10. Ethan
Ethan
Did I think about pouring the oil in my hands and slathering it all over Rami’s chest? Of course I did. I was gay and Rami was, quite possibly, the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes upon.
But I was also loyal. And professional.
The most professional.
So, sadly, applying the oil myself was out of the question.
“Here,” I said, holding it out to him. We were out in the parkland that surrounded the house. Sam and Ez had vanished indoors again, leaving us to it. “You don’t mind, right?”
Rami blinked at the bottle a few times before taking it from me with a rueful chuckle. “Sure.”
My own lips curled in response. “What?”
“Just not how I thought this was going to go,” Rami confessed as he poured the liquid onto his open palm. “Clearly I have a dirty imagination.”
I tugged at the collar of my shirt. It was definitely hotter than it had been earlier. “Does the photographer usually do it for you?”
“No.” Rami’s hooded eyes swept over me. “Then again, none of them have been as hot as you.”
I swallowed hard as he started to massage the oil into his chest. His indecently taut, muscled chest. “That’s…wow. I’m flattered, but I have a boyfriend.”
Rami’s smirk dimmed but didn’t disappear. “That’s okay. I can behave.”
My gaze caught on his fingers, slowly circling his nipple. “Can you?”
“I’m just doing as you asked,” he said innocently, his other hand now joining in on the action. “Got to make sure I’m well covered.”
My lips twitched. “Anyone ever told you that you’re a bit of a flirt?”
He gave a deep, booming laugh as his hands finally dropped away from his chest. “Yeah, I’ve heard that a time or two. Seriously though, I won’t cross any lines.”
“Good.” I glanced back at the house briefly. Could I trust Rami? My gut said yes, but listening to my gut in the past had led me halfway across the world away from almost everyone I knew and loved. “Can I tell you something? You’ll have to keep it to yourself.”
All humour immediately disappeared from his face. “Of course. I’m a vault.”
I chewed on my lip for a second before exhaling slowly. “It’s important that this goes well for me. I really need this job…and anything that might come from it. You get what I’m saying?”
“I do.” Rami nodded. “You don’t need to worry though. Sam’s already impressed.”
“He hasn’t seen the finished images yet.”
“He doesn’t need to. He’s an excellent judge of character. Besides, your previous work speaks volumes. If these photos turn out even close to that then you can count on him as a client for life.”
I fiddled with the strap on my camera. “He, uh, he showed you those?”
“He did. You’re a very talented man, Ethan.”
If I could stop blushing at every word out of his mouth, I’d be grateful. God only knew what Rami thought of me. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.”
“It’s very honest of me,” he said with a disarming grin. “I don’t say anything unless I mean it.”
I didn’t know what to do with that. Praise wasn’t something I was used to, especially not lately. Unless you counted the nurses telling me I was doing well at sitting still while they stuck me with needles.
Thankfully, Rami seemed to sense my discomfort. “Are you ready to get going again?”
“Yep,” I said, snapping back into professional mode. “Can I get you on the chaise longue?”
The item of furniture I’d requested apparently hadn’t been hard for Sam to source. He’d told me in our email exchange that they had, and I quote, ‘several I could choose from in the house.’
Looking back, I really should’ve been more prepared for the sheer luxury I’d walked into.
Rami got comfortable, and I noted the dappled light filtered through the leafy canopy above us. It would make for beautiful shots. Plus, the shade was needed now that the sun had finally made an appearance.
It was weird feeling hot again. Another sensation I’d not experienced in a while. Not unless I had a fever, anyway. It was odd how learning that I wasn’t dying made me aware of how little I’d actually been living.
Well, no more. I was going to embrace life fully. Starting with making this the best damned shoot I’d ever had so Sam would hire me again.
“Can you shift slightly to the left?” I asked Rami. I could see the image in my mind perfectly, but to my frustration, the frame wasn’t presenting itself.
Rami did as I asked. “This work?”
“No.” I sighed. “Sorry, this is all me. I can’t quite get you where I need you.”
His lips twisted into a smirk. “I promise you can put me wherever you like. I’m very biddable.”
I laughed, clicking a couple of shots just to capture his mischievousness. “You said something similar about knowing how to behave.”
His tongue darted out over his lower lip. “I can do anything with the right motivation.”
Unable to stop myself, I clicked the shutter again. There were so many responses I could give to that.
I bet you can.
What kind of motivation?
What if I don’t want you to behave?
Not a single one of those was appropriate. I couldn’t cross that line. I wouldn’t.
Although, with a flirtatious Rami half-naked and covered in oil, that line was becoming blurrier with each minute that passed.
