The Artist's Amour (BWWM) ✓

Chapter 15: Give Me A Massage, Or Give Me Death

Chris's POV

"I don't like him." I shook my head, shuddering at the thought of Steve even breathing the same air as my son.

"Neither do I." Aria agreed, as we drove past town towards her home. We had stopped to grab a tub of tiramisu gelato, as promised, and now I owed her a back massage.

"He was so..."

"Controlling? Repulsive?" Aria chimed in, shaking her head.

"All of those." I nodded.

The brunch could have been worse. Aria actually brought out a social side I'd never seen before. She conversed with everyone, literally, everyone. Including, but not limited to: the waiter, the chef who brought out the wine, the couple next to us, the couples dog...

"I think, because of my stellar performance, we should make those 15 minutes into a 30minute back rub." Aria smiled, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I shot her smile back.

"Yeah, that's not happening."

"But but but, but I talked to a dog." She whined.

"But nothing. 15 minutes is all you get." I shook my head, pulling off onto the main road that drove directly through the outskirts of town towards her home. "What other renovations were you thinking of doing on the house?" I asked.

"I wanted to sand the floor boards down but I wasn't sure at that time. Now, it looks like this stay might be a bit more permanent." She spoke honestly, glancing out the window.

"During lunch, you mentioned you moved from Los Angeles. May I ask why?"

"You may not." She replied, her voice held no emotion until she turned to me with a false grin on her face in hopes of lightening the conversation, "That's highly classified information."

"Uh-huh." I replied, grinning.

"I'd also like to get that door open soon. The locksmith was supposed to come this weekend, right?" She asked, changing the subject again.

"Yeah, he hasn't gotten back to me yet. I'll leave a voicemail tonight and let you know." I nodded, taking a mental note of that.

"Sounds good. Make sure it's scheduled on the weekends, I don't have much time during the weekdays." I reminded him, as we drew nearer to my home.

"Will do. We're you thinking of painting the upstairs as well? I know we need to paint over that god awful mural in the room besides the bathroom."

"Oh god yes, that thing has gotta go. Could you put in another order of the pale grey paint. I think one more can should do it, then we can discuss floors after." She nodded, as we pulled into the gravel driveway.

"You should also pave this driveway." Chris noted, carefully parking beside my banged up rental. "Also, let me take a look at that car. It looks like a fucking death contraption."

"It's fine, dad." She joked, getting out of the car with the shopping bag.

"Just looking out for you." I replied, pulling the keys and sliding out of my car. The exterior of the house looked very risky. We had pulled out more of the floorboards that were nailed to the Windows, but the stairs were still lopsided and sketchy. I was sure how Aria could comfortably live in this place without fearing for her life, but then again, there was a lot I didn't know about Aria.

This house had potential though. It was beautiful, and secluded, something that fit Aria so well. It was also quite large, a bit too large for one person...

No, Chris, don't go there.

"Are ya coming in or what?" Aria called from the doorway.

"Yep." I replied, careful not to lose my footing as I made it up her porch steps and into her home.

~

"Be gentle." Aria whined, stuffing her couch cushion underneath her chest to prop her upper body more. I was currently kneeling above her with one knee pushed into the couch, and the other leg extended to the floor beside the couch. I expected Aria to be wearing a tank top or something, but no, Aria was currently wearing a towel that just covered her chest. And here I was, trying not to get aroused by her beautiful back tattoo and feminine curves.

The tattoo was a dream catcher with a wolf head inside of it, except the wolfs fur colors were the Ying and Yang symbol. Underneath the large piece, a quote read:

"Which wolf will win?"
"The one you feed."

"What does this tattoo mean?" I asked, trying to put a cap on my growing arousal.

"It's about an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

"Woah." I whispered to myself, admiring the art that lay before me. "That's beautiful."

"Are you going to start yet or what?" She whined, pounding her fists into the cushion like a child.

"Okay okay." I chuckled, as I reached for the massage oil we had bought with the gelato earlier. I didn't even know Aria had slipped that into our shopping basket.

I pumped the liquid onto my hand and warmed it up. "Set the timer." I said, as I watched Aria open the clock app. She put the timer to 15 minutes.

"Go." She spoke, her finger pressing down on the "Start" button.

I brought my hands down to her bare back and almost died by how soft her skin was. Her tense muscles instantly relaxed as she release a low moan.

My grandmothers lips. Saggy boobs. I mentally chanted, trying to get the sound of that moan out of my head. Right as I was thinking it worked, she released yet another moan while my fingers worked her shoulders. Fucking hell. I thought to myself. My hands started to involuntarily go lower to her waist and hip bones as I massaged that area, gripping it gentle yet firmly. "Right there." She moaned, grabbing the cushion even tighter.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, pull yourself together man. You got this. Don't give in. I thought to myself as I glanced at the clock. I had a good 10 minutes left, and I wasn't sure if I could make it.