The Birthday Gift

My heart rate kicked up a notch as she sat up, as if waking from a delicious nap, all rumpled and soft. She lifted her hair off her shoulders, and the nape of her neck was the perfect angle for a ripe, juicy bite. Her hand glided across her shoulder and I imagined those fingers on me, drifting over my chest, tickling and scratching.

Get a fuckin’ grip on yourself, Marcus. You’ve turned into a horny schoolboy. I clicked off several shots. She’s a client. You never mess with clients.

I blamed it on her eyes. Those eyes; large, inquisitive and innocent, were the exact same shade of the forest floor I trekked on each week. There, I could breathe crisp fresh air, and feel the crunch of dried leaves underfoot instead of the heat of urban concrete. Here, with her eyes on me, with flecks of green and gold, I could take a deep breath.
Mellow shades of orange and pink cast a perfect glow onto the set of my studio warehouse, and I knew I couldn’t waste any more time fantasising. Rain was coming later, and I had a job to do.

Tonight was our last session.

She moved again, this time turning her back and showing me the dip of her waist. Just the right tilt of her head, just the right slant of shoulder. She was a natural, and my camera loved every inch of her. I clicked again. She turned her gaze towards me and her eyes seemed hotter this evening, the green flecks sparkling like she knew something I did not.

“How’s this pose, Marcus, is it ok?” Her voice was husky, shy and vulnerable, as if she didn’t know the camera wanted to eat her up. That I wanted to...

I cleared my throat. “It’s great, A, hold it there a moment. Now lower your shoulder a little more.”

She did so, and her shoulder strap slid down, revealing more bronzed skin. I captured it quickly, so she could slide it back as she usually did. But this time, she left it alone.

“Marcus...”

I moved to adjust the lighting to accommodate the dimming sky. “Yes?”

“Have you ever...ah...do you...” She drew a deep breath. “I just wondered... have you taken boudoir portraits before?” The question poured out quickly.

“Boudoir?”

“You know, when the models pose —”

“I know what it is.” A light sweat broke out on my lip. “Why do you ask?”

Her cheeks flushed a gorgeous pink. I kept my hands steady as I reached for the camera.
“Well...” she glided her hand over her hair. “I wondered if you take nude shots of your models. Have them pose... provocatively for you.”

My stomach tightened. She’s got your number, you pervert. “Uh...no. I’m not that kind of photographer.”

“But my poses —”

“These are different, you’re dressed.” Liar. “I would never —“

“You don’t want to?”

Shit. “Want to?”

“Would you want to take boudoir shots?”

“I’ve never thought about it.” Liar, liar.

“Think about it now.” She kept those damn eyes steady on my face. “Of me.”

“Of you?” My throat dried. “That’s not what our contract says —”

“Is that what I am to you, after these three weeks? Just another contract?”

This is a fuckin’ trap, Marcus, that’s what this is.

“I...”

“Of course.” She nodded as if she understood. “You photograph hundreds of women. Of course I’m just another contract.”

“No, A, you’re a client, yes, but you’ve been great.” Don’t lose one of your best, man. “You’ve been the best.”

“The best? Really?” Her eyes lit up, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Absolutely. Of course.” I made a move to turn off the lights and finish up the session. She stayed right where she was on the silk sheets and watched me.

“But here’s the thing, Marcus. You haven’t answered my question.”

I wasn’t keeping up. “Which question is that?”

“Taking boudoir shots. Of me.”

“Right.” God help me. “So, uh, why the sudden interest?”

“I’ve been thinking about it. A lot.” Her voice went deep, and a sizzle of heat zinged through my veins.

“A lot?”

“I’ve been wondering if it would be awkward... for a photographer to do that.”

“Right. Well, I think a pro would make sure the model was comfortable.”

“And you?”

“What about me?”

She bent her knee, smiled slowly as she showed me her bare calf and foot, anklets jingling.
“You’re not usually this dense, Marcus. And I didn’t think you were a coward. Would you...make sure your model was comfortable, taken care of?”

I met her eyes, and tried to control any tremor in my voice. “Have I ever made you uncomfortable, A?”

She shook her head. “I’m not saying that.”

“So I’m not taking good care of you?”

“You do. I think.”

“You think?”

“I have nothing to compare to.” She shrugged. “This is my first time modelling for you.”

“So I can do better.” Oh, I can do a lot better.

“I suppose you could, yes.”

The rain was finally falling, and the pitter-patter hitting the roof echoed the thrumming in my chest. Are you a coward, Marcus?

She continued. “Photographers tell models how to pose, what expressions to give. You’ve never done that with me.”

“I’ve never needed —“

“And I’ve yet to see a single photo so I have no idea if they’re any good.”

I chuckled. “You’ve been perfect, A. You’re a true natural.”

She jutted out her chin. “You said I’m the best. Prove it. Show me some shots.”

“Not until they’re ready.” My turn to shake my head. “I made that clear from the beginning.”

“Not even one shot?”

“No.” There was no negotiating this. Not even for her.

