The Model: A Workplace Romance

by Layne, Harlow

  Turning off her camera, she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. “The girls are salivating over you.”

  “Did you tell them they don’t have a chance in hell because I’m your sex slave?”

  Her body shook with laughter. “No, but if I see them look at you one more time, I might. You wouldn’t mind?”

  Why would I mind? I wanted to own her body, mind, and soul. And for her to do the same to me.

  “I’d be flattered.”

  Her head popped up from my shoulder. “I wish I could sit here and watch the sunset with you, but then I wouldn’t get my shots. Maybe tomorrow night.”

  “It’s a date.” I’d make sure we got to see at least one side by side.

  She stood and brushed away some sand that clung to her leg, probably because it knew how cool and awesome she was. Turning to walk away, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her leg and pulled her onto my lap. She looked stunned for a moment before cupping my cheeks in her hands and laying the mother of all kisses on me. This wasn’t a kiss for out in public. When her lower body started to move against me, I had to hold her still, or everyone was going to get a show.

  Smacking her ass, I devoured her body with my eyes. “Get to work so we can have more fun.”

  The girls on the beach tittered behind their hands as if they’d never seen two people kiss before. Maybe not quite like that. Lexie had tried to consume me, but I loved every minute of it.

  While they got into position, I pulled my phone back out to download Instagram. My agent had been on my ass since day one to get an account and start posting, but my previous phone couldn’t do anything fancy. I was lucky it still worked for phone calls. Texting was a bitch on it, so I was pretty limited. After putting in my email, I tried using my name Ryder Williams, but it was already taken. Everything I thought of was used by someone else. It was supposed to be something easy for my fans to be able to find me, but I had no clue what to pick if I couldn’t use my name.

  “Ryder,” Lexie called from down by the water. She motioned for me to come down to her. Setting her battery pack back down in her chair, I walked down to the shore where everyone was watching me. Luckily, I was used to it now. “What’s got you all stressed?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Lowering her voice, she stepped over to me. “I could tell from all the way down here something wasn’t going right. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m supposed to pick a name that’s easy for fans to follow me, but everything I try is already taken.”

  “Let me see.”

  “You don’t need to help me. You’re working.” She held her hand out with an expectant look on her face. I handed over my phone. While her fingers flew over the keyboard, everyone started to move in toward us with curious eyes.

  “Take off your shirt and stand in the water until you’re about waist deep.”

  “You don’t need to do this.” I tried to take my phone back from her, but she sidestepped me and held it behind her back. “You’re busy.”

  “That may be so, but if you hurry, I can quickly get your picture. With the lighting, it will be perfect.”

  Stripping off my shirt, I did as she requested. When I turned around, Lexie was a few feet behind me, holding up my phone in the air. I should have bought the waterproof case they tried to sell me, but I didn’t think I’d need it.

  “I’m not going to drop it, and if for some reason I did, I’d buy you a new one, so don’t worry.”

  “Who says I’m worried?” I chuckled nervously, totally giving myself away.

  Lexie laughed, shaking her head. “Just give me your best pose.”

  Placing my hand on my hip, I looked back at the shore and let the world drop away. The group of models was no longer staring at us, and Raine wasn’t looking at us with wide eyes. The only person who was with me was Lexie, and she gave me subtle little things to do as she took my picture.

  “I think I got it.” She turned my phone toward me as I moved closer to her. “What do you think?”

  “I think I need you to take all my pictures to make me look good.”

  She splashed water at me as she started back to shore. “You don’t need me to make you look good, but text me the picture, and I’ll run it through a couple of apps to make it great. Then you can post it.”

  “What’s your handle?” one of the girls asked. She was beautiful with crazy long legs, but her voice was so high-pitched, it was like nails on a chalkboard.

  The hair guy chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “You don’t have to answer.”

  “Sure, he does. He needs followers.” Another girl sidled up next to me, trying to look at my phone.

