Page 1 of Luca (Big Hot Alphas 3)

Chapter One

Luca

“Ready to get oiled up?”

I can’t believe that’s the question I’m about to answer. What else did I expect, though?

I look at the woman standing in front of me and shrug. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The woman who just asked me the question laughs, snaps open the lid on the bottle, and squeezes some oil into her palm.

“Arms out, please,” she says. She tucks the bottle into the half-apron tied around her waist, rubs her palms together to distribute the oil, and shoots a quick smile up at me. “I’m Taylor, by the way.”

“Luca.”

She nods and starts to smooth the oil across my bare chest. I’m currently shirtless and barefoot, wearing only the pair of dark gray pajama pants I was handed half an hour ago.

“So this is your first time at a shoot, huh?” she asks.

“Is it that obvious?”

She grins. “No. Someone on the crew just gave me a heads up that you don’t usually do this, that’s all. Could you look up for me now, please?”

I angle my chin up and Taylor smooths her hands over my neck. It’s not sensual at all, just unusual, having a stranger rub oil all over me. But I guess the models who do this for a living get used to it pretty quickly.

This isn’t something I ever thought I’d find myself doing. I’ve never aspired to be a model, let alone a fuckingunderwearmodel. My focus has solely been on getting my MBA.

But last week, as I was heading across campus between classes, a woman stopped me and asked if I’d be interested in being in a marketing campaign.

“It’s for a men’s luxury loungewear brand,” she told me. “All we’ll need is an afternoon, and you’ll be compensated well.”

“You know I have zero experience modeling, right?” I said.

“That’s okay. You’ve got the look we want,” she replied. “Besides, I can tell by the way you carry yourself that you’ll be good at it. So? What do you say?”

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was a poor grad student and really did need the money, I would have turned her down.

But Iwasa poor grad student. So I said yes. I gave her my details and tried not to choke on my spit when she told me how much they’d pay me.

Now here I am, getting oiled up for the shoot, wearing pajama pants that are probably more expensive than my textbooks this semester.

Taylor shakes the bottle again over her palm and sighs. “Shit. Should have known I’d run out. There’s a lot of you to cover.” Her eyes dart across the room, searching for someone. “Hey, Lexi? Can you grab me another bottle?”

A pair of footsteps rapidly approach. The empty bottle is whisked away and a new one is handed over.

“Thanks,” says Taylor. She squeezes more out onto her hands and finishes up my arms. “All right. You’re set. Try not to let too much of this rub off on the bed sheets.”

“Gotcha,” I say. I glance down. Jesus. I’m practicallyreflective. “Any other tips?”

“Let’s see. Do you know which side is your good side?”

“Uh…”

She laughs. “Turn your head to the side. Okay. Now the other way.”

I do as she asks and wait for her verdict.

Instead, she just murmurs, “Holy shit.”

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