Vain - Part One (Vain, #1)(9)


"For show?" I peel my jeans off before slipping out of my black panties. This is only the second time he's seen me naked but I've already learned the valuable lesson that wasting Noah Foster's precious time only makes him cranky. If I cooperate fully, I'll be out of the bindings and this room early enough that I can meet my friend Kayla at a bar downtown.
He nods without turning his attention to me. I should take offense at the fact that he doesn't flinch at the sight of my naked body, but I've gotten over that. It's all about getting down to business now and getting this gig over and done with so I can move on with my life, money in hand.
"Get on the bed." He sounds more callous than last time, if that's even possible.
"In the middle?" I push myself to the center of the bed before resting my back against the very uncomfortable mattress.
He shakes his head impatiently. "How can the bindings reach if you're way down there?" He grabs my upper arm and yanks hard on it.
I wince as I pull it free. "Fuck, Noah. That hurt."
"I'm sorry." The words are barely audible and instantly leave me wondering if they are foreign to him. He doesn't strike me as the type of man that offers amends often. "You need to move up." He pats the mattress next to me. "Move your ass up here."
I scoot my naked body up towards the heavy, wooden headboard, painfully aware that his eyes are fixed on my bouncing tits. "Here?" I tilt my head down as I ask the question, wanting to catch his gaze.
He doesn't take the hint and for the first time, I feel vulnerable under his watchful eyes.
"Noah?" I whisper his name not wanting to call too much attention to the fact that he's frozen in place. "Is this good?"
His eyes travel slowly up my body before they land squarely on my face. "You're beautiful, Alexa."
I try not to smile too broadly at the compliment even though it means more coming from him than I'd ever admit. Regardless of the fact that we have a written agreement that clearly states that we aren't going to engage in anything beyond picture taking, knowing that he finds me beautiful, stirs up something deep within me.
"You're not bad yourself," I offer back. I should tell him that he's the hottest man I've ever been naked with but that would be pushing my luck and pushing buttons that aren't going to get me what I want. He's never going to f*ck me into tomorrow. It's just not going to happen.
"It really doesn't bother you, does it?" He settles onto the bed next to me, his strong, tattooed chest just inches from my touch.
"What?" I can't form a coherent response. Even though he's wearing jeans, he's still exuding more raw lust than any man I've ever met. I know that if he f*cked me, Nathan would become a distant memory of my second best lay and my time in Paris would cease to exist in my mind.
"The scar." His voice cracks as the word leaves his lips. "My scar."

Chapter 9

"You can't tie me to the bed and then ask me something like that." I protest too weakly. He hears it within my voice just as much as I do. The only grace that he's offered me tonight is the fact that he hasn't yet tied my ankles to the bed. I'm not sure if it was intentional or if he did it to watch me squirm after asking me a question like that.
"It's a simple question, Alexa. Do you like sucking cock?"
"I'm pretty sure you can get a woman to open up to you…" my voice trails as he slips out of his jeans. "Or whatever your process is without asking her whether she likes blowing guys. Besides, I asked about your scar and you completely ignored that."
His full lips turn into a sly grin as he picks up his camera and sits next to me. "Do you?"
"Riddles," I pull the word slowly across my tongue before I lick my bottom lip. "You speak in riddles, Noah."
His finger jumps to my chin and I groan without thinking as it traces a path across my jaw. "Tilt your head this way, Alexa," he says softly. "I want to capture your bottom lip. It's perfect."
I try and push my face into the opposite side of the bed, but he holds steadily to my chin. "You said you wouldn't take pictures of my face," I whimper. "My lips. People might know."
"The only people who would know, Alexa." His warm, heavy breath grazes over my chest before he continues, "Are the men you've sucked off. No one could forget these lips."
I close my eyes trying to ward off the thought of his cock sliding between my lips. I've wanted that since he flung open the door to his apartment the first night we met. I can't exactly tell him that I've replayed that moment in my mind over and over again and almost each time I imagine dropping to my knees and sucking his cock until he shoots his load all over me.
"Alexa, your head." His finger brushes against my cheek. "Turn towards me."
I pull my eyes open slowly as I tilt my head in his direction. He's kneeling next to me now, his almost erect cock just inches from my lips. If this is a test, I'm about to fail miserably. I lick my bottom lip slowly aching to taste the large head of his dick. If I just shifted my body ever so slightly, I know I could reach. Would he stop me? Would he let me?
"That's perfect," he growls as I hear the distinctive sound of the camera capturing dozens of images in a row. "Your lips are so perfect."
That's the photographer in him talking and I can't forget that as much as I want to. This has turned into a battle of me against my own will as much as a job. He's toying with me. It's what he's done from the beginning but calling him on it will only feed his already colossal ego. I read enough stories on the Internet about how he discarded countless women after being involved with them for a short time. That had to have been pre scar though. From what I've seen and witnessed, this version of Noah Foster doesn't go out much at all.

Deborah Bladon's Books