by Leigh Hays
“It’s her hand. They’re in love.” Lindsey hid her surprise that someone who took erotic pictures could miss so obvious a connection. The larger woman cradled the other woman’s lower back and upper buttocks in such a way as to suggest tenderness. Her fingertips gently brushed the skin underneath, seemingly caught in the act of stroking.
Rebekiah stared for a little bit longer and nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Sometimes it’s the way they touch that tells you.” Wanting to move away from the personal, Lindsey said, “Let me grab the paperwork, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Okay, sure.” Rebekiah followed her into the reception area and leaned against the wall. “I’m glad you came.”
“Well, if I’d been paying attention, I wouldn’t have to.” She looked up and caught the slight frown on Rebekiah’s face. Did she just hurt her feelings? She took a chance and smiled. “I mean, me, too.” Friendships had never been her strong suit. They evolved gradually and over time. Her sexual relationships tended toward the exact opposite. They burned bright in the beginning and faded within months. Her lovers were attracted to her remoteness and then complained about it when she didn’t change for them.
Rebekiah’s face brightened, and she pushed off the wall. “I’ve been meaning to call you.”
“Really?” Her insides trembled. She wasn’t sure she was ready to hear what Rebekiah was going to say. Grabbing a pen, she sat down and flipped a folder open.
Rebekiah came over. “I wanted to schedule another sitting.” Lindsey pointed out the places for her to sign, and Rebekiah did. When they finished, she handed her the pen, but instead of letting it go, she wrapped her hand around Lindsey’s fingers, and they held the pen together.
Lindsey looked at their joined hands. Rebekiah’s fingers were smooth and warm. There was a tenderness in her touch that drew her in. All their interactions had been leading up to this moment. Rebekiah was different. Every encounter Lindsey had with her did not fit into her professional or even personal pattern. She allowed Rebekiah more leeway. At first, she thought it was because of Roger and the increased workload. Everything felt more urgent and necessary. She was willing to bend her rules to get the deal. But the time to pass her off came and went, and she still worked with her. With each conversation, they revealed pieces of themselves to each other. Rebekiah saw her, and Lindsey wanted to feel that connection again. The idea of removing her clothes and letting Rebekiah watch her come undone made her insides burn. “And if I say yes, will you want me to come?”
Rebekiah’s other hand covered their hands together. “Would you like that?”
Lindsey swallowed and heard the husky rasp in her voice but could do nothing to change it. Her body already acquiesced to what her mind was thinking. “Where do you want me?”
* * *
Rebekiah pulled the drapes closed to shut the night out of the studio. She made sure the heat was on and finished setting up the lights for the shoot. She tested the angle and two cameras she’d set up on tripods. She wanted as little technical distraction for the shoot as possible so she could concentrate on making Lindsey comfortable. She wished she’d had more time to prepare; she felt rushed and disorganized. The last time she’d been this meticulous about a setup was Emma’s final shoot. That realization brought an unexpected wave of grief. She took a deep breath and expelled all that pent-up emotion. Now that she knew where all her anxiety was coming from, she could let it go.
Sera growled as she ran under her feet with a red scarf dangling from her mouth. “What the hell?” Coming back to the present, Rebekiah turned and called, “Sera!”
Sera ignored the call and huddled into her bed, sniffing and snuffling the red wool. “What are you doing?” Rebekiah ducked in and yanked the cloth away. Sera barked at her twice. Rebekiah frowned. “Hey, don’t yell at me.” She held the slobbery cloth up and turned it in her hand. Lindsey’s scarf. She called to the dressing room, “Lindsey, my dog chewed your scarf. Bad dog,” she muttered at Sera. Sera closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
Lindsey spoke from behind the changing screen. “Really?”
“I’ll see if I can get it cleaned.” She hung the soggy scarf off one of the photography racks and stared at it for a minute longer. “But if not, will you accept a substitute?”
Lindsey laughed. “You don’t need to get me another one. I have tons of scarves.”
Rebekiah frowned, shooting Sera one last glare before she went back to the cameras, then took a few shots to test the lighting. “How’s it coming?”
