His initial shock faded and she watched as he build a strictly formal face. The fire still burned in his eyes, but he wanted to be a pro, and she made note of it for the future.
His voice had the slightest waver. “So you enjoyed my nudes,” he said, and he seemed to struggle for the right words. “Those photos… I do shoot them here,” he said, pointing to one of the doors. “But I usually take them with professional models hired through an agency. It’s very rare I shoot an amateur.”
It was her turn to be surprised. She had expected that he photographed any woman that he could find, and that they weren’t models by trade. “Oh, I thought you worked with anyone who had the body type for the work. I think I certainly do, don’t you?” she asked, and then ran her hands down her clothes and gave a slight turn in both directions. “If it helps, I have done some print modeling while I was in college,” she lied. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the door he showed her. He stood firm for a moment before giving in and following her.
She pushed the door open. Against the wall hung a white backdrop. Lights were rigged in the ceiling, while others stood stationary around a pair of elegant, velvet chairs. Off to the side, outside of camera view, more chairs, a sofa, some tables, and other props waited to be used. A coat rack with thin robes hanging from the hooks and a camera tripod minus the camera rounded out the furnishings.
“Why don’t you go get your camera while I get ready,” she said. She hoped her tone made it clear that it wasn’t a question. Peter looked at her wordlessly, nodded, and then left out the door they entered.
Alicia headed to the hanging robes, a victorious smile etched across her face. Now that he had agreed to photograph her naked, the rest would all fall into place. A bit of disappointment swept through her as she pulled her top off. Her buds tightened instantly as the air rushed over them, and she tried to ignore her mixed feelings. What had come over her? There was nothing to be disappointed about. She was within minutes of having sex. This was what she wanted, what she always got when she set her mind to having a man. Her victory and his giving in to his nature might have come a bit quicker than she hoped, but she never doubted he would have sex with her.
A crashing noise echoed from the back. “Is everything alright?” she yelled.
His muffled voice came through the door. “Everything’s fine. Just dropped a stand.”
She suppressed a grin and ran her hands up her belly to pinch her nipples. They were perfect. Her entire body had been shaped and toned over the years, and now Peter, who photographed naked women for a living, was nervous. The feeling of control that men gave her when they wanted sex was something that her sisters couldn’t understand. Instead of being used, and then discarded, when the man had had his fun, she called the shots. Even though she played like she was the one being seduced, she always had the real control.
Sometimes the people who knew her sexual history called her a slut or a whore, and to the extent that she had sex often, she was, but she called the shots with her body. She gave it to the men she wanted, and walked away from the ones she was uninterested in. Other women might have lots of sex, but were they really doing it because they were in control of the love lives? Or did they have sex to please a man who really wanted them only for the brief physical comfort they offered? Years ago, she vowed never to let a man use and hurt her with sex. And since then, she never had.
In one swift movement she pulled out of her. Goosebumps formed along her arms and legs from the air conditioners breeze. She took a deep breath in expectation of the pleasure she hoped Peter could give her. Then she grabbed a robe, folded it across her chest, and tied it. She couldn’t get ahead of herself. Peter still needed to think he was the one seducing her, not the other way around. Men were funny that way. They wanted the loose women, but hated it when a girl became too assertive in initiating sex.
Peter came back a moment later with two hard cases and a folded up reflector tucked under his arm. He paused briefly when he saw her in nothing but the robe. A single bead of sweat dripped down his face to fall onto the floor. Her own face flushed as she noticed the bulge in his pants grow, and the heat seeped down into her chest and stomach. She excited him as much as he did her. However the seduction during the photo shoot went, she needed it desperately. She didn’t know what secret ingredient he had to excite her the way he had since she first saw him. But if he could finally give her some satisfaction, after all the uneventful sex she’d had over the last year, then she welcomed it.
It was time to get the game on.
Chapter 25
Peter finished placing the table where he wanted and wiped his forehead. He had sweat far more than the minimal exertion moving some tables and chairs would cause, but it wasn’t the work. Alicia moved next to him and handed him a large black table cloth. He took it from her hand, being careful to avoid any contact, but she brushed her fingers across his skin. The familiar tingle he got whenever he came close to her increased ten-fold.
“So I lay out on the cloth while you shoot?” she asked, her voice rung in his head like a seductive siren that sailors warn of. He wanted to take her fingers, her lips, and every other part of her body and start tasting them. But he wouldn’t. Not today. He had been a player years ago, so he knew exactly what Alicia wanted, but she wasn’t going to get it. Even if it killed him, which he expected it might.
Something about her made him loose control of his thoughts, but he couldn’t see any single thing that made him react like the adolescent he felt like around her. Certainly she was beautiful. But he saw beautiful women all the time. Whatever the source of his attraction to her, it lay elsewhere than her looks, which he was only a moment away from getting an even better view.
He pulled some black tape from his pocket. “Once I tape the cloth in place, then you can get on the table. Everything is ready except for you.” He quickly placed six pieces of tape around the edges, securing the cloth to the table. “Done,” he said.
