“It seems like they were right,” I say with a chuckle.
She turns around with a fierce glare.
“You are painting a naked man after all.”
That heated glare disappears as she chuckles. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Although the view is not that bad.”
She catches what she said and subtly shakes her head as she turns around. I grin. I knew she liked what she was looking at.
“And what do you do when you’re not stripping naked in a stranger’s house?” she asks as she scoops out some coffee and puts it into the machine.
“Maybe that’s all I do,” I say playfully.
She turns and looks at me with wide eyes.
“I’m kidding,” I quickly say before she gets the wrong idea about me. “I’m not a stripper. I’m a vet.”
“You were in the military? Is that where you got those scars on your arm?”
“No,” I say with a chuckle. “I’m a veterinarian. Those scars were from an army of scared dogs and angry cats I’ve treated over the years.”
“Ever think of wearing sleeves?” she asks with a teasing grin.
“Nah,” I say with a smile. “I like to keep my body interesting. Full of stories and life in case any beautiful artists want to paint me.”
She smiles shyly at the compliment, but I can’t see it for long because she turns around and busies herself with the coffee.
My eyes drop down to her ass, but those damn overalls are covering everything. It’s still enough to make my cock jolt though.
When the machine is finally going, I have her full attention as she turns around and leans on the stove, watching me.
“Do you work in town?”
“I do. On fifth and main. If ever you have an injured pet, I’m your guy. For a nice lady like you, it’s on the house.”
She smiles. “I’ll have to remember that if I ever get a turtle.”
“Call me anytime.”
Our eyes connect for a long moment and something electric fills the air. “I mean it, Mila. You can call me anytime.”
The coffee beeps and she jumps to attention, ripping those stunning blue eyes away from me.
I watch her as she takes out two cups and fills them to the rim.
“Oops! Sorry,” she says with a hand over her mouth. “I always take it black and just assumed… I can empty some if you want to add some milk.”
“It’s okay,” I say as she’s about to dump some of it into the sink. “I like it black.”
I don’t. I always take milk, but I just hate seeing her all flustered like that. I want to be the man to calm her and soothe her nerves, not amp them up. Unless it’s… time for that.
She hands me the coffee and I take a sip, watching her over the mug.
I don’t want to leave this house. I don’t want to leave her side.
“So,” I say, getting down to the question of the day. My stomach turns rock-hard as I tiptoe around it. “What does your boyfriend think of you having naked models in your home all day long?”
A tinge of pink hits her adorable cheeks as she takes another sip. “I don’t have one.”
I have to hold back my excitement. I nod casually instead of doing the fist pump I really want to do.
“And what about your girlfriend?” she asks. I can tell she’s trying to be casual, but with the way she keeps glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, I can tell she’s been thinking about it too. “She approves of you getting naked in front of young women?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I say as I stare right at her. “There’s only one girl for me and I’m looking right at her.”
Her eyes widen a little as she realizes what I just said. We’ve already been close and intimate all morning so I figure, why stop now?
“Oh,” she says softly as she puts down her mug of coffee. Her hand is trembling a little. From what? Not fear… this girl does not look afraid. If anything it looks like it’s from desire. From being tempted. From wanting the same thing but being too afraid to admit it.
“You okay?” I ask in a low voice.
She nods. “It’s getting late. We better get back in there. I’d like to finish the sketch today so we can jump into the paint tomorrow.”
Ah shit.
I’m cursing myself as we walk back into the studio. I think I was too eager. Too quick to make a move. I hope I didn’t ruin my shot. You only get one with an amazing girl like her and I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with myself for the rest of my life if I’ve ruined it.
She heads straight to the canvas, never looking at me once, and puts down her coffee beside her paints.