Artist and Model

Artist and Model

Dear reader:

This is a tale of romance, the love of art, the challenges of marriage, erotic temptation. Enjoy.

Jane Hogan had just celebrated her thirty-sixth birthday, her first since she was separated from her husband. Neil had surprised her by sending a dozen roses. It was a less than a joyful celebration. It was a year before this that they decided to separate rather than rush into divorce. Jane was willing to go to counselling but her husband wasn't. He just wanted solitude.

Jane's friend Marie spent the day with her. They had supper out, drank too much wine and toasted to a better future. Marie gave an envelope to Jane.

"What's this?"

"Open it."

It was a receipt for The Grantham Art Studio, sketching lessons.

"What the heck?"

"I know you went to art school and I've seen some of your early sketches. After your separation from Neil I thought you might enjoy some time with fellow artists. It will get you out of the house."

"Thank you, I haven't sketched in ages. Maybe it will get my mind off my problems."

The more she thought about it the more she warmed to the idea.

The classes were not formal sketching lessons. An instructor/facilitator presented a subject to be sketched, it would be a bowl of fruit one day and a vase of roses another day. The instructor would help each student to improve or introduce techniques that would help improve their sketches.

Jane found that her old skills came back quickly. The instructor commented on her obvious skills. Marie was right, she needed this affirmation.

"Class, I want to let you know that we will be having a live model posing for us next week. I know most of you are amateur artists and you may not have ever worked with a live nude model. If you feel that the subject might make you uncomfortable, it's better you know now."

Jane hadn't sketched a nude in ages. She'd always found it a little unnerving. She was exciting to try it again as a more mature woman.

She didn't know why she had expected the nude to be a woman but it wasn't it was a man.

He wore a white bathrobe and sat on the stool. He was young, likely early twenties. He looked like an average guy. Then he dropped the robe.

------

Jake Case sat on the model's stool. He had done this once before but for a younger group of artists. The artists in this group were older, some were seniors. Most were women. The youngest in his estimation was that thirty-something MILF.

At the instructor's cue he dropped the robe. There were the anticipated titters of nervous laughter. He felt a brief moment of shame and he felt his face flush. It was only for a moment.

He stood beside the stool and put his hands on his hips. He looked so confident. He felt confident. He worked hard to maintain his body's condition. It was a source of pride for him.

The instructor had asked him to model because he had a very classical shape, she also thought that having a handsome nude for a subject would raise the blood pressure of a few of these grandmothers.

Jake looked down at the thirty-something year old MILF and smiled. She smiled back. Her hands were moving quickly on the sketch pad. Her gaze moved over his head, shoulders, neck, his chest, belly and crotch. He smiled as her inspection of his cock took a lot more time that the other parts.

Jane thought the model was amazingly beautiful, almost too beautiful to be male. Yet the proof lay right in front of her. She had sketched the upper body quickly, his lines were classic, like Michelangelo's statue of David. Yet the statue of David had a small penis. The model's penis hung a good seven or eight inches long.

Sadly her first though was of Neil, her husband. It had been many months since she had last seen him, and a year since she had held his erection in her hand and she sucked it till he came. It was her last gasp, her vain attempt to convince Neil to forget leaving.

She refocused on sketching the meaty member. She saw it twitch. She looked up into the model's eyes and he was smiling.

"Oops," he whispered.

Apparently no one noticed the twitch except her. She blushed and turned back to the sketch.

He asked for a break and the instructor said it was break time, come back in fifteen minutes.

She didn't take the break. She kept sketching from her memory. The sketch became much more three dimensional as she shaded here and blurred graphite there.

When they came back in she was still working, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead.

He assumed the same position. She flipped the page and began a new sketch.

Once again she worked incredibly fast and she seemed single minded.

"Thank you everyone, Jake, you can get dressed."

The instructor made the rounds, inspecting their sketches. She had helpful advice for everyone. A fully dressed Jake came in and asked if he could see the sketches. They went around the room together.

Jane's was the last one. The instructor gasped when she saw her sketch.

"My dear, you have an incredible talent if you aren't working in this field it is an absolute crime."

Jane blushed. Her eyes then moved to Jake's.

