The Canvas Thief

by P. Kirby

  His gentle laugh washed over her like soothing balm. “Yeah. Breas said as much. That’s why I called first. He said you’d appreciate time to freshen up.”

  Maya found herself smiling. As much as she needed Benjamin, she’d feel a lot more attractive if she didn’t smell like a homeless person.

  “Have you eaten?” he said. “I’ll pick up something first.”

  “I’d appreciate that.” Her stomach chortled eagerly at the sentiment. “I’m going to hop in the shower.” Hop? More like crawl. “If I don’t answer the door, just pick the lock or whatever you do and let yourself in.”

  “You want me to break into your house?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I’ll feel safer knowing you’re here. After everything with Adam, I need—”

  “Okay.”

  No amount of scrubbing removed the stain of Adam’s influence on her psyche. After washing her hair twice and scouring her skin nearly raw with a high-priced grapefruit essence scrub, she still felt unclean. Lifting her face into the spray, she closed her eyes and felt the magic under her skin. If the bastard tried that trick again, she’d be ready, and how. She almost looked forward to the encounter.

  Picking up her razor, she dealt with the stubble on her legs, aware of the significance of the action. She meant to sleep with Benjamin, the decision made even before she’d called him. If he’d have her—well, sure, he was a man, but she had been cruel before and perhaps he was the sort of man whose pride could overpower lust—she would take him to bed without the slightest hesitation.

  A dull thump announced the front door closing just as she reached to switch off the faucets. She grabbed a towel, hastily ran it over her body and went to the bathroom door. Opening it a crack, she said, “Benjamin?”

  “Yeah. It’s me.”

  “Just checking. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  In the event Benjamin was inclined to hold her spell-induced brushoff to heart, Maya put on the closest thing to sexy lingerie she owned, a set of red silk pajamas with a finely stitched Chinese dragon motif. Next she let the warm air from the hair dryer massage away some of her rage at Adam. Her hair dry, she made a face at herself, debated makeup, and decided the answer was no. When she’d first met Benjamin she’d been wearing her silly pink pajamas and no makeup. If that hadn’t scared him off, nothing would.

  She opened the bathroom door and marched toward the living room, aware of the increasing volume of her heartbeat.

  “Hi,” she said.

  He was sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees, staring across the room. At her voice, he turned and smiled. “Hi.” His attention moved from her face and down her body and back to her face. “Red’s your color.”

  “Thanks.” She sat next to him, her gaze falling on a white paper bag that sat on the coffee table, emanating delicious smells.

  “I didn’t know which you’d prefer so I got a turkey sandwich and a Reuben.” The paper crackled and Maya’s magic hummed weakly as Benjamin opened the bag.

  Mouth watering so much she worried drooling might follow, Maya started to reach for the bag and then paused. “Which…?”

  “I already ate. Go ahead. They’re both yours.”

  Maya chose the Reuben, although at this point, she’d have eaten just about anything. It was a well-made sandwich, fresh ingredients on homemade bread, but the taste was lost on Maya, who gulped it down in just a few bites.

  “That was like a nature show,” said Benjamin, “where the python swallows the helpless monkey whole.”

  She giggled. “Ladies and gentlemen, for your own protection, keep your hands away from Maya’s cage.” She rubbed Russian dressing off her hands with a napkin. “Two days without food and I revert back to the wild.”

  “About that,” Benjamin said, “I’m sorry. You sounded strange on the phone that day, but I was focused on what you said, not how you said it.”

  Maya’s shoulders sagged. “About what I said before, I didn’t mean it. Adam’s spell—”

  “I know.”

  She looked away from his face, a touch of shyness making her next words seem unaccountably loud. “I missed you.”

  “Me too,” he said and then she was in his arms, her face nestled in the hollow at the base of his neck. In the comfort of his embrace, some of the dark miasma of corruption left by Adam started to slough away.

  But after a moment, Benjamin moved his hands to her shoulders and pushed her gently away. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  She shook her head, confused.

  “I lied to you,” he said.

  “Lied to me? I don’t follow.”

