Ethan kept one eye on Rei and watched as she banged her shot glass down on the table, shuddering slightly and licking her lips. He subconsciously did the same. ‘Another?’ he asked, and she nodded.
They took their second shot, and she overturned her glass on the rickety wooden table, grimacing. Then she reached up, pulled the elastic band out of her hair and shook her hair free around her shoulders. Ethan suddenly became aware of how near she stood and immediately poured himself a third shot.
‘Take it easy, cowboy.’ She nudged him in the ribs. ‘We’ve still got more pictures to take.’
He looked at her, watching him with a mysterious little smile, and he felt a pang of both anger and affection. Why would she put him in this position? Why would she have the audacity to stand so close to him while wearing so little and have no idea of the effect she was having on him? Further irritating him was how she looked at him in a way that suggested far more than their friendship had ever been – and he didn’t completely mind.
‘All right.’ He forced aside his complicated thoughts. ‘Back to the salt mines.’
‘This time tell me what to do.’ She touched his elbow, sending a jolt of electricity through him. ‘I’m serious. I want this to be good.’
Ethan took a deep breath at the intensity of her words. ‘It will be. Don’t worry.’ He steered her back to the couch. ‘Lie on your side. Here, use this.’ He handed her a throw pillow and slid it beneath her head. ‘And bring your hand here.’ He took her hand and moved it up to her cheek. ‘And your other arm …’ He manoeuvred her left arm up and over her head so that it framed her face. ‘There. Perfect.’
Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip as she bit back a smile. ‘Aw. You think I’m perfect.’
His breath hitched in his chest at the smouldering look she gave him. ‘Yeah, you’re all right.’ He ignored how warm he suddenly felt and turned his attention to positioning her legs in a brusque, businesslike fashion.
‘You always were so good with doling out compliments.’
He shook his head in response and returned to his camera, forcing himself to breathe deeply, calmly. He couldn’t believe how ridiculous he was acting, how he was feeling. A part of him couldn’t wait until the photo shoot was over and Rei went home. He wasn’t sure what the other part of him wanted.
Ethan’s mood lifted, though, when Rei started posing. Her expressions were more varied and natural, and she rearranged herself and moved into new positions without his direction. He started to feel a different kind of excitement from what he’d been feeling all morning. He actually felt like the photographer he worked so hard to be, instead of an awkward teenager, half-sick with lust.
Her voice broke his creative reverie. ‘Ethan.’
‘Hmm?’
‘How long have we been friends?’
‘Since sophomore year. Twelve years, I guess.’
‘And in all that time, I’ve never heard about you being seriously involved with anyone.’
‘That’s because you’re on a need-to-know basis.’
‘And right now I need to know.’
He peered around the camera. ‘Why?’
‘I’m just making conversation. You’re so suspicious.’
‘No, I’m being professional. That’s what you wanted. And I want you to sit up for this next shot.’
Rei obeyed him, moving into a sitting position. ‘Actually, all I requested was semi-professional, but fine, be a bore.’ A slow, mischievous grin spread across her face. ‘You don’t have to take it out on me just ’cause you’ve never bagged a babe.’
He lowered his camera and sighed as he plucked a cigarette from the half-crushed soft pack in his flannel shirt pocket. ‘I think it’s time for another break.’
‘If you say so. I could use a costume change.’ Rei swatted him on the arm as she passed him. ‘I hope you’re less grumpy when I come back.’ She tittered with amusement and stepped behind the folding screen.
Ethan shook his head in response and lit his cigarette, noticing how his hands trembled. He glanced towards the folding screen and watched Rei’s silhouette shimmy into a different pair of panties. He stifled a groan and pressed his palms to his eyelids. What was wrong with him today?
There was a scratching noise at the door and, when Ethan answered it, the cat streaked inside and across the room, disappearing behind the folding screen, where he received a warm greeting.
