Page 51 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Allow me,” I said, my voice dropping lower as I gently massaged the lotion along her arm. Her skin was already satin-soft, and the lotion only enhanced the effect.

“Okay,” Piper said in a soft voice as I rubbed. “Maybe this isn’t so bad.”

I pressed my thumb in slow circles along her arms, moving from her wrist and up toward her shoulder. The intimacy of the moment was hard to ignore. I wasn’t just touching her, I was savoring every second of it.

Piper’s eyes closed, and when I stopped to move to the other arm, she made an adorable, disappointed noise.

“Feels good?” I asked as I grabbed the other bottle.

She nodded. “I didn’t realize how much tension I have in my forearms.”

She wasn’t the only one enjoying it. I bit my tongue to keep from asking if there were any other parts of her body that felt tense, like her inner thighs, or…

I massaged the lotion onto her skin, trying to crush the growing tension between my legs by thinking of how my chemists still hadn’t quite perfected the heliotrope extraction. I was doing okay until Piper let out a little moan.

“Sorry,” she said, giving me a little grin.

I took a step back to examine my work. “Incredible. This line is going to sell out in a heartbeat.”

“I’ve never been much of a sparkle girl, but I sort of love it,” Piper said as she shifted her arms to catch the reflections. I loved it too, but for entirely different reasons.

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

Piper trudged out to the backdrop. “Now what?”

I walked closer and held the camera to my eye to frame the shot. “Move toward the light a bit.”

Piper calculated her distance from the box lights and moved to the perfect spot, so the shadows were behind her and the light illuminated her skin.

“Perfect!” I said as I started snapping photos. “I’m focused on your torso, so don’t feel self-conscious. The only person who’ll know it’s you in these photos is me. Our little secret.”

We both went quiet, and I noticed that the music had switched from some upbeat pop song to Sade.

Sultry, mood-making Sade.

We both sensed the shift at the same moment. The atmosphere in the room changed, as if the music had wrapped us in something more intimate. Piper’s movements slowed, becoming more deliberate. She trailed her hand down her arm, the shimmer catching the light, and all I could think about was how those fingertips would feel trailing down my skin.

My body reacted instinctively, a surge of heat pooling in my core.

And, just like that, I was hard.

I glanced at the images on the camera, trying to remind myself why we were here, but the shots of Piper looking so damn gorgeous just riled me even more. When I looked up, she was watching me with her lips parted, hungry.

“I have an idea,” I said in a quiet voice. “Would you be willing to let me photograph your back?”

“You mean…” she plucked at her tank.

I nodded. “Only if you feel comfortable. I just think it would be beautiful, to see that expanse of skin with some shimmer on it.”

It might be crossing a line, but the idea of her bare skin glowing under the soft light was more than I could resist. I held my breath, waiting for her response.

“Yes.”

And to my utter shock and delight, Piper turned her back to me, whipped off her shirt, then unhooked her bra. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked over her shoulder at me, an accidental coquette.

Or maybe it was intentional?

I felt a tightening in my chest, a surge of something primal.