Page 40 of Hot and Bothered
I stepped out from behind the sheet.
No one even looked at me.
I let out a sigh of relief. These people were professionals, after all. This was the kind of stuff they were probably used to seeing all the time. I wasn’t anything special. No reason to worry.
“Hey Alice, do you mind if I head out a little early—”
A strangled choking sound left Evan’s throat as I turned to find him gaping at me.
“Uh—” His mouth was open, jaw unhinged. “You— That’s—”
I flushed from the root of my hair down to my toenails. I’d forgotten Evan was here. I’d forgotten that he’d see me wearing…this.
“Lizzy asked me to do her a favor,” I murmured, wringing my hands in front of myself.
“Right. Favor.” Evan’s eyes were round, the green iris now a thin band surrounded by wide-open pupils.
“You look great!” Lizzy called out, waving me over to the bedroom corner. “I knew it would fit.”
Itwas a skimpy, tight-fitting little negligee, all red silk and lace. It fell long enough to cover my important bits, thank god, and the modest cup size was enough to prove full breast coverage. But still, I was essentially in my underwear. No, I was inlingerie. The kind of thing you wore to bed when you were trying to seduce someone.
The kind of thing I might have wanted to wear in front of Evan, maybe, eventually, at some point. But right now…
Evan’s chest heaved with a deep, shuddering inhale. The flush on my cheeks no doubt rivaled the bright red negligee.
“Over here, Alice, we’re getting started,” Lizzy called out.
“Be right there,” I said, then turned to Evan. “You were going to ask me something?” I asked shyly.
“Yeah, um…” He seemed to give himself a full-body shake. “I need to take off a little early. Something came up. Do you mind getting a ride home with Lizzy?”
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No, just something I need to take care of.” His gaze kept wavering, drifting down to stare at my chest before snapping back up. “I guess I’ll have to miss out on, uh…this.” His eyes simmered with barely suppressed heat.
“One of the models canceled and Lizzy asked me and I didn’t know what it was going to be but I’d already said yes, so…”
“Right, no, yeah.” Evan’s voice was hoarse. His eyes drifted downward again. “Good luck out there.”
We both looked over to where Lizzy had beckoned, at the canopy bed and silk sheets. I thought I heard that strangled noise again.
“Fuck but this is bad timing,” he muttered, running a hand over his jaw and squeezing his eyes shut briefly. “Okay, I’ve got to go.” Evan put a hand on my arm gently and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You look gorgeous.” He pulled back, leaving a tingling sensation where his lips had touched my skin. “See you at home.”
Then, with great reluctance, he turned away and headed out.
“Alice?” Lizzy called out again.
I blinked rapidly to clear my head.
There I was, surrounded by a dozen strangers, wearing thisthing, and I didn’t even care. I wasn’t self-conscious at all.
The only thing I cared about was Evan and the way he had stared at me.
He looked like he had wanted to devour me whole.
16
Lizzy had been right when she’d told me all I had to do was lay around. The entire photoshoot consisted of me lounging in bed, just like I had on the fake grass, only this time I was enveloped by smooth silk and not being poked by scratchy artificial turf.
