Painted By You

KIAN ALESSANDRO

I never planned on taking her as her as an assistant.
I preferred silence, structure, and the kind of routine that left no room for distraction.
But then Leah Laurent walked into my atelier-wide-eyed, talented, stubborn-and suddenly my world wasn't quiet anymore.

She's supposed to learn from me.
Instead, she's undoing me.

Her laughter softens the sharpest parts of my life.
Her presence pulls color back into a world I'd painted in shades of grey.
And every time she looks at me, I feel the ground shift beneath my feet.

I'm her mentor.
Her boss.
The one who should maintain distance.

But the more time we spend together...
the more I want to touch what I shouldn't.
The more I want to claim what doesn't belong to me.

Leah is temptation wrapped in sunlight-
and I'm losing the battle of staying away.

I thought I had control.
I was wrong.

__

LEAH LAURENT

Working under Kian Alessandro was supposed to be a dream assignment-
the chance to assist one of the most brilliant painters in the industry.

Nobody warned me he'd also be the most complicated man I've ever met.

He's quiet, intense, frustrating, and impossibly focused.
But when he paints, he's fire.
When he looks at me, I forget how to breathe.

I wanted to learn from him.
I never meant to fall for him.

Every stolen glance turns into tension.
Every touch becomes a question.
And every moment alone with him feels like we're standing at the edge of something dangerous.

He keeps his walls high and his heart locked away,
but I see the man he tries so hard to hide-
gentle, protective, hurting, and brighter than he believes.

And I want all of him.
Even the parts he's terrified to give.

If loving him is a risk,
it's one I'm willing to take.