Chapter Thirty Three
Pia's POV
My hands ran on his neck, his broad shoulders, his back, his face, his hair... I could not get enough of him.
I was burning for him, terribly, that I craved his touch and kisses. I wanted his body pressed against mine, and absorb all of him, totally, until we dissolved together as one.
I was all over him, and yet he remained calm and composed. His face was flushing red, his lips were warm and firm, his tongue was strong and determined, deliciously dueled and gliding against mine.
His lips transferred on my cheek, tracing a path to my neck, then suckled the sensitive spot behind my ear, making me gasp with intense pleasure.
"Do you want to see the lighthouse?" he whispered.
Confused, I asked him, "what?"
"The lighthouse. Do you want to see it?"
My goodness, we were in the middle of intense passion and he asked me if I wanted to see the lighthouse? I was about to come!
"Um... now?"
"Yes, now," his eyes shone brightly with a promise, "we can continue where we left off."
My eyes rolled, and let out a frustrated sigh, "you wish. You just killed the fire there, mister."
He chuckled, and lifted my chin with his fingers. His face was so close, his eyes holding mine.
"Miss Rosi, you forgot," he teased me, "this area is not totally private. Staff walked behind the trees and bushes without us noticing them," he glanced at the big oak tree and pointed at it, "there's CCTV there, and in every corner of this garden."
My eyes grew big in a panic. How could I forget such things, and succumb into my desire for him.
I pushed him and stood up, feeling so upset and embarrassed, "get out of my way. I hate you. You shouldn't have started it. You... you kissed my thigh..."
"I'm sorry. For a moment, I forgot it too," he took my hand, lacing it with his, "come on, let's get out of here. The ants are having a feast, I don't want you to be bitten again."
He bent down and removed an ant crawling on my feet.
"Okay," I exhaled a long sigh, "I'm going to see your Pops house too, right?"
"Sure," he agreed easily, with a naughty smile, "I'll give you a tour."
I glowered at him suspiciously. I knew what he meant, a tour that starts in the bedroom.
I removed my hand from his, and poked his chest with my forefinger.
"Whatever YOU have in mind, it's not going to happen. So you better behave."
"I'm always behaving."
My lips curled, "you call that behaved? You have a dirty mind, going down my thigh, sucking the bite."
"I was treating it. Do you know that saliva is an antiseptic? You should know better, because that's what primitive people did in the past."
I gave him a long angry stare, "don't start it, Kristov, or we're done here. I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
"I'm just kidding," he teased me, "did I ever tell you that you look so beautiful when you're angry?"
"Stop it, that's too cliche. Save it to your new conquest," I scoffed, "that kiss was a mistake. It shouldn't happen again."
"A mistake? How can a beautiful kiss be a mistake?" he chuckled, "besides, you initiated it, you wanted it as badly as I did."
"Are you going to keep on reminding me that?"
He laughed aloud, raising his eyebrows at me "I will. Again and again and again."
I grimaced, but let him take my hand again, "come on, let's go."
"What about the food?"
"Jack will take care of it."
"Can we save the cake for later?"
He made a brief call and gave instructions to secure the cake. He also ordered a car.
We walked towards the mansion lazily, talking about anything, when I asked.
"You said you stored your paintings at your Pops' house. Can I see them too?"
There was a long pause. I saw the struggle on his expression, then he shook his head.
"Okay fine. I won't force you into anything you don't want to. But I want you to know that you can trust me," I gave him a sweet smile, "I won't steal your paintings and sell them for a hundred million bucks. Though it's very tempting. I could use the money to feed an orphanage, help the terminally ill, shelters for the typhoon victims..."
He roared into laughter again, then teased me that I should be managing his donations in all charity institutions that he supported. He enumerated the names and some were very familiar.
A red Ferrari was waiting for us at the mansion's back entrance.
