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***Wells***
Iwasdrinkingabottle of water on my balcony after my second workout of the day when I spotted Memphis walking around the property. She was sniffing flowers and looked as beautiful as ever, but there was a heaviness to her that I didn’t like. I instantly thought of the way I’d spanked her the night before and worried that I’d pushed too far. There was more than just that going on, though. She was pregnant. Did she regret it? Did I?
I leaned against the railing and watched her. I knew we hadn’t handled the news very well. All of us had been in go mode and hearing that we’d gotten her pregnant, which was the plan and supposedly the reason we were sleeping together, had just been like a bucket of ice water over our heads. I felt disappointed and cheated. I wasn’t done with Memphis. Far from it.
She’d made that comment about us not sleeping together anymore and I’d just shut down. In that moment, I’d wanted her out of the house and away from me because I was frustrated and feeling rejected. Rejection was a trigger for the Hawke brothers. To say we had mommy issues would be the understatement of the century.
Memphis wiped her eyes like she was crying and I threw caution to the wind. I could be upset on my own time. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being upset, though. The thought that I could’ve caused that upset gutted me.
I jogged downstairs and out to where she was, startling her when I showed up next to her. She jumped and clutched her hands over her chest, but I couldn’t get past the redness rimming her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She forced a laugh and stepped back. “You scared the crap out of me! Where’d you come from?”
I searched her face and shook my head. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s wrong.”
Fire filled her eyes as she glared up at me, but it faded just as fast. “I… I don’t really want to talk about it.”
I looked back at my balcony and down at her again. “I have an idea. I won’t push you to talk to me if you let me paint you.”
Her cheeks darkened and I was grateful to be able to see that blush. “That’s silly, Wells. Why would you want to paint me?”
I caught her hand and tugged her along with me. “Those are your choices, Memphis. I paint you and don’t ask questions or you tell me what’s wrong.”
She lifted her chin in defiance. “Fine. Paint me. It’s your time you’re wasting.”
I had to force myself to not run up the stairs to my room. I’d wanted to paint her since the moment I’d seen her face. Finally getting to felt like winning the lottery. “Why would I be wasting my time?”
She stumbled on the thick carpet on the stairs and smile shyly when I caught her and helped her up the rest of the steps. “Thanks…I think you’ll be wasting your time because no matter your skills, it’ll still just be a painting of me.”
I stopped just outside of my door and stared down at her, shocked and confused. “You’re not kidding, are you? You really believe that.”
“No talking. You said I wouldn’t have to answer any questions and I’m initiating that right now.”
“Fine.” I pulled her into my room and yanked a sheet off my bed. “Put this on while I get my setup together.”
She laughed. “What do you mean, put this on? This is a sheet, Wells.”
I nodded and sent her a look that conveyed how serious I was. “Strip down and wrap it around you.”
Her mumbling reached me on the balcony as I set up a chair the way I wanted it, in the right light, and got my camera ready. I always took pictures before starting a painting, in case the lighting changed drastically. When I had my paints arranged and my canvas prepared on my favorite easel, I looked back and smiled at the sour look on Memphis’s face.
“People are going to see me out there.” She wrapped the sheet around her tighter and looked down at herself. “Let me guess, though. You’re not going to budge.”
I shook my head and bit my lip to hold in my laughter at the exasperated expression she gave me on her way past me, onto the balcony. She settled on the chair and glared back at me. Closing in on her, I worked the sheet free from her death grip and draped it over her the way I wanted it. It was a caress of fabric over her chest, a hint over her thighs, and the rest trailed along beside the chair. She looked like a goddess in the early afternoon sun.
“Wells, I’m practically naked.”
I gripped my camera too tight and moved closer to her. “You’re covered. But I’m not opposed to painting you naked, if that’s something you’re ever interested in.”
She settled into the pose I wanted and sighed at me. “Well, since you’re not opposed to it. That just makes me want to rip this sheet off and have you paint me like one of your French girls. Too bad we’re not on a giant boat.”
I watched her through my lens and resisted the urge to tell her just how eager I’d be to paint her naked. On canvas, on her skin, whatever she’d let me do. I just wanted her naked. I didn’t think that’d go over too well, so I kept my mouth shut. Snapping pictures that I knew I’d print out and keep close by, I was aware of her body intimately.
The rise and fall of Memphis’s chest, the way she licked her lips, the way her eyes appeared even brighter than normal—I took it all in and snapped more pictures than would ever be necessary for a painting. I just didn’t want to stop looking at her.
“Wells?”
I lowered the camera and looked at her. “Yeah?”
