Page 29

“Now, Mel,” she began, getting straight down to business. “You know that Dudz is a fun, flirty range of casual underwear.” Her face was cold and businesslike.

I nodded, wide eyed. Up close she was even more perfect than from a distance. Did she even have pores?

“So, what we need from you and Joel today is fun and flirty. We’ve decided to go with the tennis angle for the campaign, so we’ll start you out posing with racquets, but interacting with each other in a teasing way. Understand? ”

I nodded again, but I felt a thrill of nerves tingle through me. Flirting with Joel. This was not good.

The change room door opened, Joel stepping out in a pair of lime green trunks, his ripped chest and shoulders glowing with his golden tan.

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek.

He looked so hot! This was really not good.

I was on a razor-edge of giving in to the hormones raging through me and dry humping his leg.

It’s Joel, it’s JOEL! I repeated to myself. Somehow it wasn’t working as well as it usually did.

“Well, hello stranger,” Amazon cooed at Joel. He smiled that heart-melting smile and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

“Georgie, great to see you. You look lovely as always.” He let his eyes rove over her suit-clad body, as if he was mentally undressing her. Amazon actually blushed .

Apparently, Joel could make even the coldest woman feel hot under the collar. I scowled.

Amazon turned back to me. “Okay, let’s get this over and done with.” Clearly she was hoping to get it finished so she could have lunch with Joel. Or maybe have Joel for lunch.

“What’s with the long face?” Joel muttered as Goth handed us a racquet each.

I refused to look at him. “How do you know her?” I asked. He knew exactly who I was talking about.

“I met Georgie at Uni. We got our Bachelor of Business together.”

Yeah, I bet that’s not all that they ‘got’ together, either.

“I didn’t know you had a degree,” I hissed.

Joel smirked at me. “Well, Stink, there are lots of things you don’t know about me.”

Amazon clapped her hands, and I snapped to attention.

“Remember, fun and flirty – you shouldn’t have a problem with this, Joel.” She puckered her lips at him. I almost puked.

“You know it!” he replied with a wink. I took a deep breath and tried to channel fun and flirty. All I got was ‘raging hormone monster wanting to devour Amazon woman’.

“You know, I’m thinking about what almost happened the other day on the beach, Stink,” Joel whispered in my ear. “Give it a go – but try not to get too excited and leave a wet spot on your cute new panties, okay?”

I wanted to be mad at him, but I just couldn’t. I grinned, and suddenly I was in a flirty mood. I’d flirt my arse off if I had to.

I turned and smacked him playfully on the butt with the racquet. He smiled cheekily at me and retaliated with the same. The camera clicked frantically, but I wasn’t paying attention to it, or to Amazon.

I was just having fun with Joel. Probably too much fun – I could feel my heart hammering against my rib cage as we teased one another, my blood pulsing wildly through my veins, all of it apparently heading south in a rush.

“I want to get some without the racquets,” the photographer suggested. I turned and watched as Amazon shook her head.

“I think we’ve got enough now!” she said sourly.

But then Joel caught me around the waist and pulled me against him.

I arched my body towards his, and he reached for my racquet, throwing it and his to the side, his other hand gripping my thigh just below my butt.

I bit my lip and allowed my eyes to flick to his for a second, and then away.

I couldn’t handle the heat in his gaze. I was absolutely leaving a wet patch in my underwear.

His knee pushed my thighs apart, until it was wedged between my legs, his bulging quad pressing right against my pussy.

I could barely breathe.

“I said flirty, not foreplay !” Amazon’s grouchy snarl snapped me back to reality.

Joel held on for a moment longer than was necessary, leaning down to press his mouth to my ear.

“Good job, Stink, you’re very convincing,” he murmured. I felt a little shiver go through me as his breath tickled my ear. He let me go, and I tried my best to stay upright, to not let him see my legs shaking.

Amazon clip-clopped her way over to us.

“Very … engaging,” she said, giving me a dirty glance before turning her pearly white smile to Joel. I felt a thrill of satisfaction to se e that he was clutching his hands in front of his dick. Maybe he wasn’t quite as unaffected as he made out?

“You busy this afternoon?” she asked him. “We should catch up over lunch.”

Joel smiled even as he shook his head. “I’ve got to get this girl home for some training,” he explained, nudging me with his elbow. “How about dinner?”

I scowled at the way he called me ‘this girl’, like I was a bratty little child he was babysitting, and not the woman he’d just been grinding up against in front of a camera.

Amazon beamed at him. “Sounds lovely. Shall we meet at George’s at eight?”

Joel nodded, and I stomped off to the change room to get dressed. I was pulling my shirt on when Joel zinged the curtain open and walked straight in.

“What are you doing?” I demanded. “I could have been naked in here!”

“That would have been fun,” he growled, before turning around and pulling his clothes down off the hook on the wall. I couldn’t help but stare at his back – every muscle stood out under his tanned skin.

“How long?” I asked on an angry whim.

“How long what?” His voice was muffled as he pulled his t-shirt on.

“How long did it take you to lose the boner you were sporting after you rubbed your leg on my pussy?”

A laugh barked out of Joel’s mouth. “Honestly?”

I snorted. “Are you capable of that?”

“I haven’t lost it yet.”

Fuck. This was backfiring hugely for me. I was throbbing in every place that was capable of throbbing.

“Ever had sex in a change room before, Stinky?” he asked.

“Are you offering?” I retorted, then bit my lip. I really needed to filter, especially when it came to Joel.

“Well … no.”

Disappointment rocked through me .

“I was just wondering what sort of sordid locations you might have had sex in.”

