The Model: A Workplace Romance Read online

  Had I hit my head? Was I dead? Because this had to be a dream.

  “Does this feel like a dream?” Ryder ground himself against the overly heated skin of my stomach.

  If it was, it was the best dream ever, and I never wanted to wake up.

  “I said that out loud?”

  He nodded while his hands skimmed up my sides. My hands had a mind of their own, or maybe I still thought I was dreaming. Either way, I would touch as much of Ryder as I could before I either woke up or he came to his senses. My fingers traced along the ridges of his eight pack and up to his spectacular pecs. My thumbs caressed over his nipples, and Ryder took in a shaky breath.

  “I need to touch you,” he groaned as my fingernails scraped down his torso. Each muscle contracted with my touch, giving me a heady feeling. I was doing this to him, not Lana.

  Towering over me, Ryder pulled my t-shirt over my head and threw it across the room. Unclasping my bra, he pulled the straps over my shoulders and let it fall to our feet. His hands cupped my aching breasts in a rush. “Gorgeous.” His eyes zeroed in on my nipple rings, and a slow smile crept across his face.

  Manhandling me, Ryder positioned me with my back to his front. He ground his erection into my ass in a steady rhythm as his hands went back to my breasts massaging and plucking my nipple rings until my body sang. His lips trailed up and down my neck, kissing and sucking.

  He didn’t even know me, and yet he was worshiping my body.

  Wrapping my arm around his neck, I held him to me as I moaned. It felt so good, but I needed more. Letting go, I pulled away. My gaze locked onto the wet spot on the front of his briefs, and I salivated.

  “When you look at me like that, I want to throw you down on that bed and fuck you hard. Would you like that, Lexie?” Ryder’s voice was pure gravel, and I loved it. I loved everything about him, and for once, I wasn’t going to think. I was going to have my wicked way with the Adonis standing in front of me.

  “Yes,” I was breathless with want. My hands went to his shoulders as I pushed the robe off.

  He stopped me before I could hook my fingers in the waistband of those pesky underwear. “Perfect, I’m going to strip you down and devour you.”

  Kneeling, he slowly unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down my legs. Holding onto his shoulders, I stepped out of them. I liked the look of him on his knees before me. It didn’t last long, though. Ryder pushed me down on the bed and grabbed my hips, pulling me to the edge. Slowly, he licked up the inside of my leg with his hot tongue. One of his big hands trailed up my other leg spreading them wide.

  Pushing my thong to the side, Ryder growled. “If I’d have known you were bare with all these piercings all day, we never would have finished.” Trailing his nose through my folds, his thumbs spread me wide as he ground his cock against the edge of the bed. “You’re gorgeous everywhere.”

  His tongue dipped into my core before flattening and licking up to my clit, giving it a slow, delicious swirl. It didn’t take much; I was already primed, and with one pull of my ring with his teeth, my head flew back, and my toes curled as he switched to sucking on my swollen bundle of nerves. Lacing my fingers through his thick hair, I ground my pussy on his face, moaning and crying out his name as he took me higher and higher. One thick finger pumped inside me and was soon met with a second , driving me wild.

  His fingers and mouth were magic. I couldn’t wait to see what he could do with his cock.

  One finger slipped out and circled a place no man had ever gone before. He must have felt me tense because I could feel him smile against my slick folds. Squeezing my ass cheek, he pulled back and bit it. “Not today, but one day I’m going to own your ass.”

  I agreed because I knew there wouldn’t be another day after today. But hell, even if there was, I was sure with one look, he could convince me to do anything.

  Dipping back down, he pulled my clit between his lips and sucked hard, bringing me over the edge. My legs clamped down around his head as I shuttered underneath him with my head thrown back in orgasmic bliss. Ryder continued to kiss and lick me until every last ounce of pleasure had been wrung out of me.

  Ryder kissed up my body, and by the time he reached my mouth, I was primed and ready to go. His talented tongue swept inside my mouth, giving me the most sensual kiss of my life. I panted into his mouth as my hands made their way down his body. I loved how, with each touch, his muscles flexed, and his hands gripped me harder. I’d have bruises tomorrow, but I didn’t care. Tonight was worth it, and I wanted the reminder.

