“And I get what I want, Raven.”

“In this case you will, yes.”

He pushed open double doors and she had a very difficult time not being impressed, so she let it happen. Art dominated the walls downstairs as well, but up here, it was a different sort of art. Sensual.

The impressive thing, other than the art and the giant four-postered bed, was the view. The view out three walls of windows with wraparound decking just beyond. The view that took in the lake.

“Gorgeous.”

He looked her up and down. “I’m thinking the exact same thing.”

“I’m no view of the lake. This is stunning.” Imagine waking up to this every day. She might never get out of bed if this was what she saw each day. She’d just sit and sketch her time away.

“This is what sold me on the house.”

She ran fingertips up the smooth, carved curves of the poster she stood nearest to. And hoped fervently he never f**ked his ex on this bed. Not normally anything she’d have cared about. But . . . she didn’t want to be associated with memories of another woman.

“I found this bed four years ago. In San Diego of all places, so it had to be shipped.”

Well, that answered her question. No ex in this bed. Not a wife anyway.

“It’s a king’s bed.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Is that so?”

She nodded.

The way he looked at her gave her butterflies. Is this what Erin meant when she talked about how Todd made her feel at times? Interesting.

“I’d like to f**k you. Well, I’d like to do lots of things with you, including f**king. You down with that?”

She nodded. “I’m so down with that.”

“The glass is treated. No one can see in. So you should get naked for me.”

She slowly unbuttoned her blouse to reveal the lacy camisole she was very glad she’d worn.

He hummed low, watching, his gaze on her a weight.

She stepped from her shoes, placing them beneath a nearby chair. The sticks came from her hair easily enough, sending it down her back and loose around her shoulders. The camisole slid from her skin, leaving her in a bra. A black-and-purple bra.

Next, the zipper at the side of her trousers slid down, enabling her to step from them.

“Your panties match your bra. I like that.”

She didn’t know why, but the fact that he liked it made her . . . proud.

The bra and underpants took only moments and she stood before him, far more than her skin bared.

He stared, long and hard, not trusting his words. She was so beautiful.

Long dark hair with threads of deep blue shot through it. Large, high br**sts, silver bars through each nipple. Her skin was pale, creamy, and covered with ink here and there. Her legs were long, her toenails a deep red. She was bold, the way she looked back at him. And yet there was a fragility to Raven that grabbed him and didn’t let go. He was torn between a clawing desire and a need to cosset and spoil.

The stars she’d indicated earlier started at her left hip and scattered up her belly, across to her other hip and up her rib cage. Up each of her inner arms she had thorns and roses that wrapped around her biceps and shoulders.

“I see three tattoos. Where are the others?”

She turned, pulling her hair aside. Across her back spilled ivy and purple flowers.

“What are the flowers?”

“Forget-me-nots.”

Her voice, threaded with tension, tugged at him, drawing him closer.

“Eula?” He traced over the word that had been woven into a knot of ivy.

“My great-grandmother.”

Each time she told him something personal it felt like a victory. “Ah. This work is stunning.”

On her back at each hip sat a triangle with swirls.

“What are the triangles?”

“Triquetra on each side. Same basic concept, but the right is based on the disc I used to put in my 45 singles back when I had a record player. The other, well, it’s got personal meaning.”

“Enlighten me.”

“The nature of three. Mind, body, spirit. Maiden, mother, crone. The three levels of earth. That design is Celtic. Like I said earlier, Brody did all my work. He’s an artist, isn’t he?”

Jonah didn’t want any other man’s name on her lips. Even though he knew Brody Brown was a man who appeared to adore his wife and two daughters. Jonah knew too that Brody and Raven had once been involved.

“You’re quite the canvas.”

He noted the soft upturn of her lips. A pleased, touched smile. He wanted to see it again.

“Can I undress you?”

The two of them paused. Each seemingly surprised by the request.

“Yes.”

She pulled his shirt off again, leaning in to press an openmouthed kiss against his chest.

“Your body is beautiful.” She murmured it, nearly to herself.

He didn’t stop himself from sliding his palms over her shoulders and down her back, drawing her closer as she pulled his pants open and then down, kneeling as she did.

He stepped from his pants and shorts and then she looked up his body, shocking him into utter stillness as he took in the sight of this woman on her knees before him.

It was more than kneeling to get at his cock. It was . . . more. So much more.

“I like the way you look there. On your knees before me.”

“Do you?”

He nodded, sliding his fingers through her hair.

“I do. Very much. So much that I think you should suck my cock. Yes, yes, I think that’s definitely what you should do.”