Photo Opportunity

by Jess Dee

  “Lie back,” he whispered again.

  With a soft groan, she complied.

  Her panties off and legs spread wide, for a full twenty seconds he did nothing but stare.

  She was a goddess. Her butt was perched on the edge of the table, her knees bent, her secrets exposed. A sex goddess. His balls tightened and he fought down the furious need to bury himself in her wet depths. God help him, he loved her, wanted to make love to her so bad. Her nipples were taut and erect and pointing skywards. Lord, how he ached to take them in his mouth again.

  But first he had to taste her.

  He buried his nose in her mound and licked her with the tip of his tongue.

  Her reaction was so violent she nearly shot off the table, so he placed an arm under each knee and held her in place. He gently blew and watched her tremble as his air touched her lips.

  “Daniel…”

  He looked up and caught sight of her swollen breasts.

  “I’d love to suck your nipples, babe, but I can’t. I’m going to kiss you here instead.” He blew again.

  Her legs bucked under his arms. “Daniel,” she breathed.

  “Touch your tits, babe. Do it, for me.”

  He heard her breathing sharpen and watched as she whipped her head from side to side.

  “Let me see you rub your nipples, pleasure yourself.” He licked her, filling his mouth with her sweet nectar, and she groaned in response. “Massage your tits, babe. Feel how hot they are.” He licked her again, caught the moisture as it oozed out of her. “Touch them,” he coaxed.

  When she did, he nearly came in his pants.

  Delicate feminine hands cupped her breasts and massaged. Long fingernails, painted a sexy red, squeezed her nipples. She began to pant.

  Blood emptied into his groin and he forced himself to take a steadying breath. He fastened his mouth to her and ran his tongue between her folds, dipping it in to taste. The tempo he set was at first slow and then fast, alternating between licking her clit and her lips.

  Breathless moaning egged him on. Shit, she was so hot and aroused she could barely keep her ass on the table.

  She tilted her hips, pushing herself up to meet his tongue and then relaxed back down.

  Emotion boiled in his stomach, a mixture of love and need. Could his feelings for her be any more powerful? Could his need for her be any more urgent?

  His speed increased as he heard her moans, watched her pinch her own nipples. She thrust up again and again, her silent incitement compelling him to add pressure to his kiss.

  Damn, she tasted good. Like honey and cream and sex—just like in his dream. If his cock came anywhere near her now, he’d last all of about one second. But he had no intention of fucking her today. He was saving that for another time. A time when she asked for it. Right now he had maybe one minute left, one minute to remind her what she’d be missing out on.

  He fastened his mouth on her clit and licked in slow, light motions, gaining speed and momentum with every gasp from her mouth.

  “Yes,” she panted above him. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  He slid a finger inside her.

  “Daniel. Oh God, Daniel.”

  Amy screamed as he slipped a second finger in and sucked a tiny bit harder. Her muscles tightened around his hand and she came, her juices flowing onto his tongue. Greedily he lapped them up as if it were manna from heaven, not stopping until the final spasm rocked her body. Until she lay motionless on the table, her legs hanging limply over the edge.

  A quick check of the clock showed that four minutes and forty-eight seconds had lapsed. Before his time was completely over, he walked around the table, leaned over and kissed her soundly.

  Five minutes.

  For a heartbeat longer his lips lingered against hers. Then, reluctantly, he moved away. She lay there on the table panting and breathless.

  “That, my love, is what you are rejecting.” His voice was raw and uneven.

  He straightened up, shrugged his shoulders and added, “But hey, if you just want to be friends, that’s cool too.”

  Amy gawked at him.

  “Gotta go,” he said casually and turned to leave.

  It took every ounce of willpower not to go back to her. Not to rip off his pants and sheath himself in her quivering, wet depths. Hell, it took every ounce of self-control just to walk to the door without limping.

