The Model: A Workplace Romance

by Layne, Harlow

  “I do,” I moaned and wiggled my hips.

  “That’s my girl. I know what will make this all better.” He slipped his finger out, and even though I didn’t think I’d like it, I kind of missed feeling his digit inside of me. Ryder slid out from under me and moved in behind me. Tagging me by my waist, Ryder pulled me up until I was on my hands and knees, moving me like I was a rag doll. His hot length dragged against my thigh, leaving a trail of pre-cum before he rubbed it up and down my slit until it was coated in my juices. Placing it at my entrance, he pushed inside with one brutal thrust. He wasn’t kidding about fucking me hard. My excitement built up as he slammed into me from behind. His balls struck my swollen nub with every thrust while his guttural moan drowned out the slapping of our skin.

  One hand pushed down between my shoulder blades while the other continued to glide down until it met the base of my spine. Softly, his fingers ran along one cheek of my ass before they moved to the other. His hips picked up speed until they were driving into me at a savage pace. His thumb pushed against me, and this time, I relaxed as I felt fuller than I’d ever been before in my life.

  “Oh my God, Ryder,” I groaned into the mattress.

  “I told you it would feel good. You’re already clenching around me, my sexy girl.” He matched my groan as he pumped faster, making me spiral into the abyss.

  As Ryder transcended me into another world with the rapture he was delivering on my sex-starved body, he stilled and collapsed on top of me. His chest heaved as he breathed against the nape of my neck. Pulling himself out, I immediately felt the loss and was already starving to feel him fill me again. I wasn’t sure how we were going to get any work done when all I wanted was to have Ryder deep inside of me.

  He flopped down on the bed with a wide grin on his face, his dimples popping out. Kissing his shoulder, I moved my ministrations up until I reached his adorable indentations. Placing a kiss on each, I smiled down at him. “Even though I was mad at you, I missed you, dimples.”

  His smile disappeared. “If I would have known, I...I don’t know what I could have done differently, but I would have done anything to prevent you from thinking I would have…I can’t even say it. The thought of touching her makes me sick. If she were a man, I’d kicked her ass the next time I saw her.”

  Of course, the good guy wouldn’t want to hit a woman, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t. I’d probably claw her eyes out.

  “Hey,” Ryder’s gravelly voice brought me out of my musing, “stop thinking about her. She may have fucked with a short portion of our lives, but no longer.”

  He was right. I wouldn’t let her take Ryder away from me again. How was it that Ryder had a much better grip on reality than I did?

  “You’re wise beyond your years.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” he swallowed roughly, looking down. “Does my age bother you?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Most of the time, I don’t think about it. If you were immature, then maybe, but most of the time, you seem to think more logically and bring me down from my crazy thoughts. I mean, it’s in the back of my head when I think about the fact that your career is taking off, and in all truth, I am afraid you’ll eventually want to be with someone else.”

  “It doesn’t matter how old someone is; that’s the risk you take in any relationship.”

  “I know. It’s just an excuse to help me with my fears.”

  His eyes flared wide. “Do I really scare you that much?”

  “More than you could possibly know, but I’m not going to let my fears get in the way of living my life.”

  If I let my fears control me, I wouldn’t be where I was.

  23

  Ryder

  Exiting the elevator with our hands clasped together, I asked. “How should we do this?”

  Turning to look toward me, Lexie scrunched her nose up. “What do you mean? This is like any other photo shoot, except everyone knows we’re…probably together.”

  I didn’t want people to wonder if we were together or not. If it was up to me, she’d already have my ring on her finger, but I’d yet to convince Lexie to find a little white chapel and get married.

  “What do you mean, probably?”

  Lexie stopped outside the room we’d met in yesterday, her hand rested on my chest as she looked up at me. “Who’s to say I’d take you back if you had hooked up with Lana, hell she might have been your girlfriend. I shuttered at the thought of Lana ever being my girlfriend. “What if you’d be pissed about me being pregnant?”

