Rising (Anderson Special Ops #2) - Melody Anne Page 0,42

torn dress with a man pulling on it. There was a story being shared by the artist, and she showcased it perfectly right down to the yearning look in the couple’s eyes.

“I don’t know how a person couldn’t finish this, look at it, feel the emotions, and not know how great they are,” she said after several moments.

“This is a great piece,” Brackish agreed. “And we feel the emotion looking at it, but maybe the artist felt empty.”

She nodded as if she hadn’t thought of that. And then she stepped forward. Brackish could see she was completely lost in the moment. She’d forgotten he was there or that any other patrons were as well. A guard called out to her, and she didn’t hear him as she moved another step closer. She was less than a foot away from the painting, looking deep into the details, and missed the call from the guard again telling her to step back.

“Ma’am, you need to stay behind the line,” a frantic guard demanded, lightly tapping her shoulder.

The touch pulled Erin from her momentary fascination. She blushed as she looked from the guard back to Brackish who was grinning at her. “I’m so sorry. I totally zoned out there for a moment,” she said to the guard, who let out an obvious sigh of relief that she wasn’t a crazy person trying to take the painting. Then Erin glared at Brackish who chuckled. “You should’ve told me I was in a trance walking like a zombie.”

He laughed. “I saw the guard getting all nervous and decided to take pics instead,” he said as he held up his phone. “I was hoping you’d fight the guard and I could capture some WWE wrestling.”

“Men,” she said as she threw her hands in the air. “You would hope for that.” She rolled her eyes and walked from the exhibit. He might’ve been worried if he hadn’t seen the twinkle in her eyes. She was embarrassed, but she was fighting laughter as well.

Brackish quickly caught up to her and threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. She finally chuckled, finding the humor in their situation. They got a few looks from other patrons who obviously took life far too seriously. That made the two of them laugh even harder, annoying more people.

They stepped into another room, and their laughter died. Almost simultaneously they realized how close they were pressed together. Erin leaned back and looked up at him, her eyes flashing with desire instead of laughter. Brackish’s body instantly responded.

“I could look at you all day,” Brackish said. The room of people disappeared. It was just the two of them surrounded by priceless works of art.

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Erin replied, her voice husky.

Brackish couldn’t wait another moment. He pulled Erin close to his chest. She wrapped her arms around him, her hands lightly tracing his back.

He reached out and cupped her cheek, but he couldn’t wait another second. He leaned down and took her red lips, his tongue tracing their sweet, soft curves. She sighed against his mouth as her eyes closed and she kissed him back. He might’ve grown completely lost in her if the loud chuckles around them hadn’t shaken him from his lust coma.

As quickly as it had begun, the kiss ended, Erin’s cheeks flushed, and his body felt on fire. He reluctantly let her go as she took a shaky step back.

“It looks like the art has come to life,” someone said with a chuckle.

“I know. It makes me want to find a dark corner with my own art-come-to-life,” another voice said, referring to Brackish.

“He does look as if he stepped right from a painting,” another woman continued.

“Nah, she’s the work of art,” a male voice said. That one made Brackish want to snap necks. He didn’t want any man lusting after his woman.

“We should go before we give them more of a show,” Brackish said. He tried to chuckle, but he was too wound up.

Erin grinned at him, her face filled with joy. She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips before stepping away again. “Steve, I don’t know much about you, don’t know where you came from, and don’t know why this is happening, but I’m done questioning it because you make me feel something I haven’t felt before.”

Brackish’s stomach clenched at her words. “I was thinking the exact same thing,” he admitted. “But I’ll add that you’re