Intimate (7 page)

She tilted her head and frowned. “What's so funny?”

“Sorry. Meandering thoughts.” Scrambling for something that would explain his expression, he said, “I was thinking of your protective roommates. Please don't tell them we're sharing a room. They might hire a hit man.”

She tilted her head and studied him, nodded, and then very seriously said, “That might explain the jerk who almost hit us. Do you think Mandy and Lola sent him?”

The laugh burst out of him without warning. Others in the quiet lounge turned and stared, but Kaz, obviously biting back a laugh, merely shrugged. “Just a thought,” she said. Then she calmly took another sip of her port, but her eyes were twinkling.

Jake thought he could sit here all night just watching her, but then he glanced at his watch about the same time Kaz yawned. She covered her lips with her fingertips and blushed.

“I really don't want to leave,” she said. “But unless you want a droopy-eyed model in the morning, I need to get some sleep.”

He stood and held out a hand. “Bring your glass.” He grabbed his own; it was still half full.

Kaz nodded, slung her handbag over her shoulder, and picked up her glass. Jake took her free hand and led her to the elevator. The ride to the second floor was silent.

He was thinking about the tattoo.

He wondered what was on Kaz's mind.

*   *   *

For whatever reason, tonight she was ultra-aware of the tiny silver loop through the hood of her clit. Of the way her cami lightly abraded the matching loops in her nipples and her waistband softly rubbed the one in her navel.

Everything was so sensitive, she could have sworn she felt the frickin' butterfly. Was that all he wanted to see?

How much was she willing to show?

She loved the way the silver looked against her honey-colored skin as much as she appreciated the added sensitivity. According to Wilhelm, the huge, scary-looking pussycat of a tattoo artist who'd done her butterfly tattoo and all her piercings, the nipple and clitoral hood piercings would take sex to a whole new level.

Whether that was true or not was still up for debate. The only ones who'd ever seen her body jewelry were her roommates—who were more appalled than appreciative.

Jake opened the door to their room and flipped on a single low light just beyond the entrance. “After you.”

She shot him a quick smile, nervous now that they were actually here. She walked across the shadowed room to a small table and a pair of chairs by the balcony door.

Standing there, staring at the dark sky beyond the balcony, she took another sip of her port and then set the glass on the table. Jake turned on another light, equally dim, but closer to the table. He moved past her and closed the shades, enclosing the two of them within the privacy of their room.

Even with the lamps on, the walls were lost in shadow. Kaz took a deep breath and softly exhaled when she realized Jake was standing close beside her. She wasn't ready. Not yet.

“I really need a shower.” She spoke quietly and glanced up, startled by the feral intensity in Jake's gaze. She should be frightened, at the very least a bit unsettled to see that blatant look of need on his face.

She wasn't. Instead, it made her hot. Her feminine muscles clenched and fluttered, an unfamiliar, visceral reaction to the man standing so close. She reached for her glass, took another swallow of her port. “I'll be quick. I don't want to disturb you if you want to get some sleep.”

“I'll be awake.” His features relaxed a bit, though the intensity was still there when he smiled at her. “I guess I'll have to wait until you're out to see that tattoo.”

She nodded with a short, sharp jerk of her chin. Then she was almost scrambling to grab her small makeup kit with her toothbrush and a comb, and a soft cotton maxi that was as much sundress as nightgown. Quickly she locked herself inside the bathroom.

It wasn't until Kaz was getting out of the shower and finger-combing her short hair that she realized she hadn't thought to bring clean underwear in with her. The only way to show him the tattoo would be to pull the hem of the gown all the way up or just take the damned thing off.

It took her a few seconds more to realize she was hyperventilating, but she sucked in a deep breath, held it, felt her heart rate slow to normal, and then let it out.

This was a job. Jake was her employer. He'd hired her to model intimate body art. She'd signed the contract, and she needed the money. So what if he was funny and smart and drop-dead gorgeous? He was still her boss until the shoot was over.

