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

by L. J. Fine

  "Right." His crass words sent a tingle down her spine and along the lips of her sex. "Shouldn't be too hard."

  He snorted and rocked his hips against hers. "Interesting choice of words."

  Heat crept onto her face when she felt his erection pressed against her belly. That couldn't really be for her, could it? Given his sex drive, he had to be horny most of the time, didn't necessarily reflect on what they'd been doing together. Right?

  "I'm gonna need another drink," she mumbled under her breath.

  Unfortunately, he heard her, and a mischievous grin lit up his face. "That's perfect. C'mon."

  Taking her hand, he led her back to the bar, to the empty space next to the group of women that had been with Alison, and motioned to Brandon to bring them two new drinks. Marie didn't know what he had planned, but she didn't like the light behind his dark eyes. Holding her gaze, he titled his fresh bottle back and took a sip as she took a healthy gulp of her drink. Not knowing his game, it might be wise of her to keep a clear head, but she wanted the liquid courage to follow his lead.

  As soon as the bottom of her glass hit the bar, he lifted her up onto a barstool, moved between her legs and cupped her face in his hands.

  "Just so you know," he grazed his lips against hers, "it's on when we get home."

  Ah, so that's what he's doing. Allison's friends were less than a foot away.

  "Oh yeah?" she said feeling bold enough to capture his bottom lip with her teeth. "What are you gonna do to me?"

  Growling low in his throat, he grabbed the backs of her knees and yanked her forward on the stool to bring her closer. His voice, when he spoke, came out low, as though meant only for her, but she knew the group of women next to them heard. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard that you won't be able to walk tomorrow without thinking of me. Without remembering who you belong to."

  Damn. She knew that none of this meant anything, it wasn't real, but that didn't stop the moisture from gathering along her slit. A voice that sinful and deep should be illegal and when he trailed kisses along her jaw up to her ear, goose bumps broke out along her skin. His mouth traveled along her right side. The side closest to their eavesdroppers.

  "Because you are mine, aren't you?" She nodded, and he nipped her with his teeth. "Say it."

  This game might be getting a little too lifelike for her comfort, but when he pulled back to look down at her, she said the only thing she could in that moment. "I belong to you, Adam."

  His mouth came down on hers in an angry kiss, almost as though he were trying to prove something, not only to their onlookers, but to her as well. But that was stupid, wasn't it? He was just really into method acting.

  "Fuck these drinks. I don't wanna wait anymore," he said, pulling back from her. "Let's get out of here."

  She could only nod and hop off the barstool to follow him on shaky legs through the bar, stopping once to grab their coats, and out the door. He must have taken some acting classes at some point, because he didn't look at anything or anyone but the door on their way out and that laser focus was very convincing.

  Once the door shut securely behind them, he turned toward her and gave her that devil-may-care smile. "Think they'll be talking about that for a while?"

  Oh, thank God. The ridiculous Adam she knew was back. She didn't know who the hell that other, way more intense guy was. "Yeah, I think that's a safe bet. Your brother might be talking about it for a while, too."

  He laughed, his breath forming a cloud in front of his face. "Nah, Brandon knew what we were doing. He knows how you really feel about me."

  "And how do I really feel about you?" Curious, she quirked a brow.

  Throwing his arm around her shoulders, he directed them both toward the parking lot. "You think I'm an obnoxious ass, darlin'."

  "That's very true," she said with a laugh. An unfamiliar feeling of comradery filled her, maybe from the game they had just played together, and she wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked. "But if Brandon knows that, it must mean you talk about me."

  "He likes to hear about it when a woman tears me a new one and you've done it," he squinted as if trying to think back, "about three times now."

  "I imagine he doesn't get to hear those types of stories very often." They reached her car and she pulled away from him.

  He huffed out a laugh, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "No, he doesn't."

  The air between them suddenly became awkward and she didn't quite know how to respond. So, she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "When will you be fulfilling your end of the bargain?

