" Let me help with the buttons.” Falco set his glass down on the wooden stool. Before Cass could protest, he was behind her, his fingertips on the small of her back. Cass felt a pearl come loose.
She whirled around, sloshing a bit of wine out of her glass as she slapped his hand. “You undid one,” she accused.
Falco laughed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” He reached for her but she leaned away. “Come on, I promise I’ll behave.”
“Why should I trust you?”
Falco moved to Cass’s back again and began sliding each pearl through its loop. He leaned in close so that the side of his face brushed against her neck. “Because you want to.”
The wineglass trembled in Cass’s hand. She tightened her grip and took another drink. Every time Falco touched her, it got a little harder to breathe. She wasn’t sure if it was the outfit, or being so close to him. She sipped from her glass nervously. It was empty by the time he reached the last button.
Falco slid the glass from her fingertips. “I’ll refill this, and then we’ll get you positioned.”
“Positioned?” Cass fumbled over the word.
Falco pulled her over to the divan, then left her standing beside it as he strode across the room to a tall armoire hidden in a shadowy corner. “I’m going to paint you, of course.”
“Paint me?”
“Are you going to repeat everything I say? "

― Fiona Paul , Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #1)