"That is fantastic, I've never seen a sketch in such detail. I'm very impressed."

Did you do any other sketches? I saw you flipping to a new page.

She turned the sketch pad page over and they saw a detailed sketch of Jake's cock and balls. She had somehow captured each vein, wrinkle and pubic hair perfectly with her sketching pencils.

Jake smiled.

"It looks like you captured my good side."

"I'm sorry, it's kind of embarrassing but I just felt I needed to try to capture the particular beauty of that part."

"No apology, you've done marvellously well. Do you only work with sketches?"

"I was trained at art school. I can use all types of media but I do enjoy the challenge of sketching."

Jake pulled out a card from his wallet and gave it to Jane.

"If you ever want a private sitting please call me."

Jane and Marie chatted about how the sketching classes were going.

"We had a live nude as a subject, a man, and what a man."

Marie insisted she take lunch with her and she insisted she bring the sketches from last night.

Marie looked at the sketch of Jake, hands on hips and she purred.

"Muy caliente! Maybe I should sign up for classes."

Jane flipped the page and Marie looked at the close up sketch of finest looking set of male equipment she had ever seen.

"How could you sketch that without getting drool on the paper?"

"It wasn't easy, I have been missing Neil. In fact he was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this."

"Honey, Neil wasn't as gifted as this young man or you wouldn't have let him walk away!"

"Jake, the model, is an almost perfect example of the classical ideal of a man."

"I hope to hell you got his number."

"It won't do me any good. I'm still too hung up on Neil."

"Then give me his contact info. I could use a man like that."

The more Jane looked at her sketches the more she thought about Neil. It had been months. She pulled out her phone and tentatively typed out a text message.

Neil: Just a quick note to see how you are. I'm okay but really missing you. I got the flowers you sent for my birthday, thanks. They were lovely.

She pressed send before she could chicken out.

--------

Neil Hogan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He was with a client at the time and couldn't respond immediately.

The appointment finished up and Neil visited the washroom. He voided the three cups of coffee he had over the past several hours and checked his phone. When he saw he had received a message from Jane he stopped the flow of urine mid stream.

It was an age old story, he was now forty years old. He had been married to Jane for eleven years now. There was still life in their relationship but that life was tenuously hanging by a thread. She seemed less interested in him in bed and out of bed. Long term relationships lose their lustre, passion can grow cold and familiarity can breed contempt. Their last time together she gave him a blow job for the ages, but it reeked of desperation. They never did have full sex that night. They separated soon after that.

He washed his hands and wandered back to his desk before writing a reply.

Jane: I am doing okay too. You're welcome and Happy Birthday again. I hope the gallery is doing well. I've heard it's a tough market right now.

Pressing send, he thought about Jane and why things had been allowed to get as cold as they had been. This past year had been a roller coaster ride of highs and lows. It was really both their fault. They were into building careers that kept them going in opposite directions. When Jane started to show a lack of interest towards him he thought it was just hormonal, or maybe she was having an affair or maybe it was all his fault. He thought he could be suffering a full mid-life crisis. They ended up living separate lives but under one roof. In the end even that was taken away from them.

Neil knew Jane lived and breathed for art. She worked in a gallery, she liaised with artists and arranged for shows. She used to sketch and paint but she seemed to stop that about the same time they drifted away from each other.

He wished he had taken more of an interest in art, something she couldn't live without. If he could have have shared that element of her world they would not have ended up this way. He looked up courses available after hours on art history, North American indigenous art, painting and sketching classes. Maybe if he tried learning more about art he could understand Jane's love for it.

---------

Jane was happy to receive the reply from Neil. She was afraid he might have blocked her.

It was a decent note, he had sent roses to her for her birthday. She hoped against hope that they might reconcile.

She kept thinking about the sketch of Jake. She wanted to paint him but wasn't sure she had the skills. She realized after a few days of dwelling on it that this was becoming an obsession.

She called Jake's number from the card he gave her. It went to voice mail.

"Hi Jake, it's Jane. Would you sit for me? I would like to do a painting from the sketch I made of you. Let me know by text or phone call."

The gallery was busy that day, they were preparing for a new display by a favourite local artist.

Her phone rang and she was surprised to see it was from Neil.

"Hi Neil."

