‘Now, Suki,’ he commanded huskily from behind her.
She wanted to refuse. But, of course, she didn’t. Because the slavish compulsion to give him what he wanted also made a terrifying kind of sense.
She caught the hem of her tunic, her hands efficiently tugging the flimsy material over her head.
His harsh exhalation echoed through the space as he caught the dress from her weak fingers and flung it away.
‘Now the rest,’ he instructed thickly.
Her breath strangled in her lungs but refusal never crossed her mind. Fingers shaking, she tugged the strings of the bikini top and bottom free until they fell away, until she stood naked, her head bowed, her tumbling hair flowing over her shoulders.
Slowly, she sensed him circling her, tracking her every shiver, her every breath.
When he stopped directly in front of her, she raised her head, met his gaze straight on.
Saw for herself that he too was affected.
Hectic colour tinged taut cheekbones, his bare chest rising and falling in ragged breathing. Both hands came up and wrapped around the chains securing the slab, his knuckles showing white as his red-hot gaze flew over her body.
‘Lie down, Suki.’ Again the instruction was thick, his voice barely discernible.
Two short steps brought her to the raw ingredient that would form his masterpiece. Reaching out, she touched it, familiarised herself with its texture. Lowering herself onto it, she stretched out on her back. The heat of her body meeting the cold drew a shiver and a gasp from her.
Ramon stared down at her, her feet a scant inch from his powerful thighs and the potent reaction to her that currently bulged behind his zipper. Suki wasn’t sure whether it was the fire from his gaze or the blaze from her body that soon warmed the stone beneath her.
Ferocious need clamouring through her, she couldn’t stop the sinuous movement of her body or the hand that slid over her midriff to rest on her belly.
Although she’d gained weight in the last several weeks, her stomach had remained flat. And yet she felt different, her not-yet-visible pregnancy powering a change she felt from head to toe.
Now, as Ramon’s eyes lingered at the place where their child grew, a tumult of emotions wove over his face.
‘Dios mio,’ he breathed as his gaze raked over her, absorbed the subtle changes in her body.
After a long minute, he lurched away from the slab. Going to the long workbench, he grabbed a large sketchpad and a thin wedge of grey charcoal. Returning, he threw himself into the chair, poured a finger of rum and knocked it back.
Then his hand began to fly over the surface of the pad.
Time sped up. Or slowed to a crawl. She lost the ability to judge as she was caught up in a singularly transcendental experience.
When Ramon instructed her, she turned this way and that, making sure not to jar her body. Finally, he set the pad down and poured himself another drink.
Eyes gone almost black with unfathomable emotions regarded her as he rolled the tumbler between his palms.
Had she not lived through his effortless rejection of her these past few weeks, or known that everything he did was in pursuit of his heir, Suki’s heart would’ve soared high.
But the knowledge was inescapable. And with it came an agony that drew a rough sound from her throat. Probing eyes that saw way too much shifted from where they were stalled on the rise and fall of her stomach to snag her own.
Tossing the drink back, he stood and came up the platform, caught her hand and helped her upright. ‘Are you okay?’ he rasped.
Attempting to speak past the sensation clogging her throat was hard, but she barely managed. ‘Did you get what you needed?’
For some reason the question made him tense.
One by one, the emotions disappeared from his face and he brought himself under rigid, effortless control. Resolutely, he stepped back and left the platform, once again rejecting her. ‘Yes. You can get dressed now.’
As Suki slid off the slab, retied her bikini and pulled on her tunic, her heart finally accepted the truth and tumbled into deep mourning. But even the monumental knowledge of what had happened didn’t stop her from caressing the granite one last time.
Because whether or not Ramon used the sketches he’d made of her, she would associate this studio, this platform, this piece of stone with the moment she’d accepted that her stupid crush had turned into something much, much bigger for ever.