy? A naughty man?” Eva tickled his chest. “I like that…my naughty man!”

  “A serious artiste,” Daniel informed her, swatting at her hands. “Your naughty man? Is that your way of trying to get me to share this box of chocolates with you? Are you using me for my sweets?”

  Had she said the wrong thing? ‘My naughty man’ made it sound like they had a relationship, but, in truth, she wasn’t entirely sure what they had. At least they had each other, though, for as long as the evening lasted. “You’re very naughty indeed if you don’t share your chocolates with me!”

  “Only if you promise to share the strawberries with me in return?” He reached for the box of chocolates and opened it, presenting them to her. “Would you like me to wash your hair?”

  Eva brushed her fingertip over the tissue paper covering the chocolates and chose one with a flake of frosted raspberry on the peak of its dark shell. Just before popping it into her mouth, she replied, “Wash my hair? That would be so sweet of you. I’ve been well and truly spoiled today, haven’t I?”

  “We all need it sometimes.” With that, Daniel cupped his hands in the water and lifted them, letting it rain through his fingers onto her hair. It was oddly decadent, the hot water cascading over her and down as her shoulders as he repeated the gesture time and again, pausing only to eat the occasional strawberry.

  As he washed her hair, Eva stroked her toes up and down Daniel’s leg, languid and content. The evening was fast ticking away, and she wanted to see him again. “I won’t be long with those bees, by the way. We’ll see one another again soon.”

  “Don’t go without taking my number.” He unscrewed the cap from another bottle and she breathed in the subtle scent of shampoo as he massaged it into her hair. “So you can let me know when those bees have buzzed back to the hive.”

  “I wish they’d buzz off!” Eva laughed, even though it was hardly the sophisticated sort of humour that Daniel would be used to in rarefied art world circles. “Sorry…that was unforgivable, wasn’t it?”

  “I almost said that!” Daniel laughed, a hearty, silly laugh entirely at odds with Daniel Scott. A laugh that didn’t suit the man in black. “But I thought, she’ll think I’m cheesy as hell!”

  “It is cheesy, but haven’t you heard that bad jokes are the new rock ‘n’ roll?” Eva half-turned towards him and dabbed bubbles on the end of his nose. He puffed out a breath and sent them fluttering into the air, then fixed her with a comically stern look and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Oh, I see, Mr Daniel Scott, bad boys don’t do bubbles unless they’re in champagne!”

  “Bad boys,” he kissed her nose, “do bad girls.”

  “Me? Am I bad, really?” Eva found the idea hilarious. “I do own two leather jackets though, so I must be bad.”

  “Only two?” He reached for one of the chocolates and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “How about helping yourself to a desk that isn’t yours so you can fuck an artist you don’t know and knock his Wayfarers halfway across the room? You’re very bad, Ms Catesby.”

  “Now you come to mention it…yes, that was very bad, wasn’t it?” Eva bit her lip as she giggled. “Do you know, I lost an earring at the private view, and I think it’s likely it fell out while we were in Rupert’s office. Can you imagine if he finds it, and if he saw what you left in his bin?” Eva snorted with laughter. Maybe it wasn’t very kind, but Rupert could take his casting couch and stuff it.

  “Was it valuable?” Did she imagine the concern in his eyes? “You could ask that friend of yours if she’s seen it?”

  “I’m seeing her for lunch tomorrow, so I’ll ask then,” Eva decided. “I did send her a text, but she didn’t mention it. I suppose they’re busy fielding calls about your exhibition! And don’t worry, it really wasn’t expensive. It was just a little silver thing. I’ve got piles of them at home.”

  “I made a bad call with Hawley.” Daniel sighed. “I didn’t realise how much of a prick he was until the contracts were signed. He gives off a weird energy, but I let nostalgia rule my brain. Not like me, but I guess it’ll be the making of him and his gallery. Lesson learned. Never listen to nostalgia.”

  “But at least you did, because we would never have met otherwise.” Eva stroked her hand up and down his thigh. “But what was it that made you feel nostalgic? I think it’s always been a gallery or an art thing, that building. Not much more than a beach hut, really, then Rupert took over.”

  “I went there a long, long time ago and it stuck with me,” he said, his voice growing distant. Then he kissed her again. “So I came back and there you were.”

  Eva leaned back against him, letting her head fall against his chest. “Dissing your work! Could there have been a worse beginning for a—” Not a relationship. Definitely not that. “Liaison than that?”

