Chapter 19
Harlow
My hand glided across the canvas as I finished the final touches on the black and white portrait.
I started this painting when I returned home after dropping Serenity back off.
I needed a distraction while Caterina was out to keep my mind busy.
When I dropped her off, it wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later.
She would be ours soon, and I would be a mom. I was mortified, but excited.
I finished the final highlights on the painting.
This piece was erotic, yet sensual. My art went from moody and depressing to erotic.
Caterina was a muse I never thought I’d need, nor did I think I would ever create art like this.
This was the closest thing to a self-portrait I’ve done.
The woman pressed against the wall had her back arched while the woman on top was nude and tugging the other woman’s white tank top down without revealing everything.
It felt beautiful, sensual, and passionate wrapped up into one pretty bow.
I wiped my face, feeling paint smear across my brow as I admired my work.
For the first piece I’ve painted since this happened, I was surprised it was still sensual, sapphic art.
I was honestly expecting to paint moody, dark pieces again, but my brain knew this was my form of healing.
I know I wasn’t okay, but I would not succumb to the dark thoughts in my mind.
I was free still and with Caterina and all the people who loved me.
Caterina walked into my studio with a bouquet of blood-red roses. “Ciao, amore mio.”
“Hi.” I set my paint brush down and turned towards her as she walked closer to me. “You didn’t have to buy me flowers.”
“You deserve flowers every day, and until you know which is your favorite, I’ll bring you a new bouquet.”
“I like all flowers, Caterina.”
“I’ll still bring you flowers every day because you deserve them.”
“Where are we going to put all these flowers?”
“I’ll build a greenhouse.” Caterina pulled me into her and kissed my temple. “Sei l’amore della mia vita.” You’re the love of my life. I grabbed a rose from the bouquet and brought it to my nose. The petals were vibrant and it didn’t have thorns.
“Thank you for the flowers.” I directed her attention to the canvas as I turned my back to her. “Do you like it? I think it looks more like the two of us.”
Caterina wrapped her arm around my waist. “That’s definitely me on top. You got my back muscles perfect.”
“Do you think I could paint a fully erotic piece?”
As she leaned forward to kiss my cheek, her hands moved down my torso, skillfully unbuttoning each button of my white dress shirt until it hung open and my breasts were exposed. “A self portrait of you, post orgasm? We can hang it in our room.” She kissed my neck and cupped my breasts in her hand.
I frowned, a crease forming between my eyebrows. “Caterina, a self-portrait of me won’t be…my scars...”
She gently took the roses, their velvety petals brushing her fingers, before setting them aside and swiftly pulling off my shirt.
Caterina grabbed two brushes and swirled one in a light lavender paint and the other in a mossy green.
“Harlow, when I look at you and I see your scars, I don’t see fragility; I see a strong woman, her eyes reflecting the fires of hell she survived. ”
The brush danced across my skin, gentle like her kisses.
I let Caterina paint my skin, the strokes gliding across me as she created her own form of art.
There was a unique form of intimacy at this moment.
Caterina let the brush flow like an artist, perfecting each stroke and painting the story she was trying to tell.
She added more colors, dancing across my skin as she added the final finishing touches.
“I see beauty. Growth. Resilience.” She continued to paint the valley of my chest with hues of spring-toned colors.
“I see life.” She stepped back, grabbing her phone and snapping pictures of her creation.
“I know your scars are hard for you, but I think you are the most gorgeous woman alive. Per me sei perfetto.”
She showed me the photo she’d taken for a better view of her creation: a delightful mess of wildflowers, sketched across my chest and torso.
A garden of life; at least, that was what I depicted it as.
Even in darkness, flowers could bloom. Even with my scars and my past, I could learn to love and receive a love that ignited the cosmos. Caterina was that love.
My hands caressed her face, and I pulled her into me as I kissed her.
It wasn’t a peck or a quick kiss. This kiss expressed everything I couldn’t say.
It was a thank you without words. Her hands found my waist and she pulled me closer to her, not caring about the wet paint that was imprinting on her clothes.
The kiss deepened naturally, like they normally do.
Kissing her was natural, and yet, it was still my favorite thing to do.
After a few moments, I pulled away from her and rested my head on her shoulder, nuzzling my head into her neck. “You’ve given me my fairytale.”
“And I plan on doing it every day for the rest of my life.” I pulled back and looked at her shirt.
“You know that’s going to be hard to get out of silk, right?”
“Worth it. I already have our tickets for the Met.”
My eyes light up like the night sky. “Really? Oh my God.”
“We leave tomorrow night for New York. It’s only a two-hour flight, but I want to get to our townhouse so we can sleep and be refreshed for the next three weeks, and I already have something planned for your birthday.”
“My birthday hasn’t been a great memory for me, Caterina.”
“We can make new memories. Replace the bad ones with better ones.” I loved this woman more than anything.
A month and a half passed since everything happened, and now I was healed and ready to love the woman who had my heart and soul. New York would be more than a trip I dreamt about.
Caterina tilted her head slightly, her eyelids half closed which made her look incredibly captivating. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mrs. Moretti?”
I wrapped my hands around her neck, running my hands through her hair. “The two of us, a balcony. Your face between my legs and the sounds of my pleasure filling the New York skyline.”
“Your wish is my command.” She leaned in to kiss me, but an idea flashed through my mind.
“Oh, if the flight is only two hours, does that mean I can join the mile-high club?”
She arched a curious brow as my lips curled into a wicked smile. “How do you know about that?”
“I read a book.” There were a lot of things I’ve read in the last few months that I wanted to experiment with Caterina. Lizzy was right. Reading opened up a new door that made me terrified yet excited to try things, but I knew Caterina would try it with me.
“How do you want it? Two hours is just foreplay, baby.” She wasn’t lying there.
There were a lot of things I wanted to do, but there was one that stuck out the most since our sparring session together. “Scissor? And maybe you ride my face?”
“I never scissored in the sky before.”
“Then I get to be your first.”