Chapter 29
“Okay…” He stared at me with a quirked brow. “This is not exactly where I thought the night was heading.”
“You said you wanted to take things slow? Well, I need to keep my hands occupied.” I grinned.
As he shook his head and smiled I tried to ignore the anticipation that was building. The truth was, I wanted to see deeper. I wanted to see beyond the surface of what he allowed me to know about him.
“So splash some paint on the wall.”
“How?” He stared at the blank space. “Like a stripe? Or horizontal?”
“Don’t think about it, just do it.” I dipped my paintbrush in the paint.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Zoe. We should have an idea of what we’re going to do before we do it. How am I supposed to know what to do?”
“You have to trust your instincts.”
“My instincts tell me to make a plan.”
“No, your fear tells you to make a plan. You have to allow your mental muscles to relax and escape the box that they’ve been trapped in.”
“And how exactly do I do that?” He frowned.
Without a second thought I swept the paintbrush across his chest and up to the curve of his chin.
“Zoe!” He grabbed my wrist to stop me before I could swipe it across his face, though I had already planned to stop. As he stared into my eyes, I wondered if I’d taken things too far. “What was that?”
“I trusted my instincts.”
“Then I’m going to trust mine too.” He pulled the paintbrush out of my hand and swept it across my arm from my wrist right up to the curve of my shoulder.
“See? It’s fun!” I grinned and grabbed another paintbrush. “Now, the wall—”
“Nope, not done yet.” He swept the paintbrush along the back of my shirt, and as I twisted and squealed, across the front.
Soon we were both covered in paint.
He stripped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor.
“No fair.” I frowned. “I can’t take mine off.”
“You can if you want to. Or I could.” He caught one of the buttons on my blouse between his fingertips.
My heart raced as he leaned close to me. I thought for sure that he was going to kiss me. Instead, he pushed me gently against the wall. I knew that the paint on my shirt would leave a pattern. He trailed the paintbrush along the rise and fall of my shoulders, as well as the curves of my waist and hips.
“What are you doing?” I looked into his eyes.
“I’m painting.” He pulled me away from the wall and we both stared at the pattern left behind. It was surprisingly aesthetically pleasing. If I hadn’t known that he’d used my body to trace it, I would have thought it was just a unique design.
“Don’t worry, we can paint over it.”
“No, not a chance.” He pushed me back against the wall—just as gently—and traced my shape again.
Never in my life had I experienced anything so meaningful. He wanted me all over his walls, and he meant to have me in any form that he could.
“My turn.” I took the paintbrush from him and coated his back, his arms and the rise of his neck. Then I pushed him up against the wall.
“It’s not the same.” He frowned.
“It’s perfect.” I smiled as I traced the path of his body. Despite how slim he was, he still had curves and subtle indents that made the pattern quite interesting.
The silvery sketches across the wall seemed to tell a story. It wasn’t exactly art and it wasn’t any design I’d ever seen, and yet it was beautiful.
“Now all it needs is rockets.” I turned to look at him.
“Rockets.” He smiled as he stepped close to me. “I don’t need any rockets.”
“Why not? I thought you liked them? I thought you liked to pretend that you could travel to the moon?”
“You are my rocket.” He pushed my hair back behind my ear, despite the paint that speckled both my skin and his. “I don’t have to imagine the moon and the planets and the stars when looking into your eyes takes me right there.”
His words released that euphoria within me. It was something I’d experienced only the edge of, each time his skin grazed mine. But this time, it spread through me. It billowed into every lonely corner of my body and my mind until I felt completely warmed by his attention.
I had never ached to kiss a man before. I’d always been so quick to lock lips that the anticipation never had the chance to truly build. Now I felt as if my entire world would collapse if I didn’t caress the sweet mouth that could see me in such a beautiful way.
“Trent.” I touched his face with my paint-covered fingers and gazed into his eyes. I couldn’t wait any longer. I was going to have my kiss.
As I leaned close, I saw his lips spread into a smile just before I closed my eyes.