“I’d like to take more pictures.”
“But I thought you said you had enough.”
“Yes, for the client. These would not be for anyone but myself.”
“And me,” Murphy chimed in.
Chapter Nine
‡
Blood rushed to Eve’s head as she struggled and scrambled against Chase’s hold. When he didn’t immediately release her, panic began to set in.
“Let me up, Chase. Please.” Her heart raced and sweat popped out across her brow. Seconds ticked by with nothing from Chase but his intense glare. That gaze bore into her as if he could see straight through her. Past the fear to the dark and secret fantasies she still harbored. A relationship she dared not speak out loud.
“Maybe we should step back. Get some food. We all missed lunch.”
Eve glanced gratefully at Murphy. She needed a few minutes more to get her wits about her. First clothes, then food. She had a crazy need to be on equal footing with them before she continued this conversation.
Chase lifted himself from the bed and released her legs. “Sure. Sounds like a plan to me.” The heat of his gaze did not match the casual tone of his words.
“How about I order some takeout from next door and we eat in your office.” Murphy paused, waiting for Chase’s response.
“Yeah, fine.” He shoved his legs into the pants he’d discarded on the floor. “I’m anxious to start uploading the new shots anyways.” He gave her one long last glance, the barely banked heat clearly visible in his gaze. “I’ll meet y’all in there.”
With that, he strode from the room, leaving Murphy and her alone. She wrapped the loose silk sheet nice and tight around her body. “He has a horrible habit of doing that.”
“What’s that?”
“Walking away.” His need to have the last word as he walked from a room often left her scrambling between needing to cry and wanting to laugh.
“There isn’t much he doesn’t want to be in charge of. Including conversations. Left to his own devices, he’d have pushed a hell of a lot harder.” Murphy walked over to the wardrobe and hung the suit he’d worn for the shoot inside. Mesmerized once again by his incredible body and the movement of his tattoo when his muscles flexed, Eve sat down on her heels and watched him get dressed.
“I’m beginning to think you are quite the little voyeur.”
If he only knew.
She covered her mouth to hide her grin. There was no denying she’d happily crawl to him just for the chance to bite his ass.
“Is it improper for me to stare?” she chided.
Murphy crossed back to the bed, jeans still unfastened and shirt wide open to the lickable muscles of his chest. He cupped her chin and tilted her head back, forcing her eyes to meet his. “If we were still in scene, I’d drag you across my knee for disrespect.”
Eve swallowed past the lump in her throat, doing the best she could to ignore the flutter of excitement that coursed through her. She’d just had more orgasms than she thought possible, yet he still aroused her intensely. She had an acute desire to know what a spanking from Murphy would feel like. It took every ounce of her control not to moan at the image of him warming her ass with his hands.
“You’re killing me.”
“What?” she whispered, her voice more breathless than she’d expected.
“You think I can’t see what you’re thinking. Babe, it’s clear as day in those pretty eyes of yours. Unfortunately, I suggested dinner, and we need to talk.”
Eve screwed up her face in disappointment. Even if he was right. She did not need to get swept up in the things these two men made her feel. Chase had made an unexpected suggestion, and she’d need her wits about her to figure out what the hell he was up to.
“Get dressed and meet me in Chase’s office. I should be able to get dinner quickly.”
He released her face, and she dropped her chin to hide her disappointment. How he got to her so easily amazed her. Or maybe it was simply the fact it had been so damn long since she’d been in any kind of relationship.
Even a sexual one.
And she had no doubt Chase and Murphy wanted nothing more than to live out a few fantasies, have a good time, get some great pictures, and then move on. When the door closed behind Murphy, the noise roused her from her thoughts. She leaped from the bed to scavenge her clothing. Focused on her task, she almost missed the mirror directly in front of her.
Her appearance froze her in place. The woman staring back at her barely resembled the woman she’d been at six a.m. this morning when she’d paced her bedroom, deciding on the perfect outfit.
The makeup was gone, the hair went every which way, and the marks scattered across her body were all signs of a well-used woman. A serene warmth spread from her belly to every region of her body. For the first time in quite a while, she saw what they saw in the mirror—a sexual being capable of many sexual and loving things. Not just a caregiver to her sick family. Or the landlady of a crumbling building.
Here, with Chase and Murphy, she’d been transformed into so much more. It gave her hope for the future no matter where it led her. If they wanted to spend more time with her and teach her about the lifestyle they loved, as well as delve into her fantasies a little deeper, she’d say yes. Her brain told her it was the worst mistake she could make, getting attached to these two men. But her body screamed hell yeah, and the need they’d unfurled wasn’t ready to be tucked away quite yet.
Eve scooped her clothes from the floor and began to get dressed. She’d have liked to admire the marks they’d left on her body a bit longer, but there’d be time for that tonight when she went home. She feared once she was alone again the events of the day would come crashing down. Eventually she’d have to deal with the small twinge of guilt making her feel uncomfortable.
Two men. God, she wasn’t a fucking prude by any stretch of the imagination, and a ménage with Chase and Murphy had starred in many a secret fantasy when she took the time to indulge in getting herself off, but now it wasn’t just a dream any longer. She’d actually done it. Did that make her a deviant now? Or worse?
