Page 4 of My Playboy Neighbor

"Well, well.The photographer who doesn't sell photos."

Maya shivered.That voice—deep, rough around the edges, with just enough Italian accent to make her knees weak.She turned slowly, knowing exactly who she'd find but still unprepared for the impact.

Dominic Valenti stood in his doorway wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark jeans that fit him like they'd been tailored specifically for his body.His dark hair was slightly mussed, like he'd been running his hands through it, and there was something predatory in the way he leaned against the doorframe.

"I have a name," Maya said, proud that her voice came out steady.

"I'm sure you do."His gaze traveled down her body with leisurely appreciation, missing nothing."Thank you for not cashing in on my indiscretions."

Maya lifted her chin, refusing to be intimidated by six feet three inches of dangerous male."Which ones? Stomping on cameras, choking photographers, or flipping me off?”

Dom's laugh was rich, genuinely amused."All of the above?"

"You’re welcome."

"Why didn’t you sell the pictures you took of me?"He stepped closer, close enough that she smelled his cologne—something expensive and masculine that made her want to lean into him."Or have they not been published?"

"I don’t always sell my photos. Some I keep for personal reasons. Some I delete off the camera.”

"It’s a good thing everything is digital now."Dom's smile turned nostalgic."I remember my mother scolding me for wasting film."

Despite herself, her lips twitched."I haven’t developed film since college."She held out her hand. “I’m Maya Sunderly.”

When he took her hand, his fingers were warm and slightly rough, callused in a way that suggested he did more than just pose for cameras.

"Dominic Valenti.But you already knew that."

His thumb brushed across her knuckles as he spoke, a casual touch that sent electricity shooting up her arm.Maya tried to pull her hand back, but Dom held on just long enough to make his point.

"So, what brings you to Couture?"Maya said, finally reclaiming her hand.

"I’m hiding out, waiting for my fifteen minutes of infamy to fade."His gaze dropped to her mouth for a fraction of a second before returning to her eyes."What about you?”

The air between them hummed with tension that had nothing to do with their professional rivalry and everything to do with the way Dom looked at her like he wanted to know all her secrets.

"Working," she said, even as her body swayed slightly toward his."I have a meeting with Colleen Bryant today."

"She’s a pistol.”

Maya opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but Dom stepped closer.His casual confidence shifted into something hungrier, more intense.

"I've been thinking about you since yesterday," he said quietly, his voice heavy with something that made her stomach clench with want."About the way you looked at me."

Maya's lips parted as heat flooded through her.“The way that I looked at you? You looked at me like I was a gazelle, and you were a hungry lion.”

“I wouldn’t mind eating you.”

Before she could respond, he moved backed her against the wall beside her door.His hands braced on either side of her head, caging her in.

“But what do you say we start with a kiss first?”

He gave her just enough time to push him away. The thought never crossed her mind.

It wasn't gentle.It wasn't hesitant.It was pure claiming—his mouth hot and demanding on hers, his tongue sweeping between her lips like he had every right to taste her.Maya's fisted her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer.

Dom growled low in his throat, the sound vibrating through her chest as he pressed his body against hers.She felt every ridge of muscle, every hard line of him as he pinned her to the wall with his weight.One of his hands tangled in her hair, angling her head so he could deepen the kiss, while the other splayed across her lower back, holding her exactly where he wanted her.

Maya had been kissed before.She'd thought she knew what desire felt like, what it meant to want someone.But this—this was something else entirely.This was drowning in sensation while losing control and loving every second of it.

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