  “I like the fire in you,” Daniel confessed. “I could feel it from across the room, and I wanted you.”

  Eva tipped back her head to look at him. “So is that why you were standing behind me? I knew you were attractive because I’d seen photos of you, but nothing could’ve prepared me for how I felt when we met. It was…instant. This heat between us. And I still feel it now.”

  “Are you asking if I was checking you out?” he whispered, meeting her gaze. “Because if you are, yes I was.”

  “It’s that dress. Clingy red satin. All the bad boys are drawn to it like a magnet!” Eva wove her fingers with his and slowly ran them up and down his thigh.

  “So there are others?” He raised one eyebrow mischievously. “But do they wear vintage Wayfarers in bed?”

  “No, I’d have to say that’s a first for me!” Eva lay still and gazed out from her post in the bath to the strings of lights along the prom. “I’ve had a lovely evening with you, by the way.”

  “I’d ask you to stay, but you poured champagne all over the bed.” Daniel’s gaze followed hers out into the night. “At least you didn’t hurl the TV out of the window.”

  “I did that last week.” Eva smiled, but she knew that bed wasn’t for sleeping in. The man who had struggled to take off his sunglasses indoors wasn’t about to lie through the hours of the night beside her. He was silent but settled his lips against her hair and wrapped his arm around her beneath the bubbles, holding her protectively. Would he work when he got home tonight to his art deco palace, or take her advice and switch off, let himself sleep safe in the cushion of all the memories they had made tonight? Eva hoped he would choose the latter, but still she pictured him in the vast house, working at the dark canvases of his imagination.

  Drunks staggered by, shouting their way along the prom. A siren wasn’t far behind. “It’s getting late. If I’m going to get those bees to buzz off, I should probably head home soon.”

  “It’s been the best day,” he said, the words utterly without guile. “And not the last.”

  Eva held his hand tighter. She was more to him than a quick, frustrated fuck over a desk, more than an evening in a hotel room. Daniel had talked Rupert, the man he obviously f
ound odious, into letting her bring her art group to his precious gallery. He had invited her to his home. Perhaps, if nothing else, they would be friends.

  “And in case you’re still wondering,” his lips brushed her hair, “coke can’t top this. Not tonight.”

  “I’m glad to hear it!” Eva laughed gently. “Just a kiss, before we leave?”

  “One for the road.” He nodded, putting his lips to hers. The kiss was as tender as it was heated and his arms tightened just a little, holding their bodies close in the moments before they broke for breath. “Take the rest of the chocolates home. Spoil yourself?”

  “Thank you, I will.” Eva untangled her arms and legs from his and pulled herself up out of the bath, giving him an unparalleled view of her behind as she did so. Another image from their evening together for him to remember in solitude until they next met. She wrapped herself in a towel, drying off as best she could as she watched him still sitting in the huge bath like an emperor.

  “Clean feet at last.” He lifted one foot from the bubbles and circled it at the ankle. “Throw me my phone from my jacket, I’ll send my number and call you a cab. I’m going to walk home. I feel like I need to come down from you before I get there.”

  He rose from the water and reached for a towel, which he wrapped around his waist. Then he climbed from the bath and gave another one of those peacocking stretches.

  ‘Come down from you.’ Eva smiled at him as she rummaged in his pocket for his phone. As she passed it to him, she kissed his shoulder, then began to rub her hair dry with a towel. “I’ll dream of you,” she told him.

  “I don’t sleep too much, but I have a feeling I’ll be thinking of you too.” He tapped his phone screen and she heard her own mobile buzz for a second. “Now you’ve got my number, so keep in touch? Let’s leave the cab until you’re ready. No rush.”

  Eva glanced at the rumpled bed, at the crumbs on the floor around the trolley, at the stacked, empty plates, at the discarded bathrobes, at a smudge of cigarette ash on the carpet. They had shared such pleasure here, and maybe it was best to remember it like this. He was so sweet behind that arrogant outer crust, and Eva’s vulnerability flared again at the thought of how tenderly she was beginning to feel towards him. Because what if, once they left here tonight, he didn’t answer her calls, or even blocked her number? If this was all they would ever have, she’d tell herself not to mind, and not wonder what could have been. Daniel Scott didn’t do relationships, he wasn’t the type, and it was silly of her to begin to hope otherwise.