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

Chapter 29

Rurik

She’s okay. She’s okay. She’s okay. She’s okay.

No matter how many times I keep repeating that mantra in my head, I can”t stop staring at her, inspecting every move she makes, her facial expressions, anything, just to ensure she”s actually here and truly okay.

But she is okay.

She’s alive.

Sure, she”s currently yelling at me. Something about entering her apartment without her permission, coming in unannounced, and something about how it”s super late.

I don’t give a fuck about what she’s saying right now, to be honest.

Because right now, I can’t focus on anything other than the fact that she”s been keeping her right wrist flat on the counter on top of an ice pack.

“What the fuck happened?” I blurt out, uncrossing my arms and closing the distance between us.

Briar stops talking mid-rant and blinks owlishly, likely confused by the sudden change of topic.

Fuck, she’s so damn pretty.

She’s hurt, asshole. Focus on that.

I nod toward her wrist, afraid to touch it. “What the fuck happened?” I repeat.

She closes her mouth and drops her look of confusion. She glares at me, “Were you even listening to me? I said, how the hell did you get into my apartment?”

“Why can’t you ever answer my fucking question!” I snap back, turning around and walking out of the kitchen.

Briar releases a sound like she’s offended and follows me. “Where are you going?”

Ignoring her, I head straight to her bathroom and open the cabinet that houses her first aid kit. I whirl around and almost smack into her. Growling, I gently grab her elbow and lead her back to the living room, forcing her to sit down.

“What are you… Rurik, my wrist is already wrapped.” She grumbles.

“I see that,” I say. “Did you let a five-year-old do it?”

She sputters, her cheeks growing pink. “Asshole.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m your asshole.”

She sucks in a sharp breath as I unwrap the god-awful work she”s done. I look up at her when she says nothing after a few minutes. “What? No good comebacks? You must have really injured your head when you came in to attack my stepdad.”

Immediately, her face darkens. “Fuck you, Rurik. You and your stepdad.”

“If you fuck my stepdad, then we’re going to have a severe fucking problem,” I snark, swooping in to kiss her wrist.

Ignoring her half-ass grumbles, I wrap the bandage around her hand, starting at the fingers, then encircling her hand, thumb, and index finger before looping it around her wrist several times until I”m satisfied.

“There,” I say, closing the first aid kit before looking up at her. “All done.”

She just glares at me.

Seriously?

“Still a brat,” I mutter, standing up to put everything away.

“You haven’t answered what you’re doing here.”

“You haven’t answered what the fuck happened.”

“I asked you the question first.”

“I’m older than you, so you must answer me first.”

“Oh, fuck you, Rurik.”

“Soon, baby.”

I try hard not to grin when her cheeks puff up with anger or frustration. I try not to get so turned on by how her gaze flashes with the incoming storm I see brewing beneath those gorgeous eyes.

I’m trying to be a decent human fucking being. I’m trying to be what old Rurik would have done.

Actually, no. Old Rurik would have told her to fuck off.

I couldn’t help but smirk at the thought. My, my… how the tables have turned.

“Is something funny?” Briar snaps, attempting to place her hands on her hips, but her injured wrist hangs limply by her side.

My lips twitch again. God, she’s fucking adorable.

“So when were you going to tell me that you planned on attacking my stepdad again?” I casually ask as I follow her to the kitchen. Also, yes, I made sure she turned off the stove before she went on a ranting spree.

“That”s twice you said I attacked him,” She turns around sharply. “And what do you mean again? Also, what are you talking about?”

I raise a brow. “You seriously going to gaslight me and tell me that wasn’t you today? That wasn’t you who I bumped into? The one with the black mask?”

With each question, I watch as her face slowly drains color.

She opens her mouth to speak, thinks against it, and closes it again.

“Do you have something to say, Briar?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That”s interesting,” I nod, sighing as I lean against the kitchen counter. She just stares at me as I continue. “It”s funny. Others might not recognize you with that mask, but I do. I can never forget the image of the person who stood out the most to me during that shooting when leaving the airport years ago— the same person I encountered earlier that day when I accused her of stealing my mum”s pink duffle bag.”

Briar’s jaw ticks.

“Imagine my fucking surprise when I’m reunited with her again today.” I lean forward, whispering against her skin. “It’s your eyes, Briar.” I tilt her jaw with my nose as I inhale her sweet scent and kiss her throat. “They’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

I lean back and smirk. She’s staring at me with anger and… unhinged desire.

