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

Chapter 26

Briar

For the past few weeks, I have been living in pure joy. By pure joy, I mean Rurik and I spend more time together than ever. He comes over almost every night, but he never stays over.

That still fucking hurts, sure. But I’m starting to see how it’s getting hard for him to say no whenever I ask.

Besides, we don’t just fuck every time we’re together. We also hang out, and I learn much more about him.

Like how he has terrible taste in entertainment.

His version of entertainment is watching the news because “I like to know what’s happening in the world.”

To which I replied, “But the fucking world is depressing.”

He just scoffed at that.

And then, I found out he has never seen a single fucking Disney movie his whole life. Which I thought was incredibly blasphemous because how the fuck did that happen?

“It’s just not something my family was into,” he told me. “I was never a movie or TV show person, Briar. I preferred building LEGO sets or drawing. I needed something to do with my hands, and watching TV was not it. Though I do like to have it on for background noises.”

You fucking bet I changed that by introducing him to my favorite Disney movie at all times — Beauty and the Beast. But then he commented he thought it was weird that we’re teaching children early on about Stockholm syndrome.

Uncultured asshole.

He makes it up by cooking for me, though. He’s cooked for me the past few days, which I was pleasantly surprised about because I saw a lack of groceries in his kitchen pantry the first time I came to his place.

“Just because I don’t cook doesn’t mean I don’t know how to,” Rurik told me after serving me the best roast chicken I’ve ever had.

“Why don’t you cook more, then?” I asked him. “Are you really playing into the whole starving artist stereotype?”

“Noodles in a cup are just faster and easier,” He had said, which I thought was incredibly fair. And then he would continue cooking me the best meals ever, acting as if it was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

Not that I’m complaining.

Actually, scratch that. I did complain plenty because I also learned that despite thinking his house was clean, he doesn”t treat my kitchen the same way as his own. Rurik has this awful habit of not cleaning up after himself while and after he cooks. It fucking stresses me out seeing dishes piling up and splatters of sauce all over my stove.

I kept asking him to clean up, but then he would make up some excuse like, “Why bother washing those pots now when I”ll have to wash the plates later anyway? It”s more efficient to do them all at once instead of washing dishes twice,” or “Briar, I know this is your kitchen, but can you kindly fuck off? Messes will be made because I’m cooking and don’t want you hovering over me. It’s fucking distracting. Leave.”

The fucking audacity of the man. Kicking me out of my kitchen.

After a day of that bad habit, I had enough. After he finishes using something, I immediately wash it. That way, by dinnertime, he just has the plates and silverware to wash, and the kitchen surface is already clean and clear.

Despite all those awful tidbits I’ve learned about him — I wouldn’t change a thing about him. I”m living in fucking La La Land ever since Rurik came back to me. Every morning when I wake up, I wish for the day to pass quickly, knowing I”ll see my angel again in the evening.

Right now, however, I’m kind of annoyed. And that’s all because I didn’t see Rurik last night. Not because we got into another fight, no. But because he texted me yesterday morning that he had to spend the whole day with his mom and stepdad.

You fucking bet I threw a bitch fit. I mean, not at him.

I just sent him a quick “Aww, okay! Don’t worry about it, angel xx” text, but I sulked like a little brat and spent the whole day beating people up who was in Mr. Roger’s shit list.

God, I need to get a hold of myself. I need to get out of bed, stop thinking about stuff that happened the past few weeks, and focus on today. I have to meet up with Nat and Oscar this late afternoon for work stuff.

Ugh, I’m so tired of work.

Fighting evil assholes doesn’t do much for me anymore. There’s only one evil asshole I should be focusing on, but I can’t because of his beautiful stepson.

I sigh, getting out of bed and stretching. It’s a new day today, so I should see Rurik tonight! My phone vibrates, and my mood suddenly lightens at the name that came up.

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-I thought I would be the first person to text you good morning for once.

-Good morning, Briar.

I grin so wide my cheeks hurt.

Manifestation is fucking real! He is so in love with me.

ME:

-Awww. But, it’s almost noon. I usually send you good morning texts way earlier ;P

-Also, you didn’t add any X’s! Where’s my morning kisses? :(

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-It’s technically still the morning. Don’t be fucking ungrateful, brat.

-Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Happy now?

ME:

-I’m so grateful, Rurik. Thank you so much, sir. You’ve no idea how much receiving a text from you this late morning does to my bleeding heart. xoxoxoxo

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-Your ass is just begging to get slapped.

ME:

-*peach emoji* *paddle emoji* maaaybe.

-Will I see you tonight, angel?

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-Yes. Otherwise, who else is going to slap that bratty ass of yours? Certainly not Jamie.

