The Portrait of Liya Preston

It was all he could do not to climb up onto the couch on which she was reclining, and cuddle her. Her eyes were closed and Aubrey wondered, yet again, at the trust that she displayed when in his presence.

"We didn't want to get out of bed," he said remembering what it had been like for him only that morning when he had awakened from a dream about her. For one fleeting moment he had been truly happy, believing her to be asleep next to him, and then he had realised that it had only been a dream, and he had got up, disappointed, and got himself a cigarette to calm down again.

"I lay there stroking your back and shoulders. You smelled and looked so good to me, baby!" he whispered and kissed her, gently. "Your hair was mussed and you looked contented, my dear. Lovely! Quiet. Happy! I love watching you sleep..."

"I have it now," Liya whispered back. Smiling, impishly, she closed her eyes, tossed her hair back and looked toward Aubrey over her shoulder. It was the attitude of a coquette, but Aubrey knew just the expression in the eyes that he needed to fill in in order to make the portrait complete; another triumph.

"Good girl!" he exclaimed, and got to work again.

***

The time for the exhibition drew closer and the issue of what they would do after this series of paintings was completed, emerged again. Aubrey knew that the paintings were very good, but he wondered if they would be appreciated by the public in the way that he felt they deserved. His agent and Simeon had liked the few pieces that he had shown them a lot, and they had both congratulated Aubrey on finding his mojo again.

He and Liya had sat quietly on his patio with her dog, Rusty, listening to what the two critics said about the paintings after Aubrey had left them alone, and when they thought that no one was listening. They really had loved the work; and Aubrey and Liya had both overheard Sheena Griffiths' speculation that they had to be in love since the paintings demonstrated depth of feeling far beyond anything that Aubrey had been capable of in recent years. She recommended to Simeon, sotto voce, that he advise Aubrey to keep the girl. This last remark caused Aubrey to bustle back inside before Sheena could say anything else to spoil the magic that he and Liya had had in their little retreat.

Even Aubrey could hear his lack of glee at being pronounced ready for his next major exhibition. Sheena and Simeon made plans about announcing his return to the world, but he was not a part of these grand speculations. He knew what he had to do. He had thought long and hard about his next move, and it would be risky. He had taken risks with Liya before, and the indications were that these had paid off handsomely.

"Liya," he said after his guests had left them in peace again. "I want to do a new series of portraits of you. These would be a little different from what we've been doing, and for an entirely different market." He smiled at her, and managed to convey his amusement in his voice.

The girl leaned forward, clearly intrigued. Aubrey was pleased to think that she would want to keep working with him in the future in their little haven. All he needed to wrest her away from her nameless boyfriend, was time; he was sure of it.

"I'm into BDSM and non-Con sex; what are you into?" he asked, quietly.