Softly muttering, “This is just a job,” she stepped out of the bathroom and into their beautiful hotel room that was more shadow than light.

*   *   *

Most women took forever in the shower. Kaz walked out of the steamy bathroom in less than ten minutes, wearing a body-hugging, ankle-length navy blue dress with her wet hair combed straight back from her face.

Jake almost choked on his last swallow of port.

She was outrageously gorgeous, even without makeup, her hair slicked back, and her body covered in a long clingy gown that hugged every dip and curve of her tall, slim frame before ending in an uneven hem just above her ankles.

He'd photographed enough beautiful women to know that the thing she wore would look like a sack on anyone else. On Kaz it merely emphasized the perfect symmetry of her long legs, wide shoulders, and small breasts.

She set her overnight bag on the floor beside the bed she'd chosen and glanced about nervously. Then she folded her arms across her chest almost defensively, and tilted her head to one side. “I know this gig is to show off body jewelry. I figure if I'm going to show you the tattoo, you might as well see what else I've got so you can figure out the shots you want, though I'll admit I'm not all that comfortable with at least one of them making a public debut.”

She laughed, obviously nervous. It bothered him—they'd both been totally relaxed with one another since their trip began. He looked into those deep brown eyes and merely shrugged. “We can work up to the more intimate shots. Maybe once you feel more comfortable with me?”

This time, Kaz was the one who shrugged. Was she faking it as well as he was, or did she really see this as a professional request, not the personal one it had become?

At least for him.

She bent at the waist, reached down and grabbed the uneven hem of her gown, then tugged it over her head. There was nothing staged about the display. She didn't tease him as she quickly drew it up and over her body, but he reacted just the same.

Immediately, almost viciously, his dick was so hard he hurt, and his breath caught in his throat at the pure and simple beauty of her. But she'd stripped off the dress to show him the tattoo, so he forced himself to focus on the art.

It was amazing; the brilliant orange and black butterfly looked alive, as if it might take flight, its wings carrying it away from the soft curves of her body.

Trapped in the color, in the moment, he moved closer and went to his knees to get a better look. “How long ago did you have this done?” He ran his fingers lightly over the glistening colors, almost expecting to come away with the dust from live wings on his fingertips. He glanced up in time to return her smile. “It looks brand-new.”

“A little over a year ago, shortly after my seven-year-old sister died in a car accident. It took a number of sittings, but I did it for Jilly.” She ran her fingers over the upper wing. “The piercings, too.” She touched the silver loop in her navel and then brushed over the matching loops in both nipples.

Jake clasped his fingers into tight fists to keep from touching her breasts, following where Kaz had so casually stroked.

She glanced away, sighed softly, and then looked his way again. “She'd wanted so badly to get her ears pierced, but Dad said she wasn't old enough, that she had to wait until she was ten. I'd gotten mine done when I was seven, but Mom was still alive, and she wasn't as strict as Dad.

“I was nineteen when Mom died, but Jilly was still a baby, so I raised her. I always figured I was the closest she had to a mom, and I didn't agree with my father's decision. I'm so glad that I went against his wishes and took Jilly to get her ears pierced. I knew he'd get mad at me, not her, and he did, but he got over it. It wasn't long after that when she was killed. She was gone so quickly. Later, Dad thanked me for taking her when I did.”

She shrugged. Then she touched the tiny turquoise stud in one ear. “We got matching earrings. It was my one act of rebellion, but Jilly loved those turquoise studs, almost as much as she loved breaking the rules with her big sister. She's buried with them.”

Kaz turned closer to the bed and sat, throwing the gown across her lap, covering her lower half. But her breasts were bare, and the tiny silver loop in her navel winked at him in the low lamplight.

He'd never seen more perfect breasts in his life. High and firm and not at all large, they were absolutely right for her.

She smiled and glanced away. “Doing that, going against Dad and doing something totally special was a good lesson, a reminder to take whatever joy we can find in life whenever the opportunity exists.”