  Slipping my hands into his underwear, I cupped his firm ass and moved to pull the offending fabric off. Ryder beat me to the chase, stripping quickly before his mouth was back to kissing me like it was his last night alive.

  I was disappointed. I wanted to get up close and personal with that anaconda of his, but he never gave me a chance. One minute he was on top of me, and the next Ryder flipped me over, pushing me up on all fours with his body pressed against mine. His length nudged my ass and then slipped through my wet folds as he kissed up my spine, along my shoulder, and up my neck while his hands were back to massaging my breasts. “You have the most magnificent tits I’ve ever seen. I could play with them all night.”

  Pulling his face closer, I licked the seam of his lips. My tongue slipped through as his larger-than-life cock pushed against my entrance. Thrusting all the way in, I gasped at the intrusion. Ryder stilled for only a moment, letting me get accustomed to him. If I thought for one second he was stuffing those briefs, the thought was quickly replaced with awe as he filled and stretched me more than any man before him.

  Slowly he started to move. I could feel my pussy clench around him, not ready, but I was a needy bitch and wanting him to move all the same. “Ryder,” I moaned and clamped onto one of his arms as his pace quickened.

  He bit down on my earlobe and then swirled his tongue around it to soothe the sting. “Just breathe. It will get easier.”

  One hand slipped down my taut stomach to find my overly sensitive clit and rubbed languid circles around it. His hips slapped against my ass in a furious rhythm, and all I could do was hang on for dear life. I knew it was going to be the best sex of my life, and I wanted to remember every second of it.

  Ryder was all over me. It was a total sensory overload, and I loved every minute of it.

  “Yes, that’s it,” he groaned, his hot breath against the shell of my ear. “Squeeze my cock, my sexy girl.”

  Ryder pinched my clit with his fingers and slammed into me so hard all my breath left me. Black dots floated in my vision as ecstasy took over. My whole body clamped down in one long orgasmic pulse. Ryder continued to pump into me, but it was slower as if he was trying to break the world record for how long one orgasm could last. It was a record I’d be happy to help him try to break as many times as he wanted.

  I may have only met Ryder earlier that day, but one thing I knew about him, he definitely liked to please his women in bed. He was a giver, not a taker, and I was there to receive it all.

  Pulling me with him down on the bed, Ryder wrapped me in his arms. “Fuck, we’ve got to do that again and repeatedly.” He sighed and kissed my forehead.

  I had to agree. After a minute or thirty, I’d be up for another round. One more orgasm like that, and I’d be a puddle of goo and spending the night at my studio. I took a deep breath and caught the strong smell of pine. Did he sweat pine? He was better than any candle or plug-in.

  “Lexie, I know you told me to leave, but I hated the idea of you having to move everything on your own.”

  Ryder looked down at me at the same moment I looked up at him. This was not good. Grabbing the sheet, he pulled it up over us the second before Raine came into view.

  “Oh my God!” she shrieked. “I’m so...”

  Ryder sat up, blocking me from her view, making the sheet fall, giving Raine the perfect view of his anaconda.

  Raine closed her eyes and ran out of the room.

  3


  Lexie

  Slipping on the robe Ryder had worn, I chased after a rather quick Raine. It seemed she could really move if she wanted to get away. I wasn’t sure why she was running. Was she embarrassed? Surely, she’d seen a penis before. Raine was twenty-four. While we’d never discussed her sex life, I assumed she had one. Or was she running because she thought I was highly unprofessional for sleeping with an employee?

  Ryder wasn’t technically an employee, though. California Tomorrow was, and they were paying both Ryder and Lana. Not me.

  “Raine, stop,” I gasped out as I flew out the door and out onto the sidewalk. She was already at her Toyota Prius, fumbling with her keys. She looked over her shoulder at me and swiped along her cheek. Shit, she was crying.

  But why?

  “Raine, don’t go. I know you’re upset, but we need to talk.” I stood only a few feet from her, but I didn’t want to get too close. She was acting like a scared animal. If I’d walked in on what Raine had, I might have asked if they were up for a threesome. But we weren’t even doing anything, so it didn’t make sense.

