If You Give an Artist a Killer Muse: A Dark Grumpy Sunshine Romance

Chapter 22

Rurik

I don’t know if I want to reach over and wrap my hands around her neck to throttle the shit out of her for showing up out of nowhere. Or so that she can leave here with a new necklace hand-printed on her skin by me.

The little minx finishes putting the rest of her random groceries — bread, deli meats, cheese, crackers, juice — on the conveyor belt and winks at me.

She winks at me as if I’m not about to lose my shit.

“Did you find everything you need, Miss?” I ask in my best customer service tone as I begin to scan the items.

“Despite the overpriced bread and cranberry juice,” Her brows raise, and she grins, “Yes. I found everything I needed. Thank you… Sir.” She purrs the last part.

My dick twitches.

What the fuck.

I’ve been called ‘sir’ often by people at work. Why the fuck do I find it hot when she says it? I clear my throat, “Wonderful.”

She bites her bottom lip, her eyes darting around us. When we realize there’s no one near us, she leans forward and says, “Dress warmly tonight.”

I frown as I lean forward, too. Without thinking, I breathe deeply, and my lungs and head fill with her comforting scent of berries, dark chocolate, and a hint of jasmine.

Fucking delicious. Beautiful. Just like her.

Jesus, I’m so fucked.

“Why?” I say roughly, trying to look annoyed as I bag her groceries.

Her lips quirk up, her eyes bright with excitement. “You’ll see.”

I roll my eyes, pursing my lips to prevent myself from smiling back at her. Sighing, I quickly tap in my discount code for her and watch the total drop.

She looks at the price and frowns, “Oh, angel. I was just kidding about the costs. I can pay for the full amount; it’s no prob—”

“Sssshh,” I shush her, shaking my head. “The total is $10, ma’am.”

She stares at me for a few seconds before a small grin spreads. “Damn. Thank you, sir.”

“Briar.” My tone lace with warning.

If she doesn”t drop that grin and stop addressing me as ”sir,” I can”t be held accountable if I end up dragging her to the staff room for some nice, hard, ass spanking.

Jesus. Fuck.

I need to calm down.

She laughs, paying for her things and gathering her bags. “See you later, sir.”

Fucking brat.

As if she knows what she”s doing to me, her eyes slowly move down to the apparent tent hidden behind the POS. She smirks, our eyes clashing again, and flips her hair before walking away, leaving me to stare after her and ignore the next customer.

*-*-*-*

“Are we there yet?” I grumble, touching the blindfold covering my eyes.

I’m not going to lie; when she pulled out the blindfold out of her pocket, my dick stood with anticipation. But then she shoved me inside her car, and we’d been driving for what felt like hours because I couldn’t see.

“You’re so impatient,” Briar giggles. I feel her hand touching my leg and turn my head to her even though I can’t see her. “We’re almost there.”

“You said that like an hour ago, Briar.” I sigh, crossing my arms.

“That was like thirty minutes ago, Drama King.” She scoffs. “And I thought I was the dramatic one.”

I glare at her from behind the blindfold.

“So, remember when I said I wanted to try outdoor sex?” She asks after a while.

I frown. “Yeah?”

“Well,” I felt the car slow down to a stop. “I’m down to try it whenever you are?”

“What are you talking about?” I hear her laugh, and the door closing tells me she left. Seconds later, my door opens, and hands touch my arms, guiding me out of the car.

“Watch your step,” Briar says, and I hear my door close. She gently grabs my hand, wrapping our fingers together. “Let me guide you, okay?”

“Take off my blindfold.”

“No, not yet. Trust me, okay?”

I scoff but don’t say anything. I let her pull me wherever we’re going, listening to her, “Watch your step there,” or “Turn left,” or “We’re gonna go up a hill now.”

She then puts her hands on my shoulders. “Wait here.”

“Briar, where are we?”

“Ssshh,” She shushes me, a twinge of excitement in her breathing. “Give me a second, angel.”

I sigh, standing still as I listen to her rummage through whatever. I clench my fist, unsure if I like not knowing where I am. This is weird. I feel weird. Was this a good idea? Being alone with her again?

She’s already fucked with my self-control when it comes to her. That’s something I don’t like giving up. Control. I’m already losing control in so many aspects of my life…

I sigh, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. As I inhale deeply, my head jerks at the familiar scent of... dirt? I rub the soles of my shoes against the ground, hearing the crunchy texture of small rocks beneath them.

Did she drive us in circles just to the park?

Suddenly, I hear and feel things.