  “Girls leave him alone. You can look up Ryder later if you want. We need to get back to work,” Lexie called out in a voice that let them all know she wasn’t messing around. Was she jealous? I liked the idea of her being jealous of other women wanting me.

  “How the hell does she know him?” one of the other girls whispered to the one with the high-pitched voice.

  “I don’t know, but she’s one lucky bitch.”

  “Thanks for taking my picture and setting up my account.” I dipped down and gave her a wet kiss promising more later.

  Her gaze raked down my body, and she licked her lips. “I plan to take lots of pictures of you in the next couple of days. Ones you won’t be able to post on Instagram.”

  “Holy fucking shit,” someone murmured.

  9

  Ryder

  Watching the sun slowly slip down the horizon and the sky light up in beautiful shades of pinks and oranges with the turquoise waters as the backdrop, I pulled Lexie closer to me. Her head rested on my shoulder, where she’d been content for the last thirty or so minutes.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go tomorrow. This has been fun,” she said wistfully out of nowhere.

  More than fun. Every moment I spent with her, the more I fell for her. While that normally wouldn’t be a bad thing, I wasn’t sure when I’d see her again. I was booked until the end of the year when I then planned to take some time off to spend with my family for the holidays.

  “We still have time to make it memorable. What do you say we go for a dip in the ocean?”

  “Let’s do it.” She jumped up and quickly pulled off the t-shirt she’d been wearing to reveal her toned and inked body that had me drooling for the last two days. I guess we were skinny dipping as well. Not that I’d complain.

  Slipping my shorts off, I threw them to the side and chased after Lexie. She giggled as the water hit her tanned legs, and she turned back to look at me. I loved seeing her smile. It was infectious and made me wish I could see it every day. Grabbing her around the waist, I ran us deeper into the water until I knew she couldn’t touch and would have to wrap herself around me. Lexie didn’t disappoint. Her arms and legs circled me. Her hot center brushed my length, causing us both to gasp before she dipped down and slid her tongue across my parted lips.

  “Have you ever had sex in the ocean before?” Her lips swept against mine as her hand wrapped around my cock and started to stroke.

  “I have a feeling I’m about to.” I bit down on her lip and pulled it into my mouth. As Lexie placed me at her entrance, I nipped down her neck. My tongue laved along her collarbone and swirled around one of her already hard peaks. The moment I slipped inside, she threw her head back and moaned. I could feel the vibrations all the way to the base of my cock. Wrapping one arm around her lower back, my other hand fisted in her hair to angle her just the way I wanted her. Heat rushed through every muscle of my being, and lust took hold of me. In a tone I’d never heard from me before, I commanded her, “Ride me.”

  Squeezing me with her legs, Lexie moved in a tantalizing rhythm as she swiveled her hips on the downstroke. Our lips brushed against each other as we panted and moaned out our pleasure. I cupped her full and perky breast in my hand, pinching and pulling on her nipple ring. With each tug, I felt her core clench around me, driving u
s closer and closer to euphoria. When heat shot down my spine, and my balls started to tingle, I pulled out, only to stroke my cock a few times before I shot my load into the water.

  Lexie moaned as if she had another orgasm by herself. Looking up, I found her eyes trained on the hand still wrapped around my erection. “I love watching you touch yourself. There’s nothing hotter than a man taking care of himself.” If she only knew how often I jacked off at the thought of slamming into her tight pussy.

  Pulling her back against my chest, I guided her mouth to mine. Our kiss was slow, hot, and wet as our tongues caressed each other. I rested my forehead to hers. “I think I love having sex in the water.”

  Lexie hummed, turning her head so that she could watch the rest of the sunset. It was beautiful but not nearly as stunning as she was. “Maybe someday we’ll meet on another beach and go skinny dipping.”

  “It’s a date.” Kissing her temple, I turned us so we could watch the final rays of the sun slip beneath the horizon. “Speaking of dates, would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight? We can get cleaned up and find someplace dark and cozy to eat and have a couple of drinks.”