  “I just want to go home.” Her chin trembled, and I hated myself for whatever had made her upset. And even though she still had a lot to learn about being my assistant, I didn’t want to look for a new one. I liked Raine.

  “You can in a minute. Sit down with me.” I pointed to the curb in front of her car and then sat down, waiting for Raine to join me. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Raine seemed to hesitate, first looking from me to her car door and back again. Was she going to hop in her car and drive away? In the end, she sat down beside me and looked down at her red Converse.

  I wanted to hug her, but I knew she wouldn’t be receptive, so I kicked out my legs to realize I was barefoot and only in a robe. What a sight I must have been. I didn’t care, though, because I didn’t want Raine to quit, or worse, and get into an accident because she was upset.

  “Can you tell me what’s so upsetting about seeing Ryder and me in bed together?”

  “I…I’m so sorry. Please don’t fire me.” A tear slipped down her cheek.

  “I promise you I’m not going to fire you.” And here I thought she wanted to quit, thinking I slept with every model that came through my door.

  “I didn’t mean to walk in on you. I thought… I never expected that. I mean, I understand why…” She stopped herself and picked at her frayed jean shorts.

  My forehead scrunched up. “Why what?”

  “Ryder is drop-dead gorgeous and look at you.”

  My hackles rose, and my nostrils flared. Look at you. Yes, I knew Ryder was out of my league, but so was just about every other woman on the planet. Damn, didn’t she know it wasn’t smart to call your boss ugly? “What’s wrong with me? I’m cute, and Ryder obviously liked what he saw.”

  Lifting her head, Raine’s eyes were wide as they met mine. “Cute? Come on. You know you’re gorgeous, Lexie. You have a slamming body and boobs anyone would kill for, and then your hair, piercings, and tattoos give you an edge that drives men wild. It’s no wonder Ryder wanted you over Lana. You could very well be a model.” I snorted. Yeah, right. “You really could.”

  “You don’t need to kiss my ass, but maybe if I’m alone with a hot guy, you should make yourself known…or better yet, just go home.” Not that I thought I’d be hooking up with anyone anytime soon, but it was a good rule.

  “Again, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think you’d…” Her nose scrunched up as she looked me over. “Oh my god, Lexie, you’re only in a robe. Go back inside.” Raine looked over at my building. “Maybe you can still…” She flushed, and I had to take pity on her.

  “Are you a virgin? It’s okay if you are, but I thought you—”

  “I’m not.” She shook her head vehemently. “But it’s not something I’m comfortable talking about or seeing.”

  “That’s cool, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I thought we were alone.” Not that it would have mattered. I would have let Ryder fuck me in a room full of people. I loved how he took over and fucked me hard.

  She nodded and looked back at the building. “I’ll let you get back to it.” She stood, jingling her keys in her hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Holding onto the robe to make sure it didn’t open as I stood up, I gave Raine a small hug before pulling back. She really was a good kid and worker. “Have a good night.”

  “You too.” Her cheeks turned beet red before she quickly unlocked her car door and got inside.

  Not wasting any time, I walked back to my building. It wasn’t much from the outside. In fact, it looked like a place for the homeless to squat, but on the inside, it shined. It was so clean you could eat off the floors, thanks to Raine, and it had multiple rooms laid out for different photo shoots.

  I made my way back to where I’d left Ryder only to find the space empty, so I continued looking for him. I wouldn’t mind testing the bed out again or any surface for that matter. I’d checked almost the entire first floor with no sign of him. I had the dressing room left, but I was starting to think I wasn’t going to find my Adonis anywhere on the premises. I knew he couldn’t get upstairs; it was locked, which was a good thing since it was a disaster as I renovated it into an apartment for me. I was giving myself until summer to get it finished because then I’d need to use the roof and pool for shoots. While I didn’t have any land, which would have been amazing for pictures, I had lucked out with a pool that hadn’t been used in forever. The building was taking all my savings, but it was going to be worth it once it was finished.