Eve fastened the last of the buttons and swiped her hand through her messy hair. She leaned into the mirror and looked closer. What kind of woman took two men to bed? Apparently her kind.
She fought the mess her hair had become, tamping down the guilt. She had nothing to feel bad about. They were all consenting adults with specific needs. Just because she wanted to be restrained so badly she ached didn’t make her a freak.
Surprisingly she enjoyed working here. It had become a fun place to escape to as well as make the money she desperately needed to keep things afloat.
“You’re stalling.” She spoke to herself in the mirror. She’d indulged in her own thoughts long enough. Chase and Murphy had a proposal for her, and above the layer of fear of getting too close, lay the hope that the more she experienced, the more she’d be able to cope on her own in the future.
Eve straightened her spine and thrust out her breasts in a show of defiance. She could definitely do this. On that positive thought, she strode from the room with only a brief wistful glance at the bed she’d just shared with Chase and Murphy.
God help her if she was making a huge mistake and walking into something she couldn’t handle.
*
Eve stood in the doorway and studied Chase. With his head bent over the computer screen, she couldn’t tell what he was looking at, but she guessed it would be the photos he’d just taken. At least he’d said he was anxious to look at them.
As usual his thick brown hair seemed to go in every direction. Whenever he was stressed or even simply thinking hard about something, he’d tunnel those strong fingers of his through the strands and generally make a mess. It served as the only true way to be sure he was getting carried away with his work. The man had the clear and calm look on his face so down pat he could fool just about anyone.
With one hand he worked the mouse, and with the other he
scribbled notes on a piece of paper. She’d always thought him being left-handed made his work like this a lot easier. He clicked through pictures so fast she barely caught flashes of red as he went through them. She guessed he was looking at the pictures of her on the bed.
Loath to interrupt, she waited as long as she could stand it. But the need to see the pictures called out to her as well. She’d never been particularly fond of getting her photo taken, but somehow she’d known Chase would capture something entirely different. And if what they kept stating was true and they truly liked her body the way it was, flaws and all, she trusted Chase had once again captured her perfectly.
“Did they turn out okay?”
Chase minimized whatever he’d been working on and slowly swiveled in his chair. The look in his eyes took her breath away. The hard planes of his face stood out strong, and his lips were compressed in a near frown, but if the eyes were the window to the soul, then Chase was the big bad wolf and he wanted to eat her.
“They are perfect.” He pushed back from the desk and stood. Immediately Eve’s gaze was drawn to the bulge straining at his crotch. Heat suffused her face at the fact her pictures had turned him on. This was very cool indeed. “Come here. I’ll show you.”
He held out his hand for her, and she moved forward. The second she placed her hand in his, he jerked her forward and into his arms. Eve lost her balance, but Chase caught her effortlessly. Crushed against the heat of his chest, she had the overwhelming urge to burrow in.
She breathed deeply, hoping to calm her racing heart, and instead got a noseful of his decadent scent. The rich musk of sex with a subtle hint of pine soap underneath. Eve rubbed against him. The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her served as the perfect reminder of how much he wanted her.
Her pussy clenched for more. Sore muscles be damned; she ached for him to take what he needed. In fact, the image of him bending her over the desk, flipping up her skirt, and fucking her mercilessly from behind would have brought her to her knees had he not been hanging on to her.
“Eve, look at me.”
She tilted her head back and met his gaze. Molten heat met ferocious need. Her pussy squeezed in response. Everything from the way he held her to the fierce look in his eyes spoke to something deep inside her. The part better left alone. She knew now there would be no escaping without a broken heart. She only hoped there’d be enough of her left to put the pieces back together.
Chase leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. A small groan sounded at the back of her throat as roaring heat raced into her. With his tongue, he traced the soft skin of her mouth, and she eagerly opened to his exploration. But it was when he slid his hand into her hair and grabbed a fistful and pulled just to the point of tiny tingles racing along her scalp that did her in.
He shifted his long body against hers until his knee pressed between her thighs. Moments later he pushed against her covered mound, the pressure barely glancing across her clit. Fire raged through Eve from Chase’s touch. The man had a way of teasing her that drove her insane. Her nipples ached with every brush of fabric, and it wasn’t long before she wanted to come again.
He bit down on her bottom lip, sending fresh jolts of pain and pleasure to every erogenous zone on her body. Eve gasped, grasping his biceps in a tight grip.
Chase jerked away from her. “No, don’t touch me. I don’t have enough control for that right now, and trust me, darling, you aren’t ready for what I’m feeling right now.”
Disappointed, Eve allowed her arms to slide down her body, away from the contact she desperately needed. She pursed her lips and didn’t even bother to hide the longing she felt.
“Don’t look like that or I’ll start to believe you’re an insatiable minx.”
“Who’s an insatiable minx? Eve?” Murphy strode into the office carrying an armful of bags from the Chinese restaurant next door.
