CHAPTERSIX
DANA
Dana did her absolute best to keep her cool when she saw Rux and that stunning Cobra pull up in front of her apartment. The way the car shone beneath the dying sun’s rays and how handsome, fuck, devastatingly sexy Rux looked in his tailored suit had her loins pulsing between her legs, and she had to veil squeezing her thighs when he asked her about being a well-behaved woman.
You have no idea, darling, the things I’d do to you.
Dana clung to his arm as they strolled through the gallery, his fragrant cologne invading her nostrils, his childlike smile making her heart go pitter-patter. It had been some time since she’d had sex, and that was why her body was feeling such an intense ache for him.
It has been a long dry spell … but I have never felt this way about anyone.
She had put off many invitations for intimacy because of the inconvenience of it all. She’d get attached, or they’d get clingy, and the vibe would mess with her musical goals.
Dana knew how to satisfy herself physically, she never shied away from that, but there was something about feeling another person’s body that couldn’t be replicated during self-pleasuring evenings.
Dana told herself to go with the flow. She did, holding onto a glass of merlot while they walked past various pieces that she recognized, Rux, acting as her personalized tour guide.
“This one is one of my favorites,” Rux said.
They stopped in front of a Claude Monet piece that seemed slightly familiar to Dana. Being a musician meant that you were often familiar with other artistic expressions, but Rux spoke like an encyclopedia, bursting with information and passion for almost every piece they walked by.
“I thought that last one was your favorite?” Dana joked, pulling at his arm.
He smiled down at her. His green eyes, full of wonder, flaming in the bright room, made her knees weak.
“I suppose I have several favorites,” his smooth voice sang to her.
They stopped in front of a small, square-shaped piece, an impressionist painting by the looks of it.
Rux pointed at it and whispered into Dana’s patient ear. She felt the little hairs on her arms stand as he spoke.
“This isImpression, Sunrise, by Claude Monet,” he began softly. “It’s supposedly of the port of Le Havre where the painter grew up. The orange trace on the sea waves gets to me.”
Dana felt a warmth surge through her chest, unlike anything she had felt. Sure, she’d had crushes before in her life, but nothing went past that initial firework of passion and urgency.
It fizzled away before fading into the background of her life, a sad dim light on the shores of her mind.
“Why do you think that is?” Dana whispered.
Rux lifted his head from her and held his gaze on the painting. He looked at it thoughtfully for a long time, squinting and pursing his lips. Dana knew that it wasn’t the first time he had looked that closely at the painting or any painting for the matter.
She could see him in a dark room, face illuminated in the firelight, brooding over the many majesties and pitfalls of humanity and the reflections within the artistic life.
It was probably the first time he had ever been asked, though.
“It’s the strokes that indicate industrial life,” he finally responded, leaning back to her ear. “The process of hard work and then the beauty of natural life blending into a single piece. It resonates, I suppose.”
Dana felt herself squeeze his arm instinctually. He smiled down at her, his eyes sparkling.
“That would make sense, Mr. Billionaire,” she answered.
They walked around a bit more, with Rux introducing Dana to some of his colleagues and other art connoisseurs. She was exhilarated while being intimidated at the same time, which wasn’t a weakness she was willing to show.
The men and women she met had a ridiculous amount of money, which gave them access to a bundle of knowledge.
Rux seemed different from the wealthy men she often met at charity events. There was no arrogance or ego of ownership over her because of his status. It intrigued her, but it also reminded her not to let her guard down just yet.
They walked past a set of double glass doors that opened onto a terrace. Dana could use some air, so she tugged at Rux’s arm, and he led her out into the night like he was already able to read her mind.