Page 31 of Camera Shy

“You have the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen. It took me forever to figure out the color. It’s called seafoam green. Did you know that?”

“Only sometimes. In direct sunlight, they look—”

Reaching around, Finn presses his finger against my lips. “My bad, that was misleading,” Finn says. He’s purposely changed his tone. His cheery tenor is gone. He’s all but growling in my ear.

Finn’s talking to me like…

Stop. It’s ridiculous. There’s no way.

Like he’s hungry for me.

His breath against my neck stuns me. I freeze like a deer in the woods after the sound of a twig snapping breaks the eerie silence. He’s too close. The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I try to decide whether I should bolt or just succumb to my fate.

He continues, “I technically did ask a question, but here’s how the next five minutes are going to go. You’re not going to speak. I’m going to talk to you. I’m going to strip you down and point out all the things I love about your body. For five minutes, you are going to just enjoy a man, who you think fucks like a porn star, worshiping you. How’s that sound?”

I open my mouth, then clamp it shut. I don’t answer his question. I don’t say anything at all. I just nod.

“Okay, good, arms up,” Finn says as he cups my elbows and guides them upward. It’s taking every ounce of strength in me to keep myself steady enough to stand. The pangs of nerves flood my body, but I hold my breath to combat the trembling.

I force myself to follow his command as I fully extend my arms. He immediately reaches for the hem of my T-shirt.

“There you go,” he mutters. “Good girl.”

8

Avery

“Will you please hurry up?”

I feel Finn’s light breathy chuckle against my neck. My shirt is off and tossed aside. I’m shivering, but it has nothing to do with the temperature in the closet. Why did I agree to this? What was I thinking? The mirror is taunting me with every loose, wobbly part of my torso. I want to run and hide—but I can’t. Finn’s large body is behind me, steadying me, locking me in place. There’s no retreat.

“What did I tell you about talking?” he grumbles from behind me.

“But you’re moving at a snail’s pace.” I wish he’d just undress me already. Rip it off, like a Band-Aid. Maybe it’ll be less painful that way.

“Yeah, Avery. That’s what you do when you’re savoring something…” He blows on my naked shoulder, causing a sea of goose bumps to pebble my skin. “You…go…slow,” he whispers into my ear.

In this moment, I understand three very important things.

One, Finn is very good at this. He’s overwhelmingly sensual. He’s taking my literal worst nightmare and somehow making it sexy. Enjoyable, even.

Two, Finn knows exactly what he’s doing to me. Every time I shudder and flinch, he smiles. Just moments ago, when his fingers grazed across my belly and chest as he pulled off my T-shirt, I nearly lost composure. When he rubbed the back of my bare arms to warm me up in an already sweltering room, I wanted to scream.

Three, and probably the most shocking revelation is…

Finn likes this.

This man must be desperate, blind, or high as a kite, because he’s looking at me like I’m the first woman he’s ever laid eyes on. Like I’m a prize he’s won.

My gulp is audible as he pulls my left bra strap down over my shoulder.

“Breathe,” he instructs, “and keep your eyes on the mirror.” He pulls down the right. “Let me explain what I see.”

I’m fear frozen. My limbs no longer answer the alarming commands from my brain.

I give myself major credit for at least giving this a try. I’m not the girl who wants to beg her cheating ex to take her back. I’m also not the girl who knows how to throw my ex the bird and seduce the hottest guy in the bar for rebound sex. I’m something in-between. This. Finn touching me and talking me through this seems in-between.

He unclasps my bra and it falls to the floor. My heavy breasts drop an inch. My mind whirls and I immediately attack myself mentally with criticisms. My breasts aren’t perky enough, my waist isn’t slim enough, my skin isn’t taut and tight, and my hips are too wide. The silver lines against my skin from puberty where my body grew too fast mock me. You’re marked.

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