The Artist's Provocateur: Serano Brothers Novel, Book 3

by L. J. Fine

  "That's right," Chloe said, clearly missing the point of Marie's pause and dramatically posed question. "Try to get there a little early so you can spot him as soon as he walks in. It's five o'clock now, so that leaves you just enough time to –"

  "Why are we meeting at Abel's?" Marie didn't care what time it was or would be when she got there. They needed a change of venue.

  Chloe chuckled. "Relax, Adam won't be there. I double checked with Tyler, and tonight is Adam's night off. He worked earlier, processing shipment and taking inventory. Tyler said Adam hates doing that and will b-line for the door once his shift is over at six. So, no worries. I know he's the last person you want to see right now."

  Understatement. She had been avoiding him like the plague ever since she slammed the door in his face the other night. Going on this date would be awkward and uncomfortable enough. Adam's presence would make it exponentially worse. Not only because of the twisted dynamic of their acquaintance, but also because she felt...bad... about going off on him the way she did. It wasn't his fault that the well had started to fall apart and had to be condemned. It really was a safety issue, and a dilapidated ruin wouldn't help her anyway.

  She never wanted to run into Adam on a good day, but now that she felt contrite? Yeah....no thanks. She could only imagine how smug he would get if she apologized to him. More than likely she'd never hear the end of it.

  "Okay. If you're one hundred percent certain that he won't be there, I'll start getting ready now."

  Marie could hear the smile in Chloe's voice. "Yes, I'm certain. Get your butt moving!"

  "All right, all right. I'll call you later and let you know how it went."

  Lord, let her get this over with quickly.

  *****

  This isn't working, Marie thought for the second time that night. She had done everything Chloe suggested. Cleaned herself up, got to Abel's early, went straight up to the bar, ordered a Dirty Shirley and waited.

  Twenty minutes and one watered-down and now iceless drink later, still no one matching James' description had approached her. Nor had she seen anyone enter the bar that remotely resembled the picture Chloe had painted. So, either she had somehow missed him entering, and he took one look at her and bolted, or he hadn't bothered to show up at all. Neither scenario boosted her ego.

  Oh well. She had more important shit to do tonight, anyway.

  Right then, she thought downing the watery swill that used to be her Dirty Shirley and headed for the restroom. One quick use of the toilet and she was out of there.

  Catching her reflection in the mirror on the way to the only empty stall, she paused. What was so wrong with her that a complete stranger would blow her off like this? Nothing that she could see. She turned this way and that to study herself. Heeding Chloe's advice, for a change, Marie had taken the time to get ready for this date. The artist in her appreciated the illusion of, what she would proudly call, the perfect smoky eye. Her hair lay in long strawberry-blonde waves, and the designer jeans and dark sweater she had chosen, hugged her curves in all the right places, if she did say so herself. She'd even broken out the high-heeled black boots that had been hiding out in the back of her closet since the first time she wore them, over two months ago. Though they pinched her feet a little, they made her ass pop in the best of ways.

  All in all, she didn't think she looked too shabby. Oh well, it was James' loss. Piss on him.

  Speaking of, she finished her business, washed up, and as she exited the bathroom, she was accosted by the most unwelcome of people. She saw that all-too-familiar dark head coming her way, but he caught up to her before she could make a break for it.

  When she first spotted Adam, she expected that cocky grin and some caustic remark. But when he reached her, the slight panic in his chocolate-brown eyes and the words exiting his mouth, threw her for a loop.

  "Help me," he said, pulling her into the warm embrace of his arms. Burying his face in her neck, he grazed his lips against her ear, all while she remained stiff and bewildered. "Don't look, but there's a crazy woman at the bar that won't leave me alone. Pretend to be my girlfriend so she gets the hint."

  Wait. What?

  Before she could give him any sort of response, he pulled back enough to look down at her. When he saw what must have been her gob-smacked expression, he cupped her face in his hands.

