As we got upstairs, I pointed out thedifferent rooms and even told him about the apartments on the third floor. Iwasn’t sure if it was our conversation downstairs or just having another fewminutes to relax, but by the time we walked into the main studio, I was muchcalmer.
But not smarter, evidently.
It hadn’t occurred to me as we were headingin that I hadn’t heard Eli and Roman. Even on their good days, they weren’tquiet individuals.
Unless their mouths were otherwiseoccupied.
We both stopped short as we took in thesight. Eli was laid out on a platform in the middle of the studio, nearly nakedwith Roman standing over him. With the camera in his hand, it should havelooked like a photo shoot, but it felt more like we’d walked in on them makinglove. Something about the heat that was radiating off them and the way Eli wasarching up toward Roman made it clear the photos weren’t going to be for thesite.
Wilder chuckled under his breath but justseemed to take it in stride. I’d seen it often enough that it wasn’t a surpriseor shocking. Rolling my eyes, I pointed toward Eli and Roman. “Meet mycoworkers; they’re slightly distracted at this point, however.”
Eli and Roman were lost in their own littleworld and didn’t seem to notice we were there. Which was just fine until Romanreached for the tiny panties that were barely covering Eli. Nope. That was nothow I would introduce Wilder to them.
Clearing my throat, I called out. “What didPreston say about having sex in the studio?”
That broke some of the tension betweenthem, and Roman moved back before giving me a frustrated look. Eli just laughedand sat up, not concerned about his erection or his state of undress. “Not toget caught.”
That wasn’t anywhere close to what he’dsaid, but I just rolled my eyes and played along. “You got caught.”
His grin was ear to ear. “Tattle-tale.”
“If you drive me crazy I will.” Havingammunition against Eli was always a good thing.
Wilder couldn’t seem to decide if he wantedto laugh or try to maintain the blank face he was doing his best to present. Icould see the way his eyes sparkled, though, and I knew he found the wholething hilarious.
Deciding to ignore the crazy in front ofus, because pointing it out any more wouldn’t make him un-see those two nearlygoing at it, I turned to Wilder. “You’ve met Eli, but you haven’t met Roman.”
Roman must have decided that beingprofessional was more important than getting interrupted, because he set hiscamera down on the nearby table and walked over. The two men exchangedhandshakes, both trying to ignore any awkwardness.
Wilder was always sweet and did his best toput people at ease, but I was still proud of his reaction. Or really, his lackof reaction. He just smiled at Roman like there was nothing unusual. “Good tomeet you.”
Roman nodded. “And you. Eli’s been very…excitedto introduce us.”
Roman was quiet for a moment and it wasimpossible to miss the way his brain started whirling as he looked at Wilder.“I can see why he thought you would be perfect to photograph.”
Eli bounded up from the platform, grinning.“I told you so. You should never doubt me when it comes to hot photogenic men.”
Wilder coughed, trying not to laugh, but Ijust rolled my eyes again as my face started to heat. “Eli.”
Not chastised at all, the nearly nakeddrama queen bounced excitedly across the room. “What? Are we pretending he’snot hot? If so, I should have been told.”
Lord.
Wilder finally lost his ability to maintaina straight face. His laughter echoed around the room, clearly delighted withEli. Instead of responding to Eli’s not-so-subtle flirting, Wilder wrapped anarm around my waist and pulled me tight against him. “You can look, but handsto yourself. I happen to beverymuch taken.”
Roman gave a low, frustrated sound andreached out to pinch Eli’s nipple. “Don’t make me spank you. If I have tochange the whole shoot around to cover up your red ass, you’re going back inthe cage.”
Eli’s eyes danced with laughter and heat ashe curled himself around Roman. “I can’tmakeyou do anything. I don’tknow why I’d be punished if you gave into the urge to spank me. Because we bothknow it’s what you want to do anyway.”
Sometimes I thought they were easier tohandle when they’d been screaming at one another.
Before Roman could respond and ratchet upthe heat level again, I cleared my throat. “Work. Remember?”
They both looked over and gave me matchingfrustrated looks. Wilder started coughing again, which was hard to ignore.“What? Preston said he was going to stop by later. Remember? Do you guys reallywant him to walk in on you again?”
Eli sighed dramatically. “God, no. He needsto get laid. He’s been insane lately.”
I glanced at Wilder’s face to see a curiousexpression, and I mouthed that I would tell him later. I hated to sound like Eli,because that was just traumatic, but I was starting to think Preston needed apush in the right direction. It was obvious to me who he was distracted by, butthen, I was in the unique position of being able to see both sides.
