The Art of Love [Hedon Falls 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  Hedon Falls 2

  The Art of Love

  Melanie Hynes owns the brand-new art gallery in Hedon Falls. When she decides to make erotic art the theme of her opening exhibition, she goes in search of artwork.

  Justin Gauthier creates a unique blend of painting and photography. Melanie finds his youth and vigor intoxicating. David Hannah can sculpt provocative pieces from ordinary materials. And Melanie discovers that he is very good with his hands. Garrett Anderson’s paintings of BDSM are shocking and arousing. When Melanie asks about the lifestyle, he teaches her.

  Three men, each with their own distinct talents, and she falls hard and fast for all of them.

  When David finds out she is seeing other men, he is hurt and angry. Confused by her attraction to three men, she doesn’t know who to choose. Justin and Garrett show her the joys of sharing, and she thinks that may be the key to her dilemma. Can she convince David to consider a ménage?

  Genre: BDSM, Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 48,314 words

  THE ART OF LOVE

  Hedon Falls 2

  Michelle Graham

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  THE ART OF LOVE

  Copyright © 2013 by Michelle Graham

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-598-3

  First E-book Publication: March 2013

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of The Art of Love by Michelle Graham from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Michelle Graham’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Graham’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to the fabulous authors at Siren, who were there for me through some very difficult times while I wrote The Art of Love. Your words of wisdom and unwavering support meant the world to me.

  And for Deb: the best friend I’ve never met!

  Mary, merci de m’avoir aidé avec le français!

  THE ART OF LOVE

  Hedon Falls 2

  MICHELLE GRAHAM

  Copyright © 2013

  Chapter 1

  “What do you mean there’s another problem?” Melanie rubbed her temples. Ten in the morning and her head was already pounding. It was not a good omen.

  “There are all kinds of roots in the clay pipes,” Andy said. “We need to dig it all out and replace the pipes right out to the sewer lines with PVC pipes.”

  “And how much will that cost?” she asked.

  “A lot,” he replied.

  “I don’t suppose you can be any more specific than that?”

  “I haven’t done an estimate yet,” he said. “But I’ll let you know soon.”

  “Okay, thanks, Andy,” Melanie said before hanging up. She muttered to herself as she pulled up her budget spreadsheet. “Sure, Melanie, buy an old building and renovate it. Easy as pie. Riiiight.”

  Looking at the spreadsheet, she winced. Even though renovations were already ten percent over budget, she had no choice but to finish them. Her gallery was scheduled to open on December 1 and it absolutely had to open on time. She just hoped her contingency fund could handle this latest setback. Perhaps she could find another area to save costs. She could go with the cheaper paint and do it over again in a year or so. And she would probably have to find a way to cut some corners for the grand opening celebration. Then there was the small matter of actually acquiring artwork. She could display artwork that was for sale, but she hoped to have a few permanent pieces as well.

  The doorbell ringing interrupted her thoughts. She stood and stretched before moving through the little cottage to the door. She smiled when she saw her friend Serena standing there.

  “Ready to walk?” Serena asked her.

  “Just let me grab my coat,” Melanie replied. “It’s cool today.” She pulled her coat from the closet, grabbed a water bottle, and they left.

  When Melanie had moved to Hedon Falls, Ontario a few months earlier, she had been looking for an apartment to rent until her suite at the gallery was finished. She found an ad in the paper for a cottage on a large property at the edge of town. It was perfect. With one bedroom and bathroom, a small den, a sitting room, and an eat-in kitchen, it was exactly what she needed. Plus, it was all located on a beautifully wooded estate. The property belonged to Serena Dalton and her husbands, Liam and Lance Dalton. They lived in the large house on the lot beside Melanie’s with their children, Sam, who was ten, and seventeen-month-old twins, Logan and Savannah.

  Melanie had been a little shocked when she first learned of their ménage relationship. She had thought maybe they were just swingers, but as she got to know them, she realized how deeply they loved each other. It had been obvious that Liam and Lance were devoted to Serena. They couldn’t both legally marry her, of course, but they had had a commitment ceremony, which had caused quite a stir in the town. Though Melanie would never admit it, she was a little jealous. She imagined that with two men very few of her needs would go unmet.

