Damien stopped at the edge of the clearing. “I come here when I just need to be alone. I had a feeling you might enjoy it as much as I do.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen this place before, but I knew I’d never been here. A lot of parks looked similar though, and I hadn’t been to this park since I was a small child, not to mention my parents never left the trails, so there was no way I could have.
“It’s beautiful.”
Damien smiled, taking my hand as he led me toward the creek, where we settled down onto the soft grass. A cool breeze danced through the trees, running over my skin, and I inhaled the fresh fragrance of the forest.
He laid back onto the grass, closing his eyes as he tucked his arms behind his head. “It’s a little secret of mine. I come here when I need to get away. Now you can come here whenever you like.”
His words touched me in a way I couldn’t understand, and I had to pause for a moment to absorb his sweet gesture. This place seemed special to him, and yet, he was sharing it with me. I couldn’t understand why. He laid there a moment, before opening his eyes to stare up at the branches as they danced in the breeze.
I reached into my bag, pulling my sketchbook and graphite pencil free. I propped the sketchbook up on my lap, leaning over it as I drew across the paper. I snuck a peek at him, drawing down the contour of his face. When I glanced up again, I nearly dropped the pad of paper, yelping as I met his eyes.
He was turned to face me, propped up on his elbow, watching me with a crooked smile on his face. “Are you drawing me again?”
I pressed the sketchbook to my chest as I hid the drawing. I wanted to deny it, but I knew he’d caught a glimpse. “Yes. But you can’t see it yet.”
A low laugh slipped out under his breath, and my heart leapt at the sound of it. He sat up. “How do you want me?”
My mind fell into a frenzy of thoughts. This wasn’t a difficult question, I just had to set him up how I wanted him... to be drawn, to be drawn.
It’s just a drawing, Cas, calm down.
“Sit up… Turn to me…” I set the pad of paper down, scooting closer to him. “Now turn your head just like…” I reached out, turning his face to angle it how I wanted. We were so close, and I could feel his eyes on me, feel the warmth of his breath against my hand. I tried to maintain my composure and act professional as an artist, but it was hopeless, and I knew he was seeing through me by his coy grin.
His eyes followed my every movement, drifting over me as I positioned him. When I lifted my eyes to meet his, they almost glowed in the rays of light falling through the trees. They were dazzling, a mix of pale pewter rims with a burst of amber in the center. They were like fire in ashes, so intense that I was falling into the depths of them.
I cleared my throat, dragging myself back down to reality, and scooted back to lean against the nearest rock as I continued to draw. My eyes flitted back and forth between him and my sketch. I don’t know how much time passed, and we sat there like that for a while as I jotted down the details of his face. His neck. His shoulders.
After a moment, I realized that this was my first time working with a male model. His features were so different, the coiled muscles lying under the surface of his skin, the veins of his hands. I wondered what he looked like under that shirt. My ears grew hot, and he chuckled.
He sees you, dummy. Stop thinking like that.
I finally got the details down that I wanted and closed my sketchbook.
He frowned. “Awe, don’t I get to see it?”
“No, not yet. These are just notes.”
“Notes? You take notes for drawing?”
I grabbed my bag, shoving my book and pencil back inside before turning to him. “Yeah. This will be my reference for the real drawing.” Damien smiled, and I had to remember to breathe. “I’ll let you see the real drawing when I finish it.”
He pushed himself up and extended his hand to me. I took it, feeling the roughness of his calloused palms as he gripped my fingers, pulling me to my feet.
He walked ahead of me, stepping out onto one of the boulders before jumping down onto the bed of river rocks near the flowing water. The word to describe the way he moved escaped me; it wasn’t so much grace as it was watching a cat move lithely across the surface.
I hopped down from the ledge, and cautiously stepped across the slick rock surface after him, only I went at a much slower, less elegant pace. The first step was good, the second ok, then my good streak ran out.
My foot slipped, and Damien’s head jerked back at the sound of my gasp. He whipped around, his hand stretching out to mine. My hand slipped through his fingers, and I shut my eyes as I braced myself for the impact.
The water, like icy-sharp fangs, raked over my skin, and the rocks scraped and bruised my back and arms as I made a poor attempt to catch myself. Freezing waters rushed over me, soaking into my clothes, my hair, every inch of my body. I choked on my breath, my chest collapsing in on itself as I tried to recover.
“Shit, Cassie, are you ok?” I could barely hear him over the sound of water flooding my ears. Damien grabbed me, pulling me to my feet as I groaned.
“Y–yeah… I–I think s–so.” My teeth chattered. My water-soaked clothes mixed with the cold breeze was like needles prodding my skin. “I–I’m s–s–sorry. I’m s-such a freaking k-klutz.”
He guided me back over to the edge of the rock bed. The shivers rattled my body as he eased me down to sit atop one of the rocks. He cursed and quickly removed my coat, tossing it up near my bag before hastily peeling his jacket off. I looked down, shivering, rubbing my arms, trying to warm up. I heard more shifting behind me, and I looked over my shoulder at him, just as he was stretching his arms up to lift his shirt over his head.