  “I am responsible for the fire in your studio.”

  What he said didn’t immediately make sense to her. “You said you didn’t set the fire.”

  “I didn’t. But I’m still responsible.”

  “Then you were working with the person who did.”

  He nodded. “Adam. Yes.”

  The blood left Maya’s head in a rush. “You are working with Adam.”

  “No. I’ve only worked for Adam once, the time I broke into your studio.”

  She shrank back into the far corner of the couch. “Why? You said you don’t damage other people’s property.”

  “I don’t. I didn’t know what Adam had planned, although I should have guessed.” He stood and walked over to the fireplace, hands in the pockets of his pale green jacket, staring at the coals of an old fire. “I was supposed to steal an illustration of Adam’s. Adam would then arrange to have all the other images of us destroyed. When I Faded, I’d take the remaining drawing of Adam with me.”

  Maya frowned at his back. “Are you going to tell me why?”

  He turned and sat on the banco, dark eyes on her. “Remember that book I mentioned, the one written by a Holder about the Formed?” When Maya nodded, he said, “According to that book, the existence of any Formed person, their existence in the Real, is tied to their images. Destroy those images and they Fade to EverVerse.”

  “Yeah,” Maya said, irritated, “I remember that.”

  “Adam hates the idea that his immortality is tied to something as fragile as drawings. Then he read a passage in the book that said that if one of his images was transported to EverVerse, he would be free of his link to any other drawings.”

  Benjamin’s shoulders rose as he drew a breath. “Normally, this is impossible without the Formed person Fading themselves, but through me, Adam has a way to transport a drawing to EverVerse.”

  “So you steal the drawing and he burns down my house,” Maya said angrily.

  “I’m an idiot, Maya. I knew he was unethical and manipulative, but I didn’t believe he’d do something that drastic. I thought he’d use magic to destroy the paintings, a method that wouldn’t damage anything else in your house.”

  “Nuh-uh.” She shook her head. “I remember. You’ve already said Adam doesn’t have much power. How could you expect him to do something with magic?”

  “Good point.” Benjamin’s mouth twisted in a bitter smile. “Other than Mesmer, Adam doesn’t have much power, but he employs people who do. I doubt he’d ever do his own dirty work. I’m sure he hired someone to set the incendiary device in your studio.”

  “And what do you want, Benjamin? Forgiveness?”

  He grew very still. “Of course I want forgiveness. But I don’t expect it. I want you to know the truth, no more lies.”

  Gravity tugged at her eyelids and Maya dipped her chin and gave Benjamin a narrow-eyed once-over. He bore her scrutiny in silence, emanating sad patience. At length she said, “The pale green in your jacket has declared war on your red hair. I think your hair is winning, but the collateral damage is high.”

  His face lengthened with puzzlement. “Huh?”

  She rose and moved toward him. Though his eyes widened when she sat next to him on the banco, he said nothing. Sliding an inch or two so that she pressed against him and their legs touched, she leaned her head against his shoulder. />
  “I’ve just spent the last two days being mind raped by a guy I accidentally brought into this world with a drawing. The guy I thought I could trust, who, coincidentally, is another person I’ve accidentally zapped into this world with a scribble, is in cahoots with mind-rape guy. Forgive me if a coherent thought is beyond me.”

  “Was in cahoots,” amended Benjamin. “Past tense.”

  “You’re in no position to quibble, mister,” she said, punctuating her comment with a finger jab to his thigh.

  He leaned his head against hers. “Sorry.”

  When she closed her eyes, the smell of ashes from an old fire was a familiar comfort and yet a reminder of the fire in her studio. If I had any self-control—or is it pride?—I’d kick his ass to the curb and go to bed, alone. Opening her eyes, she spoke. “You know, if your ‘confession’ was just a ploy to get me into bed, it wasn’t necessary. You were already in.”

  “Were?” He shivered with a small sigh. “You’re giving me too much credit. If I was smart I wouldn’t have confessed and I think I’d already be…in. Right?”

