by Cynthia Dane
“You like this work? I mean, pardon me…”
“Yes, I do.” Better to answer him plainly than ignore him. Lots of men asked her if she “liked hooking,” or whatever they wanted to call it. “I’m good at it. I enjoy it, mostly. I make way more money doing this than if I tried going back to civilian life.” She rolled over, hair covering half her face. “Even if I retired, I’d still do it on the side. I get a thrill from seducing men, Dr. Christens.”
He didn’t correct her. Must’ve been the purr in her voice.
Judith lifted one leg in the air, giving him a brief view of her thong. Remember how I blew you? Remember how good I felt on your cock? If that was for free, imagine how good I am when you’re paying me. I’m the best. You see this pussy? You could put whatever you want in there. I like you, Seth Christens. I’ll charge you extra to go bareback, but I’d let you have the honor in the first place. Because it is an honor. Not any man gets to stick it in like that. Only the special ones.” She glanced at her bowl of condoms on the nightstand. Seth glanced at it too.
“You putting that in your drawing?”
He smiled back at her. He didn’t have a large smile, but there was something… soft, about it. Warm. Inviting. He doesn’t smile for many people, I bet. Judith was feeling more special by the minute. “I don’t think there’s enough room to fit it in. You are the focus of this drawing.”
She fingered her cleavage under the guise of pulling locks of hair out of it. “I’m disappointed you don’t want me naked.”
He looked up again, this time without the smile. No… no smile… but something else. A glint in his amber eyes. “Who said I didn’t want you naked? I want to capture your essence, Judith. You’re the first woman I’ve met in a long time who seems so genuine that she’s begging to be captured on canvas. Let alone my canvas.”
When words like that hit her ear? Judith was already halfway to unzipping her dress. I get paid the same either way, but I’m down for being naked. Maybe he’ll get hard.
“Hold on.” Seth held up his pencil. “Not so fast. Do it slowly.”
Judith finished unzipping, but didn’t hurry to rip it down her torso like she wanted. “Why’s that? If you want a striptease, it will cost you extra.”
“I don’t want a tease. I want sensuality. Not a frenzy, if you would.”
“I see. Like this?” Judith eased one strap of her dress down. Then the other. She glanced up to find Seth watching her from above the canvas. Those amber eyes did more than glint now. They were alive. Yeah, he was enjoying this.
“Like that.”
“You want me totally nude?”
“If you don’t mind. Then recline. I’ve sketched your outline, but I need to fill in the middle.”
“You mean these…” Judith slowly pulled down the front of her dress. Delight filled her senses as she watched Seth’s reaction. His breath caught in his flaring nostrils. His cheek twitched. His eyes tried to politely look away, to only look at her with a discerning, artistic eye, but Judith knew that gaze.
He wanted her.
“You like?” She tossed her hair behind her shoulders. Now her breasts were so prominent that he had no choice but to stare at her nipples again. He stared at them last time too. “If you think those are pink, you haven’t seen my pussy.”
“I’ve seen my fair share of ‘pussy’ in my day, Miss Judith.”
“That’s right.” She wiggled out of her dress until she kicked it onto the ground, legs spreading open. Her thong still covered her – barely – but that man was looking. Fantasizing about her? He wasn’t opening his pocketbook last time, but he had already spent five-hundred bucks on her. That sort of thing was charged to his credit card the moment he walked through the door. “You’re a doctor. Should I make a joke about you giving me an exam?”
“Exams are no joking matter, Miss Judith. You better be getting yours regularly.”
They’re compulsory if you live here. “Dunno. Maybe they did a shitty job.” Her toes curled over the edge of the bed. “I might need you to come check things out down there.”
“I’m trying to work, Miss Judith.”
“So am I.”
His smile briefly disappeared from his countenance. Struck a nerve, did I? Some men didn’t like being reminded that she was a paid woman.
