The centerpiece of my whole setup was my camera, of course. A couple years ago, I'd upgraded to a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR that cost over three thousand dollars. It had seemed like an extravagance at the time, but I'd earned back the cost and then some thanks to these photo sessions. My guests loved getting tasteful images of themselves to take home.
Right on time, Val strode into my studio.
He turned his head left and right, admiring the room like it was the inside of the Sistine Chapel. "Very nice. This is a professional studio."
"Mm-hmm." I gestured toward the chair set up in the center of the room. "Have a seat."
"In the chair?" He walked a circle around it, scrutinizing the piece of furniture, then stopped and shook his head at me. "I won't be posing in a chair."
"Well, I guess you can stand for the whole session."
"No, Eve." He moved the chair out of the way and sat down on the floor. "This will do."
"Okay, if you really want to sit on the floor the whole time, I guess—"
He stretched out on his side, his head propped up with one hand. "I'm ready."
"Uh, people generally sit or stand for portraits."
"No boudoir photos? I'd think at least a few people would want that."
I couldn't resist skimming my gaze over his body and licking my lips when I reached his groin. "Only a couple of people wanted sexy photos. My guests like that my pictures are tasteful and respectful. The ones who wanted boudoir stuff were older couples looking to spice up their love lives." Somehow, I managed to tear my attention away from his manly bits to meet his gaze. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather sit on the chair like everybody else?"
"Would you want me to be like other people?"
No, absolutely not. "The floor is awfully hard to lie on for very long. I've got an idea."
Racing into the corner of the room where I'd stashed various props and background screens, I retrieved a padded mat, more like a cushion really. Val got up when I started dragging the bed-size cushion toward him. He grabbed one end and took the thing away from me, laid it down where he'd been a moment ago, and stretched out on his side again—this time on the crimson cushion.
"Comfy?" I asked.
He patted the cushion. "Yes, very."
"Normally, I use the padded mat for photographing babies and toddlers." I drank in the sight of Val the human supernova laid out across the crimson mat, and my mouth watered. Seriously, it did. "The color suits you."
"How would you like me?"
The erotic rumble of his voice, molten and decadent, rippled heat through me. I gripped my camera against my belly, and though I tried not to ogle him anymore, I failed. His nude body standing up or sitting down was breathtaking. Lying there stretched out like a Roman emperor awaiting his concubine… God, he was beyond hot. Especially the way he kept looking at me. Brown eyes warm as melted caramel. Tongue flicking out to moisten his lips. And that penis, so thick and long. Holy hotness. I'd never seen anything as gorgeous and tempting as Val Silva.
Why was I resisting the urge to get horizontal with him? I knew there'd been a reason, but suddenly, I couldn't remember what it was.
His lips slid into a sensual smile. "Are you going to photograph me? Or would you rather join me here on the floor?"
My mouth opened, but I couldn't summon any words. Join him? Yeah, oh hell yeah, I wanted to do that.
Why shouldn't I? Maybe he was the kind of bad boy I tried to avoid, but it wasn't like we had paparazzi way out here in the boonies of Oregon.
Screw it. I wanted him, he wanted me, and we were both consenting adults.
"Let me take a few shots first," I said. "You are paying for this session, after all."
He tipped his head to the side, not blinking when he asked, "And then you'll join me?"
I wandered over to the stereo and the iPod docked to it. Yeah, I was old school. I didn't like listening to music on my phone the way a lot of people did these days. Flipping through my playlists, I found an album that fit the mood, a collection of songs by Delerium. An ethereal feminine voice crooned to a sensual, exotic rhythm.
"Yes," I said, returning to Val and raising the camera, "after I take some shots, I will join you."
He skated his palm over the velvety cushion beneath him. "Naked?"