Hot and Bothered (Sin and Tonic Book 4)

by Athena Wright

  It was also incredibly arousing to have his fingers touching me in such a light caress. Just a handful of inches lower and he would have been touching exposed skin. I tried not to squirm, but every swirl of his finger sent thrills racing through me.

  By the time the credits of the second episode started playing, my insides were pulsing and throbbing. It was ridiculous that Evan could have such an effect on me, but I’d so rarely experienced anything of this kind that even the smallest of touches was enough to inflame my body.

  “What do you think?” Evan asked, tightening the arm wrapped around me.

  I blinked up at him slowly, my mind a little hazy. “What?”

  “It’s a cute show, right?”

  Truthfully, I’d missed most of the second episode because I’d been caught up with the sensation of Evan’s hands so close to my bare thigh.

  “It’s cute,” I agreed, trying not to sound strangled.

  Evan’s face was so close. His green eyes stared deeply into mine. My gaze fell to his lips without thinking about it. I couldn’t help remembering the last time we’d kissed. It had been so tender but at the same time so intense.

  I wet my lips at the memory. The pupils of Evan’s eyes blew wide open, turning the green into something darker, something heated.

  Last time Evan had been the one to ask, the one to make the first move. This time was going to be different.

  I placed my hands on his chest, feeling the firm muscles twitch and flex under my hands.

  “Kiss me?” I whispered.

  Without another word, he lowered his head and took my breath away with the most thorough of kisses. My fingers curled into his shirt, grasping the thin material to pull him closer to me.

  He put both hands on my hips, his long, sturdy fingers pressing into my lower back and his thumbs pressing into the dips of my hipbone. I inhaled a shuddering breath as those thumbs continued the work of his fingers, rubbing in circles and sending shocks through my system.

  We alternated between soft pecks and deep, searching kisses. I snuck my hands under Evan’s t-shirt and relished the hard planes and valleys of his chest. I ran my nails lightly along his skin and was delighted to make him shiver. I wasn’t the only one affected by all of this.

  His hands snuck under my skirt to cup the backs of my thighs and tugged, hoisting me from the sofa until I was sitting on his lap, my legs splayed to either side of him. The front of his jeans pressed against my core, making me throb even harder.

  He detached himself from my lips and placed a sucking kiss on my neck, making me gasp. I hadn’t known my neck could be so sensitive. My whole body tingled from that single point of contact.

  His hands brushed the crease between my hips and thigh. My breath caught at how close he was to brushing another, more intimate part of me. He stroked a finger between my legs, over my panties, and a bolt of pure lightning zapped through me. My whole body trembled and my legs tensed.

  “Is this okay?” he murmured into the curve of my shoulder.

  I nodded with a shaky moan, unable to use words.

  He traced the elastic of my panties, toying with the fabric, before slipping inside. He repeated the same motion as before, but this time his finger swept between my bare lower lips, no cotton between his skin and mine. I groaned, my wet arousal making the glide easy and slick.

  He probed at my entrance, not quite dipping inside. I knew he was waiting for more permission.

  “Please,” I whimpered, clinging to his shoulders, my head bowing forward as my breath sped up.

  With one fluid motion, he slid a finger inside me. I gasped out loud, all my nerve endings burning, threatening to singe my body. He pumped in and out, using his thumb to rub circles at the apex of my thighs. My whole body trembled and quaked with pleasure.

  My breath came in fits and starts, unable to get enough air into my lungs. My head felt fuzzy, and I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of oxygen or from the exquisite sensation his hands were wringing from my body.

  “Breathe,” he said.

  I sucked in a loud gulp of air, and my head immediately cleared. Then he did something with his fingers, hitting the most perfect spot inside me, and I exploded, stars flooding my vision, my eyes wide and sightless. I cried out my pleasure, my fingers and toes curling and clenching. He didn’t let up, continuing his ministrations until I slowly fell back down to earth.

  I slumped against his chest, my body going limp with a soft moan.

