I glanced at the untouched setup across the room—still exactly how I left it.
I most likely didn’t need her to model or pose for paintings any longer. I had committed her body to memory, could paint her in my sleep if I wanted to. I’d memorized every curve, every part—but this was something we did together… something that was exclusively meant for us.
Fuckingwas exclusively meant for us, too.From the looks of things, I was sure she hadn’t been intimate with her shitty husband, but I couldn’t be too sure.
No… she wouldn’t be intimate with him. She wouldn’t ruin what we had. I knew my flower better than that.
She’s playing hard to get, that’s all. She just wants me to give her the attention she doesn’t get from her husband.
My little flower… if you want my attention, all you have to do is ask.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at it to see a message from the last person I wanted to think about: Gavin.
Tossing my phone back onto my desk without even reading his message, I approached the clay sculpture. My vision for the piece consisted of Rosenna fully nude as she innocently crossed her arms over her chest and one leg crossed the other.
With her head tilted to the side, I wanted it to exude a sense of innocence… one that reflected how the world perceived her.They didn’t know her the way I did:innocent and beautiful on the outside, but on the inside… I had the pleasure of learning her dark and desirous thoughts and secrets.
Running my finger down the back of the sculpture where her spine arched naturally, my eyes darkened. Those same secrets were what fueled me, what made me want to understand the assertive woman who was looking for someone to fulfill her needs. To be there for her. To allow her to finally be recognized, heard…seen.
Looking at the perfectly replicated tattoo on her back, I ran my thumb over hardening clay.
You are loved.
It pains me to know my flower is suffering. But I see you, Flower. I see all of you… and I’ll be sure to give you exactly what you’re looking for.
Rosenna
Sitting at my desk, I silenced my phone as I received another call from Beckham. Unfortunately, he’d scheduled our next session today, but it wouldn’t have been wise to see him.
Tensions were still high. Especially as he was still furious that I pushed him away after we’d had sex and I was still busy stressing over the fact that I cheated on Gavin with him. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was still jealous ofJessica.
Whether or not Beckham’s smile and laugh with her was fabricated to make me feel envious while I was with Gavin, I was still jealous. I was exposed to his true side… his dark, conniving, seductive, desirable side… and as bad as it sounded,I envied her.
She was able to experience a side to him that was more lighthearted and not so focused on his obsession with me or the possessiveness that drove his actions and impulses.
I didn’t want this to get out of hand.It couldn’t.I needed to be the one to put the distance between us. I couldn’t allow this to ruin my marriage. I shouldn’t be jealous. I shouldn’t let Beckham and his issues with proximity, boundaries, and emotions cloud my mind.
But it was almost impossible.
All I found myself thinking about last night was him. All I found myself thinking about in the shower this morning was him. All I found myself thinking about now as I tried to finish my work for today while ignoring his calls and texts was nothing—but—him.
He’s all I can think about, and it’s both tormenting and thrilling me all at once.
I need to get control. I need to get control.
This was all getting out of hand and I needed to stop.
Kira walked into the room unexpectedly, and I glanced over at her silently as she looked over her iPad. My only other savior from the torment was her. Interestingly enough, she was all for my purge from Beckham’s advances this time. She had no issue with me ignoring his texts and blocking his calls. If anything, this obsession caused her to have her own personal vendetta against him.
She was growing angry with him as he wasn’t communicating with Vincent’s managers and associates. In the midst of our affair, she was the godsend I loved to death as she remembered we had an actual business to run.
I knew Beckham had been stalling… Being so preoccupied with our time together, I knew he wanted to prolong our arrangement for as long as he could, and ignoring Kira and his father’s employees was just one way he was able to. However, this was a blessing in disguise as this also gave me another reason to ignore him as well.
Kira handed me the iPad. “Beckham submitted the floor plans, mockups, and themes for the exhibit.”
I sighed internally. Though I should’ve been happy, Iknewthis was simply to get my attention somehow.
Looking over the plan, I noticed he had a few rooms he wanted to dedicate specifically to his abstract art, some of his timeless and historical-looking art, and his sculptures as well. For a few of the mockups of the art he would be presenting, I gazed at the prices. He’d set them relatively high, but with the quality of his work, I knew it was absolutely worth it.