ME:

-Who’s Jamie?

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-Good girl. Good fucking answer.

I blink, staring at his text. Am I… into this? Did my pussy just clench because he called me a good girl?

Fuck me.

ME:

-I don’t remember a Jamie, but okay. I can’t wait to see you tonight. Did you miss me?

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-Oh, you’re good. Maybe I’ll reward you instead, baby. Also, why do you keep asking me that? We saw each other a couple of days ago.

-I’ll text you when I’m coming over. I have to deal with family stuff.

Not me grinning like a fucking idiot because my angel just called me baby and told me he’s going to reward me for being a good girl.

Fuck.

What is wrong with me?

My phone vibrates again; my grin vanishes when I see Nat calling me. Sighing, I answer. “Yup, I’m on my way.”

*-*-*-*

I’m exhausted. We’ve been at it for hours, and I just want to go home and throw myself on the couch. Preferably, I would like to have Rurik massaging my head like he does every night.

“Just fucking tell us!” I snap, socking the guy in the face.

His head whips back from my force, blood splattering on the ground. He looks back at it and grins smugly, “Fuck you, princess.”

I glare at him. “Princess?”

Nat sighs, glancing over at me and Oscar. “He’s not willing to talk.”

“There has to be something,” I mutter, crossing my arms. I walk up to him and smack him in the head because I’m getting pissed now. Every minute I spend time with this asshole is minutes wasted not spending time with my asshole.

I pause, staring at him. Beating him, threatening his friends and family, and even turning my remarkable charm up didn’t work for this guy. What does an egotistical man such as him value the most?

I glance down between his legs and squint.

The man clears his throat, “Are you tired of the foreplay, baby? Ready to hop on my dick?”

I punch him again.

Fucking revolting. This man calls me baby, and now I want to puke all over his face and drain my ears out from hearing him call me that. God, I miss Rurik.

He laughs, and I want to take his dick and squeeze it.

So I do.

His laughter turns to screams, and this time, I’m the one laughing when my hands are covered in his dick blood. I’m so fucking glad I did my nails yesterday. Now, they’re nicely manicured and long, perfect for digging through his puny dick.

“You fucking bitch!” He yells. Finally, dropping that stupid smug mask. “I’m going to kill you all!”

“That’s not possible,” Oscar says quietly.

I glance over at him and grin sheepishly. Poor man, looking a bit pale from seeing another man’s dick getting ripped apart. Nat makes a sympathetic sound, rubbing his back.

“Yeah,” I turn back to the guy. “Because we’ll kill you first. But not until you tell us the name and route of the train that’s carrying those women and children.”

The guy finally snaps, crying his eyes out, when I started poking his balls with the tip of my knife. “I c-can’t! He’ll kill m-me!”

“Dude,” I groan, “Why the fuck are you worried about whoever your boss is when we’re the one who’s going to kill you anyway. You’re dead either way. At least this way, you’ll die knowing that you saved a bunch of innocent women and children from sex trafficking.”

The guy looks about to pass out, so Nat slaps him. “Hey!”

“I’m in a shitty mood, my dude. But also, I’m feeling very generous. Tell us the name of the train and the route.” I sigh, “Then I’ll kill you so fast, you won’t even feel a thing.”

“Give us a name, too,” Oscar adds, looking less squeamish. “That way, we can stop their future plans.”

The guy gulps, looking between all three of us before his eyes begin to droop. I poke his ballsack again, and he jumps.

“C’mon, bud.” I say sweetly, “Be a good man and tell us, pretty please?”

He mumbles something, and I thought I heard him wrong for a second.

“Hey.” I poke him again. “Sorry, can you please repeat that?”

The man shakes his head, losing consciousness.

“Fuck,” Nat mutters, smacking his face repeatedly. “Hey. What’s the name?”

The man didn’t give us all the details we wanted because he was flirting with the line between death and living.

But he was able to mutter a single name.

A name I should have known was involved in the beginning.

“Philip Greene.”

*-*-*-*

I’m so exhausted. Mentally and physically. Is it possible to take a year off of work due to mental health?

Fucking Philip Greene. Senator Philip Greene.

Why the fuck does he have to be behind everything? I guess this is a good thing, though. Is that right? Now I have more reasons to kill the motherfucker.

Fuck, this is going to destroy Rurik and his mom. Rurik may not be close with his stepdad, but I can tell he means something to him to some degree.

I groan, lifting my hand to rub my face, but grimace at the sight of grime underneath my fingernails and my palms caked with dried blood.

I should shower.

Shower, scrub this shit off my body, and pass the fuck out.

