She may be the expert on photography, but I’m the expert on Skye Manning’s beauty. “Trust me. Go to the bathroom and put it on. See what you think.”
She nods and traipses into the bathroom, securing the sheet around her.
She returns transformed. As beautiful as ever, but those lips—those sexy lips that are going to make Susanne lip stain fly off every shelf in America—are front and center.
She returns to the window where I wait, still holding her phone.
“You look breathtaking,” I say.
“Remember, it’s the lip stain I’m selling.”
How can I forget? The mask makes the lips stand out like crimson on snow. “I’ll take several,” I tell her.
“We’ll get a good one.” She adjusts her stance at the window.
“Smile,” I say. Then, “No, don’t. Part your lips in that sexy way.”
She chuckles and then moves her mouth.
“Perfect.” I shoot several photos and regard the screen.
Skye can’t take a bad photo. She’s too beautiful
. They’re all stunning, but it’s the second one that floors me. She’s focused on nothing in particular, as if she’s contemplating something almost ethereal.
“The second one, Skye. Use the second one.”
She takes the phone from me and peruses the photos. Then she nods, taps into her phone, and then tosses it to me.
Cherry Russet lip stain by @susannecosmetics. Perfect for all life’s moments. #sponsored
No other hashtags. She’s a genius.
I walk toward her and wrap my arms around her. We look out at the beauty of the harbor, the moon shining down and casting silver sparkles on the boats below.
“I have more in store for you,” I whisper, “now that I control you in the dark. Will you follow me, Skye? Trust me to give you all kinds of pleasure?”
“I will.”
I kiss her forehead. “I can’t believe what I’m about to say.”
She pulls away slightly and meets my gaze.
“What?” she asks.
“Maybe we can give this relationship thing a try.”
She smiles then, and of all the smiles I’ve ever seen on Skye’s face, this one is the most radiant.
She parts those lips—
“I love you, Braden.”
The words.
The words I’ve been feeling in my heart but was going to wait to say.
She said them.