  After moving in, Melanie had quickly become friends with Serena, and it was a daily routine for them to go for a walk through the woods in the morning
. Melanie was glad to have a friend. She hadn’t known anyone when she arrived in the area. Serena told her it was nice to have a break from all the chaos in the house and get some time to herself, especially as she was six months pregnant with another set of twins.

  “So what’s the latest with the renos?” Serena asked.

  “They’ve just discovered roots growing in the clay pipes,” Melanie told her. “I’m waiting for an estimate, but it probably won’t be good.”

  “That sucks.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “You know we’re willing to invest if you need money,” Serena told her. Liam and Lance owned an aquarium store in town which had been in their family for over thirty years. Their parents had been well-off to begin with, and wise investments along the way meant they were not lacking for money or anything else. Serena had offered to help Melanie out, but she was determined to do it on her own. She had her inheritance from when her parents had passed away two years earlier. It had been substantial enough for her to purchase the old mill building in Hedon Falls, mortgage free, and begin to realize her dream of owning her own art gallery.

  “I promise I’ll come to you if I absolutely have to,” Melanie told Serena. “But I haven’t reached that point yet. Besides, with you giving me such a great rate on the marketing, you’ve given me more than enough already.” Serena had worked as a marketing coordinator for a number of years before she got married and had the twins. Now she had her own consulting business and worked from home. She had offered to help Melanie out with the marketing for the gallery.

  “Okay,” Serena said. “What about the artwork though?”

  “I’ve been looking at a ton of stuff,” Melanie said enthusiastically. Art always excited her. “I can’t believe how much talent is right here in the Hedon Falls area! Deciding which works to choose will be very difficult.”

  “Any standouts?”

  “There are a few,” Melanie said. “One of the artists has a neat series that he calls Body Canvas.”

  “Body Canvas?”

  “It’s a style created by a Belgian artist a few years ago. The artist paints a person and then takes a picture of it,” Melanie said.

  “Why can’t he just hang the painting?” Serena asked.

  “He paints the person,” Melanie said. “Like with a paintbrush on their naked body.”

  “Oh! That’s neat.”

  “It is,” Melanie agreed. “In some of them, you can’t even tell where the person is unless you’re really looking.”

  “Who is the artist?”

  “His name is Justin Gauthier. And he’s really young. I think he’s only twenty-three.”

  Serena laughed. “This from the twenty-nine year old!”

  “For an artist, it’s young,” Melanie said. “And I’m going to be thirty in a few months! Then I’ll be an old fart like you.” Melanie enjoyed teasing her friend, even though Serena was only five years older than her.

  “Very funny,” Serena said. “Can I see the art? It might give me some ideas for the marketing.”

  “Sure. I’ll show you when we get back to the cottage.”

  They continued their trek through the woods, Melanie telling Serena about some of the other artists she liked, and Serena telling her stories of her kids. When they got back to the cottage, Melanie made coffee and opened her files on the artists she was considering.

  “This is great!” Serena exclaimed as she looked at the Body Canvas work.

  “I know,” said Melanie. “That’s why I’d love to get some of those photos.” She clicked open a few more folders. “This artist does sculpture with found or recycled objects. He reuses all kinds of things.”

  “That’s not made out of pop bottles!” Serena said, pointing to the caption beneath a sculpture of a man and woman embracing.

  “It is,” Melanie said. “He warms the plastic up so he can remold the bottles. Then he covers them with other materials to make it look more realistic.”

  “You know,” Serena said as she looked through the other artists’ work, “I’m sensing a theme with the artwork you like best.”

  “What theme?” Melanie asked, frowning.

  “Sex,” Serena said. “Or eroticism is probably the better way to put it since a lot of the sex is just implied. Like the nudes in the Body Canvas stuff, or the sculptures.” She pointed to some paintings by an artist named Garrett Anderson. “And those are very blatantly sexual.” Most of that artist’s work featured people involved in some sort of BDSM activity.

  “Sex? No. I just—” Melanie broke off and thought about it. “Oh, my God! You’re right!”