Kristov helped me get in, before he settled in the driver's seat. I was overwhelmed being inside a powerful car for the first time. The smell of leather combined with Kristov's scent lingered, making me feel drugged, arousing delicious feelings inside me again.
My goodness, what is wrong with me? I feel like I'm possessed by the devil.
I took a deep breath, to calm my nerves. I felt embarrass all of a sudden, for acting like a sex starve maniac earlier.
Darn it. It was not me. I never acted like it ever, even with Jacob. I was always the sweet naive girl who would not initiate any sexual act. I was always the one who would wait. Jacob was also a conservative and discreet guy. Any form of sexual activities, should be in private. Even in kissing.
But with Kristov, I was very impatient and shameless. Like racing to the finish line... like getting first in a buffet lunch to get the limited Beef Wellington dish, or fighting for the last supply of canned goods in a supermarket.
I had to control myself.
I breathed in and out deeply, to calm my nerves and my hormones. I focused on the stunning scenery as we went up the hill, and avoided looking at the devastating, gorgeous and sexy human being beside me.
He kept talking, telling me about the trees and plants that grew in the estate. Who the previous owner was and how his Pops acquired it.
I was half listening. I could not absorb everything that he said.
Half of my brain was telling me - What the hell are you doing? Why did you go with Kristov? He's going to eat you alive. You know he's so into you, and he waited to have you by himself. Your dad will be very disappointed once he'll find out. And Jacob... there's no way he'll go back to you. Angela will win.
And the other half - Who cares? Isn't this what you want? Stop denying yourself and get real. You want him to touch and kiss every inch of you. Every night, you fantasize of him, suckling your breasts... eating your center greedily... pushing harder inside you...
I was sweating so hard, feeling so hot all of a sudden. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Are you okay?" he slowed down the car, then looked at me intently, "you're flushing."
"I-I'm okay," I forced a smile at him, then turned away from him, and concentrated on the birds flying in the sky.
We arrived at the lighthouse. Near the lighthouse was his Pops house, where he parked the car at the main entrance.
It was a lovely house, like a villa, all in white. The front yard was filled with different kinds of flowers, bushes and bermuda grass. And the view that surrounded it was so breathtaking.
"My God, this is the most stunning view in the whole estate!" I smelled the fresh air, and absorbed the scenery in front of me. I could not stop smiling, loving everything that I saw. The view looked like an HD image, the colors so vibrant.
"Exactly. That's why Pops love it here. He likes to paint the scenery in every corner. The mountains, the sea, the flowers and trees.... in different times and weather."
"I'm sure he did too many beautiful and amazing paintings here," I sighed and looked at him, "you also did, right?"
He nodded, and shifted to another topic, "you want to see inside?"
I nodded and he opened the door for me.
I gasped in awe the moment I saw the interior of the house. It was actually my dream house.
"Wow, this is so beautiful!"
Everything is so homey. The shiny wooden floor that I would love to feel with my bare foot, the convenient small fireplace, the big padded L-shaped beige sofa that I could not wait to sit and put my feet up, the bookshelves with old books I could not wait to explore, and many art paintings on the walls of the scenery outside.
"It is," he agreed, "everything is still intact, I have not moved anything since Pops died."
"Everything is so clean and shiny. Someone is cleaning here everyday?" I asked, as I walked around the house very slowly, studying the things that I see... touching the paintings, the books, the frame and anything with my fingertips.
"Some of the gardeners, under Jack's supervision," he followed me, walking behind me.
I felt so conscious of him behind me. His wonderful manly scent was like a drug, enticing me. Every time I stop, I could feel his ragged breathing fanning my neck. He was so close, and I was afraid that if I turned, I would immediately end up in his arms.
TEMPTATION.
I walked away from him, and went to the sunroom. There were many paintings in the pile. Some were finished, and some half done.
"My God, these are all so beautiful!" my eyes grew big studying the finished paintings, "these must be your Pops masterpieces? They look so real, it's like looking at it in person. These should be in frame!"