There she is.

My crazy migraine.

“How long have you known?” She whispers in defeat.

“I’ve always known,” I confess. “Actually, I’ve known since the Masquerade of the Arts event. You wore a different mask, but again. It’s the eyes.”

She blinks and looks away as if she wants to shield her eyes from mine.

I scoff. “What?”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She asks, her brows furrowing in confusion.

“I wanted to tell you,” I say. “I kept calling, texting, asking you to call me because I wanted to tell you.” I step back to put some space between us. She releases a heavy sigh and looks at me again. “I wasn’t ready to tell you that I remembered you. It would have made things more real, I guess. Like, you you. The Charons’s secret weapon you.”

She frowns but doesn’t say anything.

“God, the shooting really fucked me up, Briar,” I confess. “I was just this innocent lad in a new country, and my welcome was to get shot at. After that day, my stepdad told us how his life was dangerous because of his job. I thought he was exaggerating.”

Briar looks like she’s on the verge of saying something but just shakes her head, letting me continue.

“He showed me pictures of people he deemed dangerous. One of the pictures was yours.” I say. “It was an older picture and wasn’t the best quality. But I recognized you when we first met.” I rub the back of my neck with my hand, chuckling. “I guess that’s why I acted the way I did initially. I was told you”re dangerous and to stay away from you.” I drop my hand and sigh. “I guess he was right all along, huh?”

Briar looks away, and a heavy silence settles between us. She lowers her head, swallowing hard before speaking.

“I’m not sorry for going after Philip, Rurik,” she says, her voice steady but tinged with sadness. She looks up, pain and regret evident in her expression. “But I am sorry for the trauma I caused you and your mom.”

Fuck. I didn’t mean to make her feel bad.

I sigh, shaking my head as I try to reach for her. “No, Briar, listen—”

“We weren’t aiming for you two.” Briar continues, stepping away from my reach. “Our focus was solely on him. We didn’t even consider that you two would be there with him. We were just informed that he would pick up someone from the airport. When I saw you at the luggage pick-up, I didn’t even connect the dots between you guys and him.”

“But you must have done your research on him?” I ask. “You must have known he has a stepson.”

“At the time, you guys weren’t even a thing,” Briar says. “We knew he had a girlfriend, but she’s no threat to us, so we didn’t dig in. But yeah, I knew you were his stepson since we met at the gallery. Nat told me.”

I take a step back, shocked. ”You knew who I am, but you didn”t say anything? You still pursued me?” A horrible thought pops into my head, and I can”t help but feel hurt. ”Wait, is that why you kept harassing me? Were you trying to get to him through me?”

“What?” Briar frowns, looking confused as fuck. “Of course not. I didn’t know who you were until after your first art show. I pursued you because I loved your artwork and thought you were beautiful. You reminded me of an angel.”

I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I duck my head to clear my throat.

Is it weird that I actually believe her? I swallow hard, and her gaze immediately zooms in on my throat.

Good. I smile.

I step closer. “You haven”t been answering my calls, Briar.”

Stubbornness resurfaces in those gorgeous features as she tries to shield her face with a mask of indifference. She crosses her arms and tilts her chin up, resembling a Queen staring down at her unworthy subjects. “There’s a reason for that, you know. You made your choice.”

I close the distance between us, glaring. “No. You made my choice.”

She puts a hand on my chest to push me away. “You still think I kill innocent people?” She angrily whispers.

I shake my head, “I disagree with killing anyone, Briar. That’s what the justice system is for.”

“The justice system is broken,” she snaps. “It only serves those with enough money to buy their way through it.”

I push her hand away and press my chest against hers. I lean down, speaking against her lips and inhaling the shallow puffs of air she releases. “What are you trying to say? My stepdad, the senator, is some bougie asshole who isn’t innocent? Are you saying his hands are dirty?”

“You’re saying that angel,” Briar releases a cruel laugh. “Not me. You finally come to that realization?”

“Fuck off,” I snarl, anger dripping through me.

I close my eyes to simmer down. She doesn’t know how much he’s helped me. She doesn’t know. She thinks he’s corrupted. Calm down.

I open my eyes to see her still glaring at me.

How the fuck is it possible to want to smother someone and kiss the shit out of them at the same time?

