Page 17 of Sin Deep
He got right to work, taking Harley’s chin in one hand and a sponge in the other.
Harley stayed very still, eyes on his face, the expression somehow quiet and curious at once.
He took his time, studying the natural curve of high cheekbones, the hollow of Harley’s cheeks, the height of the boy’s brow. He only asked Harley to close his eyes long enough to cover eyelids and eyebrows. “Have a look.”
Harley looked, tilting his face back and forth. “I look like a doll, a little. It doesn’t feel bad though. It feels almost soft.”
“Mhm. You’re not a doll, though. You’re a man. People have accused me of wanting to play with dolls… I assure you, I don’t.” He turned Harley’s face back to him. “Shall we make some magic?”
“I like magic.” Harley searched his eyes. “Where did you learn about this stuff?”
“From other people. I met a makeup artist who was headed to New York, and we traveled together. After that, I would experiment with it on myself, and I learned a lot more. Then I started making up my friends, eventually my lovers.”
“Oh. I don’t think I ever met anyone that did makeup for a living. Ollie does his own nails though.”
“Ollie is talented. He cares about his nails, and his hair.” Ollie cared about his figure too, and Winter wondered how much Harley knew about that. “There are many makeup artists in New York, given all the theater and movies that are made here. It’s a very creative town.”
“I know many people that carry boxes and pianos. I moved a harpsichord yesterday.” Harley winked at him. “That took creativity.”
“My goodness. It must be worth a fortune. I’m impressed. I’m not sure I’d want to be responsible for something like that.” Not that he would be able to lift it if he wanted to. He’d leave that to boys like Harley who were actually as strong as they looked.
“It’s a good job. I worked at a factory before this, loading trucks. My business card says Professional Pack Mule.”
He laughed. Harley was just delightful. “Oh, that’s quite a calling.” He applied concealer and blended it, then pulled out his eyebrow pencil and got to work. Harley’s brows had a very nice shape, but he wanted to extend them a bit and fill in here and there. “Perhaps I’ll hire you to help me clean out my apartment someday.”
“If you want. I think it’s charming, though. Honestly.”
“Thank you. I’m very comfortable here to be sure.” He grabbed a brush and his color palette to set Harley’s eyebrows and to use as a bronzer. He couldn’t even pretend this wasn’t turning him on; he loved this, always had, and the fact that Harley was beautiful without makeup made him that much more alluring with it.
“So, do I look different?” Harley sipped again, then licked the whiskey off his lips.
“You look just like you, only…more. But I haven’t gotten to your eyes yet. That will be another minute. How do you feel about lip shades? Lip gloss?” The eyes were the best part. He would only do eyes most of the time, but since Harley was so willing, he decided to see how the boy felt about the full treatment.
“Does it feel sticky? I don’t think I’d like sticky, but I’ll try.”
He thought about that. “Sticky? Not really. Heavy maybe, at first, but it is something you get used to. Let’s see how you like the look. It’s easy enough to take off. A gloss or a shimmer would be lighter, we could start there. But first…your eyes.” His favorite part.
The dark gaze was warm. “Yeah, that was…that was cool last night. Different.”
“It was. I was so taken with your curiosity and your willingness to trust me.” And Harley’s lovely smile, dark eyes, strong shoulders…round, tight backside. “I still am.”
“You’re making my belly shake inside.” He could feel Harley’s blush, warming the sweet face.
“Is that a good feeling?” Winter slowly put everything away except his eyeliner and mascara.
“It’s exciting. New. Do you like dark eyes?”
“I like all eyes, but yours especially. Dark eyes are warm, and they like a dark eyeliner. There’s so much I can do.” He was going to keep it simple tonight though, a line that would complement Harley’s bone structure and make his eyes look bigger, but not detract from the boy’s naturally handsome face.
“Thank you. I wanted blue eyes so bad when I was growing up, but I look just like my mom.”
“I think everyone wants a look they don’t have at some point. Different hair, different eyes, different height, something. We’re all made just right as far as I am concerned. Be still now, please.” He leaned closer to Harley with the eyeliner, close enough to smell fresh soap and aftershave. “Did you shave for me?”
“Mmhmm. Just for you.”
He didn’t try to hide the goosebumps, but he paused for a second to wait for his hand to be steady again.
Just for him. That answer deserved a kiss, but he didn’t dare. When Harley said they were learning each other, Winter hadn’t realized just how much he’d already learned. It appeared that everything was new to Harley. He hadn’t been clear then on how fareverythingwent. He thought he understood now, and with that knowledge came a responsibility he hadn’t expected to be carrying.