  “Maybe we can catch a movie sometime next week. I’ll call you.” He waved goodbye, opened the door and just before closing it behind him, whistled the first few notes of a tune from The Lion King. He almost laughed out loud when he caught a last glimpse of Amy’s face, gaping at him in disbelief. For her benefit, he whistled the rest of the tune a little louder as he hobbled painfully down the corridor.

  He knew without a doubt she wouldn’t come after him. After that orgasm she would hardly have the energy to breathe. Calling him back would probably kill her.

  Chapter Seven

  Amy was happy. Nope, more than that, she was absolutely, positively, one hundred percent thrilled. It had been a month since Daniel had been to her flat, a month since he blew her away with his wicked, wicked mouth. In all that time he hadn’t touched her. Hadn’t hugged her, hadn’t even tried to shake her hand. He hadn’t kissed her. Not once in over four weeks. Not even a little kiss. Not even a peck on the cheek.

  Daniel always kissed her on the cheek.

  Not anymore. Now he was respecting her wishes. Keeping their friendship platonic. She was truly delighted. Except maybe for the kiss on the cheek thing.

  Okay, so she wasn’t crazy about the fact that when they walked together he no longer draped a casual arm around her shoulders. Truth be told, she felt a bit uncomfortable looping her arm through his, which over the years had kind of become habit for her.

  Then there was the little incident last Saturday, when he was eating his lemon meringue pie. What was that about anyway? Their routine was standard. He would cut off a piece with his fork, eat half of it then feed her the rest and so on, until the plate was clean.

  Only last week he ate the whole thing. The whole slice. He didn’t even push the plate over so she could help herself. She loved lemon meringue pie.

  Otherwise, she was over the moon about the way their friendship was getting back to normal. Really, just delighted.

  True, it had been a little awkward at first. Okay, it had been downright excruciating. Initially she didn’t know how to act around him. Couldn’t even talk without stuttering. She just knew her cheeks had rivaled the color of the deep purple tulips that were starting to blossom outside. But things gradually started to settle. Now both of them were just fine. Happy as pie in their friendship. Everything was hunky dory. Except maybe for the kiss on the cheek thing.

  Amy started as the phone rang, jarring through her thoughts.

  “Hello?”

  “Amy, is that you?” The voice was feminine and anxious.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “Oh, thank God. It’s Lexi.”

  “Lex? Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. Um…well no, not quite.”

  Amy went cold. “What’s the matter? What’s happened?”

  “It’s Daniel. He’s had an accident.”

  The energy drained from her body. Spots dotted her vision and she struggled to breath. “Oh God. Please, no.”

  “No, no. Don’t panic,” Lexi assured her immediately. “It’s not serious. At least I don’t think it’s serious. Daniel does, but then you know Daniel. He thinks stubbing his toe is serious. It wasn’t really an accident. Well, I guess that would depend on how you define accident—”

  “Lexi! What happened to Daniel? Is he okay?”

  “Yes, he’s fine. I think. He was kind of attacked.”

  The hairs on Amy’s neck stood on end. “What do you mean, ‘kind of attacked’?”

  “Well, he was mistaken for an intruder and hit with a cricket bat.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What? Who attacked him?”

 
“See, here’s the stupid part.” Lexi’s voice became sheepish. “I did. He was at my place and I hit him.”

  Amy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You mistook your brother for an intruder and smacked him with a cricket bat?”

  “I know it’s ridiculous. Daniel has a key to my flat, so if I’m not there, he lets himself in. He told me he was coming round, but things got crazy at work and I forgot. When I got home and heard someone in my kitchen, I didn’t even think. I just picked up the bat and swung.” Lexi sounded downright embarrassed.

  “He must have been delighted,” was the dry rejoinder.

  “Well, let’s put it this way…he wasn’t very happy. He was fast though. Moved like lightning. Just as well, I suppose, otherwise I think I might have fractured his skull.”

  “So where did you hit him?”

  “I just tapped him on the shoulder in the end. That’s not how he got hurt.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yeah. He was holding a glass of water. As he jumped out the way, he dropped the glass and the water spilled everywhere. When he swiveled around to see why I attacked him, he slipped in the water and twisted his knee.”