  “You still are.” Lifting her head, she looked him in the eyes. “If you never lie to me again.” She tilted her head, thinking. “At least no lies about anything substantial. White lies to save my feelings are recommended. You know, the old ‘Does this make my butt look big? Of course not’ white lie.”

  “I’ll remember that.” The warmth of his fingers sent a cluster of tiny earthquakes through her as he pushed a section of her hair behind her ears. “Adam won’t give up, Maya. He wants me to Fade and take his drawing to EverVerse. Next time, he might do something worse than use Mesmer power on you.”

  “That’s not why he used Mesmer on me. He wanted me to create more people like you and him.” Benjamin’s eyebrows shot toward his scalp, but Maya shook her head. “I don’t—I can’t talk about that.” Shoving the conversation back on topic, she said, “But he needs your cooperation to take the image, right?”

  “Technically, no. He just needs me. I don’t even have to be conscious. He’s said as much.” His eyes, pitch-black in the shadows of this dark corner of the living room, lost their focus. “Adam always gets what he wants.”

  Not this time, Maya thought with fierce intensity. Turning that determination on Benjamin, she took his chin and pulled him to her, her mouth meeting his in the wonderful surge of heat and electric energy. “What about me?” she said between kisses. “Do I get what I want?”

  He answered with his hand, sliding it under her pajama top, beneath red silk, over her stomach, up ribs and stopping just a fraction beneath her left breast. A rush of hot joy took her and she trembled so hard, she broke the kiss, her eyes on his.

  “If this is what you want, then yes,” he said.

  “It is.” To make her point, she reached for the top button on his jeans. She would have liked to pop it loose with an easy twist of her thumb and forefinger, but the button resisted. A giggle escaped her mouth and she had to resort to using both hands. When the button squeaked through the hole, she drew the zipper down halfway and ran her knuckles lightly over the dark gray briefs beneath. Benjamin’s abdomen jerked with a quick breath as she pressed against the hard, hot flesh.

  When she looked up at him again, he took her mouth to his again, raw magical energy pouring into her in the heady intersection of lips and tongues. Her magic, though still depleted, responded and the nerves in her mouth sent an urgent message to her groin. Benjamin shifted his hand a couple inches higher, up onto her breast and his thumb slid a lazy circle over her nipple. The sensation was almost nonsexual in its intensity. It went beyond the usual surge of arousal from a handsome man’s touch and encompassed the happiness of Christmas morning and the luscious tingle of chocolate mousse on the tongue. Taken by surprise by the force of her reaction, she startled in surprise.

  Benjamin broke the kiss. “Maya?” His voice hoarse with lust, he said, “What’s wrong?”

  Maya shifted on the banco. She needed him inside her so bad she ached at the lack. “Nothing the walk to my bedroom can’t fix,” she said. Hell, she’d take him here on the hard tile floor if need be, but she wanted him in her bed, his scent on her sheets, his body pressing hers into the mattress.

  “Walking’s overrated,” was his reply as he scooped her off the banco with easy strength and started for her bedroom. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began acquainting herself with the skin along his jawline just inches from his ear, moving her mouth along the boundary between faint stubble and smooth skin. Even lust-drunk, she felt his tiny hesitation at the doorway to her bedroom.

  “You’re not going to back out now, are you, Black?” she said.

  He answered by elbowing on the wall switch and moving to her bed where he sat her neatly at the edge. Sitting beside her, he kissed her quickly and then said, “Last night, I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “And now you’ll get to see all of me. Think you can handle it?” she said, voice carrying bravado she didn’t feel. Can I—handle it? she wondered, her heart about to burst.

  He arched a dark auburn eyebrow toward his coppery bangs. “Probably not. Be gentle, huh?” His expression, though reminiscent of the befuddled smile from the diner drawing, resonated with sex.

  There was a deep pause between them and Benjamin filled it by reaching to her and setting his index, middle and ring fingers on her lower lip. Pressing there for a moment, he then traced a hot line down her chin, then down her neck, his face filled with a funny concentration, as if he were memorizing her profile with his fingers. Stopped by the silk of her pajamas, he looked up at her and, eyes never leaving hers, neatly unbuttoned the six buttons on the pajama top.

