Kiss Me Book 1 (3 page)

When she stepped inside,
it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim interior. There were
people milling around the exhibits as well as a few employees
talking to the customers. She looked for Christian but found him
nowhere in sight.

“
Good afternoon, Miss. Can
I help you with something?” a young blonde girl asked.

“
Where is Mr. Daniels? I
need to speak with him at once,” she demanded.

“
I . . . um, Mr. Daniels
asked not to be disturbed today. He is in his studio,” the girl
sputtered.

“
And that would be
where?”

The girl pointed to the
doors where she’d been a few nights ago. She didn’t wait for
further instructions before hitching the strap of her purse over
her shoulder and marching back to the bay doors.

She pulled them open and
stepped inside. Immediately she was greeted by the lyrics of
AC/DC’s “Back in Black” screaming at her through hidden speakers.
The giant metal sculpture in the center was still covered, but she
didn’t see Christian anywhere.

Her eyes darted to the
landing above her. She found metal steps and marched up them, but
when she reached the top there was nothing on earth that could have
prepared her for what she saw. She nearly missed the top
step.

Christian was wearing a
pair of paint-stained jeans, dangerously similar to the ones from
the night of the opening, and nothing more. His blond hair was tied
loosely behind his head. She watched as his muscles flexed as he
pulled a giant paintbrush over a canvas that stood at least eight
feet tall. Green paint was smeared over his left bicep. A tattoo
was on his rib cage near where the deeply cut V of his waist
disappeared into his jeans. His feet were completely bare—and holy
shit if he didn’t have the sexiest feet she’d ever seen in her
life.

Get it
together
, her mind screamed. She was
trying to, but she couldn’t ever recall seeing a man that sinfully
sexy in all her life.

All thoughts of why she’d
originally come to see him left her mind as he worked. The air
seemed to grow thinner, and a dull ache began to throb between her
legs.
What in the hell?
She thought. Her nipples tightened and strained
against her thin shirt. The cotton of her bra scraping against the
sensitive skin made her uncomfortable—but not in an entirely
unpleasant way.

“
You’re staring at me?” he
said through the lustful haze that had taken over her
mind.

When she looked up at him,
he was still staring straight ahead, brow furrowed in
concentration. Finally he turned and threw the brush to a table
covered with paint, jars of murky waters and paper
towels.

“
I—I am not,” she sputtered
lamely.

“
You were, but something
tells me that you didn’t come here just to stare at my body, though
I will say, someone as beautiful as you is more than welcome to
stare all she wants,” he said as he put his hands on his hips and
turned to face her completely.

Her eyes dropped to his
chest on their own, and no matter how much she wanted them to stay
on his face it wasn’t going to happen. Smooth lines and rugged
planes made up his chest. His abs were stacked on top of each other
tightly as his jeans sat low on his lean hips.

Shit
, she thought
. Look away, look
away.
Quickly she adverted her eyes and
tried to focus on anything but him.

“
I want my stuff back,” she
said, focusing on a point just above his shoulder.

He laughed and grabbed
another brush from the table. “No,” he said before swirling it in
different shades of paint. Turning, he pressed it against the
canvas and began all over again.

“
Excuse me?” she
asked.

He turned his head and
looked at her, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “You’re not
used to being told no, are you, princess?”

She frowned and crossed
her arms over her chest.

“
I want my things back,”
she retorted hotly.

“
And I want back the
business I lost because of the stunt you pulled the night of my
opening. Do you know how much money I lost because of you? Do you
know what that shit did to my reputation? Being accused of being a
fraud and art thief could have done damage which couldn’t have been
fixed.” There was no malice in his voice; in fact his tone was
light, almost carefree. She was confused.

“
This is about money?” She
dug around in her bag and pulled out her checkbook. “How much did I
cost you? I’ll give you the money right now.”

He laughed and put down
the brush. After wiping his hands on his jeans, he took a few steps
toward her. “It’s not about the money,” he said.

“
My home was broken into,
violated, and precious stuff was stolen, stuff that you supposedly
bought, and all you care about it your reputation?” Her anger was
quickly rising at his arrogance. However, that wasn’t the only
thing happening to her. Something about the way he was staring at
her with a smug smile, goading her, was turning her on.
You’re getting turned on because you’re angry at
him
, her mind shouted at her.

“
Tell me something. Why did
you stop making art?”

Amy frowned, puzzled by
his abrupt change of subject. “How does that have anything to do
with this? I don’t see how that matters or why it is any of your
business.”

“
It was a simple
question.”

“
One that I will not be
answering.”

He lifted a shoulder.
“Suit yourself, but you’re still not getting your stuff
back.”

“
You’ve got to be kidding
me!”

Christian turned amused
eyes to her. “You seriously look like you’re one tantrum away from
stomping your foot and screaming.”

She frowned at him,
clutching her hands at her sides she itched to slap that arrogant
smug look right off his face. After taking a few calming breaths,
she sighed. “Fine. Whatever it takes to get my belongings back, I
will do it. Just name your price.”

“
Now we’re talking,” he
said as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them
anxiously.

Something about the
dangerous look in his eyes told her that she could have possibly
just made a deal with the devil himself.

She gulped when Christian
slowly made his way to her, stopping just inches in front of her.
Slowly, he allowed his hand to lightly run down her arm. Her breath
hitched in her throat as she fought for air. She felt his hand rest
on her hip and his fingers slide into the hip pocket on her jeans.
There was nothing she could do but stand and breathe him
in.