  “That was never a possibility.” Although I was still trying to wrap my head around everything I’d learned since I’d arrived in Vegas.

  “It will be fine. They were all rooting for us. Now, all we have to do is get through this shoot.”

  I had another idea of what we needed to do before we left Vegas, but I wasn’t going to push my agenda on her. I understood why Lexie was hesitant, but that didn’t mean I liked it. And it meant I had to prove to her that she was the only woman in the world for me.

  Lexie opened the door to a full room. No one seemed to notice us as we stepped inside, but the moment we sat down, all eyes were on us. My leg started to bounce, and Lexie’s hand gripped my thigh underneath the table to calm me. No one asked if everything was okay between us. Instead, they took one look and immediately started to smile.

  Raine handed out packets to each of us, and a shift took over Lexie as she went over what she planned for each day. She even had some sketches for what she was hoping to capture as she photographed me and Alyssa, a model I’d never worked with before. She was beautiful with long blonde hair with caramel highlights and eyes to match her hair. I wasn’t sure if they were contacts or not, but either way, she was striking.

  I knew we were already behind after not working yesterday, but no one seemed to mind. I stood by a craft table, adding a little sugar to my coffee when Alyssa came to stand beside me. She gave me a hesitant smile as she poured herself a cup. I wasn’t sure if she was uneasy because of what transpired yesterday or because she liked me. Training my eyes to the ceiling, I prayed Alyssa didn’t like me. If she did, it could get uncomfortable, and the last thing I needed was for Lexie to start thinking I was better off with someone else my own age.

  “Have you worked with everyone before?” She took a sip of her coffee and hid behind her cup.

  I swept the room to see who was in it. All of Lexie’s team seemed to be here. I’d only worked with them once and ran into them in Hawaii, but I had a knack for remembering people. Besides Sadie and Tyson, there were a few others I had no idea what they would be doing.

  “Not everyone. Only Lexie and her people.”

  Looking out of the side of her eye, Alyssa eyed Lexie and Raine before she whispered, “She seems intense.”

  That wasn’t the word I would use to describe Lexie. She was driven and talented and knew exactly what she wanted. She knew how to get it out of the models she worked with. Alyssa hadn’t seen any of that yet, so I was curious how she’d come up with that assumption.

  I shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t holding the coffee. “Only when working but in the best way possible. This shoot will probably launch your career.”

  Her eyes gleamed with that knowledge. “That would be great.” She clapped her hands together softly. “I was surprised she was so adamant about wanting me on the project.”

  Lexie wanting Alyssa on the shoot was a little strange.

  “Excuse me, I need to ask a question about one of the scenes they’re hoping for,” I lied. Kind of. The scene I wanted to know about was why Lexie wanted Alyssa so badly.

  Lexie’s back was turned toward me, but Raine and Sadie were looking right at me as I strode toward them.

  “Trouble in paradise, already?” Sadie asked quietly but not so that I didn’t hear her.

  I watched as Lexie let out a sultry laugh and shook her head. “It was a good talk, and we cleared everything up.”

  Wrapping my arm around her
waist, I let my hand rest on her hip. “Except for the fact that she hasn’t answered whether or not she’ll marry me.”

  All eyes turned wide as Raine and Sadie gaped at me, and I could feel Lexie’s body tense before she pulled away and stood staring at me with fire in her eyes.

  “That is not to be discussed while we’re working,” she hissed. “If that’s why you came over here, you can leave.”

  Fuck, I’d pissed her off and royally too.

  Holding my hands up in surrender, I pleaded with her to forgive me. “It’s not. I’m sorry. I can’t help it if I want to marry you.” I eyed Raine and Sadie as they stood there watching us and knew now was not the time to get into this. “I wanted to ask about Alyssa.”

  Lexie’s posture relaxed a fraction. “Please don’t tell me she’s being a bitch. I’ve only heard good things about her.”

  “But you haven’t worked with her.” It was a statement. Not a question.

