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I was shocked by what he had shouted out loud, everyone was groaning and protesting but he wasn’t budging, I quickly ran over to him « Mr. Wrexler, I don’t want to be a bother – you don’t have to –« he shook his head not taking in anything that I was trying to say. I felt my head drop as I watched all of his employee’s trail out of the room and the only ones that were left were him and I.

« So you found your voice again ? » He says with a smirk « Look, I have dealt with a lot of wives who aren’t in the spotlight and I just want to make you feel comfortable. I’m Tobias, Tobias Wrexler. » He held out his hand for me to shake and immediately after placing my hand back in his I felt some sense of relief and calm.

« Monroe, you can call me Monroe. I haven’t felt like Mrs. Bishop in a long time. » I said that last part as low as I could. He cleared his throat as he quickly slipped his hand away from mine. He backed away slightly, getting his camera ready in position in front of his face. « Alright Mrs. B – Monroe, I’m going to do a couple of test shots to get you used to the camera and lights okay ? Just relax for me ? »

I nodded my head at him nervously, he began taking shot after shot and strangely it didn’t take me long to get used to the lights and heat radiating off of them, and soon after I was familiar with the camera in this beautiful man’s hands, focussed on me. I felt myself begin to pose naturally, and my smile begins to brighten. He slowly lowered the camera, exposing a teethy grin on his face. « Monroe, you’re a natural. These are stunning pictures, you are beautif –«

« Hey babe, how’s my number one star doing ? » He waltzed over to me and put his arm around my shoulder as if to mark his territory and I felt Tobias’ eyes tear into my own as he watched my expressions. I looked up at Chase with a weak smile. As if Tobias was reading the signs of me not knowing how to answer « She’s doing great honestly. The camera loves her and she’s absolutely stunning. »

I felt a blush sweep through my face « You’re the photographer right ? Tony something, I was actually talking to my wife. My sister –« He looked up at Tobias and then back down to me as if to say go along with it « My sister Luxe is hungry, so I am going to take her out to lunch and then come back for you –«

I shut my eyes tightly, not even wanting to hear the rest of the conversation « No. I’ll grab an uber, you and your sister have fun ! » I felt myself spit out the word sister with so much malice and venom, I had forgotten that Tobias was in our presence. Chase seemed to be shocked at the harshness of my voice but stayed silent. He nodded his head at me and placed a light kiss on my forehead before leaving the studio.

I didn’t even look his way as he left, I sighed before looking back over to Tobias who was still looking directly at me. « Look, I can tell that there’s something going on and it’s none of my business but we can rearrange the interview. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to talk to someone about how much I love my husband straight after an argument. So you still want to make some magic ? »

Tobias had this cheeky grin on his face and as much as I was angry at Chase, Tobias had this contagious glow that made me want to smile too. « There it is, there’s that smile I was looking for. Keep smiling just like that and they may just put your photo on the front cover. »

I playfully rolled my eyes at his compliments, I posed one after another as he took his shots, I felt myself bashfully giggle like a little school girl at each comment « Can you stop, please ? We are never going anything done if I laugh through every single picture. Do you flirt with every one of your models ? »

He looked down towards his camera, pausing before answering my regrettably bold question « Nah, just the ones that are exceptionally beautiful and the ones that inspire me. »

After flicking through a few of the pictures he just took, he finally looked up fiercely into my eyes. I felt my stomach begin to flutter at his statement, I didn’t know what it was but Tobias made me feel confident « And which one am I ? »

He seductively licked his lips, « Come look for yourself. »

He stalked over to his iMac and pulled up the current photo’s and gestured for me to follow him but I was still hypnotised by the sight of him tracing his tongue over his top lip gazing into my eyes. When I finally reached the table, he had picked a single picture to show me.

« This one’s my favourite. You are so in your element, so beautiful, so ethereal. You just look… happy, genuinely happy. » I felt like there were so much more behind what he had actually said out loud.

It was like he could read me like a book after only knowing me for less than an hour. Was it that obvious that I wasn’t actually happy ? Or was it that obvious that all I craved was happiness and the smallest ounce I received, I latched onto ?

However, that happiness on the face of the woman in those pictures wasn’t from the camera, wasn’t from the lights, weren’t from the clothes and certainly weren’t from modelling. It was all the photographer’s doing.

Feeling the nerves kick in, I got back into position. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I felt the air around us change. We were making magic but I didn’t know which type I wanted more.

The magic of his index finger gliding along his expensive camera to capture an amazing picture of me or his hands gliding along my thighs to my center, grazing my sensitive skin as I felt a tingle of desperation run straight to my core.

I felt my eyes close as I envisioned the scene happening before me. It was so wrong but the feelings he elicited from my body as I remember his touch when he was protectively walking me through the halls, felt so damn right.

Was it the attention from him that I needed ? Was it the intimacy that I craved ? Or was it just the man behind the camera capturing me in more ways than one ?

I began to toy with my wedding band as I thought of how wrong these feelings were, I was married to the man I once believed was the love of my life and I still do but Tobias… Tobias is an enigma.

He emanates everything I thought I once saw in Chase. Passionate. Focussed. Alluring. Mysterious. Driven. Thoughtful, and beautiful in every single way. He was a work of art in his own right. With him, there was this instant attraction, this surge of energy I felt from him, this magnetic pull that I never wanted to repel.

But then there was the guilt. It was at the back of my mind but it was still so evident.

The man I loved had a girlfriend and as much as it hurts to watch it happen, I was not disloyal and I never had it in me to be disloyal. Had, past tense.

We were in an open-marriage technically, but not one time had I ever wanted to say to Chase that I wanted to « explore connections » with other people. I had hope that it would make him see that I am worth being monogamous with but he never did. He never saw me, I was just his « number one » when I should have been his only one.

And then there was Tobias, I had just met him and I suddenly felt all of the vows I had made slip away. I just needed to explore it ; the connection, the thoughts, him.

I needed to know that my body wasn’t lying to me when it ignited under his touch. I needed to know that my heart racing every time he looked up at me with those inviting eyes was because they spoke nothing but the truth. I needed to know that my wet panties weren’t just a figment of my imagination causing my mind to cloud over with desire. I needed to know that everything I felt was real and mutual.

Tobias Wrexler. The man that made me want to delve in headfirst into his oceans.

« Ethereal. That’s the only way to describe your beauty. » I caught my breath as I found myself back in the room, with him as just the photographer and me as his model but in my mind, I wanted to let us be so much more. « - But I want to see you, I want you to let all your walls down, I want to see you. I need you exposed, bare, naked. »

I felt my heart begin to race, I hadn’t even registered what he had just said until he was right in front of me, stroking his hands up and down my arms. « Monroe, you are one of the most stunning women I have ever come across and I just want you to see that but you won’t until you let all your insecurities go. It’s just us, the photographer and his muse. »

His muse.

I closed my eyes tightly as I begun to shake my head, this was all wrong. I was loyal, I wanted one man, I wanted one husband, I wanted my husband. That’s what I tried to tell myself but my conscience wasn’t speaking loud enough, my wedding ring didn’t feel like it fit right, the vows I had said to my now husband had vanished from my mind and my wedding day felt like it was a blur.

All there was, was Tobias. He wanted to see me and that’s all I could fathom. He let his hands drop as he began to move back towards his tripod. He didn’t turn around for a second, he wanted to see every part of my flesh. My bare, exposed, flawed flesh.