She was about as far from his usual erogenous zones as she could get, but his teeth were already clenched with desire. "Unless what?" he ground out.

She looked over her shoulder at him, her gray eyes flashing.

"Unless you do exactly what I tell you' He was silent. There was no need to ask, she would say more in her own time. She moved the brush up the inside of one calf, and his hands fisted behind his head. "Don't you want to know what I've got in mind?" she asked, all innocence and pigtails and the most alluring woman he'd ever met all rolled into one.

"Sure' he said, feigning as much nonchalance as she was virtuousness and purity.

The brush found its way up one thigh to the base of his balls.

More liquid found its way to the head of his dick and he knew that one quick touch of the tiny brush on his balls, on his penis, across his head, would be enough for him to blow.

"I don't want you to come:' she said.

He went from lazy to irritated in a heartbeat. "Do you really think you have that much power over me?" She smiled then, and he couldn't help but be seduced by it, even though he wanted to put both hands around her neck and shake her.

"I don't know' she said as the brush skirted around his shaft and dipped into the crevasse of his six-pack. "Do I?"

He sucked in a breath as she twirled horsehair over his ni**les.

In seconds he could have her flipped beneath him, her legs spread, his c**k thrusting to the hilt, with her coming so hard she'd be seeing stars. But even as he lay beneath her in his own vineyard, with her using his own brushes on him, while she smart-mouthed all over the place and gave him ridiculous orders, he knew that her way was a heck of a lot more fun.

Smart woman. She'd figured out a way to be in control and have him thank her for it. She had a gift for turning any situation to her advantage. He had no doubt she was indeed at the top of her professional game. Still, he couldn't let her think she'd won. Even if she temporarily had. "Whatever' he said, as if it really didn't matter to him either way. "Just as long as this doesn't take long. We've got more work to do before sundown:'

Her big eyes narrowed. Damn if he didn't love pissing her off.

"Don't worry:' she said, "it won't take long at all' She picked up the medium-sized brush and added, "Remember, you come, you lose:'

Sam wasn't sure that was the case at all, but he didn't say anything this time. He let her work her magic. He felt the first sweep of the small brush against his balls, followed closely by the larger brush as Vanessa slowly, deliberately worked them up his shaft, to the tip of his cock. Every part of him needed to come, but he couldn't let her win that easily. He knew she'd be disappointed, and sucker that he was, he didn't want to let her down.

"Have I mentioned how much I like winning?" she whispered as she bent down and licked at his hard, veined base, timing the sweep of the brushes with her licks.

Maybe another man could have toughed it out. There was probably some guy out there who could have fought this battle and won. But Sam wasn't that guy.

"There's only one problem with your plan' he said in as normal a voice as he could manage given the circumstances.

She stopped tasting, stopped painting. Crawling up over him, straddling his hips, her skirt pulling up tight over the tops of her thighs, she stared him down. ''And what exactly would that be?"

His words were so soft that the breeze almost stole them. "I like it when you win' he said as he pulled her skirt up around her waist. Her hands fumbled over him as she rushed to push her panties to the side and drop the paintbrushes at the same time. He was in her, and he was glad, so damn glad she hadn't let him come, because he'd much rather be inside her like this. Somewhere in the back of his brain he remembered that they'd just met and better safe than sorry. He pulled out and reached under the tarp. Her sharp sound of protest cut short when she saw the condom in his hand. Grabbing the small, square package from him, she ripped it open with her teeth and shoved it onto his c**k with a violence that nearly made him explode. But he forced himself to wait, wanting to be inside her, to feel her heat and her strength as she pulsed around him.

He shoved back inside her tight canal and flipped them over.

She was still in control-she had been since the minute he'd set eyes on her-but he had to be on top, to drive into her as hard as he could.

Sam kissed her hard, then softer as his tongue found hers. All the while, his hips bucked and beat against hers and his fingers found her plump clit, so ready for his touch. He pushed his hand . into her and she screamed into his mouth.

He needed to come more than he needed to breathe, but still ". he said, "Have I earned it yet?" He felt her smile against his lips. "Yes:' she said, and it was all he needed to let himself go. But even as he was losing it, she couldn't resist adding a "Just barely:' In the middle of exploding into her, he smiled. And realized that he'd never smiled during an orgasm before.

SIX

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, Sam was back behind his canvases. Vanessa sat in profile, one leg up with her arms around it, the other bent and open. She popped grapes into her mouth one at a time, like a goddess of the vines, relaxing in her kingdom.

"What was her name?"

Sam stopped mixing paints. She was right. The time had come to take Marissa off her pedestal. "Marissa. Marissa Robeiro' "Where'd you find her?"

Vanessa's question seemed to hold no special interest. And yet, they both knew there was so much more behind her words, behind her curiosity. Still, he appreciated her approach. She knew when to be aggressive and she knew when to back down.

"She found me' he said, realizing for the first time that it was true. He hadn't been looking for a muse to take him over, but he had let it happen. "It was the end of the night at a show in San Francisco:' "You did well' she said, a statement, not a question.

"I did. Very. Everything sold in the first hour. The rest of the night was for contacts and cards and other galleries asking me what I was working on next' He paused to reset the scene in his head. "I was talking to the owner of the gallery, and when I looked up, she was there."

"You wondered how you could have missed her all night, when you wanted to drop everything to paint her." "I can't remember anything after that. Somehow we made it back to Napa. For weeks all I did was paint her, sculpt her. Nothing else mattered. I didn't return phone calls. I didn't finish other projects I'd started. I didn't wonder how it was that she could have dropped everything, left her previous life behind to pose for me. I didn't wonder if there was someone else, a boyfriend, a husband'