Take It Down by Kira Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page B

belief. Elle wasn’t thinking about those things now.
    A growl sounded low in his throat and a twist of desire arrowed to the center of her sex. She could feel the increasing ache, the wet slick that just anticipating his touch could produce.
    But instead of finishing it, instead of grabbing her body and claiming her lips, Zane spun away and walked straight out her door without a backward glance.
    She should be grateful that he’d had the brainpower to realize giving in to the passion pulsing between them would be a stupid idea.
    Instead, she was disappointed. And aroused. And pissed.
    She wasn’t used to men walking away. And she realized she didn’t like it one little bit.

4
    ELLE PUSHED HER TOES FARTHER into the cool sand. The beach was deserted. Most of the people on the island had no good reason to be up before sunrise. They’d come to relax and indulge, not rise with the chickens. She…she couldn’t relax.
    Erotic dreams, followed by tossing and turning and the lack of a solution for how she was going to find the painting had prevented her from getting more than a couple hours of sleep. She had no doubt there were bags under her eyes.
    Not that there was anyone to notice.
    If she had to be awake, though, she was going to take advantage of the moment. The quiet silence surrounded her. It was so different from home, where even in the early-morning hours there was activity on the street. Cars whizzing by, late-night revelers.
    Atlanta might not be New York, but it was still a big city with constant motion. Normally, she liked that. She lived for it. For the excitement and the options and the possibilities. At home, she rarely sat still. There was just too much to do.
    Which was why she was surprised to find herself enjoying simply resting on the sand. She pulled the sweater she’d thrown on over her shorts and tank top tighter around her body to ward off the early-morning chill. Closing her eyes, she tipped her face up as the first rays of sun touched her skin. A shiver ran through her, the sudden warmth startling.
    The jungle that occupied the uninhabited side of the island started stirring with life. Behind her, birds began to sing. Insects buzzed. The island woke up. She’d come to this secluded stretch of the beach, as far away from the resort as she could get, on purpose.
    Elle reached for the sketch pad and pieces of charcoal she’d placed beside her in the sand. She’d left home in such a hurry that she hadn’t thought to bring her painting supplies. She’d been more concerned with recovering Nana’s portrait than creating new ones.
    She wondered languidly if the famed Marcy could get her some paint and brushes. The dawn light was perfect, but somehow sketching the wild surroundings just didn’t do them justice. She needed a full palette to capture the richness of the colors around her.
    She’d never be able to recreate them at home from her faulty memory.
    When she’d come, she hadn’t exactly expected to make this a working vacation. She’d hoped for a quick in and out.
    A frown creased her forehead. Zane had pretty much made that impossible.
    These moments right now were probably the only ones she’d get all day without his ever-watchful eyes on her.
    Elle shook her head and concentrated on the sketch coming to life on the pad in front of her. The shading of the lush trees and sand in the rising sun. She smudged the line she’d drawn with the side of her hand, smearing the pencil to get the effect that she wanted. A trick she’d learned during her days at Savannah College of Art and Design. Her hand raced, quick and sure across the woven surface of the paper.
    A bird, big with plumes of red and blue and green landed on a branch in the tree she’d been drawing. She quickly added it to the scene. Capturing the way it tilted its head, as if studying the creature invading its space.
    As always, the entire world faded as Elle worked. She was absorbed in the moment and the race to capture the