238.

eXtasy's Collective Mind She turned from the mirror and walked through the doorway into the art studio. She had commissioned Derrick Reynolds, the renowned artist, to paint a portrait of her to hang in the front vestibule of the new gallery. He was due to arrive any minute. She strode toward the rear of the building, her hips swinging seductively, thoughts of seducing the handsome artist filling her head.

He was quite good looking-and rumor had it that he was an excellent lover. She pulled in a long breath, pushing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against the thin net of her costume. She had chosen to don a costume representative of her taste in art. It was a filmy bodysuit with purple decorations and revealing design, which spoke volumes about her self-image and zany lifestyle. Another reason she had chosen to shave her head. She adored the extraordinary, the eclectic mix of textures and designs. The walls of the new gallery were covered in abstract oils, bright bold representations by popular artists.

Her own portrait would be the only painting by Derrick Reynolds in the gallery.

She grimaced. For two years she had tried to convince him that her gallery would be an excellent site to display his oils-to no avail. He declined all her offers, making her stoop to unspoken measures to get his attention. She giggled softly. Would Derrick Reynolds be immune to her charms-when she sat before him, her body encased in a most revealing costume and her mind sending him mental invitations to have s.e.x with her?

"Well, we'll see."

The bell sounded at the back entrance of the gallery and she hurried to greet the painter.

"I adore a man who arrives on time."

He acted as though he didn't hear her comment, glanced briefly at her getup, and carried his easel and paints past her into 239 Violet Visions the empty room up the hallway. He crossed the polished wood floor to the double window and threw aside the drapes, flooding the room with sunlight. He set up his easel and placed a new canvas on it-opened his paint case and began accessing his brushes.

The aroma of turpentine filled the room. Gina wrinkled her nose.

Good grief! He stinks to high heaven!

She kept her gaze pinned on him as she crossed the room and climbed up on the unusual looking throne she had one of the carpenters construct. She folded one leg under her b.u.t.t and pulled up her other knee, placing both hands on her right ankle and tilting her head slightly. The purple feather headdress bobbed with her movements.

"This is the pose I want."

He turned dark eyes on her, frowned.

"And you're made up to look like what?"

She giggled in spite of his disapproving look. "I'm the queen of s.e.x."

He chuckled and shook his head.

Gina bristled.

"Do you think I give a f.u.c.k if you like how I look or not? I've already paid your hefty fee-"

He snarled at her and threw his paintbrush back into the case. "Lady, I heard you were nuts-now I know the rumors are true."

Gina's jaw dropped open. She scrambled down from the makeshift throne and marched across the room. "You're not here to express your d.a.m.n opinions of me! You're here to paint my portrait."

"I'll send your check back."

He slammed the lid on his paint case and began taking down 240 eXtasy's Collective Mind his easel.

"We have a deal. You can't change your mind. I have a hanger on the wall in the vestibule waiting for this d.a.m.n painting!"

"Hang something else there." He glanced at her. "Better yet, get another artist to paint you in your little purple getup."

He headed toward the door of the room, his easel in one hand and his paint case in the other.

Gina rushed after him, hurrying to get in front of him before he exited the room.

Which one of us is nuts?

"You can't possibly refuse to paint my portrait." Her voice was pleading. "My gallery opens in one week-there isn't enough time to find another artist."

He halted his steps and stared at the purple feathers perched atop her head. "What happened to your hair?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I shaved it off."

One dark brow arched. "Why in h.e.l.l would you do that?"

He was gorgeous. And he oozed s.e.x appeal from every tanned pore. She tried not to notice-tried to stay focused on convincing him not to leave. He towered over her, dwarfing her small frame. She had to tilt her head to look into his face. His eyes were black as night and the ebony lock of hair grazing his forehead only served to call attention to his handsomely chiseled features. His jaw was square and his nose straight-and those full lips- Gina gulped in a breath of air. Her lungs felt strained.

"Listen, we can come to some agreement-can't we? Do you want more money?"

He glared down at her. "Money isn't the issue." He shook his dark head. "You're dressed up like something from outer s.p.a.ce-"

241.

Violet Visions "What does it matter?" She threw both hands into the air in exasperation. "I like weird things."

"Well, I don't paint weird things."

He tried to step around her, but she shifted her stance, blocking him from leaving the room.

"Yes you do. What about that portrait of Helen Michaels?

She's about as weird as they come. She has carrot red hair and man-made b.r.e.a.s.t.s-"

"At least she has hair!"

"You son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h!" She lurched out of his way. "Leave! Get out! I'll spread the rumor that you refused to paint my portrait because you didn't like the way I looked."

He started through the door, then paused and turned to face her. "That's not it, Gina."

His tone pulled her gaze to his face. He didn't sound angry at all. He sounded...civil.

He emptied his hands and walked toward her, stopping a few feet from where she stood at the window. "Your costume is too...revealing." He combed his fingers through his hair. "You might as well be nude."

Gina smiled slightly. "I can do that."

One corner of his mouth pulled upward for a second. "I've never painted a nude."

It was a crazy idea-but then she had never been known for rational thinking. She grasped the net costume at its neckline and pushed it off one shoulder. It fit like a glove and fought her efforts to remove it as though it were a living thing fighting extinction. She extracted one arm and then the other, pushing the material past her waist onto her hips in a soft roll. Swiveling her hips, she pushed it down the length of her legs and stepped out of it.