Was she trying to tell him something? She cocked her head to one side and looked at Jake. Still on his knees, he sat back on his heels, touched his fingertip to the loop in her navel, and lightly tugged. “This wasn't for Jilly, was it?”

Shaking her head, she laughed softly. “No. Well, yes and no. Growing up without a mom turned Jilly into an old soul. She would talk about things most seven year olds aren't interested in, about dying, about the things that Mom might be missing here and what she'd found in heaven. Jilly wasn't all that sure that heaven really existed, so she made me promise that if anything ever happened to her, that I would still have a wonderful life, enough for both of us, and do lots of exciting, outrageous things so I could share them all with her.”

She glanced away, eyes sparkling with tears, then a moment later she seemed to shake off the emotion. “Now I wonder if somehow she knew her time in this life would be cut short, but heaven or not, I truly believe I'll see her again. She was such a powerful force. I can't believe her energy died with her body. When Wilhelm pierced our ears, he was so kind and gentle with her that I went back to him for the tattoo. I told him what Jilly had said. He's the one who suggested the nipple and navel piercings. He said they were outrageous enough that Jilly would probably love the fact I had them. She would have, too, mainly because they were something that Dad wouldn't approve of. She loved to push his buttons, but she adored him. When he finally told Jilly that her earrings were pretty, she was as thrilled that he liked them as she was that we'd broken the rules and gotten away with it.”

She smiled at Jake. “My father still doesn't know about the nipple or clit piercings. There are some things fathers really don't want to know about their daughters.”

“What made you decide to pierce your…”

She laughed when he hesitated. “My clit? I'm not really sure. I'd broken up with my boyfriend shortly before Jilly died, and we'd had a less than satisfactory relationship, so when Wilhelm told me that piercing a woman's clitoral hood was supposed to enhance sexual pleasure, I…” She shrugged and glanced away. “I guess I was on a roll.”

Jake's gaze flicked to the soft folds of her gown covering the top of her thighs and his mouth went so dry it was hard to swallow. He'd been so intent on the tattoo, he'd forgotten to look at that one when he'd had the chance. Finally he managed to ask her, “Well? Does it?”

“I don't know.” Her laughter was soft, sort of embarrassed. “The only ones who've even seen it are my roomies and Wilhelm, and no, I'm not having sex with any of them.”

He chuckled, but his mind spun with her words. She'd had them done over a year ago, and she hadn't had sex? From her sexy look, the way she moved and walked, the voice that promised so much more, he'd thought …

Obviously, he'd thought wrong.

He was constantly revising his original opinion of her, and there was no doubt in Jake's mind—each revision made her even more fascinating. More desirable. He raised his head and gazed at her for a long moment. She was just so fucking sexy, yet the sweet, almost vulnerable look in her eyes was the thing that made it hard for him to breathe. “I'd like to at least see it,” he said. His voice was so gravelly he cleared his throat. “There are some pieces designed for more intimate use, though I'm not really sure how we could photograph them in a way that would be acceptable for advertising.”

It wasn't easy, keeping a straight face, talking about viewing the ring in her clit as if it were a business-related question. Not when he was on his knees, his hands resting on her firm thighs. Practically salivating with the need to use his lips and tongue, even his teeth on her.

She laughed out loud this time. “Well, I'm not really sure about advertising my clit, for what it's worth.”

She was killing him here, and she didn't have a clue. “It could be worth quite a lot,” he said, “but I don't know if they're quite ready to push the ad campaign in that direction.” Then he laughed. “Screw the job, Kaz. I'd really like to see. Will you show me? Just for me.”

“Ah. I should have known.” She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look he wasn't quite sure how to read, but then she tugged the soft folds of her gown aside and tossed the garment on the bed.

He really hadn't thought he could get any harder. Obviously, he'd been wrong. He carefully adjusted his jeans as Kaz slowly parted her legs. The small silver hoop glistened at the top of her sex. She must've waxed recently, and her legs and pubic mound were smooth as satin. Color bloomed across her torso, and from the catch in her breathing, he was almost certain it was arousal and not modesty that had her skin so perfectly flushed.