“
W-what are you doing?” she
stammered.

“
I need your phone,” he
said, his voice low and seductive. His warm breath pushed out
against the top of her head. She felt the tips of his fingers graze
against the skin above her jeans as he pulled the phone out of her
pocket.

“
H-how did you know my
phone was in there?” she stammered. Distance: she needed to put
distance between them. However, if she took a step back she would
fall down two flights of stairs. If she moved forward it would put
her completely against him.

And this would be a bad
thing why?
her subconscious chimed
in.

“
It was sticking out,” he
said as he took a step back.

He looked down at the
screen and punched in a few numbers before handing it back to her.
“Now you have my number and I have yours. I’ll be in contact when
it comes time to pay your debt,” he said with a cheeky
grin.

With a clear dismissal, he
went back to work painting. As she was turning to leave, a large
object in the corner of the room caught her attention. Her eyes
grew round. It was a bed, an enormous black bed with black sheets
and a black comforter thrown aside. There was something attached to
the headboard but she couldn’t be sure what they were. From where
she stood, it appeared to be handcuffs.

She swallowed past the
lump and hurried down the steps. It wasn’t until she was sitting in
the front seat of her car that she let out a pent-up breath. What
in the hell had she been thinking, offering anything he wanted to
get her things back? She must have been out of her mind.

Christian watched over the
rail as Amy made her way down the stairs. Her beautifully rounded
ass twitched from left to right with each step she took. It was
obvious the woman had absolutely no clue how fucking beautiful she
was.

From the moment he’d seen
her at his party, dressed to kill in that amazing black dress, he
knew he had to know her. He just didn’t expect her to have him
arrested on art theft and fraud charges, all of which were bogus to
begin with. Even though his grand opening had been ruined, it had
done nothing to dampen his desire. He had to know her. She was a
beautiful little spitfire, and he’d have one hell of a time trying
to tame her. However, the more he thought about it, the more he
decided he didn’t really want to tame her. He wondered what it
would be like to let her go and see what kind of damage she could
do. His dick twitched at the thought and he groaned.

He’d done his research on
Ms. Amy Jackson. She was the hottest interior designer in all of
San Francisco. She was highly sought after, and some of her clients
were some real A-listers. Rather impressive.

While she had a name for
herself, she really wasn’t one to flaunt. The night of his gallery
opening, she’d seemed like she was out of place, almost
uncomfortable, even though she was the most beautiful woman in the
room.

No, there was definitely a
mystery behind the woman. Christian licked his lips and looked over
his shoulder at one of her paintings hanging in the back corner of
his loft. It was a small miracle she hadn’t seen it, but from the
minute he’d laid eyes on the piece, he’d known instantly he needed
to know who the artist was. Now he knew.

***

Her breaths were coming
out in short, heavy pants as her bare skin kissed the satin sheets
beneath her, their coolness like a balm against her burning body.
Hands roamed over her skin, igniting new fires with each
touch.

She watched as he rose
above her, clasping her by the knees and gently spreading her legs
wider. His warm breath reached out and caressed her dampened folds
and a soft moan escaped her lips. Her eyes rolled closed as she
felt him tease her opening with his fingers, just before plunging
his cock deep inside her. Crying out, she arched from the bed as he
began to ride her.

Harder and harder he
thrust. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him through
the pounding in her ears. Her pussy was soaking wet as his dick was
crammed deeper inside of her.

She was going to explode;
her body was tingling. Her head was buzzing loudly. She frowned,
trying to figure out where the annoying sound was coming from.
Through lust-filled eyes she tried to find the source but couldn’t.
Just as he thrust home, her body flew from the bed.

Amy sat up, drenched in
sweat, tangled in the sheets. Her panties were soaked with evidence
from her dream. Her breathing was ragged as she clutched the sheet
around her.

“
What the hell?” she
gasped, disappointed at being woken up right before the best part.
She hadn’t talked to Christian in over a week and yet every night
it was the same thing. They were tangled together in his big black
bed and, right as she was about to come, she would wake up. She’d
never had much need to use her fingers in the past; however, the
past several nights, it had been the only way to ease the ache that
had been created in her dreams.

With another frustrated
sigh she lay back against her pillows. Allowing her knees to fall
to the side she slipped her finger into her panties and parted her
wet folds. She wasn’t surprised to find herself dripping. She
dipped her fingers into her moisture and brought them up to circle
her clit. As she stroked her pussy, she slid her free hand under
her shirt and palmed her right breast. Roughly, she tugged on her
nipple as she dipped her fingers in and out of her wet slit. As she
stroked herself she pictured
him
. She was on the verge of coming
once more when a buzzing sound disrupted her, again.

“
What the fuck,” she cried
out in frustration.

Scrambling out of bed she
squinted at the bright screen. Her heart gave a little flop.
“Christian,” she muttered.

Trying to steady her
racing heart, she took several deep breaths before she
answered.

“
Hello?” she said, slightly
breathless.

“
Why so breathless,
princess?” Christian growled in her ear.

“
I was . . . um, working
out,” she lied.

“
At one in the morning?” he
said skeptically.

“
Christian, what in the
hell do you want?” she said, not answering his question.

He was silent for a long
moment before he finally answered. “A payment, though it sounds
like you may have already started.”