To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (16 page)

I sat back down and
listened to the relentless rain pounding against the cottage
rooftop. A crash of thunder almost stopped my heart and I bolted
from the sofa.

He stood up beside me.
“Hey, easy there. It’s just thunder.”

His arm slipped around my
shoulders and I jerked away from him. “This is a bad idea. I should
never have come.”

David took my hand and
encouraged me back to the sofa. “We should talk about
this.”

“
No!” I emphatically
stated.

“
Okay,” he cooed, “we won’t
talk.” He went to the candle closest to the front door and blew it
out. I watched as he stepped over to another candle he had placed
by the end table and blew that one out, too.

“
Why are you blowing out
the candles?” My voice trembled as I spoke.

He extinguished another
candle on the coffee table. “We don’t need all of these extra
candles.”

“
I think we do. How in hell
do you expect to play scrabble or anything like that?”

He stood before the last of
the candles. “I don’t have a scrabble game.”

“
Checkers?”

“
Nope.” He had the last
candle in his hand and was bringing it to his lips.

“
Cards?” I
pleaded.

“
Sorry. The game I want to
play, we play in the dark.” He snuffed out the last candle and my
heart came to a standstill.

I forgot about my father,
about Sammy, and about the business. My every thought was of David,
and his dance of seduction around the room. I felt shaky and
nervous. Butterflies leaped in my stomach. I was simultaneously
excited and terrified.

“
It sounds like it’s
getting worse out there. It could go on all night.” His voice was
right in front of me. His breath was warm on my face. “The roads
are probably flooding by now. You’d better stay here with
me.”

I could barely make out the
outline of his face, hovering above me. “We can’t do this,
David.”

He put his fingers to my
lips. “In this game there is no talking.” He sighed into my cheek.
“I’ve painted you every day for weeks. I’ve dreamed about you every
night for over a month.” He tenderly kissed my chin. “I’ve waited
so long for you.” His teeth grazed my neck. “I’m not used to
waiting for anyone.”

His lips traveled down to
the tender nape of my neck, then his teeth sank into my flesh. I
closed my eyes, wanting so badly to hand myself over to him. He
eased the robe off my right shoulder, his lips nuzzling my skin.
Hanging on to the last vestiges of my willpower, I pushed him away
with both hands.

“
No, this is wrong. I need
to get the hell out of here.”

I tried to stand up, but
pulled me back to the sofa. “I have been yours since that day I
first saw you running across that stupid lawn to stop
Eddie.”

His mouth came down
ruthlessly on mine. His lips were merciless, filling me with an
unknown sensation. I had never felt such hunger from any man. My
lips trembled, at first, and then I gave into him. He encouraged me
with his tongue, tempting me, tantalizing me. No one had ever
kissed me like this. My need for him began to take over, and I
deepened my kiss, anxious for more.

Before I knew what was
happening, he swept me up and into his arms, carrying me toward the
back of the apartment.

I beat my fist against his
chest, protesting. “I can walk, you know.”

He promptly deposited me on
the floor. “You won’t run away?”

“
No,” I whispered, tugging
at the robe.

“
I forgot you are not the
sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of girl.” He shook his head and
laughed. “So much for romance. Here, take my hand. I lead. You
follow. Deal?”

I nodded and let him guide
me to the bedroom in the back of the house. He directed me to a bed
set against the far wall of the room. Outside, lightening flashed,
but I could only hear the thunder of my heart when I sat down on
the cool comforter. My hands were shaking as he sat down next to
me. I nearly jumped out of my skin when his hand rested on my
shoulder.

“
It’s all right, Nicci.
Don’t be frightened.”

He worked the robe down my
body. First, one shoulder was exposed, and then the other. I sat
very still, keeping my eyes closed, almost afraid of what was
coming, but wanting it at the same time.

I tried once more to
protest. “I don’t think—”

“
You think too much.” His
lips grazed my neck.

His hands traveled down the
front of the robe to the knot I had tied. He struggled with it for
a few minutes, all the while teasing my neck and shoulders with
kisses. After a while, I started to laugh at his vain attempt at
freeing me.

“
You tied it on so bloody
tight I can’t get this damn robe off.” There was a hint of real
frustration in his voice.

“
Can I go home now?” I
joked.

“
No.” He stood from the
bed. “Stay there.”

I could hear him pulling
out kitchen drawers one by one, cursing profusely. The more he
cursed, the more I laughed. When he returned, he plopped down on
the bed next to me.

“
I’ve got you now,” he
said, triumphantly.

Within seconds the belt was
off and thrown to the floor. Slowly, the front of the robe opened,
and the cool air rushed against my skin, making me shiver. David’s
hands began gently caressing my shoulders, and then traveled down
to my breasts. He traced my erect nipples with his thumbs, and I
gasped with delight. The robe discarded, he pulled my naked body to
his. The hard muscles of his chest pressed against the soft
recesses of my skin. He kissed my neck as his hands explored my
back, migrating all the way down to my butt.

“
I’ll never let you get
away from me again,” he whispered, squeezing my butt
cheeks.

Kissing my chest, he pulled
at my right nipple with his teeth while his hands ravenously glided
over every inch of me. His lips slowly continued their journey down
my stomach, hips, and to the tops of my thighs.

Suddenly, the kisses
stopped and I opened my eyes. His face was hovering just above my
belly button, as his hands gently pried my legs apart.

“
It’s time we explore my
other talents,” he purred, kissing my stomach.

His lips roamed temptingly
down from my belly while his fingers spread my folds open. When his
mouth settled over my sensitive nub, I fell back against the
bed.

