“You don’t have to do anything. This isn’t a modeling gig, remember, we should keep it candid.”
Vince tightened his jaw, and even though he wasn’t pleased with the situation, he still had a half grin on his face.
His semi-nakedness was more than just a little distracting. I couldn’t focus on anything else. I aimed the camera at his chest and zoomed out. I was stuck. I couldn’t think of a single creative angle to take this picture from. If only he’d put his damn shirt on again!
“Are you taking the pictures?” Vince asked, sounding annoyed, while he just remained standing there with no expression on his face. This wasn’t working out. He was too nervous in front of the camera, or too uncomfortable. I stepped away and walked towards him. Leo remained in the background, watching us, and watching me work. I knew it was Leo I needed to impress if I wanted this promotion.
I went up to Vince, and he watched me closely.
“Now we’re talkin’,” he mumbled. With my back to Leo now, I could safely roll my eyes.
“That’s a good idea. You should be in this photo with me,” he said as I came to a stop in front of him.
I reached for his shoulders, which were bare and still glistening with sweat from the game. Vince was grinning as I gently pushed him, to angle him to the sun so that there would be more light on his face.
“I need you to stand like this,” I said, trying to ignore the meaningful stare he was giving me.
“And I need a few things from you too, Beth Thomas,” he retorted, in a mockingly flirtatious voice. I whipped my head around to look at him, hoping Leo was far enough away from us so I could speak safely.
“You do realize this is my job, don’t you?” I snapped.
Vince was still grinning at me.
“Would you say you have the best job in the world?” he asked, and I crossed my brows at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Moulding and shaping me to the position you want me in. Photographing me half-naked in my jersey.” Vince came up close to me, close enough, so I got a whiff of that masculine animal scent off his body. “You know how many women would kill to be in your shoes right now?” he smirked.
I tried to hold my head up, to meet his eyes square on.
“Well, I am not most women then,” I hissed. Vince’s grin seemed to diminish while he stared at me. He was starting to realize I wasn’t backing off from him this easily.
He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him.
“Before you say another word, I want you to understand that I am here on an official capacity, and not to be one of your amusements. I may have fallen for your charms and your unabashed directness a few days ago but I was on vacation, and I was quite drunk. I am neither of those right now, and I am on the job.”
I stepped away from him and crossed my arms over my breasts. Vince watched me. His eyes traveled from my breasts, down the length of my body, but soon enough, he was gazing into my eyes again.
“My apologies,” he said, in a forced serious voice. I tipped my head once in acknowledgment and quickly returned to the tripod.
“All good, guys?” Leo asked from the sidelines.
Vince was looking away from me and the camera, facing Leo, when I snapped the first picture.
“Hey, I wasn’t ready yet!” he remarked, throwing his arms to the side in a questioning gesture and I snapped the second one.
“Is this your game then?” he asked, but this time he was smiling widely, and his bare body glistened in the light. I got shot number three. That was all I needed.
“Thanks!” I said.
Some of his teammates were beginning to return to the field behind us, and Vince started to put his shirt back on. I dismantled the tripod and started putting the things away. Leo came up to me and shook my hand.
“Good start, wouldn’t you say?” he asked, and I nodded, trying to appear casual.
“Really good,” I retorted.
Vince didn’t bother with a goodbye, not after the little lecture I just gave him. He hurried back to his teammates, leaving Leo and me together. I had a feeling that I offended him. He didn’t like to be told what to do or how to behave.
“Usually, he just needs a bit of time to settle in with someone new. He’s like a man-child,” Leo told me. I nodded.
“No problem. We don’t need to get to know each other. I just need to work with him,” I replied with a polite smile, which Leo bought.
Chapter 8
Vince
I returned to my house after practice, and the first thing I did was check my phone.
Leo had sent me a detailed email earlier, containing all the things he discussed with Beth regarding the social media campaign she was starting. I had never used social media before, so I had no real idea what to do with the apps he wanted me to download.
I had access to my profile and passwords, so once I had the apps installed on my phone, I went through them.
I didn’t need to be overly familiar with social media to know that garnering over twenty-thousand followers in under an hour was an achievement. Suddenly, my phone started exploding with notifications.
Beth had put up two photographs of me from today. Both shirtless, and both looking perfectly candid. I was actually smiling in those pictures! Somehow, she managed to make me look natural and not uncomfortable.
As I scrolled down, I read the comments. There were boys and girls, men and women alike who were commenting on the photographs. Some were drooling, some were glad to see me finally venture into the world of social media. Some of my haters had some harsh words as well. It was a mixed bag. However, years of success had taught me that none of it mattered.
What others said and what their opinions of me were irrelevant as long as I worked hard and did what I did best. Everything else was temporary.
And the only reason I had even agreed to this whole social media stuff was because of Leo. But now that I was looking at it, I could see that it might actually have an impact on my career. Besides, Beth seemed to have done a stellar job of it.