"Hi, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No, I've got a minute. What's on your mind?"

"I want to learn about art, your world. I really don't know anything about it and your message prompted me to think about maybe expanding my horizons. Things are quieter around here now and I have more free time, unlike when I was living at home."

That was one of the big problems between them, their work/life balance was bad.

"Are you looking for a recommendation?"

"Yes, I'd like to take an entry level art history class and maybe a practical class too."

"I could have taught you the history myself if we were still together. I can recommend a good introduction to art history class at the university. As for a practical I don't know what to suggest, there are so many disciplines. Neil, I don't understand, why the sudden interest?"

"Like I said I now have some time and I feel that I never paid enough attention to your world. I know it's what motivates you and drives you. I guess maybe it would give me a window into your world."

"Wow, that's so nice. Start with the history that would be my recommendation."

"You have any text books on the subject?"

"I do, come by the house anytime and pick them up."

--------

Jake texted back to Jane.

"Jane, thanks for the invitation. I'd love to pose for you. I'm free tonight and tomorrow."

Jane was excited. This was fantastic, she loaded up on the colours she would need, she first wanted to use pastels to colour in a copy of her sketch. That would give her an idea for a larger format.

Jake came by at 7pm. Jane had already set up in her small home studio.

Jake sat as she explained her process and what she would want him to do. He told her what he charged to model and she quickly agreed.

"Could you take your clothes off and stand there by the windows? I want to capture you in natural light. "

"Your neighbours might get an eyeful."

"Nobody's home till later. Being a model you must have some exhibitionist tendencies."

"I don't mind showing my body, especially to beautiful women."

She readied her copy of the sketch and her pastels. When she looked up he was standing there naked as the day he was born. Once again she marvelled at his exquisite muscle tone.

She worked away in silence for a while.

"Is it okay for us to talk?"

"Yes, however I'll ask you to be quiet when I ask for silence."

"Do you do this kind of thing often?"

"No, my friend gave me these lessons as a gift. I went to an art school and I work in a gallery downtown. Your posing for the sketch inspired me to do this."

"The nudity doesn't bother you?"

"No, I think it's like a doctor thing."

"True, I think you noticed during the sketching session that I twitched."

"Yes, I did notice."

"That was me being uhh, uneasy."

"Were you thinking dirty thoughts?"

"I was standing in front of you, stark naked. You were zeroed in on my cock. I got excited and it twitched. It was the start of an erection. I had to break eye contact and concentrate on a spot on the wall."

"Wow, I didn't think I could still have that effect."

"Are you married, Jane?"

"Yes, I am."

"I noticed the rings but I haven't seen any indications that a man lives here."

"You're very observant. We're separated at the moment."

"That's a relief. The last thing I need is for a jealous husband to..."

The door to the studio opened and there stood Neil, the art history textbook in his hand.

"Oops, sorry, I didn't realize..."

Jake grabbed his clothes and started to dress quickly.

"Neil, oh shit, I forgot you were going to pick up the book. Neil, this is Jake, he is modelling for me. Have a look at my sketches.

Neil looked over Jane's shoulder to see her sketch and the pastels suggesting skin tones.

"Aren't you taking a risk here in your home, alone with a naked man?"

"No, I've met Jake before. He's just modelling for me, nothing else."

Jake was now dressed and he moved to the door.

"May I go now?"

"Yes, I'll call you if I need you again but I've got a good sample of the skin tones."

"Nice meeting you Neil."

"I'm sorry I interrupted your session. I wouldn't have guessed you would be busy."

"It's okay, there's no time deadline for this. It's just a project I got inspired to try."

"I'd almost forgotten how good a sketch artist you are. I didn't really notice but is he really that big?"

"Yeah he is, when I first saw him I was reminded of you and our last time together."

"I should have been more grateful for that evening and your efforts to hold things together."

"I still failed. I meant everything I did and said that night. I still do."

"I wondered if you had found a lover and when I saw Jake I assumed you had. He is your type."

"He's too young for me, he is incredibly beautiful though isn't he?"

"As a man I can't answer that question and keep my man card."

"I get that. Would you like a drink?"

We haven't sat down together in almost a year. Do you think we're up for that?"