  Serena laughed. “I think you need to get laid, my dear.”

  Melanie went red. “Everyone is going to think I’m a sex-crazed nympho!”

  “So make it work for you,” Serena said. “Why don’t you make that the theme of your opening exhibition? Erotic art.”

  Melanie tapped her fingers on the table while she thought. “You know, that may just work. Though it would mean there wouldn’t be a lot of families coming through.”

  “Do many families even go to galleries these days?” Serena asked.

  “Good point. Maybe I will do that.”

  “And maybe one of those artists will be a gorgeous hunk who will fall madly in love with you and sweep you off your feet,” Serena said with a wink.

  They laughed and talked for a little longer before Serena left to relieve Liam from looking after the twins. Melanie went through the files again, looking intentionally for erotic work this time. She decided on the Body Canvas artist, the found art sculptor, and the painter who did the provocative nudes and BDSM pictures. She sent e-mails to the three of them, telling them about the exhibit and requesting an appointment to come and select some work she felt would suit the theme.

  The phone rang again and Melanie saw the contractor’s number on the display. “Hey, Andy,” she said when she answered. “Have you got an estimate?”

  “We’ve gone over everything,” Andy said. “You’re looking at around thirty thousand.”

  “Dollars?” Melanie exclaimed. “That’s triple the original plumbing estimate!”

  “It’s a ton of extra work and materials,” Andy said. “Everything needs to be replaced. I warned you that this could happen with old buildings.”

  Melanie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples again. “Fine,” she said with a sigh. “Do what you need to do, but if there are any ways you can keep the costs down, please try.”

  Melanie went to work on the budget, looking for an extra twenty thousand dollars somewhere. The only place she could see to save that kind of cash was in the apartment she had planned for herself. She wanted to be able to live and work in the same building. As a child she had dreamed of living in the art gallery and being able to visit the art whenever she wanted. She had hoped to make that dream a reality, but now it would have to wait. If she put the apartment on hold and continued renting, it would save her a lot of money. She called Andy back to explain her plan.

  “I’ve been looking at the numbers,” she said. “We’re going to have to put the apartment on hold in order to pay for the extra plumbing expenses.”

  “You want me to scrap it completely?” Andy asked.

  “Put up the outermost walls to keep it separate, and run all the plumbing, heating, and electricity up there so it’s roughed in when I’m ready to finish it, but don’t do anything else.”

  “You sure?” Andy asked.

  “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I can keep renting until I can find the money to finish it.”

  She hung up and clicked on an e-mail that had just popped up from the Body Canvas artist, Justin Gauthier. He was asking her to stop by his studio the next day at one in the afternoon. She replied immediately that she would see him then and noted the appointment in her calendar. It was the end of the day before she heard back from the others, but she managed to arrange appointments with them for later in the week. Satisfied that something was head
ed in the right direction, Melanie put her work away for the day and began making her dinner.

  Chapter 2

  Melanie stood at the door to Justin Gauthier’s studio and nervously smoothed her skirt. She didn’t really expect Serena’s prediction of finding love with an artist to come true, especially since he was six years younger than her, but it never hurt to make a good first impression. She had chosen an outfit that was sexy, without looking skanky, and spent some extra time on her hair and makeup.

  When the door opened, Melanie’s breath caught. Justin was a gorgeous hunk. He was quite a bit taller than her, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was slim but not scrawny. His hair was light brown and hung down over his face a bit, stopping just above his deep blue eyes. As she watched, his eyes travelled slowly over her body and she felt a flush rising when he spent a few extra moments studying her chest. Her nipples hardened in response, as though just by looking, he had touched the sensitive peaks. At last, his eyes met hers again, and a lazy, almost arrogant smile tugged up the corners of his mouth.

  “You must be Melanie,” he said, and she just about melted at his French accent. He put the stress on the final syllable of her name instead of the first and she loved the soft sound of her name from his lips.

  She extended her hand as she said, “And you must be Justin.”

  “Justin,” he said, giving her the French pronunciation. “Je suis enoûté.” He lifted her hands to his lips and planted a soft kiss on her hand.