  The absurdity of the situation hit her and Amy began to snicker. “Lucky he didn’t cut himself on the broken glass.”

  “Amy,” Lexi chided. “It’s not funny.”

  “Sorry. Where’s Daniel now?”

  “I took him home. He was feeling sorry for himself and didn’t really want to spend time with me.” She paused. “I guess I can understand that.”

  “Will he be okay?”

  “Oh, he’ll be fine. As soon as he realizes his injuries aren’t critical. He needs some cheering up and I am not the one who can do that. He’d throttle me if he saw me now. That’s why I phoned you. I feel so bad about what happened I hoped you could go over to his place. You know, see how he is?”

  “I guess I could.” She didn’t have any plans for the evening and she had no doubt Daniel would be feeling thoroughly sorry for himself.

  “Amy, you’re a lifesaver. Thank you. I’d phone Mum and ask her to go, but then I’d have to explain what happened and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be a pleasure. Besides, I’d like to get Daniel’s take on the whole incident.” She snickered again.

  “Please don’t tell him I phoned you,” Lexi begged. “He’ll just get madder at me for sending someone to look after him.”

  Amy shook her head in amusement. “Right, Lex. I won’t say a word. I’ll just pop in for a surprise visit. I’m sure Daniel won’t suspect a thing.”

  “Thanks, I owe you one. Look, I’ll call later to see how he’s doing. Please, do me a favor? If he still seems upset with me, will you answer the phone when it rings?”

  Amy smiled and gave her promise, then hung up. She was stunned to see her hands shaking.

  Fucking hell.

  Daniel had been in an accident.

  Granted, it was a freak accident and he was fine. But still. Fucking hell.

  She nearly fainted when she heard he was attacked. Visions of violent, masked men assaulting him, leaving him half-dead on the pavement, fighting for his life, floated before her eyes. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Daniel went wherever he thought he could find a good picture. He’d been in the middle of far worse situations before.

  Lucky she was sitting down. The realization that Daniel might have been seriously hurt hit her. She put her head on her knees and waited for the rising nausea to pass.

  She didn’t know what she’d do if anything ever happened to him.

  —

  Amy pressed Daniel’s doorbell and bit the inside of her cheek, her humor restored. She’d had time to recover from the shock and replay her conversation with Lexi over in her mind. It was a ridiculous situation—hilarious, really. Every time she pictured Daniel slipping in the water and going down, she started to laugh. It was important she kept a straight face or Daniel would know right away Lexi had phoned her.

  It was a lost cause.

  Coughing and clearing her throat at the same time in an attempt to regain her composure, she buzzed again. He was taking his sweet time to get to the door.

  “All right already,” a voice called from inside. “I’m coming. Be patient, why don’t you!”

  Slow, heavy footsteps sounded on the other side of the door and then it was jerked opened. “Yeah. What is it?”

  Amy bit the inside of her cheek again. Daniel was not a happy camper.

  “Amy? What are you doing here?” If he wasn’t scowling so much, he might have looked surprised to see her.

  “Good to see you too,” she greeted him. “I thought I’d pop in and say hi. But since you look as though you don’t want company, I’ll come back another time.” She turned to leave.

  “No—wait, don’t go. I’m sorry. I’m a little…peeved, that’s all. Come in.”

  “You sure? You look like you’d prefer to be alone.”

  “I’m sure.” The frown hadn’t left his face.

  Amy nodded and walked into his flat. She promised Lexi she’d see if Daniel was okay and she wasn’t about to go back on her word. Besides, a small part of her needed to make sure he wasn’t seriously injured.

  She set her purse and a large plastic bag down on his dining room table, next to a packet of frozen veggies. She looked from the peas to Daniel and back again. Unable to help herself, she smiled. “Dinner?”