"A drink or two and some conversation wouldn't kill us."

She took off her artist's smock revealing a sweat soaked T-shirt. She always sweated heavily when she paints. The sweat made the T-shirt nearly transparent.

"Let me just change my shirt first."

"No, I like the look of that shirt, keep it on."

"You're a dirty old man, Neil."

"Yep, a card carrying member."

He stepped forward and put his arms around her. He breathed in the scent of her skin and hair, the heady musk of her perspiration. The shirt was soaked. He pressed into her and whispered in her ear.

"I miss you Jane."

"I miss you too."

He kissed her neck. He knew full well that her neck was a prime erogenous zone and his kiss sent chills down her spine. After three gentle kisses on her neck he lightly bit her ear lobe.

"Mmmm, oh fuck."

His kisses continued till they finally arrived at her lips she parted her lips and his tongue entered her mouth. She was in a state of bliss. This was Neil, the man who knew her every hot spot and knew which buttons to push. She had been close to year without him, without this.

She felt his hands undoing her cut-off jean shorts and pushing his hand inside to cup her mound.

"Oh shit, I... fuck."

He slipped a finger along the edge of her pussy, he could feel her heat and his own lust rising. She lifted the T-shirt off and he kissed her nipples, sending little shock waves through her.

"Neil, forget the drink for now. I want you in our old bed."

They made it to the bed, stripped themselves and kissed, and they made passionate love to each other. It was hot, romantic, full of desperate need for each other and totally unexpected.

Neil planned on picking up the book and going home. Jane expected much the same but she hoped they could could talk, she never dreamed they would make love. Here they were fucking each other as if they were newlyweds.

"I'm going to cum soon."

"Cum inside me?"

"If you want."

"I want!"

His orgasm came and his cock pulsed six times, filling her with

semen. He lay there with her breathing hard.

"Did you cum, Jane?"

"No, but it's okay."

"No, it's not."

He moved between her legs and began kissing her mound, working his way closer to where he had just been. He kissed her there and he could taste the results of their love. He tongued her and licked her clitoris until she screamed out an orgasm.

"Kiss me!" She cried and he did. She could now taste his cum and hers on his lips.

They lay resting, both catching their breath..

"I wanted us to talk but this was infinitely better."

They caught up with each other for another hour before he left to go back to his apartment.

Jane was edified by the evidence that the embers of their love still burned. There was always a chance.

--------

Jake slept fitfully that night. Jane said she and her husband were separated. If so then why did he show up at her house?

He had specifically told Jane he was available that night and the next day. He was signalling that he was available if she wanted him to stay overnight.

She was a hell of an attractive MILF, well put together for her age. He felt some chemistry between them. He hoped that the husband wasn't the jealous type.

In the morning he sent a text to her.

Jane; are you okay this morning? I wasn't expecting your husband To show up.

She replied; Me either. I am perfectly fine. Can you come this afternoon?

He replied; Yes, see you around 2pm.

Perfect, he thought. She wants me! He knew he was more than a model, more than good looks and a smile. He had always wanted to be an artists muse, the very thing that excited them, artistically and sexually. He thought Jane was his artist and he was her muse. His cock was hard as iron just imagining the possibilities.

She got some work done at the gallery in the morning and went home to get ready for Jake.

She had the supplies all laid out and ready. She poured a glass of wine and waited for him to arrive.

He came to the door and knocked. She answered the door and handed him a glass of red wine and invited him in.

"My husband was impressed with the sketch. He was a bit concerned about having you with me all alone."

"I'm mostly harmless."

"I highly doubt that. I think a lot of women would throw their panties at you."

"Not lately, I think I'm losing my touch."

"You're doing fine. The girls in the art class were smitten."

"Were you smitten? Are you smitten?"

"That's an unfair question. I've seen you naked. No woman could gaze on you in that condition and not feel smitten."

"What's the deal with your husband? Are you really separated? Why was he here last night then?"

"Yes we are separated, I still love him. We drifted apart but we are both working towards getting back together. We are making some real progress. It's complicated."

"Maybe I should be getting out of my clothes then?"

"Good idea. It's stupidly hot in here today. I'm going to work without a smock on today, just these shorts and a tank top."

