EroticTakeover (8 page)

Although Mac had a solution to Jodi’s problem—something he’d
thought about even before they’d become intimate—he didn’t want to simply dump
it on her or have to sell the idea. The likelihood of him changing her mind
about anything was slim to none.

Of all the women he’d known, Jodi seemed practical to the
extreme even if she’d loosened up a bit this morning. Mac could only attribute
her behavior to a traditional upbringing. If she’d been raised in Europe or
with shockingly rich parents, little would have fazed her.

She certainly wouldn’t have bought into this country’s
schizophrenic attitude about sexuality. On one hand, using tits and asses to
sell every freaking thing imaginable. On the other, condemning nudity loudly
because nice girls simply didn’t take their clothes off. Talk about fucked-up
thinking that ultimately put women in a bind that men never had to deal with.

He felt for her but she’d have to make up her own mind about
what he was going to propose.

During his shoot, Jodi studied him, not bothering to glance
away when their eyes met. Hers questioned. Pretending not to notice, Mac gave
her a quick wink or a brief smile.

At last he finished. Hilary and Cait hurried out, followed
quickly by Willow and the other models, leaving him and Jodi alone.

Mac padded to the front door.

“What’s your idea?” she asked. “About how I can pay for my
car?”

Mac threw the dead bolt then went to her chair. “Stand up.”

She didn’t. “Why?”

“Because I said so. Because I’m the boss. Because I’m going
to spank you if you don’t.”

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, momentarily
erasing her worry. “Is this finally later?”

He wished. “I have to show you something.”

Her attention fell to his fly. Fighting laughter, Mac
grabbed Jodi’s arm and tugged her from the chair. He took her place, liking how
her body had heated up the cloth cushion, then pulled her onto his lap.

“Bring Google up and key in what I say.”

She kept her face turned to his, their lips nearly touching.
“Okay.”

Her sweet voice and inviting fragrance coaxed his lids down.
His head sagged back on his shoulders. She kissed his jaw.

“Nice,” he whispered.

Jodi made a pleased sound. “Is that what you wanted me to
key?”

“Huh?”

“The word nice?”

How quickly he’d forgotten why they were in front of her computer.
“Ah no. Are your fingers on the keyboard?”

“Give me a sec.” She turned to face the screen rather than
him. Once she’d brought up Google, Mac rested his chin on her shoulder and
played with her nipples.

Her faint whimper said she liked that.

Not wanting to distract her too much, Mac slid his hands to
her tummy. “Key in Intimate Knights.” His forefinger ran up and down the fly of
her jeans. “Knights with a K, the kind who wore armor and carried swords.”

Jodi fixed what she’d keyed in then sagged into him. Losing
control, he ran his hand over her boobs, squeezing them. She purred
contentedly.

Oddly enough, the sounds she made reminded Mac of what they
should be doing. “Ah, hit Enter.”

She snuggled closer to him before doing as he requested.

“Click on the first link that comes up,” he said.

The second the website jumped on the screen, Jodi was on
full alert, backing away from the computer and into him. “What is this?”

“Foreplay.” Unable to resist any longer, Mac sucked the back
of her neck and slid his hand over her cunt.

“Not what you’re doing.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed,
no doubt wanting his attention on what she was saying. “What’s that on the
screen?”

Mac cradled her closer. “It’s an online store for intimate
apparel and other stuff people use to party in bed, on the floor, in their
pools and in office chairs. You know, wherever their imaginations and hormones
take them.”

“Stuff like sex toys?”

She sounded more intrigued now than horrified.
Nice.
“Among
other things.”

“Hey, there’s a link for spanking tools. Is this later?” she
asked, turning to him again.

Mac’s chest quivered with his laughter. “No.”

Jodi’s eyebrows drew together. “Then why are we looking
at—?“ She stopped on a sharp intake of breath. “Is this what you were going to
tell me before Cait barged in? This company needs someone to update their
website like I do with yours? Do they need it redone? I’ve gotten good at Quark
since I’ve been here. I could work on their pages during my lunch break and in
the morning before I come in and after the studio closes for the day. There’d
even be weekends I could give them.”

