Chapter Nine
Hazel
My heart was pounding as Reid stepped around me and into the hallway, leaving me a shaking mess. The way he looked at me lately left me wanting to melt into a puddle at his feet, but I knew I was just imagining it as desire. He didn’t really want me like that.
Knowing he’d give me shit about it if I was still standing here all bundled up when he came back, I shed my coat and laid it next to his, trying to fight the urge to pull his to my face. It was bad enough I secretly tried to huff him anytime he was near me. He didn’t need to catch me in the act.
Sitting down on the edge of the futon, I pulled off my shoes, tucking my socks inside.
“You’re being an idiot,” I muttered as I braced my feet on the cold tiles and lifted my hips. Slowly lowering my sweats, I tried to remain calm and focused. Instead, all I could focus on was the fact that he would probably smell how turned on he’d made me this morning when I was straddling his…
My phone buzzed in the pocket as I pulled the waistband over my knees. I froze, leaving my pants half pulled down as I reached for it, my fingers shaking as I unlocked the screen.
A text alert was blinking up at me from the number I’d saved in my phone as Seven.
Fuck, I’d completely forgotten to text him in my Reid induced haze this morning. I needed to stop thinking about Reid’s dick and start thinking about number Seven’s. Wait. No. I needed to stop thinking about anyone’s dick and get my shit together because Seven was a real possibility to explore, and Reid was not.
Seven: Leaving me on read all night isn’t very nice, Fourteen. Are you feeling a bit naughty today?
My eyes widened as I tried not to read something dirty into the context of his message. My mind was just stuck in the gutter lately.
Fourteen: Would you like it if I was naughty?
His response was almost immediate.
Seven: I didn’t like being ignored.
Fourteen: Aw, did I make it hard for you?
Seven: Yes. You’ve definitely made things hard.
Well, damn. So much for not being flirty.
Fourteen: I’m sorry. How would you like me to make it up to you?
Seven: I want you to finish telling me about this secret talent of yours. How exactly does one get into drawing naked people?
Fourteen: By accident.
Seven: Don’t play coy. You’re much too clever to do anything accidentally. I want to know more about you, so when I meet you in a few weeks, we’ll have gotten all the awkwardness of getting to know each other out of the way. Talk to me.
Fourteen: We’re not supposed to actually talk to each other right now.
Seven: Then type to me. Tell me all your dirty secrets.
Fourteen: Not many dirty ones. Despite my flirting, I’m not that experienced with dating. Or dirty things.
Seven: But you seem like you’re curious and ready to learn. Now, back to the subject at hand. How did you learn to draw these naked people?
Fourteen: Can you stop saying naked people? You’re making me blush.
Seven: I wish I was there to see it.
Me too , was what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t brave enough to type it. So, I did what he asked.
Fourteen: Figure drawing courses at art school. I’m an illustrator.
Seven: Wasn’t aware drawing nude studies was a lucrative endeavor.
Fourteen: You just have to know the right places to look. You’d be surprised at how large the market is for what I draw. I make more illustrating than I do in my other job.
Seven: Which is?
Fourteen: Are you always going to focus the conversations on me? You’re supposed to be telling me about you, too.
Seven: But you’re much more interesting.
Fourteen: Not sure about that.
Seven: I am. But I’m also in an artistic trade. People pay me to mark things for them.
Fourteen: That wasn’t vague at all.
His responses stopped, and I straightened up as I heard a door down the hallway close. The last thing I needed Reid to do was catch me texting Seven. He’d tease me relentlessly.
Seven: I need to go for now. But don’t ignore me that long again, I’m not sure I can stand it. Might make me beg the event coordinator for your address so I can see the answers to my questions come from your lips in person.
While I wanted that, I knew I wasn’t ready yet.
Fourteen: You have to earn seeing me again. Start making a list of answers to all these questions you’ve been asking me. I’m not taking no for an answer next time.
Seven: My answer to you will never be no, to anything you ask…or want.
Footsteps echoed down the hall, and I tried to will away my blush, tucking my phone into my shoe and trying not to focus on the alluring man on the other side of the conversation.
Reid paused as he walked through the doorway, his eyes dropping to where my pants were perched around my knees. I’d been so flustered I’d forgotten to pull them off.
“Need some help?” he asked, amusement lacing his tone.
“Shut up,” I hissed, watching as he plugged in the heater and walked over to me, dropping to his knees and tugging at one of the elastic bands covering my ankles. My eyes locked with his as I tried not to stare at his now bare chest and the swirling ink that covered one of his firm pecs.
