Passion Shattered (Masquerade Part III)
Read Passion Shattered (Masquerade Part III) Online
Authors: Emily Jane Trent
The Painting
Heather felt like her heart and soul were in the painting she’d spent so many hours creating for Ryan Spencer Blake to display in his opulent wine cellar. When he’d first described what he wanted, it had touched her. Passionate would be the only way she could describe it.
Funny, she thought, how he has such a reputation for being a womanizer. I guess in Hollywood every star is the subject of gossip. She was sure the stories had been exaggerations. Still, she never quite relaxed about that story of Ryan’s engagement to Christina
Levain
.
He told her that it was falsely leaked to the press, that he’d never intended to marry the beloved star. Yet, Heather wondered if such a story could be completely untrue. Something must have given that idea to Christina.
Looking at the finished painting made her heart soar. It was probably her best work. She was sure it’s exactly what Ryan had in mind. She couldn’t wait to show him. For now, it was safely stored in her studio.
She never heard the turn of the key in the lock. The silence of her thoughts was broken by a male voice and not the one she wanted to hear. Panic clenched her throat and she was unable to respond.
“Heather, are you in the studio?” The deep baritone voice intimidated her like it always had. She froze.
“Heather?” Suddenly, his face was in the doorway. She felt violated. He had come downstairs and was in her private studio.
“I took my key back,” She choked out. “How did you get in here?”
He was handsome, she’d give him that. No wonder she’d fallen for him. He was tall and lean, always well-dressed, but way too conservative, she’d found out later. Being an attorney suited him. In fact, she often felt on trial when she was around him. He really had nerve to speak to her as if he were welcome in her home.
“I had a copy ma
de,” he confessed with an evil grin
. He assumed too much. Just like when they were together, he felt she should change to suit him. Well, she wouldn’t dress how he liked or socialize at his boring parties. Nor would she change her
art for him and that’s what made him so
angry.
“Okay, so you’re here. Now leave. “ She thought of the heartache she’d suffered because of this man. It’s like him to return just when she’d been able to put that relationship behind her.
“You still have several boxes of papers I need. The case is coming up this month.” He took a couple steps closer to
the canvas to appraise her art. T
he look of dismay on his face was obvious.
“You should have called. I’ll have
them delivered to you
,“
she said in a shaky voice
. The closer he stood to the painting, the more upset she became.
“I see you haven’t changed,” he said acidly. “What kind of trash is this?”
Heather was so insulted, she could barely speak. “It’s none of your business. Nothing about me or what I paint is your business. You took care of that a long time ago. Now, I’m asking you one more
time to leave or I’m calling the security guard to
remove you. I’m sure you sweet-
talked him to get past the entrance. That will be the only time that happens, I can assure you.”
Jamison stood looking at the painting, shaking his head. “Such talent, wasted,” he sneered. At his leisure, he left the studio. “I need those papers delivered this afternoon,” he shouted behind him. As soon as she was sure he’d left, Heather raced upstairs to the front door and bolted it.
Calling to the lobby, she spoke to security. “Jamison Stanton is just on his way out. He’s not welcome here. Don’t let him in again.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m very sorry about that. He said you were expecting him. I’ll make sure he’s on the prohibited list.” Heather slammed down the phone.
It astounded her that she’d on
c
e loved that man or deluded herself that she did. He could be very charming when he decided to be. It had taken her a long time to see what he really was. Even when he’d broken up with her, she would have taken him back if only he’d asked, but not now. Finally, she was over him.
The Garden
Ryan’s garden was beautifully tended. It was lush and overgrown. How nice to have lunch out here, she thought. It was only May, but already getting warm. She removed her red cashmere blazer, hanging it over the arm of the chair.
The delicious male across from her, utterly comfortable in his washed jeans and v-neck sweater, made her forget about food. The little sandwich squares, nuts and fruit were beautifully displayed. They looked almost too good to eat.
“Wine?”
Ryan inclined the bottle of Pinot Gris over her glass.
“
Mmmm
,” she nodded. Ryan seemed to pick only the best wines. It was always a treat. Just seeing Ryan was even more of a treat. She gazed with enjoyment at his handsome face, th
at mouth with the perfect
cupid’
s
bow that kissed her in a way she’d never been kissed before. Ryan was smiling at her.
“You’re not at the office today?” She’d been pleasantly surprised at the lunch invitation, always assuming he was way too busy for weekday lunches. She was grateful to see him, if briefly.
“I’ll just work at my office here.” Of course, she thought. This place is huge. His office at home is bigger than the one downtown.
“So, should I be jealous?” Ryan tried to look serious but his eyes sparkled. He felt the hardening under his jeans having Heather so close. Her sweet aroma of roses drifted across the small table. He watched her cross her slender legs, noticing how perfectly the tight white jeans molded to them.
“You’ll have to clue me in.” Heather wasn’t sure what he was referring to.
“The man who stopped by and talked to Patricia this morning…. He’s not a very good liar. Said he was interested in investing. Blake Enterprises doesn’t promote publicly. I do my own investing and if I ask for other investors, it’s always privately. So, that tells me Mr. Jamison Stanton, attorney-at-law, had to do quite a bit of research to even find my office.