His arm still wasn’t in the right place. Fuck. I’d hoped to get through this without needing to put my hands on him, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Can I touch you?”
Rami’s smirk deepened like the cat who’d got the cream. “Anywhere you’d like.”
I rolled my eyes as I strode over to him. “The mouth on you, honestly. It’ll land you in trouble one day.”
His tongue appeared again and I fought not to shiver. “Trouble or Heaven. Either works for me.”
I flushed all the way to my roots. Stupid fucking genes. Honestly, I loved being a redhead most of the time, but right now, I’d give my arm to stop blushing like this.
“I’m sorry,” Rami groaned, slapping a hand to his face. “I can’t help it. I really am harmless, I swear. I’d never touch or do anything to you without your consent. I can even stop the flirting.”
Like before, seeing his nerves relaxed me. At least I wasn’t the only one embarrassing himself. “You’re fine. I’ll let you know if it bothers me.”
He peered at me from between his fingers. “Promise?”
“Promise. I keep blushing because it’s been a while since anyone has flirted with me.”
Rami lowered his hand slowly. “How is that possible?”
Was he joking? I gestured at myself. “Um, because I look like this? You might think I’m cute, but it’s not the word most people use.”
He sat up, narrowing his eyes. “It’s not the one I used either—I believe I called you hot. Cute implies something you want to snuggle. Something adorable.”
I pressed a hand to my chest in mock offence. “Are you saying I’m not snuggly and adorable?”
He flashed his teeth in a broad grin. “Oh, you’re both those things, Ethan. But you’re hot too. By which I mean, I’d love to strip you out of those clothes and see how far down your blush goes.”
My jaw swung open as my brain screeched to a halt. Did that really just come out of his mouth?
Seriously, what was I meant to say to that?
You could offer to let him.
Thankfully, Rami continued, saving me from having to come up with a response. “But obviously I can’t do that, because you have a boyfriend. Which is actually what I meant in the first place. Does he not flirt with you?”
His mention of Dave had me finally clamping my jaw shut. “Um, not really. But we’ve been together for, like, nine years now. It’s not like that in a long-term relationship. Things…settle.”
“Settle.” Rami crinkled his nose as though the word tasted sour. “If you say so.”
Maybe I was reading too much into the frown on his face, but somehow, I didn’t think I was. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that Dave and I must be very different.” He shrugged as he reclined back on the chaise longue, reminding me that I was meant to be doing a job. “If you were my boyfriend, there wouldn’t be any settling. I could spend a thousand years with you and not stop flirting.”
“You barely know me.”
“Exactly, and I already can’t stop. Now, are you going to touch me, or was that your way of flirting?”
I blinked a few times. “Pardon?”
“You asked permission to touch me. That’s what started off this whole…conversation.”
The reminder slammed into me. Rami’s pose not being quite right. Me realising I’d have to physically put him where I needed him.
Things really had got off topic.
“Yes.” I cleared my throat and let my camera swing from the strap I had around my neck. “I’ll just…uh, here.”
Fuck, my hands were shaking as I cupped Rami’s shoulders. Could I be any more embarrassing?
Praying to whoever was listening that Rami wouldn’t notice, I quickly positioned him how I wanted. I let go as fast as possible, straightening and stepping back. “Perfect. Hold it just like that for me. Don’t move.”
Rami smiled innocently. “Whatever you say, Ethan.”
My toes curled in my shoes at how the sentence sounded rolling off his tongue. The decadent, sinful way his lips formed something as simple as my name.
I was right. His mouth was trouble. It was making me forget things. Important things.
Like Dave.
I stumbled back a few paces, raising my camera like a shield. Maybe if I kept it glued to my eye, I could remember what this was.
A job.
And nothing more.
Iwas quiet as we progressed through the rest of the shoot. I think Rami realised I was nearing my limit, because he wasn’t dishing out nearly as many quips as he had earlier.
I couldn’t decide whether I was relieved or disappointed.
“Okay, I think that’s it,” I announced, lowering my camera and giving Rami a grateful smile. “Thank you. You’ve made this the easiest shoot ever.”
“You’re welcome.”
He got up from the rug he’d been sprawled over for the last hour and stretched languorously. I turned my head sharply so I wouldn’t be tempted by his rippling muscles.
Again.
“I’ll make sure to put in a good word with Sam,” he added. “Not that I think you’ll need it. I suspect he’ll have you back here for another shoot with me very soon.”
I gave him a quizzical glance. “I thought your schedule was rammed. That’s what Sam implied.”