AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Still, for two weeks, she felt like she was on high alert, and the feeling that another part of her life was ‘owned’ by Carter weighed heavily on her, and she didn’t like it. She wanted that part of her life back, and even though Lauren wasn’t overly supportive of the idea, Paige decided to make an appointment to have some boudoir photographs taken.
David was a little hesitant, because he wasn’t sure her wanting to do the shoot was coming from an honest place. It felt like it was being fueled by Claire’s visit, and he cursed the woman again.
Paige had been a little withdrawn since the visit with Claire, more subdued and quieter than normal—and not surprisingly, less sexual. He knew Paige was working through the unsettling information she’d literally been ambushed with, and while they talked about it together, he knew she was doing the majority of the processing with Lauren.
It was hard to watch and not be able to really help, and he wondered how much harder it would’ve been to watch her deal with the molestation fallout.
“Are you sure you want to have the pictures taken?” he asked for the third time.
“Yes, I’m sure. This is how I take that part of my life back,” Paige said, slightly impatient, before adding, “You know, you weren’t like this when it came to sex. You were all in for that.”
“That was different.”
“Why? Because it was sex?”
“No. Because … I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but this just feels different. In a bad way.”
“Okay, well, if you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. I won’t force you,” she told him gently, squeezing his hand.
“All right,” he said, relieved.
“I’ll just go somewhere else and have the pictures taken.”
“No,” he immediately negated. “You’re not going somewhere else.”
On the day of the ‘shoot’, Paige only had to work a half day, but it had been a hectic six hours, and as she drove to David’s studio, the anxiety of the morning seemed to grow. By the time she was parking her car, she felt almost jittery, her heart beating fast.
Per her request to be treated like a random client, David was the ultimate in professional detachment as he made introductions. “Kim, this is Paige Clemons. Paige, this is my assistant, Kim.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Paige held out her hand to the petite, twenty-something young woman with dyed blonde hair styled in a perfect pixie cut, which made Paige want to get hers cut the same way.
Kim shook Paige’s hand with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you, too.”
Paige was then taken to a dressing room so she could touch up her make-up and get changed into the outfit she’d brought. After debating between several options for the past week, she’d finally chosen a cherry-red satin bra and panty set, simplistic in design, yet elegantly pretty, and a matching thigh-length robe.
“That’s a great color on you,” Kim said, when Paige emerged from the dressing room.
“Thanks,” Paige replied back, smoothing down the front of the robe, then messing with the belt tied at her waist. “I took a long time picking this out.”
As Kim began leading the way to the boudoir ‘room’, she turned and glanced at Paige. “You seem a little nervous. Are you okay?”
Taking a deep breath, Paige nodded. “I am a little nervous, but I’m okay.” Then, with a quick smile, added, “Just don’t make me look bad.”
“We’ll do our best,” Kim countered with good-natured sarcasm as they entered the room Paige remembered from several weeks ago. “And if we can’t, there’s always photo-shop. Right, boss?”
“Right,” David said dryly, in the process of attaching a camera to a tripod and giving an amused shake of his head before looking over at the two women. When he saw Paige, he stopped what he was doing, his expression instantly making it clear he wholeheartedly approved of the picture she presented. Fortunately, Kim missed it, as her attention was on the gray chaise lounge in the corner.
Pointing, she said, “I can picture you lying there, maybe leaning against the arm, the curve of your body following the top curve of the chair, to start with. Gazing off to the side, perhaps …” Looking between David and Paige, she asked, “What do you think?”
He cleared his throat. “I think that’s a good start, but it depends on what Paige is comfortable with.”
“I’m comfortable with that,” Paige said. “I think I’ll be comfortable with anything that’s more classy, than um …”
“A centerfold in Hustler?” Kim supplied.
“Kim,” David muttered.
Ignoring him, she turned to Paige and lowered her voice. “We do get women who want those kinds of pictures, and they’re not my favorite. Or the boss’s … especially if they start flirting with him.”