The question is -
why he would go to that trouble. I have my own research team. They come in handy for many things. I always like to be sure who I’m dealing with. So, I checked this guy out. It kind of spooked me that he would just walk into my office without an appointment and under pretense.
Turns out, he’s you
r former boyfriend. He’s a high-
profile attorney,
who
represents Monica at Walker’s Private Paintings. I’m guessing that’s how you met him. I shudder to think of you with him.
What I don’t know is why he’s become interested, all of a sudden. If I were to guess, I’d say it’s the usual motive, jealousy. I’m sure he’s seen pictures of us. We’re no secret anymore.”
Heather’s cheeks flushed.
How annoying that Jamison woul
d intrude on her private life, o
f all the nerve.
“Ex is right,” she affirmed. “I’d rather not talk about him. I apologize that he’s bothering you. I’ll make it clear that he’s to leave you out of any dealings he has with me. And, no, you shouldn’t be jealous, not in the least.”
“I can take care of Mr. Stanton, so no need to worry your pretty head about it. Now,
let’s get
back to the current topic - my painting. When will it be ready?”
“It is ready.” Heather couldn’t help but think of Jamison’s comment “trashy”. Maybe she’d gone too far. He’d always said her paintings were in bad taste. So many times his attitude had crushed her. Even now, it made her hesitate.
“I thought you’d stopped working on it when you were, ah, upset with me. When you thought that Christina
Levain
was competition and you were so gracefully backing out of our relationship.” There was that twinkle in his eyes again. Maybe he found her funny, but she had been dead serious about not fitting into his world. Jamison’s recent visit only reminded her of the need to avoid heartbreak, not sure she’d survive another emotionally crushing experience.
“I worked on it, secretly. I feel like it’s a part of me. There’s something about that pain
ting. It seems to have a life all
its own.”
Ryan recalled how he’d described the painting he wanted one of the first times he’d been with Heather. It was at his office. The memory was highly erotic. He’d been unable to resist her, like now. He looked at her round breasts under her short little top, wanting to lift them out and see them naked. Those lush, soft firm breasts needed his mouth on them.
“Will I see you later?” That lyrical voice gripped his heart. Her green eyes gave her away. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“I have plans for you, baby.” His voice sounded throaty with desire. Heather felt a liquid heat flow through her core. Desire pulled her to him as if she were attached to a magnetic string. She stood up, her body not willing to be denied, aware that she behaved with Ryan as she had with no other man.
Ryan’s eyes opened wider as she kicked off her high heels and slowly stepped over the wood planks under her bare feet until she stood over him. The glazed look in her eyes had his cock pressing tightly against his jeans begging for attention.
And Heather was all too willing. “I’m feeling hungry,” she whispered in a deep sexy voice. She knelt before him. Ryan sat mesmerized by her beauty, the scent of her female arousal permeating the air. One by one, she opened the buttons of the fly of his jeans. Her sex clenched when she saw he was wearing a thong under the denim. It was just a band low across his hips with a soft cup that held his hot balls and hard penis.
Grabbing the band she pulled down over his huge erection, allowing it to spring free. The picture of them together in the garden, both fully clothed, with Ryan’s thick cock sticking out in the open air was highly erotic to her.
The beautiful cock swelled before her eyes, the veins bulging. Without hesitation she touched it, using light teasing touches. “So nice,” Ryan groaned. She rounded the swollen knob at the top with her finger knowing it would be overly sensitive right now. Ryan watche
d with glassy eyes, licking
up and down with her wet tongue, eating him like she was savoring a de
licacy. Her hard nipples were visible though
the thin garment she wore,
taunting
Ryan.
She opened her mouth and took
in part of his length
, sucking lightly. Ryan moaned and his head
fell
back. She began to take more of his hot member in her mouth, feeling it further back in her throat.
Pleasure
seemed to radiate through her
,
causing a throbbing between her
legs. She moved her head back and looked up to see
Ryan was watching her. He grabb
ed his balls in one hand
in an attempt
t
o
relieve
some of the wonderful pain he was in.
She took that moment to pull her mouth off, hearing a little pop as he sprung free. His hips arched up slightly, not wanting her to leave. She looked into his partly closed eyes knowing his need. She raised her hand but instead of gripping his engorged cock, she batted it gently and watched it sway, springing away and back, tightly. Ryan’s moans excited her.
She waited, not even a second, and batted again. Back and forth only slightly, side to side, his cock swayed. His moans became louder. Heather felt her own wetness seeping into her pants. She tortured Ryan several more times, k
nowing his cock ached for release
.
She placed a slender hand around his hard dick and slid it up and down,
gradually harder
. S
he looked up at him, seeing h
e hadn’t taken his eyes off her. She opened her mouth slightly and licked
her lower lip provocatively. Then, she touched the very tip of the head of his penis with the tip of her tongue, swirling around it, purposely driving him crazy.
She opened her mouth
,
and with her hand at the
root of his throbbing dick, took in half of his length
and sucked
. She
wanted Ryan’s cum
in her mouth. It felt so private, so intimate. He was hers. She alternately licked and sucked. Ryan was heavily panting, his hands gripping her hair, assisting her in pleasuring him.