Casual Encounter: The Complete Series Box Set (38 page)

“Relax,” he murmured as he squeezed my hand.

I didn't get a chance to respond as Alejandro, the gallery's owner, approached. He was a handsome older gentleman, probably in his mid-sixties, though I was too polite to ask. He'd also made no bones about how he found both Cade and me extremely attractive. I'd almost been put off by his open comments when we'd first met, but it hadn't taken long for him to put me at ease, and the flirting was just part of the usual banter now.

“Bree, darling!” He kissed both my cheeks, letting his hands linger on my shoulders until Cade glared at him. “Cade, darling!” He repeated the embrace. “Have you decided to allow me to paint you?”

Cade rolled his eyes and I laughed. From the moment we'd met, Alejandro had been trying to convince us to pose nude for him, a process they both informed me would result in the three of us sleeping together. We'd declined and he'd respected our decision, but he still liked to tease us with it every once in a while.

“Looks like a great turn out,” I said as I looked around, trying not to think about what all these people were looking at.

“It is,” Alejandro said, his dark eyes sparkling. “Everyone has been practically breathless with anticipation over this exhibit.”

“Only because you promised them the most sensual pieces they'd seen in years,” Cade countered.

My blush deepened and I hoped Alejandro would mistake it for anything other than what it was. Judging by the way his eyes widened ever so slightly, my wish hadn't been answered. He knew. To my surprise, however, he didn't say anything about it, but continued on as if he hadn't just figured out who Cade's model was.

“I did,” he admitted. “And these are. Everyone admired your portraits and I've already had offers on three separate pieces.”

“Really?” Cade sounded completely caught off guard.

Alejandro smiled. “I told you they’re quite good.”

“See,” I said. “It's not just me who thinks it.” I wrapped my arm around his waist and he put his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him, enjoying the solid warmth of his body.

“As for these,” Alejandro continued, gesturing to the pictures all around us. “I've been hearing words like 'alluring,' 'seductive' and even 'captivating' being thrown around.” His eyes sparkled. “And more than one person has wondered just who these amazing models could be.”

Cade stiffened slightly. He'd just realized Alejandro had figured it out.

“I tell them that the anonymity is what makes them so wonderfully mysterious.”

My boyfriend relaxed. “Thank you.”

Alejandro made a dismissive gesture. “Now, there is someone I need for you to meet. Please come with me.”

We followed Alejandro across the space, weaving between the small groups that were forming at each of the photographs. I kept my chin up and a smile on my face, willing myself not to blush as I heard men and women alike complimenting my body.

“Daniel Rickman.” Alejandro stopped next to a short, stocky man with an expensively tailored suit and rings that were too ostentatious to be anything but real. The man turned toward us. “I'd like you to meet the artist, Cade Shepard, and his girlfriend, Aubree Gamble.”

“Mr. Rickman,” Cade said as he shook the other man's hand.

“Daniel, please.” He smiled and then turned to me. “Miss Gamble.”

“Bree,” I said. His handshake was firm, not too clingy but also not too abrupt. This was a man who spent a lot of time shaking hands.

“Daniel is an art dealer,” Alejandro explained. “Actually, he's the premiere art dealer for the entire east coast, and one of the most well-known dealers in the entire country.”

I expected some sort of false modesty from Daniel, but he didn't say a word, just accepted the compliment like a fact and moved on.

“I've been looking for an exciting new piece to display,” he said. “And I think this is it.” He pointed to the picture in front of us.

Of all the ones Cade had submitted, this was probably the most risqué. The full series of shots had been of me on my hands and knees, coming while he pulled a string of small metal balls out of my ass. He'd managed to find one where my arm covered my nipple, though the curve of my breast was fully visible. He'd then cropped it so that it showed my face half-turned toward him, pleasure contorting my features, the side of my naked body back to my hip, stopping just before revealing what he'd been doing. What completed the shot, however, had been the metal balls lying across my hip, just visible enough that people could guess why I looked like I was enjoying myself. I still remembered how nervous he'd been when he asked if he could use the picture in the show. It was the one I'd been the most anxious about too, though now I was glad I agreed.

