The Painter's Passion

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  She felt her cheeks warm with his compliment, but most of the desire he created pooled like a ball of fire much lower in her body, growing with each touch and kiss, waiting to consume her.

  Pierce continued to trace along the seam of the mesh and lace on her chest.

  “When you came down those stairs,” he groaned. “This was all I wanted to do. And I wanted to strangle Tony for thinking the same damn thing.”

  She let out a breathless laugh that quickly turned into a sharp inhale as his fingers brushed over the top of her breast, trying to suck in air to replenish her quickly dwindling oxygen.

  He gently captured her lips again with his.

  “I’m going to kiss every inch of you, Princess. I’m going to worship every inch of you,” he continued to rasp against the softness of her lips. She moaned in response, urging him on, his words soothing over every hurt and insecurity that she had about what he felt for her.

  Well, almost all of them.

  “Pierce,” she moaned his name, knowing that before this went any further, she needed to tell him the truth about what had happened to her.

  “That’s all I want to hear tonight, Ana: my name on those sweet lips of yours, begging for me, begging for what only I will give you.” The growl of possessiveness in his tone sparked a shiver up her spine.

  Ana bit her lip as the backs of his knuckles brushed over her nipple, the tender peak erect and waiting for his attention even though it was obscured by the fabric of her dress.

  Tell him, Ana.

  Her stomach clenched with trepidation mixed with desire, but it needed to be now, before all of her wits abandoned her.

  “Pierce, wait.” She put up a hand against his chest, needing to stop him before she embarrassed herself. “There’s something I need to tell you… something that you need to know.”

  He groaned. “Please don’t tell me that you’re a virgin; I don’t think I have enough self-control to go slowly enough for that, gorgeous. I want you too fucking badly.” As if to prove his point, his finger continued to brush back and forth over her breast, making it all the more difficult to focus.

  Virgin? Ana shook her head, grabbing his hand with her own and holding it steady so that she could find the ability to be coherent. Her eyes widened for a split second on meeting his, swallowing over the lump in her throat. “No… no. Why would you think that?” Her forehead furrowed.

  “Because a few days ago, you told me you’d never had an orgasm before.”

  “Yes, well, just because you have sex doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to have that,” she responded softly.

  “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? What are you saying?” His voice was hoarse and she could practically feel his body vibrating with his need for her.

  “I… I just want you to be prepared. I don’t know that my body is capable of… finding pleasure… during sex.” His head pulled back further, some of the tension draining immediately from his body as he stared dumbfounded at her.

  Her gaze broke from his, looking down at her hand clutching his as she felt nausea start to roll over her, wondering if this had been the right decision; she wondered if she hadn’t just risked it all by agreeing to tonight.

  “I don’t know how else to say it, Pierce.” She laughed nervously. “I’m broken. My body doesn’t orgasm during sex.” She tore her gaze from his, unable to see the look on his face when he processed what she’d said.

  “Bull-fucking-shit.” Her head jerked back to his to see rage burning brightly in his eyes. Seeing her rising embarrassment, his tone softened. “Gorgeous, why would you think that?”

  “Because I just can’t,” she stammered, even more heat rising to her cheeks. “I don’t… work that way.”

  His fingers grasped her chin, forcing her eyes to his. “Who told you that?”

  Ana sucked in a breath, losing herself for a moment in the dark depths of his eyes.

  “Shane,” she whispered. “I mean, my ex-fiancé. I never… with him…”

  “And he told you that it was your fault?” The hard, irate edge in his voice was unmistakable.

  The way he was looking at her made her answer catch in her throat. Against the pressure of his hand, she gave the barest of nods.

  He tore himself away from her and her body instantly went cold.

  Maybe that was it, she thought. Maybe that was enough to drive him away from her.

  “I’m sorry, Pierce,” she continued softly. “I’ll understand if you want to go.”

  What? She couldn’t be serious. He turned back to face her in shock. Did she really think that he was just going to leave because some asshole lied to her to cover up his own inability to pleasure her?

  He walked back over to her, realizing the impression that she’d gotten when he’d stepped away from her.

  “Princess, even though it probably should be the first thing on my list to do out of respect and concern for you, the fact is that leaving is the last thing I want to do right now.” He cupped her face, leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. “Leaving is the last thing I could do right now.”

  He heard her breath catch against his lips as he spoke the words.

  “Ana, you told me that you’d never orgasmed before,” he continued, his eyes narrowing on hers. “I’m going to assume that that fucker didn’t even try to pleasure you in any other way.” He brushed his thumb over her lips, preventing a response. “Don’t,” he rasped. “Don’t tell me that I’m right; I know that I am. Hearing it from your lips is only going to make me want to hurt this asshole more than I already do.”

  The way her gaze broke from his for just a second told him everything that he needed to know.

  “I don’t know what that motherfucker told you, sweetheart, but you were made that way; you were definitely made that way.” He began to drop small kisses along her jawline, hearing her staggered breaths. “I’ve felt you come apart underneath my fingers and my tongue; my cock isn’t going to be any different. Trust me.”

  If she only knew just how incredibly responsive she was to his touch.