“So we’re clear…” Judith hooked her thumbs in her thong and pulled it down, exposing the last of her body for him to discover. “There’s an open invitation for you to fuck me whenever you want. In fact, you’re torturing me, Mr. Seth. Twice now you’ve come to me, acknowledging how sexual I am while only giving me a taste of you.”
He put his pencil away and selected another implement that Judith didn’t recognize. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Cheapskate. That had to be the only reason he wasn’t balls deep in her right now. The more he rejected her, the more she wanted him to use her for the same reason other men sought her out. What a twist of fate.
Seth was both intrigued and detached. A man, but a controlled man. He was a man of science and artistry after all. How did that work? Was he constantly dueling in his head? In his other head? I wonder if he’s hard. Judith tried to steal a look at those trousers, but the easel and canvas obscured his cock. I know what it felt like in my mouth… How would it feel where it really counted?
“No, turn this way. No, the other way.” Finally, Seth hopped off his seat and came to the bed… but not to manhandle her. Not like that, the tease. Instead, he lightly touched her shoulders, her arms, her damned ankles as he posed her. “I have to make sure I catch the light right. As soon as I get the details of your body, you can put your clothes back on. I’ll do your face last.”
Normally such a phrase had a completely different meaning around those parts…
He didn’t touch her breasts. He definitely did not touch her thighs. The man was living torture… because Judith? Her loins were hot and her breasts ached to be touched. By him.
Seth Christens played a cruel game, and he didn’t even know it.
The artist went back to his station, sleeves rolled up and glasses affixed to his face. The way he stared at her so intently, drinking in the sight of her body, though? He’s getting turned on. He hides it well, but he’s aroused by me. Judith couldn’t help but smirk.
Eventually, Seth snorted, loudly. “Could you perhaps relax your face? It’s not the image I’m going for.”
“What are you going for?” Judith ran her fingers through her hair, letting a few strands brush against her hardened nipples. “Maybe I can help.”
“If you must know, I’m hoping to capture a certain ambiance. A sensuality that one associates with a place like this. You should be relaxed, but aware of your surroundings. Happy, but languid.”
Whatever that meant! Judith decided then and there to never become an actress. Doing porn a few years ago was difficult enough… directors telling her how to react to someone’s cock inside her. The only man who should be doing that was the man himself! What did a third party know, unless he was somehow a part of it?
They reached the most sexually frustrating impasse Judith had ever been subjected to.
The way his eyes bored into hers was uncalled for. What was the point of all that pressure, that buildup if he wasn’t going to take it out on her? Judith would rather he come over and jerk off on her than go through this. At least then he would look relaxed! At this point she would usually wonder if he had a problem or if there was something she didn’t know about, like a person he tried to stay true to. As far as she knew, there was no one like that. A pity, because Seth Christens was a catch from what she could tell. Handsome, rich, and a doctor, even if he was retired. Women loved doctors. A fantastic way to feel safe and protected.
And really damn horny.
“Is this what you mean?” Judith reached between her legs and massaged her nether lips. Seth’s eyes grew large enough to tell her to keep going. When she found her clit, Judith moaned, slightly, letting him know tha
t she was ready and willing. And wet. How long had she been wet? Was this a new development? Or had she been getting wet since the moment he stared at her tits?
Let’s be real. One had to assume that Judith was wet from the moment she wrapped her lips around his cock two days ago.
I won’t charge him for this. Finger rubbing her clit. Other finger dipping into her folds and spreading them enough for him to really see how pink she was. Her other hand meandered to her breasts, stroking her nipples, turning herself on. Normally she charged a nice number to have a guy watch her masturbate, whether he was touching himself or not. Seth was not touching himself. He was barely holding on, but his hands were on the canvas, not on his cock.
Pity. Judith wanted to know what he looked like when he pleasured himself. Thinking about her, of course.
“That’s a good start.” He pushed his sleeves farther up. Damn, nice arms. Now he was starting to torture her with his body! Judith already knew he had a nice cock, but didn’t know about the biceps. Did he even know how good he looked? Of course he did. Those types of men always knew. “Keep doing that.”
