I loved him.

It was a ridiculous notion, I barely knew the man a few weeks, but the way my heart swelled and soared at the very brush of his fingers and the way his mere presence filled me with a joy that I hadn’t felt since my mother was alive made my feelings obvious to me.

I loved Dexter Quinn. It was foolish and premature and entirely ridiculous but I did. No amount of denial would change that.

Reaching down to touch between my thighs, I felt the evidence of him still lingering there, coating the insides of my legs and on the lips of my pussy. The feeling, while completely foreign, wasn’t unwelcome. In fact, I liked it. I liked that he had marked me in that way. It made me feel like what we had was somehow permanent.

I knew logically that I shouldn’t have let him come inside me. Dex and I hadn’t been engaged in a long-term relationship with each other, nor had we discussed our sexual histories with much depth. It was completely stupid of me, and him for that matter, to forgo protection. It seemed all aspects of logical thought went out of the window when he was near me.

I had never been in love before, I never had the chance to be. Not in the all-girls boarding schools I was forced into during my adolescence and certainly not with Daniel Bennett. Of course I had crushes before. On boys and men who were just unattainable enough for me to fantasize about but never have to worry about actually falling for. But romantic love was completely foreign to me; it was something I read about in books, saw in movies, even noticed on the faces of those around me, but it never had a place in my life.

My purpose had always been clear; get enough of an education to appear intelligent, lure in some rich, well-connected man and leave any feelings I had behind as I became the perfect trophy wife.

Love had never been a factor or an option.

Dex snuck into my world, with all of his passion and laughter, and completely obliterated everything I thought I knew about how life was supposed to be. Even still, there wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t want to thank him for it.

As Dex drifted off to sleep beside me, I stared down at his handsome face. His long, dark eyelashes resting against his lightly tanned cheeks, his strong, bare chest rising and falling rhythmically with his deep breaths.

He was so damned gorgeous I could hardly believe he was real.

But he was. He was real, and raw, and mine.

And I was his too.

* * *

The next morning, after a couple hours of being generally useless and fooling around, Dex and I were enjoying a couple bowls of cereal when I got a text from Nora.

You free today?

I looked over at Dex, staring intently at the baseball game rerun on the screen. “Do we have plans today?”

Without looking at me he answered, “I was planning on going into the studio for a little while.”

I replied to Nora.

No, why?

We’re going out. I’ll swing by your place in an hour.

I’m actually not at home.

???

I hesitated when trying to figure out my reply. Did I tell her I had spent the night with my boss or divulge something more. Was Dex my boyfriend?

I stayed over a friend’s last night.

This friend doesn’t happen to be a well-known local artist, would it?

Come pick me up and find out.

After texting Nora Dex’s address, I had just enough time to take a shower and dress myself before she showed up. Dex had already gone, giving me a deep, panty-wetting kiss goodbye with promises to check in, in a bit.

Instead of ringing the bell like a normal person, Nora texted me to inform me of her arrival.

“Holy shit, dude!” she exclaimed once I was safely inside of her little black car. “This place is amazing.”

I laughed at her excitement, nodding my head in agreement. “You should see the inside.”

“God, Rosaline.” Nora clutched her chest dramatically, looking over at me with simpering eyes. “Gorgeous, rich, and talented. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

“Start the damn car, Nora.”

* * *

Nora drove us to some hip downtown restaurant for brunch. The interior somehow managed to be rustic and modern at the same time. It had an air of pretentiousness that made you feel cool for being there, but not too much that it made you hate yourself for thinking that way. It reminded me a lot of the trendy New York City restaurants I would visit with my friends when I was still in college.

“So, what the hell is going on with you and this “friend” of yours?” She used air-quotes around the word ”friend.”

“Technically, he’s my boss.” I shrugged. “But things have changed recently.”

Nora laughed. “No shit! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me your boss was Dex Quinn!”

“I didn’t know it mattered.” I was a little embarrassed. “I didn’t even know who he was, to be completely honest.”

I still had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Dex was somewhat famous. He didn’t have paparazzi following him around or people begging for autographs. But his name definitely carried a lot of clout in certain circles.

I quickly recounted the story to Nora, including every horny little detail. It felt so good to have someone to talk to. Hell, it felt great to have something to talk about. I never had girlfriends to gush over boys with and I sure as hell hadn’t had any boys worth gushing over. Most of my friendships were superficial and uncaring, formed due to close proximity and social status.

Nora seemed different. She was completely genuine. Listening to my story with intent, commenting when she felt like it and offering her opinion on certain aspects, fully enraptured with the still ongoing story of Dex and I.

She said nothing as I ended the tale, finishing off with the details about the night before.

“Wow…”

I nodded my head.

“That is some love story, Rosaline Reed.”

I chuckled a bit, not replying but inwardly agreeing with her assessment.

“I think so. I’ve never really been in love before.” I admitted.

She laughed, her pretty face lighting up in the early afternoon sun. “Lucky you. You didn’t have to go through a bunch of awful assholes before you found your Mr. Right.”

“Enough about me, what’s going on in your world? Is that gross guy still bothering you at work?”

Nora groaned, her hand running through her dark brown shoulder length hair. “No, thank God! He grabbed my ass the other night and Terry banned him from the bar.” She took a sip of her mimosa. “The fucking prick.”

She kept going, prattling on about her classes at college and the rebellious stage her younger sister was going through. And I let her. I loved hearing about her life. So full of love and color. Nora always seemed to be working on four projects on top of her schooling and work. I didn’t know how she did it. She was completely tireless, relentlessly ambitious, and totally amazing.

She was probably the most effortlessly cool person I had ever met in my entire life. Besides, Dex, of course. I silently prayed a little bit of her rubbed off on me during our time together.

After Brunch, Nora dropped me off at Dex’s studio, making me promise to check in with her every once in awhile so she could make sure “that fucking Casanova boyfriend of yours hasn’t killed you with the power of good dick.”

“Dex.” My voice held a sing-songy tone as I announced my presence in the warehouse.

“I’m back here, baby.” His voice came from a secluded corner of the studio, one he normally used to house unfinished paintings and other projects.

He was stationed in front of a large canvas, looking over the painting towards me. “Come here.” He beckoned me closer. “I want you to see this.”

The painting was beautiful, just as every piece of work created by his hands was, but it was the subject of the art that made me choke up. It was me. Kind of. The slate grey background of the painting held my face in the center. Both abstract and not, half of the portrait of me was covered in colorful brushstrokes; choppy, messy, and endlessly beautiful.

Dex had somehow gotten every detail of my face down perfectly while also transforming my likeness into something more extraordinary than I could have ever hoped to be.

I wondered if this was how he always saw me. If this was how he saw everyone.

The flood of emotions that filled me was unbelievable. I never saw myself depicted so wonderfully before. I never had anyone devote the time and effort into knowing me the way Dex had.

In that moment, filled with love and overflowing with wonderment at the man beside me, I could do nothing but tear up.