Leaning down, she grabbed the oil out of her bag. When she stood, her eyes felt like they were popping out of her head, like in the cartoons when the wolf sees the pretty lady. Jake was pulling off his white undershirt, revealing his rippling abs and the hard planes of his muscled chest.
She walked slowly towards him, her heartbeat pounding in her own ears. Tessa knew that it was impossible for him to hear it, but it was so loud she felt like it was equally as impossible for him not to hear it.
Every other model had been given the option of whether or not they wanted to apply the glistening oil to their own bodies. Jake was not going to get any such option. Professionalism was one thing, but passing up a chance to touch Jake was just stupid. Or maybe touching him would be the stupid thing to do. She couldn’t really decide, but she knew one thing for certain—it was going to happen.
Taking in a calming breath, Tessa squirted some the oily liquid in her palm and rubbed her hands together.
“I like where this is going,” Jake said lightheartedly. Her eyes glanced up to his. The look in his eye betrayed his teasing tone. It was deadly serious.
Tessa smiled and let out a little nervous laugh as she rubbed her hands together, the slippery liquid causing them to slide easily. Her hands reached out and touched his body. The skin-to-skin contact sent a bolt of zings all the way to the top of her head and down to the tips of her toes.
Moving across his defined chest, she felt as her hands begin to tremble. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all. “Okay, okay, okay, okay,” she whispered under her breath, trying to get some kind of a reign on her raging hormones. It wasn’t really helping.
*
Jake knew that Tessa was just as affected by what was going on as he was. Her hands were shaking and he’d just heard her whispering barely audible “okays.” More than anything, he wanted to cover her mouth with his and swallow her nervous rumblings in a kiss that was sure to cure all of her anxiety.
He was doing the best he possibly could to remain perfectly still while Tessa’s soft hands roamed his chest and torso. There was one part of his anatomy that was not cooperating. His shaft was growing harder by the second and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it.
The sensuous feeling of Tessa’s touch gliding across his skin was too much for Jake to handle. Add to that the visual of her face concentrating as she worked, her pale hands against his olive skin, and the hint of cleavage he could see from her V-neck sweater and he was toast. There was no way his body was going to listen to his mental “down boy” command.
Closing his eyes didn’t help matters. Just like before, all of his other senses became hyper aware. Her scent, her touch, even the nervous way she whispered “okay” were all sensual torment causing unrelenting desire to consume him.
“Done.” She stepped away quickly, and he saw her body tremble as a visible chill ran the length of her body. Turning, she quickly made her way to the small sink to rinse her hands. Jake’s attention was solely focused on her perfect heart-shaped ass as it swayed back and forth while she crossed the room.
A small smile tugged at his lips as he heard her whispering to herself while she wiped her wet hands on her jeans. He watched, mesmerized, as she moved behind the camera. Her slim fingers reached up, turning a few knobs, and then she pivoted and adjusted an umbrella-looking thing behind her.
Tessa was sexy no matter what she was doing. She could be doing absolutely nothing at all and easily be the sexiest woman Jake had ever laid eyes on. But watching her work, in her element, turned him on something fierce. The way her brows furrowed in concentration. The way her eyes narrowed until she found just the right angle to get the exact shot she wanted.
Jake remembered when he used to take her up to Mountain Ridge when she was just learning about photography. Jake could spend hours upon hours just watching her with a camera. He’d thought at the time that he would be doing that for the rest of his life. Things obviously didn’t turn out as planned.
Tessa cleared her throat bringing him back to the present. He looked up at her and she immediately began snapping pictures. Even though the camera was blocking Jake’s view of Tessa’s entire face, he could still see the smooth skin of her cheeks, her full pink lips, and the fine baby hairs that fell on her forehead. She wore her shoulder-length hair back in a ponytail, and wisps of fine tendrils framed her angelic face.
“Okay, chin down. Shoulders back,” she instructed as she continued snapping.
A need unlike any he had ever experienced before was raging through him like an inferno. He was burning up inside with heated desire. He knew that Tessa had a job to do, but if she came back to oil him up again, he couldn’t make any promises. He was holding on by a very thin thread.