Read Picture Me Naked (Stoddard Art School Series) for Free Online

his forehead had been. He closed his eyes. In contrast to the tense knot of his body, the serenity of his expression gave him the look of a sleeping angel.
    On the page, Zee arranged the weave of each arm and leg, but changed her mind and abandoned the sketch. She flipped to a clean page. The sunlight from the window behind her bathed Jagger’s cheek and shown in the unruly wave of his hair. The warmth across her shoulders seeped into her muscles and melted some of her anger. She set aside the short stick of charcoal she’d been using like a sword, and picked up something a bit more refined.
    Zee began to draw his face. Only his face. Duplicating each feature with ease, she felt as if the straight sweep of his nose and the fullness of his beautiful mouth were all hers for the taking. Every line fell perfectly into place. Using her fingertip, she created the shadow of his cheek, the dip above his upper lip and the shade of his eyelids.
    The sketch seemed to draw her in. They left the crowded room. The world became just the two of them. She felt her fingers touching and caressing the warm lines of his face. Zee used a sweep of her eraser to indicate where the light kissed his hair. Blending with her fingers, she could almost feel its softness.
    When she moved to highlight his mouth, a flush ran over her skin. Her nipples tingled. She touched the paper with the lightness of a whisper and smudged at the pale curve of his lip. Her own lips parted. The air around her hummed.
    Looking back at Jagger, Zee’s hand froze over her work. Her heart pounded. The sunlight was warm, but that wasn’t the cause of the heat she was feeling. It was him. He was too beautiful. She’d fallen under his spell just like all the rest.
    But in that one tender moment, she chose not to fight it. She gave herself permission to lose herself in the sensation and wrap it around her. Too soon she’d be back in her apartment eating day-old tuna fish and berating herself for her foolishness, but just for a minute she loosened the reins on her common sense and let the fantasy sweep her away. A minute couldn’t hurt. It was just sixty lovely seconds.
    The room’s edges hazed in her vision as she indulged in her imaginations. A smudge of charcoal became the satiny smoothness of a lover’s touch. Her touch. She imagined the slight roughness of his jaw, the velvet length of skin just below his ear, the petal softness of a lip upon a lip.
    A buzzing sounded off in the distance, but its short rasp soon ended.
    Jagger’s eyes opened, their rich brown color seducing her further.
    She was lost. She forgot how to breathe.
    Time seemed to stop. Don’t blink.

Chapter Five
    Zee did blink and the spell burst like a rainbowed soap bubble. Jagger held her gaze and gave her a slow smile before leaping to his feet and slipping his jeans back on. Break time . Her breath caught in her chest as she crashed back to earth. Oh, God. She had been staring at him like a fool, dreaming about kissing him, touching him. Her face blazed. Had someone sucked all the air from the room?
    “Wow, that’s really awesome,” Leah said from behind her.
    “What?” Zee turned, stunned.
    “Your drawing. It’s amazing.” Leah frowned and took her hand. “Hey, are you okay? You look sick.”
    Zee swallowed hard. “Yeah…No. I-I need to get out of here.” She started to throw her things into her bag.
    “Honey, stop. I can take care of all that for you. If you need to leave, leave. Are you okay to drive yourself home?”
    “Yeah. Thanks.”
    “No problem. I’ll bring your stuff by later and check on you. You’re sure you don’t want me to drive you?”
    “No, I’m fine.” Zee laid a hand over her erratic heart.
    “You don’t look fine.”
    “Ya,” Zee puffed sarcastically, “I’ve heard that before.”
    She left before Leah or anyone could say another word to her. She felt Jagger’s eyes on her but couldn’t look at him. She raced out of the building and ran straight to