Oh, and text Rurik. He’s been spam-texting me throughout the night, and I couldn’t reply because I kept my phone on Do Not Disturb.

Whoops.

I jab the keys in the lock and shove my shoulder against the door, groaning when it roughly swings open, the doorknob slamming against the wall.

“Fuck,” I mutter, stepping in and dropping my stuff on the floor to inspect the wall.

“I’ll patch the hole for you. Leave it. Where the fuck were you?”

I whirl around and gasp. “Fuck, Rurik! You have to stop scaring me like that.”

Rurik opens his mouth to speak but then freezes. His eyes widen as he looks at me up and down, his eyes lingering on the blood splattered all over my front and on my hands.

“Fuck,” He says before immediately rushing over to me. “What the fuck happened, Briar?” He grabs my wrist, cursing under his breath as he inspects the blood. He pales, his eyes darting all over me, wild and scared. “Briar! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I sigh, trying to pull away from him. He just tightens his hold, his gaze darkening when I roll my eyes. “Rurik, I am fine. Seriously.”

“I”m always insisting I”m fine, even though I”m well aware I”m not,” Rurik snaps. ”So excuse me if my relationship with that word is somewhat complicated.”

I frown, lifting my hands to touch his face, but remember it’s disgusting. I drop my hand and sigh. “You’re not fine? What’s wrong?”

He releases a strangle noise and shakes his head, cupping my face with his hands and tilting them side to side as if he’s looking for any sign of hurt. “What happened? Tell me.”

“The blood isn’t mine,” I assure him, gently pulling myself away.

He lets me but keeps himself so close to me as if he’s afraid I might collapse. He’s not wrong. I am drained. I might just fall asleep standing.

He follows me into the bathroom and watches when I silently strip, throwing my blood-stained clothes on the floor and turning the shower on. I throw him a reassuring smile; hopefully, it’ll make him think I’m fine.

Because I am. Fine. Sort of.

Fuck, I’m tired.

I hear him moving around and turn to see him gathering my clothes off the floor and tossing them in the laundry hamper. He turns to me and starts to strip, too.

I frown, staring at his hardening dick. “Rurik, angel. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m not in the mood for sex right now.”

Rurik scowls, “Just because my dick is hard doesn’t mean I’m going to fuck you. I’m not a fucking caveman.”

I grin, opening the shower curtains and allowing him to join me. I step under the showerhead and groan when the hot water hits my sore muscles. I lift my hands and wince as the water washes the open cuts.

I feel large hands on my hips, and the smell of my body wash filters my nose. I look down, watching as the blood swirls down the drain along with the soap.

“Are you okay?” Rurik asks, after shampooing and conditioning my hair for me.

“Yeah. You?” I ask, turning to face him.

His lips curve slightly as he leans down to kiss me softly. “I am now.”

After he finishes lathering my body and ensuring all the blood is gone, he turns off the water and steps out first. Grabbing a towel from the wall, he faces me as he unwraps it.

I raise a brow but step out, allowing him to envelop me with the towel. He breathes in, seemingly relieved, as his hands rub my body up and down, drying me.

There he goes, making me fall for him again with his damn affection.

He looks at me and smiles.

Fuck.

Fuck me. How is it that a smile from him is enough to make my shitty day so much brighter?

I smile back. Then I gasp as I”m lifted.

“Rurik!” I snap as he laughs, carrying me out of the bathroom. “What are you doing?”

“I need to wrap your hands, baby,” Rurik says, dumping me on the edge of my bed.

“I could have walked over here,” I mumble as he rushes to grab the first aid kit from the bathroom cabinet.

“But I wanted to hold you,” He winks when my jaw drops.

I close my mouth and cross my arms as he sits beside me. He extends his hand, waiting for me. When I don”t take his hand as quickly as he expects, he makes an impatient sound and grabs my wrist.

“Ungrateful brat,” He mutters, shaking his head and applying disinfectant to the cuts.

“Aww, angel,” I tease him. “Were you worried about me?”

Rurik scowls, his eyes flickering to mine in a heated look that almost makes me shiver.

“This is the last time I”m going to ask you. Avoid my question again, and I will fuck you. And I can promise you, the fucking won”t be nice and slow.” Rurik says, his voice low as he focuses on my knuckles. “What the fuck happened?”

“I”m not in the mood for fucking right now, Rurik.” I groan, tugging my hand from his grasp.

He makes a tsk sound and grabs my wrist again. He ignores my protest as he begins to wrap my hand carefully. “Was that you avoiding my question, Briar?”

“Jesus,” I roll my eyes. “I told— Woah… Hey! Ow! What the fuck, Rurik!”

