Page 29 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

Let’s Make an Italian Porno.

Day Seven.

I sprawled across the couch, lazily sipping a beer while Carmen laid stretched out on my chest, chewing cold pizza. We’d decided to stay in today, no real plans except to do absolutely nothing.

And part of that brilliant plan?

Renting some questionable late-night porno on pay-per-view.

It was in Italian, which she didn’t speak, but that didn’t stop her from insisting we watch it and I was stuck translating the moaning dialogue like some pervert.

My phone rang, and my mother’s name flashed across the screen. I quickly ended the call before tossing my phone on the coffee table.

“Why not just block her if you’re not gonna answer?” she asked lazily.

“I might answer one day,” I answered truthfully.

“Hm.”

“What?” I nudged her to see where her head was at.

“Nothing, just interesting.”

“What is?”

She sighed dramatically. “Nothing, baby. Just watch the badly filmed porn.”

I stared at her for a moment, trying to get a read on her emotions. After I came up with nothing, I let it go.

But she started up again.

“I’m bored, Tee,” she moaned.

“I know, baby,” I sighed. “I am too.”

“Ouu, can I do your nails?” She popped up, eyes wide with hope. “Pleaseee, baby.”

“I can’t. I have an event tomorrow,” I groaned, letting my head fall back. “I gotta look somewhat professional.”

“Ugh, this is torture,” she dragged, flopping back on my chest and turning to the screen. “What event are you even going to?”

“Investment ball. Company party,” I explained. “I’d ask you to come, but I know how much you hated the last one I made you attend.”

“Damn right,” she agreed without hesitation. “Upscale party where the rich throw money at projects to make them even richer? No thanks. I’d rather spend my evening at the spa.”

I looked at her. “I would still enjoy your company there, Sweetness. You know you keep me sane.”

“Hm.” That was her only response. And I left it at that.

“What did he say?” she asked, pointing her mouth full of crust toward the screen.

I swallowed a sip and glanced at it. “ Put it in your mouth. ”

She scrunched her nose. “She’s not even doing it right.”

I chuckled. “Think you could do better?”

She scoffed, eyes on the screen. “ Way better. And you know I can.”

That I did, actually, with the way she shifted a little on top of me, I was ready for her to show me.

“We could do a better job in general,” she added casually.

I raised a brow. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. We can actually,” She looked up at me, all innocent. “Let’s make a sex tape.”

I blinked. “Whoaaaa.”

“What?” She bit into the pizza again. “It’ll be fun.”

“You sure you could handle that?”

Her eyes narrowed playfully. “Can you?”

Smart-ass .

“Come on. It’s just for us,” she said. “We can record it on the camcorder. Old school. No cloud, no leaks.”

Oh, she’s deadass.

I considered her.

“You ain’t worried about your face being in it?”

She shrugged. “It’s an easy fix. We could wear masks if you want.”

“Hm, I suppose we can.”

That made her grin. “So you’re in?”

“I’ll play along.”

“Alright then.” She tossed her half-eaten slice onto the coffee table and crawled up to straddle my lap. “Let’s go get masks.”

God help me.

˙???˙

The Halloween store smelled like cheap rubber. Carmen was already three aisles deep, holding up ridiculous options while I leaned against a rack of slutty nurse costumes, scrolling through my email.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. “Teddy, look!”

She held up a full-on latex Catwoman mask, complete with tiny cat ears and stitching detail. It looked like it came straight out of a Tim Burton movie.

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

She ignored me and shoved it over her head, adjusting the eyes. “Is this turning you on?”

“Maybe if I was thirteen.”

She flipped me off, then turned to check herself out in the mirror, adjusting her ponytail so it fell sleek and high and very blonde. “This one’s it.”

I kept scrolling.

“I don’t know why you even bothered picking one up. People would recognize you by your hair alone.”

“Shut up!” she snapped, tugging the mask off. “It’s the fantasy, okay? You’re the one who wanted masks.”

I smirked. “Right, right. Continue the fantasy, baby.”

She ignored me and strutted toward another rack labeled CLEARANCE - SCARY GUYS in Italian.

I followed at a slower pace, hands typing on my phone, watching her riffle through a pile of tangled headpieces.

“I’m gonna pick something for you too,” she declared. “I’m thinking… werewolf. Or vampire.”

“You want me to fuck you wearing plastic fangs?”

She turned and looked at me over her shoulder with that slow, wicked grin. “You ain’t afraid of a little roleplay, are you, Teddy?”

“I’m afraid of looking like an idiot,” I muttered.

“You’re too strict, then.”

“Keeping my dignity intact is strict now?”

She sighed. “Theodore. No one on earth is more uptight about their dignity than I am. You know how I feel about being embarrassed. But it’s just us, and I promise I won’t judge anything we do. Let’s just let loose, okay? We had fun yesterday, didn’t we?”

