Free Brush Strokes by Dee Carney Page A

corner
of her mouth pushed up in a self-satisfied smile. “I have something
for you,” he said. He waited a minute when her hand tightened
around his. If he left her to stand of her own devices now, no
telling what might happen. “My legs are shaking so badly,” she
admitted with a gasp.
    “ Ready?” he asked when she
nodded a few minutes later and released another deep
breath.
    “ Yes…and thank
you.”
    Joe chuckled. “If you can’t tell, I
really like what you’re wearing.” He pointedly studied her body. “I
just had to see that before we left. God damn the time. I wish we
had more of it.”
    Halloween colors or not, the ensemble
just became her new favorite. Her racing heartbeat slowed to a
trickle, a flush of contentment warming her through. If she wasn’t
careful, she could easily find herself falling for one Mr. Joe
Boyd. Perhaps she’d fallen already. “So what was it you wanted to
show me?”
    He backed away, keeping her hand
clasped in his. “I’d almost forgotten it. I forgot why I’d come to
your place the day before and then later, in the bustle of prepping
for the art show, I still didn’t remember. But the minute I saw you
in those colors, between your sense of style and knack for colors,
it came to me.”
    At once his face became boyish. Where
went the man who pushed her to soaring heights only moments ago?
He’d been replaced by someone whose self-confidence hadn’t quite
matured, by someone who didn’t know how to behave around a
woman.
    He led her into his bedroom and if the
change in his demeanor startled her, that he let go of her hand to
rummage through a laundry basket in the master bathroom more than
baffled her. “What are you doing?”
    “ I can’t believe I forgot
about it,” he muttered. A pair of denim pants appeared in his hands
a few seconds later.
    “ And I can’t believe I’ve
let you distract me from the opening. We have to leave and you’re
not even dressed yet. You are coming, right?” Had she asked him to come or just
assumed he wouldn’t be left behind? His persistence got her exhibit
in after all.
    The look he gave her brought back an
instant recollection of what staring into his eyes looked like deep
in the throes of her orgasm. There was passion, and longing and
something she didn’t—couldn’t—name below their surfaces. A
mischievous smile played about his lips. The small package he held
out in his hand distracted her from admiring it for too long. “Of
course I am, but first, here. Take this. I bought it for you,” he
said shyly. “If you don’t like it, that’s okay.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “What is
it?”
    His shoulder lifted in response. “It’s
not much. Open it.”
    Damn if her fingers didn’t tremble as
she fumbled with the taped crepe paper. Joe moved in closer to fold
his arms around his waist. A distinct sensation of comfort and
belonging washed over her, calming nerves that had no business in
their agitation. Tossing aside the temptation to use her teeth to
rip through the elastic tape, an eternity passed before she finally
touched what had been trapped inside. She tugged on the cloth until
the entire thing pulled free.
    “ Oh, Joe…” It wasn’t much
as he’d said, she knew that, but looking at the pendant hanging
from the velvet choker, basking in the warmth of Joe’s body, she at
once felt loved. Stupid, but true. If he said the words right now,
she’d have to feign surprise. Tension, maybe from the aftermath of
the fire, from the frenzy of meeting Mr. Killian’s deadline, or
perhaps from the growing sexual tension existing between them,
melted out of her body until she just about sagged against him. So
much happened between them in the past few days; it was
dizzying…and special.
    Joe stiffened at once. “You don’t like
it.”
    He sounded so crestfallen, she tilted
her face toward his. “No, Joe, I do. I think it’s wonderful.” She
brought her hand up. “Would you put it on me?”
    A flare of hope lit his