“What?” She snaps, crossing her arms. “I told you I’m tired of being second choice to everything. You obviously chose your precious senator, so what the hell do you want from me?”

My hands shoot out to grip her shoulders. “Tell me what he did to make you want to go after him.”

Briar’s face pales for a second before darkening. “Why don’t you ask him yourself? I’m sure he made plenty of enemies.”

“If you don”t have a good enough reason other than to cater to your penchant for violence, then please stop fighting him.”

“No.”

“Stop fighting him!”

“No, and get the hell out of my house, Rurik!”

“Not until you promise to stop going after the goddamn senator, Briar.”

“Why? Are you scared that I’ll end up killing him?”

My jaw tightens. I could feel my molars grating painfully.

Her eyes flash as she tilts her chin again, her warm breath brushing against my throat. She scoffs and mockingly whispers, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid he’ll be the one to end up killing me?”

“Yes!”

She leans back slightly, her eyes widening. Her brows furrow as her lips part. She blinks, “What? Yes, to what?”

As I step closer, she instinctively steps back, granting me the chance to enclose her within the space, my arms forming a barrier on either side of her. With my hands firmly planted on the counter, I effectively pin her in place, trapping her between my arms.

Her breathing hitches, her throat bobbing up and down as she tries to lean her head away from mine.

Her eyes narrow as I lean down. My lips barely brush against hers as I speak, “Yes, Briar. I’m scared he’ll kill you.”

She shivers a little and shakes her head as she places her hands on my chest to try and push me away. “I’m kind of insulted that you think I can’t take him down.”

I chuckle. “I know you can,” I murmur, cupping her cheek. She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her. “I know what you’re capable of, Briar. But he’s the senator. He’s protected 24/7. One little slip can ruin your life. Didn’t you come close today?”

“But we escaped.”

“Barely,” I scoff. “And you were technically caught, remember? By me.”

“Are you going to turn me in?” Her lower lip juts forward in a sarcastic pout, and I want to bite it and leave a mark with my teeth. “Are you going to do society a favor and report the bad guy? Or, bad girl, in this case.” Her lips curve, “Have I been a bad girl, angel?”

“You’ve no fucking idea,” I growl before closing the distance between us and crashing our lips together.

Fuck. She’s fighting me tooth and nail. Literally.

She’s biting my lips and digging her nails into my forearms that it’s actually hurting. But I’ve dealt with worse pains, so I ignore it and continue pushing her back, my lips bruising against hers as I inhale her groans.

“Stop,” She mumbles between our lips.

“Tell me you’ll stop fighting,” I whisper, my lips trailing against her jaw and nibbling on the spot she finds ticklish under her ears.

Her shoulders lift as she releases beautifully tortured moans that go straight to my already hard dick.

“No,” This time, I let her push me back. She hardens her features and shoves me completely off of her.

I freeze when she pulls a knife out from the knife block. “Briar—”

What the…

She turns around and snaps, pointing that thing at me like a mad woman, “You have no right telling me what to do.”

I lean forward so the tip of the knife is on my chest. Her face falters, but she quickly masks it with another hard wall.

“Get out, Rurik.” She says, and I don”t miss how her hand is shaking.

I grab her wrist and lift it enough until the sharp end of her knife pokes the lump in my throat. Her eyes widen. She tries to pull away, but my grip tightens.

“Stop,” she whispers, shaking her head. “Stop being stupid. Or I”ll cut—”

“Do it.” I challenge her.

“You”re crazy,” she whispers, her face going white.

“Like calls to like,” I say a mocking grin. “C”mon, baby. You want me to leave then prove it. Cut me—”

“Rurik!”

I lean down, but she forcefully shoves me, causing me to stagger backward.

“Stop it, Rurik,” she snaps, tossing the knife on the kitchen table as she straightens her shoulder and rushes toward the living room.

I can tell she”s trying hard to appear cold. I would have believed her if it wasn”t for the way her voice shakes and the look of desire in her gaze.

But then she just has to open her foolish mouth and utter something ridiculous again. “We are over. Stop throwing a tantrum like a fucking baby.”

“I never fucking agreed to us being over, Briar,” I growl back, following her. “So, no. We’re not over. Also,” I throw myself at her, making us tumble on the couch. “Last I remember, you’re my fucking baby, baby.”

She tries to slap me, but I push her arms against the couch, careful not to harm her injured wrist.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out as she struggles. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you immediately. You’re not the second choice, Briar. I’m choosing you. This is me choosing you.”

