Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Posed and Poised
Lukas
Monday morning, we all found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast together. Since Ivy had arrived in our lives, our schedules seemed to have synced more, which was a big shift from our usual independent routines.
I dug into the eggs Preston had made—medium over toast—then turned to the group. “Where are we with Ivy? How do we think she’s doing?”
“Well, she slept over at our house this weekend, that’s positive,” Isaac replied. He reached across the table for a napkin, almost spilling the orange juice.
“She also said something to the effect of wishing she could stay longer,” Preston added, sitting down next to me.
“That’s good,” I said. “Sounds like she’s getting more comfortable with the whole pack idea.”
“She’s getting there,” Demetrius agreed. “It’s so important we let her find her way to us.”
“So true,” I said. “We’ve all kissed her lightly on the cheek and forehead, but has she kissed any of us yet? She hasn’t kissed me back.”
Isaac shook his head.
Dem gave a brief shake of the head.
Preston slowly lifted his hand, trying to hide the grin forming on his face.
“She kissed you? When?” I gasped, throwing an apple slice at Preston. He gracefully swatted it away.
“Yesterday, after class in the studio. I was completely shocked when she kissed me,” Preston answered, touching his lips. “Her kiss was so delicate and sweet. It was amazing.”
Isaac’s eyes looked like they were ready to melt steel rods right now. ”Probably felt she had to with the amount of dancing she’ll have to do with you.”
“Did you stun her and take advantage?” I joked, watching Preston’s cheeks turn a bit red.
“Hey, somebody had to be first, and it makes sense it was Preston,” Dem added logically, though I could see a bit of tension through his shoulders. “We should be happy she’s ready to move forward with some aspects of a physical relationship.”
Isaac replied through gritted teeth. “Agreed. I’m clearly happy, can’t you tell?”
We all chuckled at his reaction. I felt the same as Isaac, though I was happy for Preston, too.
Dem cleared his throat and added, “Let’s keep the competition light, remember? She’s not a prize to win. She’s going to be the heart of the pack—we follow her pace.”
I nodded. Today, I had a photoshoot with Ivy after her morning class. At least that would give me some more time to spend with her. It was hard to be patient when I ached to be with her, but she was worth the wait. Still, I was dying for her to be ready for me.
***
I had all my camera equipment set up in the third studio on the second floor of the company building. This studio was usually too small to rehearse in, but proved more useful for small projects like photoshoots or children’s classes.
For Ivy’s photoshoot, Demetrius told me to go wild and see what stuck, so I grabbed almost every costume I could imagine her wearing.
There was a sexy dress from Carmen, a tight unitard from a contemporary piece, tons of different stiff, flat pancake tutus and tiaras, and a few longer romantic tutus that would softly flow down to her shins as well.
She would easily dazzle in every single one of these.
I pressed play on a soundtrack I thought would ease any tension; it had a fun, upbeat vibe that would help Ivy relax.
The door opened behind me as Ivy entered the room, her subtle, sweet scent announcing her presence. She looked polished from a quick freshen up after company class.
“Hello, beautiful, come in!” My pulse quickened as I gestured her in. “We’re going to start with some headshots first, followed by some poses in costume.”
“Sounds good,” she said, smiling as she came closer to me. She looked a bit nervous, grasping her hands together as she bit her lip. Of course, I instantly wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her, tell her how beautiful she was to me, but that probably wouldn't be very professional.
I cleared my throat as I pointed to a stool in front of the camera. “Have a seat there while I adjust the lights.”
She took her place on the center stool while I quickly went about fixing the lighting, explaining the best angles for her to pose in.
“If you tilt your head like this…” I gently moved her chin. “We get a nice beam of light right here…yes…perfect.”
Heading back to the camera, I took a few headshots. “Now turn your head to the left and give me a gentle smile…perfect.” A few more pictures were taken; she was pretty natural at this.
“Now pretend like I’ve said something very funny,” I said, flashing her a smile over my camera.
“When are you ever funny?” she teased with a twinkle of mischief in her eye.