The thought of her in that cowboy hat ran through my head. “Yes, we did.”

“Exactly. Trust me on this. I know we’ll have a good time.”

She suddenly held up a Ghostface mask, grinning like she’d just found buried treasure. “Wait. This one’s kind of nostalgic.”

I stopped all movements. “Oh, hell no.”

“What?” she said, all innocence. “You don’t wanna relive Halloween at Eden?”

I shot her a warning look. “You mean the night I almost got caught with my fingers in you on your front steps by your friend?”

She grinned proudly. “Iconic.”

“I haven’t been able to look Izzy in her face without thinking about it for years.”

“Well,” she said, tossing the mask back. “You should’ve put on the mask.”

“I should’ve taken you back to my dorm.”

She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Catwoman and Ghostface it is.”

“Of course it is.”

She smiled as she walked by me. “Trust me, Theodore. Just trust me.”

The cashier barely looked up when we approached the counter. Carmen tossed the Catwoman mask, along with other items she picked up, onto the conveyor belt, then plucked the Ghostface one from under my arm and added it to the pile.

The cashier finally looked up and blinked at the pile. Then, as if the universe had a sense of humor, the guy reached behind the counter and set down a box of condoms like he was tossing napkins into a takeout bag.

“ Nel caso in cui, ” he said dryly. Just in case.

Carmen choked on a laugh.

I blinked. “Condoms and costumes go hand in hand now, huh?”

The cashier shrugged. “It’s summer. People do all kinds of crazy shit.”

The cashier bagged everything without so much as flinching—Catwoman mask, Ghostface, lube, condoms, and one mystery pack of glow-in-the-dark stickers Carmen had slipped in while I wasn’t looking.

“Have a good day,” he said flatly.

Carmen grabbed the bag and sang out. “Oh, we will.”

I held the door open for her, the bell chiming overhead as we stepped back into the cool evening.

“We’re really doing this,” I said aloud as we walked toward the car.

She swung the bag by her side. “Yup, and you’re gonna enjoy every minute.”

“Of course I am,” I smirked and unlocked the car. “You gonna let me take your’s off in the middle? I need to get that pretty cum face on camera.”

She slid into the passenger seat, already buckling up. “Depends. Are you gonna be a good boy?”

“No, not in the slightest.”

She glanced at me with a wicked grin. “You’re gonna regret that.”

Doubt it.

˙???˙

Back at the hotel, Carmen dropped the Halloween store bag on the coffee table and kicked off her shoes. She stretched her arms over her head with a lazy yawn, shirt riding up just enough to tease. My eyes trailed the soft sliver of skin, anticipation curling low in my stomach.

She caught me staring. “You gonna help me set up or just stand there and stare?”

“Staring feels appropriate,” I muttered, toeing off my boots. “But fine. What’s the plan?”

She padded barefoot toward the bedroom, her hips swaying just enough to make it obvious she knew I was watching. “We film in the living room. Lighting’s better.”

“So now you a director?”

“Today, I am,” she said, returning with the old-school camcorder.

I flopped down on the couch while she fiddled with the lens. “Remind me again why we’re doing this?”

She glanced over her shoulder, biting her lip like she held back a grin. “Because you said I couldn’t outdo that shitty Italian porn.”

“I said no such thing.”

She set the camcorder down. “You implied it.”

She pulled her hair into a messy bun, then tugged it loose again with a groan before heading to the bathroom.

“Okay, no, I hate that. I’m doing a ponytail.”

“Of course you are,” I rolled my eyes.

I wanted to get started already.

When she emerged from the bathroom with her hair in a ponytail and the Catwoman mask in hand, I nearly swallowed my tongue. She’d changed into a black crop top that clung to her and black lace panties that barely deserved the name. She didn’t even like black, so I knew this was all for me.

I sat up straighter. “Jesus. Are you trying to kill me?”

She just laughed sweetly and tossed me the Ghostface mask. “Now get dressed. And put the condom on.”

I changed into black sweats, the condom, and nothing else. The mask was dangling from my fingers when I re-entered the room.

“So how’s this gonna work?” I asked.

Carmen adjusted the camcorder, peering through the viewfinder with focus. “We hit record. We stay in frame. You don’t look at the camera too much.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

She pointed at the couch. “Sit.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She slid her mask on, hit record, and crossed the room with slow, deliberate steps. When she stood between my knees, she bent at the waist, lowering her face to mine. The mask hid her eyes, but I could feel her staring.

“Still think I can’t do better?” she asked, voice low and wicked.

I shook my head slowly. She climbed into my lap and straddled me, her fingers sliding the mask on halfway.

And then she kissed me.