“Joel, if you knew some of the places I’ve had sex, you wouldn’t look at me the same again,” I blurted. So much for filtering!

He gave me a sharp look, stepping into his shorts. I grabbed my bag and stormed out to the lift, jabbing at the button.

Joel caught up with me just as the elevator dinged, the doors rattling open. I stepped inside and poked the ground floor button.

“Elevator?” he asked, eyes lit like a Christmas tree.

“Uh yes, we’re in an elevator, Joel,” I replied, using a voice I would use with a very stupid person.

Joel rolled his eyes at me.

“Have you ever fucked in an elevator?”

“Um, no. Have you?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

Joel chuckled. “We weren’t talking about me. You told me I wouldn’t look at you the same if I knew where you’d had sex. I’m just trying to test your theory out.”

The lift opened at the ground floor and I escaped. Joel kept pace frustratingly easily.

“So, tell me. Where’s the naughtiest place you’ve done the nasty?” he asked, nudging me with his elbow. I pressed my lips together. This was not a good way for me to avoid having sexy thoughts about Joel, but he wouldn’t let up until I told him something.

“Okay, you tell me first and then I’ll tell you,” I bargained.

Joel took a deep breath. “Uh, let me think. Probably in the mosh pit for Princes of Lion two years ago.”

“What? As in, in a crowd of sweaty, high teenagers?”

“Yep, it was exactly as bad as you’re picturing. It’s almost impossible to keep a hard-on when you’ve got spaced-out teens elbowing you in the back.”

I screwed up my face. “Ew, Joel! That is the single most disgusting thing I have ever heard!” For a split second I wished it had been me.

“Your turn now, Stink.” Joel sounded ecstatic .

I thought about it. I might only have had three sexual partners, but Grant and I had five years to get pretty adventurous.

“Okay. On the fifty-metre line at Sydney Football Stadium.” It didn’t sound very adventurous at all compared to Joel’s crowded mosh pit. I peered up at him from under my lashes and he was watching me, eyebrows raised.

“How did you get … oh, of course, with Grant .” Joel muttered, annoyance colouring his tone. Well, that was interesting.

“Yeah, and the sprinklers came on just as I was …” I looked down again.

“Coming?” Joel asked, a smirk in his voice.

“Mm-hmm,” I replied awkwardly. “I guess you win. Yours was the kinkiest.”

“Yeah, but you’re the homemade porn sensation,” he responded with a laugh. I cringed.

“Thanks for the reminder, Joel,” I muttered. “I just love it that you’ve seen me like that.”

“Oh, me too, Stink.” He replied thickly. Something in his voice made me glance curiously at him, but he was looking straight ahead, his face unreadable.

We reached the car. I waited until Joel had started the engine before I asked my next question.

“Are you going to spend the night with Amazon woman?”

Joel looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “You mean Georgie? Why? You’re not … jealous , are you Stinky?”

I was. And I hated it.

I didn’t reply, and for once Joel didn’t push me. We made the journey back to his house in silence. I changed into my tennis gear, ready for whatever training Joel had in store for me.

He seemed preoccupied when I went out onto the tennis court. He’d set up the drills he wanted me to do and I started immediately, pushing myself harder than usual, hoping that I could sweat out the swooping sensation that plagued my stomach when I looked at him.

Drills complete, Joel packed everything away, returning with racquets and balls.

“You look tense, Stink. Take it out on the ball. ”

He served it to me, and I smashed it back at him with as much force as I could muster. It hit him on the shoulder. I saw him wince.

That afternoon I found a way to make myself feel better that Joel would be out with Amazon tonight, while I sat at home and tried not to think about what they were doing …

Fuck.

Joel would have a lot of bruises. Maybe he’d be too sore to screw the Amazon. I grinned at that thought and lobbed another ball at him.

He called it quits when I managed to hit him on the upper thigh – too close to his favourite body part for comfort, I guessed.

“You’re annoyed at me,” he said, a tone of wonder in his voice. “You’re really annoyed at me this time, not just play annoyed.”

I refused to meet his eyes. “So what if I am?” I asked.

“You are jealous!” he crowed.

I ignored him to start my cool down, paying particular attention to the stretches the physio had given me for my back. Joel didn’t like being ignored. He knelt in front of me, touching two fingers under my chin, pulling it up until our eyes met.

“Stink, I won’t go out with her, if that’s what’s upsetting you.” He sounded surprisingly genuine, which freaked me out more. I shook my head, breaking Joel’s hold on me.

“No, don’t spoil your night on my account. I mean, you must be about to explode – you haven’t spent the night with a girl for how many days now? Is it into the weeks yet?” I teased, but my voice was strained.

Joel pulled his phone out. “I’m calling Georgie and telling her that I can’t make it.”

I started to protest, but he leaned over me, clapping a hand over my mouth. I was trapped. I squeezed my eyes tight shut and screamed in my head as he spoke into the phone; I so didn’t want to hear his conversation.

He took his hand off my mouth, and I sat up. “What did you do that for?” I demanded. “I said it was fine!”

He stared at me and I fell silent .

“You’d better be nice to me tonight, Stink. I have some very good memories with Georgie I could be reliving this evening.”

I groaned. “Call her back and tell her you can make it after all,” I begged. “I don’t know if I have enough energy in me to be nice to you.”

Joel cracked a massive smile then. “It’s okay, Stinky. It’s worth it to know that you’re jealous.”

I bit my lip to keep from screaming incoherently in my frustration. I was jealous. But it wasn’t because I wanted Joel. I didn’t. I definitely didn’t.

I just wasn’t sure exactly what the reason was.