A combination of nerves and blistering arousal brought goose bumps to her arms. “I can do that?” The words came out as a question.
His molten eyes devoured her mouth. “I think you should.”
Clara willed her body into action. “I can’t seem to make my arms move.” How dare her limbs betray her? “Sorry. I don’t even like being naked by myself,” she said. “Let alone with an audience.”
“What’s wrong with being naked?”
A sad sigh climbed out of her mouth. “Well, nothing if you look like you. But when I’m naked, it’s all soft and everything wobbles.” She leaned forward to hide her curves.
Josh shook his head. “Those are the best parts.” He rolled up the sleeves of his henley. “Would it change anything if I told you how attractive I find you?”
“What?” Clara’s attempts at playing it cool went up in smoke.
“Would it help if I outlined how I find you sexy? Objectively speaking, obviously.” He showed her another page in his notebook. “It’s one of the partner tips. If the woman you’re with is feeling nervous or having trouble conjuring up a fantasy, stating your desire for her can help set the tone for the session.”
Clara’s mind went blank. “Okay. Yeah, let’s try that.”
Josh took his time looking at her, starting at the top of her head and making his way down to her sock-covered feet.
She held still as he drew his gaze across her body.
“Well, there’s a lot of good stuff going on,” he said so quietly she almost didn’t catch it. “There’s the obvious stuff that I notice when you enter a room.” He started counting things off on his fingers. “Your hair is nice. All shiny and inky. And you’re always tossing it around. So I get big whiffs of your shampoo when we’re sitting on the couch whether I want to or not. And then there are your breasts, of course. God, your tits are torture. The way you insist on hiding them in those ridiculous high-necked shirts. Why are you doing that? They deserve to experience fresh air. It’s summer in Los Angeles, for crying out loud.” He rubbed his jawline as if it pained him. “I think I’ve imagined twenty different ways to rip your top off. Just so I can get a look at them.”
They’d barely begun and already Clara’s breath was coming too fast. She might faint.
“But the stuff that really drives me crazy is subtler,” he continued. “The way your skin feels when I help you out of the car and how you kinda glow in the face region. I also like that thing you do where you arch your back when you’re stretching in the morning. Oh, and the tiny mole at the top of your lip. Like an X marking treasure.”
He brought his thumb up to brush the thin skin.
Clara’s eyelids grew heavy. Yearning filled her throat, making it difficult to breathe. Had anyone ever said so many nice things about her in one sitting? Sure, they were superficial, but they were also sweet. Hearing Josh admire her body somehow made up for every guy in middle school who had called her chubby or made fun of her big teeth.
She couldn’t fight the sudden, overwhelming desire to open her mouth. When she indulged the instinct, Josh let his finger slip between her lips. Clara couldn’t help herself. She dragged her tongue across the rough pad of his thumb, tasting salt, as he closed his eyes and groaned.
“Show me what you like,” he said, eyes still closed. It was a request and a command and a plea all at the same time.
And suddenly she needed to. It didn’t matter if she liked every part of her body. What mattered were Josh’s words and the way they elevated her to a position both wanton and powerful. He’d handed her the opportunity to blow on the spark of desire behind his eyes until it blazed. She’d be a fool not to take it.
Before she could lose her nerve again, she moved her legs behind her so she could sit back on her heels. “This is professional, right? We’re doing this for the good of the project?”
Josh breathed slow and even through his nose, holding himself rigid. “Yes. Absolutely. We’re working right now.” His eyes were practically all pupil.
Clara thanked her lucky stars that Josh was a master performer. Who cared if he was pretending to want her right now? It felt impossibly real.
She relaxed her shoulders as his confirmation washed over her. They’d explicitly agreed that whatever happened next didn’t mean she had feelings for Josh. Wanting him, she could handle. But anything deeper . . . anything more with Josh was impossible. Unacceptable. A recipe for a broken heart.
But she could still indulge one of her fantasies. Just a single, harmless confession. For the greater good.
She peeled off her top in one fluid motion. Thankfully the material didn’t get caught around her elbows.
The overhead fan blew cool air against newly exposed skin. Of course, the bra she’d chosen today was too small. Her breasts spilled over the top of the unadorned cream fabric.
Josh moaned like someone had stabbed him with a dull knife. “I’m burning every single one of those fucking sleeveless turtlenecks. How the fuck are they better than I imagined?”
Clara ducked her head and laughed a little at that. A throaty purr that sounded like someone else but felt good in her throat. “Bra next?” She needed guidance, but she also liked the idea that announcing her progress would drive Josh wild.
Sure enough, when she met his eyes he shuddered like a man enjoying the electric chair.
“Do you want me to stop?” She feigned a tone of concern.
He gave her his most charming smile in reassurance, dimples in full effect. “Don’t you dare.”
Clara got up and turned around so that her back faced him, hoping that not having to make direct eye contact would make removing her bra, a significantly larger hurdle to her insecurity, a little easier. She bent slightly forward and reached back to unclip it, fumbling with the clasp.
“Let me help you.” As Josh deftly undid the hook, more of her reservations melted away.
He let the back of his fingers brush along her spine as he removed his hand. “If you refuse to turn around, there’s a good chance I’ll spontaneously combust.” His breathing was no longer slow and even. It sounded like he was trying to climb a flight of stairs while carrying a wheelbarrow.
Clara swiveled, forcing her body not to obey the impulse to cover herself as Josh licked his lips, staring unabashedly at her chest.
He hissed in a breath. “What I’m about to say is gonna sound like a line. But please believe me when I tell you that I’ve seen thousands of tits in my lifetime and I’ve never wanted to get my hands and my mouth and, if I’m being totally honest, my cock, on a pair as much as yours.”
Clara’s face warmed at the ridiculous praise. “No one in their right mind would ever think that was a viable line.” Still, she lowered her shoulder blades, pushing her breasts further out, and cupped one in each hand until the heavy flesh spilled over her fingers. See. This barely counts as second base. Equating adolescent baseball metaphors to levels of intimacy was oddly soothing. Josh’s talent was almost enough to make her brazen. She let her thumbs graze her nipples, feeling the rush of pleasure even that small gesture sent down through her belly to her clit. She hadn’t touched herself like this in a while, and half the time she was so embarrassed about the size of her breasts that she pretended they didn’t exist.