“
David,” I moaned, lost in
the ecstasy of his kiss.

Chapter 9

It was some time later that
night when the lights came back on. I was lying naked with David’s
head resting against my stomach. The light from the kitchen
startled me and he stirred from his sleep. Running my hands through
his thick wavy hair, I turned my head and listened as the
refrigerator began humming and the heater in the bathroom clicked
on.

He moaned with pleasure. “I
like that. I could lay here naked with you for years.”

The robe and his jeans were
lying in a heap on the floor. The scissors he had used to free me
had been tossed to the side, and now gleamed in the dim light. I
smiled, remembering the frenzied moments we had shared in the
darkness of this room. I began to wonder how long we had been lying
there together. Curious about the time, I sat up.

David pushed me back down
into the bed. “You are not free to leave this bed,” he teased,
holding my hands down over my head.

He gazed longingly into my
eyes and then he kissed me. I felt the surge of desire for him
swell inside of me. Just as I was about to give myself over to him
again, my stomach growled. He stopped kissing me and immediately
broke out in a fit of laughter.

“
Trying to tell me
something? We better get you some food.” He let go of me and rolled
out of the bed. Picking up the robe from the floor, he put it
on.

Unexpectedly, he reached
for the lamp on the bedside table. I didn’t have time to cover my
body before the light filled the room. I grabbed for the sheet and
tried to hide behind it, but he held my hand and stopped
me.

“
You are beautiful,” he
proclaimed, standing over me. “I want to paint you like
this.”

I could feel the blush
rising on my cheeks. “Are you insane? It’s hard enough for me to
lie here and have you scrutinize every nook and cranny. Do you
think I could sit still and have you paint everything?” I wrapped
the sheet around me and climbed from the bed.

“
Why are woman so ashamed
of their bodies? I like all your nooks and crannies. I’d like to
explore them in detail. Map them out, so to speak.”

“
Do you paint all the women
you sleep with?” I regretted the harsh words and berated myself for
being so callous.

“
No,” he replied. “I just
want everyone to see the beauty I see in you.” He turned away from
me and went into the kitchen.

I followed behind him,
trailing my sheet on the floor. “The beauty you see in
me?”

He cupped my face in his
hands. “To me there is no one more beautiful in the world than you.
I only want to paint you. Clothed. Naked. Happy. Sad. I don’t care.
I just want to paint you.” He kissed my forehead
tenderly.

It is a small turning point
in a woman’s life to be called beautiful by a man other than her
father. Like your first real kiss or losing your virginity, it
marks a certain milestone. Beautiful is a word associated with
princesses and fairy tales, not attributed to the common folk. It
is the fulfillment of a childhood wish, because we all grow up
feeling like ugly ducklings. It is at that moment you become a
swan.

David stood before the
refrigerator pulling items out and placing them on the granite
countertop next to him. “First, I’m going to feed you, and then I’m
going to paint you. Even if I have to get you drunk to do it. Then
maybe, probably, I’ll be in the mood for something else.” He turned
and raised his eyebrows playfully at me.

Eventually, we had to
compromise on the pose for my nude. He wanted me stark naked
sprawled out on the bed. I wanted to pose with the sheet draped all
over the vital areas. He said it would interfere with the contour
of my body in the painting. We settled on a bathroom nude. I was to
recline in the bathtub, with only my breast showing above the
water. I asked about putting bubble bath or flowers in the bathtub
to hide certain anatomical features.

“
The anatomical features
are what I’m supposed to be painting,” he sighed. “I better break
out the champagne.”

After six glasses of champagne, I was ready.
No bubbles, no flowers, and all anatomical parts were well
exposed.

The bathtub was an old,
claw-footed one. It was also very deep and I had trouble staying
centered in the huge tub. Once David set up his easel by the door
to the bathroom, there was not much room for anything else. He
started drawing furiously. I watched as his hand dashed about the
canvas.

Feeling the warm water
swirl around me, while the champagne swirled inside of me, I lay
back in the tub with my head resting on the edge. My hair fell down
around the outside toward the floor, and I reached over to splash
the warm water around my neck, glancing up at David.

“
Stop, that’s it. Hold that
pose,” he called.

I held that pose for two hours. The water
got so cold, I had to have David drain the tub and fill it again
with hot water four times. I thought the first fifteen minutes of
posing were fun. Then my arm got tired, my butt got numb, and my
general appreciation for modeling increased tremendously.

“
Want to stop now?” he
finally inquired. “I think I have enough.”

I groaned with relief.
“Never again!” I vowed as I stepped out of the tub. “That is
torture. I prefer being a nurse.” I put the robe on and jumped
about in place to warm up. “Stick to buildings.”

In the kitchen, the clock
on the microwave said it was already past nine. While David
collected his materials from the bathroom, and carried the easel
out into the studio, I inspected his efforts.

At first, I was
disappointed. It didn’t look like me, at all. The features were not
like mine and the body was even more of an exaggeration. The
breasts were much larger and the hips were wider and
fuller.

“
Fantasizing just a bit
there, aren’t we?” I pointed to the picture.

He shook his head. “I was
just changing a few details so no one would notice it was you, in
case it ever goes on display. However, there are certain features
of yours I kept. Features only someone who has seen you naked would
know.”

“
Sort of like a code, so
all the men I’ve slept with will be able to identify
me.”

He chuckled. “Honestly.
Look here.” He gestured to the scar on my upper thigh. “I included
your scar along with the birthmark on your right breast.
See?”

Like a lover, his sleek
hands glided tenderly over the canvas. David had exquisite hands
with long, tapering fingers. They were mesmerizing to watch when
they zipped about as he painted.