Heavenly Lover (5 page)

She stimulated every part of his body. The sight and smell of her was intoxicating.

He was aware other eyes were on him as she sized him up openly, like a piece of meat at the market, but found he liked her scrutiny.

“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” Josh said, then left and blended into the crowd. In Daniel’s periphery, he saw famous faces and aging rock stars. There were young college-age groupies and couples dressed in business suits. It was an eclectic gathering, all drinking wine, indulging in chocolate-covered strawberries, studying the bright art, and enjoying the music— and parting with their money in huge amounts. Checks were being written. Credit cards handed over. The room smelled of ego, money, and sexual prowess.

This didn’t feel like any of the galleries Daniel had visited before. The evening didn’t seem to be about the art at all. It was more about seduction and power.

He recognized Beau Bradley, owner of Craven Image art gallery. The former lead guitarist for the Spacetravelers was waving his arms, entertaining a group clustered in front of a huge bright canvas. The painting was about six feet square. It looked like someone splashed red and yellow liquid on it and then dragged something across it—most likely a woman’s ass, based on what Josh told him about Beau’s reputation.

But Daniel’s concentration was honed in on Audray, who drew him into a succulent embrace and left her scent all over him like the marking of a predatory animal. The caution in his head only heightened his attraction.

She reached up to touch him just above his left pocket with her red fingertips. He leaned into the touch, involuntarily. Her fiery gaze tethered him; he felt as though his wrists were bound. She walked backward two steps, and then turned, walking straight ahead in a long graceful gait. Everything around him slowed as he watched her walk away. Her hips swung in easy rhythm from side to side with a bit of exaggeration. She turned her face in profile, making sure he was following. Of course he was. He couldn’t help but to follow behind. She pulled him by an invisible cord.

Daniel was aware of the other partygoers in the room as he followed her, slicing right through the middle of the room. Faces blurred past him like he was on a merry-go-round. Nobody seemed alarmed. They just stared or nodded, eyes full of envy.

What am I doing?

Josh gave him a little bow and pulled his pale redheaded companion closer. She kissed his neck. He studied Daniel from a dark place, far away, and then turned back to engulf the girl fully with a deep penetrating kiss.

Daniel followed Audray outside the main gallery into a cool and unlit storeroom that was filled with wrapped paintings leaning against the sides of the walls. She continued walking without saying anything, her red fingertips a beacon as they grazed the tops of the covered rows of paintings. She turned the corner and started to climb a set of metal steps. The red spiked heels accentuated her smooth, creamy calves. The polished leather soles under the balls of her feet made delicate tapping sounds on the metal stairs as she climbed higher. She touched the railing with lightness, stroking the metal with her charm bracelet, hips and thighs swaying in unison to the thumping of his heart.

He stopped halfway up the stairs. She turned and looked at him for the first time since they’d entered the storeroom. He waited under the buzzing glow of the overhead light.

“Where are we going?” he asked. He tried to sound casual, but his voice wavered. His mouth dried up, and he found it difficult to swallow. He hung onto the metal handrail, his knuckles turning white.

She pulled her lips back in a huge smile, revealing perfect white teeth. “You don’t trust me? How sweet.”

A shiver slithered all the way down his spine. Somewhere inside his head there had been a warning to run, but it faded in the thrum of his desire.

“Would I hurt you?” she asked. “Do you really think I would? Come. Let’s talk.” She entered a small room at the top of the stairs. Daniel looked behind him to find the warehouse still deserted. The only witnesses to his actions were a row of silent canvases. They waited. Party sounds rippled through the storeroom in muffled tones, coupled with the buzzing of fluorescent lights. She reappeared at the top of the steps, bent down, and held out her hand in a plea. “Come, please, Daniel. Step into my office.”

He proceeded up the steps until he came to the final rung, then hesitated. She stood firmly at the top without flinching a muscle. Her gaze pulled him forward and he took the last step to close the gap between them. He was aware that if she pushed him he could fall backward to the concrete below. The danger whetted his sexual appetite.
Be careful, Daniel
, a small voice inside him cautioned.