Alicia moved in between him and the table. “Well I’m ready,” she said. Without any further warning, she untied her robe, letting it drop to the floor.
From the moment she offered to be a model, he had prepared himself for this. But now that she was naked in front of him, all his mental preparation failed. He sucked in a deep breath and didn’t even make the pretense of averting his eyes.
Of all the models he’d photographed, Alicia put the pros to shame. The tips of her breast formed small peaks that begged to be touched. Her skin was smooth, yet taught. The abs in her stomach defined, but still incredibly feminine. He thought about how he wanted to run his finger across her skin. Then he looked down. Her pubic hair had been trimmed into a perfect triangle. From the natural look of her hair, he thought she was a real red-head, but this confirmed it. Finally, his senses came together and he let out the breath he was holding. Alicia give a quick smile at the edge of his eyesight.
She pushed herself onto the table and crossed her legs. He snapped his gaze back to her face.
“Will I be pretty enough for the camera?” she asked. He considered it more of a statement than a question.
“I’m starting to feel ripped off by the modeling agency,” he said.
She let out a laugh. “I can’t be that much prettier than those models,” she said. It was a coy game voice. As her lip curled up into a smile, he leaned forward to take it into his mouth and get the taste of her. Before he tilted an inch, he realized what he was doing and straightened himself up. He stumbled over his words. “Once you get some oil on then we can get started with the photography,” he said, and headed to his bag to grab the small jar of body oil to hand to her.
A wave of electricity pulsed through him when her eyes lit up as she watched him hold the oil out for her. Her left lip ticked up slightly to reveal one of her dimples.
“I’m not a pro at this,” she said. “I think you should put it on me, since you’re the photographer. After all, you know how much is good to use for the camera.” Then she pa
used to adjust herself on the table and lay on her stomach. Her face lay on its right cheek; her eyes bored into him and glowed with heat. “Plus, you have a much better view of me than I do,” she said, and then closed her eyes.
His hand held steady despite the power her sex appeal had on him. He should be shaking by now with such a clear offer. He circled around the table behind her, opened the top of the bottle, dripped oil into his free hand, and rubbed them together. He hovered his palms over her back, the heat of her body radiating into him. A shock jolted him the moment their skin touched, and he felt her body quiver underneath. In long, slow strokes he moved his hands from her shoulders and back down to her behind. The tension in her muscles faded under his touch, and she relaxed further with every passing second. Soft purring noises left her as he continued to work. Then she changed her position to lay out on the table.
He took more oil and rubbed it down her legs. Her legs spread slightly to give him an unvarnished view of her pussy. He had not dared touch there for fear of losing control completely, but her lips glistened as much as if he had oiled there himself. The scent of her musk hung strong in the air, and he wondered how long he would be able to hold out. As he oiled her legs, his fingers were only an inch or two away from her sex. She opened her legs another inch. “You have nice hands,” she said.
Her folds were open, waiting. All he needed to do was slip a finger inside and then the real massaging would begin. She wouldn’t protest. Or maybe she would, but it would only be play talk. She wanted him to take her. Now.
His fingers hovered over her opening as conflicting desires warred in his mind. The erection bursting inside his pants proved how much he wanted her. But he had promised himself that he was done with the quickie, one-night stand, player lifestyle. He had promised to wait until he had fallen in love again. Anything he did with Alicia wouldn’t be love. Slipping his fingers into Alicia’s pussy as a prelude to fucking her would mean nothing more than raw, uninhibited sex. If her assertive attitude was any measure of her skill in bed, he had no doubt it would be among the most mind-blowing bouts of sex he had ever experienced. His body wanted her. A part of his mind wanted her, but his heart kept telling him no.
He’d wanted Jackie this much once before too, but she put him off. They had vacationed at the same resort and he’d pursued her for days before she finally relented to simply kiss him. Jackie hadn’t been a prude, she’d had many others herself, but with him she held back because she saw something in him that he hadn’t. Before the trip was over they’d fallen in love and he’d agreed to move down to New Orleans to be with her.
But that was years ago, and right now, he was with Alicia. She had tried hard to seduce him. Just like had had tried to seduce Jackie. Five years ago, he was the seducer that Alicia was now. What else might be the same about them? He resolve strengthened and he pulled his hand away from her pussy. Eventually they might be lovers, but not today.
He quickly worked the oil into the rest of her legs and then stepped away from the table. Unless she intended to put the oil on herself, then the rest of her body could do without. Alicia lifted her head, the desire in her eyes remained, but a confused look glazed over them.
It was his turn to give the coy smile. “You’re so beautiful already, I really don’t think you need oil,” he said.
She pushed onto her elbow, and then picked up the oil bottle he had left on the table. Her confusion deepened. He wondered, when was the last time any man had refused to take the bait that she had laid out for them. Had any man ever refused her? He didn’t know, but he hoped that he hadn’t ruined any chance of ever sleeping with her. It didn’t feel right to jump into sex now, but he didn’t want to close the door on the future. With her trip to New Orleans a weekend getaway, he didn’t know what kind of future that could ever possibly be, but he wanted to keep the option open.
