35. Victoria

35

VICTORIA

I giggled at her gawking. "It's just an art gallery."

Shaking her head, Sarah looked around. Nerves washed over her immediately as she expected someone else to be there.

"How did you know?" Sarah covered her mouth.

I shrugged and wrapped my arm around her waist. "Well, I didn't. But what I did know was that you majored in Art History and I'm guessing you haven't been to a gallery in about ten years."

Maybe I was crazy, but I could have sworn her eyes were glassy as she looked around the place. The white walls were filled with art. All of which was for sale.

"But it's so late for a gallery to be open." Sarah shook her head as she tried to catch up.

Guiding her further inside, I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I paid them to stay open, just for us.The owner is an old friend of mine."

Sarah whipped her head around to look at me. "Seriously? This is perfect because we can pick a piece for the house."

"I was hoping you'd say that." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I wasn't trying to make it a work date but I do happen to love this artist."

Giddy, Sarah squeezed me closer. "You know I love a work date. Tell me about the artist."

Without needing more direction, I started guiding us through the collection. The gallery extended farther back into the building than one would expect from the outside. And the artist's work looked like it was built for the space.

I stopped us in front of an abstract piece. "One of the things I've always really loved about Stella's work is that she doesn't let one style define her. Despite hopping around on that front, her work feels cohesive."

"Oh I like that." Sarah's eyes flicked around the canvas, taking in the seemingly random splatters of paint. "How did you meet?"

Vic laughed. "We happened to go to the same party in college and she was funny."

Before we went any farther, I snapped my fingers and walked over to the desk. A small wine fridge sat next to the gallery-girl's chair. Inside, I pulled out a bottle of champagne and grabbed the two flutes from the desk.

"Where did that come from?" Sarah shook her head, blushing at me.

"I called ahead." I winked at her.

Easily, I popped the cork and poured two even glasses. Sarah's eyes watched my hands flex as I moved. It made my throat tighten, suddenly nervous. I still couldn't understand how she had that effect on me. She was stunning and talented, but more than anything, she challenged me.

Passing her a glass, I raised mine in a cheer. "To finding the perfect piece."

"Cheers." Sarah smirked as she clinked her glass against mine and took a sip.

We got back to looking at the art. My chest warmed with each sip of the gorgeous champagne. Sarah wrapped her arm around my waist, squeezing me closer.

While she was looking at the art, I looked at her. The dress was unbelievable on her. It fit her figure perfectly, accentuating her lush curves. The deep v-neck of the dress perfectly hid what I suspected was underneath. She shifted on her heels, the dress swaying slightly as she did and exposing just an inch of her cleavage.

A flash of red appeared under the stark black dress, sending a wave of anticipation to my center.

Catching me, Sarah raised her eyebrow and straightened her back. The pop of red disappeared from view. "That's for later."

My center pulsed at the thought of having her again, desperate to touch her. But I tried to control myself, wanting to take her back to the lake house and make love to her on the bed that had been delivered just that morning.

For now, I needed to pick a piece of art.

Sarah moved on, not waiting for me to finish looking at the more expressionist piece in front of me.

Her jaw dropped as she stood in front of the piece. "Wow."

It was enough to pull me away from where I stood. Walking to meet her, I let out a relieved sigh as soon as I saw the piece. "Yeah."

Sarah watched me looking at it, my eyes following the delicate brushstrokes of an abstract expressionist piece. It was the perfect blend of everything in the gallery. There was something sensual about the way the lines drew me in.

"That's it." Sarah nodded, deciding for me. "It's perfectly your taste and it matches the color scheme in the lake house exactly."

Turning, Sarah faced me head on and cupped my face in her hands. "That's exactly how you should look at a piece of art."

My eyes moved from the piece to her soft face. I swallowed hard as I stared into her blue eyes, an entire ocean contained in them. When she looked back at me, our chests fell into sync as our breathing escalated.

I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her into me, my jaw clenching as I looked at her.