I took a shower and dried myself off, still thinking about her.
This had to be one of the craziest coincidences ever imaginable. I mean what were the chances?
And for some reason, it seemed like she was dead set on keeping her distance from me. Did she not have fun the last time? Didn’t she wonder what round two would have looked like between us?
Because I wondered about it all the time.
My phone was still blowing up with notifications until eventually, I uninstalled the apps. I didn’t need to continually read all the kiss smileys and the drool messages. I got the gist of it. People were happy with my pictures!
With nothing more than a towel wrapped around my waist, I went into the kitchen to cook. After a practice like that, I looked forward to cooking myself a large fancy dinner that I found in a cookbook or a recipe online. It was one of my hobbies that not many people knew about.
I was about to flip through my cookbook when I thought of an idea.
In the email that Leo had sent me, he had also included contact information for Beth.
I knew I shouldn’t have been getting in touch with her. She had made it very clear she wouldn’t entertain my advances. But I had found an appropriate excuse, and I had to try!
Her phone rang through for a few moments before she finally answered.
“Hello?” Her voice was gentler and sweeter on the phone, like music to my ears.
“It’s me,” I said. There was silence on the other end for a few moments. “Look, I’m sorry for calling you like this. I wanted you to know that I saw the work you did on my profiles.”
Beth seemed to clear her throat before she spoke again.
“Oh?” she said finally.
“Thanks. It looks good. That’s a lot of followers!”
“You’re welcome, and it’s my job. We’ve not nearly reached the right number yet, but we’ll get there,” she said.
“I’m sure
you will, I mean we will.”
There was silence again.
“I also wanted to apologize about the way I acted earlier today. Sorry, I had my dick-mode switched on. You did the right thing by putting me in my place.”
“I’m sorry if I snapped at you. I felt like I was under a lot of pressure. My boss is expecting results from this trip, so I’m trying to do my job well.”
“Of course,” I said, and she fell silent again.
“Hey, I had an idea! I was just about to cook myself some dinner, and if you want to take some photographs for my profile, you know, candids, of me in my element, you can.”
“Now?” she asked.
“If you want to. There’s no pressure.”
Beth seemed to be thinking.
“Okay, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll bring my tripod with me,” she replied.
It felt like a relief, to hear her say that she would come over. It clarified the point that she didn’t completely hate me. But what did I care if she hated me or not?
In fact, wouldn’t having her over here, at my home, complicate matters more? What happened to living the simple life?
“Great, I’ll text the address over to you,” I said.
“Okay, thanks. See you in a few ticks.”
Then she hung up the phone, and there was only white noise in my ears.
It was then that I realized what I had just done. For the first time in my life, I had invited a girl over to my place and offered to cook for her. Was she expecting me to cook for her? Or was she just going to photograph me cooking? I wasn’t sure of the specifics yet, and it was already driving me nuts.
More importantly, I needed to put some clothes on before she got here. I didn’t want her to think I had invited her to my house with a single aim in mind. I mean sure, I was thinking about it, about her naked body, but I didn’t want her to know that.
Chapter 9
Beth
When I arrived at Vince’s home, he was already in the middle of cooking. Like I’d expected, he lived in a beautiful sprawling house in complete luxury. How did he live in all of that space by himself? It was strange to me.
He was in jeans and a shirt, and he had an apron tied to his waist which made me smile. He led me from the front door to the big kitchen where he was cooking.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a cook,” I said. Vince threw me a smiling look over his shoulder as he returned to the food.
I watched him, with his back turned to me. He had a looming presence, even in such a big house like this. His muscles moved vigorously as he tossed the stir-fry in the wok. Seeing him again, in his home, made my stomach flip with desire. This felt insane!
I snapped myself out of those thoughts and started setting up the camera. After all, Vince had invited me to his home for a particular reason. I wasn’t here for the food.
“Wine?” he asked abruptly, turning to me.
“Umm…” I said, but he didn’t give me a chance to finish that thought. He was already pouring some red into a glass for me.
“I don’t want to impede your working process of course,” he said as he came towards me with the glass.
Our fingers brushed when I took it from him, and I felt that crazy bolt of electricity again. What was I doing here?
He stepped away from me, leaning against the kitchen island with his arms crossed over his broad muscular chest.
“So this is quite the coincidence, isn’t it?” he asked.
I took a sip of the wine before I started positioning the camera again.
“I want you to know, Vince, that I had no idea this was going to happen when I was back in Miami. I didn’t know Leo had gotten in touch with my offices,” I said to him. I really wanted him to believe me and to know this wasn’t a setup. He nodded his head.
“Don’t worry, I believe you. These things happen,” he said.
“Often to you?” I asked as he smiled.
“Never happened before, but I’m sure it’s happened to other people.”
I fiddled with the settings on my camera to get the lighting right.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Nothing special. You don’t have to worry about the camera, don’t even look at it,” I replied.
