Page 9 of My Playboy Neighbor

Dom's voice was closer now.When she lowered her camera, he was standing just a few feet away, close enough to touch.The afternoon light streaming through the windows painted his skin golden, highlighting every ridge of muscle, every perfect line of his body.

"You're thinking too much," he said quietly."Stop trying to control the shot and just feel it."

"I don't—"

"You do."Dom stepped closer, close enough that she felt the heat radiating from his skin."I can see it in your eyes.You want something, Maya.Stop being afraid to take it."

"This is supposed to be professional."

"Is it?"Dom's hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing across her skin with devastating gentleness."Because the way you're looking at me right now doesn't feel very professional."

Maya knew she should step back, should re-establish boundaries, should remember that her career depended on this assignment.Instead, she leaned into his touch, her body betraying every rational thought in her head.

"Dom..."

"Take the picture, Maya."

She blinked up at him, confused."What?"

"Right now.This moment.Take the picture."

Maya raised her camera with trembling hands, not understanding what he meant until she saw his expression through the viewfinder.Intense.Completely unguarded as he looked at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

The shutter clicked almost of its own accord.

"Again," Dom murmured, his hand still cupping her face.

Maya took another shot, then another.Each click of the shutter captured something different—desire, vulnerability, a hunger that went deeper than simple physical attraction.These weren't posed photos.They were stolen moments, honest emotions caught on film.

"Beautiful," Dom said softly."Do you see it now?What happens when you stop hiding behind that camera?"

Maya lowered the camera, her lips parting as she tried to find words.But Dom was already moving, backing her across the studio with predatory grace until her back hit the door of the studio.

"This is what's real, Maya," he said."Not the poses, not the perfect lighting.This."

His mouth crashed down on hers with none of the controlled precision from their hallway encounter.This kiss was hungry, desperate, like he'd been starving for the taste of her.Maya gasped against his lips, and Dom took advantage, his tongue sweeping into her mouth to claim and conquer.

Maya's camera slipped from her suddenly nerveless fingers, the strap catching on her wrist as Dom pressed his body against hers.She felt every hard inch of him—the solid wall of his chest, the rigid length of him pressed against her hip, the controlled strength in his hands as they tangled in her hair.

"God, Maya," Dom groaned against her mouth."You're driving me insane."

His hands tugged the hem of her blouse, fingers skimming the bare skin of her waist.Maya arched into his touch, a soft moan escaping her lips as he skimmed over the sensitive spot just below her ribs.

"We shouldn't," she gasped, even as her hands fisted in his hair, holding him closer.

"Probably not," Dom agreed, his lips moving to her throat."Tell me to stop."

Maya opened her mouth to do exactly that, but what came out instead was a breathless "Don't you dare."

Dom's hands braced on either side of her body as he stared down at her with eyes gone dark with want.

"Last chance," he said."Tell me to stop, and I will.But if you don't..."

"If I don't?"Maya's voice came out as barely a whisper.

"If you don't, I'm going to show you exactly what I've been thinking about since I kissed you yesterday."His hand came up to trace the line of her jaw, his touch gentle despite the hunger in his eyes."I'm going to touch you until you can't think straight.Kiss you until you forget your own name.And then I'm going to watch you come apart in my hands."

She should say no.Should remember all the reasons this was a terrible idea.Instead, she reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers.

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