by JA Low
“I don’t trust Yves anymore. Not because he has run off with my wife, sorry ex-wife, but because I think there is something more going on with him. He has a lot of issues from his youth, we’ve sent him to counselling and I thought it worked, but…I don’t know, maybe his ego has gotten so big now thinking he has taken everything from me, that he can take anything else he wants from me.” I let my hand reach out and brush her face. “I won't let him this time.” She closes her eyes and presses her face against my palm. I lean forward and kiss her cheek, she sucks in a startled breath, but I move away from her. I won’t touch her, not after tonight. Those green eyes open and there is an intensity behind them.
“He may have all the materialistic things, Louis, but he doesn’t have your talent when it comes to his art. And that’s what matters. He may have learnt from the master but he will always be the apprentice, and I think he knows that and that’s what’s fuelling it all.”
“Good to know I’m still your favourite artist,” I tell her, breaking the serious moment.
“I get paid to say that. You do remember you’re my boss.” She gives me a cheeky smile, but at this moment the thought of her being anything other than a beautiful woman between my legs has left me.
“I know I’m your boss,” I say through gritted teeth. “Every moment I see you prancing around the house in those sheer singlets you wear to bed, I have to remind myself I’m your boss. Because the impure thoughts I have about you is something I shouldn't have.” Emily just looks at me, her cheeks turning a beautiful shade of pink. “I replay our kiss over and over in my mind. The…” I can’t believe I am going to tell her this. “The sunshine lips…I painted them after kissing you. I couldn’t sleep. I just…”
“Louis,” she says my name breathlessly.
“I know.” I scrub my face. “I wasn’t cold before, I just…I just wanted you in my arms and I don’t know why. I just like having you around me.” Wow. Okay. All that shit just came out of my mouth. Being sober-ish sucks.
“You like me?” She points to herself. I roll my eyes which makes her laugh. “I’m your favourite assistant, aren’t I? I know I am, I just need to hear you say it.” This girl.
“Of course you are, but you're more than just my assistant.” My eyes flick down to her pink lips and back up again. Her tongue comes out and licks them subconsciously. God I want to kiss her. Maybe I should. No. You can’t take advantage of her like that. “You’re also my pimp.” Her eyes widen and a slow smile forms on her face. “I mean you showed my dick to the world.”
“It’s a nice dick.” She quickly covers her mouth realising what she has said.
“Oh, I know how nice you thought it was, you couldn’t stop looking at it.” She rolls her eyes and huffs at me, but I know the truth.
“I was just appreciating God’s art.” This makes me smile.
“You can appreciate it anytime you want?” Why am I flirting?
“Is that so?” She bites her bottom lip. I nod, teasing her. The last thing I expect is for her hand to slide between us and over my dick. I suck in a harsh breath.
“Emily…” She shakes her head, her hand moving over me again, the thin fabric of my sleep pants not hiding anything. My hand comes out and stops her, a tiny frown mars her face. “After tonight…I want to, I really do…I just…” She shakes her head.
“I want you to touch me. Take away the feeling of his fingers and the cigarette breath on my body.”
“Are you sure, Emily?” I don’t want to make things worse for her. She moves in my lap, her legs straddling me on the sofa.
“I trust you, Louis.” Fuck. Her words hit me like an arrow to the heart. After everything I have put her through with my asshole behaviour, she can still say that she trusts me. I internally promise her to never break that trust, not when she is freely giving it over to me. My hand comes up and around the base of her neck, I slowly pull her face to mine.
“Thank you,” I tell her, before our lips meet together. When they do meet, it’s like a spark between us that sets us both on fire. Hands start pulling off clothing and throwing them in all directions. My lips are all over her skin, teeth nipping her, it’s like an elastic band has snapped between us, and we have both just lost control. I want to be gentle and slow with her, but she is equally as frenzied as I am. The sexual tension between us over the past couple of months is taking over. My hands find her exposed breasts, my fingers twisting those pink buds, her teeth sink into my shoulder making me shudder. I pick her up, her legs wrapping around my waist and I lay her down against the sofa. My hands pull down her shorts and underwear in one fell swoop. I throw it to the floor. I move back between her legs, pulling them open, exposing herself to me.