But he couldn’t help himself. He drew close, close enough to feel the mound of her breasts against his chest and the electric tingle made by the connection of her thighs as they rubbed his with an almost imperceptible back and forth motion. Her breath against his neck was warm and uneven. She traced his lips with her forefinger. His ears buzzed. He was going to put his arms around her, but at the last minute she moved out of his reach. He swallowed hard and felt his groin swell.

They entered a small office through a glass door, which she closed behind them. When he caught her waist and pulled her to him, claiming her lips fully, she reached for something. Daniel felt her melt into him and she gave a little moan. His ears buzzed again. She pulled away. His fleeting thought was that this was reckless, but he didn’t care. He was a man dangerously in need of what she could easily provide, if she was inclined.

“I have a better idea. Come here.” She led him by the hand to one of two red leather high-backed chairs in front of a carved wooden desk. She pushed his chest and he collapsed into a seated position supported by the chair. He had been holding his breath. He exhaled now. With a mixture of dread and excitement, he waited. The tent in his pants was clearly visible, and yes, she noticed, and smiled.

She hitched herself up on the edge of the ornate desk and crossed her long legs, a movement that revealed her pale upper thigh. She leaned back to reach a file, the curve of her right breast visible. Her movements were catlike. He felt his common sense evaporate. His pants were getting uncomfortable. His imagination ran wild with erotic visions.

“I have a whole file on you, Daniel.” She looked over the top of the manila folder. “And I have to say, I like what I see, on all fronts.” She flashed him a smile, parting her lips deliciously for him. “Beau has asked me to look out for a new painter just like you. Someone to add to the gallery. He attracts people who love art, have lots of money, and, in Beau’s words,
‘part with it easily.’
Are you up for it?”

Of course he was up for it. He was rock hard. Under normal circumstances he might have considered his behavior a little too careless. But Audray held in her hands the keys to the two things he wanted most right now: to be recognized as a talented artist and to find a woman to share his passion with. Almost out of money, he needed the break, and it was worth the risk.

“I’m glad you like my work.” He thought he sounded too eager. “So, what kind of a file is that?” He pointed to the folder she held in her hands.

“Talent. It’s a talent file.” She said it like a librarian would speak to a second grader. “Certain people I choose, or they get recommended to me—as in this case—Josh…”

“Josh recommended me?” Daniel had only hoped to be able to score some smaller gallery space, but Beau Bradley’s? This was a huge coup. He was thankful he’d chosen his agent wisely.

“Of course.”

She was almost too beautiful to paint. Some sights were that way. He imagined her naked, sitting in front of him, looking up at him in his bed, needing him to stoke her fires. He knew he definitely was up for it.

“We’ll want to see your work, your originals, of course.”

Was this an interview or did she just want sex? Did it matter?

She sat on the desk, tapping the surface with a fingernail, as if impatient. She was studying him. But the pleasure reflected in her face seemed to come not from studying him, but from the fact that she could choose.

He needed to give her an answer without appearing desperate. It had been a long time since his last sexual encounter, and the dry spell was turning his thoughts, as well as his resolve, to mush.

“Of course. When would you like to see them?” He wasn’t sure which need was greater: bedding her or having his paintings perused.
What is wrong with me?

“Well, right now wouldn’t be too convenient.” She pouted and slid off the desk. She stood above his seated frame, cocked her head to the side and regarded him for a second before she slid down an imaginary pole and deposited her rump in his lap, her long legs dangling over the arm of his chair, crossed at the ankles.

Startled, at first he didn’t know what to do with his hands. She rested her head on his shoulder, and after tracing a line down his throbbing vein with her tongue, she whispered, “How about we look at your paintings tomorrow morning when we wake up at your place?”

