Blindfold

“This is exquisite,” Daniel said. “The way you captured the desire, the pleasure.” He glanced at Cade. “I must ask. Your models, Alejandro said they aren't professionals?”

Cade shook his head. “No, they're not.”

“Are they a couple?” Daniel took a step closer to the photograph, his eyes now fixed on the mask.

“Why do you ask?”

I tightened my arm around Cade. His voice sounded a bit sharper than was probably a good idea.

“Her face. Her eyes. I don't just see lust and desire there. I see love. Either they're a couple or she's an amazing actress who should consider modeling or acting as a profession.” His gaze slid down my body and came to rest on the metal balls.

“They're a couple,” Cade answered. “Who agreed to allow me to photograph them under the condition of anonymity.”

Daniel nodded. “Understandable, though a pity. They are both quite beautiful.”

“I thought so as well.” Cade's voice had returned to its usual charming tone. “After all, it's the artist's job to find the beauty in life.”

Daniel smiled as he turned back towards us. “I wish to purchase this piece. As I didn't see a listed price, I took the liberty of making an offer.” He held out a folded piece of paper.

I was still trying to process the fact that a man was trying to purchase a picture of me having an orgasm when Cade opened the paper. I glanced down and my eyes widened. I wasn't stupid. I knew how expensive some art could be, and I had a true appreciation for what Cade could do, both with a brush and with a camera, but I'd never considered the photographs could be sellable art.

“I would also like to take the entire line on a tour of various galleries across the country,” Daniel continued. “And I've no doubt that you'll receive many more offers like this one to purchase other pieces. For a modest fee, I would be happy to broker such deals and arrange for deliveries once the tour is completed.”

“I...” Cade was speechless.

“How very generous and unexpected,” I quickly said. “Cade will, of course, need to speak with the models and get their consent for further release of the photographs since he'd originally intended them to be local only.”

“Of course,” Daniel said. “Here's my card.” He held out a business card. “I'd love to get an answer tonight, but if it takes some time, that's fine.” He gave another wistful look to the photograph. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I do want to take a look at the other pieces.”

“There's a particularly moving painting I think you might want to keep in mind for your clients,” Alejandro said. “This way.” He left Cade and I alone. Or at least relatively so.

Cade glanced around, making sure no one else was in earshot, and then spoke, “I'm not selling it.”

“Why?” I'd seen the number of zeroes on that offer. We weren't hurting for money since Cade had been able to pay off his debts – including the loft – with money he'd had saved over the years, but in the six months since he'd moved into my apartment, we'd been living off of my salary. It was enough to pay the bills, but there wasn't much leeway. That sale would allow us some breathing room.

“Why?” He gave me an incredulous look. “I would've thought you'd be agreeing with me. I mean, it's one thing to have these pictures hanging up in a small gallery where I know the owner. Maybe a hundred, two hundred people will see them, but this would be national attention.” He took a step towards me until our bodies were almost touching. “Men all over the country staring at your body. Lusting after you.” His eyes blazed. “Wanting you.”

A thrill went through me at the possessive note in his voice. I loved when he sounded like that. He wasn't the kind of man who kept me from my friends or told me what to do – well, not unless I wanted him to. No, this was pure alpha male sexuality at its hottest.

I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair. “It's okay. I love your work and this could do wonders for your career. Could you imagine the kind of exposure this could give you?”

“I'm thinking more about your exposure,” he said darkly. “I don't care about my career. I'll go get a job working retail or something like that. I just care about you.”

I put my hand on his chest, sliding just under his tux jacket so I could feel his heart beat. “I don't care who sees the photos. They don't know it's me. Besides.” I flexed my fingers so that my nails dug in a little and he sucked in a breath. “Men can look all they want. Women too. But only you get to touch.”

He put his hand on my hip and I could feel the desire radiating off of him. “Damn right.”

A smile made my lips twitch. “If anything, I should protest the fact that just as many men and women will be checking out the sexy man in half of the photos.”

He gri

“No,” I said. “They can't.” I leaned forward, my heels making it so that I barely had to stretch to brush my lips across hers. “Now, why don't you go catch Daniel and tell him you made a call and your models are more than willing to let you decide what to do with the series.” I glanced around. “I'm going to find Adelle and Mindy. You should mingle.”

He took a reluctant step back. “All right,” he agreed. “But I'm going to be thinking about how I want to ravish you later.”

I chuckled as a bolt of arousal went through me. I may not have had panties to get wet, but that didn't stop anything. I had a feeling I was going to be walking around the rest of the night with the insides of my thighs slick. I needed to find a restroom.

The mischievous light in Cade's eyes told me that he'd known exactly what his his statement would do to me. I glared at him as he walked away and then turned back around to find either my friends or a bathroom, whichever I happened to see first.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of meeting new people and hearing everyone gush over how talented my boyfriend was. I could tell from the looks I received from some of the women that they'd been with Cade, but I wasn't jealous. The past was the past and I didn't care what they thought about me. I knew who I was and who he was. I knew who we were to each other and nothing else mattered.

Adelle and Mindy were great at fielding questions on how Cade and I met, sticking with the true, albeit sanitized, version where Cade had saved me from a bad date, then fate had brought us together again. Adelle and I had really made an effort over the last few months and it seemed that our friendship was back on track. It wasn't like nothing had happened, but rather that we'd both grown enough to move past it. For Mindy, it had been a bit harder for her to accept that I was in love with a former prostitute. I'd finally reminded her how well I'd reacted when she'd told me she was bisexual and that had been it. Things weren't the way they'd once been, but I was okay with that. I wasn't the same either.

As the hours slipped away, people began to leave until, finally, my friends said good-night as well and Alejandro told us to go ahead and lock up when we were done. The cleaning staff would come in first thing in the morning. We, he said, should take some time to appreciate the art without anyone else around. When Cade took my hand and we walked through the gallery, I thought that was exactly what we were going to do.

When we reached the back of the gallery where my photos were, he broke the silence.

“Alejandro said he had inquiries about two other photographs and four paintings. I referred them to Daniel.”

“That's wonderful!” I exclaimed. I stopped and threw my arms around Cade. “I knew you could do it!”

“I know,” he said as he put his hands on my waist. “I never would have had the guts to show anyone my work if it hadn't been for you.” His expression was far more serious than I'd have thought possible for such a good night.