“Do you have something I could wear, or should I just come out naked?”
Rebekiah’s breath caught, and she choked.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just grab whatever you see hanging in there.” Her mind raced through all the clothes on the rack, imagining what she would look like in each of them. Women came out of her dressing room half-naked all the time. This should be no different, right? She tried to focus and adjusted the aperture before she took another shot. The camera slid in her hands, and she wiped her palms on her pants. “Make sure your things are off the floor. Apparently, my dog has a fetish for your clothes.” Lindsey’s laugh came back through the space.
She emerged wearing a black kimono with cherry blossoms along the hem and up the torso. She walked past Rebekiah and sat down on the edge of the bed. “And what about her owner? What fetishes does she have?”
Rebekiah pulled away from her camera and smiled, letting her desire show through. “I like to watch.”
Lindsey leaned back. “Do you? And what do you like to watch?” She moved her legs apart; the silk robe split along the inside of her thighs. Rebekiah’s eyes followed the move, her desire pooling much lower.
“Hmm…Lots of things.”
Lindsey’s hand drifted across her stomach and played with the knot at her waist. “Can you be more specific?”
Rebekiah turned the focus a little tighter and said, “Sure. Can you follow directions?”
Lindsey looked right in the camera and said, “I’ll do whatever you want.”
Rebekiah felt a rush of warmth. “Okay. Then let’s move your legs apart a little bit more.”
Lindsey pulled her knees up. “Like this?”
“Like this.” Rebekiah moved her hand along Lindsey’s thigh. Lindsey jumped, and Rebekiah smoothed her hand along the soft skin. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” She knelt on the bed and wrapped her hands around the belt, loosening the knot. Lindsey’s chest rose and fell as Rebekiah pulled the belt through the loops and let the robe hang open. She smiled and leaned back. “Perfect.”
Lindsey’s body leaned toward her before pulling back. Her eyes drilled into Rebekiah. She felt their pull and almost put aside her camera, but she had waited months for this opportunity, so she stepped behind the tripod and took a couple more shots.
Rebekiah moved her head back from the camera and came forward again. “Okay. Lean back.” She placed a few pillows behind Lindsey’s body and positioned one of her legs up against a pillow. She took the other one and spread her legs. Lindsey closed her eyes and shivered. Rebekiah leaned over her and whispered, “This turns you on.”
Lindsey opened her eyes. She swallowed. “A little.”
“Me, too.” She pulled away and returned to her camera. “I want you to touch your breasts. Gently at first. Make them hard for me.”
Lindsey’s hands came up and cupped her breasts. She moved her fingers across her nipples, scissoring her index and middle finger around the hard-soft peaks.
“Good, good,” Rebekiah murmured. “Now move your hand down. That’s great. Oh, nice. Yeah, touch yourself.” Rebekiah’s smile widened when Lindsey’s fingers dipped into her wetness and brought it up to her breasts. “Very nice.”
Rebekiah sank into her photographer persona, surprised by how quickly Lindsey responded to her requests. She’d expected a little more resistance. Lindsey was more of an exhibitionist than she’d let on. She wondered how far
she’d go.
“Now move your hands; take your nipples and pinch them.” She focused on her breasts and took a few more shots. “Harder, harder, harder.”
Lindsey gasped and arched off the bed.
“Excellent. You’re doing just fine.”
And there it was. That piece of Lindsey she’d seen under the work façade. That still passion moving just under the surface.
“Okay, let go.”
Lindsey sagged back against the cushions for a moment, brushing her nipples back into her chest to ease the soreness.
Rebekiah smiled and said, “That’s good; ease them into feeling okay. Make them feel loved.” Like she wanted to love them. She took a few more shots and then thumbed the camera out of the tripod to move closer. “Now, do it again.”
Lindsey moved her hands and pinched them again.
“Harder, yeah, that’s good.” Sweat dripping down her neck, she held her camera up and took a few shots without looking while she leaned in. “You’re doing great.” She centered Lindsey in the viewfinder and started clicking off another round of shots. “Just great.” She adjusted for light, focus, and distance, getting a range of long and short shots. “Move your hand. Right there.” Her hands shook with the effort to stay on task and not join her on the bed.