"They're all mine."
"Oh," I stared at him in surprise, then he turned away, and my heart instantly sank.
He was such a talented man, and it's so sad that he wasted it, and not developed it to the fullest.
I understood his pain. He blamed himself and his talent for the death of his loved ones. He also had this survivor's guilt. There could be other reasons that he was not ready to tell and I was dying to find out.
Kristov looked really tough, strong and confident. But behind that mask, was a very sad, lonely and wounded man. He could be a beast sometimes, but could easily be tamed. He's very caring, kind and... listens.
An idea suddenly popped up in my mind. I set up the easel stand, and put a blank canvas. There were cans and tubes of paints in a box, I put it on the table.
I squeezed the tubes on the table, red, blue, violet, black... and got some bright colors from the cans.
I also grabbed some paint brushes. They were in different sizes but just looked the same. Duh!! Whatever.
I painted a sky using dark blue... hmm... it was too dark. I put on some yellow to make sunlight... it got worse.
"I'll go back to it later, and make the mountain first," I mumbled, when I heard footsteps behind me.
"What are you doing?"
I turned to Kristov, whose forehead furrowed.
"What do you think I'm doing? Of course, creating my first masterpiece."
"You shouldn't use different paints in a painting," he came nearer and looked at the paints on the table. He clicked his tongue, not happy at the mess I made, "and these are watercolor brushes. You shouldn't use it with acrylic."
"Oops, sorry. I didn't know," I looked at him with puppy eyes.
He chuckled and wiped the paint from my face, "it's okay. You're lucky you're cute."
"Or else, you would have kicked my ass?"
"Probably," he laughed aloud, "for your information Miss Rosi, you just ruined Pops' precious watercolor brushes."
"Oh no... I did?" I looked at him, feeling so concerned, "I'm so sorry, Kristov."
"Don't worry, I'll just soak these with water," he gave me the correct brushes for acrylic paints, then left.
"Still not giving up?" he said when he came back with a small water bucket, and put it on the table.
"I'm determined," I answered, keeping my eyes on the canvas.
He stood behind me, watching me paint the sky.
"You should apply some white paint, to soften the color," he advised, then pointed to a spot, "starting here."
I did what he said, and he chuckled.
"Gently," he held my hand, guiding me with the brush, "like this."
"I can't do it right," I muttered, moving closer to him as his arm went around my waist.
"Of course you can," he encouraged me.
"Then, help me."
Together we painted. We were laughing, joking, teasing and flirting with each other. Until we were almost done.
I got tired and let Kristov finish the painting. I had never seen him looking so happy and alive, as he focused on the canvas. Obviously, it was his passion and something that he really loved to do.
I was feeling satisfied and happy. At least, today would be the start of him going back to painting again.
I sat on a stool, and was fascinated staring at the beautiful man in front of me. He looked at me, then smiled.
"Don't move. I'll put you in here."
"Seriously? How will you do that?"
"Just wait and see," he assured me.
He finished the painting in another hour. The result was so beautiful. The landscape was breathtaking, like an HD picture.
True to his word, he painted me in the center. I flushed just looking at my image. I looked so desirable, like a woman on the verge of passion. My eyes sparkled and my lips were so plump like it had just been kissed.
If this is how he sees me now, then I'm in the danger zone.
"Do you like it?" Kristov said behind me, and instantly, all my insides swirled.
"I love it."
I trembled when I felt his hands on my waist. I stood there paralyzed, holding my breath.
"Pia..." he whispered. I could hear his ragged breathing, matching mine.
I touched his hands, unsure if I should shove them away or let them stay. Before I could make up my mind, his arms encircled my waist and pulled me closer to him.
I gasped at the feel of his hard body against mine. A fire inside me ignited, burning... and turning to flame.
He buried his face on my neck, and all my defenses snapped.
"Kristov," I turned to him, and instantly, his lips covered mine.