Tightening her grip on my chin, Sarah pulled me into her. Our lips pressed together, the entire world going silent. I let my hand drop lower on her waist, resting at the top of her ass. The delicate touch made Sarah groan, already anticipating my touch.

I scanned the gallery for somewhere more private, obscured from the wall of glass facing the street. But the desk was the only place I could imagine. It was a glorified cubicle, surrounded by thick white barriers to obscure the secretary from view.

Turning Sarah, I slowly moved us toward the walled white desk. Our heads would be visible over the thick barricade but nothing else – and that's what really mattered. Once we got there, Sarah pressed her tongue between my lips.

I parted my mouth to let her in, letting my tongue tease hers. She tasted like sweet champagne. It was enough to make me desperate, pressing her against the walls surrounding the desk.

Just as encouraged as I was, Sarah wrapped her leg around mine. My hands fell from her shoulders down her back. I brought them to her chest, letting them lift her breasts slightly. I could feel the mesh teddy under the silk fabric of her dress.

Moaning into my mouth, Sarah opened her eyes to look at me. Her hand rested on the back of my neck where she pressed me closer.

As our tongues continued to play with each other, I let my hand explore down her stomach. I gripped her hips, pulling them into my leg which parted hers farther. Lowering herself onto my leg, Sarah rocked against my thigh.

I grunted at the pressure, feeling her warm center slip through the slit of her dress and resting on my trousers. Needing something to grab, I placed a hand against the wall behind Sarah's head. The other gripped her hips and guided her along my leg.

"Fuck." Sarah's head rolled back, slamming into the wall. But she didn't seem phased by it, maybe even moaning a little at the pain. With her eyes closed, she brought her hand to my pants, slowly unbuttoning my pants and sliding her hand inside. She used her fingers to trace my panties.

Moving around to my ass, Sarah giggled. "A thong?"

I nodded as I kept her hips grinding against me. "I thought you'd enjoy that."

"I really do." Sarah peeled the trousers down enough to peek at the soft flesh of my ass, letting her hand grab a handful of skin.

A pathetic whimper came out of my throat as I felt the pressure fill my entire body. I would have been embarrassed by how badly I needed her if I wasn't so enamored with her.

Bringing her hand back to my front, using the thong to guide herself to my center, Sarah slipped underneath the fabric and straight toward my throbbing clit. She was eager, sinking her fingers into my folds without a second of hesitation.

As she began to massage my core, I kept her hips rocking against mine. But with each touch of her pointed fingers, it became harder and harder to keep her pace.

I took my hand off of the wall behind her and let it travel up her exposed thigh toward her warm folds. There, I slid the red teddy I bought to one side of her slit and spread the lips with my fingers.

Her entrance was already soaked, ready to take me. I lifted my gaze to hers and bit my lip before sinking two fingers inside her.

"Fuck." She moaned as she felt me inside of her channel.

I couldn't believe how excited she was, how desperate she was to have me.

We continued like this for a minute, my fingers pressing deeper and deeper as hers massaged my clit. But I pulled back and whispered to her. "I want to take you back to mine and have you in my bed."

"Okay." Sarah nodded. Straightening herself up, she prepared to head home.

I raised an eyebrow. "We still have dinner."

Licking her lips, Sarah's shoulders dropped as a look of desperation took over her eyes. "I don't know if I can wait that long."

I let my hands gently run down her arms from shoulders down to her hands, warm from touching me. "I need you well fed for what I want to do with you."

With a giggle, Sarah relented. "Dinner it is."

I intertwined our fingers and guided her back to the door. Pushing it open, I felt Sarah looking back at the gallery. The sounds of the city rushed to our ears as late night diners headed back to their apartments and cars zipped past.

"Do we need to lock up?" Sarah scanned the block, looking to see who else would handle it.

Shaking my head, I squeezed her hand and kept us walking. "The owner lives upstairs, she gets notifications when the doors open so she'll come down and lock it."

The answer provided a strange amount of relief for Sarah as her shoulders eased and she followed me down the street.

"So where is this dinner?" Sarah rubbed her chin, suspicious of my plans.

With a wink, I shrugged. "You'll have to wait and find out."