Phase (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #1) (35 page)

His breathing sped and his eyes widened. “Clothing optional?”

I bit my lip. “No promises, but maybe I can arrange it if I can get my family out of the house for a few hours. Or find somewhere else to do it.”

He started to say something, but I was distracted by a knock on the door.

“Just a sec, Beau,” I said getting up to answer it.

Flynn’s smiling face poked around the door. “All right, Pheebs, I’m going to head off now, it was great spending time with you again today.”

I hummed as I hugged him. “You too. We need to do it more often.”

“You know anytime you wanna stop in, you’re always welcome.”

“I know. Maybe next Saturday we can spend the day together?”

“It’s a date,” he said before heading off. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

When I got back to my computer, Beau had disconnected the call and his profile was offline. I tried it anyway, just in case something had happened, but it just rang out.

I picked up the phone and there was a text waiting from him.
Sorry, called away. Talk soon.

With a sigh, I shut the laptop lid and headed back out to find something to do for the rest of my Saturday. After nothing came to mind, I called Angel and told her about the bike, and about Beau’s request. She was at home for a few weeks, and we were overdue for a catch up anyway.

“Are you really going to take nudes with your bike?”

“Nudes? God no. Trust me, I can’t afford to have that anywhere on the net, but there’s nothing wrong with a few bra and panties shots, is there?”

“It’s nothing worse than what’s been asked of you recently anyway.”

“Exactly. So, are you free to help me out?”

“Getting to snap photos of you in your bra and panties? Like I wouldn’t jump at that chance. It’ll be a good addition to my portfolio.” Her latest crusade around her modelling shoots was to become a photographer—to get money from both sides of the camera, as she put it.

“Awesome, I’ll come around this afternoon and we can get some sunset ones.”

“Yeah, that’ll be hot. Do you have a bra or bikini that matches the bike? Or, better yet, bring your sexiest black bra. And your leathers too.”

“You’ve put way too much thought into this, Angel,” I teased.

“Don’t you know it, you sexy beast.” She made a throaty roaring sound.

“See you soon.”

I rummaged through my bra drawer and settled on a black lacy number with sky blue ribbons woven into the top of the cups. The blue didn’t exactly match the bike, but I didn’t figure Beau would complain about the conflicting shades. Especially not when it was the right shade to draw out the colour in my eyes.

Once I had that sorted, I grabbed my leathers and a plain black tee and headed for a shower. After shaving, drying, moisturising, dressing, and pulling my hair into a braid, I headed down to grab my keys.

When I had them in my hand, Dad raised his brow at me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to show Angel my bike.”

“So, I give you my grudging permission this morning, and you’re already taking advantage.”

“I’m glad you understand,” I said as I kissed his cheek and pocketed my keys. I was out the door before he could argue.

An hour later, I was in Angel’s backyard, draping myself over my bike in a series of provocative poses. We’d done some fully dressed to start with, just in case I chickened out about sending the others. Then I’d slowly peeled off another layer of clothing with each series of shots. As we went, Angel showed me what the camera captured and some of them were hot.

“Fuck, Pheebs, if these don’t get him touching himself, the man’s got issues,” she declared at the latest shot. She’d taken it angled up at me from the ground near the front wheel of my bike. Leaning forward, with my arms draped over the handlebars, I was sure the photo showed off my push-up enhanced boobs perfectly.

I sat up to change poses. “That’s not why I’m sending him . . .” I trailed off when she lifted her brow.

“Yeah, right. If you weren’t hoping for that, you’d just send the first lot and be done with it.”

I wiggled forward on the bike, taking care with my balance as I lay backward on the seat, and swung my now-loose hair over my shoulder before reaching back to hold the sissy bars with one hand. “Okay, so maybe I’m hoping to give him something to make sure he doesn’t forget me.”

Angel moved a few strands of my hair and adjusted the cup on my bra. “I doubt he’d forget you. Not after the lengths he’s gone to in order to keep you around. Twice.”

“I know. I just, I really like him, Angel”—she snapped a couple of photos while I was talking, no doubt trying to capture the smile on my face as I thought of him—“and I know that this distance thing won’t work long term, and that scares me.”