Did he just spank me?

Ow! He did! The asshole just slapped my ass!

“Roll your eyes at me again like a fucking brat, and I”ll spank your pussy next.” He snaps as he gently settles me back on the bed after throwing me over his lap.

I know I should be pissed for having him spank me like a fucking naughty child…but is it weird that I”m kind of into it?

Can he call me a bad girl, too?

Chill out, Briar. Don”t agitate the poor man even more.

But Demanding-Rurik is so fun, though…

He doesn”t look like he”s going to make things fun.

Okay. Okay.

I want to roll my eyes again like the brat he claims I am. But I won”t. Because I”m a grown-ass fucking woman, goddamnit!

So I just huff an annoyed breath and glare at him.

He glares back.

“We caught a guy who was involved with coordinating transportation for these women and children,” I explain as he inspects my hand again. “These people are victims of sex trafficking. He gave us a hard time and fought us until the end.”

“Fuck,” Rurik roughly sighs. “Were you able to save them?”

“We stopped one train that came in, but there will be more soon.” I hesitate briefly before saying, “He gave us the name of his boss, so… Nat and Oscar will be working on that.”

Rurik just nods. He kisses my freshly wrapped knuckles, gathers the garbage and first aid kit, and walks to the bathroom to put everything away.

I stare at him.

Okay.

I”m thankful he didn”t ask for the name because I sure as fuck don”t know how he”ll react if I tell him his precious stepdad is the one behind all of this shit.

He comes back into the room and immediately covers my body with his, pushing me back until my head hits the pillows.

“Rurik, what are you doing?” I ask as he kisses my jaw and chest.

“Giving you goodnight kisses, is that okay?” He proceeds to lift my shirt to kiss my belly.

“I…” I trail off when he pulls my skirt up and lowers my panties. “Angel, I”m exhausted.”

Girl, shut the fuck up! Since when do you not want him to fuck you?!

Since I”m tired!

“I know, Briar,” Rurik murmurs, kissing my inner thighs. “I can see you”re exhausted. Just relax, okay? You”ll fall asleep in no time.”

I jolt when his tongue plays with my slit. “Rurik. I thought I told you I don”t want sex right now.”

He looks up, nodding. “Yeah, and don”t worry, I”m not going to fuck you.” He kisses my hips. “But I”m ravenous. I missed dinner because I was worried while waiting for you to come home.”

“You didn”t eat?” I ask. Fuck, I should have sent him a quick text letting him know I was going to be out late so he didn’t have to come over.

“I didn”t want to eat without you.”

“Rurik, if you”re hungry, grab something to eat.”

“That”s what I”m trying to do,” He mumbles between my thighs. “If you don”t mind, please spread wider, baby. I want to devour my meal now.”

*-*-*-*

When I wake up, Rurik is gone. I can”t say I”m surprised since he never stays over. But I still hate waking up alone.

I don’t know why he can’t just sleep over. He already cooks in my apartment, helps me organize furniture, and even helps me decorate the place with his new paintings.

It’s fine. I’ll take whatever I can get.

Sighing, I roll to my side to grab my phone. I swipe it open and grin, seeing he texted me early again.

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-Good morning, Briar xx

-Did you sleep well?

Aww, he even remembered to add the kisses! I grin as I text him back.

ME:

-Good morning, angel! Aww, you texted me first again. Oh, and early, too!

-After coming twice when you were devouring my insides? You bet. Where did you learn how to do that?

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-I may have done some research online. I wanted to learn how to make you feel good.

I blink.

Holy shit.

Is this guy even real? A burst of adoration consumes me at the thought of him researching how to pleasure a woman because he wanted me to enjoy our intimate times together. But I’m not going to tell him shit because I know it’ll just freak him out and say it wasn’t a big deal when it fucking is.

To me.

ME:

-Aww, angel, you always make me feel good!

-Except this morning, when I woke up and didn’t see you :(

RURIK MY ANGEL:

-I don’t do sleepovers.

ME:

-Fiiiiine. What are you up to today?

I send the text, expecting him to read it and reply. When he doesn’t respond immediately, I put my phone down and prepare to leave bed. However, I couldn”t walk away because my phone started vibrating with a call notification.

I answer, “Hello?”

Rurik rewards my hearing with his deep, husky voice. “Hey. I figured it’s easier to talk on the phone than texting.”

“Just admit you miss my voice,” I tease, putting him on speakerphone so I can continue with my morning routine.

“Get over yourself, Briar,” Rurik sighs. I can practically hear him shaking his head. “Calling is easier.”

“Yeah, okay,” I grin as I pour myself a cup of coffee. “So. What are you up to today? You work today?”