“So, we just talk?”
“We just talk.”
He turned to the wok again and flipped the stir-fry, adding soy sauce and spices. A cookbook was lying open on a stand beside him on the counter. I took a few shots while his back was turned, and then a few when he was turning towards me. When he looked at me, he was smiling.
The realization that he was devastatingly handsome hit me again. Maybe I should have just considered myself lucky for having had one night with Vince Woods and just left it at that.
“You know when I saw you today, hiding behind Leo, I thought I was hallucinating,” he said. I blushed and tucked some hair behind my ears.
“I wasn’t hiding!”
“What do you call that then?”
“I was standing behind him,” I replied, my lips quivering to break into a smile.
“Standing strategically to mask your body and face from me?” he said, wiping his hands on his apron and drinking from his own glass of wine. As he did this, I took a few more shots of him.
“I didn’t want to give you a scare,” I said. He put his glass down.
“How very thoughtful of you, Beth,” he said, and I realized I was still blushing. It was because of that particular way he had of looking at me.
This man had seen me naked. This man had been inside me.
Right now, all I really wanted to do was be in his arms, but all I could do was take photos of him when he wasn’t looking.
“I didn’t really want to do this, you know. This whole social media thing,” he continued. He was casually coming closer to me, and I could feel my breath choking in my throat.
“Yes, I heard about your reputation of being a social recluse. I was told you were going to be a tough nut to crack,” I said.
Vince had come up very close to me, close enough for him to touch me. I could see every stubble of hair on his unshaved cheeks. I gulped thirstily.
“They’ve sent the right person for the job, clearly,” he added, smiling, as his eyes swept all over me. I felt naked again.
How had we so quickly gone from talking casually and cooking to standing an inch away from each other? I was breathing hard. There were goosebumps all over my arms. I wanted him, and my resolve was breaking.
“Beth…” he grunted my name, just before he caught me by the back of my head and pulled me to himself.
I fell on him with a gasp, pressing my folded arms to his rock-solid chest. His face came closer towards me, and I opened my mouth in invitation.
Within moments, his tongue was inside my mouth, and I kissed him back just as hungrily. His hands traveled down from my head to my waist, and then he was cupping my butt.
He leaned into me. I arched back. Our tongues collided and I moaned in his mouth. He was lifting me up, effortlessly. His strength and power was such a turn on. Immediately, I felt my panties flood with my warm juices.
Vince put me down on the kitchen counter and wedged himself between my legs.
When he pulled his mouth away from me, we were both panting.
“What happened in Miami wasn’t meant to stay there,” he growled.
* * *
I didn’t want Vince to stop when he put his mouth to my neck and started licking me. I weaved my fingers into his hair, wrapping my legs around his waist. His mouth traveled down my neck, to the top of my breasts, until he was using his tongue and teeth to undo the buttons of my shirt.
I tugged at his shirt, pulling it up over his head and tossing it on the floor. My shirt was off too, and now his hands were on my jeans. He undid them swiftly and rolled them down. I fumbled with his belt.
It was all happening so fast.
Within moments, we were both naked. My bra and panties were lyi
ng on the floor, in a heap with the rest of his clothes.
Vince had stepped away from me, and he was looking at me now, studying every inch of my body. I was staring at him too. I noticed his strong muscular body, with his chiseled washboard abs. He had a narrow waist and thick muscular thighs. His cock was erect already, pulsating and throbbing between his legs. As he watched me, he held his cock, stroking it slowly. He was pleasuring himself just by looking at me.
“You have any idea how much I’ve fantasized about seeing you naked since that night?” he asked. His voice was a deep guttural growl.
I couldn’t believe he would say that. I didn’t think he had given me a second thought since that night. I thought he was too drunk to even remember.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you either,” I admitted. He looked into my eyes, like that was all he wanted to hear. Then he lunged at me again, flattening me with his body on the kitchen island.
I giggled and gasped as he covered me, stretching over me, pulling my arms up over my head, weaving his fingers with mine.
My body was on fire. I arched my back, thrusting my hips up to meet him. Vince was kissing me again, his tongue was inside my mouth. Being kissed by him was the most exhilarating feeling in the world. He had a way of making me feel like he possessed me completely.
Then he pulled his mouth away and smiled.
His hand traveled down while he kept his eyes trained on my face. His fingers were on my pussy, stroking my clit gently, rubbing me till I knew I was swollen and out of control.
I was gasping for air, my eyes were rolling back in my head. Vince’s fingers slipped in and out of me, and he rubbed and teased my clit. I wrapped my arms around his neck, digging my nails into his back.
“Oh…oh my God!” I kept repeating. I couldn’t think of anything else to say. This felt good. This felt explosive.
Then, as suddenly as he started to stroke me, he took his hand away from my pussy. I looked at him pleadingly, my eyes begging him to not stop.
Daddy Player: A BILLIONAIRE SPORTS BABY ROMANCE Page 3