  She tried to shake her head, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “Or don’t trust me,” he said with a seductive smirk. “Either way, I’m going to be more than happy to prove it to you.” His arms came around her, pulling her flush against his hardness. “As many times as necessary.”

  Fuck, he was going to have her orgasming all night long. He was going to have her every goddamn way he could think of so that when she woke up in the morning, any and all of those thoughts would be wiped from her mind.

  He growled and captured her lips again and she melted into him, her mouth opening beneath his, begging for him to fulfill the promise of his words.

  “So sweet, Princess,” he growled against her mouth, his tongue diving inside to explore the honeyed warmth. His fingers dug into her ass, quickly annoyed by all of the fabric that was between them. He skated his hands up the length of her spine to the base of her neck, deftly undoing the fastenings at the top of her dress before moving below the open back in search of the zipper that would allow the rest of it to come free.

  Suddenly, she pulled back from his kiss and his embrace in a manner that seemed almost reflexive; he flashed back to the other night when she’d pushed away from him onto the bed in the same way – the observation eluding him at that moment as his body was overcome with his own fear.

  “Wait, Pierce. Please.” Her voice was thick with what sounded like fear.

  What the hell was going on?

  “Ana, what’s wrong?” he demanded, reaching for her.

  She sucked in a choked breath. “That’s not all I need to tell you… that’s not all I need to show you.”

  “What are you talking about? Ana, I promise you, this is going to be so good for you,” he said softly. “Just trust me, Princess. Do you trust me?”

  He extended a hand to her. He could have touched her, as she was still standing close enough, but he didn’t want to push her farth
er away.

  “No. I mean, yes, I trust you.” She covered her mouth with one hand for a second, the other hand holding up her dress. “But, this is something different. Sort of…”

  “Does this have to do with your ex? Morgan told me that he did some horrible shit to you,” he said softly. “I don’t care what that asshole told you, Ana, he was a fucking liar. I want you to forget every goddamn word that ever came from his mouth because it was all a lie. And tonight, Princess, I’m going to show you the truth. I’m going to prove to you the truth about yourself and just what you deserve.”

  She nodded with a small smile and it was then that he knew that it wasn’t just the words that had left a lasting remark on this woman; the thought immediately set his body on fire with rage.

  “It wasn’t just what he said, Pierce. I think some part of me knew that most of it was a lie, but it was easier to believe that – to use it as an excuse – than to allow myself to be vulnerable,” she said softly. “Just before Christmas three years ago, I caught him having sex with another woman in his office. He didn’t see me, so I left, in shock obviously, deciding to confront him later that night.”

  He took a small step towards her shaking form, wanting to give her whatever sort of comfort that he could.

  “I went over to his apartment later, still wearing the little red dress that I’d picked out to surprise him, and I told him that I couldn’t marry him.” She let out a caustic laugh. “Well, that wasn’t going to work out too well for his plan to jump right into becoming a partner at my parent’s law firm, for his plan to have this perfect little trophy wife who always did whatever he asked.”

  Her arms crossed over her chest and her right hand began to rub up and down her left arm and shoulder.

  “He laughed at me when I told him we were through. And then he grabbed me and told me that he was going to make it so that I could never leave him because no one else would want me.” Pierce felt nauseous as he watched the memory overtake her, her eyes going blank as she relived one of the most painful moments of her life.

  “He smacked me and I fell to the ground. I remember being shocked, but thinking to myself that it would be ok, that a bruise would heal and if that was the cost of getting rid of him, then I would gladly do it.” Again, that tortured little laugh escaped her and he knew that what was about to come next would break him. “I began to crawl towards the door, hearing his laugh get louder as he came up behind me. I stopped and turned when I realized that I wouldn’t make it out without confronting him again.”

  Her hands reached up and around her neck to grab the edges of her open dress.

  “When I looked up, I saw him standing over me holding a container. I remember being confused, thinking that maybe he was going to hit me with it or something; he didn’t. He tipped it over and poured the liquid onto my back and shoulder. I remember my thoughts being in slow motion, wondering why he wanted to pour water on me for a split second before the burning pain began.”

  Pierce couldn’t breathe as she began to pull the dress down over her shoulders, revealing the remnants of what her story told.

  “He’d poured acid on me and I felt like someone had lit my shoulder on fire. It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I screamed and screamed, but he just laughed, tossing the container on the floor and walking out of the apartment, leaving me there to suffer.” She shuddered, her dress now just over her breasts, her shoulders bare for him to see the tight and scarred flesh on her left-hand side. The injured flesh was like a sleeve over her shoulder, coming down onto her chest and ending half-way down her left breast.

  Now, it all made sense: the sweaters, the way she pulled back from a touch on that side, the way she’d managed to keep at least her top on over the past week while he explored every other inch of her body, and why her brother was so protective of her.

  It all made horrifying and infuriating sense.

  He stood frozen, his body completely tight with the most exquisite form of rage that he’d ever felt. He’d wanted to murder a lot of people who’d pissed him off or wronged him in some way throughout his life – at times, even his own mother had graced the list. But this, this was nothing like any of those.

