Chapter 6 #3
I usher her inside. I’ve not shown my sculptures to anyone but Maria and I’m nervous about how Juno’s going to react.
I have a nagging desire for her to like them.
To think I have talent. It matters to me that she does.
Especially after the conversation we just had about my struggles with learning.
Her implication that it could be down to more than a lack of smarts needles at my mind.
But I can’t think about that right now. I’ll give it some brain space later, when I’m alone.
As much as I’d like it to be true, I’m afraid that it’ll turn out not to be the case and I’ll end up looking like an idiot for even suggesting it to anyone else.
The room my studio’s in is small compared to the rest of the apartment but there’s enough space for a work bench, which is pushed up against the wall, and for five of my sculptures, which sit on the floor so you can walk around them.
Three are of abstract shapes that change as you move round them, as if they flow into themselves like waves.
One starts out as a bunch of different-sized curvy fronds at the head of the sculpture, like reeds in a pond, and becomes the body of a woman lying on her back as you move round to view the side of it.
Another is a collection of arms reaching towards the sky as if waving at the sun, which then becomes a gnarly-looking oak tree as you walk around it.
The majority of the things I make are made from interesting bits of wood I’ve found on beaches or in forests and then whittled or carved to make the shapes I need.
Others are built from bits of scrap material and wire.
‘You have to walk around them,’ I say, bending down to turn on the floor lamps so she can see how the light transforms them.
She nods and begins to circle them, peering intently at each one as she does so. I can’t read the expression on her face and the nerves jumping in my stomach make me queasy.
After she’s studied every single one, she finally looks at me.
To my relief she gives me a huge smile, her face lighting up with pleasure.
‘Oh, Sandro, these are beautiful. You have to get them shown in a gallery. People will go wild for them.’ Tears glint in her eyes and she blinks them back, seemingly embarrassed by her visceral reaction.
I love it, though, more than I can express. It’s exactly the type of response I’d hoped for, and it means a hell of a lot to me, coming from her.
Truth be told, I’m terrified to show them to anyone in the art trade for fear of being laughed out of the building for how amateurish they are. ‘It’s not easy. As I said before, there’s a lot of competition, and you need good business skills as well as artistic talent to sell your work.’
‘You know, I could help you with that,’ she says, her expression deadly serious. ‘If you’d like me to?’ She peers at me from behind her fringe. ‘Perhaps it can be my way of paying you back for helping me out.’
I try to ignore the sting of shame that reminds me she’s already helping me out, only without her knowledge, and bend down to turn the lamps off again to give me a reason to break eye contact with her. ‘You don’t need to pay me back,’ I mutter, glad she can’t see my face now.
I hear her clear her throat, and when I turn round to look at her again, she’s moved closer to me, so close I catch the sweet, musky scent of her.
‘Okay, well, maybe I could do… something else for you, then,’ she says in a teasing sort of voice that I’ve not heard before.
There’s desire in her eyes, and determination, and my cock springs fully to attention in anticipation of what it might mean.
‘Oh, yeah? What’s that?’ I murmur, unable to tear my gaze away from the expression in her midnight-blue eyes. It’s mesmerising. I’ve never seen her like this before and it’s doing all kinds of strange things to me.
Without saying a word, she undoes the button on my trousers, then tugs down the zip. ‘Can I touch you?’
I give a jerky nod.
Her eyes don’t leave mine as she slides her hand into the waistband of my boxers and takes a firm hold of my cock. I’m already hard, but as her cool fingers wrap around me another hard pulse of blood joins what’s already relocated there.
She looks up at me with startled eyes. ‘I have no means of comparison, other than pictures I’ve seen, but am I right in thinking your penis is very large?’
My smile is wide and wicked. ‘Yes. I have a big cock.’
But to her credit she doesn’t wimp out. Instead, she drops to her knees in front of me, slides down my trousers and boxers and then boldly wraps her hand back around my shaft.
I suck in a breath, aware that I don’t want her to think she needs to do this for me.
I’ve deliberately not pushed for my own pleasure up till now to take the pressure off the situation, to allow her time to become comfortable with the idea of touching me, but to be honest it’s been really fucking hard.
As has my cock whenever we’ve been together.
‘Juno, you don’t have to…’
She looks up at me imploringly. ‘I want to. I’ve never done this before, and I want to experience it. Can I? Please?’
As if I could say no to this woman when she’s on her knees.
‘Yes.’
She explores me tentatively at first, as if she’s fascinated by the weight of my dick and the way it feels in her hand.
Then she wraps her fingers firmly around my shaft and starts to pump her fist firmly up and down, catching the sensitive end each time with the pad of her thumb, and any thoughts of ending this fly right out of my head.
‘Fuck. That feels so good,’ I groan as my sex-starved body jumps in delight. Then without warning she moves closer, unwraps her fingers and takes my cock deep into the heat of her mouth.
And that puts an end to any more thoughts of arguing for her to go slow. There’s no way I’m going to be able to stop this now. It feels way too fucking good.
She’s a little hesitant at first with her movements, but every time I give a groan of pleasure it seems to spur her on and her movements become more confident.
She begins to explore and play with my cock, swirling her tongue around the head, then gently poking the end of it into my slit.
Then back to sucking. She’s using her tongue to lap me as she reaches the tip and the added pressure there is making me wild.
Fuck. This is not going to last long if she keeps doing that.
I try to think about something else… my sculptures that still need work, the gallery opening in the city I want to go to in a few days… but nothing seems to be working.
I decide the only option is to give in and let it happen.
‘Wrap your hand around the base and squeeze a little,’ I command, deciding I might as well make a lesson out of this too.
She does what I’ve asked and pleasure shoots through my balls as she continues to work her mouth over me, taking me deep, then sweeping her tongue hard over the head of my cock. I sense my orgasm growing and grip the edge of the table to steady myself.
‘A little faster,’ I say, groaning with satisfaction as she does it.
The mind-melting pressure continues to build, until the only thing I can think about is her hot mouth around my cock and the hard flicks of her tongue against it.
And then I’m coming, spurting into the cavern of her mouth, my whole body on fire with relief, but she doesn’t stop or draw away from me until I stop twitching.
When I finally get myself together and look down at her, she’s grinning up at me like the cat that got the cream.
‘You’ve really never done that before?’ I mutter, my voice guttural and low.
‘Never. But the internet is a wealth of information.’ She seems delighted that she’s been able to make me lose my mind like that.
‘You’re a quick study.’
She shrugs, then smiles. ‘I pride myself on doing my research properly.’
‘Still, there’s always room for improvement,’ I cajole her, giving her a wink to let her know I’m teasing. ‘And practice makes perfect, right?’