“Come on, let’s go.”
The way he stretched and relaxed, the way he spun and arched, the gleam of his skin and the precious beads of sweat that were perfectly placed to outline the intention of his movement before it happened…
“We can go now.”
The rotation of his hips when he stretched, as elegant as a panther and as ruthless as a dagger, slicing through the air with acuity, allure and strength…
“Are you done staring at Dahr?” Karisha’s amused voice pulled me from my trance.
I turned to her so abruptly that I felt my neck snap. Ouch.
“I’m not looking at him!” I jumped. “I wasn’t…”
“Sure,” Karisha said with a smile.
“I wasn’t,” I reiterated, making a point to avoid looking at the stage completely, even though my eyes begged for a final gaze.
“Uh-huh…” the tribe lady looked at me like she would never believe another word that came out of my mouth, ever again, and I felt the need to spend the entire way back defending my stance.
I was not looking at Dahr!
I was not looking at Dahr, I kept convincing myself throughout the quick dinner I shared with Karisha, through the journey back to the tent and especially, when Dahr himself entered his home, tired and sweaty after a long day of battle.
Unwilling to have any sort of discussion with him and determined to give my mind some time to rest, I turned to the side and faked being asleep, covering myself with the soft bed sheet that did nothing to offer coolness to my heated body.
It’s just the hot, sunny day, I told myself over and over, every time my heart jolted at the noise Dahr made around the tent, his steps heavy, yet lighter than his usual walk.
Was he trying not to make too much noise to let me sleep?
I was convinced I was either hormonal or suffering with heat-stroke, because there was no other logical explanation for my entire body to react this way.
Unable to sleep until I knew he was safe and sound, lying in his own bed, I listened to his movements around the tent, trying to guess what he was doing at every moment. Still, I wasdetermined to nestle in my own bed and push my night into tomorrow.
That was, until I heard sounds of splashing and could not contain my curiosity. Knowing I had to look, I promised myself that I would allow a single gaze. Just a quick one. Only to make sure that he was uninjured and safe. I lifted my head from the pillow and faked shifting in bed, turning my head towards the side of the tent he was occupying.
My eyes caught the sight of Dahr’s naked body, the perfectly sculpted ass he displayed as a mockery to Michelangelo’s David and the way water danced down his body to sculpt small trails of golden skin underneath the grime and blood he was covered in. The starlight he’d permitted to shine through played around with his form and highlighted his features elegantly.
My pulse accelerated to a mile-high record, my heart wanting to flood my chest with urgency and push my muscles into a stance. I wanted nothing more than to go and wash that body myself, to trail my hands over those muscles and observe every twist and bump, every firm surface and connection.
I did not keep the promise I made to myself and watched him for longer than I should have, to the point of risking getting caught. I watched how he soaped his entire body and how he used a cloth by the small basin that must have been brought in for him before my arrival, how he shifted himself into positions to clean his skin and had my fill when he turned towards me, giving me an eye full of his…
I forced my head back onto the pillow and covered my face with the bed sheet, trying my absolute best to stifle whatever sensation had possessed my body.
I’ve always been attracted to art. That was all. That was all, I tried to settle myself. He was just a perfectly sculpted body, just the same as the work I was striving to create as an artist.
Many artists had been enthralled by their muses, had they not?
That was all this was. Nothing else.
Just an artist finding her muse.
That was all.
“I can’t believe it,” Karisha said for what seemed like a thousandth time, when I finished yet another inventory grid.
“Glad I can help,” I smiled and slid the journal across the table for her to double check and approve my calculations.
“You are literally saving me weeks!” she explained again, her joy brimming on her delicate features. “Do you know how much I struggled to multiply each area, every single time I did this?” she sighed, probably remembering her struggles.