Chapter 5

No woman had ever talked to Daniel that way, and the more she forced herself on him, the more Daniel wanted her. She tugged at his shirt. The muscles in his lower belly tensed. His hand smoothed over the surface of her skirt where her thighs were taut and firmly developed. He traced the groove down the small of her back. The pressure of her breasts against him took his breath away, filling him with need. She steadied his head between her palms as her lips gently pulled and suckled his, her sweet tongue finding its way, fanning the flames of his desire. With his growing erection, it became painful with her on his lap.

Before he knew it, his pants were unbuckled and unzipped. She stood, hiked up her skirt, and turned around. Bending over, she showed him her soft behind that looked like a peach, bisected by a strap of red lace. With one finger she pulled the fabric to the side, revealing her sex. She sat down on his shaft, groaning as she looked over her shoulder at him. He was deep inside her wetness. His willing cock lunged, seeking the depths of her folds, seeking oblivion.

The leather of the red chair groaned. He could smell the musky hide of the beast it had belonged to. He slid his hands under the front of her sweater and up to her breasts, the heat of her skin warming his palms. He buried his face in the cloud of her scent at the small of her back, and then raised the sweater to taste her flesh. His hands glided down to her thighs, pressing them further against him as he raised his hips to penetrate deeper. He was overcome too soon and spilled his seed inside, feeling there hadn’t been nearly enough time. He leaned his head against her back and exhaled as he stroked between her thighs. A part of him wanted to apologize.

She raised herself up and off him. Smiling, she stroked his member and purred, “It’s going to be a wonderful night, Daniel.”

He was certain of it as well.

He trailed behind her down the stairs as she did her runway walk in front of the canvas audience. They returned to the party and separated, but he never lost track of where she was. Every time he saw her he felt the bulge in his pants. He felt invisible fingers massage the back of his neck, and he’d turn around to find her green eyes burning, looking at him like he was naked. He found idle conversation useful in the interludes between stolen glances at her ass, her breasts, or the way her red lips kissed him in the air from across the room. He imagined doing all kinds of things to her when he got her alone. How could he be so conscious of how very wrong this was but still be powerless to do anything about it?

Toward the end of the party, Josh stood beside him as they watched Audray hug a skinny old rocker with long grey hair pulled back in a ponytail. The guy tried to grab her bottom and she politely took hold of his hand and presented it back to him as they both laughed.

“Isn’t she exquisite?” Josh shook his head from side to side.

“Have you…?” Daniel asked.

“God no. She’s as pure as the driven snow. A virgin for the plucking.” Josh’s eyes danced, mocking him.

Daniel chuckled at the obvious untruth, and nodded, staring at his feet.

“How do you feel, man?”

Daniel wasn’t sure how he felt. Of course he felt good; he’d just had sex with a goddess. But he also felt like he’d dabbled in his first taste of sexual heroin. His appetite was only partly sated. He needed more. “Unbelievable.”

“Yes. Nice, isn’t it? I like going over the edge like that.”

“But you …”

“She’s all yours.” Josh leaned into him and whispered, “You’re a very lucky man, my friend. I haven’t tasted, but have it on good authority you are in good hands.”

“Yes, she has nice hands.”

“Easy to let yourself go,” Josh said.

“Hard to believe she’s unattached.”

“I didn’t say
that.
”

“Who?” Daniel noticed a growing wave of jealousy. Ownership rights.

“The one to watch is Beau. He lusts for her between his girlfriends.”

“And you?” Daniel asked.

“You mean would it be okay to screw the ex-girlfriend of your agent? Would it have made any difference at all?”

“I’m sorry, Josh. Of course. I didn’t think…”

“Oh please, don’t waste your breath. She isn’t my type. Never has been. You’re free to roam. I prefer the red-haired angel types.” He scanned the room. “Like that one over there.” He pointed to a sweet-looking pink-skinned redhead in a dark corner, alone. At Josh’s gaze, she looked up and beamed.

“Readheads or angels?”

“Both,” Josh said, and winked.

Claire watched another dream interrupt the party scene. It came over him in a wave, and then yanked him away. He was in a field of grape vines on a bright, sunny summer day. Audray led him down between the rows, her red lips singing a little song that went with a dance she did.