  "No, no, see the confusion on your face right now isn't going to work. Just roll with me on this one." Then his lips were on hers. A squeak of surprise left her as her hands came up to rest on his biceps, but that was as far as she got in terms of pushing him away from her.

  He moved closer, wrapping one arm around her waist and tilting her head with his free hand to give himself a better angle. Slowly, his soft lips coaxed more out of her than a shocked response, and she found herself kissing him back. When his tongue touched hers, another sound left her that had nothing in common with a squeak and bordered into moan territory.

  That was it, the final straw that knocked her back into sanity, and she pulled away from him. Though, his hold on her didn't let her get very far.

  "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed. It didn't help that he looked as dazed as she felt with his hooded eyes and swollen lips.

  Unfortunately, his foray into La La Land didn't last long. "I could ask you the same thing. Where'd all that heat come from, darlin'?"

  "What heat? You're insane." Her face felt like it was on fire, as she once again tried to push him away, but he held firm, looking over her head towards the bar.

  Ignoring her outburst, he took her hand and led her over to the closest high table. "Look, I need you to do me a favor. Alison hasn't followed me over here yet, but we have to be believable, or she will soon. That woman is obnoxious as fuck. I told her you were my girlfriend to get away from her. Please, pretend with me. Only for an hour or so, or until she leaves."

  Marie arched a brow. "Oh, so now you need something from me? How convenient. I hate to tell you, though, I'm on a date."

  "Oh yeah?" He made a show of craning his neck to look around. "Where is he?"

  "Well, it was a blind date," she said looking down at her fingers.

  Adam chuckled, then moved closer to her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Was? So, he's a no-show, huh? If he bailed on you, anyway, then be mine tonight."

  His words, and the deep rumbling tone with which he delivered them, put a lump right in her throat. "Why me of all people? There are tons of other women here who would be more than happy to help you scare that woman away."

  Tilting his head to the side, he grinned, the kind of grin that made her panties wet and her breath catch. "Yeah, but you're way more fun to talk to than they are. And I know you'll be able to keep it in perspective instead of getting the wrong idea." Picking her hand up, he twined his fingers with hers. "Plus, I'll let you sketch the well if you help me."

  Her eyes snapped up to his. "I thought you said the well was condemned and we couldn't get to it. The words 'safety hazard' were used."

  "That was before I spoke to my contractor yesterday and asked him about the well specifically. I must have misunderstood him when I spoke to him about it the first time. The well is structurally sound, but it's dried up and we're going to fill it in since I'll have city water. He wanted to block it off for the safety reasons I told you. With all those kids running on and off the property, it could be dangerous."

  Pulling her hand away from his, she crossed her arms over her chest. How could she be sure which time he had been telling the truth? Now, when he wanted something from her, or the other day when he had considered her nothing more than his prudish neighbor? "Why didn't you come tell me this yesterday after you spoke to your contractor?"

  Stepping toward her, he uncrossed her arms and pulled her close to his body. "I was planning on telling you when I got home from work tonight. Must be my lucky night, though, because you came to me instead of the other way around."

  When he ducked his head and kissed a sensitive spot alo
ng her neck, his warm breath ghosted against the shell of her ear and her knees nearly gave out. She knew that this was all for show, but if he didn't knock it off soon, she might start to believe it. She put a little, much needed, space between them without stepping out of the circle of his arms. "What are you doing here, anyway? Chloe told me that you were off tonight."

  "I am. I had some billing issues that I needed to sort out that took me a little longer than expected, so I ended up staying late. Then, Alison cornered me before I could leave. If I leave now, without you, she'll just follow me home."

  How desperate did you have to be? "Seriously?"

  He grimaced. "Seriously. She's done it before. Thankfully, that night was one of Tyler's fights, and I lost her in the crowd when I got to the gym. She only backs off if I'm with someone else. She doesn't like to cause a scene, but she's tenacious if she thinks I'm alone."

  "Yikes." She cringed. "Why you do think she latched onto you like that?"

  He shrugged. "Dunno. I said hi to her, looked her way for too many Mississippi's. Who the hell knows?"