  “I think I’d be stupid to turn down a date with you.”

  Twenty minutes later, we were seated at a dimly lit table in the sand. There were only a few tables out on the beach that provided privacy. Both of us had drinks in our hands and smiles on our faces. “Did it bother you when all the women were trying to talk to me?” I asked after taking a large sip of my beer. I was indulging in my last night in Hawaii and having a beautiful woman on my arm. I couldn’t afford to put junk in my body, but one beer wouldn’t kill me.

  Placing her margarita back on the table, Lexie’s mouth turned down. “It is what it is.”

  Cocking my head to the side, I reached out and pulled her chair closer to mine. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I know my place in the world, and I know I don’t compare to those models.” Picking up her drink, she drained half of it in one swallow.

  “Can’t you see they don’t compare to you?”

  “I’m not looking for compliments, Ryder.” She sighed and signaled the waiter for another drink. “I don’t have legs that go on for miles, and I’ve got more curves in my hips than they do in their entire bodies. I’m a mess. Look at me, I rarely do my hair and makeup.”

  “That’s what I like about you. You’re not fake. What you see is what you get.”

  Lexie snorted. “I’m just saying I’d understand why you’d talk to them. You have more in common with them.”

  “First of all, I wouldn’t disrespect you by doing that. Remember, I’m a nice guy. And second, you’re who I’m into. Not them.” How could she not see that I only had eyes for her?

  “Don’t you want a woman your own age?”

  My forehead pinched together. “I don’t care that you’re a few years older than me.”

  “A few years? Ryder, how old do you think I am?”

  “Um…I don’t know. Twenty-four or five?” One shoulder lifted. I had no idea how old she was. I did remember her kind of freaking out when I told her my age. She’d called me a baby.

  “I’m more than a few years older than you by a lot.” She eyed me as if she thought I was going to jump up and leave her there over the fact that she was older than me.

  “How much is a lot?” Not that I cared. Maybe if someone had set us up on a blind date and told me her age first, but now I was enamored with her.

  “I’m twelve years older than you. That puts me right in cougar territory. Oh God,” she covered her face with her hands and laughed. “I never thought I’d say those words about myself.”

  “You’re thirty-two?” Disbelief was evident in my tone. There was no way Lexie was thirty-two.

  “A bit of a shock, huh?”

  Shaking my head, I answered her honestly. “Age is just a number. I’m serious, I’ve never met anyone like you. You can’t deny our chemistry, and that’s all that matters to me.” Our chemistry was insane. I’d never felt this way about anyone before. During the last few months, I’d had women throw themselves at me, and not once had I felt an ounce of the chemistry I felt with her. That was why I hadn’t taken any of them up on their offers for a night of fun.

  “I don’t deny the way my body sings when you’re near. Never once, with all the men I’ve encountered, have I felt this way.” I didn’t like hearing her talk about other men, just like I knew she wouldn’t have liked it if I gave more than a passing glance at the models she worked with in the last couple of days. A dark shade of pink crept up her sun-kissed cheeks as she gulped down her margarita. “I thought Bella, Amber, or Drucilla would be more your type.”

  “Not to feed you compliments since you don’t want them, but you’re beautiful. Everything about you, so don’t put yourself down. Those girls have nothing on you.”

  “If this restaurant wasn’t so busy right now, I’d get under the table and blow you, but it will just have to wait until we’re back at my place.”

  “Check,” I called, motioning for our server.

  “Ryder,” she giggled, nudging me with her elbow. “We haven’t even eaten yet.”

  “That’s fine. I’d rather feast on you.”

  A slow grin grew into a mischievous one. “If you could only feel how wet I am for you.”

  “That’s it, we’re leaving.” Standing up, I pulled out my wallet and threw down some money on the table before I dragged Lexie out of the restaurant. It was a good thing we hadn’t traveled far from her bungalow because I wasn’t sure if I could have waited any longer. The urgency that pulsed through my blood had me pulling her around to the back of her place and onto the lounger we’d left in the sand.

