Chapter 9
9
ASTON
M y mind was preoccupied with the fucking Manet and that batard , Sterling Ellis. We could be in deep shit if the situation wasn’t handled just right.
I considered canceling my plans with Kerrigan, but she had become the balm to my soul, and I needed to see her. To feel her in my arms. To drag her scent into my lungs and drown in her laughter. I could forget about everything else and focus solely on the woman who had fast become essential to my survival.
It was gorgeous outside, and the evening temperatures were supposed to be a little warmer than usual. So I’d driven my Porsche convertible, thinking Kerrigan might love riding in it. When we walked up to it, she beamed at me and bounced on her feet with excitement. “This is yours?”
“It seemed like the perfect night to have the top down,” I answered, not mentioning that this was one of six cars I owned. Charles and I had been born to wealth and both received hefty trust funds when we turned twenty-five. And forgery didn’t exactly pay peanuts, either.
I wasn’t DeLuca rich, but my grandchildren’s grandchildren would live comfortably if their inheritance was managed well.
I let go of Kerrigan to open her door and chuckled when she clapped her hands excitedly. “I haven’t ridden in a convertible since I was a teenager.”
My lips pressed together into a flat line as I helped her into her seat. “Boyfriend?”
“Uncle,” she replied with a smirk. Obviously, she hadn’t missed the note of jealousy in my voice.
Once I had buckled her in and came around, climbing into my own seat, I hit the button to take the top down. While we waited, I cupped my hand on the back of her neck and urged her to come toward me while my head descended. Then I sipped from her sweet lips for a few seconds before sealing my mouth over hers.
We were startled out of the kiss when the convertible top snapped into place, but I didn’t let her go right away.
“I’ve been dying to do that since the moment I saw you tonight,” I growled, pressing my forehead against hers.
Kerrigan’s breath stuttered when she exhaled slowly. Then she whispered, “Me too.”
“I can’t get the taste of your pussy out of my mind,” I grunted as I dragged my lips along her jaw and up to her ear. “Next time, I won’t be licking it from my fingers.”
A wicked smile stole across my face when she shivered and squeezed her legs together.
“We’d better go before I decide I need that taste on my tongue right now.”
She swallowed hard before nodding.
After one more soft kiss, I pulled my arm back and lectured my dick to stand the fuck down as I reversed out of the parking spot. I drove out onto the road, then reached over and threaded my fingers through Kerrigan’s before setting our joined hands on my thigh.
It was too loud for conversation, but I turned on some sultry, bluesy music, and we rode in comfortable silence. Being with Kerrigan felt effortless, and it would have been all too easy to completely let my guard down. But slipping up that way could end her life, and that thought was agonizing enough for me to remain vigilant.
Despite that resolve, I’d still gone forward with my plans for the night, even though one wrong step could put me in a very dangerous position.
The drive out to Camillia Falls wasn’t long, and when I turned into my driveway, Kerrigan sighed dreamily. I smiled at her relaxed posture and kissed the back of her hand before shutting the car off.
Then she sat up straight, and her body went rigid.
“Where are we?” she practically squeaked as she stared up at my house.
Since I’d grown up in a rather large chateau in France, this house had always seemed…normal. My small country estate was downright conservative compared to Rafa’s estate, Magnolia Crest, and the houses built on it.
But looking at it from Kerrigan’s perspective, I realized that my place must’ve seemed extravagant.
“My home,” I told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. She gaped at me, and I chuckled as I let go, then pressed the button to bring the convertible top back into place. “I can give you a tour of the house later, but that’s not why I brought you here.”
“Um…there’s more?”
“You’ll see,” I murmured cryptically with a wink before exiting the car.
I loped around to her side and opened the door, then helped her climb to her feet.
She was still staring up at the house in awe, but when I took hold of her hand once again, her attention shifted to me.
“It’s beautiful. I just…I wasn’t expecting something so big.” She glanced at me sideways before casually adding, “I don’t think even the owner of The Peachtree could afford this house and land, though.”