  Marie had to laugh at that. The absurd, crazy fangirl, situation was one only Adam could get himself into. Maybe he was too nice to tell Alison that he just wasn't into her. Too bad he didn't often extend the same courtesy of holding back his insults to Marie. Much as he got on her nerves, though, she still felt bad about flipping out on him the other day. "Okay, I'll help you. But only if you promise to take me to see the well ASAP."

  Leaning down, he brought his mouth to hers in a sweet, closed-lipped kiss. The low timber of his voice when he pulled back sent goose bumps along her skin. "Deal. Now I get to buy you a drink."

  Once again taking her hand in his, he led her over to the bar. On the way there, she saw a woman at the other end of the room eyeing them with apt attention. Alison, she presumed. The woman was pretty with her long dark hair and tall, lithe body. Marie had to wonder why Adam blew her off. Then again, if Alison was...tenacious, as he'd put it, enough to follow him all over town, then maybe it was more of a personality issue. Adam definitely wasn't one to do the long-term relationship thing and this woman didn't seem like the type to love him and let him go.

  Adam called out to his brother, Brandon, who was working the bar tonight, as the two of them sat down on the high barstools. "Grab me a beer, would ya? And whatever Marie is having."

  "Hey, Marie," Brandon said as he neared them. "I thought you were heading out."

  Everyone in their little hamlet often remarked on how much the Serano brothers looked alike, but Marie had to disagree. Of course, they resembled each other the way all siblings inevitably do, but each of them had qualities that, in her opinion, dramatically set them apart from each other. Tyler seemed larger than life with his big, imposing fighter's body and gruff nature. Ben's tattoos, amber eyes and loner lifestyle had labeled him the bad boy of the family, while his twin, Adam, was the gorgeous, charismatic player. And Brandon was the glue that held them all together. The hard-working father figure they had needed when their real father had checked out. None of them liked to talk about the fact that their mother left them when they were all still too young, or the aftermath of her decision. But, while Marie hadn't been what anyone would call close to this family, she had known them all her life. The small-town life they led made it impossible not to see how that tragic event had shaped their family dynamic.

  Of the four of them, Marie found Brandon to be the most personable and least intimidating even though he was a few years older than her. He was certainly a hell of a lot easier to get along with than his brother – her delightful neighbor.

  "So did I." She gave Brandon a smile, then looked discretely over to where Alison stood at the other side of the bar.

  "Ah, gotcha." Brandon chuckled. "Bailing little brother out, yeah?"

  Marie turned her smile on Adam and deliberately made it saccharine-sweet. "Seems like someone has to."

  "Ha ha, so fuckin' funny. Go get us our drinks, already." Adam turned on his stool to face her once his brother left to do his bidding, ignoring the middle finger Brandon flipped his way. "Be careful, baby, or I'll make you help me put on a very believable show for Alison over there."

  "Okay, okay." She held her hands up. "Your stalker isn't funny. What would you like to talk about instead?"

  He moved his legs so that one of his knees went between hers as they sat on the stools. "How about, why you need to sketch that well so badly?"

  Eying him speculatively, she thought, why the hell not? It might be nice to have a real, honest-to-God conversation with him that didn't involve verbal sparring. Maybe she could get to know her neighbor on a more personal level. "You remember the auction at the art museum I told you about? The theme this year is to create something that represents Allensville, some aspect of what life is like in this town. I am centering my piece around the well."

  Brandon returned with their drinks, and Adam murmured his thanks, but kept his focus on Marie. "Why the well? How does that embody life in Allensville? I'd think drawing something the size of a shoebox with a few quaint houses and a string of people playing a game of telephone around the edge would be more accurate."

  "Sure." She nodded, sliding her Dirty Shirly closer and stirring it with the little black straw. Giving him a mock smile of open-mouthed excitement, she slapped his knee. "Hey, that's a great idea. Maybe you should enter the auction this year."

