“How would Rill know if you’re a psycho in a sexual sense? I imagine you wouldn’t advertise it to the world, would you?” she said, lifting her face to his so that their mouths were only inches apart.
“No, I’m pretty private about sex. Besides, I guess it all depends on what you consider to be abnormal, doesn’t it?” he asked, surprising her.
She licked at her lower lip nervously. Here it was—the crux of the issue. “Yes, I suppose it does. So tell me what it is you plan to do besides take naked pictures of me.”
A smile ghosted his lips. He had a very sexy mouth, Sherona observed.
“You must have felt it—out by the lake the other day,” he said.
Her gaze skittered up to meet his stare. Had he sensed something similar to the electrical charge that had shot through her that evening by Orchard Lake? She saw the heat in his eyes and somehow thought he had.
“I thought it’d be exciting to take some fantasy photographs of you,” he said, his warm, fragrant breath fanning her lips.
“Whose fantasy are you referring to?”
He stepped even closer, his hands grasping more tightly at her shoulders. She felt his erection against her belly and was reminded of seeing its fullness press against the fabric of his shorts the other day. Hot, forbidden excitement pulsed at her core.
“Mine. I think you share it, though.”
“That’s rather presumptuous of you to assume, isn’t it?”
His brows went up at her challenge. “I’ll tell you what I had in mind for the photos, and you can tell me.”
Her breathing was suddenly shallow and erratic. Her nipples stiffened as they dragged against his torso. His thumbs circled on her shoulders in a massaging motion, distracting her even further.
“I was hoping you’d help me capture the essence of a fantasy,” he murmured. “A really hot one that I never had until I saw you at the edge of that lake the other day.”
She just looked at him in a silent challenge, trying to hide her soft panting and ignore the buzz of arousal at her clit.
“I’d like to photograph you somewhere private here in these woods. I want to make you look like a captive.”
“Captive,” Sherona repeated dryly, even though a surge of warmth had dampened her panties at the word.
He nodded, holding her stare. His hands moved as he began to languorously massage her back muscles. Distantly, she wondered if he was trying to relax her while he said such anxiety-provoking, exciting things.
“Yeah. An incredibly sexy one. I want to pretend that I’ve captured you and bound you and brought you to the woods for private ravishment,” he said, his eyes glowing with both amusement and heat.
“That’s how you want to photograph me? Nude and bound?”
“Yes,” he said, his gaze running over her face as if searching for her reaction. His small smile faded when she licked at her lower lip nervously.
“And . . . and what about the actual ravishment part?” she asked.
“That would be up to you. All of this is up to you. I’m not going to do anything unless you agree to it. I’ll stop whatever we’re doing the second you tell me to.” He dipped his head so that his mouth was a scant inch away from hers. She’d never known a man to appeal to her sense of smell more. She wanted to absorb his scent.
“Don’t you think that’s an awful lot to ask of me? I don’t even know you,” she whispered desperately. “What if . . . what if you do whatever you want when I’m bound and helpless?”
“I swear right here and now I’m not going to harm you. In fact, I want to give you more pleasure than you’ve ever known.” He studied her soberly in the brief silence that followed. “You heard from Rill that I’m an upstanding citizen—for the most part,” he added, giving her a small, concessionary smile. She couldn’t help but return it in a shaky fashion. “But what’s more, I think you trust me, Sherona. Instinctively. You trusted me not to attack you out there by the side of that lake. For a few seconds there, I think you more than trusted me. I think you liked having me see you in all your glory. And if you believe anything, believe this,” he said, his manner suddenly almost grim, he was so serious. “You are the most fuckingly glorious woman I’ve ever seen in my life. You really can’t blame me for wanting to capture you completely, can you?”
He dipped his head and seized her mouth with his own. A puff of suppressed air flew out of her lungs. Her arms snaked around his shoulders, and she participated in a kiss that struck her as both blisteringly hot and restrained.
Sherona wanted more—much more—but he lifted his head.
“What do you say, Sherona?”
She nodded once, her throat feeling tight.
His white teeth flashed in an unabashedly triumphant smile.