Naked, she turned her gaze on Derrick Reynolds.

242.

eXtasy's Collective Mind He stared at her with wide eyes. "Your feathers are crooked."

She gave a short giggle and jerked the headdress off her head, tossing it on the floor.

His gaze was heated, wafting across her bare flesh in stinging waves.

She propped her hands on her hips and stared at him, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Well, I see you didn't shave off all your hair."

"Are you going to honor our deal, or not?"

He let out an exasperated sigh and combed his fingers through his hair. "I have a reputation to uphold."

She nodded her head at him. "You're the best portrait painter in the world-in my opinion. That's the reason I hired you." She stared at him. His eyes were anywhere but on her naked body.

Her full lips pulled into a slight smile. She sauntered toward him, her bare body silky and inviting. "Would you paint me nude?"

His eyes locked with hers. Heat seemed to permeate the room, melding with the glow of the sunlight streaming in through the windows.

"Would you allow me to pose you in a tasteful manner?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "Is that possible-with being nude?" She grinned broadly at him, her gaze inspecting his body.

He was sweating, she noticed, with a shiver of desire. And-were her eyes deceiving her? His fly was tented. The talented artist was hiding a hard c.o.c.k beneath those snug jeans.

He picked up his easel and paint case and returned to the place in front of the windows in the room. He set up his stand and placed the canvas carefully on it, then opened his paint case.

Gina watched, an idea forming in her head. She had no objection to his wanting to pose her in a tasteful manner-or whether she was clothed or naked as the day she was born-but the end result had to embrace the style of art her reputation was 243 Violet Visions famous for. They might have to compromise.

She strode over to the throne she had envisioned herself painted on and plopped down.

"That won't work." He shook his head, propping his hands on his hips and staring at her. "What are those things-horns?"

"Symbols of fertility. I told you I'm the queen of s.e.x. The horns represent the male in the mating ritual-"

"Enough." He held up both hands. He glanced around the room. Spotting a white canvas cover draped over a moving dolly, he gathered it and crossed the room to her throne. "Get up."

Gina scrambled out of the way, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s jiggling temptingly as she hurried to obey.

He draped the throne with the canvas, pushing it amid the protruding horns and throne-like seat.

"Lie down."

Gina didn't argue. At least he was intending on painting her-from the way it looked at the moment. She climbed up on the canvas and stretched out on her right side, her legs outstretched and her right elbow supporting her head. She aimed her best smile at him.

He a.s.sessed her body, his gaze skimming along her bare legs to her crotch, and then up to her perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Sweat stood in tiny moist beads on his forehead. She smiled, amused at his arousal.

"Turn over."

"But my face will be hidden. How will anyone know it's me?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Full frontal nudity is not a tasteful pose for a portrait."

"Says who?"

"Are we going to argue?"

"Only if you make me turn over."

"Very well. I'll paint your portrait-but I'm not signing it."

244.

eXtasy's Collective Mind He returned to the easel sitting before the window and began his preliminary sketching. She watched him with keen interest.

She had perhaps, three or four days to convince him to add his famous signature to the finished painting.

No problem. I'll merely seduce him and then he won't be able to refuse me.

She stretched her body slowly, purposely sliding her leg back so that her crotch was fully exposed to the artist's eye. She arched her back, thrusting her b.r.e.a.s.t.s forward.

"Be still, please."

He sounded authoritative without taking his eyes off the canvas he was so intent on readying for his paintbrush. His right hand moved quickly with his sketching, darting his gaze in her direction only occasionally.

"I want to see what you're doing."

She scrambled off the canvas and hurried across the room, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s jiggling, her bare feet slapping against the polished floor.

He gave her an utterly shocked look as she stepped around the easel and stopped very near his arm. "You aren't to interrupt me!"

She giggled and pressed against his side, making his eyebrows shoot up.

A smile suddenly wreathed his face. He put aside his sketching charcoal and took hold of her shoulders. "I should never have agreed to this. You are a total distraction-"

He pulled her against his chest suddenly and thrust his mouth against her lips.

A shard of l.u.s.t stabbed her insides as she succ.u.mbed to the heat of his body pressed so tightly against hers and the rapid way in which he claimed her mouth. A low moan slipped from her throat as he forced his tongue between her lips and slicked along 245 Violet Visions the inside of her mouth as though he had every right to do so.

She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, leaning her body against his hard form. The unmistakable feel of his erection pushed temptingly against her belly.

She shivered when his hands began to roam her body, pressing and caressing, then grasping her b.u.t.tocks in his smooth palms. He pressed her belly into his crotch, as though making her aware of his need for her.

She skimmed her hands across his back, and then lowered them to trail over his b.u.t.tocks. His mouth continued to a.s.sault her senses, his kisses beyond reason. She had never known a man who could take total control of her body and make her want more with every touch of his hands. He pushed between their bodies and grasped her breast, tweaking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger until she thought she would go crazy with want.

She lost all sense of right or wrong. She only knew that she wanted him in the worst way. She reached her hand to his erection and heard his moan of compliance. She found his zipper and released the pull, freeing his hardness into her palm.