“I make you laugh all the time!” I joked with her as she softly laughed, showing that brilliant smile of hers. Perfect.
I left the camera and moved over to the costume rack. “We’ve got the headshots covered. Now, let’s get you in costume. Pick any you like. There’s a changing booth over there…unless you want to change in front of me…” I winked with a grin.
She grabbed a soft, white romantic tutu first and checked the sizing. Turning back towards me, she bit her bottom lip shyly before slowly pulling down one of her straps to change.
My breath caught as my eyes grew wider with excitement. Was she really going to change in front of me? I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or not, but my heart started pounding anyway.
“Just kidding.” She pulled the leotard strap back up before disappearing behind the curtain.
“Fuck Ivy,” I laughed. “I have work to do here, you know!”
While she changed, I took the opportunity to adjust my camera settings.
“I had so much fun this weekend,” Ivy shouted out from behind the changing curtain. “You all must have a lot of fun together, hanging out all the time.”
I scratched my head as I thought for a brief moment. “Actually, we haven’t hung out like that in a while. It was nice to relax and spend some time together, especially with you there.”
She stepped out from the curtain, holding the front of her dress up as she approached me. I helped her clasp the back together, smoothing down the seamlines and giving her ballet skirt a little fluff.
“Get in front of the camera and show me what you’ve got,” I said.
With a little twirl, she stepped back out in front of me and started cycling through poses that matched her costume.
“Love the way that hand softly melts,” I exclaimed as I captured each of her moves. By now, I was very familiar with the way her body moved, having taken so many pictures of her in class.
She looked so soft and delicate in that long, shin-length romantic era dress. Next was the classical stiff, pancake tutu—she was elegant, poised, and polished. When she changed to the tight, form-fitting slim unitard, she was suddenly edgy, hip, and daring.
We rotated through a few more costumes before finishing with the Carmen outfit—a red bodice with a short, black skirt.
“Is this too much?” she asked, stepping out from behind the changing booth in the Carmen outfit.
“No, it’s perfect for you.” Ivy sizzled in that red bodice, and it took all my willpower not to imagine taking it off her.
I stood behind the camera, secretly wishing the camera wasn't here anymore. “Okay, gorgeous, imagine I’m over there, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.”
Hints of her scent drifted through the air as she struck an amazing pose with pouty lips.
As I clicked away at the camera, I could sense the sexual tension between us continue to elevate.
Each pose felt like it was aimed just for me, so sensual and soft, yet with a ton of fire in her eyes.
The amazing extension of her legs played so well into the poses, too, and a little bit of guilt rose up in me like I was capturing erotic photos of her…
which would be hot to do later. She was laughing and spinning and teasing like she didn’t even know she was ruining me. And I’d let her—gladly.
After she finished roughly twenty different poses, I stepped away from the camera, my breathing heavy, and her scent in the room so enticing. I walked over to her and gently wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close against me.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” I whispered as my eyes drifted to her lips.
As if reading my mind, she leaned in and kissed me.
I didn’t hesitate at all, cradling her head with my hand as the passion bloomed between us.
My legs seemed to move on their own, backing us up against a wall.
I reached down for her hips and pulled her in tighter against my pelvis, anything to help the growing ache I felt for her.
Soft moans escaped her lips as she wrapped a leg over my hip.
The taste of her mouth was exquisite, and I craved more the longer we kissed. Her soft little whimpers and moans against my tongue sent me into overdrive as my mind imagined claiming her here.
I wanted to lift her onto the barre. I wanted to taste every inch of her. I wanted more of these moans, more of her whimpers. I needed her to say my name as she cried out in bliss. I ached so badly, and only she could cure me.
The kiss continued for a minute with our arms pulling closer and closer to each other before she quickly broke away. My mind was almost completely lost to her, that feral alpha energy circling the edge of my control, ready to take over, but I somehow pulled back and regained my focus.
“Whoa…we should stop,” she breathlessly said, tapping her hands against my chest.
With a soft chuckle, I joked as I closed my eyes. “That’s how all my shoots usually end, not bad.”