“This is exquisite,” Daniel said. “The way you captured the desire, the pleasure.” He glanced at Cade. “I must ask. Your models, Alejandro said they aren't professionals?”

Cade shook his head. “No, they're not.”

“Are they a couple?” Daniel took a step closer to the photograph, his eyes now fixed on the mask.

“Why do you ask?”

I tightened my arm around Cade. His voice sounded a bit sharper than was probably a good idea.

“Her face. Her eyes. I don't just see lust and desire there. I see love. Either they're a couple or she's an amazing actress who should consider modeling or acting as a profession.” His gaze slid down my body and came to rest on the metal balls.

“They're a couple,” Cade answered. “Who agreed to allow me to photograph them under the condition of anonymity.”

Daniel nodded. “Understandable, though a pity. They are both quite beautiful.”

“I thought so as well.” Cade's voice had returned to its usual charming tone. “After all, it's the artist's job to find the beauty in life.”

Daniel smiled as he turned back toward us. “I wish to purchase this piece. As I didn't see a listed price, I took the liberty of making an offer.” He held out a folded piece of paper.

I was still trying to process the fact that a man wanted to purchase a picture of me having an orgasm when Cade opened the paper. I glanced down and my eyes widened. I wasn't stupid. I knew how expensive some art could be, and I had a true appreciation for what Cade could do, both with a brush and with a camera, but I'd never considered the photographs could be sellable art.

“I would also like to take the entire line on a tour of various galleries across the country,” Daniel continued. “And I've no doubt you'll receive many more offers like this one to purchase other pieces. For a modest fee, I would be happy to broker such deals and arrange for deliveries once the tour is completed.”

“I...” Cade was speechless.

“How very generous and unexpected,” I quickly said. “Cade will, of course, need to speak with the models and get their consent for further release of the photographs since he'd originally intended them to be local only.”

“Of course,” Daniel said. “Here's my card.” He held out a business card. “I'd love to get an answer tonight, but if it takes some time, that's fine.” He gave another wistful look to the photograph. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I do want to take a look at the other pieces.”

“There's a particularly moving painting I think you might want to keep in mind for your clients,” Alejandro said. “This way.” He left Cade and me alone. Or at least, relatively so.

Cade glanced around, making sure no one else was in earshot, and then spoke, “I'm not selling it.”

“Why?” I'd seen the number of zeroes on that offer. We weren't hurting for money since Cade had been able to pay off his debts – including the loft – with money he'd had saved over the years, but in the six months since he'd moved into my apartment, we'd been living off of my salary. It was enough to pay the bills, but there wasn't much leeway. That sale would allow us some breathing room.

“Why?” He gave me an incredulous look. “I would think you'd agree with me. I mean, it's one thing to have these pictures hanging in a small gallery where I know the owner. Maybe a hundred, two hundred people will see them, but this would be national attention.” He took a step toward me until our bodies were almost touching. “Men all over the country staring at your body. Lusting after you.” His eyes blazed. “Wanting you.”

A thrill went through me at the possessive note in his voice. I loved when he sounded like that. He wasn't the kind of man who kept me from my friends or told me what to do – well, not unless I wanted him to. No, this was pure alpha male sexuality at its hottest.

I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. “It's okay. I love your work and this could do wonders for your career. Could you imagine the kind of exposure this could give you?”

“I'm thinking more about your exposure,” he said darkly. “I don't care about my career. I'll go get a job working retail or something like that. I just care about you.”

I put my hand on his chest, sliding just under his tux jacket so I could feel his heart beat. “I don't care who sees the photos. They don't know it's me. Besides.” I flexed my fingers so that my nails dug in a little and he sucked in a breath. “Men can look all they want. Women too. But only you get to touch.”

He put his hand on my hip and I could feel the desire radiating off him. “Damn right.”

A smile made my lips twitch. “If anything, I could protest that just as many men and women will be checking out the sexy man in half of the photos.”