“Hey, I’m just trying to help.” His steady gaze made my cheeks burn hotter, and I tried not to hyperventilate as his fingers tugged the fabric free from my legs. One large palm cupped the back of my calf, his thumb dragging across the rough skin of my scar. I nibbled on my lip and fought off a shudder while his other hand pulled the last bit free. He tossed my sweats on top of my shoes and held out his hand. “Up you go, I need to lay this down if you want both of us to fit. It’d be a little tight if we set up like this. ”
Do not think dirty thoughts about things being a tight fit…
“Can I touch your camera?” I asked, trying to step around him.
He caught my elbow, his bare chest pressing against the side of my arm. “You can touch whatever you want.”
Trying not to take his statement literally, I escaped across the room while he busied himself pulling the futon away from the wall and laying it down flat. I took his camera out of the bag, attaching the small zoom lens to the front and checking the settings while he opened the tripod a few feet away.
Once he was done, he held out his hand, quickly fastening it to the top of the mount and looking through the viewfinder.
“Come look,” he said, gesturing with his head for me to come closer. He hovered next to the tripod while I looked at the image it would capture, trying to picture him laying down on the mattress.
“Can you go lay down? Face away from me.”
“Bossy little thing,” he chuckled, and I opened my mouth to apologize, looking over at him. “I was kidding. You’re in charge here. Tell me where you want me.”
He laid down, and I tried not to focus on the way his abs rippled while he got situated. It really was unfair how handsome he was.
“Hmm,” I hummed, and he arched his neck to look back at me.
“You’re directing this show, Haz. If you need me to move, you gotta say the words. Or just come move me into position.”
I closed my eyes, my pulse pounding as I squeaked out. “Take off your pants.”
“Haz,” he coaxed when I still hadn’t opened my eyes a few moments later. “I still have briefs on. Not naked over here. Well, unless that’s what you want me to be.”
Shaking my head almost violently, I tried not to let my face go entirely nuclear as he chuckled at my reaction.
“Grab the remote from the camera bag and get over here. Not going to get what you need hiding from me over there.”
I knew I wouldn’t get what I needed right now, especially not from Reid, or anyone else, for at least a few weeks. Hopefully .
Blowing out a breath, I turned and opened my eyes, reaching into the camera bag until my hands closed on the tiny remote shutter button. At least I didn’t have to set a timer with my hands shaking like they were.
Reid was watching me as I walked toward him, one hand extended back in my direction. “Climb on up.”
“Easy for you to say,” I mumbled under my breath, but of course, he heard me and his deep chuckle filled the air as he grasped my hand and urged me onto the futon with him.
“You got this,” he responded, settling his hands on the sides of my waist and urging me to straddle his chest. “Take what you need from me.”
I expected him to be looking at me with one of his usual cocky smirks, but his eyes were hooded, focused entirely on me and softer than I’d ever seen them. He wasn’t doing this to use as ammunition to ridicule me. He’d volunteered to help. And I needed to let him.
“Keep going,” he whispered, his thumb dragging along my side in a way that had me wanting to sit somewhere a little lower than his face. “I won’t bite. You have to ask nicely if you want that.”
Shaking my head, I scooted forward, straddling his arms and hovering above his strong shoulders. The edge of his beard tickled the inside of my thighs, but I was trying not to focus on how good it felt. Or the fact that it was inches from my…
“Deep breath. You’re in charge. Tell me where you want me.”
But I didn’t feel in charge as I looked down at his face between my legs, I felt out of control. And wildly turned on, which was so fucking wrong. He wasn’t doing this for me to rub up against him like a scratching post. He’d probably throw me out of the shop if I shoved my crotch into his face like my intrusive thoughts wanted to right now.
But I needed to fake it, or I was going to have a panic attack and embarrass myself even more if I didn’t calm down.
“Wrap your hands around my thighs from behind, pretend like you’re pulling me against you. I need your biceps to be flexed. ”
I knew I’d literally just told him to do it, but I still squeaked embarrassingly when his large hands grasped my thighs and pulled, seating me directly over his mouth. His warm breath seeped through the thin material covering my wildly aroused lady parts, and I tried to keep as much weight off him as I could to keep from suffocating him while I got my act together.
Running the pose through my head, I tried to remember how she had her arms in the drawing, positioning mine in a way where I was cupping one breast, and the other was buried in my hair. The subtle click of the electronic shutter engaging from across the room was the only thing keeping me grounded as I shifted my hips. But I was gone when Reid groaned, the vibrations of the sound sending a wave of heat licking up my spine.
“I’m sorry, I’ll hurry. You probably can’t breathe.”