  “That was…” I tried to speak, but my tongue was thick and heavy in my mouth. “Wow.”

  Evan chuckled lightly and kissed the top of my head.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  I shifted to sit up and felt the hardness in his jeans. My heartbeat, which had been slowing, jumped in my chest.

  “What about you?” I asked, my cheeks flushing.

  He shook his head and gave me a soft kiss.

  “Don’t worry about me,” he said.

  I opened my mouth to protest, but he pressed a finger to my lips.

  “It’s getting late,” he said. “We should get to bed.”

  I nodded, disappointment warring with relief. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for anything else, but I didn’t want to leave Evan unsatisfied.

  But I didn’t have time to say anything else about it, because he stood from the sofa and swooped me up in his arms. I giggled and rested my head on his chest. Instead of stopping at the spare room, he headed to his bedroom and set me down on my feet.

  “Are we—?” I asked nervously.

  “If you’re okay with sleeping in the same bed?” He almost sounded as nervous as I did.

  I nodded, ducking my head to hide my blush. He tipped my chin up to meet his eyes.

  “I never want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” he said. “You can always tell me if we’re going too fast. Okay?”

  My heart swelled in my chest.

  “Okay,” I said with a small smile. “This isn’t too fast.”

  Feeling Evan’s arms wrapped around me, my back to his as he curled around me protectively, listening to his slowing heartbeat and soft breathing all night…

  Nothing could have been better.

  15

  I wrung my hands in my lap as Evan drove me to the photoshoot. Lizzy and Grant had scheduled it for a day when the bar was closed, so Evan told me he would come along.

  “You don’t have to,” I told him. “I’ll be fine.”

  “And miss your big break into the biz?”

  He winked at me, and I laughed.

  “I’m pretty sure this is going to be a one-time thing,” I told him. “I don’t really want to be a model. But the extra cash is going to be nice. I just hope I do a good job.”

  “And that’s why I’m coming,” he said. “To cheer you on from the sidelines.”

  I hadn’t experienced much of that in my life. Having someone cheer me on, having someone on my side. It was nice. It was more than nice. It was heartwarming and thrilling and scary all at the same time. What if I totally sucked? I didn’t want to let Evan, or Lizzy, down.

  But knowing that Evan was there to encourage me helped ease that knot of anxiety in my belly.

  When we got to the address Lizzy had given me, we parked in front of a large building and made our way to the second floor. We found ourselves in a sea of organized chaos with people rushing around and calling out requests to each other from across the room. Each corner of the large, open-concept room was decorated in a different style. One corner was designed to look like a sunny park, complete with fake grass and park bench. Another was like some Nordic-chic living room. One was even decorated like a bedroom with luxurious silk sheets and a canopy bed.

  “Didn’t you once mention that Grant does boudoir photography on the side?” I asked nervously.

  “I don’t think that’s what this photoshoot is going to be about,” Evan chuckled. “Lizzy’s outfits are things like skirts and dresses.”

  Relieved, I looked aro
und to find the fashion designer in question. I saw Lizzy speaking with Grant, looking serious as they consulted a clipboard with a stack of papers clipped to it.

  I called out to her with a wave. She lifted her head and smiled, gesturing for us to head over.

  “Are you here to be a model, too?” she teased Evan.

  He put an arm around my shoulder and squeezed.

  “I’m here for moral support,” he said. “I’ll stay out of the way, don’t worry.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want in?” Lizzy grinned. “You’d look pretty adorable in one of my sundresses.”

  “I’m good just watching from the sidelines, thanks,” he said. “Alice is the one who’s going to look adorable.”

  My cheeks flamed. We still hadn’t told anyone at the bar about the two of us. But Evan was friendly with everyone. It wasn’t so weird that he would call me adorable, that he would put his arm around me. Right?

  Not that I cared if anyone found out about us. It was just that, I still wasn’t sure exactly what us meant.

  “Let’s get you over to wardrobe,” Lizzy told me. “Evan, you can be Grant’s assistant for the day.”