‘Hi, baby,’ Rei cooed, and Ethan watched her bend down to scoop the cat up. ‘What a little lover boy you are.’ She gave him plenty of loud kisses and stepped out from behind the screen, barefoot and wearing nothing but a pair of nude hipster panties, the cat covering her breasts. Ethan hoped he didn’t swallow as loud as he thought he did.
‘I’ve decided I want some pictures with the kitty here.’ She nodded to the cat in her arms, which had nestled its head beneath her chin. ‘Now you have to pose us both.’
‘All right.’ Ethan picked up his camera, the cigarette dangling from his lip. ‘Go stand by the window and hope he feels like cuddling. He’s not really a snuggly cat, and if he runs away on you, you’ll be pretty embarrassed.’
‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’ she asked, standing in a square of sunlight that tried so hard to make its way past the filthy glass.
‘Why would I want you to be embarrassed?’
‘That’s not what I meant and you know it.’
He ignored her, concentrating instead on taking a series of black-and-white photographs of her coddling the cat and talking softly to it. He felt another tug of affection for his friend and realised he had never wanted to be a feline so much before in his life.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, catching him shaking his head once again.
‘Nothing.’
Rei continued to look at him and he returned her stare. The cat squirmed in her arms. She took a step forward and opened her mouth as if to speak, but the sound of a sharp click made them both jump. The cassette had finally stopped, and a heavy silence settled over the studio.
‘I’ll finish changing.’ She moved back behind the screen and let the cat jump free from her embrace.
‘Fine.’ He flipped the cassette around in the tape deck and pressed ‘play’, wishing he could go a few seconds back in time to find out what had been on the brink of happening.
Rei reappeared a few minutes later, wearing a strapless whalebone corset that clung to her curves like a shipwrecked passenger would to a life raft. She also wore a pair of matching ruffled panties, open-toed heels and thigh-high stockings complete with a garter belt. It was as if she’d stepped out of one of his adolescent fantasies that still continued to haunt him.
She lounged across the couch while Ethan tried his hardest not to stare at her. He was exhausted and frustrated with trying to decipher his feelings every time he glanced in her direction. She posed herself and he went to work, taking her portrait, and attempted to count the seconds as they passed by means of distraction.
‘You’re awfully quiet,’ she murmured after several minutes of silence.
He wiped his damp palm on the side of his faded jeans. ‘I’m concentrating.’
‘How hard do you have to concentrate to look through a tiny window and press a button?’
‘You’re right, it’s easy. That’s why everyone has their master’s in photography.’ He really was trying to concentrate, but the way she suddenly decided to drape a leg over the back of the couch was making it oddly difficult.
‘I’m just pointing out that you look like you’re having trouble relaxing. You need to loosen up.’
‘And how do you propose I do that?’ Despite the sarcasm in his tone, he was dying to know.
She arched an eyebrow and pressed her lips together to hide a smile.
‘Can you not think about sex for a few minutes?’ Incidentally, he found it a struggle to think otherwise. Another surge of frustration welled inside him.
‘I didn’t say anything. You’re jumping to conclusions. B
ut now that you mention it, it could help you. This is why we need to find you a girl. Tell me what you’re looking for.’
‘I’m not looking.’
‘But if you were …’
‘All right, all right.’ He paused, thinking. ‘I guess I want someone I have a real connection with. Someone who knows me better than I know myself.’ Heat crept into his cheeks then, as if he realised he had confessed too much to the wrong person.
Rei turned over so that she lay on her stomach, the curve of her ass beneath the ruffled panties peeping out, begging for his touch. She kicked one foot up in the air behind her, her shoe dangling from the tips of her toes, and propped herself up on one elbow, her fist curled under her chin. ‘Go on,’ she purred.
He cleared his throat and quickly took a few more pictures. ‘And I’m sort of a sucker for a girl with a nice smile.’
‘Yeah, and you’re a funny guy. It’s a good idea to have someone attractive to look at if you’re gonna be telling jokes all day.’