“Stop.” My body freezes. Shit. I pushed her too far. She sits up and looks at me, her hand covers her pussy.
“Um. You don’t have to; you know?” She bites her lip.
“Excuse me?” I’m a little confused.
“You know. Go downtown.” Her skin is flushing pink as she says the words.
“You don’t want me to eat your pussy?” I fluster her.
“I just mean, you know, don’t feel obliged to, because…you know…” She’s squirming with embarrassment.
“You think I only want to taste you because I’d feel obliged to?” She nods, pulling the blanket around her tighter, that shield coming up again.
“Did he tell you that he was going to eat you out because he was obliged to?” My blood begins to boil.
“Um. Yeah.” Her ex is a fucking loser.
“Did he never willingly go down on you?” She shakes her head.
“He said he didn’t like doing it.” Calm yourself, Louis.
“But you sucked his dick?” She nods slowly. “Did you like doing that? She shrugs.
“But he didn’t think he needed to return the favour?” Emily shakes her head. This girl deserves more than a quick fuck on a sofa, she deserves for me to pray at her alter, she deserves for me to spend all night worshipping her like the goddess she is. How dare this dickhead think of only himself when making love to this woman. How could he not want to wring out every possible orgasm from her body? “Get up.” My command is a little harsher than I wanted it to be. She scrambles up, wrapping herself in the blanket. “Jump on my back.”
“What?” Her voice is filled with confusion.
“Jump on, Miss Chapman.” She hesitates. I turn around and look at her. “I want you in my bed, so I can worship your essence with my tongue all night long.” Her teeth sink into her lip again. “Do you want me to do that?” She nods quickly. “Good. Now jump on and let me show you how a real man does it.” She jumps on my back.
23
Emily
My body aches, every muscle in my body got some kind of workout last night, I mean even muscles I never knew I had is sore. Now I totally get the saying thoroughly fucked. Lordy Lord Louis knows how to fuck. I stretch my body as the sun streams in through the windows; I wince a little because my vagina took a pounding. I got to appreciate Louis’ dick too, in every single position known and some I had no idea about. I’m sorry, but Elisabeth is an idiot, the man is a sex god. A giving one at that. Toby never liked oral sex and I thought there was something wrong with me downstairs because of it. That was totally blown away by the hours, I swear it was hours, that Louis spent between my thighs.
“Open wide for me, Emily,” he commanded. “Let me taste your sweetness.” He runs his nose along my seam. “Do you have any idea how long I have wanted to taste you?” I shake my head, not sure if he really wants me to answer the question. “Ever since you stepped out of the pool that first night. I watched in utter fascination as the droplets of water travelled down your skin.” Louis runs his finger over my body retracing the droplets. “I watched in fascination as they dipped down over your underwear.” His finger slides over me. “I could see this strip right here.” His runs his finger through the strip on my pussy. “My tongue ached for you.” Oh wow, that sounds kind of
hot. Louis’ tongue traces the strip and I almost buckle off the bed. “Hmm,” he murmurs. “Open wider for me.” His fingers move my legs apart, I suck in a deep breath feeling exposed, but the appreciative noises coming from Louis spurs me on. “That’s it. Fuck, you’re perfect,” he growls as he moves between my legs. I almost launch myself off the bed at the first lick against my slit. A quick suck of my bud and I am hyperventilating. This is embarrassing, mere seconds of Louis between my thighs and I am almost ready to come. God, his tongue is magic. He continues torturing me with his tongue, over and over again, soft and hard, quick and slow, he doesn’t move from me, he devours me, he tells me all the filthy things he wants to do to me and I’m gone, my hips almost fly off the bed as he takes me to places I never dreamed I could go.