She shrugged before taking another shot. “So don’t do the long-distance thing.”

I laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement. “Sure, I’ll just up and move to the States tomorrow.”

“Well, maybe not tomorrow, but why not?”

“What?” It wasn’t the first time she’d said something of the sort, but it was still just as impossible as ever.

“Except for your family, who will not only cope without you but will be easily contactable, what’s keeping you in Australia right now?”

“My career.” The words were out instantly, an instinct. The only reason outside of my family that had stopped me from climbing onto a plane.

“Pheebs, I know you’re getting your first year in the enduros this year, but taking a break is hardly going to stop you from achieving your goal there. You’ve got more than a year before you’re due to take the ProV8 over, right?”

I nodded, unable to say anything more as the thought took root.

“Is it really going to hurt to be overseas until that happens? And if things work out with Beau, well, it’s not exactly the end of the world if you don’t ever race in the ProV8, is it? Drivers clamour to race for your dad’s team so it’s not like he couldn’t find someone to take over instead of you.”

“But what would I do?”

“Gee, I don’t know. It’s not like there are any racing categories in the US you could try out for instead . . . oh, wait.” She put her hands on her hips and raised her brow at me, trying to get her point across—as if her heavy-handed sarcasm wasn’t quite enough.

I sat up as my stomach fluttered and my palms grew sweaty at her words because she was right. Besides loyalty and my family, there wasn’t really much keeping me from going overseas, at least for a while. I didn’t have to go forever, but it could be the chance to see where things might go with Beau. To tell him how I felt and explain everything that could be in store for me in the future and see whether he was willing to accept me, flaws and all.

“I think we have enough.” Angel pulled the memory card out of her camera and dropped it down into my bra.

When I protested the move and clutched at my boobs, she giggled.

“Wanna go somewhere for dinner?” she asked.

I fished out the tiny card and slipped it into the slot of my phone. “Sure, give me a sec.”

“Are you texting him right now?”

My thumb hovered over the image gallery. “What?”

“When texting your man your slutty photos is more important than getting dressed, you’ve got it bad.”

“Hey, they’re not slutty.”

“No, they’re not. They’re beautiful. If they ever get online though, you know they’re going to cause a riot.”

“They wouldn’t end up online. Beau wouldn’t . . . he’s too much of a gentleman to do that.”

“You know the guy, I don’t. I’m just saying you should probably warn him before sending through something like that. You might give him a heart attack otherwise. He is an old man after all.”

“Fuck off, he’s only twenty-four.”

“You’re too easy when it comes to him. It’s almost unsportsmanlike to take pot shots at you. Oh wait, ‘you’re too easy.’ There’s another one and I wasn’t even trying.”

I flipped her the bird as I selected one of the less provocative photos that still showed enough skin to hint at what he was missing, and clicked to share it.

Miss me?
I texted along with the picture before grabbing my T-shirt and slipping it over my head. “Okay, so where to?”

“Well, maybe a steakhouse. It’s pretty clear you’ve got a big ol’ slab of meat on your mind.”

I figured if she wasn’t going to give it a rest, I might as well join her in the gutter. “Don’t you know it? If you’d tasted the buffet, you’d be hankering for a great big sirloin too.”

“Hmm, now you’re just being mean. Unless, of course, you’re offering to share.”

“Aw hell no. Cowboy is mine.”

She pouted. “He certainly sounds big enough to go around.”

“I’ll pass along the compliment.” I winked at her. “You gonna sleep over tonight?”

“May as well.” She cast a look over her shoulder toward the house. “Mum’s already out of it.”

While she went into the house to gather up some things, I texted Mum to let her know we’d have a guest, and checked to see if Beau had replied, even though I didn’t expect him to. He should have still been sleeping after all.

Heard the message tone, had to check it. Mighty fine pic.

I grinned.
That’s not even the best one. I’ll send you another when you Skype me next.

If all the pics are like that one, I’ll be Skyping you first thing in the morning.

