The Artist (The Game Changers #2) Read Online Free Page A

to see the art.
    By the time we made it to the back of the room, Nolan and Eve had arrived, and Maddox was ditching me to spend a moment with his boyfriend. I didn’t mind. I had found the pieces I would advise my father to buy. They were a pair of paintings of a woman’s profile, one of the left side and the other of the right. They were colorful and ethereal in a way, but I could see the subject was lost. I couldn’t tell you what about the painting made me believe she was lost. Maybe it was the look in her eyes, or the way Blythe combined the reds, greens, yellows, and blues that created the image, but there was something about the subject that spoke to me.
    As I stared at the images, I felt a warm presence at my back. Assuming it was Maddox, I didn’t turn around, but then a deep voice spoke familiar words. “See anything good, Duchess?”
    Goosebumps trailed down my neck and arms, and suddenly I was having difficulty breathing. “Excuse me?” I asked in that embarrassingly breathy voice that only one person had ever evoked from me. I kept my head forward but tilted it slightly to show I was questioning him. I couldn’t turn to look at him for fear of giving myself away.
    He stepped closer so there was only a hair between us. We weren’t touching, but I could feel him everywhere.
    “See anything good?” he whispered closer to my ear.
    I tried to ignore my baser instincts that were trying to take over and focus on the art. “Yes. She’s very talented.”
    “That she is,” he agreed.
    In an effort to gain the space I very desperately needed, I stepped into the next room to see what else Blythe had displayed. Unfortunately, I found myself in a smaller space that was void of all people, and Maverick stayed right behind me.
    “Please don’t follow me,” I practically begged.
    “Perhaps you’re following me. You sat in my chair at the coffee shop, and here you are, at the same art showing as me.”
    “I was at the coffee shop first.” I hated that I sounded like a child. The whole situation was juvenile, but I couldn’t stop myself from contributing. I was too focused on the way he singlehandedly consumed my senses. I wanted to keep complete control around him, but this maverick did something to me simply by being near me, something that wasn’t altogether unpleasant. He made me feel. Of course, the feeling he elicited most was lust, and that wasn’t something I wanted out there on display. Kitty Peters does not do lust…at least not in public.
    “Hmm…if you say so.” Maverick’s hand reached around my back to take my now empty champagne flute from my grip. It was almost like his arms were wrapped around me, and I could imagine what it would feel like. It was too much. I stepped away from him as I heard him set the glasses on a tray. “Would you like another?” He returned to where I was standing but found a place beside me where he could gawk at me. I purposefully looked straight ahead.
    My breathing was already erratic. I didn’t need to see him nor did I need to add alcohol on top of my hormones that were taking over. “No. Thank you.”
    He leaned closer to me, until I felt his breath on my ear. “Why won’t you look at me, Duchess?”
    “There you are!” I turned quickly to find Blythe heading toward us. She looked stunning in her red poplin dress and black platform pumps with her signature cat eyes and bright red lips. Her black hair was pulled into a severe bun on the top of her head with only her thick bangs covering her forehead. “Adam, darling, I have been looking everywhere for you.” Her arms wrapped around Maverick’s waist, and he automatically responded by tucking her into his side. That was when it registered I was getting my first glimpse of the tall drink of water in front of me. Like me, he was dressed head to toe in black. The sleeves of his button-down were rolled up, revealing a pair of muscular forearms. He was taller than I expected, and Blythe’s small frame