The sound of leaves rustling in the breeze fills the air, the gentle wind caressing my face. Straining my ears, I catch the soft sounds of water lightly rippling nearby and insects chirping or buzzing. I breathe deeply and am greeted by the refreshing scent of pine mingling with the earthy smell of grass.

“Briar?” I call out, turning my head to listen for her.

A hand touches my cheek. “I’m here.”

“Where are we?”

“I’m going to lead you again, okay?”

“Briar…”

“Trust me.”

I sigh, nodding. Her hand trails from my cheek, and she holds my hand again. She walks forward and pulls me along, forcing me to follow her.

After a few minutes, she says, “Okay, you can stop. I will take off your blindfold, but keep your eyes closed. Don’t open them until I tell you, okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

She removes the blindfold from me, and just as she asks, I shut my eyes. I hear her breathe in deeply and then exhale just as slowly. “Okay. You can open your eyes now, Rurik.”

I open my eyes, blinking so my vision can adjust to the darkness. I frown at the familiarity of the location but then gasp when it all suddenly hits me.

“Briar,” I breathe out, looking around and recognizing the spot I used to hang out alone.

I gaze out at the lake, the mountains before us cloaked in a haunting beauty under the night sky. The only light around us comes from Briar”s flashlight, casting a gentle glow and the shimmering reflection of stars and the moon on the water.

“You said you haven’t been back in years,” Briar says softly, “You also mentioned you’ve never gone stargazing before. So,” She sighs, waving her hand at the location and up at the starry night sky. “I thought, why not kill two birds and one stone? Take you stargazing in your little slice of paradise.”

I stare at her.

Her cheeks flush pink, and she drops her hand. “I…I hope it”s okay. I know you said this was your private place, but—”

In just two strides, I crash my lips to hers.

She opens her mouth by gasping, and I shove my tongue inside, groaning when my tongue brushes against hers. I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly against me as I continue to kiss her.

“Fuck, baby,” I murmur, pressing kisses against the corner of her mouth, her cheek, and her jaw. “I can’t believe you brought me back here.”

“I love it when you call me baby,” Briar grins up at me, and the sight is robbing me of oxygen. “It”s on my list, along with crazy and insane.”

I pull back and laugh loudly, the sound booming and echoing around us. Jesus, I can’t remember the last time I laughed that suddenly. I can’t remember the last time I felt so… happy.

When I look back at her, she’s staring at me with wide eyes as if she’s never seen me before. I swallow hard, and her eyes flicker to my throat.

“You’re beautiful.” She says with a small smile.

I don’t know what to say, so I just shake my head, “You really are crazy, Briar.”

“Only for you, angel.” She says, kissing my Adam’s apple.

I swallow hard as she pulls away. I look away from her intense gaze and realize she has a blanket and picnic baskets spread out by the lake”s edge.

“What is this?” I ask, my voice sounding rough.

She follows my gaze and grins again. “Oh! There was a reason why I went to the grocery store this morning. I didn’t go just to stalk you, you know. Not this time.”

She pulls me with her, and we sit down on the blanket. She opens the picnic basket and pulls a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches, juice boxes, and cookies in Ziploc bags.

“A nighttime picnic,” I muse, taking a bite of the sandwich and groaning. Yes, I know it’s just a ham and cheese sandwich, but food always tastes better when someone else makes it for me.

She shrugs, “I figured we could have some snacks while we hang out here and look up at the night sky.” She tilts her head up, a small peaceful smile gracing her lips as she seems enthralled by the stars.

I follow her lead and look up, too.

Wow.

The longer I stare up at the night sky, the more my mind becomes clearer and calm. I never realized just how many stars are up there, though. I mean, okay, yes. I know there’s a lot. But I never actually sat down and just looked.

Is that… Shit, was that a shooting star? Holy shit. The stars seem to be winking down at us. The moon is so bright and big. Wow.

“Do you see those three stars lined up downward?” Briar points out. When I don’t, she takes my jaw and gently angles my face until I see it. “That’s Orion’s Belt. Or, the Three Kings, depending on who you’re talking to.”

“That’s crazy,” I laugh softly, bringing my knees up to my chest as I continue to stare up. My neck is starting to ache, but I’m ignoring it.

“You”re actually looking at the past,” Briar says. I look at her, frowning in confusion. She grins, “It takes millions of years for a star”s light to reach our eyes, so the stars we”re looking at now? They”re stars from a long time ago.”

I look back up, “Funny how the past always finds its way into our future, even in the stars.”

When Briar doesn’t say anything, I glance at her. She’s staring at me with an unreadable expression, and I don’t know what to make of that.

“What is it?” I ask, feeling awkward.