Seth spent more time watching her making herself wet than he did sketching on the canvas. By the time he finally picked up his pencil again, Judith was becoming short of breath, her body warming as a tiny, but not unsubstantial, orgasm traveled through her.
The pencil dropped. That wasn’t the only thing dropping as Seth slowly rounded the easel and approached the bed, currently splayed with golden sunlight.
“Can I help you, Mr. Christens?” Judith sucked in her breath as Seth pulled down his zipper and pushed his hand into his trousers. Oh my God. Yes. Judith was starting to worry she was losing her edge. “Or are you handling things fine on your own?”
“You can help me by being a beautiful muse. That’s all I need.”
“I live to serve, sir.”
He hovered over her, still clothed, but a fine specimen of a man. A sexual man. A virile man. “I like the way you say that word. Say it again.”
Judith shivered. “Sir.”
How long did he stand there, one hand on his cock and the other begging to touch her? Was he trying to avoid charges? Or did this go deeper? Was he trying to stay in control? A carefully controlled man who could use his logical side to know that this was silly? How could it be silly? They were both young, sexual creatures who were attracted to one another and had needs to attend to. There was no reason for him to not fuck her, to not explore every crevice of her body as she gave herself willingly to him. The only thing stopping them was whatever morals swelled inside of him.
I’d like him to swell inside of me.
His hand – the one not grabbing his cock – drew a line from her navel to cleavage. Judith didn’t intend to quiver as if she were with a long-term boyfriend. Not that she had claimed to have such a thing in so long. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to feel… Not just sexual pleasure. Emotional pleasure.
What was this? Why did she feel this way? With a fuckin’ ex-gyno-turned-artist, of all things! Was it the way he looked at her? Acknowledged things beyond her mere womanhood? Or was it the way he touched her, mingling her pleasure with his? Lots of clients did things that made her feel good. It was rarely with such raw intent.
That subtle authority Seth possessed kept Judith glued to her bed, and silent. Most men had to pay for her respect. So far in the past week Judith had encountered two men who made her give it over without question.
Whoa. Why was she suddenly thinking of Miguel. Whatever. Gone. It was her and Seth now. Not some other man.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of suffering for the sake of this man’s precious art, Seth moved his hand over her breast… and squeezed.
He had touched her. Touched her. It didn’t count the other day, when she did all of the touching. Now the man was taking the initiative. He was seducing her now. She would charge him for it, but Judith wasn’t even thinking in terms of amounts now. She was only thinking of…
Of…
Seth kissed her. Gently at first, but then his strength poured into her, commandeering her lips and turning them into his possessions. Judith wanted to wrap her arms around him, but the best she could do was grab the hem of his cashmere sweater and pull.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked, meek. Not a sign of weakness, but a show of submission. “Don’t you know I want you?”
He could’ve said a number of things. Like how she was saying that to seduce him; that she said that to every man she met. It’s not true. Judith could play that up if it made a client happy to hear, but Seth wasn’t that kind of man. He wouldn’t want her to say anything she didn’t mean. This was a genuine man. He wanted a genuine woman.
What the fuck was he doing in a pleasure house!
“Don’t speak.” His hand touched her mouth, muffling her. Judith’s eyes fluttered shut. The heat between her legs grew and grew until she realized it wasn’t just her heat – it was Seth’s as well. His cock had found her. Two fucking days later, this peculiar yet fascinating man had finally succumbed to his desires. For her.
He may have told her to keep her words to herself, but he never said anything about the other sounds a woman made when a man entered her. Let alone a man who knew how to slowly move his body so it slowly, slowly claimed her, every inch matching a single second.
The sounds she did make must have awoken something in him. Something strong, determined, and eternal. Three things that Judith King always responded to, whether she wanted to or not.