She was fishing for information, trying to be stealthy and failing miserably. However, I held back my laughter at how adorable she was and answered honestly. Mostly. “I work because I enjoy it, not because it’s necessary. My parents were pretty wealthy, and they set up trust funds for my brother and myself.”
“Wow. Okay. Well, this is the ‘get-to-know-you’ stage of a relationship, right? Now I know you’re basically a Rockefeller.”
I snorted. “He wishes he was this rich.”
When Kerrigan gawked at me again, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
She quickly realized I was teasing and rolled her eyes, breaking out into giggles.
“Come on, miette ,” I urged when we’d calmed. “I need to grab something from the house, then we’ll take a walk.”
We followed a stone walkway around to the back of the house. Then we headed up the steps onto a large deck that overlooked the rest of my land. Three sets of French doors led into an open living area, but all the way on the left was a standard door. I punched in the code to the security system, and when it disarmed, we entered a mudroom with an arched opening leading to the giant kitchen.
“Wait here,” I instructed before stalking into the kitchen. I grabbed a tote I’d left on the counter this morning and another from the refrigerator, then returned to the small room where Kerrigan was waiting. A few jackets hung on hooks, and I draped them over one arm.
“In case it gets a little colder than expected,” I explained.
I took her hand in mine and led her back outside. Then we skirted around the pool and crossed the lawn to the large, octagonal building situated near the tree line that divided my land from my neighbor’s.
“That is so cool!” Kerrigan exclaimed, beaming a smile my way.
“I’m glad you like it. This is the most special place in the world to me, and I wanted to share it with you because you’re just as precious to me.”
A pretty blush bloomed on her cheeks, and she smiled almost shyly up at me. “I think you’re amazing, too.”
“ Merci, ma petite miette .”
I kissed the tip of her nose, then led her to the door where I set down the bags so I could enter the code to disarm the alarm, then push it open.
Kerrigan walked in, and her gaze immediately rose to the ceiling. She gasped at the bright sunshine streaming through the glass roof, illuminating the studio. “This is incredible, Aston! Absolutely gorgeous.”
“I like a lot of natural light when I paint,” I said as I walked up to stand beside her. “But it’s smart glass, so while I always have UV protection, I can also frost it or use a darker, even stronger UV protective tint.”
She continued to stare up in awe for a minute, then her brow furrowed, and she turned her head to look at me. Her gaze was shuttered, making me frown. I loved how expressive her eyes were. She didn’t hide her thoughts or feelings and was open and honest about who she was.
A ribbon of guilt slithered through my veins, taking me off guard. I had a damn good reason for deceiving Kerrigan and no reason to feel guilt or doubt about what I’d done. Yet I couldn’t shake off that little sliver.
“You paint?” she asked, distracting me from my thoughts.
“When I have time. Which isn’t often, unfortunately.”
I gestured for her to continue farther into the room, then set the tote bags on the counter. When I pivoted back around, she stood in front of a row of shelves, inspecting the bottles and boxes.
Putain, I mentally swore when I realized what I’d done.
Although I had hidden away all the paintings, old canvases and linen scrolls, wooden frames, beeswax, etc., I’d forgotten about some of the other paints, chemicals, and tools that could easily be attributed to forging antique paintings.
“Led white,” she murmured. “Vermillion, ochre, ultramarine. Those are unusual for modern painters.” She paused at a set of jars, then glanced over at me. “Do you make hand ground pigments?”
I shrugged breezily, strolling over to an easel a few feet to her left. “Something is enchanting about mixing paint. It’s almost soothing, a way for me to use my hands while giving my mind a rest.”
Kerrigan hummed but didn’t reply to my explanation. She continued her perusal. “Dammar varnish. Potassium permanganate. Diluted nitric acid.”
I removed the cover from the easel as I murmured, “I’ve done restoration projects in the past. I loved it, but I barely have time to pick up a brush these days.”
“Ox gall?”