  "I can take you to the farmhouse on Saturday if you're free."

  "That works. Can we make it so that we get there an hour or so before dusk?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that he more than likely would have to work at the bar on Saturday night, another big party night. "Unless you need to be here?"

  Shrugging, he said, "You helped me, so I'll make it work. I can get someone to cover for me. Why dusk, though?"

  It was her turn to shrug as she smiled up at him. "Great lighting."

  "Ah, of course. Should have known." He returned her smile and she expected him to say his goodbyes, but instead he stood there, looking at her expectantly.

  "What?"

  "Gimmie a ride?"

  "Why, where's your car?" She frowned and looked around the darkened parking lot.

  He gestured toward the side of the building. "It's over there, but if we're going to make them believe we left together, then we should probably actually leave together. They know what my car looks like, so if we leave it here it'll be more convincing."

  "Wow," she said crossing her arms over her chest. "You've really thought about this from every angle, haven't you?"

  "'Course I have." He threw her a wink. "Plus, I wanna make sure your POS car is working right."

  She rolled her eyes. "Don't start with me on my car, Adam. I got it back from Pete, like, a day ago. Don't you have faith in your uncle's work?"

  "Yes, I do. I don't, however, have any faith at all in this ancient hunk of metal you call a car. Uncle Pete did good work, but I'm waiting for the other parts of this rust bucket outside of the alternator to start falling off. I wanna listen on the way back to the apartment building to see if I can hear any suspicious noises."

  "Oh, you're such a gentleman." Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she gestured toward the passenger side. "Okay, fine, get in."

  The playful smirk he shot her was his only response until he stopped dead a few steps into his walk around the car. "On second thought, I should drive. You've had more to drink tonight than I have." His warm hand slipped into hers to take the dangling keys from her fingers. "See. I can be a gentleman."

  "You're just worried about getting into an accident and ruining that pretty face of yours. And I'm fine, by the way," she protested but relinquished the keys anyway. "But better to be safe than sorry, I suppose."

  "Exactly. That's always been my motto," he said opening the car door to get in.

  She stopped on her way around the car to give him a pointed look before shaking her head on a laugh. "Sure. Whatever you say."

  The ride home was, thankfully, devoid of any suspicious noises. Instead, surprisingly cheerful banter filled the car. None of the usual biting remarks or sharp barbed insults entered their conversation, and she had to wonder what was up with him. He seemed...different. Lighter somehow, as though drunk on some kind of high that had nothing to do with any chemical substances.

  He parked her car in the parking lot and when they got out, she paused before they could enter the building. Her blood suddenly ran cold.

  "What?" he asked, turning back to look at her.

  "I just thought of something. We sent a message to more than only Alison and her friends tonight. You know how people in this town talk. They're all gonna think that I'm your girlfriend now." The thought had the acid in her stomach rumbling uncomfortably. "And that we came back here to...to..."

 
His dark eyes danced in the dull light of the parking lot. Moving closer to her, he pulled her into his arms and tugged on her earlobe with his teeth. "To fuck."

  "Knock it off," she said wiggling away from him, telling herself that the goosebumps on her neck were from the cold weather. "Doesn't that bother you?"

  "Not really." He turned back to the building and used her key to open the door. "Come inside. It's fucking cold out here."

  He held the door open for her and Marie eyed him warily as she passed him into the building. She didn't speak again until they got to the elevator bank and he reached over to push the button to call the elevator. "Why doesn't it bother you, though? Won't it, I don't know, cramp your style or something when you go to hook up with someone?"

  The elevator arrived, and he sighed as they boarded. "Honestly, I could use a little break from all that. My neighbor can be a real pain in the ass when it comes to noise."

  Ignoring that last comment surely meant to get under her skin, her mouth fell agape. What was this new line of crap he was peddling? "Seriously? The Great Adam Serano has decided to forgo female companionship for the foreseeable future? Or however long the rumor lasts."