No shit, since she apparently wouldn’t be giving him any of
her time. Mac fought a frown and sighed. “They don’t need anyone to work on
their website. Quinn, the owner, likes it just fine.”

So did Mac. To his way of thinking, the site was
surprisingly artistic. Kind of what he would have done with the design if he’d
owned that kind of business. There wasn’t any hard sell or over-the-top
sexuality that screamed porn. The photos were more like stills from European
art films, the images artfully posed and nicely lit, radiating sensuality.

Similar to his work, though not quite as good. The reason
Quinn had contacted Mac and how they’d come to know each other.

She studied the screen. “They need a part-time customer
service rep?”

Cradling Jodi’s cheek, Mac turned her face to his. Her
freckles were so fucking sweet. God he loved them. Hell, he liked her glasses
too. Her eyes were wide with expectation and with what he figured was hope he
was about to give her a lead on a second job that would help pay for her car.
What he was about to suggest would do that easily.

“Quinn’s starting a new line called Naughty Knights. He
phoned earlier in the week, telling me what kind of woman he’s looking for to
represent his new products. The person he described is you.”

She’d heard what Mac had said but didn’t understand what he
meant. “He wants someone like me to sell his products?”

“More like represent.”

“As a spokesperson.”

“A model.”

Jodi glanced at the screen. The homepage had a sidebar with
links to the spanking items she’d mentioned, along with intimate toys and
apparel, BDSM paraphernalia, fetish items and other stuff. Her body kept going
hot and cold, uncertain which temperature to settle on. “A model on the
Internet? For everyone to see?”

“You have nothing to be worried about. Your body’s
beautiful. Lush and ripe.”

Jodi leaned away from him and frowned. “No it’s not. I’m too
big. You know it. I know it. And if my pictures were plastered all over this
site,
everyone
would know it.”

He matched her frown. “I’ve already shown you how you really
look—in reality, not in your mind—in the shots I’ve taken.”

“After you messed with them on Photoshop.”

“The only things I changed were your hair and what you were
wearing. Not your body or face.”

“Oh my god.” Jodi’s hand went to her chest. “You did that to
convince me to do this.”

“What? No.” He leaned away from her. “There are tons of
models out there I could use. I wouldn’t have even brought this up if you hadn’t
cried about needing money for your car, which I’m more than happy to give or
lend you. Whatever the hell you want.”

“I can’t do either and you know it.”

“Fine. Then that leaves this gig and your ongoing
representation of the line. The position will pay enough for you to buy a
couple Mercedes plus a lot of other stuff.”

The room lurched. Gripping Mac’s arm to steady herself, Jodi
looked at the screen then quickly shook her head. “Oh god no. I could never do
that.”

“Because of how bad you think you’d look or because it isn’t
what good girls do?”

She curled her upper lip, hating how that sounded. “I wasn’t
raised to do this kind of stuff.”

“You mean porn, like what I do.”

“What? No. Of course not.” Jodi lost her attitude and cupped
his face gently. “Your photos are gorgeous. They’re artistic.”

“Let’s get brutally honest, all right? They’re shots of
naked women, some with BDSM elements thrown in.”

“Well yeah, but—“

“You don’t have to convince me. I know I’m not doing
anything wrong. Why anyone freaks out about the human form or sex between
consenting adults is a mystery to me. Breasts, cunts and cocks are not
something to be ashamed of and hidden like they’re fucking defects only pervs
have. Sex is simply another part of normal life, like breathing and eating. If
everyone stopped making such a big deal about all this shit, maybe the rest of
us could enjoy it without the guilt trip.”

Jodi had never seen him so agitated. She wondered if Mac’s
parents had ridiculed his work or if this was about her reaction to it. “You
mean me,” she murmured. “You think I’m judging you.”

His expression changed. He pulled her into him in a gentle
caress, his hand on the back of her head. “No I don’t mean you. If you had
judged me, you would have taken off screaming that first day.”

Laughing softly, she buried her face in his neck. “I have to
be honest. I did bring in Lysol wipes the following morning. Every time Krista
parks her bare butt on my desk, I clean it afterward.”

Mac’s shoulders shook with his laughter. “Can’t blame you for
that.”

She smiled then sighed at him rubbing her back. “You really
think I look that good?”

