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She looks around and makes a face. ‘Guess you caught me again. I know I’m trespassing, but I just had to finish this drawing.’
‘I’ll put in a good word for you with the owners when I see them. Your drawing is really good.’
She looks back at the unfinished landscape and makes a face. ‘It’s taking me too long to get it right. I think I’m falling out of love with it.’
He crouches down beside her and points to the side of the drawing. ‘You’ve that bit bang on. The way the waves are hitting the headland... it’s damn perfect. Give it time. The rest will come.’
‘Is that the inner artist speaking?’
He smirks a little. ‘Guess so. Creating doesn’t always come first go round. Got to give it time to work its way out.’
‘You’re probably right. Oh, you left your sweatshirt at the house. I’ve got it in my bag.’
‘Thanks.’ He pauses and looks down at the sand. ‘Speaking of that, I’m sorry for leaving like I did. It was rude. It had nothing to do with you, I promise.’
‘It’s fine, Tate. Really.’
He glances across at her and smiles. ‘It’s really not. Dorothy will kill me if she hears I wasted a cup of her expensive coffee.’
Chloe laughs at that and brushes her hair behind her ear. ‘I won’t tell her. So, where’s Jove today?’ He whistles and Jove appears at the bottom of the hill. ‘He’s like an overgrown dog. You trust him not to run off on you?’
‘He’s not going to go far. Do you mind if I watch you for a bit?’
‘Sure. I wouldn’t expect anything exciting to happen. Well, unless I decide to fling the whole sketchpad into the ocean.’
‘Bit of an overreaction if you ask me.’ He stretches his legs out in front of him and takes the pad from her hands. ‘Forget about this for now. Just look out there. Don’t think about drawing it. Take a deep breath and look at the view.’
She does as he suggests and spends a few minutes silently taking in their surroundings.
‘Now close your eyes.’
When she does that he places the pad back on her knee and lies back on the sand to give her some privacy. ‘Now open your eyes and draw.’
He rests his head on his hands and closes his eyes, peeking over at her after a few minutes. The pencil is rapidly moving across the paper. She pauses and chews on the tip of her pencil for a moment then continues drawing. Before she catches him staring, he closes his eyes. That only lasts a few seconds before he has to look at her again.
A long lock of hair has escaped her ponytail so she tucks it behind her ear then slips the pencil between her lips again. Fuck, if she keeps doing that he’s going to be in serious trouble. His body is already telling him to make a move, but he’s not even going there. The problem is his body isn’t on board with that and if he doesn’t get it under control he’ll have to make a rapid exit before she notices.
He hasn’t been with anyone for over three months. Not since whoever that woman was that Gregg saw him with at his house. He’s disgusted to admit he doesn’t even remember being with her. He woke up beside her in bed and all he does remember with any certainty is the relief when he saw a condom wrapper on the bedside table. Not that it makes the entire situation any better. It was one of the low points for him. And there are plenty to choose from.
There’s no way he’s ready or willing to add Chloe to that particular list. He’s attracted to her and that’s why he’s not going to fall into his usual routine with her. For once, he’d actually like to get to know her more.
‘How’s this?’
He sits up and pulls one leg up to hide the growing bulge in his jeans. His dick has no intention of abiding by his new rules. ‘You got it.’
Chloe looks back at the page and smiles widely. ‘How did you do that? Get me to focus like that?’
‘You were stopping yourself. I do the same sometimes. You just need to step away and see what you’re trying to achieve. Then go back with a clear mind. I’ve written some bloody awful songs which turned out pretty good once I stepped away for a bit.’
‘Thanks, Tate. That’s really helped. Are you busy for the next while?’
‘No, why?’
‘Well I was wondering if you’d like to hang around. You can give me a nudge if I get stuck again. Only if you want to.’
‘Yeah, I’ll stick around for a bit.’
Her stunning smile sends a shiver through his body and undoes all his efforts to calm his dick down. Luckily she turns back to her work leaving him to discretely adjust himself without her noticing.
