“Here.” Down her sternum.
Her breath stilled in her chest.
“Here.” My voice had dropped to a murmur and I stroked my finger across her taut nipple. She inhaled softly.
I lowered my hand to her inner thighs, and traced the seam of her yoga pants to her pussy. “And here.” I cupped my hand there and she groaned.
Something cold and wet and sticky dripped onto the hand holding my waffle cone, and the distant giggles of a young child snapped me back to the here and now.
I removed my hand from between Kelsey’s legs, and we finished our ice cream in a comfortable silence—as I performed difficult calculations in my head, rectifying the situation in my pants.
Afterward, I drove her back to her car and kissed her goodnight…then headed back to the office to put in several more hours of work.
Only instead of focusing on the report I was supposed to work on, I was lost in the new sexual fantasy playing in my head.
The new sexual fantasy that was nothing like the real deal.
Shit. After Kelsey, everyone else would be nothing more than a pitiful replacement.
29
Kelsey
The last time I had attended class was during the final year of my physical therapy program. Back then the students had known each other because we’d been in the same program for the past three years. It had been four years since I was a new student on her first day of class—but that was a lifetime ago.
Even the cooking and drawing classes hadn’t felt like this.
And just like back on my first day of the physical therapy program, excitement mixed with a good case of nerves coursed through my body.
I sat on an empty chair in the classroom and parked my purse and camera bag on the floor. At the front, a woman in her forties was hooking up her laptop to the overhead projector. With her chin-length black hair, dressy black pants, and cream-colored blouse, she looked more ready to model in a fashion shoot than to teach a photography class.
Once she was finished, she glanced around the classroom, mentally counting to see if everyone was here. “Welcome to Portrait Photography. For those of you who don’t know me…” She moved her mouse and launched into the slide presentation, giving us a taste of her experience: fashion photography (including Vogue), weddings, and child photography.
At the picture of a shirtless athletic male cradling a naked newborn against his chest, my ovaries sat up and took notice—imagining it was Trent in the photo with our child.
Down, girls!
“Will you be teaching us about nude photography?” a guy in the back asked.
“Yes, but if you’re expecting to learn to take the kinds of photos you find in Hustler, you’ll be disappointed.” She returned to her laptop and an image of a young almost naked couple about to kiss appeared on the screen.
The picture was intimate and hot, and the kind of photo I would love to take…if I could find willing participants.
After class, I signed up for studio time. As I was walking toward my car, I heard my name. I turned to see Luke, a guy I’d talked to during our break, jogging toward me.
“Hey, I noticed we’ve booked back-to-back time slots for the studio. Would you be interested in modeling for me?” He gave me an uncertain smile. “I feel stupid asking someone if they would be willing to do it since I’m only learning right now. I thought maybe then we could figure it out together.”
“That’s a good idea. That way hopefully one of us can figure out what we’re supposed to do.”
We talked about it for a few more minutes. Then after saying goodbye to him, I continued to my car. My cell phone pinged. Trent. What are you doing right now?
Leaving photography class
Want to come over?
Come over? Are you home?
Yes.
Let me guess. Booty call?
Well, technically, that would be a booty text. But no. Want to show you something.
Can you give me a hint?
No.
A tiny hint?
Just come over, Kels.
Grinning, I typed, I’ll be there soon.
Trent let me into his apartment and the delicious smell of baking bread instantly greeted me.
I inhaled deeply. “That smells amazing.”
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him. “Not as good as you smell,” he murmured in my ear, turning me into a puddle on his dark hardwood floor. “I’ve missed you, Kels.”
My head fell back against his shoulder, providing him room to nuzzle my neck. Welcome to heaven.
Naturally, my brain decided to go on party-pooper mode, reminding me that the pearly gates to my heaven could slam shut at any time. At some point the friends-with-benefits relationship wouldn’t be enough for me, but since that was all Trent wanted it to be…
“I’ve missed you too,” I murmured.
“Enough to spend the weekend with me in Napa Valley?”
Darren and Erin had rented a house and had invited Holly and us to join them.
Trent kissed my neck—the place he knew to kiss me if he wanted to have his way—and my body let out a dreamy sigh. “The house even has a hot tub.”
I swiveled to face him and my neck instantly cursed my betrayal. Removing his hot lips from my skin was grounds for punishment.
My neck had a very good point.
“Except how are we going to enjoy it if they think you and I are dating other people?” I asked. “As it is, we’ll have to sneak around if we plan to have sex. It’s not like we’ll be able to do it in our bedrooms.” Neither of us were good at being quiet.
Trent thought about this for a moment. “So we bring dates with us.”
Huh? “The last I heard, neither of us are actually dating anyone. Are you saying you want to start dating other people now?”
He rested his hands on my hips and pulled me to him. “No. But the only way I’m going to get Holly and Erin off my case is if I introduce them to my fictitious girlfriend. And I suspect it won’t be any different for you.”
True.
“So you want us to bring actual dates with us?”
He nodded.
“And where exactly will these dates be sleeping?” The house was big, but it didn’t have that many bedrooms.
