“What?”
“Just do it. Prune.”
“Prune,” I said. I felt ridiculous. But when Ryder showed me the picture of it, I almost fell over. My lips were perfectly puckered and my cheekbones looked better than ever. “How’d you get so good at this?”
Ryder shrugged. “I’m a man of many talents.”
“And you’re modest too,” I said with a laugh as I struck another pose.
Click, click, click. More photos. “Prune,” I said again as I lifted the hem of my skirt slightly and put my leg out.
“Yes, perfect,” growled Ryder. The bulge in his pants caught my eye. Had that been there a minute ago? Was it growing? Because of me?
I leaned over and crossed my arms to give him the perfect cleavage shot as I bit my bottom lip.
Frankie cleared her throat. “I better go uh, take this call. You two have fun.” She hurried out of the room.
Ryder and I hardly even noticed she left. We were in the zone. I was hitting pose after pose while Ryder zipped around the room finding all my best angles.
Each flash of the camera made me feel sexier and sexier.
“Lose the dress,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “But…”
“I said lose the dress.” His tone left no room for argument. And I didn’t want to argue. Twenty minutes ago I would have been terrified to pose in lingerie, but Ryder made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. I had no doubt that his photos would be amazing.
I bit my lip and then reached back to unzip the dress. Slowly, ever so slowly, I unzipped it and let it fall to the floor, leaving me exposed in the strappy black lingerie. I was embracing every moment of this Society date. And even though I was nervous, I was so freaking proud of myself. I was standing in lingerie in front of the most handsome man I’d ever met. I snuck a glance at him.
Ryder’s Adam’s apple rose and fell. He snapped a few more pictures and then walked over to me. He grabbed one of the straps and untwisted it. His finger brushing against my exposedskin sent a chill down my spine. He kept his hand on my clavicle and my heart started beating double time.
“Are you supposed to touch your model?” I asked. My voice came out so airy. God, I wanted him to kiss me. I’d wanted him to kiss me since the first moment I saw him.
“I’ll do whatever I want to my model.”
The way he was looking at me made me feel alive. “Oh yeah?” I bit my lip again.
And then he was on me. His lips crashed against mine as his strong hand slid behind my neck and pulled me closer. I melted into him. His tongue flicked against my lips.Yes.I parted my lips and let him in.
He grabbed my ass and lifted me into the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he deepened the kiss. He pushed me against the wall and some small part of me was vaguely aware of the shoes crashing to the ground. My ass slid perfectly onto the velvet-lined shelf while our tongues battled. The scruff of his five o’clock shadow rubbed my face raw. He was devouring me as if he had waited three hundred years for this kiss. His hands wandered to my hips, caressing every inch of flesh exposed between the straps of my lingerie. He squeezed my ass and pulled me against his erection.
“God yes,” I moaned. I tore at the buttons of his shirt. The hard muscles underneath were begging me to let them free, but he grabbed both my hands and pinned them against the wall. The full weight of his body pressed against me.
And then the entire shelf snapped in half. Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of shoes went crashing to the floor. We fell too. I didn’t have time to think about the destruction because he rolled on top of me. He flicked his tongue against mine before trailing kisses down my neck and along my clavicle. I sunk my fingers into his long hair. He was grinding against me now, rubbing my bare ass against the plush blue carpet.
“I need you,” I said breathlessly. I reached down and felt his erection through the fabric of his slacks.Yes.
His body tensed and he pulled back. He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” He shook his head and stood up so fast it was like my skin had burned him.
“Wait.” It came out as a moan and I instantly felt embarrassed when he took another step back from me. Like he finally realized that I wasn’t model-worthy. Like I disgusted him. “Ryder?” I hated that it sounded like I was begging him to stay. I felt as unworthy as he thought I was.
“I can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry, Raven. This was a mistake.” And then he was gone.
Stalker Problems - Chapter 28 - Special Delivery
Friday – April 14, 2023
I was ready for work an hour early, which still didn’t feel early enough after my close encounter with lateness a few days ago. I had set my alarm for…