She smiled. Triumphantly. “Fine. Since you deprive me of my shots, and you refuse to give direction, then I want our next shots to be what I want.”

I placed the camera down on the stool I was leaning against and folded my arms. “You forget this is our last session tonight.”

“I’m turning 33 this week,” her voice turned gentle. “Did you know that?”

“No, I didn’t —“

She stood slowly. “And I really want to celebrate it.” She strode towards me, her eyes glinting gold in the light.

The room seemed to shrink as she got closer, and the air grew warmer. Are you a coward, Marcus? I gripped the stool to avoid reaching for her.

“If tonight is our last session, then I’m no longer a client, am I?”

It struck me like fireworks in the night. “After tonight. That’s right.”

She closed the gap between us, and lifted her arms to rest on my chest. I could feel the heat of her hands sear through my shirt.

“You’ve never taken any nude shots of anyone.” She tipped her head up to me, her full lips parted as if hungry for sustenance only I could give her. “Let me be your first. Tonight.”

I grabbed each of her wrists and held her tightly against me.

“You have no idea what you’re asking for, A.”

“Not “A”. Not tonight. Tonight I’m Alessandra.”

“A, I don’t think I should —”

“Then don’t think. Just feel. I want us to feel.” She stepped even closer, and the silk dress she wore was flimsy defence for the softness of her thighs rubbing against mine. “I know you see me, Marcus. But when you look at me, every session, do you know how much you make me feel?” She looked down at my hands, tightly clenching hers.

“Pick up your camera, and give me this birthday gift. Please.” She whispered the plea, and I searched her eyes for the answer I knew would be there. The session wasn’t over yet. But maybe it was already midnight, technically the next day. Liar. I relaxed my grip.

You’re a fool, you. But you certainly are no coward.

Picking up my camera, I took her hand and led her to the tall window. Sunset over, the wooden floors and white walls were now speckled with soft light from the street lamps and mingling rain.

“No second thoughts?” There was no turning back after this.

She looked at me from the half shadow, and her smile was confident as she bent down. She reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her head in one smooth motion, then shimmied it off her arms and dropped it to the floor.

I swept my eyes up her ankles, her smooth thighs, the flesh coloured panties she wore, to the lush breasts encased in a simple white silk bra, to the tops of her shoulders. Her neck, that spot I’d imagined ripe for me, was curvy and sexy and it was all I could do to tighten my grip on my camera and not lunge for her like a predator frantic for its prey. She was exquisite silhouetted against the moonlight, and my breath came hard and fast, my skin felt tight and weak.

She turned and faced the wall, tilted her head back, lifted her arms above her head like a dancer and placed her hands on the wall. She spread her legs, up on tiptoes. Her back was elongated, and the curve of her ass was perfectly full, perfectly alluring. She was a sexy siren, waiting for me to play cop and pat her down.

“No one has ever looked at me the way you do. I want to see everything. Show me, through your eyes.”

I lifted the camera and started shooting. She’d given me 360 degrees to work with, her face and body illuminated by the window. I caressed every curve and line with my lens, wishing it was my skin against hers. I climbed high on a stool to capture her cleavage against the silkiness of her bra, and the tone of her ass raised high over long legs. I zoomed in on the sweep of her eyelashes against her cheek, the tilt of her jaw and the sass of her lips. Then I lay down on my back and shot upwards from between her legs. Her thighs quivered intimately, but she didn’t move a muscle. Every click was a frenzy of need, each shot closer to the centre of her being.

She dropped her chin to look down into my lens, and the heat in her stunning eyes pierced through, burning into me. Bending closer, she trailed a finger down my cheek, rubbed her thumb back and forth across my bottom lip, then pushed it into my mouth to moisten it. I bit into it, feeling the give of her flesh between my teeth. She gasped and pushed her thumb deeper into my mouth, silently asking for more. I was on my knees on the wooden floor, a slave to her every desire.

I reached behind her, dragged my hand firmly from her ass down to the back of her knee, tickling her thigh. She rewarded me with a husky moan, and the rawness of it hit me straight in the gut. I bent the knee and propped her foot up on my shoulder.

Giving her what I hoped was a seductive smile, I aimed the lens right at the apex of her thighs, and as I clicked one shot after another, of the small sexy mole on her inner thigh, the swell below her belly button and subtle curve of her waist, she steadied her foot on me and reached back to remove her bra.

Dropping it in my lap, she tucked her thumbs into the top of her panties.

“Shall I continue?” There was a laugh in her voice.

“Don’t.” I clamped my hand down on her foot.

She bit her lip. “No?”

I’d told her before she didn’t know what she was asking for.
“You said I don’t take good care of you.“ I put the camera down. It was time to show her. “And that I don’t give you direction.” I grasped her other leg tight. “Tonight I’ll do both, Alessandra.”

Her eyes widened upon hearing her name, and I wasn’t surprised it felt good on my tongue. As I knew she would be.

“Hang onto the window ledge and don’t let go. Understand?”

Her eyes flashed, but she did as I asked.

This was the birthday gift she’d asked for.