  He would spare each and every one of them if it meant he could give this fucker what he deserved.

  “I’d asked Morgan if he could pick me up that night, knowing that I wouldn’t want to be alone. When he saw Shane leave the building, he came inside and heard my screams. I remember him crouching next to me before I blacked out from the pain. When I woke next, I was in the hospital. If he hadn’t come with me that night, I don’t know what would have happened.” Her eyes no longer met his; her empty gaze focused on the floor at his feet. “I don’t know if I would have made it,” she whispered.

  Pierce stared at her with hard eyes, willing his brave, beautiful Princess to look at him again – to come back to him. He was afraid that if he moved it would only be to walk out of that room and find the motherfucker who’d done this to her. But, as if knowing his thoughts, she continued with the answer to what would inevitably be his first and last question.

  “He’s dead. I went to press charges, but he was driving drunk one night about three weeks after the incident and crashed into a telephone pole.”

  It was those words that sent him over edge. He let out a string of expletives that alone would surely have secured his place in hell.

  But, god-fucking-dammit. Too fucking easy.

  “Too fucking easy!” he roared up at the ceiling as though there was someone up there who could hear him.

  He’d never minded the jokes about how devilish he was, but for the first time in his life, he cursed the God who’d let this man get off so easily for hurting the beautiful woman in front of him.

  “If you—”

  He closed the distance between them and crushed his lips to hers, swallowing her shocked gasp.

  “If you tell me one more time that I don’t have to stay if I don’t want to, I will turn you over my knee and make that beautiful ass of yours as red as your lips,” he rasped. “Of all people, Princess, I know what it’s like to be scarred physically by your past. I don’t give a damn what you think you look like to me, I’m telling you right now – I’m swearing to you on anyone and anything that has ever meant something to me – you are the most gorgeous woman that I’ve ever seen.” He pulled her hand off of her dress and dragged it down to the front of his pants again, hissing as he pressed her palm over his arousal. “And if you don’t believe me, I have hard fucking evidence.”

  Her lips parted and he saw her eyes glaze over even further as he continued, “And as much as I want to bring that motherfucker back to life just so that I could kill him again, there is one thing that I want to do more.” He paused, noticing how her eyes looked up at him expectantly as he brushed the hair from her face while his other hand reached around to finish unzipping her dress.

  “Tonight, I want you to see how beautiful you are.” He lightly kissed her lips. “I want you to feel how beautiful you are.” His mouth grazed along the side of her jaw up to her ear. “I want you to know how beautiful you are to me.” He gently bit down on her earlobe. “I want you to know that I’ve never wanted anyone more. Do you trust me?”

  She shuddered against him as he again repeated the words she’d spoken to him – the ones that had given her the ability to help him; now he asked for the same.

  He might not be able to give her much, but he knew for damn sure that he could give her this.

  He could show her that she was the most beautiful goddess that he’d ever seen. He could show her that not only was she not broken, she never had been – that her perfect body had been made to experience the pleasure it so eagerly succumbed to.

  “Yes, Pierce.” Her throaty whisper and the golden desire flickering in her eyes ignited the rage that was in his blood and incinerated it into pure desire. “I trust you.”

  Chapter 25

  He kissed her deeply as soon as the words left
her mouth, drawing her desire out and over all of the insecurities that she’d just laid bare – literally – before him.

  God, she was so fucking strong.

  He pulled back, whispering, “Trust me,” one more time.

  Gently grabbing hold of the top of her dress, he pulled the fabric down over her breasts. Pierce kept his eyes locked with hers as he moved the fabric lower over her stomach; it caught slightly on the swell of her hips before it finally lost all resistance and fell to the ground.

  He stepped back a little further to take in what he’d revealed. Her chest expanded and froze as she held her breath, seeming to still be unsure of how he would respond. She was nervous, but she stood tall and her eyes stayed focused on him.

  Pierce felt his mouth dry up at the majestic sight in front of him, her golden waves falling down behind her back. He could clearly see the extent of her scar and it did absolutely nothing to diminish her ethereal beauty. Her pert breasts with their rosy peaks just begged for the attention of his mouth. The smooth expanse of her stomach led him down to where she still had her black thong on; his lip twitched with the desire to taste her again there, too. In the glimmering light, he briefly imagined her long, tan legs wrapped around his waist as he sunk himself deep inside of her.

  Pierce groaned, the thought making him painfully hard.

  “Are you ok?” she asked softly. But she was really asking, ‘Am I ok?’

  “You are perfect, Princess,” he rasped. “God, you are more beautiful than I could fucking imagine.” He stepped towards her, letting his right hand lightly trail down the expanse of her neck and onto the scarred tissue, feeling her slight shudder underneath his touch.

  “You are so beautiful, Ana,” he whispered again, his fingers trailing further south down the slope of her breast to swirl around her nipple. Pierce groaned seeing the ripple of goosebumps spread over her skin.

  “You said that already,” she murmured.

  “It needed to be said twice.” He couldn’t look away from his hand as it cupped her soft flesh. “I’m going to worship every inch of you tonight, Princess.”