The fact that he seemed so appreciative made me feel powerful.
That one is tame compared to the rest.

Nine thirty your time, don’t be late.
I could almost hear the raspy tone of his voice while he said it.

“What are you grinning at?” Angel’s voice startled me and I almost dropped my phone.

“Nothing.”

“You’re sextin’ Mr. Howdy Doody, aren’t you?”

My cheeks heated. “No. We were just making a date, that’s all.”

“Sure, a date to get fah-reaky.”

“Well, considering it’s for tonight while you’re at my home, I don’t think we’ll be getting freaky.”

“Don’t let me stop you. In fact, let me know when it’s starting, so I can have the popcorn ready.”

“Ha ha. You ready to go?”

She climbed behind me on the bike and pretended to swing a lasso. “Giddy up.”

“RUNNING LATE, RUNNING late!” I left Angel to fend for herself with my family as I raced in the door. I was already twenty minutes late for my Skype date with Beau. Angel had decided to have a couple of drinks with dinner and then had taken to the dance floor. I’d found her at nine and tried to drag her off just as our song came on. So of course, I had to join her for a dance. One dance became three, and before I knew it, it was already after nine thirty. I’d dragged her away despite her pouting and protests.

I raced to my room and slammed the door behind me. Without stopping, I grabbed my laptop, pushing the Power button as soon as I opened it. Climbing onto my bed, I set my laptop up on my lap. The instant Skype was online and Beau’s name popped up, I pressed to call him.

A second later, Beau’s face was in front of me and the stress I’d had while racing home just melted away. “Howdy, darlin’, I was startin’ to think ya stood me up.”

“Never. I just got caught up getting hot and sweaty on the dance floor with a friend.”

A shadow passed over his features, but he shook it off and grinned. “Well, now you on the dance floor, there’s an image I’d like to see.”

“When we see each other again, we’ll definitely have to go dancing.”

“The question is, will it be my music we’ll be dancing to? Or that noise you call songs?”

After the dinner with Angel, and all our usual flirty talk rather than having to babysit my siblings, I was feeling a little friskier than usual. “You wanna see me doing some boot-scootin’, cowboy?”

“Aw, dang, yeah! I could see ya in some Daisy Dukes, your hair in pigtails, a pair of leather boots on your feet.”

I played with my hair while he spoke, a smile teasing my lips. “Sounds like you’ve been having some fantasies there, mister.”

“When ya send me pictures like the ones ya did, can ya blame a guy? I spent over half the night dreaming of you.”

“Oh, and that wasn’t even the worst—” I bit my lip. “Or should I say
best
one.”

His gaze roamed my face and his smile turned wicked. “That’s right, you promised me more, didn’t ya?”

“I did. Unless of course, you’d rather the live action replay.”

He shifted in his seat as his gaze trailed down onto my chest before lifting back to mine. “What’re ya doin’ to me, darlin’?”

“It’s not what I am doing, but what I want to do.” I trailed my hand over my tits. “If I was there right now, fuck neither of us would be unsatisfied.”

He made the choking sound I’d heard on the phone so often. The out-of-his-depth expression on his face at the same time was too damn cute.

“But I have a visitor here for a sleepover and I can’t be too long, so let’s just settle for the photos, shall we?”

I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent the images to my computer.

Without sending them to him just yet, I started looking through them. “Damn, that one’s hot.” I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, making sure I still had his attention. “Oh, wow, would you look at my tits in that one.”

He groaned. “The suspense is killing me here, li’l miss.”

“You promise you won’t share them with anyone? It’s showing a great degree of faith to send these to you. They’d be worth a fortune to the Aussie tabloids.”

“Heh, trust me, darlin’, no eyes will see them but mine.”

“Okay good. What do you think of this one?” I sent him one of the ones from the bottom angle, where my tits were practically leaping out of my bra.

His smile grew as he opened the file and waited for the download, and then his jaw fell slack. “Dang.” He shifted in his seat.

Pride filled me that I was able to draw such a reaction from him.

“Or this one?”

He gave a low whistle as his eyes roamed the picture.