A low rumbling growl escaped from his chest as I tried to pull myself up, but his fingers digging into the skin of my thighs had me rocking against him once. And then again, as his nose pressed into just the right spot. And before I knew what I was doing, I tilted my pelvis forward, gasping at how good it felt.
He wasn’t even really doing anything, but clearly my inexperienced body hadn’t gotten the memo as a whimper escaped me, answered by another deep groan from between my thighs. And I couldn’t stop myself, undulating again, and again until tingles shot up my body, my nipple tightening against my palm as I tried to remember what I was even doing.
Swaying forward again, I gasped as my knee slipped on the slick leather beneath it, my hips suddenly dropping all my weight on Reid’s face.
“Fuck.” The muffled word in his deep grumbling voice had my eyes darting open as I came back to reality.
Oh shit, this was bad.
Fumbling with the button in my hand, I pressed it multiple times, hoping I got the shots I needed before I flung myself backward and scrambled off the futon, watching with horrified eyes as Reid’s chest rose and fell in rapid succession .
The poor guy hadn’t signed up to be suffocated or to have his best friend’s little sister hump his face.
“Are you okay?”
God, I was so embarrassed. I was supposed to be pretending to sit on his face, not actually do it. And with how hard I’d landed on him… oh my God.
“Haz, I’m fine,” he chuckled, looking up at me while he gingerly held the bridge of his nose. I averted my gaze, but not quick enough to miss his other hand reaching down to adjust his… ahem . “Are you sure you got what you needed?”
“Yup, mm hmm,” I hummed, turning toward the camera and pretending I was checking the images on the screen.
“Did you actually get them, or are you just saying that?” Reid rose from the futon, stepping in close behind me as he adjusted the dial on the back of the camera. I couldn’t even concentrate on the images as he scrolled through them, my body too focused on the way it felt to have his warm, bare chest pressing against my skin.
He kept talking in an indistinct murmur in my ear as I tried not to imagine how it’d feel to have him wrapped around me from behind, his large hand pressed against my throat as he ground his hips into mine, his large coc…
“Does this one work?” His warm breath directly against my ear made me shiver, halting my brain’s detour down dirty lane.
“Yeah. It’s what I was looking for.”
“Because if we need to change the angle, we’ve still got plenty of time. I’ll do whatever you need.”
But that was the thing. He wouldn’t. Reid couldn’t give me what I needed, because what I needed right now was his head buried between my legs for real. His tongue lapping at where I was wet for him, his deep groans a product of how much I turned him on, not because of an inability to breathe because I was a klutz. I needed him in ways I couldn’t even describe, but it’d never be like that for him.
“I should go. I’ve already taken up enough of your time. Thank you for helping me. I understand if it was too weird, and you don’t want to do this again. I’ll just get dressed and walk back over to the bar. Can you email me those this morning? I mean, if it’s not too much trouble before you need to open…”
“Haz.” His tone was almost scolding as he spun me to face him. My palm landed on his pec—dangerously close to one of his piercings—as I tried to balance myself. Realizing how close my thumb was to the tiny metal bar, I pulled my hand back like I’d been burned, but a firm palm to my hip kept me from escaping. “You don’t have to run away from me. It’s fine. It was just a pose for a picture. As long as you got what you needed, I’m not worried about the brain cells I lost when you tried to suffocate me.”
“Oh, my God.” This was mortifying.
“I’m joking. It’s fine. I’m fine. If accidental death by pussy is how I go out, at least it was a nice one.”
Flattening my palms against his chest, I pushed, breaking his hold on my waist. “Quit screwing with me. I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”
"You'd know if I was screwing with you." He didn’t let me escape though, banding his arm around my back and hauling me into his warm, bare chest. “I’m serious, kitten. Going out between those thighs would not be a bad thing. The man lucky enough to have his face between your thighs for real better not squander the opportunity.”
Reid stared down at me and my finger twitched, brushing against the fine hairs covering his chest. His answering rumble vibrated against me as I grazed the very end of the barbell running through his nipple. The way he was looking at me lit something primal inside of me, and I pushed up to my tiptoes, my eyes locked in his gaze. His head dipped down, eyes flickering to my mouth as our chests heaved against each other. I was convinced he was going to kiss me, but…
“Hey, Harding, you here?” A booming voice echoed down the hallway like a gunshot, but it was enough to clear my foggy brain .
“I should go,” I whispered, breaking free from his hold and rushing toward my sweats, yanking them on as he continued to stare at me.
Guilt flared through me when I thought about how close I’d come to… I couldn’t even say it in my brain, the thought was too startling. There was no way in hell he was about to kiss me. That was just crazy.