She blinks and shakes her head before looking up again. “Nothing. Just… Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

I scoot closer to her until our legs touch. She smiles again, bumping her knees with mine.

“Tell me another fact about the stars, Briar,” I tell her, wrapping an arm around her.

She tilts her head to the side, “Let’s see…”

“When I was a kid, I thought the Moon was made of cheese.”

Briar bursts out laughing, and I can’t stop staring at her. Her laughter is like a sweet lullaby to my ears.

Fuck, I am so fucking fucked. I need to stop thinking of her like that.

“You’re not the only one,” Briar continues laughing. “The cheese-like appearances are holes. Or, I guess, impact craters. They were formed when meteoroids or asteroids smashed into the moon”s surface. So I guess those holes give off that cheesy look to us here on Earth.”

“I can’t believe I’m getting turned on by learning useless facts,” I sigh.

She playfully slaps my chest with fake outrage.

She continues prattling on about the sky, the moon, and the stars, telling me when we should do this next because, on some nights, stars or planets are more visible than others, depending on the day.

I’m half-listening because I can’t stop staring at her.

I can’t believe she did this.

It’s been a year since I’ve been back here. It’s too far from the city, and I never had the time to go. I’ve always meant to go back but never did—until now. All because of this crazy woman next to me.

This woman is just supposed to be my sex buddy. Nothing more.

But… It’s starting to feel otherwise.

She”s stirring up emotions within me that I”ve been struggling to feel. But as I look at her, I can’t keep fucking lying to myself.

How can my stepdad say this woman is dangerous when she goes out of her way to drive us hours away from home so that I can have my little slice of paradise again?

How can anyone say she’s ruthless, heartless, a murderer when she’s so thoughtful, sweet, beautiful, and loving?

How am I supposed to keep my distance when she”s making it nearly impossible, especially when I”m drawn to her dangerous, ruthless, and unpredictable nature?

Yeah. I’m fucked.

“Rurik?”

Shit. I’m staring at her like some fucking creep, aren’t I?

I clear my throat and look away, staring at my juice box as if it’s the most delicious fucking cranberry juice I’ve ever drank. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I hesitate before adding, “How did you find this place, Briar?”

She smiles at me, and I want to take a picture. “Oscar.”

I frown, “I never told Oscar.”

“Let”s just say we have a talent for tracking down what we need,” she says, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Holy shit, you are a fucking stalker,” I say with a disbelief laugh. “I can’t believe it. You guys are insane. I don’t know if I should be scared or worried.”

“You don’t have to keep complimenting me, angel.”

“Oh, fuck off, you psycho.”

“Ugh, keep talking dirty, angel. You know I love it.” She flashes a grin before planting a kiss on my cheek. “Come on, let’s clean up, and I’ll drop you off at home.”

I grab her wrist, “Wait. 15 more minutes?”

I”m not ready to leave our slice of paradise just yet.

Her face softens, and she nods, “Of course, angel. Whatever you want.”

I pull her into my arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she leans against my chest. She tells me I can have whatever I want... but deep down, I know that giving in to every desire would only lead to literal heartbreak.

*-*-*-*

Ever since Briar took me to the lake a couple of weeks ago, things between us have been a fuckfest marathon. I’m positive there is no surface in her apartment that I haven’t fucked her on.

That is until I found myself shoved against the stove with my cock in her mouth.

“Briar,” I grunt, grabbing her head and fisting her hair. “The stove.”

“It’s not on.” She mumbles, her mouth full.

“It was,” I say, “I… Fuck, I turned it off. The surface is still warm.”

“Then don’t burn yourself,” She kisses the tip of my dick. “Actually, ignore that. I want you to burn for me. I love how hard and hot your dick feels as I fuck you with my mouth.”

“Jesus,” I moan in exasperation. “You’re going to kill me.”

She freezes.

For a second, I thought I may have ruined the mood, but she continues sucking me off with a groan. She squeezes my dick with her hand, twisting it up and down while her lips remain on the tip, her tongue licking the precum leaking from the top.

“Oh ssshhhit. Fffuuuck.” I release a heavy breath, throwing my head back as she continues to slurp and lick me.

Goddamn.

Her mouth feels fucking fantastic. The moans and groans she’s making are making my head explode from the vibration riding up my dick. Shit, she wasn’t kidding when she said she doesn’t have a gag reflex.

I can’t hold it much longer… I can’t… Fuck…

“Baby,” I say roughly as she jerks and sucks harder. “I’m going to… I’m….”

“Come inside my mouth, angel,” Briar says. “I want to taste you again. Let me feel you come down my throat.”