He laughed. ‘Exactly.’
She turned on her side so that she faced him and absently traced an invisible line down her throat to the top of her corset, where she undid the small silver hooks, one by one. Ethan remained frozen, unable to do anything but watch her.
Rei arched an eyebrow. ‘Let’s get snapping, Ansel Adams.’
Unable to dream up a comeback, Ethan held the viewfinder to his eye, but his sweating, shaking hands made it impossible to take a picture. ‘We need the tripod.’
‘OK,’ she chirped while slowly undoing the corset.
Ethan mumbled a stream of curses and willed his feet to march to where his tripod leaned against the cement wall. Why was he behaving like this? He’d never acted or felt so awkward about one of his subjects. Part of him felt guilty; Rei was one of his closest friends. How could he even think of peeling off those panties and fucking her until the studio filled with her screams?
He took a few deep breaths and begged himself to snap out of it. ‘It’s just been too long,’ he mumbled, but he didn’t believe the lie even as it slipped past his lips.
Ethan returned to Rei, who still lounged on the couch, her corset fully undone but still covering everything except the smooth span of skin from her collarbone to her belly button. He fought off a groan. She’d saved the unveiling for him. He forced himself not to look at her as he set up the tripod.
‘Ready?’ she asked when he’d finished.
She had no idea. He nodded stiffly, holding his breath.
Rei peeled the sides of the corset away from her body, and his whole body numbed. He had photographed hundreds of women before in various states of undress, but none of them had been Rei. He couldn’t even begin to understand his reaction to her. It was an indescribable mixture of their past, both the newness and strangeness of the situation and the now undeniable need to know how the future would unfold.
‘Why are you staring me like that?’ She appeared both shy and pleased, two pink spots blooming on her cheeks like little flowers.
‘I don’t know,’ he said, though he had a variety of reasons.
‘Well, quit it.’ She gave him a smile as she tossed the corset on the rug. ‘Set up the camera and let’s get going.’
He wordlessly obeyed, joining the camera and the tripod together, and, when he glanced up again, she was tugging off her panties.
‘I should’ve warned you.’ Her blush deepened and she tossed the panties in his direction. ‘Things are about to get dirty.’ She rolled over onto to her side, facing him and wearing nothing but her garter belt, stockings and shoes, and drummed her fingers on the couch cushions. ‘Well?’
The words tumbled out before he could think them over: ‘What do you think you’re doing?’
Her fingers stopped drumming. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I … I don’t …’ Ethan couldn’t form a rational thought. He closed and rubbed his eyes as if Rei were a mirage, but when he opened them again, she was still there, and she stared at him with the most horrible, crushed expression on her face. She couldn’t have looked more embarrassed if she tried, and his stomach plummeted. ‘We’re friends,’ he said, as if by way of explanation.
‘And?’ Her eyes became shiny and her voice quivered. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’
Ethan said nothing. He had no idea any more.
‘Forget it.’ Rei struggled into a sitting position and reached for her discarded corset with stiff movements. Her gaze was everywhere but on him, and his face felt as hot as his chest felt hollow. It had become painfully clear that this shoot had had nothing to do with photography. He was embarrassed to have recognised what was happening so late, and his anger faded now that he understood this morning had not just been a merciless tease. But he felt frozen to the spot, unsure of how to proceed.
His mind screamed that the friendship was at stake, then switched paths completely. Images of his time spent with Rei flashed in his brain: the flirtatious banter, the intimate conversations until the early morning, the way they trusted each other more than anyone else. He wondered if they had ever really, truthfully only been just friends.
He licked his dry lips. ‘Rei, hold on.’
‘I have to go.’
‘Don’t. I want you to stay.’
Ethan’s head buzzed as he walked towards her, and her eyes widened with every step he took. He stopped in front of her and tugged the corset out of her hands before crawling into her arms and guiding her back down on the couch. Then he covered her body with his and kissed her with an intensity that felt long overdue.