  “Never, but I thought you complemented each other, and her eyes are gorgeous.”

  They really were.

  Sadie stepped forward. “Is she giving you any problems?”

  “Nothing like that. She seems kind of quiet but nice. Maybe a little nervous.”

  “She should be nervous because if she doesn’t deliver…” Sadie’s cheeks heated up.

  Lexie placed her hand on Sadie’s arm. “She will. I guarantee it. Why don’t I prove it? We should probably head down to the lobby and get started. I’m hoping to do the pool shots tomorrow, and I can’t do that if everyone’s working on no sleep.”

  Sadie clapped her hands loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “Let’s head down to the lobby, and get to work.”

  Lexie smiled at her with stars in her eyes. I think she had a girl crush on Sadie. “Oh, you’re perfect. I can’t wait for you to put everyone in line this week.”

  “I’m happy to be of assistance.”

  Tyson came over and stood next to Sadie. “Is there anything you need me to grab?”

  Lexie cocked her head as she took him in and I can’t lie, I was jealous of the way she looked at him. “Have you ever modeled, Ty?”

  “Can’t say that I have. Why?” His cheeks and ears turned pink.

  I stifled a chuckle as he blushed.

  Lexie scoffed. “Don’t tell me no one has ever said you could be a model.”

  “Only my wife.” He draped his arm over Sadie’s shoulders, and she looked up to him with only love in her eyes.

  “Because it’s true.” She turned back to us. “He pretends he doesn’t know how good looking he is and that he never looks in a mirror.”

  Lexie bobbed her head like that was normal. “Would you be opposed to maybe being in a few shots? I’m still trying to work it out in my head, but I think you’d add something to the campaign.”

  Tyson took a step back, away from all of us, his eyes wide in alarm. “Oh, I don’t know. That wouldn’t be very professional if I posed for a campaign we’ve been hired to do.”

  Lexie shrugged. “It happens. Let’s head down to the lobby and I’ll tell you about what happened this one time in Rio.”

  ‘Interesting,’ Ty mouthed.

  “I’d definitely like to hear that story,” Sadie chimed in.

  Silently, I trailed behind them as Lexie told them what happened with Rob, and how she ended up being in one of the shots they used for the campaign. She even pulled a few of the pictures up on her phone to show them. Sadie hung on her every word while Tyson looked a little green. He probably thought he’d end up in the campaign, but I knew Lexie wouldn’t try to use him if he was against it. Going by his looks, he would make a good model, but I understood why he wouldn’t want to do it. It would be difficult to go back to work after everyone saw him in that light. I wondered how the dynamic at work was with them working together and Sadie being his boss.

  We filed into an area off the lobby where a few people had come down to set up with lights and to help redirect traffic from the area. The good thing about only shooting with a camera was it didn’t matter how noisy it was around when the shot was taken. If we’d been filming, it would have been a whole other matter altogether. Still, it was hard for me to concentrate sometimes when there was too much going on, and Lexie, in all likelihood, had the same problem.

  “Places everyone,” Lexie clapped and then started pointing to where she wanted each of us. Alyssa clung to my side as we waited for Lexie to measure the lighting and be happy with it. I didn’t understand the process, but over the months, I’d looked up her photos, and she knew what she was doing, so I’d wait until she was content to get her shots.

  With a nod, she stepped back and lifted her camera to her eye. “Let’s make some magic.”

  * * *

  “We should break to eat,” Sadie announced. She looked at her watch and shook her head. “I’m not sure what meal you’re eating since we’re working abnormal hours but go eat. I can’t have anyone fainting, and we’ve still got plenty to do before we stop for the day.”

  We’d been going since around midnight, and it felt like it had been hours since we started. I felt bad for Lexie as she let out a large yawn. Earlier, she had explained she couldn’t drink coffee while pregnant, and how much she didn’t like giving it up. I didn’t want to consume any caffeine out of solidarity, but I couldn’t function without it after the long day I’d had.

