Jill Shalvis - Bared

On her arms, his fingers went still. Beneath her cheek she felt his body tense.

“Good,” he said, his voice just a little cool, and a little…sarcastic? “Glad to be of service, wouldn’t want any of the time we spent to go to waste.”

She lifted her head and looked at him. But the only light in the plane was from the cockpit, so his face was in the shadows.

“Go to sleep, Emma. It’s been a long day.”

She didn’t have to see him to sense his distance, or the obvious fact that he didn’t intend to talk. Fine. No talking worked for her just fine. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were a couple. They’d made that perfectly clear.

He wanted her physically.

She wanted the same thing.

End of story.

So why sleep never came, why she lay there still and confused and a little sad, she had no idea.

TWO DAYS LATER Rafe’s house was invaded by his family, who’d shown up with the makings of a barbecue and housewarming presents.

Rafe stood in his kitchen, leaning against the island and nursing a beer, watching as Carolyn tried to boss Tessa into chopping the vegetables.

But Tessa didn’t want to do anything other than smile at her husband, Reilly, who was looking pretty smitten himself.

In the past, his sisters had always turned to Rafe for…well, everything, so it felt odd to not be needed anymore. Odd, but good. Now Reilly had to fix Tessa’s car when it needed fixing. Reilly had to get the big, black hairy spiders when she found them. And Rafe knew it had been Reilly who’d put that extremely satisfied smile on her face.

Tessa found an excuse to brush by her husband, and tipped her face up in a silent demand for a kiss. When her husband instantly responded, Carolyn turned to Rafe with a roll of her eyes.

“They’ve been married for months and they still can’t keep their hands off each other.”

Rafe happened to know firsthand that you didn’t have to be married to someone to be unable to keep your hands to yourself. And though he’d tried not to, he thought of Emma.

He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her.

She’d hurt him a few nights ago, though he was quite certain she didn’t understand why. Hell, he hardly understood. But one thing he did know-the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted.

Emotional attachments scared her, and what they had together definitely fit the definition of emotional attachment .

Or it could.

If she’d let it.

A fact that should have scared him but didn’t.

“So when are you going to tell me what’s the matter?” Carolyn joined him against the island with her own drink and eyed the two oblivious lovebirds. “They driving you crazy?”

“Nah. She deserves the happiness. And Reilly’s a good guy.”

“True.” Carolyn sighed. “But it’d be nice to find that for myself.” She faced him. “And for you. Is that it? Is that what’s bugging you?”

What was bothering him was a bad case of DSB-deadly sperm build-up. He took a long pull of his beer. “Maybe.”

“So, get a woman. It can’t be difficult, they fall all over you regularly.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want a woman who wants me . Not for how I make her look on film, or how I make her feel in the bedroom, but for me. I want a woman who puts our relationship before anything else.”

“Don’t tell me you want her barefoot and pregnant, or I’ll have to smack you.”

“No,” he said, but laughed. “I want her to have her own hopes and dreams and life, of course. I just want to be a big part of it. I want to be important to her.”

“Oh, Rafe.” Her smile was sad as she cupped his cheek. “I never really pictured being surrounded by supermodels as tough-but you’re lonely, aren’t you?”

He laughed again. “I’m not that bad off.”

She hugged him hard, anyway. “I can see why you’d want a woman not quite so…ambitious as all the women you deal with.”

“And I want her to want me whether I’m still taking pictures or working bagging groceries. You know, for better or worse.”

Carolyn lay her head on his shoulder. “Have you met her yet?”

Rafe thought of Emma. He knew she didn’t want him for how he made her look on film, but she did want him for how he made her feel physically.

Could there be more?

He thought of her workaholic lifestyle, how she seemed to want to be with him only when he was bringing her pleasure, and his stomach twisted a little.

“No,” he said a little unevenly. “I haven’t met her yet.”

RAFE WENT INTO THE STUDIO they’d rented for the next two shoots, both of which were indoors. First up, a schoolgirl shot, followed by a nurse shot-two of the most popular men’s fantasies, according to recent polls. And for the first time since Rafe had started this calendar, he hoped it was Amber who showed up.

Amber, he could ignore.

With Amber, he could avoid being sidetracked by any unwanted attraction.

Amber, whom he could send home afterward and forget about.

“We’re ready.” Stone had set up the lighting and cameras. “I figure if we do it right, we can get both these shoots today. What do you think?”

What did he think? That he wished he was at home being bitched at by Puddles for more food, that he was working in his darkroom…anything. Hell, even pulling the weeds in the front yard would be better than this.

Stone took one last look at their set, a mock-up of a school hallway, complete with lockers, and nodded. “I’ll go get her.”

“You’ve seen her already, then?”

Stone stopped and eyed his longtime friend. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. She’s in makeup with Jen.”

“And…”

Stone looked amused. “And what?”

“Damn it, which one is she?”

Stone looked him over for another moment. “Which one were you hoping for?”

Rafe stared at him, then let out a breath. “I haven’t a frigging clue.”

Now Stone grinned. “Sure you do. Amber is gorgeous, feisty, hot and a pain in the ass. She’s also possibly certifiable. But Emma…” He arched his brows. “Brains and looks. And while not a pain in the ass or certifiable, she scares you to death. So my guess would be, given the look in your eyes, you’re hoping for Amber.” He crossed his arms and cocked his head. “How am I doing?”

Rafe turned away. “Just go get her.”

Stone laughed. “Pretty good, I’m guessing.”

Two minutes later he was back, with their model for the day. Rafe was turned away from them, messing with the camera that was already perfectly set up, and not until Stone called out “Ready” did he turn and look.

Her long hair had been divided into two braids. She wore a white button-down shirt, crisply ironed and completely unbuttoned, revealing a white crop top beneath. Her black-and-white plaid skirt was wraparound and so short he couldn’t imagine it fully covered her butt in the back, but since he couldn’t see, he couldn’t be sure. She wore white knee socks, one pushed down, the other up to her knee, and black clunky boots. The epitome of the naughty schoolgirl.

He’d avoided looking into her face, but he looked now, and his heart took one quick heavy kick.

Emma.

Stone’s pager went off. He looked down at the pager, took in the message and swore.

Rafe jerked his head toward Stone, and at the look on his friend’s face, his stomach dropped. “No.”

“Sorry, buddy.” Stone grimaced. “Crystal’s in labor. Gotta run.”

Rafe knew Stone’s sister hadn’t planned the worst possible moment to go into labor on purpose, but the timing couldn’t have been more off. “But-”

“I’ll call you,” Stone said, and he left.