The cat was very much out of the bag…or should I say, the fake lesbian was out of the closet.

“Oh, this is fabulous! Okay, both of you get up. I want some shots of you standing by the window. Oliver, you go behind Lexie. Put your arms around her and, I don’t know, nuzzle her ear or something.”

First of all, was he shitting me?

And second of all, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience when I moved to get off King. Just before he let me go, he clutched my wrist, giving it a hard squeeze that said, This isn’t over.

I walked to the window, sensing him follow directly behind. I felt like a small animal being preyed upon by an expert hunter. He’d caught me out, and I was under no illusions that he was going to make this easy for me.

But still, he was my boss. He shouldn’t have been acting the way he was acting. Even though we weren’t in the workplace right now, I needed to remind him of that. A moment later King’s heat was on me again, this time as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. And oh, my God, in spite of everything, it felt so good to be held.

“You’re attracted to me,” he whispered with a touch of curiosity.

I huffed out a breath. “Can we talk about this later?”

“You’re not gay, are you? You know I value honesty, so why would you lie?”

I felt the tip of his nose against the back of my ear, nuzzling me just like Bradley had asked him to do. My breathing stuttered; my heart hammered. Wow. His hand moved to my belly, fingers just barely slipping under the hem of my vest. I had tingles everywhere.

“I wasn’t intentionally trying to be dishonest with you. It was supposed to be a joke, but then you thought I was serious, and it kind of got out of control. I didn’t know how to take it back.”

His hand moved a fraction further, his fingers digging hard into the soft part of my lower belly. “You take it back like this: I lied, King. In fact, not only am I not a lesbian, but I also think you’re hot.”

“C-cocky much?” My words came out weird and choppy.

He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was grinning.

“Okay,” said Bradley. “Turn around, Lexie. Put your arms around Oliver’s neck and stare up at him. Make me believe you’re infatuated.”

Oh, jeez.

As I turned, my breasts brushed King’s torso, and I heard his breathing deepen. How on earth did professional models do this every day? Perhaps I was just more sexed up than the average person, because every single touch got my mind racing to dirty, forbidden places.

I reached up, slid my arms around his neck, and hooked my fingers together. My chest was flush with his, but this way I couldn’t quite tell if he still had an erection. Perhaps that was for the best.

“You really had me believing you for a while,” he said quietly.

“Are you mad?” I asked, desperate to know.

“A little bit. I thought we were friends.”

“We were. We are.”

“Then why lie?”

“Because I wanted to keep it that way.”

Understanding lit in King’s eyes, his expression softening as his mouth firmed. “I see.”

He went quiet then, and he didn’t say anything more for the rest of the shoot. The other models were called back from their break, and I was still needed for a few more group pictures. I swear I was sick to death of smiling and pretending to be “having fun with the girls” by the end of it. When Bradley called a wrap, I went to change back into my own clothes. As it happened, I wasn’t allowed to keep the ones I’d worn during the shoot.

Not like I was dying to squeeze myself back into that black number anyway.

Unable to spot King, I decided he must have gone home. I said goodbye to Bradley and the other girls, and was just leaving the building when I saw the Merc idling by the side of the road. I hitched my bag up on my shoulder, having every intention of continuing on to the tube, when the door swung open. King emerged, and before I knew it, his hand was on my elbow, steering me back towards the car.

“We need to talk,” he said, voice firm.

“Oh, right, yeah okay,” I mumbled, climbing inside, skin tingling where his hand cupped my elbow.

It was dark out already, and I was exhausted after spending the entire day in the studio. I think King must have seen me blinking my eyes to try to stay awake, because he murmured, “Come here.” His voice had grown soft, tender. And as he held his arm out, I couldn’t resist scooting over and resting my head on his shoulder. He stroked my arm as his driver started the engine and drove away from the studio.

“You’re exhausted,” said King, and my God, I’d never heard him sound like that before. I’d heard him strict. I’d heard him joking. I’d heard him business professional. But I’d never heard him bedroom-y. I really liked hearing him bedroom-y. It was almost like now that he knew I was into guys, some kind of wall had come down between us.

A long sigh escaped him before he said, “We’re in something of a predicament, love.”

I turned my face to look up at him. “We are?”

Reaching out, he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “Yes, my darling, because I very much want to fuck you.”

I inhaled sharply at his admission, but he continued talking before I could say anything.

“In fact, I find myself thinking about it a lot. But I don’t fuck my assistants. I’ve never wanted to. And the problem is, I value you far more as an employee and a friend than I ever will as a conquest.”