She stood on a stool to get some distance, but it did little to alleviate her desire. “Okay, now a little higher. Right there. Catch your nipple…yeah, you got it.” Stepping off the stool, she circled the bed. She crouched next to her and Lindsey rolled toward her. Rebekiah smoothed her hand along her arm. “Shh. Stay right there.” Rebekiah kept her hand on her until the tension left her body, and then she leaned over and whispered, “Are you ready?” Extreme close-up on her eyes, open mouth.
“Oh God, yes.” Lindsey moaned.
“Go ahead. Touch yourself.”
She moved her hand and dipped into her wetness. She moaned and closed her eyes for a moment and then snapped them back to Rebekiah’s face. Her voice husky and raw, she said, “Put the camera down.”
Rebekiah started to pull away. Not yet. They weren’t done. Just a little more.
Lindsey grabbed her free hand and, wrapping her fingers around it, brought their hands to her inner folds. “If you want to watch, I want to see you.” Rebekiah closed her eyes at the first touch. So wet and ready. She shifted position and took control, swirling their hands together up and down her labia and around her clit. Lindsey gasped and arched. “Or I put my clothes on and walk out the door.”
Rebekiah lowered her camera. She wanted to shove her fingers inside. But unwilling to relinquish total control, she pulled back from Lindsey’s wet grasp and knelt at the edge of the bed. She kissed Lindsey’s foot. “Okay, it’s just you and me here. No camera.”
Lindsey smiled and stared, never breaking eye contact as her left hand slid across the dip in her hip toward the dark patch of hair. Her other hand opened her vulva to Rebekiah: pink, red, and wet.
Rebekiah eased back. “You’re gorgeous.” Lindsey’s hands moved quickly. Her eyes snapped shut, and her hips arched into the air.
Rebekiah’s hand itched for her camera even as she shot the scene with her mind. A series of pictures taken in her head. “So good, so good,” she murmured, resisting the pull to move closer.
Lindsey’s face twisted, her body bucked, and her hands moved faster and faster.
Giving into the urge, Rebekiah leaned down and picked up her abandoned camera. Looking through the lens, she urged, “That’s it. Let it come to you.”
Lindsey opened her eyes at the sound and gasped. “Rebekiah…”
“Don’t stop, keep working yourself. I want to see you let go.” She slid her hand along her thigh and whispered, “Come for me, Lindsey. Show me.”
Lindsey’s eyes opened wide, and her hips rose off the bed. Her legs splayed open, and her inner folds were exposed to Rebekiah’s lens as the pull of her orgasm rolled through her. Rebekiah captured her gasp of pleasure and moment of extreme openness as she came. It was more exquisite than she imagined. And left her wanting more.
Chapter Thirteen
Lindsey’s whole body went boneless. She had no idea that she’d carried so much tension until it just flowed out of her. She threw an arm over her eyes and just lay there.
“Talk to me. Tell me how you feel.”
Lindsey’s hands moved up her stomach and across her chest in a big stretch. “Good.” She smiled. “Relaxed.” She closed her legs and laughed. “Exposed.”
Rebekiah laughed with her.
Lindsey pulled her hands away and saw the camera. She rolled over and crawled, her open robe flapping around her. Reaching out, she pulled the camera down and leveled a look at her. More curious than annoyed, she asked, “How much of that did you shoot?”
Rebekiah shrugged. “Just the end.”
Lindsey leaned back on her heels and pulled the robe around her with one hand and held out her other. “Let me see.”
Rebekiah pulled back and shook her head. “They’re not ready.”
Lindsey waggled her fingers. “Come on.”
Rebekiah frowned and scooted closer. But she held on to the camera. The first picture appeared on the screen. Lindsey was stretched out naked with her hand across her eyes, the robe splayed out, her legs spread, her breasts falling to both sides and her stomach drooping to the left. Slightly mortified, she made a noise and tried to take the camera. “I look terrible.”
Rebekiah held it out of reach and said, “No, you don’t.” She got up and put the camera back on the tripod. Turning, she faced her with her arms crossed. “I told you they’re not ready.”