  "I didn't say that." He advanced on her, backing her against the wall. "I mean, I do have a girlfriend now, don't I?"

  To hide the fact that her hands were shaking, and to put a little bit of distance between them, she crossed her arms over her chest. "I feel like every time we're in this elevator, I have to remind you of how full of shit you are."

  The ding of the elevator signaled that they had made it to their floor, but she wasn't sure which universe she would enter when she exited the box. The normal, sane dimension in which Adam continued to be her obnoxious ass of a neighbor, as he put it earlier. Or The Twilight Zone, where she seemed to be stuck right now.

  "Yeah, you do have a habit of telling me that." To her great relief he laughed and didn't pursue her beyond his door as they walked down the hall. "If a rumor of us as an item develops, it'll blow over in a few days. And if it doesn't, who gives a shit? You and I are the only ones that know what's going on between us."

  "Or rather, what isn't going on." For some reason she felt the need to emphasize that this was all a ruse as she unlocked her door. At this point, she wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or for his.

  "Right. Maybe that'll change, though," he said moving toward her to give her a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll see you Saturday. 'Night, Marie."

  Before she could process any of that, he went inside his apartment and quietly closed the door behind him.

  Oh, now what the hell had she gotten herself into?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Hey Marie, it's Adam. I got your number from Chloe. I hope that's okay. Anyway, I was called over to my rental property earlier and I'm just leaving there now. Can I meet you at the farmhouse?

  Marie let out a sigh of relief as she read Adam's text. Thank God. She didn't want to spend any more time with him in a confined space if she could help it. After their little charade on Thursday night, she didn't think it was a good idea. Plus, this way, she could drive herself to and from in the safety of her own car and when she got to the farmhouse, she could do her thing and ignore him.

  Okay. I'll leave now. See you there.

  She had already packed all her supplies, along with a digital camera in case she ran out of time, into a tote bag sitting next to her purse by the door. Lifting her keys from her purse, she grabbed both bags and left her apartment.

  Adam's black Dodge Charger sat in a cleared-out space she assumed would become a driveway at the end of the private road. After parking her car beside his, she got out and looked around, but she didn't see the man himself anywhere. She pulled her wool coat tighter around her body and looked up at the cloudy sky above her. Enough light filtered through the giant gray cotton masses for her to get some good pictures, but she doubted she'd be able to sketch much tonight. The wind picked up and those clouds seemed to get darker with each second she stood there. A storm was coming.

  The screech of a screen door drew her attention away from the sky, and she spotted Adam coming down the rickety-looking porch steps in a thick dark coat, jeans and work boots.

  "Hey," he said by way of greeting, flashing that ever-ready, dimpled smile that always caused her pulse to jump. "You got all your stuff ready? Looks like it's about to come down on us so I don't know how much time we have."

  "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." She patted the canvas of the tote bag flung over her shoulder. "That's why I brought my camera. I'll just take some pictures. That should be sufficient enough for my purposes."

  "Whatever. Long as you can get what you need." A dark, almost hungry expression settled onto his face, but disappeared too fast for her to really examine. "C'mon. Let's do this before we freeze to death."

  He seemed almost surly tonight with his gruff words and abrupt movements as he led her around to the back of the house. She didn't know who pissed in his Wheaties this morning, but it made her all the more eager to get what she came here for and get the hell out. Still, even though it wasn't her business, she kind of wanted to see how deep his bad mood ran. She couldn't recall a time where she had ever seen him be anything less than charming. It wasn't like she was aiming to poke the bear, but a little polite conversation couldn't hurt.

  "I didn't know you owned any rental properties. You're quite the entrepreneur," she said as she moved up to walk beside him.

  He snorted. "Yeah, I'm starting to understand why not too many people venture into this kind of lifestyle."