  I was happy to see the hair and makeup people had cleaned up. Sometimes they left their stations a mess, and it drove me insane. “Ryder,” I called out as I walked into the dressing room. Yes, I’d seen him naked, but if he was in here, I wanted to give him privacy if he wanted it. That was something this line of work lacked when you were on set, and I tried my best to give it to my models. He didn’t call back, and as I scanned the area, there was no sign of anyone’s belongings.

  Fuck, I’d missed him. Why had he left without even a word? To say I was disappointed would have been an understatement. Trudging back to the main area, I pulled my clothes back on—since there was no need to be naked any longer—and straightened everything up. I pulled the sheets off the bed and threw them into the laundry before I went into area two to make sure all the lights I needed were in there before I decided to leave.

  I grabbed my camera, phone, and purse. I could work on the photos here, of course, but I wanted to get away from the studio. If I didn’t, I’d probably put Ryder’s robe back on and sit around sniffing his unique pine scent all night or crawl back into the bed and roll around in his scent while I finger-fucked myself. I needed to get away from there and forget about Ryder Williams.

  Powering up my phone, a dozen messages from Ben dinged as they came through. One thing was noticeably absent; I had no texts from Ryder. I don’t know how I expected him to contact me when he didn’t have my number, but I did. Ignoring Ben’s messages stating we needed to meet, and he needed in the apartment, I shut down the studio and turned on the alarm before I left.

  There was no way I was going to meet up with him. If I did, I’d probably punch him in the junk for bothering me so incessantly. Why did he need to get into an apartment he hadn’t been in for six months?

  4

  Ryder

  4 Months Later

  My legs shook as I stood from my squat. French music blared from the speakers of the gym as I worked out. The agency had hooked me up with gym passes in each country I hit, and I was thankful. Today was my day off, and I was grateful for it. I’d been flying for two days straight, and I needed to eat, sleep, and get my workout on. I hated hitting the gym super early in the morning or late at night, but I knew I had to keep my body in shape. If I slipped, so would all the offers coming at me. It was unreal that when I arrived in LA a year ago, I had a hundred dollars to my name, and now my bank account was…okay, I hadn’t turne
d into a millionaire or anything like that, but now I could stop sleeping on my friends’ couches and get my own apartment when I had time to settle down enough to look for one.

  It was unbelievable that for the last four months, I’d been traveling almost non-stop. Everyone wanted me as the face of their products. It was unreal to see my face in magazines and all over the internet, and it all happened because one company took a chance on me. Once California Tomorrow’s magazine hit the stands, my phone never stopped ringing. I had an agent with a prominent modeling agency who was booking me non-stop. I barely had a moment to myself to appreciate how my career had blown up. Now I was in Paris for Men’s Fashion Week and going to walk for Giorgio Armani. I didn’t care about fashion, but I knew Armani and was astounded at the huge opportunity they were giving me.

  Every time I thought about what started my career, I thought about Lexie. How could I not? She was so fucking sexy with the way she held the camera, her breathy voice as she called out positions, and I’d never forget her body with tattoos decorating her skin. The thought of her secret piercings made my dick hard every time I pictured them. Fucking her on the studio bed had been on a constant loop these last few months as I brought myself to release. I knew I’d likely never see her again except in my fantasies, and I was okay with that. I was too busy to even think about having a girlfriend or a steady fuck buddy. I hadn’t even been in the same time zone as her since that day.

  After showering at the gym, I hit the streets of Paris to be a tourist. I was going to take advantage of my downtime to see the sights, knowing all of this could be taken away in the blink of an eye. When I first started getting jobs, I was intimidated by not being able to speak the languages of the countries I visited but quickly learned it wasn’t necessary. All the people I worked with spoke English except one, and they had a translator. Every meal was delivered to my room, making it easy to stay on track with what I needed to eat. I was lucky I found an agency that believed in me as much as they did and made my life easier, for the most part. It was daunting going to jobs when you didn’t know where you were going. Luckily, everyone who was in the Armani show was staying at the same hotel. Not that I talked to any of them. It was a competition, and they would happily take me out if they could. It was crazy, but I wasn’t going to let it change me.