Artful Love: A Short Summer Love Story (new adult/contemporary romance) Read Online Free

and stronger until the storm was at its peak. There was a torrent of rain, it became a hurricane. The wind was blowing me over, the rain hurt my skin, the wind was howling in my ears. The battle of the elements—that’s what I paint. To me, that’s beauty.”
    He gazed at me again, eyes darkened. Now I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He had drawn me in; I wanted to be with him in the storm. I wanted him.
      “Do you want me to show you how to put real emotion into a painting?”
    I nodded. He stood up and walked to an empty canvas, gesturing to me to come closer. He handed me a paintbrush and a palette with red, white and black paint on it. “Paint a tornado.”
    Hesitantly, I dipped the brush into the thick black paint and painted a dot right at the bottom of the canvas, carefully expanding it in an upward spiral. I heard Roberto move behind me, closer and closer until I felt his body heat caressing my back. My heart was thundering in my ears, and I failed to prevent my hand from shaking.  
    “Use all the colors.” His big, strong hand wrapped around mine and directed the brush towards the palette, dipping it into all three paints. Then he started moving the brush on the canvas, first slowly, but soon accelerating in a circular motion.
    My arm was moving along, but all I could feel was his hard chest muscles pressing against my back. The canvas before me became a blur as his warm breath in my neck sent goosebumps all over my body. I leaned back, inching closer to him. Instantly, the paintbrush stopped moving. His lips brushed against my neck, barely touching. It made my pulse jump.  
    I lifted my hand to his head and threaded my fingers in his hair. In response, he pressed his lips to my sensitive skin, leaving a trail of soft kisses down my neck.  
    His left hand encircled my hip, stroking my waist with his thumb. My eyes closed, I heard the paintbrush falling to the floor and his ragged breath in my ear. His arms now encircled me, both hands around my waist. His kisses became longer, deeper, more insistent. I clutched his hair, a hot desire stirring inside me.  
    Suddenly, I felt the floor taken from under me. Roberto had scooped me up into his strong arms as if I was weightless. My heart was pounding madly. Pressed against his hard chest, I looked up at his chiseled face, which exuded calm and focus.  
    He strode towards the bed. I expected him to deposit me onto the bed and cover me with his body. All I could think of was his body crushing mine against the mattress. But instead, he set me down gently and lay next to me, twisting to face me. His eyes blazed with yearning.  
    “ Te deseo .”
    A strand of hair fell forward onto my face again. His fingers tucked it back in place, lingering there before circling around the nape of my neck. Then the tender touch of his lips, all around my face—my eyebrows, my nose, my chin. That merest brush lit up a fire deep inside me.
    When his mouth finally found mine, it stroked my lips; it fondled, nuzzled, teased. His soft caresses made me feel dizzy, and made me hungry for more. I pressed my lips harder against him, and he didn’t hesitate to respond. Our lips interlocked, with kisses long, hot and deep.  
    The fire inside me was growing. I slid my hand beneath his t-shirt and traced the hard curves of his muscles. With my other hand, I tugged on the fabric. He momentarily broke away from our kiss, hastily pulling the shirt over his head.  
    My mouth went dry. His heavily muscled chest was a magnificent sight to behold. And it was mine, all mine. Pulling him towards me, I pressed my lips to his open mouth; harder now, more insistent.  
    His hand closed on my left breast, and through the light cotton material of my dress, drew his thumb across my nipple. My nipples firmed instantly under his touch, leaving me to gasp.  
    His other hand found the zip at the back and yanked it down. Shrugging out of my dress, I felt his lips brush the top of my breasts. Before I