Lover's Muse (The Art Models Club) (7 page)

Amber knocked on the door softly. She tried to ignore her sweaty palms. She thought of Hunter's bare chest and shivered.

When Hunter opened the door, though, he had morphed into his artist role. He was wearing his tee shirt again and his demeanor was purely professional. Giving her a warm smile, he proceeded to outline what he wanted from her.

“I'd like you to do 3 or 4 short poses to warm up with,” he said. “Those can be anything you like. Then I'll have you try some poses for about fifteen minutes. If you need to stretch or can't hold a pose, just let me know.” He paused for a moment, considering her. “Are you sure you still want to do this? I won't hold it against you if you don't.”

Amber nodded. “I want to do it,” she said firmly. “I was even considering asking you to hire me for class.” She gauged his reaction.

Hunter inhaled sharply. “I can't keep you from doing what you want,” he said carefully. “But it would break my heart for you to model for anyone but me.”

Amber grinned. She put out her hand to push Hunter through the door. “Well, let's get cracking then, shall we?”

Inside Hunter's room, Bob the skeleton had disappeared. In his place was a pile of soft cushions and a plain wooden chair. The only other difference was that the air felt a bit warmer. Hunter must have switched off the air conditioning.

Hunter pointed out large, easy to read clocks he had placed around the room. Then he stepped back and stood expectantly behind an easel.

Taking a deep breath, Amber loosened the belt of the robe and then let the entire thing slip to the floor. She couldn't look at Hunter directly so she she turned her head slightly, facing the wall. Then she twisted her torso while raising her arms. She bent her arms at the elbows and then locked her fingers together as though she was resting her head and waited, eyes on the clock. Her discomfort about being nude was soon displaced by the physical needs of her muscles. Standing still was harder than it looked. After four minutes she was glad that she had chosen this as a short pose because she already felt off-balance. As soon as the fifth minute rolled by, she quickly switched positions.

This time she shifted her hips and arched her back. She placed one hand on the hip jutting out and the other on her forehead as though she had a headache. The only thing she heard from Hunter was a furious sound of sketching. When the time came to switch poses again, she was feeling more comfortable. She tried one more standing pose with a hand resting on the back of the chair with one knee placed on the seat. She tilted her head forward so that her hair dangled over her face while she held her other arm as high as she could to lengthen her torso.

Finally, she stopped, unsure what to do next.

“Try a seated pose,” Hunter said, his voice neutral. “Something you can hold for about fifteen minutes.”

Amber considered the chair and then simply sat down on one of the cushions on the floor. Lifting her knees, she clasped them with her arms and let her hair spill down in front of her. This allowed her to comfortably rest her head on her knees. But then she realized she couldn't see the clock. “Can you let me know when time's up?” she called out.

“No problem,” Hunter said.

She could hear the sound of his pencil scratching the paper. Strangely, she felt calm and peaceful. In fact she nearly nodded off to sleep.

“Time!” Hunter announced. “How about a reclining pose?”

Amber sat back and considered. Then she grabbed a cushion to support her back and fell back against that slightly while supporting herself on her elbows. She looked off to one side, staring at one of the clocks. She listened as Hunter continued to sketch. But only a few minutes had passed when she realized she she couldn't hold her neck up any longer.

“I need to move my head,” she said. “I'm getting a cramp.”

Hunter padded over quickly. “Try this,” he said, putting another cushion behind her so that her head was supported. “Just let your head relax and try not to move anything else.”

“Much better,” she said, sinking into the cushion. She fell back into a meditative state as she watched the hands on the clock tick forward. At one point she thought she heard Hunter moving to another spot in the room but she couldn't look.

Finally, Hunter announced time again. For the next few poses, he asked her for specific movements and she obediently shifted her body into position. And then, finally, he announced that she had completed the last pose.

Standing up, she put on her robe, anxious to see the sketches. As she carefully viewed each one, she noted that Hunter was uncharacteristically nervous.

“These are wonderful,” she said, and meant it. He had taken her body and shown it as a piece of art. There was nothing sexual about his drawings. Frankly, she would have been comfortable with them being shown in public.

Hunter heaved a sigh of relief. He smiled as he put away the sketches and neatly stacked the cushions in a corner. But when he was done, he gently pulled her towards the bed.

“The TA is going off duty for the day,” he murmured, drawing her close. “As much as I like drawing you professionally, I'd like to get to know you better on a personal level.”

Amber grinned up at him. “So no timers going off at inappropriate times?” she asked coyly.

Hunter laughed. “I've already put my cell phone in the kitchen for the rest of the evening.” He sighed and pulled her close. “I've been waiting to kiss you ever since you started sketching me tonight.”

“Stop wasting time then,” Amber said, tilting her head up to his.

Hunter bent his head and pressed his lips gently against hers, sending tingles through her whole body. As she responded, his kissing grew more frenzied. He started to pull at her robe and then stopped himself with a groan. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Do you trust me?”

In response, Amber stepped out of the robe, wanting more contact with his body. She pressed against him, feeling aroused by the feel of his rough jeans against her legs and abdomen. “I want you, Hunter Webb,” she said, pulling down his head to stare into his mesmerizing eyes.

Hunter rubbed his rough artist hands over her arms, in her hair, and down her back. Keeping his lips on hers he led her to the bed and gently sat her down. Then he pulled his head back and stared at her.

“If I'm the first nude male you've seen then that means I'm also your first lover.” He stared at her as though waiting for him to contradict his statement.

Amber could only nod shyly, suddenly nervous.

“Don't worry, Baby,” he whispered. “I would never hurt you. We'll take things slow.”

Amber swallowed hard but she was already on fire for him.