My dick twitches as I thrust into her mouth once, twice, and then I spill. My hips jerk continuously as she swallows my come greedily with a satisfied hum.

After my breathing returns to normal and my heart starts to calm down, Briar slowly pulls away and winks.

“Thank you for the appetizer,” She says, wiping her lips.

I stare at her in disbelief before shaking my head. I lift her to her feet, wiping the spit on her chin. She grins up at me, tucking my dick back into my pants before zipping me up for me.

“Thanks,” I mutter, my nose wrinkling when she pecks me on the mouth. There’s that weird feeling again… I clear my throat. “It’s late. I should really go.”

Her face drops, and I want to kick myself.

“Please stay?” She pleads as she watches me put on my jacket. “I thought you were hungry? I can cook you something?”

“Briar,” I sigh, “I didn’t realize how late it is. I’m not hungry—” My traitorous stomach decides to growl.

She immediately heads to the kitchen, gesturing toward the kitchen table. “Sit. I”ll make the gourmet-est of the gourmet meal you”ve ever had.”

“Gourmet-est?” I repeat with a scoff. “That’s not a thing.”

“It is because my dish is even better than gourmet.”

I scoff again but can’t help the grin on my face when she teasingly winks at me. She continues cooking, refusing my offers to help, insisting that it”s her kitchen and no one is allowed to touch it except her.

“Almost done, angel!” She says over her shoulder as she pours some cheese into the pot.

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

She looks at me, frowning. “What? Angel?”

“Yeah. You’ve been calling me that since we first met. Why?”

Briar continues stirring and adding ingredients, not saying a word.

Is she going to answer my question, or is she going to pretend she didn’t hear me? I couldn’t stop the growl eliciting from me. I thought Briar was an open book, but the more time I spend with her, the more I realize she tends to hide things.

A part of me suspects that her wild, unpredictable persona is just a facade. Deep down, she might be a girl harboring something else.

“I had a friend when I was a little girl,” Briar starts. She turns to me, and I straighten up, letting her know I’m listening intently. “One time on our daily walks to the playground in the park, we took an alternate route and walked past this church.”

She turns off the stove. “There was this huge angel statue in front of the church, and I just remember being so enchanted by it.” She takes two bowls from the cabinet and scoops the food into them. “It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She turns around and gently puts a bowl in front of me.

I look down at it. “Did you just make me mac and cheese?”

“The most gourmet-est mac and cheese ever,” Briar scoffs, giving me a fork.

I raise a brow, stabbing a macaroni with a fork and slowly putting it in my mouth. Briar stares at me, her eyes unblinking. She leans forward as if waiting for some reaction.

I want to roll my eyes and call her out on her exaggerating bullshit.

But I can’t.

Because this shit is fucking delicious.

Creamy, cheesy, smoky, a bit of zing — overall delightful.

I close my eyes and groan. “Fuck.”

She squeals, clapping her hands. “10/10?”

I finally roll my eyes. “Yes, Briar,” I grumble. We continue eating our late-night dinner, but I couldn’t help but ask, “You didn’t finish your explanation. You saw a statue of an angel. Why am I angel to you?”

“Because you’re so beautiful,” She says casually.

I feel my face heating up as I try to replace it with a scowl. “That’s it?”

“Wha—” Briar swallows a forkful of mac and cheese before continuing. “You are so beautiful that you reminded me of that angel statue.”

Oh.

Shit please tell me I’m not blushing like some schoolgirl with a mad crush.

“Oh,” I mumble stupidly. “That’s sweet.”

“You’re Rurik my Angel on my phone,” She grins, pulling her phone out to show me my name under her contacts. “What’s mine?”

I smirk, “You don’t want to know.”

“I do.” She pushes. “C’mon. Is it psycho? Crazy?” She gasps, “No. It’s baby.”

I glare at her as I show her my phone. “You were close.”

She blinks as she stares at the name I have her under. “Crazy Migraine!”

“What? If a migraine were a living, breathing woman, she would be you.”

“You’re such a dick.”

“You’re obsessed with my dick.”

She sputters, her cheeks flushing red as she glares at me. Then, she holds out her hand, waving it impatiently when all I do is stare.

“Give me your phone,” She snaps, her glare deepening when I shake my head. “Rurik!”

“Fine,” I grumble, pushing my phone to her.

She quickly grabs it and types in something before her lips quirk up into a satisfying grin.

“What did you do?” I glare at her as I take my phone back. I swipe it open and look at my contacts to find her name.

My Crazy Baby. I look up at her in disbelief. “Are you fucking serious?”