My body is primed and ready to go again reliving last night’s thoughts. I turn over hoping for round four, I think. I lost count as I was in ecstasy. The bed is empty; it’s cool to my touch meaning Louis has been gone for a while. Panic fills me. Where is he? Does he regret it? Was it just a one-night thing? I pull the blanket around me tighter. I am such an idiot; tears begin to well in my eyes. No. No tears. I jump up and grab my clothes and quickly get dressed, I want this humiliation over with. While getting dressed I notice a note on the bedside table.
Emily,
You inspired me. I’m in the studio.
Louis.
Oh. I sit back down on the bed rereading the note over again. I inspired him? He’s in the studio. I need to see this. I rush downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing us both a coffee, and then I quickly make my way out to his studio. I’m careful not to spill the coffee as I rush along the grass. I don’t even bother knocking and walk straight in and come to a complete stop. I can’t believe what I am seeing. He’s painted so many canvases, he is concentrating on another one. He’s dressed in his paint splattered jeans and nothing else. Every muscle in his back moving as his paintbrush glides across the canvas. The floor creaks under my foot and he swings around, he looks different. A huge smile falls across his face when he sees me.
“I made you coffee.” I’m not really sure what to say. “Here.” He takes it from me and puts it down without take a sip.
“What do you think?”
“You’re painting with colour.” He nods in agreement. “They are different to your normal work but the colours are there.”
“Someone new has inspired me.” He takes my coffee from my hand and places it beside his. He walks me backward until my back hits the wall. Large palms caress each side of my face, soft lips touch mine as he kisses me slowly, seductively. His hands pull off my t-shirt and he discards it onto the ground. He gets on his knees and pulls my sleep shorts down. Louis stands again, his lips meet mine as he kisses me. “I need you, Emily.” Oh my goodness, I can hear his need.
“I’m all yours.” My fingers fumble as I unbutton his jeans, they fall open at his hips and I realise he’s not wearing underwear. My hand reaches inside and pulls him out. Louis lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist as he walks me across his studio. He places me down on the paint splattered velvet couch, my legs widen for him as I feel his hard body pressed against mine, then without warning he’s inside of me, stretching me. I’m still sore from last night, but I don’t care, he feels so good, so right being inside of me.
“You’ve inspired me.” I gulp down my feelings as he continues to move against me. “You…I never expected…I’ve been waiting for you.” He looks down at me in awe, the shield that has been wrapped around my heart begins to break, it starts crumbling with each forceful thrust inside of me. “You’re my muse, Emily. You.” He kisses me. I’ve never been anyone’s muse before let alone a freaking genius like Louis Marchant. “I need you, Emily. I need you to help me stay in the sunshine with you. I don’t want to sink back into the darkness.”
“I’ve got you,” I tell him, as he pushes himself deeper inside of me. Moments later we are both falling over the edge. Louis moves the hair from my face.
“I am so thankful you came into my life.” Damn him. He needs to stop saying these things, they are giving me hope, and I don’t know if I want hope, because we only have the summer together. Plus, he’s Louis Marchant, I could never keep a man like him for long.
“I’m glad I could help.” Louis frowns at me, we are still joined together.
“Emily.” His thumb rubs over my cheek. No. This is all a little much.
“I better go clean up.” I push him away from me. “And let you finish your work while you’re feeling inspired.” He moves away from me and I quickly jump up and grab my clothes.
“Talk to me, Emily.” I turn and see he’s dressed again; I slip my t-shirt on over my head.
“About what?” I try to play it cool, but I see Louis’ assessing eyes.
“Was this too soon for you?” I laugh it off pretending everything is fine.
“I’ve got some emails I have to sort out.” With that, I turn on my heel and rush out of the studio.
“Emily, wait!” Louis comes after me, his arm grabs me and spins me around. “What did I do? Tell me, please. You have always been honest with me.” I have but, ugh, I have no idea why I am freaking out. “Is it the muse thing?” I look up into his blue eyes.