She stops fighting against me and looks at me with wide eyes that shine with unshed tears. Her lips quiver, and I want to kiss her again and pour out the words I’m still too cowardly to say.

But then she had to open those trembling lips and, once again, say the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard.

“Too late,” She says. “I don’t care anymore.”

“I disrespectfully disagree with that statement.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“You should. I give a shit about you.”

“Can you get off me? Seriously, get off of me!”

“Wow, this is deja vu. Except reverse. That’s actually—”

“Rurik! Get off of me, you fucking ass—”

“No.”

She screams out of frustration, and I can’t help but laugh.

Holy fuck.

Maybe I’m the crazy one.

I spend so much time with this damn woman that I undoubtedly absorb her craziness.

She fucking broke me.

She releases an angry yell and kicks me off of her. She literally kicked me like a child having a tantrum.

If I weren’t shocked, I would have applauded for her audacity.

She stands up, her face now brimming with intense anger. Aw, fuck. Did I push too far? I fucked up again, didn’t I?

When all she does is stare back at me, I swallow hard and take a step closer to her, my hands out to show her I don’t mean any harm. “Briar, listen—”

“Pussycat!”

I froze at the safe word.

My body clams up as I stand there rigidly.

Fuck. I did push too far.

I nod, backing away from her. “Okay. Okay, I’ll leave you alone.”

But she just shakes her head. “I have boundaries. Rules.”

I blink, surprised that she’s not asking me to leave again. That’s a good thing, right? I clear my throat and nod. “Yeah. Of course. What are they?”

She lifts her chin again and looks down at me with harsh eyes. “You can’t keep treating me like a piece of trash every time we see each other.”

I open my mouth to tell her I didn’t mean to treat her like that, but she snaps. “Don’t you fucking dare interrupt me. I listened to your boundaries. Listen to mine.”

I shut up.

She glares at me and continues, “I don’t care if you don’t want anyone to know what we do at night, but we can at least pretend to be friends out in public, can’t we?”

I swallow hard and nod. “Yeah, Briar. We can do that.”

She purses her lips, her anger slowly draining. She blinks a few times, staring at me with her brows scrunching together.

I offer a small smile.

Her lips twitch slightly as if she doesn”t realize that simple gesture is powerful enough to bring me down to my knees.

Briar then sighs and looks down.

Then, as if she remembers something else, she straightens up again and adds, “Stop leaving and running away from me every night we spend time together. From now on, you sleep here with me. Am I understood?”

I pounce on her like a starved animal.

Because I am.

Starving.

She squeaks as she falls back on the couch with me on top of her. I kiss her face, starting with her forehead, eyelids, nose tip, corner of her lips, chin, and now nibbling on her throat.

The little groans she makes vibrate inside me, and my dick twitches as if seeking for its home.

“What the hell are you doing?” Briar whimpers as my lips trail down to her knees and up to her inner thighs.

“I’m sealing the deal with a kiss,” I say simply, remembering the words she told me last time. “This time, I won’t run away either.”

“Fuck,” She groans as I lick every skin I can reach while pulling her shorts and panties down.

“God, Briar,” I groan, reaching up and kissing her hips. “I’ve never known what it was like to lose control before. And then you come in, and I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing. Losing control of myself, of everything.”

She mumbles something, but I can’t hear it because her intoxicating sweet scent and taste consume me. I bend her legs, gripping her thighs as I continue tasting every smooth skin.

“How dare you barge into my life like a whirlwind of chaos, destroying everything I”ve worked so hard to build, only to walk away casually,” I growl, licking her delectable slit.

Briar buckles and moans. “I’m so tired of your hot and cold games. You switch personalities, and you call me the psycho? I’m so over you.”

The way she’s pulling on my hair and thrusting against my face says otherwise, but okay.

“Good luck trying to get rid of me, Briar,” I say. “We’re infinite, understand? Endless.”

She gawks at me, her eyes hazy with lust. “What the…”

“You brought this upon yourself,” I interject sharply. “It”s your own doing for pursuing me from the start. You shouldn”t have given a starving artist like me a muse, Briar.”

She throws an infuriating smirk. “Oh, I’m your muse, am I?”

“Yeah,” I say as I straighten to kiss her mouth. “You also care about me, remember? You really, really care about me. Or was that all bullshit?”