“What?” She grins widely. “That way, you’ll remember that I’m yours.”

“I already know you’re mine.”

“But now I’m your crazy baby.”

I open my mouth to say something back, but my phone began to vibrate. I frown at the name and mutter to Briar, “Why is my mum calling me this late? I’m going to answer, stay quiet.” Without waiting for her to agree, I answer the phone. “Mum?”

“Sweetheart!” my mum’s voice sounds relieved. How are you feeling? You didn’t call me at all last night, so I just wanted to check in to see how you’re feeling.”

“Mum, it’s nearly midnight,” I sigh, squeezing between my eyes. “I’m sorry, I was busy today and forgot to text you.”

Briar giggles from the side, silently mouthing, “busy with me.”

I glare at her, putting my finger to my lips to signal her to shut up.

But the damage has been done when my mum gasps. “Rurik! Are you with a friend? Who is that? Oh my… Why did that sound like a girl?”

If I could shoot laser beams out of my eyes, Briar would fucking disintegrate into nothingness.

“It’s no one, mum.” I groan. “She’s just…” Fuck, can I say friend? I don’t want Briar to get the wrong idea. Then again, what are we?

“Rurik Lev Campbell! Let me talk to her.”

Briar’s eyes widen, even she can hear my mum over the phone.

I shoot her another glare as I put my mum on loudspeaker. “She can hear you now, mum.”

Briar gives me a confused look before clearing her throat and timidly saying, “Hello, there.”

“Hello, oh, don’t you sound adorable.”

“Aw, thank you so much!”

“Mum!”

My face is burning, yet Briar is looking smug and satisfied as fuck.

My mum continues drilling her with many questions, and I’m thankful that Briar is keeping it short and vague. Now, my mum thinks we met through mutual friends, just acquaintances.

“You must come over for dinner sometime,” My mum asks after Briar tells her that she’s going to bed. “Rurik, invite her over next time you come, yeah?”

“Mum,” I groan, “Briar’s busy, and—”

“I would love to, ma’am. Thank you for the invite!”

I whirl around and glower at her hard.

She brushes a kiss against my nose as if my simmering annoyance and anger are invisible to her.

“Splendid!” My mum beams. “I’ve never met Rurik’s lady friends before.”

“Mum,” I warn, rubbing my face with my hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

As soon as we said our goodbyes and hung up, I turn to Briar and snap, “What the fuck, Briar?”

She blinks innocently. “What? Your mom asked, I didn’t want to be rude.”

I scoff, “This is definitely crossing my boundaries.”

Briar ducks her head, her smile dropping. I ignore the throbbing ache shooting through my chest as she sighs.

“Oh,” She says, looking up at me again. Her smile looks strain. “I’m sorry. You can make up some excuses. Tell your mom I’m sick or something—”

“It’s fine,” I mutter, interrupting her. “It’s fine, Mum sounds excited to meet you.”

Suddenly, the thought of my mum and Briar meeting doesn’t seem so bad. I could just ask my mum not to tell her husband anything. She wouldn’t recognize Briar either because she wore a mask at the airport.

“Good, because I was going to meet her one way or another.” Briar grins wickedly.

There she is.

I roll my eyes. “You’re such a pain in the ass sometimes, Briar.”

She walks over to me and plops on my lap. I immediately wrap my arms around her.

“I’m your pain in the ass,” She chirps, kissing the side of my head.

I feel like I’m going to melt into a puddle.

Fuck.

Again.

I am so fucked.

“Rurik?”

“What?”

“I said, you have a beautiful relationship with your mom.”

“Oh,” I didn’t hear her the first time. “Yeah, we’re very close.”

Briar grins. “That’s so cute, Rurik. Aww, you’re a mama’s boy.”

I ignore her. Probably because I still can’t wrap my head around how fucked I am that I’m letting this woman get so close to me.

It’s only about sex. It’s only about sex. No relationships. You guys are nothing.

I clear my throat, gently pushing Briar off of me as I get up. “Thanks for dinner. I should head back now, though.”

She frowns, “It’s almost two in the morning, angel. Please stay.”

“No.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Briar offers again. “Please? You always leave, and I thought—”

“Briar,” I sigh with a warning. I glance at her and catch a flash of frustration crossing her beautiful features. “Don”t start. Remember what this is.”

I can tell she wants to argue some more. But instead, she says, “Fine.” She walks over to the door and opens it for me.

I hesitate for a second before walking out, but just before I step outside, I turn around and press a kiss on her forehead. “Good night, Briar.”

For once, my kiss fails to erase the sad look on her face. She simply forces a smile, nods, and then closes the door behind me.