Private Finished Can I Paint Your Picture?

The days had flown by since Natasha had spent a whole evening and a good part of the next day with Pietro. What had started out as a rather formal dinner date between two "rivals" had turned into a whole hedonistic evening of debauchery, and Natasha could not really say that she had not enjoyed every moment of it.

Quite simply Pietro Popov, ex-minister and arrogant vampire lord extraordinaire, was not at all what she had imagined. Although, Natasha also had to admit that he still managed to get under her skin at times and annoy her... However, now the idea of him challenging her was not as irritating as before and she actually welcomed to some degree their differences in opinions, the banter that often went with it, and the outright teasing.

And so, taking advantage of the fact that Imbolc was being celebrated on the island, and the MCSS was going smoothly and she could take a few days off, Natasha had sent Pietro a text asking him if he'd like to stay for dinner and take the opportunity to take a look at her collection of paintings among them sketches, watercolours, and a few oil paintings. A collection she had rarely shared with anyone except a precious few. Natasha's paintings and sketches were one part of her old life that she hung onto with a passion that only another artist could ever understand.


@Kada

Natasha had spent more time than she'd ever have liked to admit choosing an outfit for this evening's dinner. Finally, after trying on quite a few dresses, she opted for a very fitted dark red shirt dress with some strappy silver sandals.

"Come in, come in," Natasha said in Russian as she opened the door to greet Pietro, a smile on her face as she let her gaze travel over him briefly, taking in the outfit he was wearing.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I wasn't sure whether we'd be busy or not this weekend," she explained as she led Pietro through to the living room which was very modern with polished hardwood floors and colourful, yet fashionable high-end furniture.

It was not a room that one might think belonged to a vampire. The only clue that a night dweller lived there were the windows that were covered with heavy dark grey velvet curtains and the overabundance of lit candles.

Smiling widely at Pietro's compliment, Natasha felt her insides do a little flip at his touch. "That's because I am scrumptious, Mr. Popov," she teased as she let him continue to hold her hand for a moment longer.

"Did you want something to drink before I take you upstairs..." here she paused on purpose while meeting Pietro's gaze. "...to my art studio?" she finished with a coy grin as she expertly disengaged herself from him and walked over to a cart that held various bottles, decanters and even freshly obtained blood.

"I was hoping you might say that," Natasha smiled as she picked up a small decanter containing a bright red liquid that she poured over ice, and then added a liberal shot of Volkov vodka to each glass.

"It's my specialty, or rather just a favorite of mine," she explained as she handed Pietro a crystal tumbler. "It's Mors with a shot of vodka," she said as she then gestured to Pietro to follow her upstairs to the attic which she had converted into her art studio.

Natasha's studio was large and airy with an easel in the middle, a stool, a faded green couch and a large table full of paints. It was also filled with candles on stands and colourful paintings hanging on the walls with more paintings in and out of frames leaning up against the walls covered by linen cloths.

The room smelled like any other art studio - oil paints, pigments, and turpentine. It also had tinted windows on three sides and two large windows on the roof that acted as skylights which were also tinted and allowed light to flood through but not the glare of the harsh sun.

"Welcome to my secret wonderland," Natasha said as she glanced with quiet pride at Pietro as she let him wander into her private sanctuary full of abstract watercolors, landscapes, still lifes, portraits and charcoal sketches, some of them dating back to the early 1800s.

"Thank you," Natasha replied, blushing very faintly at Pietro's words of praise. She was pleased that he not only enjoyed her artwork but seemingly recognised certain landmarks and scenes that she had painted.

"I envy you actually. I'm afraid the written word escapes me," Natasha admitted as she quietly came to stand beside Pietro as he gazed at one of her winter scenes.

"That's outside a dascha near Saint's Petersburg," she explained as she took a sip of her drink, enjoying the tart sweetness of it. "We spent a winter there one year," she told him, smiling at the memory.

"Do you still write?" she asked curious about Pietro as they moved to another painting, this time it was a summer scene. A group of young women enjoying the seaside.