  Ah, so that must be what was bothering him. "Sounds like you had to clean up a mess today, then?"

  "You could say that." He nodded with a laugh that sounded more bitter than humorous. "I replaced all the plumbing in that house when my brother Ben moved out. The couple I have in there now, though. You'd think they'd never used a fucking sink or toilet before. They've only been living there for about six months, and I've gotten three calls from them about plumbing issues already. The first two were clogs they created that I was able to fix myself. They must have stock in Charmin or something, the way they go through that stuff. So, when they called this morning, I thought it was more of the same. Turns out, the woman took her wedding ring off to do dishes and it fell down the garbage disposal. Not something in my wheelhouse to fix. The problem is, my regular plumber is out of town on vacation this week, and now I have to find someone else. Who the fuck goes on vacation in February?"

  By the time he ended his story, she could see the muscle ticking in his jaw. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe people who can't stand this shitty weather, searching for warmer climes to thaw themselves out?"

  That muscle stopped working as he turned to smirk down at her. "Point made, smartass. Either way, I'm still scrambling."

  She shrugged. "Not necessarily. My brother-in-law is a plumber. I'll give you his number before I leave if you want."

  He arched a brow and grinned. "So, is this, like, a thing now?"

  Butterflies took flight inside her stomach. "Is what a thing?"

  "You and me." He gestured between them. "Helping each other out like good neighbors should."

  The flutters in her stomach slowed down some and she laughed. "I wouldn't get used to it. You won't be my neighbor for much longer."

  That sexy smile wilted a little around the edges as they rounded the corner and the well came into view. The security fence had been removed leaving it bare to the elements. The barrenness of winter lent to it a far more macabre quality than the first time she'd seen it all those years ago. The structure itself looked exactly the same, however, which landed in her favor. She could work around the appearance of desolate abandonment this time of year gave it, if she could get some good, up-close shots.

  "What happened to the fence?" She asked as she dug her camera out of her bag.

  "I knew the crew would be here yesterday working on the interior of the house. I asked them to take the fence down, so you could get to the w
ell."

  "That was sweet of you," she said and, for once, no sarcasm laced her words as she spoke to him. It hadn't been necessary to remove it altogether for her to get what she needed, but it certainly made it easier and her pictures would look better without the eyesore of the construction fence.

  "Aw darlin', you're gonna make me blush." He winked at her. "A deal's a deal, and you held up your end beautifully."

  Remembering all she had done to keep her end of the deal had her blushing. Over the last few days, she had been trying to put the events of that night out of her head, but every time she closed her eyes, everything replayed itself in her mind through vivid images. She could still feel him pressed against her, still taste his flavor when she licked her own lips. Try as she might, Adam Serano was a hard man to forget. She didn't know how to respond to his comment, so she didn't say anything. Instead, she moved closer to the well to get it into focus with her camera lens.

  Now that she stood close enough to it to view in intricate detail, she finally saw the missing piece that had been alluding her when she tried to sketch it from memory. A brick, situated among the others at the top center bore, what looked to be, a family crest. Flowing, leaf-like ribbons framed both sides of a shield with a knight's helmet above it. A spiraled wreath topped with a flourishing plume decorated the knight's head and the inside of the shield contained two rows of three hearts. Two scrolling plaques sprawled out at the top and the bottom of the crest. The inscription on the top read 'Brewer', while the bottom read 'Germany'.

  This must be the family name of the old farmer who had originally lived in the house. The same old farmer she had heard so many horror stories about growing up. She made a mental note to do some research on the name and the crest. Maybe she could learn some bit of truth about the people who had built this once beautiful house.

  Moving around the well, she snapped pictures from every angle, barking at Adam a few times to get out of the shot, even though he stubbornly remained in some of the frames, refusing to do her bidding. Typical.

  A few raindrops began to fall as she took her pictures, and by the time she made a full circuit around the well, the sky opened up and sleet-like rain started to pour down on them.