  “Yeah. I was just about to pour myself a bowl of frozen peas,” he said testily. “Would you like some?” He slammed the door shut and limped into the lounge.

  “Have you had a bad day?” Amy asked innocently. “You’re as touchy as a bear with a sore paw.” Great line, Morgan.

  “My paw is fine. Thank you for asking.”

  She eyed his leg. “Then why are you limping?”

  “I twisted my knee.”

  “Ouch! How did that happen?”

  “It’s not important.”

  Amy raised an eyebrow. “Is it painful?”

  “No.”

  “Then why are you limping?”

  “Okay, it’s painful,” Daniel admitted reluctantly. “Happy?”

  “It looks sore. How did you twist it?”

  “Morgan, I don’t want to discuss it right now. Suffice to say, I twisted my knee and it hurts like hell. Now, can we talk about something else? Please?” He grabbed the peas, hobbled to the couch and collapsed onto it. Stretching the long, injured leg out in front of him, he placed the vegetables on his knee and winced as the icy packet touched his skin.

  Amy sat down on the opposite couch and scrunched her face up in concern. “That looks cold. It must feel like hell.”

  He eyed her with irritation. “It does. It’s helping with the swelling though, so I can’t complain.”

  “Have you taken something for the pain?”

  “Yeah, a couple of painkillers. Now I just have to wait for them to work.”

  “So how did it happen?”

  He glared at her. “Can you please just not ask?”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Now, did you come for a reason or are you just going to sit there and annoy me?”

  “Well, I did come for a reason.” Amy smiled. “But I think I’d rather sit here and annoy you.”

  “Well then, congratulations. You’re doing a damn good job.”

  “Am I to assume you’re not going to tell me what happened?”

  “Assume whatever you want.”

  “Did you trip?”

  “What?”

  “Did you trip? Is that how you twisted your knee?”

  “No,” he bit out. “I did not trip.”

  “Oh. Were you tackled?”

  “Tackled?” The look he gave her said more eloquently than words that he thought she’d lost her marbles.

  “You know, like when you play rugby and your opponent tackles you. Did you go down and twist your knee at the sam
e time?”

  “You ask an awful lot of questions.”

  “I have to. You don’t give me much to work with.”

  “For good reason.”

  “Yeah, I know. You don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Why did you come here?”

  “Good diversionary tactic. Change the subject.”

  “Amy…” Daniel fired a threatening look in her direction.

  “Okay. I stopped off at The Sushi Train. I thought you might be in the mood for a little Japanese takeaway.”

  “You did?” That got his interest.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “You got me California rolls?” His tone was a lot less grumpy than before.

  She pointed to the bag she’d set down earlier. “On the table.”

  “With extra wasabi?”

  “Mm hmm.”

  “Oh…” A smile tugged the corners of his mouth. “Maybe you’re not as annoying tonight as I thought.”

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “It’s a reprieve.”

  “So how did you hurt your leg?”

  “Damn it, Morgan!” He lowered his foot gingerly to the floor and stood up. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get some water.”

  As he inched his way to the kitchen, she called after him, “Be careful you don’t slip.”

  Daniel stopped dead in his tracks and turned around with painstaking precision.

  Oops. Looked like she was the one who slipped.

  “You took a chance coming here tonight.” Suspicion laced his tone. “How did you know I’d be home?”

  “Lucky guess?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You told me yesterday?”

  “I didn’t speak to you yesterday.”

  “Instinct?”

  “Lexi phoned you, didn’t she?”

  Amy jumped up and hauled containers of food out of the bag. “I asked them to make you fresh rolls. I didn’t take any of the ready-made ones.”

  He ignored her comment. “Your sole purpose in coming over here tonight was to make fun of me, wasn’t it?”

  “I came to comfort you. Lexi said you weren’t feeling well.”

  “Aha! She did phone you. What else did she say?”

  Oh shit. “Not much. Just that you’d had a, um…fall.” Her lips started to twitch and a chuckle escaped from the back of her throat. She clamped a hand over her mouth.