Illicit Artifacts by Stevie Mikayne

Illicit Artifacts by Stevie Mikayne

Author:Stevie Mikayne [Mikayne, Stevie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626394582
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2015-09-27T16:00:00+00:00


Chapter Nineteen

Jess knocked twice on the sliding barn door that led to Lily’s studio. Classical music surged over the sound system—a cellist—and Jess remembered what had drawn her to Lily in the first place. Her elegant taste in wine and music had been a good start. The way she walked around stark-naked half the time had taken her interest further.

Too bad she was as fickle as she was beautiful.

“Jessica?” Lily looked up from the long rustic table and raised her eyebrows. Her silk dressing gown had slipped down over one shoulder, and the wide sleeves billowed out as she got up from the table and walked down the short flight of stairs to where Jess waited in the entrance. “Was I expecting you? I don’t remember.”

“Sorry to disturb you. I suppose I could have called.”

Lily laughed, her black hair bouncing off her shoulders. “You know better. I haven’t answered that thing in years. Come in.” She grasped Jess’s hand in her cool, strong fingers, and Jess felt the dampness of the clay she’d been touching seep into her own palms.

She led her up the stairs and to the table.

“Hello.” Down in the galley, a young woman knelt on a small table, her breasts displayed as she clasped her hands behind her head and arched upward.

Jess looked down to the sculpture Lily was creating. Her lines were perfect. The clay seemed to be moving, breathing, like the ribcage of a real person. She looked back at the model but felt Lily’s eyes on her.

She turned. “What?”

Lily’s mouth quirked. “You’ve changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“You always blushed before, looking at my models. You could never meet their eyes, let alone appreciate their forms. What’s happened? Have you found a lover?”

Jess turned away.

“Don’t tell me you’re a lesbian, finally!”

“Stop it.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t tease you. You have enough on your plate with all those naughty schoolchildren.”

Jess didn’t bother to correct her.

“Do you mind if I just finish this? Miriam has been stretched out waiting for hours. I have to release her soon.”

Jess shook her head slightly, tongue pressed into her cheek.

“Up once more, darling,” Lily called down, and Miriam stretched back into her pose. She turned to Jess. “Feel free to look around. I shouldn’t be more than half an hour.”

Jess slipped quietly down the stairs and over to the window where Lily kept shelves of art supplies and several kilns. Browsing through her collection was half the reason she’d come.

The other half of her reasoning was up for debate.



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