“Haz,” Reid’s voice was low, almost imploring, as I threw my things back into my bag while avoiding the enormous elephant in the room.
“Reid?” The voice was closer, almost to the break room, and my skin crawled as I thought about the repercussions of getting caught in here with Reid only wearing a pair of boxer briefs and me half dressed.
Most of the guys in the shop were tight with Hudson, and my brother would have lost his shit if a rumor got back to him I was messing around with Reid. Nothing had happened, but we lived in a small town and the rumor mill was alive and well. Half the town would know I was in here with Reid doing…I don’t even want to think about the things they'd make up that Reid and I were doing.
“Gimme a sec, Grayson,” Reid shouted through the door, pulling my attention in his direction. He’d somehow managed to dress himself in athletic shorts and a loose T-shirt and was currently leaning over to tie a pair of sneakers I hadn’t even realized were in here.
God, he had a nice ass.
No, bad Hazel. You need to get out of here.
“Dude, why is the door locked?” the voice asked, and my face flamed as the handle jiggled.
Reid looked in my direction, motioning toward the back of the room where the coat cabinet was. One door was open, but I could tell that if I stepped into the corner by the window, you’d never see me hiding back there.
Grabbing my coat and bag, I scanned the area quickly to make sure I hadn’t left anything incriminating out. When the door handle jiggled again, I hurried into the corner, flattening myself against the wall with my heart hammering.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Reid’s voice was strong, completely nonchalant, and I wished I could be that unaffected by stressful situations.
“What are you doing in here?” Grayson asked, the tattoo artist’s gruff voice laced with amusement. “You start an Only Fans, or something?”
“No, you wish,” Reid joked, and I stared at the window, debating on whether I could throw myself out the back and make a run for it before Gray and Reid noticed. I didn’t even want to think about Reid doing something like that. But he’d probably make a killing if it he did. Still, an irrational flare of jealousy flowed through me at the thought of other women seeing him naked. I mean, I knew some had—probably more than I wanted to acknowledge—but it made my temper flare with jealousy.
Reid wasn’t mine, and I couldn’t tell him what to do with his life, but it didn’t stop me from wanting him.
“I was testing out this new lens on my camera, making sure it’d catch the details in client photos I needed it to.”
“You have a girl in here modeling for you?” Gray chuckled and my eyes widened at the idea of Gray seeing any of the pictures on that memory card.
“Nah, that’s what the remote is for. I was taking pics of my chest piece.”
“You ever going to let me finish it?” For a tattoo artist, Reid really didn’t have a lot of them. Only a spiraling mandala piece covering part of one firm pec and a partial sleeve of interlocking geometric shapes that covered his shoulder and extended down his bicep.
“Someday. Don’t have time to let it heal properly right now. I’m backed up for months at this rate.”
The longer they stayed in this room, the more amped up I became at the thought of being caught. And it didn’t help I had a nervous bladder that was making itself known from the adrenaline rush .
“You mind taking this to my office?” Reid asked, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve got some paperwork I need to go through before people get here for appointments. Then I need to go get changed.”
“Yeah, just wanted to touch base about the new equipment that…” Gray’s voice drifted off as they left the room, and I peeked out of my hiding spot, sighing in relief when I saw they were gone.
Rushing to the camera, I popped open the compartment that should’ve housed the memory card, but it was empty.
Fuck , he’d taken the pictures with him.
The sound of Reid laughing from down the hallway spurred me into action, and I pulled my bag tighter against my shoulder as I moved toward the doorway. Once I’d verified the coast was clear, I rushed to the back exit of the building, gently pushing the door open and closing it quietly so I didn’t draw attention to my sneaky escape.
Scanning the parking lot for cars as I rushed across the gravel, I was thankful it was too early for any of the staff to show up to prep for tonight’s shifts. I’d never been so grateful that Charley had managed to get Hudson to stop spending every waking moment at the bar.
When I got inside my apartment, flicking the lock on the door and resting against the hard wood as I tried to regulate my breathing, my phone buzzed from my pocket.
Pulling it out, my heart raced at the text message on the screen. I desperately wished it’d been another flirty text from Seven, but it was not.
Reid: When is our next session? That was fun.
We clearly had very different definitions of the word fun.
Beneath the text was an image that had my pulse jumping. It was me, with my head thrown back while I was perched above Reid’s face, looking positively aroused. But that wasn’t the part that left me breathless, it was the way his fingers dug into the flesh of my thighs and his biceps bulged as he held me there, seemingly desperate to keep me attached to him.
It was perfect for what I needed to capture for the commission, and I should have been relieved, but it just had me thinking about things I shouldn’t want.