  Pushing her down on the seat, I unbuttoned my shorts and let them slip down my hips. Kicking them out onto the beach, I stepped between her legs. My hands went into her hair and pulled her head back.

  She eyed my straining erection and licked her plump lips. “Do you always go commando?”

  “I wear enough underwear for shoots. Now open your mouth wide and suck me hard.”

  Lexie didn’t hesitate, her hot tongue licked my blunt head and sucked it like a lollipop before taking all of me that she could. When I hit the back of her throat, she pulled back and looked up at me with watery eyes. She opened up her throat and took me down with hollowed cheeks as she sucked me off. Her tongue ran along the underside with each upstroke and swirled around my head before bobbing back down over and over again.

  “Are you going to be a good girl and swallow, or do you want me to come all over your tits?”

  Her answer was to suck me harder and for her hand to go to my balls and start to massage them. My grip on her hair tightened as I held her in place and let loose a string of curses as I came down her throat.

  Withdrawing, I wiped her mouth with my tip. Kneeling in front of her, my knees dug into the cool sand as I slowly pulled her sundress over her head. My tongue licked up the light pink triangle of fabric covering her pussy, causing Lexie to buck up off the chair and throw her head back.

  “Now it’s my turn for dinner.”

  * * *

  LEXIE

  “Are you sure you have time to take me to the airport? I could have taken an Uber.”

  “If I didn’t want to take you, I wouldn’t. This way, I can see more of the island in our hot rental van.” I laughed because there was nothing hot about the van. It was utilitarian and got the job done, and that’s all I cared about. “Unless you don’t want anyone seeing you get out of it because I can understand that.”

  He laughed softly. “If you saw my car, you’d know I don’t care. This beaut is a luxury.”

  “Wow, your car must be a total piece of shit then.”

  “Pretty much. Once things die down and I get back home, I plan to buy a new car and look for an apartment in LA.”

  “Where’s home?” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I hadn’t realized he didn’t live in LA or that
I knew so little about him.

  “Washington State, up by Olympia. My family lives in a small town. It’s gorgeous there, and I miss it something terrible.” I felt his gaze look me up and down. “What’s that look for?”

  “I thought you lived in LA or New York. How does that work if you’re up in Washington?”

  “Oh,” he chuckled. “I was staying on my friends’ couches like a bum wherever a job took me. Now that I have some money saved up, I want to find a place of my own.”

  “When are you going to be back?” I tried to hide how curious I was to hopefully see him again.

  “My last job is at the end of November. I’m taking December off to spend with my family, and then I’m back to work.”

  “Do you ever turn down any jobs?” He was going to get run down from all the travel he was doing.

  “Not if I can help it. I’m establishing myself. You know how that is, right?” Taking one hand off the wheel, I placed it on his bouncing leg.

  “While I understand, I’m worried that you’ll get sick from being run down and traveling all the time.”

  “I take good care of myself. I make sure I get plenty of sleep, eat what I’m supposed to eat, workout, and take my vitamins. Next year, I’m hoping I won’t have to work as much, but also, I don’t want to couch surf for the rest of my life.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. How can you, when you’re booked solid for the rest of the year and have some already for next year?”

  “I’m sure you’re just as busy,” he retorted.

  I didn’t mean to upset him. “While I’m busy, I don’t travel all that much. I do a majority of my work in my studio, and that’s the way I like it. Travel is too stressful, and half the time, the models show up hungover because they think it’s a vacation.” He was silent, looking out the window as I drove, and I didn’t like it. He had been so easygoing and sweet the last couple of days. Was this what he was really like? “Ryder,” I sighed out his name, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I understand why you’re working so hard, and I commend you. Your drive is admirable. If only everyone in the industry were like you, it would make my job easier. I’m only worried about you.” My hand tightened on his knee. “I like you. A lot. And I’d hate to see you get burned out and lose everything you’ve worked so hard for.”