Rei let out a moan as his lips nipped at hers. Her fingers laced through his hair while his hands travelled over her smooth skin, making up for lost time. Her legs circled his waist, her stockings making a hush-hush sound as they rubbed against his jeans. Ethan kissed a path from her neck to her shoulders to her breasts until she writhed against him, needy whimpers falling from her lips.
‘Please, Ethan.’ She pushed his flannel shirt off his arms, leaving him in his T-shirt and jeans. ‘I’m done waiting.’
He rose on his forearms as she worked a hand between them and he suppressed a moan at the sight of her, naked and needy beneath him. She reached for his belt buckle and unzipped his jeans, freeing him. He let out a shaky breath as her hand closed around him and watched her stroke his shaft.
‘Are you all right with this?’ Her smoky eyes burned holes into his.
He gave her a wavering smile, his attention reserved for her hand on his cock. ‘Guess.’
She shook her head with a shy grin. ‘You know what I mean.’
He drew in a shaky breath and closed his eyes as he nodded. His earlier annoyance had morphed into lust and even fear at the realisation at how normal everything felt. How right.
Her eyes sparkled. ‘You aren’t caving into my charms just because I’m a sure thing, are you?’
Ethan brushed his lips against hers. ‘A sure thing is the one thing you’re not.’
Rei curled her arms around his neck, pressing her chest to his and deepening their kiss. He snaked a hand between her legs and found her already wet. She arched her back at his gentle touch and he stifled a moan. The heels of her shoes scratched against the backs of his calves as he traced a wet circle around her clit with his finger. His head clouded with pleasure as he sank a finger inside her, and her breathy moan against his ear was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. She rocked against his hand, and he couldn’t believe that this was happening between him and his closest friend.
‘I just have one more question,’ she said between gasps.
‘What?’ He braced himself for the worst, all the while finding it difficult to concentrate on her words with her pussy clutching his fingers.
‘Do you care if I keep my shoes and stockings on?’
He breathed out a laugh against her neck, relieved. ‘By all means.’
Rei pressed her lips together in an effort to smother a giggle, but her eyes were shining with amusement.
This was strange, new territory, but it didn’t seem to matter enough to stop.
His heart hammered as she steered him to her entrance. Then he sank inside her in one fluid motion and she immediately cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders. He chewed on his lower lip as he eased in and out of her, trying hard to stave off the sparkling feeling that twisted in his lower abdomen.
‘Ethan.’ Her face flushed as the movement of her hips synchronised with his motions. ‘That feels so good.’
They were in complete agreement on that one. She was tight and slick, and he seemed to harden further, knowing that he was the reason for her body’s reaction. He gritted his teeth, opened her legs wider, deepened his thrusts.
‘Don’t stop.’ She punctuated her words with brief, distracted kisses. ‘Don’t stop … Don’t stop …’
Her commands rushed straight to his groin, and a flood of disjointed sexual thoughts flashed through his mind, signalling the beginning of the end. He quickened his thrusts, positioning himself so the base of his cock made maximum contact with her clit. She arched into him, pressing her nearly nude form against his fully clothed one, and mumbled a stream of breathy incoherencies before her body went rigid and she released a strangled cry. Ethan was in awe; having her come apart like that in his arms had suddenly topped his unspoken list of his most rewarding experiences. The feeling of her contracting around him caused the sparkling sensation in his abdomen to explode at long last, and he collapsed on top of her with a shudder.
They were silent for a while, clinging to each other as their heartbeats returned to normal. Then Ethan let out a sigh he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and spoke first, his voice rusty. ‘Dear Penthouse …’
Rei burst out laughing.
‘Something unexpected happened today in my studio,’ he continued.
She cocked an eyebrow. ‘Unexpected?’
‘That’s right, you had this all planned out.’
‘Not really. I couldn’t predict how you were going to act. For a moment, I thought it really wasn’t going to happen. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope for the best.’
Come Play With Me Page 9