“Fuck you,” Briar groans, pulling me to her.

“Anything you want, baby,” I whisper, lowering my pants enough to let my cock go free. I stroke it once, look up at her, and say, “Tell me no, and I’ll stop and really leave you alone if that’s what you want.”

She stares at me.

I stare back.

Come on, baby. What do you want?

Then she gives me a stunning glare and wraps one of her legs around my waist.

Grinning, I thrust my hips and groan once I’m entirely inside her.

“Oh, fuck me,” Briar moans as I grip her hips while I continue to thrust in and out of her.

“That’s what I’m doing, baby,” I tease, nibbling on her lips.

She growls, pulling on my hair.

“What is it about you?” I can’t help but blurt out as waves of pleasure continue to squeeze me with each thrust. “You’re so fucking toxic, Briar.”

She rewards me with a laugh. God, I can’t believe how much I miss hearing that.

I press our foreheads together, cupping her cheeks with my hands. “You’re the” Thrust, “most intoxicating” Thrust, “sweetest poison” Thrust, “I”ve ever” Thrust, “fucking tasted.”

I reach between us and began playing with her clit, her moans playing wonderfully in my ears.

“Did you miss me?” She asks, a small smile playing on her lips.

I release a disbelieving chuckle and shake my head.

“No,” I murmur before kissing her deeply, my actions contradicting my words as I hold her tightly against me, allowing her to pull me closer.

After a few more seconds, my dick twitches as her pussy pulses around it, and we both came together.

Briar’s fingers lightly run through my hair, making me shudder at the feeling. I groan heavily, careful not to put my whole weight on her as I collapse.

“Rurik,” she groans as I sit beside her and gather her on my lap.

I don’t give a fuck that my cum is leaking out of her and pooling on the couch. In fact, the caveman in me is loving it.

I kiss the side of her head, and she makes a tiny, happy sound that drills through my chest.

Yup. I’m definitely so fucked.

An hour later, after we showered, I was eating her out again because what? I wanted a snack — we’re back in the kitchen. She made tomato soup and grilled cheese and asked if I wanted some. Who the hell am I to say no to free food? Especially free food that’s made by her?

I helped, though. I helped her by keeping her relaxed by kissing the back of her neck with my arms around her waist.

We may have had to toss a grilled cheese away because we were distracted and kept it on the pan for too long.

By distracted, I mean I saw her beautiful ass moving around and couldn’t help myself as I bent her over and fucked her from behind.

What?

Like I said earlier, I was a starved man.

We finally sit at the dining table with our unburnt grilled cheese and tomato soup.

“Briar?” I ask, wiping my hands from the grease.

“Hmm?”

“Are you still going to go after my stepdad?”

She breathes in deeply, swirling her soup with her spoon. “Are you close with him now?”

“No,” I hesitate for a bit before sighing. “Let’s just say I owe him my life. Plus, my mum really loves him.”

She makes a face. “Your poor mom.”

I shrug, “You can’t help who you fall for, I guess.”

Briar’s eyes lock into mine briefly before she looks away. “I guess.”

“Briar?” I say again after a few more minutes of silence.

“Yes?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“For what, angel?”

“For making you think I wouldn’t choose you? For making you feel like trash? Literally, everything I did wrong to make you feel like shit.”

Briar just stares at her soup, a little tear threatening to drop from the corner of her eye. She wipes it with her thumb and clears her throat, smiling at me.

“Manifestation is fucking real,” She whispers, confusing me.

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” She just grins as if she’s remembering a joke she made. Who laughs at their jokes? Briar, apparently. She nods, “Thank you, Rurik.”

I bury my face in the tomato soup because I know I’m smiling like a goddamn idiot. “Maybe instead of beating up the senator, you can beat me up instead?”

“Is that some weird kink you have? Angel, if you like it rough, just let me know.”

“It’s not that,” I roll my eyes. “I just prefer you use my body to release any anger you may have rather than blatantly ignore me again.”

She kisses my Adam’s apple, and I grin.

She mumbles. “The last thing I want to do is cause you any sort of physical harm.” She kisses my jaw, and I shudder as her warm breath caresses my skin. “But I promise I won’t ignore you anymore, okay?”

And then she proceeds to plunge her fist into my chest and claim my heart as her own.

Okay, she didn’t. Not literally.

But she kisses me so sweetly, and it feels basically the same thing.