“Would I have told you about this if I didn’t think so?”

No. He wasn’t a cruel man. “Quinn actually said he wants a
full-figured woman?”

“The word he used was voluptuous, like the kind of females
Da Vinci and the other masters used to paint. He was the one who got me
thinking about you in an old-fashioned corset.”

“About that…” She ran her fingers over the collar of his
tee. “I liked what you did with my hair.”

“The stuff on top or between your—“

Jodi slapped his arm, interrupting him. “On my head.”

“Trust me, it was a bitch to do. I’m sure as hell no
stylist.”

She slipped her arms around his neck, prepared to ask what
she never thought she would. “What about my freckles?”

“I really like them.”

Jodi smiled at the honesty in his voice then sighed,
indecision suddenly gripping her as to what she should do. “I’m sure Quinn
wouldn’t.”

“He’d never see them.”

“Right. Because of makeup.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Mac eased back and regarded her.
“Most of the shots for these sites are body parts. An ass, cunt or breasts. For
full portraits on Quinn’s site the women are—here, let me show you.”

Reaching around her, he clicked on one of the links. Jodi’s
lips parted at the exquisite facemasks the women wore, many of them with
feathers, beading or sequins in vibrant hues. Turquoise. Scarlet. Gold. Silver.
Violet. Surprisingly the model’s eyes matched the color of their masks, which
hid their features completely. Any of the blondes could have been Krista, the
brunettes Nadine or one of Mac’s other models. There wasn’t any way to tell.

Jodi’s heart continued to race. She dug her fingers into
Mac’s tee. “What does he want modeled?”

“Don’t know. He shipped a box of the stuff here. It should
arrive tomorrow.”

“He didn’t give you any clue what it might involve?”

Mac hesitated a moment then said, “The main theme’s BDSM.”

Jodi’s fingers tightened on Mac’s tee then loosened, only to
grip the garment again. Whether due to horror or excitement, Mac didn’t know.
He’d seen the shock and fascination on her face when he’d photographed Rocco
shackling, whipping and subjugating the female models. Mac guessed some of
those delightfully dirty scenes had matched Jodi’s fantasies. They sure as hell
spoke to the ones he’d had but didn’t want to dwell on now.

Already her weight and warmth had plumped up his boys and
stiffened his cock, making his jeans feel unbearably snug. He would have
stripped down and plowed into her but figured she wouldn’t appreciate him
coming on so strong when she was still worried about her car.

Why she was doing that to herself puzzled Mac. It would be a
simple matter for her to accept the money he’d offered and work it off here. Or
do an anonymous modeling gig with him as the photographer on a very closed set.

Not wanting to press the matter and upset her, he changed
the subject. “Hungry?”

Jodi looked toward the kitchen. “We still have bagels and
stuff from this morning.”

“That’s no dinner.”

“You want to go out? You don’t have work to do?”

Tons of it that could wait. “Everyone else knocked off. Why
not me? I’m the boss.”

Jodi arched one slender eyebrow. “You seem pretty proud of
that.”

“Fucking A. It gives me all sorts of perks.”

She giggled at him sucking her throat. “You want to get a
dog?”

Mac took one last whiff of her scent and eased back.
“Probably not. Don’t have any time to take care of the poor thing.”

Laughing, Jodi punched his arm.

“Oh hell no, you don’t do that to your lord and master.” Mac
ran his fingers up and down her torso, tickling her.

Jodi squirmed, wailed and finally gagged. Didn’t faze him at
all. He wrapped his legs around hers so she couldn’t get up and went at it
until she bent at the waist, panting.

Tenderly, Mac stroked her hair. “You want fancy or casual?”

She heaved in more air. “For what?”

“Dinner.”

“I’m not dressed for anything except McDonald’s.”

“In this part of the world, you’re dressed up if you’re
wearing underwear.”

Jodi laughed loudly.
Happily
, he thought.

“You decide,” she said. “I’ll follow.”

Precisely what Mac wanted to hear.

He hustled her out of the studio and drove to one of his
favorite delis. The moment he parked, Jodi unbuckled her seat belt. No doubt
she meant to climb out of the car before he had a chance to get her door. Mac
rested his hand on hers.