  “Oh sure,” Maya said, this time unable to hide the tremor in her voice, “make it look easy after I fumble around with your jeans. Show-off.”

  “Silk,” he said, sliding his hands over fabric and slipping it off her shoulders, “is easy. You know, because it’s—” He winked and said, “Slippery,” in a way that made Maya want to tell him that that wasn’t the only thing that had gone slippery on her.

  Instead, she grabbed his face again and buried her desire in his mouth. His hands were back on her breasts again and she had to stop kissing just to get back her breath. She’d felt passion before but never the heart-stopping collision of her magical power with someone else’s. What would it be like if she had all her power? Blood surged to her nipple and his touch was nearly painful. Pressing her face against the side of his head, she breathed in the scent of his hair, and giggled as a few red strands tickled her nose.

  Benjamin dipped his face to her neck. “Ticklish?” he asked, moving one hand so his palm covered one hard nipple and fingers feathered little touches under her arm.

  “No,” she said, moving back and shoving his jacket off his shoulders. He took his hands off her long enough to help and it fell on the floor in a pale green pile. She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up and off, exposing the muscles beneath. “You?” She traced quick circles under his arm. A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he only managed to resist for a second before squirming away.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. His abs were more interesting; she slid both hands down his chest and paused, feeling the tight row of muscles beneath taut skin. “Do you work out?”

  “Rock climb.”

  “Hmm.” Filing the information away, along with his ticklishness, for a more opportune time, she dropped her hands to his waistband and the promising bulge evident with his unzipped pants.

  “Nuh-uh. Ladies first.” He grinned and said, “Lie back.”

  “I thought chivalry was dead,” she said, letting him push her back into the pillows. She watched as he paused long enough to remove his shoes, untying and loosening laces with an enviable speed.

  Grinning, he climbed on the bed, kneeling on hands and knees above her. Sliding a nimble hand over her right breast, he brushed his thumb back and forth over her nipple with exquisite precision.
Ordinary human body heat and magic poured exquisite torture into her oversensitive nerves. He took her other nipple in his mouth, the hard enamel of his teeth grazing, followed by his tongue that mimicked his thumb on her other breast. Closing her eyes, she sank into the impatient hunger his touch built in her, letting it wash away all thoughts of Adam. Apparently feeling her impatience, he didn’t linger too long on her breasts. With his fingers, he traced a fiery, sinuous trail down her torso, circling her belly button and then moving to her waistband. Maya lifted her hips and he relieved her of the red silk pajama bottoms. Bending, he kissed the inside of one knee and then moved up her legs. Maya squirmed and clenched a handful of the comforter as he moved higher. Finally, he stopped, both hands flat on her inner thighs, fingertips inches from where she wanted him most.

  She opened her eyes and saw his sly smile. He opened his mouth and puffed a hot breath between her legs. The heat dissipated on her wet core and turned to delicious chill. Need so strong it hurt radiated from his touch; her toes curled and she knew that wouldn’t be enough. Almost maddened with impatience, she sat halfway up and reached for him.

  Slipping her hands around the back of his head, she towed it and the rest of him on top of her. “It makes no sense, but I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime for this,” she said. With that, she started to tug his jeans off his hips. Maya had no doubt that Benjamin had a talent for foreplay, but right now, that detail, along with his ticklishness and rock climbing, was a matter for another time.

  “Can’t argue with that,” he said, wiggling helpfully out of his jeans and underwear. Pausing, he looked at his socks.

  “Leave ’em,” Maya said, eyeing what had been revealed. With a blush, Maya realized there were certain things she never thought about pertaining to Benjamin. Before now, anyway. She licked her lips, glad some things hadn’t been left to her childish imagination.

  As he moved back over her, she touched him, tightening her fingers around the hard flesh and then stroking the velvety skin at the tip. Benjamin shuddered, his eyes temporarily losing focus. Maya grinned at his struggle for control.