  Not that I’d complain. The way I felt now compared to how I felt when I walked into the meeting room earlier was like night and day. I felt like the sun had finally decided to shine on my face for the first time since I’d last seen her. For months I’d been in the dark, but now she illuminated my life with her sheer presence.

  Raine, Sadie, Ty, and Lexie stood huddled together around a makeshift podium with a laptop on top as they examined each photo she’d taken the last few hours.

  Separating, Sadie placed a hand on Lexie’s shoulder as they both nodded. “The shots look great and just what we wanted. We’ve got a gem here with our Lexie. She knows how to get what she wants and relatively quickly.” There were a few chuckles at her comment. “We’re going to move on to the next location, so please eat and get some rest. We’ll be reconvening at…” Her questioning gaze looked to Lexie for the answer.

  “Models meet at hair and makeup at four a.m., we’ll be shooting at sunrise on the rooftop. The rest of you, please make sure everything is in place before that time. The most important thing I can stress is, do not be late. I know we’re here in Sin City but now is not playtime. We’ll get to that later.”

  Everyone stood straighter, and their eyes lit up when she spoke even though they were dead tired. I loved how much everyone admired her. I missed working with her and wished everyone I worked with was as easygoing and competent as she was.

  “Are you going to eat?” Alyssa asked from beside me. I felt bad. I was sure from her point of view, it looked as if everyone knew each other, and she was the outsider. I didn’t want her to feel left out, but I also wasn’t too sure how Lexie would be with others around us. I wanted her by my side as much as possible, and if Alyssa or anyone else’s presence hindered that, I wouldn’t be too happy.

  “Most definitely,” my stomach let out a loud rumble declaring my hunger, “I’m just not sure where. Let me go see what’s going on,” I left her by one of the pillars and made my way over to Lexie. She and Raine were happily chatting away as I came up to them. “How are things, ladies?”

  “Good,” Raine blushed and looked down at her shoes.

  “Good, I was wondering if there were any plans for…what time is it, anyway? I hate not having a watch on.” I tapped my wrist.

  “Oh, it’s a little after seven in the morning, so I guess that means it’s time for breakfast,” Raine answered quietly.

  Lexie’s finger hooked my pinky and shook it. “I think the hotel has a breakfast buffet. What do you say we hit it, and then everyone can get some sleep? Or do you need like some super disgusting healthy breakfast?”

/>   “Right now, I’ll eat anything, we should have eaten before we started.”

  A sly smile spread across her face. “We were busy doing better things.”

  “Oh, God.” Raine’s cheeks turned redder as she stepped away.

  “You shouldn’t be skipping meals.” It couldn’t be good for her or the baby for her to not eat for so long. My head swam at the thought of Lexie carrying my child. Before, I had dreamed about one day becoming a parent, but I didn’t know it would happen so soon in my life. I wasn’t going to complain, though. There was no other woman on the planet I wanted to have children with than the woman standing next to me.

  “I know, and I usually don’t, but you are a mighty fine distraction. I promise to fill myself to the brim and then go sleep off my food coma.”

  Leaning down until my lips caressed her ear, I asked. “Am I staying in your room, or should I keep mine?”

  “I hate you even have to ask that question. I want you with me, and if we’re trying to see what life is like together while we’re here, I think you should be in my bed, but it’s up to you.”

  “Our bed,” I growled, frustrated. “I already know what it’s like staying in a hotel room with you for a week. You’re not going to do anything that’s not going to make me not want to marry you.”

  “I don’t know. I might fart all night in my sleep now that I’m pregnant,” she giggled. I wasn’t sure how she could make a damn giggle sound so sultry, but she did.

  “Your stinky ass wouldn’t bother me if I was by your side.”

  “Damn.” She shook her head and whispered for only me to hear, “You’re too sweet.”

  “You love it.”

  Her soft lips brushed across the column of my neck. “I do. I really do, and I bet if you lifted your head right now, those dimples that I love so much would be showing themselves.”