He grinned and echoed my words. “They can look but they can't touch.”

“No,” I agreed. “They can't.” I leaned forward, my heels making it so I barely had to stretch to brush my lips across his. “Now, why don't you go catch Daniel, tell him you made a call and your models are more than willing to let you decide what to do with the series.” I glanced around. “I'm going to find Adelle and Mindy. You should mingle.”

He took a reluctant step back. “All right,” he agreed. “But I'm going to be thinking about how I want to reproduce these scenes with you later.”

I chuckled as a bolt of arousal went through me. I may not have had panties to get wet, but that didn't stop anything. I had a feeling I was going to be walking around the rest of the night with the insides of my thighs slick. I needed to find a restroom.

The mischievous light in Cade's eyes told me he'd known exactly what his statement would do to me. I glared at him as he walked away and then turned back around to find either my friends or a bathroom, whichever I happened to see first.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of meeting new people and hearing everyone gush over how talented my boyfriend was. I could tell from the looks I received from some of the women that they'd been clients of Cade, but I wasn't jealous. The past was the past and I didn't care what they thought about me. I knew who I was and who he was. I knew who we were to each other and nothing else mattered.

Adelle and Mindy were great at fielding questions on how Cade and I met, sticking with the true, albeit sanitized, version where Cade had saved me from a bad date, then fate had brought us together again. Adelle and I made a real effort over the last few months and it seemed our friendship was back on track. It wasn't like anything had happened, but rather that we'd both grown enough to move past it. For Mindy, it had been a bit harder for her to accept that I was in love with a former prostitute. I'd finally reminded her how well I'd reacted when she'd told me she was bisexual and that had been it. Things weren't the way they'd once been, but I was okay with that. I wasn't the same either.

As the hours slipped away, people began to leave until, finally, my friends said good-night as well. Alejandro told us to go ahead and lock up when we were done. The cleaning staff would come in first thing in the morning. We, he said, should take some time to appreciate the art without anyone else around. When Cade took my hand and we walked through the gallery, I thought that was exactly what we were going to do.

When we reached the back of the gallery where my photos were, he broke the silence.

“Alejandro said he had inquiries about two other photographs and four paintings. I referred them to Daniel.”

“That's wonderful!” I exclaimed. I stopped and threw my arms around Cade. “I knew you could do it!”

“I know,” he said as he put his hands on my waist. “I never would have had the guts to show anyone my work if it hadn't been for you.” His expression was far more serious than I'd have thought possible for such a good night.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, immediately concerned.

“No.” He shook his head as he cupped the side of my face. I leaned into the touch. “That's just it.”

“I don't understand.”

His thumb brushed against the corner of my mouth. “I love you so much, Aubree.”

“And I love you.” I was still confused.

He reached into his jacket pocket and went down on one knee.

My heart stopped. This couldn't be happened, could it?

“My Aubree.” He took a deep breath. “From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were something special. I wasted so much time pretending I wasn't falling hopelessly in love with you. I don't want to waste anymore. I don't need years or even months more to know that you're the only one I want. The only one I'll ever want. Will you be mine? Forever?”

I didn't even look at the box as he opened it. I didn't care what the ring looked like. It could've been a prize from a cereal box. All I cared about was the question and the sincerity in Cade's eyes when he asked it.

“I already am.” I pushed his hair back from his face. “I've been yours from the first moment I saw you. I love you, my Cade. And, yes, a million times yes. I'll marry you.”

His face lit up as he slid the ring onto my finger. When he stood, he crushed me against him, his mouth covering mine. The kiss was fierce, possessive and filled with more joy than I'd ever felt coming from Cade. I pushed his jacket from his shoulders and yanked his shirt out of his pants. I needed to feel his skin. Now.

He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth as I slid my hands beneath his shirt, feeling the solid muscle there. When my nails raked over his nipples, he growled and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his waist as he walked me toward a wall. My arms went around his neck, helping hold my weight as he balanced me with one arm. The other hand moved between us and I heard one of my favorite sounds in the world. Cade's zipper going down.