  Evan gave a casual salute. “Can do,” he said. “I’ll make sure to keep the guy caffeinated and fed. Good luck, Alice,” he added. “You’re going to do great.”

  Lizzy led me away from the guys. Once we were out of earshot, she nudged me in the side.

  “So…” she drawled. “You and Evan. Is there something going on there?”

  “I— uh.” Words failed me. “Maybe? Yes. I suppose so?”

  “You don’t have to spill all the details,” she said. “I just want to know how hard I need to beat off those other guys with a stick.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  She nodded to a group of guys over in one of the empty corners. It seemed like they were supposed to be setting up another scene, but I could see at least a couple of them were obviously trying to look over at us without getting caught.

  “They’ve had eyes on you ever since you walked through that door,” she said. “Evan better watch out. He might have competition.”

  I tried to protest, but Lizzy just pulled me over to a rack of clothes.

  “Here.” She handed me a white dress with a sky blue ribbon around the waist. “This will look great on you.”

  I took the dress from her hands.

  “Where’s the change room?” I asked.

  “There’s a sheet over there you can change behind,” she said, pointing.

  “A sheet?”

  True to her word, there was a single white sheet hanging over an empty clothes rack backed up against a wall. I clutched the dress to my chest. There was no change room? I had to take off my clothes, out in the open, right here in front of everyone?

  “That’s it?” I asked, aghast. “What if someone comes up? What if someone sees me?”

  “The only other models here are girls,” Lizzy said. “And the guys know to stay away or else they’ll get their heads beaten in.”

  I relaxed my tight grip on the clothing and nodded. I could do this. I just had to change into a dress.

  I just had to get naked in a room full of strangers with a single thin sheet protecting me from their view.

  Sure. No problem.

  “What about hair and makeup?” I asked. “I put on some mascara and tinted lipgloss this morning, but I haven’t done much else.”

  “You don’t need all that,” she said. “We’re not doing full face shots for this one, just from the nose down. All you have to do is sit on a park bench and twirl around on the grass. Easy as that.”

  Lizzy shooed me behind the sheet to get changed. Luckily the dress was simple to slip on, with only a single zipper up the side. It would have been beyond embarrassing to get stuck with the dress halfway over my head or something.

  “You ready?” Lizzy asked when I stepped out from behind the sheet. “We’re just about to start.”

  My heart rate spiked up sharply. Could I really do this? Lizzy said it was easy, but…

  “Hey!” I heard Evan stage-whisper loudly and turned to find him next to Grant, who was setting up the camera for the shot. “You’re going to rock this,” he continued, giving me a thumbs up. “It’s just like when you were fighting off that dragon with the broom.”

  A slow, silly grin spread across my face. It was sort of like that, wasn’t it? I just had to pose and let the artist — in this case, Grant — do the work.

  “I’ll guide you,” Lizzy said as she stood off to the side. “Ignore the camera and just follow me. You ready?”

  I took a deep breath.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I’m ready.”

  Lizzy acted out various poses for me from behind the camera, and I imitated her. I perched in various positions on the hard bench, the cool metal biting into the backs of my bare thighs. I lounged around on the fake grass, the astroturf prickly against my skin. I twirled and twirled and twirled some more, my dress fanning out behind me until I got so dizzy I thought I might be sick.

  “That’s a wrap,” I heard Grant call out finally.

  I halted in the middle of a twirl and flopped onto the bench.

  “Great job, Alice!” Lizzy said.

  I put a hand on my stomach to quell the nausea.

  “Ugh…” I moaned.

  Evan came up and took a seat on the bench next to me.

  “You feeling okay?” he asked. “You look a little green.”

  “I did a lot of twirling,” I explained feebly.

  He handed me a water bottle. I took it gratefully and chugged a few mouthfuls, forgetting to take small ladylike sips.

  “You were great on camera,” Evan told me. “Grant was saying what a natural you were.”

  I sat up straight, pleased with myself.

