When he stops before me, he instructs seductively, “Stand up, Gemma.”

Without hesitation, I do as requested, noticing a slight twitch to his mouth. My heart is hammering in my chest as his eyes move to where my blouse parts at my neck. I wonder if he can see my thumping pulse.

He places his large palm at the base of my throat, so his fingers are caressing my neck, and his thumb is at the hollow of my throat.

Should I be scared? Probably. Am I? Not in the least.

“You smell fresh and…” He pauses as his eyes run over my face. “Moist.”

Swallowing, I can feel his thumb as he presses it a little firmer against my throat.

“Frightened?” he questions.

His deep voice slides down to join the imaginary fingers in my panties.

“No.” I smile, hoping he feels as aroused as I do by his seduction. “Turned on.”

His free hand comes out to wrap around my waist, and he tugs me close to him. “Yes, so am I, Gemma. I keep thinking about how hot and tight your ass was last night.”

A low moan rips from my throat as his large palm strokes over the ass in discussion. Before I can think or stop myself, I’m confessing all the longing and all the emotions that have built up inside of me.

“It’s yours—all of it.” Panting now, my desire and need for him override my common sense, making me say things I know he is not ready to hear. “Take me, Phillipe. Love me. I am yours.”

Slowly, I feel the arm around me loosen, so I reach down to grab it, trying to keep it around me.

“No! No, don’t let go,” I beg him, not even embarrassed at how needy I sound. “I didn’t mean it that way,” I say in a rush.

His eyes, only seconds ago full of desire, now slide close, and his mouth grimaces as he releases me completely.

“Let go, Gemma,” he instructs firmly.

Feeling my heartbeats skip and falter from the ache of him pulling away, I blink rapidly and turn my head away from him. I’m humiliated. He’s still so close, and I can smell his skin. He hasn’t made a move to shift away from me, but he’s placed an emotional barrier between us like a ten-foot brick wall. Biting my bottom lip to keep myself from either crying or screaming, I steel my resolve against him.

He demands firmly, “Look at me.”

I hear him, but I refuse to comply. Instantly, his hand and thumb are at my chin, and he turns my head back to face him. I know I have tears in my eyes because his face is blurry. Still abusing my lip, I’m furious with myself for pushing and angry with him for leading me on.

“What is it you really think you are feeling, Gemma?”

Clenching my teeth, I try to pull my face from his grasp, but he doesn’t let go.

“Love? I don’t think so. Lust? Infatuation?” he asks.

I remain mute.

Instead, I feel a tear finally spill forth, sliding down my cheek. Moving my hand, I swipe it away. When he reaches out to grip my wrist, I become infuriated.

“Let me go!” I demand, attempting to twist my arm away from him.

Releasing my chin, he pulls my arm back behind me and gathers me up close to him. My breasts press against his chest as I feel a second tear slip free down my cheek.

“I can’t let you go, Gemma,” he rasps fiercely, leaning forward. “That’s the whole fucking problem.”

Suddenly, I can’t stand the thought of his mouth on mine. I have my pride, and he just walked all over it. As I turn my head to the side, I’m shocked when I feel his tongue against my skin. He licks the tears from my cheek, and then his mouth is at my ear.

“Trust me, I’m not what you want, Gemma. I’m not what you need,” he whispers, stressing his last word. “Don’t waste your time loving me.”

Moving back to face him, I find myself staring into intense green eyes that are pleading with me to understand.

“But you’re who I have come to love,” I confess, finally allowing my head to catch up to my heart.

His eyes search my face, like he’s trying to find something, before he releases me abruptly. Walking away, he mutters, “Then, you are a fool.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch him stop at the easel in the corner. I have to agree with him. I am the biggest fool of all.

* * *

Phillipe knows he’s being purposefully cruel, but Gemma—sweet Gemma with the wide innocent eyes—thinks of him as Chantel once did. They believe he is a man worthy of being placed high up on a pedestal. He already toppled from that lofty pedestal months ago, and he still has the broken bones to prove it. The last thing he needs is to be placed back up there only for him to fall again.

