The clanging sound of the piece of metal from his brush against the water-filled glass brought him out of his daze. As if the moment he’d cleaned his brushes, his subconscious knew it was time to come out of its meditative stupor. When he worked on his art, he was one with the piece, and he would zone out from everything else.
He looked up from his messy workstation to his newest creation waiting on his easel for the last scrutiny of the day. He was going to let the painting dry and work on the finishing touches tomorrow.
Six hours had passed since he last saw Kate. He had texted her, but sure enough she didn’t respond. She was probably busy with arranging a restraining order against him. He sighed and zeroed in on the small detail of Kate’s dimples.
Feeling frustrated with himself, the only way he could cope with his own stupidity was creating new works of art. And, yes, Kate was the featured subject. It couldn’t be helped. It was like she took over his body as the strokes of paint left his brush on the canvas. This painting was going to be the new centerpiece in his living room.
He wasn’t going to lock Kate away in his studio anymore. Fuck it. Let people see what she was doing to him. How she haunted him with her angelic eyes. How her sweet, rosy, dimpled cheeks made her look like the sweetest creature he’d ever seen.
Let them see that underneath all that innocent beauty lay an alluring woman. She’d been a sexy seductress these past few weeks with him. Never once had she hesitated or been reluctant to satisfy his needs—and thereby hers.
That wretched black silky dress she’d worn that night to The Velvet Club still tormented him. He needed to bring it to life in his art to get it out of his system once and for all. He’d painted one dress strap slipping off her shoulder, making the black silk a stark contrast against the pale flesh of Kate’s arm.
She was holding up the plunging neckline with her hand, unable to fully cover the swell of her breast. She gazed over her bare shoulder, and he was satisfied that he succeeded in capturing the look in her eyes that he loved to see on her most.
Kate was awaiting… anticipating his newest request for her to please him.
It made him rock-hard, and he didn’t even bother to do anything about it. He glanced at his phone. For hours, he’d been lost inside his art, and several messages blinked up on his home screen.
DUNC: WTF bro? Call me…
KAYLA: Can you call me or Dunc? Need to talk ASAP.
BRENNAN: Dunc called. What’s going on, D?
BRENNAN: I’m coming over. See you in twenty.
Sure enough he heard Brennan walking down his hallway; he must’ve let himself in with his key. Brennan was the only one who had an extra set of keys to his apartment. He’d never used it before, but he must’ve felt like today was the exception to the rule.
“Ah, here you are. Just wrapping up?”
Brennan didn’t judge him, understanding he didn’t respond to his messages because he’d been working in his studio. He was cool like that.
“Yeah. I’ll be with you in a sec.”
Brennan entered the studio and whistled in appreciation. Okay, maybe he wouldn’t hang this painting in his living room after all. Nobody needed to see Kate like this, no one but him. Over his dead body would he give others the chance to see his cupcake in this seductive manner.
“Wow. Just… wow, D.”
“Thanks, bro.”
“I mean….” Brennan cleared his throat and stared from his new piece to the grand mural. Donovan turned toward him and wanted to sucker punch him in his newly cleared throat for ogling his cupcake.
“You can wait in the living room, bro. Stop looking at my girl like that.”
“Your girl, eh?”
“Yes. She’s mine. Got a problem with that?” He felt the need to stake his claim as his brother still seemed very interested in Kate’s painting.
His brother chuckled and turned to walk out of his studio. He probably didn’t need to dignify Donovan’s question with an answer as everybody knew they were together, and they had been happy for them. Fuck. Were they even still together? After shielding his new art with a sheet, he put his brushes in a turpentine filled can. He cleaned his hands with a cloth and left his studio.
He slipped under the shower for a quick cleansing, and after dressing casually in a T-shirt and jeans, he turned to the living room where his brother had already helped himself to a beer. He noticed an unopened beer bottle on the coffee table and welcomed the cool feel of the bottle as he took it in his hand. “Thanks.”
“Okay, so why is Dunc calling me to come over to check on you? Last night everything was hunky dory between you two. It’s now Sunday—” He glanced at his watch. “—five o’ clock. What happened between then and now?”
“I fucked up, that’s what happened.” Donovan twisted the cap from his beer bottle and threw it on his coffee table before taking a hefty swig.
Brennan scoffed at his words. “Yeah, I figured that much. Did she see your art? Was she not happy with the way you portrayed her?”