  “And I was right,” he continued.

  “About what?” I asked.

  He brought his lips to my ear. “You’re adorable in that dress.”

  “Thanks,” I mumbled before taking a flustered gulp of water.

  Evan toyed with the ribbon tied around my waist.

  “It matches your eyes,” he said.

  I lowered the bottle of water to stare at him.

  “I always thought you had very pretty eyes,” he continued, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

  “You have pretty eyes too,” I blurted out.

  Evan’s smile grew wider and he leaned in again, his lips parting.

  “Alice!” Lizzy called out. “Can you come here for a second?”

  I flailed backward, putting distance between me and Evan, and stood in a flurry.

  “S-sure thing,” I called back, stammering. “Sorry,” I told Evan. “I probably have to go give back the dress.”

  “Too bad.” His eyes roved all over me, from head to toe, lingering on my bare legs, a glint of hunger in that vibrant green. “It suits you.”

  My fingers clenched down reflexively on the bottle of water, crushing it in my fist before I fled over to Lizzy’s side.

  “Hey, would you be willing to do me a huge favor?” she asked urgently when I approached.

  “Of course.” Lizzy had been so nice to me, I wanted to repay her in any way I could. “What’s up?”

  “One of the models for another shoot today called in sick,” Lizzy said. “We have everything set up and ready but no one to wear the clothes. And you just happen to be the same size.” She gave me a pleading look. “What do you say about getting in front of the camera one more time?”

  “Sure,” I told her. “I actually had fun out there. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. Just no more twirling, please,” I added.

  “This one is much more low key,” Lizzy assured me. “Lots of lying around doing nothing.”

  “Sound easy,” I said.

  “Perfect!” Lizzy pushed a handful of clothes into my hands and ushered me behind the sheet. “You’re a lifesaver, Alice!”

  “No problem,” I said. “I don’t
mind helping out—” I stopped, staring at the fabric in my hand as I shook it out from where it had previously been crumpled into a ball. “Um. Lizzy?”

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “Where’s the rest of it?”

  “Oh!” She let out a small laugh. “I didn’t mention? The brand I work with doesn’t only sell my dresses. They have other clothing lines, too.”

  “And I suppose this is…?” I trailed off.

  “It’s one of theirs, yes,” she said. “Is there a problem?”

  I stared down at the scraps of silk and lace. I gulped. I supposed it wasn’t so bad. It could have been worse. Maybe.

  “No,” I said. “No problem.”

  “Great!” Lizzy chirped. “See you out there!”

  I groaned silently. What had I gotten myself into?

  With a sigh, I turned the fabric over and over in my hands trying to figure out how to put it on. I finally managed to squeeze myself into the thing in what I hoped was the right configuration.

  I could do this. I didn’t want to let Lizzy down.

  I held my breath.

  I stepped out from behind the sheet.

  No one even looked at me.

  I let out a sigh of relief. These people were professionals, after all. This was the kind of stuff they were probably used to seeing all the time. I wasn’t anything special. No reason to worry.

  “Hey Alice, do you mind if I head out a little early—”

  A strangled choking sound left Evan’s throat as I turned to find him gaping at me.

  “Uh—” His mouth was open, jaw unhinged. “You— That’s—”

  I flushed from the root of my hair down to my toenails. I’d forgotten Evan was here. I’d forgotten that he’d see me wearing… this.

  “Lizzy asked me to do her a favor,” I murmured, wringing my hands in front of myself.

  “Right. Favor.” Evan’s eyes were round, the green iris now a thin band surrounded by wide-open pupils.

  “You look great!” Lizzy called out, waving me over to the bedroom corner. “I knew it would fit.”

  It was a skimpy, tight-fitting little negligee, all red silk and lace. It fell long enough to cover my important bits, thank god, and the modest cup size was enough to prove full breast coverage. But still, I was essentially in my underwear. No, I was in lingerie. The kind of thing you wore to bed when you were trying to seduce someone.