Chapter 22: Kisses on her midriff

The entire hall went quiet. The only tags up were those of Larissa and Sin, and neither seemed ready to budge. Larissa slowly turned to him, her brow raising.

"I will pay fifty million, too."

Sin chuckled, his fingers lightly touching my back as he slowly flipped his tag. "Hundred million."

I turned to Larissa. This is interesting. Her eyes were even thinner mow, her jaws lightly clenched. I could see as Aldo leaned to tell her to back off, but Larissa flipped him off, then raised her tag even higher.

"One fifty."

"Are you going to continue with this?" I asked, turning to Sin.

He raised a brow, then said, in a voice that was a bit louder than his normal talking tone, but still just as soft. The sort of loudness that would enable most of the people on the diamond row to hear him.

"You looked like you wanted the painting. You will have it."

My brows raised as he turned away from me. My lips parted, my eyes blinking rapidly as I tried to understand. Sin didn't seem like he had the leisure, as he turned away.

"Five hundred million," he said, his voice low.

Larissa immediately dropped her tag, her chest heaving hard. I broke into a smile, unable to hold it any longer. He hadn't even given her the pleasure of going back and forth and had decided to go to an amount he knew she would probably never be able to part with.

"Five hundred million! And this painting is sold to Sin himself. The hefty price of five hundred million! The first auction of this painting, if I do remember, stopped at only twenty million. What could have motivated you to buy it at such a hefty price?" the announcer asked, turning to Sin.

Sin only gave a smile, and instead of answering, moved his head a little. I had been watching him, but somehow missed it as he moved my arm from my side and put it around his shoulder, then kissed the very curve of my waist.

His lips against my skin were soft, slow, the most intoxicating thing I have felt all my life. I could barely recognize myself as my fingers lightly tightened around him, my eyes closing as my lips slowly parted.

He moved away, then brought his fingers to caress the spot he had just kissed, but I would rather just have it tatted on me.

My eyes opened, and I took in a deep breath, unable to understand anything for a second. The announcer gave a small laugh.

"Good answer. I don't think a motivation as solid as a woman we love can be explained. So here, it has been sold for five hundred million!"

I slowly turned to Sin, and he met my eyes. Something passed between us for a moment, and I took in a deep breath, my eyes holding his.

"Do you need me to compensate you for it?" His voice was a low rumble, and I swallowed.

I wasn't sure what to say. Maybe he was asking because of the real nature of our relationship, but how do I explain that I might need him to do it again? Maybe?

I shook my head and turned away, my lips sucked in as I bit down on them, my chest heaving hard. The next painting came and went, but I couldn't concentrate on it anymore.

I slowly turned to Sin again, and to my surprise, he was already looking at me. Maybe if I knew turning to look at him would result in the electrifying eye contact that I found myself in, maybe I wouldn't have. Maybe I would have kept my head straight or hid away in a place where a man like Sin wouldn't find me.

I brought the red wine I had been holding to my lips, but it tasted bland, and I dropped it again, then turned away.

"Don't look at me like that," I said, my chest heaving so hard I thought I would pass out from lack of air.

He turned away again, saying nothing to me, his glass in his fingers. The auction continued at a pace that was a little too fast for me. Once it ended, I would go back to the suite, and... then what? Did I go home? Or... did I share a room with Sin?

The thought alone sent a ripple down my spine, and I tightened my fingers around each other, closing my eyes, willing myself to calm down.

The clicking of heels, however, broke my reverie, and I turned, just as Larissa walked up to us. Her jaws were clenched, her fingers balled into fists, and instead of taking her seat, she came up to us.

"Can I talk to you, Sin?"

My brows furrowed. Sin was not looking at her, but I saw how much colder his eyes became. Was it the coldness of a man who was hurt and needed to be thawed or the ice of a man who truly did not care anymore? I wasn't quite sure, but his fingers lightly tightened around my waist and brought me closer to him.

"Sin," she said again, trying her best not to disrupt the auction. She was already attracting a few eyes, including her helpless husband's.

One thing I hadn't been able to do yet was understand why Larissa kept getting affected by Sin when she willingly left him. Now her husband was on the outside looking in, and I was seeing a man who was about to be hurt like Sin was.

"No," Sin replied.

"Maybe I should ask your wife, then."

My brows furrowed a little, and I casually leaned to take my glass. I had more important appointments, as the twelfth painting came in. I had made sure to keep count.

"Excuse me. Can I have your husband for a second?"

I looked up to Larissa, and with a smile, I slowly stood up from Sin's lap. She started to smile, and I turned to Sin, whose expression hadn't really changed.

"Sure. If you will get to."

Her brows furrowed, but I didn't wait to hear anything she could have said. I slowly walked around to the painting, my eyes thin as I slowly turned to her. Their fault for not encasing that painting or at least protecting it.

I moved my hand and gently doused the painting in red wine, a smile on my lips all through.