“They can sleep in one room together and we sleep in the other one. As long as no one catches the wrong person sneaking into the rooms, we should be fine.”
I laughed…uncontrollably. Only a man would come up with such a crazy plan. “So you just expect two strangers to not only be okay with pretending to date us, but be willing to sleep together just so you and I can do exactly that ourselves?”
“Not strangers. We’ll find a couple who is already involved.”
I giggled some more. That’s right everyone. The proof was finally in. Trent’s mother must have dropped him on his head when he was a baby.
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.
“No, I’m serious.”
“And do you have a couple in mind?” I sure as heck didn’t.
“I happen to know the perfect couple. They’re both actors, so this will be like an acting gig for them.”
“Are you sure this is going to work?” I was all for it if it meant getting to sleep with Trent on the trip. Besides, I could only lie for so long about my fictitious boyfriend before Erin and Holly got suspicious.
Trent’s lips returned to my neck. “Positive,” he murmured, sending vibrations zinging through me.
“At least while we’re there, I can practice taking portraits for my assignments.” My mind was half thinking through all the possibilities while my body enjoyed Trent’s talented mouth.
Trent pulled away from my neck. “Assignments? You have homework?”
I nodded. “And get this, there’s even a lesson on shooting nude and semi-nude photos.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You’re learning to shoot porn?” I couldn’t tell if he was excited or not�
�but I was leaning more toward the excited.
I laughed at his expression. “Down, boy. Not porn. And I wouldn’t be doing straight nudity.” I’d be too uncomfortable even though I wouldn’t be the one who’d be naked. “We’re doing semi-nude shots.”
“We? Your whole class will be watching. That’s kind of kinky.” The sexy one-sided grin of his that I loved so much was back on his face. He was enjoying this conversation way too much.
“No, it’s just gonna be me and a guy from my class. I’m going to take photos of him for my assignment and he’s going to take photos of me for his.”
A slight frown wrinkled in Trent’s forehead. “So this guy gets to see you semi-naked?”
I tilted my head to the side and smirked. “Jealous much?”
“When it comes to other men seeing you naked—”
“Semi-nude,” I corrected.
“Okay, when it comes to other men seeing you semi-nude, of course I’m jealous. Only I’m supposed to see you that way. It’s in the job description.”
I laughed again. “Oh, it is, is it?”
“Yup. Check the fine print.”
“Well, technically you’ve seen more of me than Luke will. I’ll be wearing my underwear in the photos.”
“Hmm. You do realize your brother’s going to kill me, right?”
I snorted. “Why is that?”
“Because, one”—he held up his index finger and started counting all the reasons why my brother would want to kill him, although I could’ve probably added a few more of my own—“some guy is going to see you in less clothes than your brother would approve of. Two, this guy isn’t your boyfriend. And three…if Liam had his way, no man would ever date you or see you naked. End of story.”
I reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Well, it’s been nice knowing you.”
“At least let me come with you so I can make sure the guy doesn’t try anything.”
“He’s not going to try anything.”
“Take it from a member of the penis-carrying club, he’s going to be thinking about it. He’s a man. That’s what we’re programmed to do…”
I could feel the smirk return to my mouth. “Does that mean if you come with me, you’ll be thinking of trying something while I’m partly naked?”
“Sweetheart, I’m always thinking of trying something with you, naked or not.” He traced the pad of his thumb against my lower lip. Heat flared between my legs. I nipped it gently between my teeth and he released a soft hiss. “You don’t even have to be in the same room as me for my thoughts to point in that direction,” he said, his voice a low, sexy rumble.
“All right,” I managed to say, my mind enjoying its own dirty thoughts. “You can come with me. But just so you know, I’m not Luke’s type. You’re probably more his type than I am.”
“Then I guess it’s just as well you’re the one posing semi-naked and not me.” The lecherous smile on Trent’s face was a whole new level of sexy. He threaded his hand with mine. “Come check my bread out.”
I barked a laugh. “Is that what you’re calling it now?” My free hand brushed against his package, hidden in his faded jeans.
He let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his body. I might have melted a bit. “Well, as tempting as it might be…” He pinched my ass and grabbed my hand again.
He led me into the kitchen and removed the tea towel from the cooling rack, revealing four small loaves of bread.
“You made those?” I glanced around, as if searching for the true creator of the loaves. On the far counter sat a large shiny mixer I’d never seen before. My gaze snapped back to him.
Grinning, he nodded. “I found a soup recipe online that sounded good, but it’s served in bread bowls. So I’ve been perfecting my bread-making skills. I was hoping you’d stay for dinner tonight.” He brushed his lips against my cheek. “I was hoping you’d stay the night.” The low, sexy rumble returned to his voice.
“I think that could be arranged,” I breathed. “But only because I want to try your soup.” I kissed him, which quickly turned heated—and dinner was temporarily forgotten.
But countertop sex? Definitely not overrated.
30
Kelsey
“Remember,” I said as Trent pulled up to Danielle’s house, two weeks after our conversation about the semi-nude photography, “you promised you’d be on your best behavior.”
His expression transformed into one best described as angelic. “I’m always on my best behavior.” Then he winked at me.