"Take off as much as want." He smiled a lecherous smile.

He stripped down and assumed the pose again while Jane worked the pastels. It was hot in the house and she sweated profusely. Jane's beautifully pale breasts were quite visible through the thin and dampening tank top. She shifted in her chair and he could see up the leg of her cut offs. He could see a patch of pink fabric, her panties.

Jake had excellent control over his body but even the best have difficulty controlling erections. He felt his cock stiffening. He wanted to be her muse, her lover, and his cock was showing just how much.

Jane was shading a part of the sketch when she looked up at him and she gasped. His seven or eight inches was now nine or ten inches and it was twice its flaccid girth.

"Holy shit, Jake."

"I think it likes you. I know I do! Do I inspire you?"

"The women must really love you."

"When I told you you captured my best side I wasn't kidding."

"Let me sketch this, I'll be quick."

"Take your time Jane. I'll manage this unruly thing so you can sketch."

He wrapped his hand around his cock and began stroking it slowly, deliberately.

"Do have some lube? KY or even mineral oil?"

"Just a minute." She went to the bathroom and came out with the mineral oil.

He oiled his cock and he continued masturbating.

"Jane, why don't you come and get a better look at it. It will help you understand the texture."

She seemed to be in a near hypnotic state. She got right up to him and knelt in front of him.

"It's absolutely beautiful Jake."

"Go ahead and feel it, feel how hard and hot it feels."

She reached out and touched his erection, tentatively at first but then put her hand around it. She began stroking it the way she had seen Jake stroke it.

"Oh that feels so good Jane."

"I shouldn't be doing this."

"Nonsense, we have wanted this since that night we met, isn't that right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Take it in your mouth and taste it."

"No, that's a step too far."

He laughed.

"We will do this again, I'm sure of it. You'll suck me and fuck me before we're finished. You may be married but you want me, don't you?"

"You are a temptation, Jake, but I can't and I won't. Please dress and leave."

"You'll have to let go of my cock first."

Slowly, Jane released the lubricated phallus. It was as if she needed to see it release the cum that was surely only moments away. The moment felt unfinished.

Jake put on his shirt first, leaving his bobbing, blood-filled cock naked for as long as he could. Jane couldn't take her eyes from it. Once his pants were done up he left the house.

Jane sat on the floor of her studio and cried. She loved Neil and last night had been wonderful, yet she lusted after Jake's cock. She feared that Jake's prediction was correct. It was only a matter of time.

Jane was determined that this was one and done. She couldn't risk reconciling with Neil.

-------

Jane worked all that weekend on the sketches with the pastels. It was good, better than good, it was some of her best work ever.

Neil stopped by the house, asking if she had the the second text book on Art History. He had always been a quick study.

He was in the area so he said he would drop by the house.

"Let me go downstairs to the basement and find that book for you. I'll be right back."

Neil looked at the now coloured sketch and was amazed at its depth. It looked so much better than the plain pencil sketch. He flipped the page and saw another sketch under this one.

The sketch showed an enormous cock, erect, almost glistening. There was a hand, it looked like a man's hand gripping the erection. This was a live sketch, this happened and she sketched it. The thought worried him. He left the sketch visible.

Jane handed the book to him and asked if he had time for a coffee.

She looked down and saw the sketch and she lost her colour. She covered up the sketch.

"I suppose you wonder how that happened."

"The realism makes me think it was a live sketch and not just your imagination."

"It was. He... he got an erection while posing. I was shocked when I saw it but I felt compelled to sketch it. He began masturbating for me."

The silence between them lingered long enough to be uncomfortable.

"Jane, I know you well enough to guess what happened next."

"He asked me to touch it, so I'd understand the texture."

Neil closed his eyes.

"Did he ask you to take him in your mouth?"

"Yes."

"Did you?"

"No."

"Did it end there?"

"Yes."

"I thought we were working toward a reconciliation, was I labouring under a misunderstanding?"

"No, I love you Neil. I want us back together again."

"Well, this is a text book example of how not to work your way back into my heart."

"It was a spur of the moment thing, I told him it is finished. He understands."

"I'm glad he does because I sure don't understand."

With that Neil left her there, alone.

-------

Doing a little research, Neil read that sex between artist and model was not as common as most people thought, however it does happen.