I chuckled as I moved to the next covered easel. “My brother likes to mock the name whenever he sees me using it. It’s used in traditional watercolor techniques. Helps the pigment spread more evenly. Bit of a niche thing, I suppose.”
She was quiet for a few beats, then queried, “Are these handmade brushes?”
“ Oui ,” I answered, pretending to be distracted by the cover I was lifting off the easel. “They belonged to my grandfather.” I silently thanked him for passing those down to me. “Some brushes give different textures, especially the older handmade types. They’re not always practical, but they can add a unique flair to a painting.”
Kerrigan’s eyes swept over the shelves again before she turned to face me, nibbling her bottom lip. Then her gaze shifted to the canvas I’d uncovered, and she gasped.
“Holy cow! You painted that?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling a little awkward because I rarely shared my art with anyone outside my immediate family.
“It’s amazing,” she breathed as she moved in closer.
It was a slightly abstract landscape depicting the view from the deck on the back of my house. The sun was rising, casting a glow on the dewy grass, the leaves on the trees, and the rippling water on the small pond.
Then her eyes drifted to the other display, and she hurried over to it.
The painting depicted the Belladonna Gallery as the building had looked in the late eighteen hundreds when it was originally built.
“See how these brushes give it a different feel?” I pointed at the unique texture. “Since I painted it as it looked over a hundred years ago, I thought it was only fitting to use the antique brushes.”
The small amount of tension that had lingered in her shoulders dissipated, and she faced me with her bow-shaped lips curved into a heart-stopping smile.
“I…I don’t know what else to say,” she murmured with a bright smile. “How do you just keep on impressing me?”
“That’s my goal,” I teased. “I’m hoping you’ll be so swept away by me that you will agree to a special request.”
“Oh?”
“Not yet,” I told her with a wink. “I want to make sure you are in complete awe of me first.”
Kerrigan laughed. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Mr. Tall, Dark, and French.”
First, I showed her a few other paintings I’d completed and another two I’d been working on whenever I had spare time. Sadly, it wasn’t often.
Then I took her outside, setting down a blanket and emptying the tote I’d filled with food.
“I don’t remember the last time I went on a picnic,” she mused with a sweet smile as she sipped champagne from a crystal flute.
“Have I thoroughly beguiled you, miette ?”
Kerrigan giggled. “Mission accomplished. I am utterly bedazzled by you, grand, brun et francais .”
Hearing her call me tall, dark, and French in my native language had me throwing my head back in a deep belly laugh. After my amusement died down to chuckles, I noticed her staring at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“Kerrigan? Are you okay?”
She shook her head, then cleared her throat before answering. “I’ve never heard you laugh like that.”
I smiled and curled my arm around her, pulling her into my lap. “Honestly, I don’t remember the last time it happened. You seem to bring out the best in me, ma petite miette .”
Kerrigan blushed, but her whole face lit up with joy. I pressed my lips to hers, eager to taste her happiness.
After a few minutes of making out, she pulled back, breathing heavily. Her breasts bounced with each one, and my already hard cock swelled, pressing up against her ass.
She squeaked adorably when she felt my shaft and wiggled, forcing me to grab her hips in a tight grip.
“Unless you want me to rip off your clothes and fuck you right here, I suggest you stop squirming, miette .”
She stilled and looked up at me through her lashes in an unintentionally seductive move. “Um, so, is it time for you to ask for your reward?”
“Ah, yes. I can’t imagine another time when you would be more likely to grant my request.”
“You won’t know until you ask,” she giggled.
“I want to paint you.”
Kerrigan’s eyebrows shot up. “You want to paint me?”
I smiled and nuzzled my nose against hers. “Why does that surprise you, miette ? Tu es très belle .”
“I’m beautiful?” she guessed, her adorably freckled cheeks turning pink.
“ Oui . Will you let me paint you?”
She bit her lip, and I gently tugged it free before sucking on it for a moment.
“ S'il te pla?t ?”
Kerrigan sighed. “That’s not fair. You’re wielding your French like a weapon again.”
“Am I winning?”
She giggled and buried her face in my neck. “ Oui !”