“I can’t let you keep those.” Lindsey looked around and found the robe’s tie. She’d let her libido do the thinking, something she always regretted. After alcohol, it was the second biggest cause of poor decisions in her life. She said, “They’re too…”
“Raw?”
“Real.”
Rebekiah dropped her arms and stepped forward. “That’s the point. It’s what I look for.”
Lindsey paused. She stared at Rebekiah standing there so open and so sincere. A strange mix of honesty, confidence, and hurt. And everything clicked into place. This dance that they had been doing since the beginning. Every moment between them had been about trust. But if Rebekiah wanted her trust, she was going to have to give it, too.
Grinning, she pulled Rebekiah toward her. Then she spun her around and walked her backward toward the bed. Rebekiah’s face switched from consternation to delight. She reached for Lindsey, but Lindsey swatted her hands away. “My turn.”
Rebekiah raised her arms. Lindsey worked the buckle of her belt and slipped the leather through the loops. She held the belt to her side and let it drop. Her fingers made quick work of the button and zipper, and she yanked Rebekiah’s pants down to mid-thigh. She found the hem of Rebekiah’s T-shirt and tugged it up and over Rebekiah’s head. It got caught in her hair before pulling free. Rebekiah wore no bra. Lindsey smoothed her hands down the slope of her breasts and gently palmed them in both hands. She wanted to pinch them into hardness, giving Rebekiah a taste of her own torture.
“Oof.” Rebekiah’s knees crumbled against the bed, and she landed with her legs trapped in her pants.
“Allow me.” Lindsey knelt down and pulled her free, removing her underwear in the process. She dropped them to the side and looked right up into the V of Rebekiah’s legs. The curls were damp. A fresh wave of arousal coursed through her, centered in her core.
“Did watching me turn you on?” Lindsey crawled up. She dipped her hand between their bodies, along the length of her vagina and around her clit. She smiled at the moisture she collected. “Hmm?”
Rebekiah jumped at her touch and clamped her hands around Lindsey’s face. Lindsey pulled back before she could kiss her. Rebekiah followed, and Lindsey slipped farther back. “No touching.” She was in control here, not Rebekiah. She felt her robe sag open but didn’t bother to fix it.
Re
bekiah’s eyes stared at the gap, and Lindsey shrugged out of it. She smiled and ran her hand down her torso. “Better?”
Grinning, Rebekiah leaned forward again, and Lindsey scooted to the edge of the bed.
Rebekiah groaned and flopped back down.
Lindsey drew her fingers back through Rebekiah’s wetness. “Now, I asked you a question.”
Rebekiah hissed and put her hand on Lindsey’s hand. Lindsey let her touch her. She moved her fingers again, and Rebekiah moaned.
“Did watching me turn you on?”
Rebekiah nodded.
Lindsey swirled her fingers through Rebekiah’s vulva and up past her clit. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Yes.”
Lindsey smiled. “So responsive.” Laying her fingers on top of Rebekiah’s, she manipulated their joined hands up and down and along her inner folds. Taking time to sweep past her clit and then down to tease her opening. Again and again until Rebekiah started to move on her own.
Lindsey slipped her hand away and whispered, “Good. Now, I want you to come.” Any lingering feelings of vulnerability vanished as she watched Rebekiah’s internal struggle play out across her face. She’d played the aggressor before, but she got the feeling that Rebekiah rarely relinquished the lead.
Rebekiah shook her head and locked eyes with her. “I can’t.”
Lindsey laid her hand back down. “Yes, you can.” She pinched her clit.
Rebekiah gasped and arched her back. “Jesus.”
“Do you like that?” Lindsey did it again to the same response. She grinned. “Yes, you do.”
Rebekiah’s hand moved frantically after each pinch until she finally pushed Lindsey’s fingers away and took over. She came with a shuddering gasp and a long groan, her body bowing up and then slamming back down.
Her momentum pulled Lindsey toward the bed, and she tumbled into her. Rebekiah laughed and steadied her, their faces inches from each other. Rebekiah smiled and tucked a strand of Lindsey’s hair behind her ear. “Hi.”