Sometimes the artist gets so emotionally involved with the subject and painting that sexual relations naturally occur. Sometimes the subject becomes the artist's muse.

He also found that many artists regret when it happens, not due to the infidelity but because it besmirches the art itself.

The more he learned about the art world the more foreign it seemed to him. So many of history's best known artists were mad misfits.

When he and Jane separated there were no stated restrictions about sexual relations. It wasn't specifically spelled out. He also knew Jane was a desirable woman so the chances of her not being approached for sex were slim and none.

He mulled over his choices, he could confront Jake and threaten him. That was not a winning strategy. He could warn Jane that her actions imperilled their future. That didn't hold water either, she already knew she had done that. The other option he could think of was to write off his marriage and jump to the divorce right away and that wasn't what I wanted.

--------

Jake was absolutely smitten with Jane, his lovely MILF, his artist. She was way too good for that loser of a husband. He would inspire her to artistic greatness, he would be her muse, her all in all.

He knew he was making a nuisance of himself but needed to be near her. He spent hours at the gallery so he could be with her. The director had told him to leave but he pleaded that he was just there for his girlfriend, Jane.

Jane denied that. She told the director that he was a model she had used and he was fixated on her.

Jane told him he needed to stay away from the gallery and away from her.

"But I'm in love with you Jane. We were meant to be together, artist and muse."

"Jake, if you keep it up we will have a restraining order slapped on you. I'm not joking. You are stalking me and I won't allow that."

Jake knew she loved him and that she had to play along with the gallery director.

"Fine, I'll leave the gallery but I will see you around."

--------

"Neil, I know you've been keeping your distance and I hate to bother you but I have a bit of a situation."

"What is it?"

"Jake has been stalking me. I've warned him that I'll get a restraining order but he doesn't seem to care. I need your help."

"Are you sure that he won't go away if you just had sex with him?"

"Please sweetheart, I'm serious. I don't want him. He is scaring me."

"I'll be over to the house in half an hour. We can discuss it then."

"Thanks."

She genuinely sounded scared. He cleaned himself up and got in the car. On the drive there he tried to understand why Jake had fixated on Jane. Jane was desirable but the world is full of desirable women. Why her?

Jake seemed fixated on her ability to capture his image, she called it his beauty. Maybe it's his vanity. Could we persuade Jake to stop harassing Jane? Time would tell.

Jane welcomed him at the door with a hug and kiss.

"Thank you Neil, I'm afraid to be alone."

"Let's try to discover why he is so drawn to you. Does it have something to do with his portrait?"

"I wondered that. I think he was interested in me at that first session but it wasn't until he saw his image sketched on my pad that he fixated on me."

"You also did a close up sketch of his cock and balls. He might interpret that as showing sexual interest in him."

"It was just because it interested me artistically."

"Except for when you took hold of it."

"Please, Neil, I know I fucked that up. I'm sorry."

"We'll deal with that later."

There was a knock at the door. Jake stood there.

"What should we do?"

"Tell him to come around back, to the patio. I have an idea. You go ahead I'll be back in a minute."

Jake walked around to the patio. Jane met him there. He went to embrace her but she backed away and told him, "NO!"

"This has to stop, Jake. I am in love with my husband. We are together again, we are not divorcing. I can't be with you. Our project is finished. I've paid you for all your sessions, we are done."

Neil came out the patio door with Jane's sketches.

"Here they are, the finished products. There is nothing special about them, they were exercises in sketching. It was an interesting study but ultimately they are just exercises."

Jake shook his head.

"They are special, she is special, Jane captured my essence. You get me, you see me as I am."

"It is just graphite and paper." Neil said as he pulled the disposable lighter from his jeans pocket.

"It was all an exercise, an illusion. Watch and see how it all disappears."

Jane hadn't anticipated Neil's actions but she understood the power of what he doing.

Neil held the lighter's flame to the pages from the sketch pad and they burned to grey ashes. The flame on the coloured sketch took longer to burn but with a more intense flame.

Jake howled like an animal in pain.

"No, you can't destroy it, you can't destroy me!"

"Jake, now it's all just ash, as if the sketches never existed. Your feelings for Jane are nothing but ash too. It's time for you to move on."