“You like that one?”

“Oh, yeah.” He looked back at me. “I mean, the bike turned out real nice, didn’t it?”

“Sure, the bike.”

“Yep, it’s definitely the bike that gets my attention.”

“And without looking at it again, can you tell me what colour the bike is?” I indicated with my fingers that he should keep his eyes focused on me so he didn’t cheat.

“Seafoam,” he muttered.

“Huh?”

“That’s all I see when I look at that picture, darlin’, your pretty seafoam eyes. And that make-up ya have on just makes those babies pop.”

“You really like my eyes, don’t you?”

“I have very good memories of your eyes. They were the first thing I noticed. They were also one of the last things I saw. Then there was that
other
memory ya gave me.” He blushed.

“I wish you were here,” I said. “The things I’d do to you. The things I’d beg you to do to me.”

“You’re gonna make me late for work again, aren’t ya?”

Taking a deep breath, I lifted my shirt off over my head. “Would it be worth it?”

A gasp left his lips as my move caught him off guard. “Sweet Jesus, darlin’.”

I glanced down at my bra before looking at him through my lashes. “You like?”

“What’s not to like?”

“I dunno.” I tugged on one of the straps. “I mean, you could take exception to the bra?”

“Isn’t that the same one in the photos?”

A grin crossed my lips. “You noticed that did you?”

“There ain’t much that escapes my attention.”

“Except the colour of the bike,” I said with a laugh.

“Maybe I shoulda said there ain’t much that escapes my attention when it comes to you.”

“So, it wouldn’t escape your attention if I did this?” I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra.

“No, li’l lady, I can honestly say that wouldn’t escape my attention.” He sat forward and his tongue slicked over his lips.

“What about this?” I slid the straps off my arms and crossed my arms over my chest. My breath was coming hard and fast at the thought of the intimacy of getting nude in front of him. Somehow, even though he’d seen me naked before, stripping for him in front of the camera felt like baring my soul.

His gaze trailed over my bare chest. “You’re givin’ me plenty to pay attention to, that’s for sure.”

With a shy smile playing on my lips, and my heart pounding so fast it was ridiculous, I uncrossed my arms. “Like this?”

“Lord help me, darlin’, I—” A female voice called his name in the background. Beau frowned and then turned away from the camera. “Dang it, I gotta go.”

The call disconnected a second later before I’d even had a chance to say goodbye. I frowned. “Umm, bye then I guess.”

My cheeks burned as I thought about how dismissive he’d been as he left me. It was the second time he’d just disappeared on me. And who was the girl?

I slipped my clothes back on and went to find Angel. When I found her in conversation with Mum and Dad, I asked if she wanted to head back out. She took one look at me and agreed.

It was only when we arrived back at the pub that I spilled about what had happened.

“Maybe he was just running late for work?” Angel offered as a reason for his fast dismissal.

“Maybe. But who was the girl?”

“An assistant?”

I hummed with uncertainty.

“Of all people, you know how easily things can be misinterpreted. Just look at your parents. If your mum hadn’t trusted your dad, how different would things be now?”

“I guess. It’s just hard. I mean, what if—”

She rolled her eyes. “Just leave it for tonight, and ask him when you speak to him next.”

“You’re right.”

“I know I am; now let’s go dance.”

I let her lead me out onto the dance floor where we were soon surrounded by a throng of people. The perfect place to let my worries go and just relax. We stayed out late and partied hard. Well, Angel partied and drank while I kept a close eye on her. At least until the paps turned up and snapped photos of Angel and me dancing in a throng of guys. No doubt my face would be all over the tabloids accompanied by “Party girl takes after her daddy” or some similar headline.

Just before I went to bed early the next morning, after riding home with a drunk chick on the back of my bike, I checked my phone and found a text from Beau.
I came back on as soon as I could and you were gone. Hope you had a good night’s sleep.

At least he hadn’t totally forgotten me.
Got lonely and headed for a night out with a friend. Just going to bed now.

It took almost five minutes for the next message to come through.
Okay, sleep tight, darlin’, talk soon.