“Saved this time. But don’t think I’m going to forget about that pout. I think a nice red ass would clear that right up,” Chase whispered in her ear.
“I was about to show Eve some of the shots from today.” Chase quickly sat in his chair and pulled her down onto his lap.
“Masterpieces, I’m sure.” Murphy settled the bags on the coffee table and moved in behind Chase’s chair. “Let’s see ’em.”
Chase swiveled the chair to face the monitor and clicked the mouse to enlarge the image he’d hidden earlier. An oversize, up-close shot of her naked and bound on red silk sheets filled the screen. A low whistle from Murphy sounded near her ear.
“Gorgeous.”
Murphy’s compliment warmed her insides, even though it was clearly Chase’s talent in capturing a subject at the perfect angle and all the other factors he considered that made her look so good. And yes, even she thought she looked good. She imagined having this photo hung at the foot of her bed. Something for her to look back on and remember after this was all over.
“What do you think, beautiful?”
“I think you are the most talented photographer in the world. I don’t know how you did it, but you made me look so…”
“Submissive.”
Chase murmured his agreement. Eve swore the air in the room thickened and tension seeped from both men. Not to mention the erection poking her in the butt seemed to keep growing.
She moved the word submissive around in her head, trying to come to terms with it. She’d never thought to apply that word to herself. In everything she’d studied, she’d preferred to simply label herself kinky.
Chase scrolled through a few other pictures, which she barely noticed. She was still back on what they’d called her. It didn’t seem to work, yet when she looked at the photographic evidence, she couldn’t deny that she looked different.
Peaceful.
When was the last time she’d applied that word to her life? Maybe never. Even before her parents got sick, they drove her mad with their selfish ways. Eve squeezed her eyes shut and fought back the tears suddenly threatening to fall. How could she think of her dead mother like that?
She’d never understood what kept them together to the very end though. Her father had been absorbed in his life. His work, his hobbies, and his mistresses.
Eve struggled in Chase’s lap. She needed to get out of here before she started to fall apart.
“Stop.”
Eve stilled at the firm command. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she held her breath and counted to five before exhaling a long, slow breath.
“You’re shaking. What’s wrong?” Chase wrapped himself around her and spun the chair around so she had to face Murphy.
“Nothing. I-I—”
“If you tell me you’re fine, I will turn you over my knee and paddle your ass until you can’t sit down for days.”
Eve blinked at the pressure in her eyes, but nothing helped. Murphy pulled her from Chase’s lap and into his arms, where she burst into tears.
Chapter Ten
‡
Murphy knew the second she would lose it. What had triggered the outburst, he had no idea. He carried her to the couch and sat down. With her cradled against his chest, he waited out the tears. Chase gave him a questioning look, and he shrugged. What could he say? It was possible she hadn’t fully recovered from the scene and seeing the pictures had brought a flood of emotion crashing down on her.
Eve shuddered violently in his arms with full-blown racking sobs. Whatever she’d held pent up inside had desperately needed to come out. Now they just needed to find out what it was.
He brushed his hand across the top of her head and placed a kiss at her ear. “Let it all out, Eve. I’ve got you.”
And the sudden realization that he didn’t want to let her go hit him like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. But did he know her well enough to keep her?
He’d been so certain before, and look how great that had turned out. Eve wasn’t like her though. She wasn’t sophisticated and manipulative. In fact, he’d never met a more down-to-eart
h woman in his life. Everything about her screamed practical, except for the damned shoes. She had been torturing him for months with her goddamned fuck-me shoes. Dozens of them. He wondered if she even realized that four-inch heels put her at the perfect height to be bent over a desk and fucked from behind.
He did. And he’d had the hard-ons to prove it.
Of course now he also knew she had more secrets than why she wore sexy heels and incredible lingerie. They’d touched on something deeper, and now he had to know what.
Several long minutes later her sobs had decreased to sniffles, and he pointed to the box of tissues on the cabinet behind Chase. His friend grabbed it and came around the desk. When Chase settled on the couch next to him and placed a hand at the small of her back, Murphy had to bite back a satisfied smile.
The bastard wasn’t as cold as he wanted everyone to believe. The destruction left behind in the wake of their previous relationship had affected him, and everything leading to tonight had colored his behavior. Murphy’s inclination was to push Chase. To force him to see what Eve could be to them, but deep down he knew he’d have to wait him out. Forcing Chase to do anything was out of the question.
Murphy passed a tissue to Eve and waited for her to pull herself together. She needed to be calm before they questioned her. Instinct told him she’d try to run—an option neither he nor Chase would allow.
Long moments passed where the only sound came from the last of Eve’s sniffles and the hum of Chase’s computer. For Murphy, fatigue had begun to set in. With his head resting against the back of the leather sofa, it would be easy enough to fall asleep where he sat. Eve had quit squirming, and her breathing had settled into a steady rhythm. He suspected she’d fully recovered and was now afraid or embarrassed to make a move.
When her stomach rumbled, he lifted her from his chest and stared into her red-rimmed eyes. “You’re hungry.”
She nodded.
Make Me: Twelve Tales of Dark Desire Page 77