Bared

“Hair?” she whispered, straightening.

“Wet. All of you needs to be wet.” He had to look away from her when her pupils dilated. “Just slick your hair back from your face when you get in the pool.”

Turning away from him, she waded in, sucking in a breath as the cool water lapped at her calves, her thighs… between them. Craning her neck, she kept her eyes on his as she sank in a little deeper, to her breasts, and then ducked entirely under.

He let out a shaky breath.

When she surfaced, she slicked back her hair and reached for the float.

“On your stomach,” he said.

She pulled herself up until she was lying flat on her belly. Water sluiced off her, running in little rivulets down her slim spine, off her long legs. Between them.

His mouth went dry. “Arms bent a little, so that your hands, fingers flexed, float on top of the water.”

Following his directions to the letter, she did as he asked.

“Eyes closed,” he instructed. “Lie on one cheek, chin up slightly, hair to one side.”

She was now sprawled out, water beading on her, looking like a goddess. He let out a slow breath. “Spread your legs a little.”

She went utterly still, then slowly, very slowly, spread her legs an inch or two.

“More.”

This time she didn’t hesitate, digging her toes into opposite corners of the float. The picture of her lying there, body offered up, wet and shiny, arms and legs spread, had him staring, mesmerized.

“Rafe?”

Blinking, he put his eye to the lens and sucked in another breath. “Yeah. Perfect.” He took a few shots, his body tight as an arrow. “Are you thinking about your research?”

“I told you, I…I can’t.”

“Because of the jumbling emotions and your body’s reactions.”

“Yes.”

He kept snapping the shutter. “What are they? The jumbling emotions.”

She turned her head and glanced at him with a question in her eyes.

He managed a smile. “Maybe I can remind you later, when you’re trying to write it all down.”

“Oh.” She lay her head down again. “Mmm, the water feels nice. That’s my first emotion-pleasure. Then there’s the power.”

“Power?”

“Yes.”

Since her head was turned to the side, he could see only half her face. Her mouth curved slightly, and it was so feminine, so wily and sure that he felt it all the way to his toes, but he kept taking pictures.

“When you talk to me in your professional mode,” she said softly, “when you’re being The Photographer, your voice is cool, calm. Even.”

“Is it?”

“Oh, yes. But sometimes, like now, you talk to me in that low, throaty voice that tells me you’re not thinking cool and calm. You’re not thinking work. You’re thinking…”

“What?”

“Sex,” she said. “You’re thinking about sex, and I made you think about it. That’s the power. I mean I did that to you. I made you lose your concentration. You know what else?”

He was afraid to know, truly he was. But he stepped away from the camera and walked around the edge of the pool so he could see her face more clearly. “What?”

Her slight smile turned to a full-fledged grin. “I like it.”

His body tightened even more. “You like that you’re driving me right off the edge of control?”

“Yes.” She dipped her fingers in the water and played a little. Splashed him. “But to be honest, I’m also embarrassed.”

“Are you kidding?” He moved back behind his camera. He was safer there. “Why?”

“Because of the view you’ve got.” She wiggled, just a little. “I know the bathing suit is riding up, and with the angle you’re at, I’m wondering what you can see.”

“What I can see…” He took a good long look at her long legs, at the juncture of her thighs, how the black crocheted bottoms outlined her so perfectly. Then she squirmed slightly, and he nearly moaned at the sight. “I can see that you have the most heart-stopping legs on the planet. Your slim back is arched slightly, and the low-riding bikini exposes your butt enough that I can see your adorable twin dimples just above the top of the material.”

“I just had another jumbling emotion,” she said softly.

“Really? Tell me.”

“This is…turning me on,” she whispered.

She said the words in a way that made them seem like a conspirator’s secret, and his knees went shaky. “That’s reaction, not emotion. And it’s not very specific, not as far as your writing goes.” He had no idea why he was doing this, teasing them both into a fiery lather, but he couldn’t stop now. “Be specific, Emma.”

Her eyes were still shut, and he clicked away as she searched for the words or courage to tell him. “My skin feels too tight,” she finally said.

“Good.” He knew the feeling. He took his camera off the tripod and moved back to the side of the pool where he could get a better view of her face tipped toward the sun, eyes closed, the glow of excitement on her cheeks. “More.”

“My heart is pounding like I just ran a marathon.”

He pulled his face away from the lens, stared at her. Suddenly, he couldn’t do it any longer, he couldn’t treat her as a model. He’d never talked to a model like this.

He wanted to treat her as a woman.

For the first time in his career, he set the camera down in the middle of a shoot. He stepped onto the first step of the shallow end of the pool, letting his feet soak up the cool water in hopes it might cool off his overheated engines.

“What else?” he asked hoarsely.

“My nipples…they’re hard and throbbing.”

He understood hard and throbbing.

She opened her eyes “You’re…done?”

“I’m done. Emma, this isn’t the usual photo shoot.” He let out a long, shuddering breath. “I’ve never made it personal before, but this feels pretty personal.”

“What makes it different?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Maybe it’s because it’s your last job. Or…”

“Or?”

“Maybe you were thinking you could get something out of it.”

“No. God, no.” He watched her shoulders relax marginally at his emphatic answer. “It’s you.”

She looked at him for a moment, then dumped herself into the water. She swam toward him, beneath the water, breaking the surface just in front of him. Eyes never leaving his, she started up the steps, the water sluicing off her as her body was revealed, inch by glorious wet inch.

Drawn to her as if they were bound together, he took the next step down, meeting her halfway, and then suddenly they were lunging at each other, hands grappling for purchase, mouths mating, bodies straining while the water splashed around them.

He never even felt the water soaking into his shorts, nor the sun beating down on his back. All he felt was her body coming alive beneath his hands.

His certainly did.

Research, my ass, he thought, one hand skimming up her slim spine, the other cupping her butt in his hand, squeezing just a little, loving the feel of her hot skin and the cool water running down it. She felt so good against him, he would have liked to keep her there for days, until he had lapped her up from