I groaned. If we had time, I’d remind him of a few of his transgressions when it came to his behavior, starting with the Viking.
As Trent parked his BMW, I released a nervous breath. I wasn’t sure which was worse: modeling first or having an audience of one. Sure, Trent had seen a lot more of me than he would be seeing during the photo shoot, but that was different.
I rubbed my sweaty palms against my thighs. It’s no big deal. You won’t be naked. It’s no different than when you’re wearing a bikini at the beach.
Except my bikini was boring.
It was nothing like my satin and lace underwear.
Once out of the car, Trent reached for my hand and we walked down the path alongside Danielle’s house. The warmth of his skin against mine eased my nervousness. A little.
I led him to the large wooden building that resembled an oversized shed in the backyard. Danielle’s studio. I knocked on the door and entered. Luke, who was fiddling with a studio light, looked toward me and smiled.
“Luke, this is Trent,” I told him. “Hope you’re okay with him being here.”
“Sure, not a problem. We could always use an assistant.”
“That’s me, always ready to assist.” Trent leaned into me and murmured in my ear, “Especially if that means I get to taste you.”
Inwardly I moaned while the center of my universe did a happy dance. Just what I needed—for him to get me all hot for him just before we started shooting.
I kissed Trent lightly on his lips.
“Woof!” The loud bark came from the oversized, fluffy white dog sitting in the far corner of the room.
“Bear!” I walked over to him and after letting him sniff my hand, hugged the friendly dog.
He barked again, almost deafening me, and I turned around to see what he was barking at.
“Hey, buddy.” Trent took a step closer. Bear jumped to his feet and let out another less-than-friendly bark. “Okay,” Trent said, drawing out the word. “How ’bout I just stay over here for now?”
“Sit, Bear,” Luke said and the dog did as asked, still eyeing Trent like he was the enemy. “Sorry about that. He’s jealous.”
“Of what?” Trent asked, his gaze warily on the dog.
“You.”
Trent laughed. “Why, ’cause I’m human?”
“No, because you were kissing Kelsey. He can get a little possessive.”
Trent muttered something that sounded a lot like “I know the feeling,” but stayed where he was. Probably a smart move. That wasn’t to say Bear would live up to his name and try to eat him. More than likely Trent was at greater risk of being knocked over by the massive beast.
“Guess I should get changed now.” Blowing Trent a kiss (because Bear was probably less likely to take offense to that), I walked over to the small change room in the corner.
Once inside, I quickly stripped to my white lacy bra and panties, and put on my fluffy white robe. Thanks to Erin and Holly’s makeup lessons, I had enough makeup on to give my eyes that smoldering look essential for what Luke and I were after.
I exited the change room, carrying a pair of white stilettos and urging my inner Victoria’s Secret model to stand proud. Too bad she’d quit last week, leaving me clueless at what I was doing. My entire modeling background consisted of teenage Erin and me practicing our seductive looks in the mirror…because Erin had insisted that would help us get boyfriends.
In c
ase you were wondering, it didn’t.
Bear was still eyeing Trent when I approached the bed. Trent gave me a sly smile, his gaze taking in my short robe, practically peeling it from my body. “I never realized how sexy that is until now,” he said, and my body tingled from the way his gaze touched me and at the sound of his husky voice.
Bear gave another bark, not as loud this time. More like a warning for Trent to get his mind out of the gutter. He then lumbered over from his corner and squeezed his massive body between Trent and me, almost knocking us over.
“Christ, it’s like having a goddamn chaperone,” Trent muttered under his breath.
I chuckled. “Now you know how I felt when you barged in on my date with Stephen.”
The sexy smirk that always left my panties damp slid onto his face. “Yes, but I got the girl in the end. The dog isn’t gonna get so lucky.”
Bear barked again, as if to say, “That’s what you think.”
“Bear, corner,” Luke said, pointing to where Bear had just come from. The dog lumbered back to his spot and laid down.
I let out a long breath, and with my gaze averted, dropped the robe. I had no idea why I suddenly felt self-conscious. It wasn’t like Trent hadn’t seen me in my underwear before. Hell, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen me naked before.
And Luke?
He was busy sneaking glances at Trent’s ass (not that I could blame him), which Trent missed because he was too busy staring at me.
Trent flashed me a grin that immediately put me at ease. It wasn’t filled with dirty thoughts of what he wanted to do to me tonight. It was more like a you-can-do-this type of grin. A grin filled with warmth and honesty.
I got into position, sitting on the edge of the bed with my stilettos on. I shook out my hair, giving it the I’ve-just-had-an-amazing-fuck look. Luke took several photos while Trent held the reflector in front of me—ever the helpful friends-with-benefits friend that he was.
Bear only barked once while Luke was taking the pictures, and that was because Trent had accidentally taken a step toward me.
“Tilt your head a little more to the left, Kelsey,” Luke said from behind the camera. “Now let’s see some smolder.”
Easier said than done.
And based on the cringe on Luke’s face, I didn’t come close to nailing the look he had envisioned.
Decidedly Off Limits Page 16