“Must be awkward when you redo Demetrius’s head shot,” she casually joked back, still slightly breathless.
“Very awkward,” I laughed. “Go get changed,” I playfully swatted at her thigh. “You’re all done here.”
She pressed one more kiss to my lips before moving to the side of the room. My heart ached as she vanished behind the curtain. This hour with her had been wonderful, but I still wanted more.
I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror; her lipstick was smudged all over my mouth, and my hair was a mess.
I was done for. She owned me completely.
***
Demetrius
“How’d the photo shoot go?” I asked as Lukas entered my office. Glancing up at him, I smiled in surprise; his lips were covered in lipstick. “I see you thoroughly enjoyed yourself.”
“Oh crap,” Lukas turned, wiping his mouth with a tissue. “I wouldn’t say thoroughly…”
Once clean, he pulled out his laptop and loaded the saved photos from his session with Ivy.
Every single photo of her was vibrant and alive, oozing with sensual appeal. I felt as though I could smell her scent just by looking at these pictures.
“Dear god, those are amazing,” I gasped in shock. “How did you do that? Is it her?”
“No…yes…I think it’s our scent-match connection. We all seem to be heightened by her presence. She was a natural with me, but was she really this good a model before? I have no idea,” Lukas shrugged as he leaned over and clicked forward. “Here she is in our Carmen outfit.”
“Was this before or after you started making out with her?” I asked. The photos were so arousing to me. Was this too over the top? I couldn’t even decide, I was so turned on by them.
Lukas grinned. “If you need more shots, I’m free. Totally selfless offer, obviously.”
“I'm sure.” I shook my head, smiling.
Another packmate was growing closer to Ivy. This was good for the pack…even if I felt a pang of jealousy. I could push through it while she continued getting closer to each of them. But there was a hunger growing inside me.
Until now, I’d stayed focused—pack first, always. But one look at her lips in that last shot, and I knew I was slipping. I’d been keeping my desires down before now, but the craving to be with her was starting to simmer.
***
Ivy
Since discovering I was an omega, I’d had regular appointments with Dr. Laughlin while my hormones adjusted. This afternoon, I was sitting on the exam table as she checked my levels.
“You’re still fluctuating a bit with your hormone levels, but they seem to be adapting more to what we expect. How have your mood swings been?”
“I’m feeling pretty good. I haven’t noticed any serious mood swings. I mean, there’s kind of a lot going on in my life right now, so I’m not really sure how much of my feelings are due to that versus mood swings…” I rambled nervously as I shifted on the exam room table.
She softly laughed. “You certainly do have much on your plate, and unfortunately, I don’t really have a baseline for how a latent omega who’s just met her scent-matched pack while starting a brand new ballet company in a new state should feel, so we’ll just have to take it day by day.”
She rolled her stool closer to me. “How are the beta blockers working? Have you had any issues being around your pack mates?”
“No issues, though we all can tell when they start wearing off,” I replied.
“That’s good. I'd like to try limiting them further to just during the daytime at work, especially as you spend more time with the Arco pack. We want your body to naturally adjust to being around them and doing what it needs to do,” she said. “Can you try that with your pack?”
I exhaled loudly. “I’ll try. I just feel like I don’t have control of my lust without the beta blockers.”
“That’s where your pack mates should step in to take care of you. So we want to get you to that point to let that connection happen.”
Dr. Laughlin continued to discuss more tips about dealing with the omega heat flashes, but my mind kept wandering back to what she said—letting the pack take care of me. I wanted them to, more than anything…but it felt too good to be true.
What would I be like without beta blockers?
Would I turn into a whimpering fool who needed my packmates around all hours of the day?
What if I acted in a way that completely turned them off?
My affections for this pack were growing stronger each day.
I really wanted this to work, but the fear of them rejecting me felt too real.
My hands slowly gripped the sides of the exam bed as I thought about that loss of control.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to be that exposed.
“Any other questions?” Dr. Laughlin asked.
My full attention snapped back to her. “No, not at the moment.”