“Thank-k-k you,” she said. “But shouldn’t my front be oiled too? Won’t it look odd if the oil is only on my back?”
One of her breasts dangled off the table in another offering, but she couldn’t know that he had made his choice. He almost felt sorry for her. The non-rejection he had given her clearly had thrown her off guard.
Don’t move an inch,” he said, and then adjusted his camera to frame her and the table. “No, it will be fine. I oiled down your sides and all of your legs. You’re beautiful. Just push onto your side and we’ll get started.”
***
She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t. Any other man who had tried playing games with her, when she gone so far as to get naked, had watched her put her clothes back on and leave. It had only ever happened once, but still. She called the shots and Peter had to have known what was really going on with this offer to go on camera. His hand had hovered over her pussy, she saw the lust in his eyes underneath all the startled looks he gave. He wanted her. She could feel his desire burn through his touch when he massaged the oil into her body.
When he stood behind the camera to frame her, the entire scene from her arrival at the studio, to his pulling away, passed through her mind. Somehow, he had decided to not push things along, and she had made her own choice. She didn’t leave. Her first instinct had her reaching for the robe to get dressed, but then Peter smiled, and her resolve to leave melted. It annoyed and excited her.
It hadn’t been that long since they met, but now that she’d started seducing him, she didn’t want to stop. Her pride wouldn’t let her. If she intended to stay then she needed to continue with her plan. Instead of some quick sex, it would take longer to get there. She had pegged him as a player because of the sensuous nature of the photos he took, but what if she was wrong? The idea that he was more sexually restrained didn’t fit with the little she knew about him. Something else held him back, there had to be, and she intended to find out what it was, and then break it down. But first she had to go through with this photo shoot.
She pushed up onto her elbow, her breasts rising up toward the camera. “Is this the pose you were looking for?”
Chapter 26
“That’s a wrap,” said Peter as he turned off one of the fill lights. She jumped off the table and wrapped the robe around her. The shoot had taken far longer than she had expected. She dutifully did whatever he needed her to do, but her poses were provocative, sensual, and directed squarely at him. She lay under the force of the lighting, but he had sweated more than her. After an hour, she knew that whatever he intended to do with her, it wouldn’t include sex, so she had put aside her ideas of seduction completely and simply got into the moment of being a model.
A tension broke between them when she stopped being the seductress, and instead of worrying about how to get him to hold her, they talked, joked, and had an amazing time. She had never tried modeling before, and she loved it, at least with Peter. He had a dry, somewhat sarcastic sense of humor. She enjoyed his company, and instead of feeling awkward about being naked, even after her seduction had failed, he put her at ease, remained completely professional, and treated her with respect.
“It was fun,” she said. “I’m glad I came.” She meant it too. Being around Peter refreshed her senses. She still wanted him, but she had put that desire on hold temporarily.
Peter packed his camera away in a hard case, and then took a step toward her. “I’m glad you came too. I haven’t enjoyed a shoot that much in a long time.”
Her cloths rested on a chair and she gathered them all up. The bulge of the cell phone reminded her of her sisters. This was their weekend and she should call them, but if she did, then they’d have their own plans they wanted to do with her. She wasn’t a selfish person, but now she wanted this time for herself. To spend with Peter, she just needed an excuse for them to stay together longer. Now that she had successfully completed the shoot, maybe Peter would be more open to the sex she craved. She considered pulling him in for a kiss. He stood close enough that she could have him on her lips before he knew what had happened.
He acted first. “Do you want
a tour?” he asked.
“You’ve already showed me your studio,” she said, filling with excitement that he wanted to spend more time with her as well.
“I meant the city,” he said. “I know you’re here with family, but I’d really like to show you around.”
“Yes,” she said, without giving a single thought to her sisters or how out of place her own excitement seemed. Inside she was the happiest she had been in years, and the most confused. She didn’t give control of her happiness to men. It stayed within her own control, and men only passed through at her discretion. Warning bells sounded at the sudden change in her mood.
If they had had sex, then Peter would be just another man she’d made love to, but they hadn’t. He was the one who turned her down and she didn’t walk out on in protest. She realized that her decision gave him power in the dynamic between them and that had always been unacceptable. Until now.
Peter seemed to radiate at her answer and any budding change of her decision wilted. “I’ll make it a night you’ll never forget,” he said. His voice rumbled through her. But as thick with desire he sounded, in her heart, she knew that his amazing plans for the night wouldn’t include sex.
“Your lady for the night wants to get dressed now,” she said, and shooed him away with her hand.
“Of course,” he said, his grin widening. Then he made a half-bow at the waist and turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him.
After a three hour, naked photo shoot, her insistence on dressing without an audience seemed pointless. Her hand gesture, silly. But she didn’t want him to see her body now. She didn’t understand why it felt so off to have him look at her naked when that’s all he had done the whole afternoon.
But her attempt at seduction and then the photo shoot had been different than what he planned for tonight. Earlier her nakedness had been professional. Even her attempt at seducing him had been routine, like a job. But now he had asked her out. Did he consider it a real date?
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