“I don’t want to be blamed for ruining Louis Marchant’s comeback.”
“What?”
“I’m only here for the summer. What happens when I go back to London? Who will be your muse then? What happens if you can’t find someone? I can’t…that’s too much pressure to put on me. I can’t ruin you.” He looks at me and smiles, which kind of freaks me out.
“You’re pulling away because you're worried about me?”
“You’ve just started to come back; I don’t want you to go back to the way you were.”
“Then I guess you are going to have to stay then.” I’m not following him. He pulls me to him. “Whatever is happening between us, Emily, I’d like to see where it goes.” What? I’m stunned. “I like you.”
“Only because I’m your muse?”
“No. Even if you hadn’t inspired these paintings I would still want you.”
“You want me as what? An assistant?” He shakes his head.
“I just want you, Emily. In my bed, in my home, going on bike rides, taking selfies in front of sunflowers. I just want to spend time with you. You make me want to be a better man.” Boom. The last crash of armour around my heart falls.
“So, would this be like, an exclusive kind of thing?” I don't want to have to share him. He smiles.
“Damn straight it is. I’m not sharing you with anyone.”
“Me either.”
“What do you say, wanna give a washed up artist a chance?”
“Yes. I guess I do.” He pulls me into a kiss and it feels right. I’m going to give Louis Marchant a chance, it might be the stupidest decision I’ve ever made or it could be the best.
“Good. Then come away with me. Just the two of us.” Huh, what? “Away from you being my assistant, away from all this.”
“But you’ve only just started to get it all back.”
“I can paint anywhere.” He grins. “I have a house in Ibiza, let’s go. Let’s get to know each other just as Louis and Emily.”
“But what about the show in New York, you need to prepare for that.”
“I have a studio at my home, I can work there.” He has it all worked out.
“I can’t just go on vacation with you.”
“You can still work from there if you have to.” He pulls me into his arms again, his face nuzzling into my neck. Butterflies flutter in my stomach, I did just say I would give us a go. Plus, hello, Ibiza.
“Okay.” His face lights up.
“You mean it.” I nod. “Just the two of us.” I nod again. I am going to miss Gabriel’s cooking though. “Thank you.” He kisses me again. “You won’t regret taking a chance on me, Emily.” This makes me smile.
24
Louis
&
nbsp; “How’s Emily?” Daniel asks.
“She’s doing well, really well.” There’s a long pause.
“Oh for fuck’s sake, you’ve slept with her,” Daniel yells.
“Hey. It’s not like that.” He doesn’t sound convinced. “I like her.”
“As a boss does a good employee.” I let out a sigh.
“No. As a man that’s found a woman that is special.”
“Oh.” Daniel goes silent. He seems a little surprised by my statement.
“She’s my muse, Daniel.” Silence again.
“You only see her as your muse?” I can hear the accusation in his voice.
“No. I see her as someone I want to spend my time with, to get to know, to maybe, I don’t know, maybe one day be my partner.” Silence again.
“You have that strong a feeling for her?” He doesn’t sound convinced.
“It kind of just happened. I wasn’t expecting them nor wanting them but here we are.”
“Wow.”
“Don’t sound so shocked.”
“But I am.”
“Are you upset because you wanted her?” I ask through clench teeth. This makes him laugh.
“I just said that to get a rile out of you and I see it’s worked.”
“You’re a fucking asshole,” I tell him.
“What are you going to do?”
“I was also thinking that maybe I would take her to Ibiza.”
“Seriously?” He knows that is my special place, my sanctuary.
“I want to see what life is like just the two of us. Spend some time really getting to know her outside of work.”
“And you think she’s going to agree?”
“She already has.” He seems surprised.
“So you’re going to do the boyfriend thing?”
“Early days. But I want time to get to know her properly, while I’m sober and not an asshole.” This makes him chuckle.
“That would be a good start.”