  His lips tilted as he took a pull of his beer. "Maybe I will and blow all you artsy-fartsy types out of the water with my genius."

  "Oh, please do." She laughed. "I can already see the stick figures displayed prominently in all their glory."

  "Fuckin' A. I'll work on it as soon as I get home. Answer me, though. Why the well?"

  "I wanted to pick a good memory, one that shows what it was like to grow up here. You mentioned all those kids running on and off the farmhouse property to get to the well. Do you remember when we were kids, the stories that we used to tell about that place, the well in particular? The way we would dare each other to run and throw a coin into the well at night to make a wish? Kids in this town have been doing that for as long as I can remember on nights when there isn't anything else to do. I thought it would be an awesome way for the townies here to take a stroll down memory lane."

  "That actually is a great idea, and I'm glad that the well isn't as dilapidated as I thought it was, so you can immortalize it," he said raising his bottle to her. "Here's to you artsy-fartsy types and to you winning that auction."

  Smiling, she clinked her glass to his bottle.

  "Fuckin' A." She mimicked him and he smirked at her choice of words.

  Once she took a sip and set her drink down, he stood and held out his hand. "Come dance with me."

  Thursday night didn't garner the same crowd that Friday and Saturday did, but a decent amount of people scattered throughout the bar, several of them on the dance floor opposite them. The music tonight had a bluesy, soulful feel and she needed a little more liquid courage before she let Adam lead her under its spell. Turning back to the bar, she downed the contents of her glass, the cocktail strong now, rather than watered down by time. Pretending to be his girlfriend for the night, she couldn't exactly say no, so she took his hand and followed him onto the dance floor.

  Tennessee Whiskey started to play as he pulled her into his arms and began to rock his body against hers to the rhythm of the slow, sensual ballad. "I'm glad you came in tonight. And at the risk of sounding like an asshole, I'm glad your date ditched you."

  "I kind of am, too. Making small talk with a stranger isn't my favorite thing." She looked up at him. "You're just glad because I'm helping you dodge a bullet."

  Up this close she could see the amber ring around his pupils, making the devilish gleam in his eyes more pronounced. "Not completely true. It's more because, now, I get to do this."

  His warm, soft lips covered hers in a teasing kiss. He pulled back for a second only to kiss her again, then again. The next time his mou
th touched hers, his tongue ran against the seam of her lips, asking her to open up and let him inside. Despite herself, and knowing how this man got under her skin, she couldn't resist. The play of his tongue against hers, the way he tasted, the feel of his hard body pressed against her, all of it clouded her brain and her better judgement. He leisurely explored her mouth, sending hot pulses through her body to her core and she lost herself in him for a few moments.

  The faint squeak of a bar stool against hard wood penetrated her fog and she found the strength to pull back from him. "Adam."

  "Hmm." His heavy-lidded eyes stayed focused on her mouth before he leaned in to kiss her again.

  Letting out a soft moan against his lips, she once again pushed him back. "I think she got the point. You can stop now."

  "Who?" he asked, brow furrowed.

  He hadn't actually forgotten the whole reason for this farce, had he?

  "Alison," she said tilting her head in the direction of the brunette whose back was now to them as she made to exit the bar. "Looks like she's leaving. You should be safe for the night."

  "Oh." He followed her gaze, then looked back to where Alison had been perched by the bar all night. "Her friends are still here, though. I don't want them to tell her that we went our separate ways after she left. The jig, might then, be up."

  "So, you wanna wait them out?" she asked, turning her wrist against his shoulder to check the time. Their little charade might keep her out longer than she wanted to be on a school night. But, then again, it wasn't like Adam didn't routinely keep her up past her bedtime, anyway, so what was one more night?

  Seeming to read her mind, he smiled down at her. "Nah, we can go. Just gotta leave together and make it look believable."

  "Believable? What's not to believe about us leaving at the same time?"

  Wrapping his arm around her waist, he hauled her up against him and grazed his mouth against hers. "We have to make it look like we're leaving here to go fuck somewhere else."