Lady in Red.

Audray twirled, flashing Daniel a white smile as she beckoned him farther down the dusty rows bordered with the lush green foliage. She held a corked wine bottle in her right hand, the left clamped over Daniel’s first two fingers as she led him deeper into the fields. He stopped to spread out the blanket.

“No, Daniel, let’s go farther,” she said as she pulled on his hand.

He knelt on the blanket. “No. Now.” He was urgent.

She approached with a pout, standing over him with her legs apart, then started laughing as his hands slid up her thighs to grasp her panties.

Claire was flushed, her eyes pinned to what he was doing to Audray, at the sight of him pleasuring her with his tongue. Claire could feel the texture…

The blond vixen looked out above the vines like a queen at court. She stopped him.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

“So am I. So am I.” Daniel tried to pull her down but she easily got loose.

“We eat. Then we play some more. Come, I will feed you.”

Claire felt his arousal through the dream. She was embarrassed for him, and apprehensive.

They ate a picnic of cheeses, olives, and red grapes. Claire felt his complete enchantment with the way Audray talked, the way her body moved on the picnic blanket in the sun. Her skin was translucent, blushing red from effects of the wine. Her hair sparkled golden. She laughed a lot. They both did.

They made love in the field under the blue cloudless sky. Claire had seen couples having sex before in dreams, but not with this abandon. Daniel was possessed. The angel wondered how it would feel to have her body worshiped in such a way by a man,
this
man. He took Audray hard, but was attentive and careful at the same time. He watched the signals she gave, intent on giving her as much pleasure as he took. Claire was enraptured with the way his body played hers. She could not take her eyes off them.

He threw Audray’s clothes over the vines to the next row and soaked in the view as she ran down the dirt path stark naked to retrieve them. He lay on his belly, watching her looking for an opening big enough to crawl through to the other side. He was laughing again.

Afterward, he noticed they had an audience of farm workers who whistled as Audray turned and waved to them, unconcerned she showed them every part of her body.

Claire could feel the question growing in Daniel’s dreamstate.
Does she love me more than she loves herself?

“Good Daniel. There are things I can use here,” she whispered in the dark, in the moonlight. Perhaps now he would sleep. But soon he began to stir. She hovered above him. “I can bring you peace. I can heal you. Show me. Show it all to me.” Her gentle words were met with a smile, and then a frown as another dream snagged him.

She held her breath as she saw Audray wildly unzipping Daniel’s jeans in a men’s restroom. As his pants dropped to the floor, Audray reached into his underwear and pulled out his cock. Claire was alarmed at the way Audray coldly exposed him to the cool bathroom air, jerking and pulling on him before she softened and put her lips on his firm length and knelt down. Daniel’s head leaned back, his back arched. He was enjoying the initial feel of her sucking, in spite of himself. And then objected, but way too late.

“Audray, I can wait—”

“Maybe you can, but I can’t.”

Daniel was reaching to check the door, but she stood up and pulled his hand away.

“I took care of it,” she said as she hiked up her skirt.

He thrust into her from behind as she leaned over the sink. He was caught up in the excitement of screwing her in a bathroom, which only seemed to intensify his need for her. He heard the tinkling of wineglasses and civilized titters of laughter from the tasting room on the other side of the door as he pumped her.

Claire should have taken her eyes off them. She could have switched his dream off, or directed him elsewhere, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the face of Daniel’s reflection in the mirror, a man who felt the pleasure being inside this woman. Claire read in his soul how he thought this was what he needed, and knew how very wrong he was.

But was this why she couldn’t stop looking at the muscles of his butt as he drilled inside this woman with abandon? Did she not find something a little thrilling there, hearing the slap of skin against skin, the groaning of their combined lust? What would she do if he looked at her right now? Leave? Or beg to watch some more?