“No, I’m off. I have cousins visiting from Scotland, so I’ll spend time with them today.”

“Aww, that’s cool! You take them to any touristy spots?”

“They’ve been here for a week,” Rurik says, “My mum’s been showing them the touristy spots. I didn’t get to hang out with them because a migraine has consumed me.”

“A migraine?” I frown before remembering what he used to name me on his phone. “Oh! You mean me? Angel, you’re so sweet.”

“You’re annoying,” Rurik grumbles. “But yeah, anyway, I won’t be able to come over tonight because I’ll be with them.”

A thought suddenly occurs to me. “So, are they family from your stepdad’s side?”

“No, my cousins only met him a handful of times. They don’t talk at all. Why?”

“They don’t know me then?”

“No,” He says slowly. “Why?”

I grin. “Just wondering. Where are you taking them today?”

“Hmm, not sure yet,” Rurik says thoughtfully. “My cousin wants to go on a New York bar crawl, so I want to take him to this one bar where you can destroy your glasses by throwing them across the room after you finish drinking them.”

Oh, I know exactly which bar he’s talking about. I plan my day after he hangs up to pick up his cousins. If his cousins are from Scotland and they’re from his mom’s side, surely that means they don’t know me and what I do, right?

There wouldn’t be a reason for him to be scared of our meeting since they have no close relations with the Senator.

Besides, I want to get to know Rurik more personally. I want to meet his family —- His mom’s side, not his stepdad. Fuck him — and I just want to get to know his roots more, see where he came from and who he grew up with.

I”d research everything about him if it weren’t too creepy. Not that it would even stop me in the first place, but I know Rurik. He would find it weird. Sometimes, he”s such a closed book; he doesn’t want me to get too close whenever I ask probing questions about his life.

Geeze, we exchange bodily fluids like every night, but sharing emotional details is where he draws the line.

As I mentioned before, he’s such a conundrum. He can be affectionate and unfeeling. Hot and cold. Push and pull.

It’s fine.

As I mentioned before, I can be patient. But I hope meeting his cousins would make him realize that hanging out in public isn’t always bad when we’re with the right people.

*-*-*-*

There he is. God, he”s always beautiful to me, but for some reason, seeing him in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt that clings to his broad, muscular shoulders stirs something within me.

Act cool, Briar. You need to act like he’s a stranger to make this look legit!

I straighten up and pat down my hair to ensure every wave is in place. Fuck, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I walk in.

I had Nat come over to help me plan an outfit that screamed, “I’m a classy, self-respecting woman. But for you, I’ll let you treat me like your own personal slut” which was kind of hard to find, to be honest.

So we just settled for a cute, flowy yellow sundress, a black faux leather jacket, and brown ankle boots. I look like a pretty little bumblebee, which is also adorable, but some people fear, right?

I enter the bar and casually lean against the counter, smiling at the bartender as I order a lemon drop. As soon as I get my drink, I take a few sips for some liquid courage and take a deep breath in and out.

I turn around and quickly see Rurik chatting with three men, who I assume are his cousins.

Fuck, why am I suddenly so nervous?

This is Rurik!

It’s his cousins. I’m worried they won’t like me. But why wouldn’t they? I just need to charm them like I do with our targets and make them like me. Yeah, exactly like I do at work — minus the killing part.

Fuck it. I can do this.

I plaster on an easy smile and walk over to their table. One of his cousins sees me immediately and elbows the cousin next to him. Rurik is the last to look up, and when he does… His eyes widen, and his face drains of color.

Shit.

Did I fuck this up before I even started?

“Hi,” I chirp, grinning at all of them. “I was sitting by the counter over there and wanted to come over and introduce myself. My name’s Briar.”

“Beautiful name,” One of them says, shaking my hand.

We all shake hands as they introduce themselves: Landon, Josh, and Sam. They all seem like really cool guys, to be honest. They even shift seats around and offer me to sit on an empty chair.

But then I turn to Rurik and feel my confidence waning.

He”s not even looking at me.

He”s on his phone, his brows low and jaw clenched tightly.

Landon has to elbow him, “You’re being awfully rude in front of the lady, Rurik. Introduce yourself.”

Rurik puts his phone down and mutters, “I need to use the toilet,” then leaves.

I frown, staring after him as the entire table sits awkwardly in silence.

“We”re sorry about that,” Sam says seconds later. “I don’t know what”s come over him just now.”

“It”s cool,” I force a grin before getting up. “I should go anyway. It”s nice to meet you all, and I hope you enjoy your time in New York.”

Before they can say anything, I head to where Rurik went.

The fucking bathroom.