Page 62 of With Stars in Her Eyes
Thea’s dimples were even deeper this close up. “I want to take a clinch photo. We’d each put a hand on the plates.” Thea screwed an extra piece onto the clicker button. Her attention on the camera gave me ample time to map every dip and curve of Thea’s body.
“It’s an old analog timer. It’s a little jerry-rigged, but I think it will work.”
“You want to take aclinchaura photo? Like a clinch cover clinch?” I asked.
“Some of the colors on the covers of the books reminded me a lot of the aura photos. I wanted to test this out as a pose option for couples. It’s not something I’ve done a lot.”
“Oh right. That totally makes sense. I’m a guinea pig?”
“Do you mind?”
“Nope.”
Whatever I had said about itnotbeing too hot in here no longer applied. I rubbed over my neck to see how badly I was sweating. “I have a tank on under this. Can I…?”
“Of course. But if you’re getting uncomfortable up here, we don’t have to—”
“No, I think it would be fun to re-create a cover. It would be nice for the book fair theme.” I pulled off my hoodie and tossed it onto the small chair in the corner.Yep, now I’m just taking my clothes off. Very subtle.At least I could try to be subtle about the way I wanted to ogle Thea. When I got here and she appeared in the doorway wearing that thin tank, I nearly keeled over.
“I think if we pull the plates slightly behind us, we can havethe front hands posed like a lot of the covers.” She reached toward me. “May I?”
I bit the inside of my cheek.Um, yes.
Thea pulled me between the hand plates. “I think if you stand there, and I’m here. Maybe my hand on your waist, you arched a little.”
Thankfully Thea wasn’t putting her hand anywhere near my heart, because if she did, she would feel it hammering like it was trying to escape my chest entirely.
“And then maybe you can put your hand here once I get the timer set.” She motioned to the space right beneath her left collarbone. “Your other one will go behind us on the pad. Yeah, that should work.” The last sentence was said a little lower like she was mostly talking to herself.
Thea pulled away to reach for the timer, and I immediately missed her closeness. “One minute.” Thea twisted a knob until it clicked.
Each of us pressed a hand to one of the metal boxes. Thea’s free hand found my waist. My fingers grazed Thea’s arm as her hand covered my collarbone, her thumb nestled against the angle of my neck.
For a second, I thought my pulse was beating so hard that my entire body, my arms, my chest, and my fingers were thrumming. But as my eyes met Thea’s, I realized it wasThea’sheartbeat I felt.Thea’squickening pulse radiating to her palm. On some instinct, I slid my hand up to the angle of Thea’s jaw, where those strands of hair fell wildly over her skin. Thea’s hand spread wider, fingertips pressing into my lowest ribs, waist, and the first curve over my hip. Our bodies had moved closer in those fractions of seconds. Our faces were so close that every inhale seemed shared.
It was difficult to be aware of anything beyond how close I was to every captivating curve of Thea’s body. Neither of us moved as something nearby clicked.
“The photo took.” Thea’s voice was pitched lower than ever.
The entire room had changed color in the minutes we’d been standing here. The storm clouds must have cleared just in time for sunset. Pink and orange glazed our skin as if our auras had become visible to the naked eye.Was it magic?Or just the movement of the planet and the chemicals in the atmosphere that made it seem like our world was on fire? Thea’s eyes, usually dark, had turned to molten amber.
I released the sensor and found Thea’s lower back. Thea moved at the same moment. Everything that had been angled now pressed together.
“Can I kiss you, Thea?”
Without hesitation, Thea lowered her lips to mine, sending a current of electricity through my body unrelated to either cords or camera cables.
Nothing existed outside the heat from Thea’s mouth, the gentle graze of her teeth, and the sparking sensation sweeping over each place she touched me. I stroked Thea’s skin between her sternum and navel.
She shuddered. “Fuck,Courtney.” Thea’s full lips flicked over the consonants, making me acutely aware of how they would feel wrapped around other parts of me, sucking and teasing and tasting.
Noise from the stairway drew me back into awareness of where we were. The dreamy decor and the sunset haze had stripped rational thought from my body completely.
I made to step back, nearly forgetting that I was trapped between the two camera cords.
“Wait.” Amusement crinkled Thea’s eyes as she moved the pieces of the camera to free me. She reached into the camera and pulled out the paper like she had before.
I felt a whole lot more naked than I should have since I was still wearing a tank top and jeans. And also a whole lot less naked than the dampness in my underwear seemed to demand.