The moment was lost as a dapper man in a linen suit barged in, stunned by what he witnessed. The partial view of Audray’s soft flesh paralyzed him; but like Claire, he didn’t turn away, as would have been appropriate. Audray looked up and smiled at the stranger through the mirror over the sink, then drove a sultry look right into Daniel’s heart. Claire felt Daniel’s pain as well as the pleasure of his cock thrusting deep inside Audray, with a stranger as witness to his lack of control.

The man’s eyes widened. “Excuse me, I…” At last he released himself from the trance of Audray’s hold and closed the door without a sound.

“We seem to be attracting an audience everywhere we go.” Audray’s voice was deep and husky.

Daniel started to withdraw, but she reached around and pulled him into her again.

“I’m not done.”

When Audray was finally satisfied, Daniel was just spent. She dragged him through the full room of tourists by his belt buckle after he’d hurriedly dressed. The healthy chatter at the wine center had stopped abruptly as soon as Audray strutted across the room, Daniel in tow. Claire knew Audray liked it that way. The woman looked into everyone’s eyes with a triumphant smile, lording her sexual prize over any woman brave enough to return her gaze.

Claire couldn’t find one willing to do so.

Daniel’s dream screen faded to black so suddenly Claire had to catch her breath. His sleep was dark and deep. Now she understood the hold Audray had over this man. He was infected with their intense sexual relationship, and she could see why he had stopped painting. He had become obsessed with screwing his muse instead of having that muse inspire him. Audray never would be able to inspire any of the men she devoured. Her energy used them, drained them for her own satisfaction. His paints were relegated to the back of his mind somewhere, like the memory of a broken childhood toy. It made Claire sad.

It was disturbing hearing about Josh and his preference for angels.
He must take special delight in turning them into his willing companions.
No wonder Mother said he was powerful. She wondered if he made his own brand of dust, requiring the recipient to do his bidding. There had to be some physical tool in his arsenal she had never been told about at the school.

Claire was going to let Daniel sleep since his body was in need of it and she needed time to plan. But she was anxious to hear more about the story of this man’s journey into darkness. While she knew Josh was a dark angel, she would have to meet Audray in the flesh to determine if she was human or another of the dark angels.

Moonlight from Daniel’s single bedroom window filled the space, just like moonlight filled her own room in Heaven. Soothed by the milky white glow, she settled down to think. Some of her best planning time was spent while her charges were in a deep sleep outside of dreamstate.

Several minutes passed and then suddenly Daniel jerked and caught his breath as if drowning. Claire thought he would awaken. But he fell back deeper into the pillow and his eyes began to move back and forth under his eyelids, indicating he was beginning to dream again. She wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. She dove in.

“You’re just like several other painters we’ve had. You’re a no-name, not like Beau. Why do you think we are always looking for new talent?”

Daniel watched Audray lace her fingers through the golden yellow hair he used to lose himself in. “But people love my paintings. You told me so yourself hundreds of times.” He could see she was unmoved by his plea, and she turned her back to him. He persisted. “You used to believe in my work.

“Used to, Daniel. Used to, as in past tense.”

That hurt. Something began to crumble inside him. “Look, I forgave you for fucking the guy. You made a mistake. Perhaps wanted to be caught. And I got angry, really angry. Look, I think we can work past this, in time. Let’s forgive each other, and move on. But the gallery…”
I have nowhere else to go.

“For your information, it was not a mistake.”

Daniel’s insides boiled.

She lowered her eyes. He saw the kill shot coming. “Sure, you have talent. But no one is willing to fork out a penny for your great masterpieces. They look like crap that belongs in a child’s bedroom, not on the wall of a bank building.”

“And you think a toilet seat is more suitable?” Anger was rising in his veins.

“They sell, Daniel. They’re commercial.”

“So it takes a while to get my name out there. I wasn’t doing drugs, screwing teenyboppers, and taking off my clothes on stage to get famous. I was studying art. Learning my craft.”

“Craft? You call this craft? It’s shit and you know it. You guys start out great—the next Picasso—then just fizzle. Happens all the time. Just deal with it, and maybe stick to children’s books.” Audray was deadly in this mood.