Hunter took off his shirt but kept his jeans on. Then he pressed her down onto the bed. Starting with her forehead, he rained tiny soft kisses all the way down her neck, detouring along each arm and leg.

By the time he was finished, Amber was already trembling, her body squirming to touch his. “Not yet, Gorgeous,” he whispered. He ran his fingers along each breast and then bent his head to kiss each one, circling her sensitive nipples.

Beneath him, Amber groaned as the pressure in her groin intensified. She could feel the wetness between her legs and she squirmed, arching her back to get closer to him. She wasn't even thinking now. Her body was acting on its own accord, pressing against the rough jeans, wanting to feel his skin.

Hunter finally pulled away while she lay gasping and slipped off his jeans, revealing his own desire straining against his briefs. Seconds later the briefs were off as well. He reached into a side drawer to remove a condom which he tossed beside her.

Hunter lowered himself beside her again and began kissing her deeply.

Wriggling beneath him, Amber clung to him, desperate to be closer. His warm skin was driving her crazy. As she did, she felt Hunter's hand caressing her check, then slowly sliding down to gently cup her breast. Then tantalizing, the hand slid lower, sinking down until he gently touched her between the legs. The jolt of pleasure caused her to gasp. She felt him move away so that one knee part her legs. His emerald eyes were cloudy with desire and need as he quickly put on the condom.

As he gently lowered himself, he carefully watched her face. “Let me know if I'm hurting you,” he whispered, his breathing jagged.

Beneath him, Amber felt nothing but desire. Hunter's slowness was further building the fire inside her. She strained against him, moaning with want. There was a brief slice of pain and Hunter stopped immediately, but as soon as it passed she thrust her pelvis against his, as intense pleasure soon replaced her discomfort. Only then did Hunter let himself go, rocking against her until they both cried out.

Afterward Amber snuggled in his arms, happy and content. At some point, Hunter got up to bring them snacks. And they talked until Amber noticed that Hunter was aroused again.

“Are you sure, Baby?” he asked, when she moved to kiss him. “You're not too sore from the first time?”

In response, Amber began kissing his chest.

The next morning, the sun was streaming in when Amber awoke to pounding on the door. She  looked up to see that it was 6:30.

“Hey Hunter, your damn phone alarm is going off!” Caleb shouted.

Hunter sat upright, looking confused. Then he saw Amber and gave her a huge smile. “Thanks Caleb! Getting in the shower now!” he shouted.

“Good morning,” Amber murmured, stretching in the cool sheets.

“Good morning, Gorgeous,” Hunter said, kissing her forehead. “Guess we better get going.”

He headed for the bathroom, giving Amber a nice view of his retreating backside.

Amber got up and found her robe at the foot of the bed. She was hoping Caleb was in his room but found him sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and watching something on his phone. As quiet as she was, tiptoeing through the living room, he still saw her.

“Good morning!” he said, clearly surprised as his eyes widened. “Guess you two definitely made up.”

“Good morning,” Amber squeaked, anxious to get to her room. She fairly ran the rest of the way there.

In the bathroom she looked at her disheveled hair and started laughing. Her hair looked like it had gotten stuck in a mixing bowl with the beaters turned on high. She hugged herself. This was going to be a whole fresh start for her.

After the previous night, drawing the nude model was no longer a big deal. Using the shapes for her proportions was having a positive affect on her sketches. After class, Professor Collins praised her for her fast improvement. Hunter had been correct about homework as well. Several students groaned when told that points would be taken off for missing sketches. Thanks to Hunter, Amber passed the first inspection.

After class, she stopped in the restroom first to wash the charcoal off her hands. She was just drying her hands when Kayla walked in with her arms crossed against her chest.

“Hi, Kayla,” Amber announced brightly, avoiding the girl's murderous eyes.

Kayla jerked a bright red talon in Amber's direction. Her voice shook with fury as she spoke. “I thought I told you to keep your hands off of Hunter,” she snarled.

Amber swiveled around, assessing Kayla's mood. “Sorry, but he told me he had no interest in dating you.”

She didn't necessarily want a fight but she wasn't afraid either.

Kayla swiveled her head around to make sure that they were alone. “You don't know who you're messing with,” she threatened.

Amber simply laughed. “No, you don't know who you're messing with.” She calmly tossed her wet paper towels in the trash. She began to walk toward the door with her head held high.

“You're just same stray dog that he feels needs attention,” Kayla said. “He would never date some loser like you.”Amber stopped and clenched her fists. But she kept her temper and forced herself to sound casual. “Hmm . . .I may have been a stray dog but now I'm all Hunter's.” She smiled and winked. “If you know what I mean.”

She let that sink in, watching as Kayla's face turned white. Something in Amber's face must have shown she wasn't lying. Kayla shoved past her and bolted from the room.

Following the girl out, Amber nearly collided with Megan.

“Are you okay?” her red-haired friend asked, her face concerned. “Kayla came out of those doors like a bat out of hell!”

“Yes, are you okay, Baby?” Hunter was suddenly by her side, angry. “If she messed with you, I'll . . .”

Amber cut him off with a kiss on the lips. “Relax, I'm fine. I think she finally gets the picture.”

Hunter relaxed, wrapping an arm around her.

Amber peeked over his shoulder to give Megan a smile. “See you in history class, right Megan?”

Megan giggled and held two thumbs up.”

“So, I was thinking about some poses I'd like you to do for me,” Amber said to Hunter, as they walked through the building arm in arm.

“Is that so?” Hunter replied. “It just so happens that I don't have any Friday classes. Were you thinking of a private session?”

“Very private,” Amber said, laughing. She tugged his hand and pulled him down the walkway. “I happen to be free on Fridays myself. And I'm just getting started with ideas.”