Free Selling Grace: A Light Romance Novel (Art of Grace Book 1) by Samantha Westlake Page B

soft enough so that Onyx wouldn't hear.
    In my head, however, I was already running mental calculations. I had already seen the prices on some of Onyx's smaller statues in the gallery, and I knew that they commanded impressive prices. From what Uncle Preston had told me, they actually sold, too - people really wanted to pay thousands of dollars to have an oversized stone penis sitting in their house! And if those little ones went for thousands, this one probably had to cost at least ten, maybe twenty times that amount...
    I thought about five percent commission on a six figure sale, and my pupils practically transformed into dollar signs like I was a cartoon character. That would be enough to pay Barry back for everything, to get me clear of this whole divorce once and for all, just on its own! Any other commission that I made would be free to go to other areas, like helping me pay for a nicer apartment, or giving me a buffer in case I decided to switch jobs, or maybe getting a new wardrobe so that I could move on with a new man...
    "And you're willing to let me work with you to sell this?" I asked Onyx, just to confirm.
    He looked over at me. "Yes, I haven't shown it to anyone else. I planned to put it up for public auction in another month or so, but I would be satisfied if you sell it, too."
    "Great," I murmured, my mind dancing away on piles of imagined dollar bills flooding into my bank account.
    Onyx drifted in towards me. I'd been distracted by the big statue he'd unveiled (who wouldn't be distracted by one of that size?), and didn't notice him drawing closer behind me until he reached out and gently laid a hand on my shoulder. "Rebecca," he murmured.
    I nearly jumped a foot in the air. "What?" I squeaked.
    "You have a lot of stress in your life, I can tell." Onyx's hand remained on my shoulder, and I felt the heat of his body soaking into me. Almost against my better urges, I leaned slightly back against him, feeling his strength behind me. "You need to release some of that."
    I really didn't want to start down this path, especially in a warehouse with a whole bunch of erotic black stone penises on one side of me and a bed on the other side behind a screen. This seemed like the perfect place for me to make bad decisions.
    "Yeah, I know - I'm working on it," I told Onyx, fighting a raging internal battle to try and move away from his warmth, his touch. "But I don't think that I'll be able to get any of it out until I've made some changes."
    "If there's any way that I can help, just let me know."
    God, he even made those innocent words sound like practically an invitation to go join him in a sweat-soaked love fest. Even glancing up at him, I still wasn't totally convinced that he wasn't suggesting I peel off my clothes and join him for the two-person horizontal tango, right here and now in the shadow of his giant stone dong.
    "Just don't sell the piece until you've given me a chance," I said, finally managing to win the battle against my libido and step back so his hand slid off of my shoulder. "If I can sell this, it will really help with my problems, more than you realize."
    Onyx nodded. "You've got my word." He smiled at me, and those white teeth even glinted in the dimness of the warehouse. "But perhaps, in exchange, once you've released a bit of that anxiety you carry..."
    "Then what?"
    "I'm always looking for a model to provide me with inspiration," he murmured, and this time there was no denying it. His low-pitched, rich voice practically dripped sex and arousal, making new beads of sweat break out as my body yelled at me to not be a fool and jump on him before this perfect specimen got away.
    "I'll, uh, I'll keep that in mind," I stammered, turning towards the door. "But hey, look at the time! I really ought to get back to the gallery and reopen - I'm sure there's a line of senior citizens out the door by now, all of them waiting anxiously to buy something. Wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?"
    I knew