"He's right Jake."

"Can I at least get a hug goodbye?"

He walked over to Jane and he put his arms around her. With one hand he reached down into his pocket and in the twinkling of an eye he had a switchblade knife at Jane's throat.

"Back off, Neil! Jane and I are leaving here."

Neil was thinking as fast as he could. His phone was in his pocket he dialed 911 through his pocket, praying he hit the right keys. Jake was far enough away that one slash of the knife at her neck and Jane would be dead before he could reach him. He held his hands up to show he had no intention of rushing him.

"Jake, keep cool. Don't hurt her okay. Everything is okay, everyone is still in one piece. This is serious, just put down the knife and let Jane go and you can leave. You'll be free to go."

"I'll leave if Jane comes with me."

"That would be kidnapping and that would mean serious jail time. Let her go, it's you best chance."

He started backing her up and out to the front of the house and the driveway. Jake had his car behind Neil's.

Neil couldn't hear any sirens. There was no sign that help was on its way. There was the hope that nosey neighbour might see this drama and call 911. His keys were in his pants pocket, he couldn't put his hands inside the pocket, it would spook Jake. He needed a distraction. From the outside of his pocket he touched the key fob. He pressed the button for the car alarm. The trunk opened instead. Oops.

The click of the trunk latch releasing came from behind Jake, so he turned around thinking someone was coming up behind him.

Neil acted fast he rushed Jake and pushed the knife arm away from Jane's throat. Jane ducked her head and fell to the driveway. Neil rode the knife hand all the way to the pavement. The impact broke Jake's wrist and the switchblade went skittering across the driveway.

Neil had seen Jake's musculature in the sketches so he knew that Jake was gym fit. What Jake didn't know was Neil's strength. He may not have had a classically beautiful body but he was tough, strong and determined.

Jake elbowed Neil's shoulder making the muscles of the shoulder to the hand completely numb. Another punch was aimed at his solar plexus but missed, still it hurt like hell.

Jake stood up and aimed a kick at Neil's ribs, he rolled out of the way but the kick landed on the already injured shoulder. Neil realized that although he was strong he was now in grave danger of losing this fight and possibly Jane's as well.

He got to his feet, Jake was searching for the knife. Neil had to win this, he needed to deliver a blow that would at least distract Jake, but he protected his testicles. It was an obvious target. Neil grabbed Jake's shoulder and turned him around. He drove his one working elbow into Jake's nose, flattening it, breaking it. The pain would be distraction enough but that wasn't why Neil chose that target. You see Jake was a model and a model's face was their fortune. The very idea of disfigurement would send Jake into panic.

The police came just as Neil dealt the final blow of the fight.

It was a long night ahead of them at police headquarters. They called their lawyers and the questioning went on and on. In the end Jane and Neil were released. Jake was held and charged with assault, attempted murder, kidnapping and a half dozen other infractions.

Neil had been helped by the paramedics but he needed x-rays and ct scans on his shoulder and his ribs. When the numbness faded he wanted it back because the pain was unbearable. He spent the night in hospital and Jane stayed with him.

He was released and Jane brought him back to her home.. their home.

Jane and Neil slept together that night, they slept, cried and consoled each other. The wrapped shoulder and the bad ribs meant they couldn't make love but they both understood. It was noon before they got out of bed.

Over a light breakfast Jane proposed that they officially end their separation.

"I am so sorry for creating all this. If I hadn't tried to get back into sketching this wouldn't have happened. Maybe I should quit art all together."

"But that's what makes you tick. It is your joy, it's what you do. Please don't give it up. You were taken in by a psychotic narcissist. Don't give up."

"It's not art that makes me tick, it's you. I lost sight of that. I think we both just stopped trying. Are you really interested in art history and maybe taking up a discipline, or were you just doing it to please me?"

"It's something that we can share. Our careers are divergent but I want to share a knowledge, appreciation and love of art with you. Imagine the museums we could visit and the beautiful scenery we could paint or photograph?"

They smiled at each other, embraced, kissed and promised themselves to each other once again.

She kept sketching and he took up photography. They travelled to Rome, Paris, London, Prague enjoying art, history and each other's love.

-30-