When he reaches the other side of the room, he turns back to face the woman who is watching him with a mixture of love and hate etched across her face. He wonders about his self-destructive behavior.

He knew last night how Gemma felt about him. There was no other reason for her to let him touch her and possess her in such a way. But love? Where does she get the absurd notion that I’m capable of loving anything anymore? I’m not even capable of loving myself, let alone someone else.

Bracing himself for whatever she’s about to do, he asks cautiously, “Do you wish to continue?”

Raising her hand to her face, she wipes the remaining tears from her cheeks and squares her shoulders. She glances toward the window and takes several deep breaths. Every time her chest rises, Phillipe curses himself for wanting to touch her. He wants to place his ear on her chest to hear the proof that she is alive, but he won’t do that to her. He can’t do that to her because he’s barely breathing himself. To drag her down with him would be the cruelest twist of all.

“Continue what?” Her voice floats across the space to him.

“The paintings, Gemma. What else would I mean?”

She shifts, wrapping her arms around her waist.

Defensively?Maybe. Protectively seemed more likely though. She is back to protecting herself against him.

“There are only two left,” Phillipe explains.

She continues staring out the window, looking anywhere but at him.

“Sacred and Deceptive.”

All of a sudden, she turns back to face him, focusing her eyes on his. Cool and devoid of emotion, she tells him calmly, “I’ll be back here tonight at 6:00 p.m. We will do Sacred since that’s the ground I just apparently walked all over.”

Then, without another word, he watches her leave the studio.

* * *

Sacred ~

There are moments in your life when you know you are in exactly the right place at the right time.

This morning, as I was lying beside Phillipe on my stomach, I knew that I had one of those moments.

As the sun warmed my skin, his fingers traced my tattoo for what felt like hours, and his mouth was against mine, kissing and nibbling.

I finally opened my eyes.

“Good morning,” he murmured.

I smiled at him and arched my back into his touch.

“You like this?” he asked.

His fingers once again moved over the F-holes that had been permanently marked on my skin. Nodding, I scooted in closer to him turning my head. His mouth found mine in a sweet morning kiss that made my heart speed up and pound against my rib cage.

“In the sunlight, your skin is almost iridescent. Did you know that?”

Feeling a full smile appear on my mouth, I was thrilled when he joined in the joyous moment as he kissed me again.

“I can’t stop touching you,” he told me, his fingers dipping down to flirt with the curve of my ass.

Nipping his bottom lip, I pushed my tummy and pelvis on the mattress as I felt his cock start to stir against the side of my leg.

“Who’s asking you to?”

I felt him sigh, and his breath floated across my lips. He let his index finger slide deeper between my dark crack.

“No one?” he asked as though it were a question.

“That’s right. No one. Certainly, not me.”

His lips moved, and I felt them on my shoulder. He bit it gently as he shifted, rolling me to my side.

In this position, I could feel the sun hitting my naked breasts and belly while his warm strong chest pressed against my back and his throbbing shaft nestled into the cleft of my ass. One of his hands wrapped around my waist, and his large palm brushed along my exposed mound before he slid his hand down to my thigh.

“Lift this back here,” he instructed.

Moving my leg back, he propped it up on his thigh, exposing myself to him. His fingers traced down my inner thigh to where my pussy was now spread open for his playful fingers. They dipped and slid through my wetness, and all the while, I could feel his hips shifting and pushing that strong cock to my crack.

“I don’t want to leave today,” he confessed, nibbling my ear.

“You need to go to the States. It’s only going to be for three days,” I replied through ragged breaths.

He brushed my clit with his fingers. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Pushing my hips back, I looked over my shoulder to where I knew he was. “Take me?”

Flexing his pelvis forward, he thrust his fingers up into me. “I’m going to. Have patience, Chantel.”

Shaking my head, I pushed back again with my ass. “Take me here.”

His whole body stilled as I wriggled against the fingers that were deep inside of me.