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“Hey,” Griffin comes up behind me and turns me to face him, “I get it, but it’s going to be okay.”
I grab a tissue off the vanity and dab at my eyes. “Everything was going so well, and now I don’t know how we’re going to do this. The photos are going to be so awkward.”
“We’ll figure it out together. And listen, even if we’d been together for years, photoshoots can be intimidating, especially for people who aren’t used to being in front of the camera. My first set of photos for the revue were horrible. The photographer was directing me to be sexy and mysterious. I ended up looking like I was trying to do aZoolanderimpression.”
The image he paints has a laugh bursting out of me.
“Nothing can be worse than that,” he assures me. “Besides, we’ve come this far, we can’t give up now.”
Griffin’s encouragement means so much to me. The fact that he doesn’t have to do this, he could walk away right now and leave me here, but instead he’s making me feel better about this stressful situation.
“You’re right.” I reach up to kiss him on the cheek, my hands gripping his biceps for balance. “Thank you for making me feel better.”
Griffin’s hands wrap around my hips to hold me close. Memories from last night immediately emerge, chasing away the calm I was starting to enjoy. That doesn’t bode well for the fact that we’ll be mostly naked sitting in a bathtub together in a few minutes.
“I’m going to change.” I pull out of his arms, grab a fistful of spandex and a robe from the back of the door, then shut myself in the water closet.
As I change, I work to keep my pulse from skyrocketing again. This photoshoot is the only thing standing in my way of a flawless interview with Kandi Kline, I need to be a professional about this. Not let a little thing like my attraction to Griffin mess with my head. I quickly change and pull on the robe. When I exit, Griffin is robe-clad, too, and waiting for me. Whether it’s the robe I’m wearing or the look he’s giving me, memories from Vegas pop in my head. Me on the bed, my legs spread with Griffin’s head between them. And last night, the way he looked down at me, his eyes darkened with desire, yet eager and comforting at the same time, like he was enthusiastically taking in every move I made. The memory of that look and the intensity of my orgasm—like a bomb had been detonated—makes me shiver.
But, I can’t think about any of that right now.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
I exhale, my breath leaving my lungs in a whoosh. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
CHAPTER22
Emma
I wonder if this is how a heavyweight boxer feels walking down the tunnel toward the ring. I’m so laser-focused on getting to the bathtub so I can toss off my robe and dive in, that I almost trip on the cord for the lighting system.
Griffin catches me because he’s smooth like that. No awkward, flailing limbs on that guy. Once I’m upright again, I discard my robe and lower myself into the water. I have no issues with my naked body. Yes, there are things I would tweak here and there, but in this moment it’s not the nakedness ofmybody that is causing heart palpitations. It’s my husband’s.
“Is the water temperature okay?” Nakita asks as she collects my robe.
“Yup,” is all I can manage.
The water could be melting off my skin and I wouldn’t even notice. All of my focus is on watching my husband disrobe. I take in every inch of his golden skin as he sinks into the water. There’s the familiar view of his muscular chest and arms, the six-pack muscles that pull taut as he angles his body over the bathtub. Then, there are the solid muscles of his thighs that I became well acquainted with last night. And the skin-tone briefs that are doing nothing to disguise the outline of Griffin’s dick. I do my best to not look shocked by the bulge there. To pretend like this isn’t the first time I’m seeing it.
With Griffin’s lower half now hidden under the bubbles, I snap my focus to Shonda who is doing a few test shots.
Shonda looks through her camera. “The lighting is perfect. Let’s get started.”
My goal for this photoshoot is to listen to Shonda’s voice, take her directions and ignore the warm, muscular body sliding against mine in this bathtub. Professionals do this all the time; touch and rub themselves up against people they are not physically intimate with and make it look natural.
I’ve been instructed to position myself on top of Griffin, with my back to his chest. I’m trying to not put all my weight on him, to keep some distance, and it’s one hell of an abdominal workout.
“Emma, you look stiff. Relax into him,” Shonda calls from behind her camera.
Under Shonda’s instruction, I let my full weight settle on Griffin. Between our bodies the warm, soapy water sluices out, leaving nothing but the friction of our skin. My abs are grateful.
“Now, Emma, raise your left arm up and place your hand behind Griffin’s neck.”
I reach my warm, wet fingers up to grip his neck.
The action makes my left breast break the surface of the water. My nipple is still encased in the surrounding bubbles, but the exposure to the cool air has it tightening.
“Emma, chin up.” Click. “Beautiful.”