She never planned on feeling this instant connection with Seth. Everything was business as usual until she saw the way he looked at her during their first encounter. He loved to feel her body, to orgasm with her aid, but he did so knowing who she was. Knowing. It was like he already knew what kind of heart beat inside her. What her soul had seen. Perhaps he would still need to learn her mind, but that always came in time.
No opportunity to think about that now. Seth was inside her, pushed as far as he could go, his skin one with hers as she entered his embrace and accepted his lips all over her. Holy shit, it hasn’t felt like this in a long fucking time. Judith barely had time to think about that before Seth eased out of her, only to thrust in again.
The way he made love to her was nothing like she was used to. She was used to men who took her hard and fast, two things she loved, but this… this was good too. Judith had for too long assumed that a man who made slow love lacked confidence or didn’t know what he was doing. Seth definitely knew what he was doing. How else did the head of his cock find every sensitive spot inside of her within three seconds?
“Oh my God,” she muttered. Judith tried to catch his arms, but he was up, pulling his sweater over his head and showing how hard he was beneath the layers of softness. Let me look at you. I don’t just want to feel you. I want to see you too. See him for who he was? Few men were so vulnerable with her. “Seth…”
He didn’t reprimand her for speaking, but he did kiss her, smothering her lips and sinking his tongue down her throat like his cock sank into her depths. Judith did not hesitate to kiss him back. If it were at all possible, she was more famished than he was, grinding her hips against his, wrapping her hand around his neck, pulling him down, down on top of her and willing him to fuck her faster.
In time, he did.
By then, Judith was lost to the motions of their bodies, the throes of their passion, and the climax building from within. At this rate she would come before him. Not that such a thing was a problem. In fact, it would be another first in a long while.
“I’m gonna come.” Her whine was soft, but the moan following crashed into the both of them like a destructive wave. Judith’s fingers tightened on his neck. Her inner walls tightened around his cock. “Fuck!”
“I know.” Seth rocked into her a final time. Hard enough to send her over the edge, and gentle enough to bring her back down.
“Oh, God!” She didn’t know how. She didn’t know why. All she knew was th
at she lost control of her body and writhed beneath his, every neuron in her brain going haywire as every nerve beneath her skin caught fire and burned in an unbelievable blaze. Seth rode it out with her, neither climaxing nor backing away from how a woman could come.
Not until she was starting to fall from her high did he snatch her ass with one hand and bring half her body up off the bed, his other hand leveraging them both against the comforter. It was then that he drove himself into her, so hard, so demanding that Judith started to come a second time, breath wasted on her as she gasped in time with his growing grunts.
His voice rose, not roaring, but heralding his climax all the same. Judith felt it take off inside her, expanding, moving, filling her as her eyes completely rolled back in her head and all she knew was his body taking hers. Where? Who knew. Who cared.
Seth stayed inside her for a minute, gazing at her features and feeling her quiver around him. One last kiss grazed her lips before he pulled away, leaving her reeling on her bed for the second time that week.
“There. That’s what I want.” Judith thought he meant her body, but when her eyesight focused, she realized he was pointing to her expression. “Sensual.”
He pulled his clothes back together before returning to his easel. Judith’s eyes glazed over. Artists were too damn much.
Chapter 8
SETH
Every window in the parlor adjacent to Seth’s studio was opened. Fresh, warm air blew in, carrying with it a helping of pollen that an artist like Seth usually tried to avoid having fly around his home – particularly near the studio. That day? He didn’t give a horse’s ass.
“Wow,” Zack said, holding the dried canvas in his hands. “Wow. This is great.”
“Isn’t it?” Seth paced behind the chaise lounge Zack occupied, occasionally glancing down at his finished painting of Judith. He had arrived late enough the night before to eat dinner, but instead took his sketched canvas straight to the studio and stayed up all night imbuing it with fantastic colors. I never do that. Seth liked to let his sketches sit for a week or more before editing the lines and even considering the colors. From the moment he left the Château, however, with his hours with Judith fresh in his mind, he had no choice. It had to be painted right away.