He waited until her call to move to the bedroom, though he still dragged his camera and a couple of the more portable lights.
… then paused.
Mia was on the bed, wearing a midnight blue lace nightie that had been definitely designed to be worn with underwear … which she seemed to be missing.
It was a beautiful, striking piece.
She also put a sharp and smoky makeup, enhancing her beauty even more.
Charlie’s loss, his gain.
It was even better when, rather than posing deliberately, she was rubbing his sheets almost absentmindedly.
“Something more interesting than me,” he teased, even as he put out the light.
She blushed.
“Sorry, I didn’t expect your sheets to be this … comfortable,” she whispered.
“They are a gift from a friend,” he said.
“They just arrived today, so you’re lucky,” he added, then paused, letting his smirk widen slightly, just enough to show her that he understood exactly what was going on and was playing along.
“For enjoying such a luxurious boudoir environment, of course.”
“Of course,” she said, pausing for a moment as if she were trying to come to a decision.
“What kind of pose do you want?”
“Why don’t you surprise me?” he replied, even as he quickly prepared the simple light setup, far easier than the previous shoot.
She was quiet for a moment, turning the idea over with the same methodical care she brought to earlier abstract photos despite the added heat.
“Lingerie is different from abstract nudity.
Abstract work is about form.
Lingerie is about the person … the allure,” she whispered as she shifted.
“The desire…”
“Exactly…” he whispered, his tone no less loaded than hers.
After all, he hadn’t been investing in Appearance and Charisma for nothing; a glance and a whisper were enough to enflame Mia’s passions that had been doused by the earlier abstract shoot.
“Now, surprise me,” he said.
Mia posed, and he took photos, a part of him fascinated by just how similar, yet different, two shoots were.
In both, Mia had shown the benefits of her flexibility and excellent body control that had been perfected over years of stage work, but while the previous one was cold as ice, this one was burning with desire.
It was fascinating how differently nudity could hit in different contexts.
As he reached to pull her strap to the side so it gave an alluring aura, Mia arched her back, giving out a voice that was surprisingly close to a moan.
She acted good, but his perception meant that he could see that it was mostly fake, a way to entice him to bed.
He could have … technically, it would be fun.
But, would it be as fun as torturing her slowly with the camera while he aroused her?
“Where do you want me?” she asked after a few questions.
“Stand up.
I want you to press against the wall and show me your back,” he said.
She did, rising to her toes, which pulled her already short nightie up, giving a glimpse of her perfectly toned ass.
He might have been photographing that ass for the last few hours, but this time, it sent his blood flowing.
“Now face me.
Slowly.”
She rotated, and the transition was a master class in body control.
Not a dancer’s pivot, but a slow, teasing reveal, each angle offering a different composition that burned with invitation.
“Hands,” he said.
“Give me something with your hands.”
She raised one hand to her collarbone, fingers spread, the gesture both protective and exposing.
The other hand found her hip, which pushed the skirt of her nightgown even higher.
She smiled at his reaction, but he didn’t surrender.
Instead, he commanded her to move around the room, his throaty whispers showing exactly how much he enjoyed every ‘accidental’ peek.
She then went back to bed, unprompted, slipped under the sheets, and pulled her nightie off in one move to the side of the bed, still visible.
It covered far more skin than her nightie, yet it was far more arousing.
As if her nightie had been the last piece of her resistance, and removing it signaled surrender.
She moaned as she shuffled in the bed, the expensive fabric whispering against her skin, which she clearly enjoyed.
She looked vulnerable.
Not weak, just vulnerable and needly, asking for his attention.
One that he wanted to give soon, considering her moans slowly lost their fake edge, turning honest.
She shifted to a sitting position and gathered the cover against her chest, giving him a wide cleavage.
“Amazing,” he whispered, but this time, it wasn’t as a photographer, not even a playful one.
No, it was the whisper of a man.
It only got more intense when she let the covers go, giving him a glimpse of her naked body, her core wet, her nipples hard, her body begging for him.
He took several more photos until his legs felt powerless.
He sat on the edge of the mattress, the camera still in his hands, and she reached up and touched the lens, gently pushing it aside.
Not taking it.
Redirecting it.
The gesture was precise.
A signal to stop shooting.
He put the camera down.
He didn’t offer to take a video.
With Penny, video had been a way to further push her limits.
He had a feeling that, with Mia, it would have the opposite effect.
[Achievement complete.
A naked, erotic photoshoot with Mia with seductive undertones to punish her boyfriend.
Challenge: Hard]
[+10 Agility
1 Random Gold Skill
1 Random Gold Reward]
[Bonus achievement complete.
Netori effect in play]
[+10 Charisma
Matching skill found.
Upgrade Intermediate Piano
1 Random Gold Reward]
Even as he removed his shirt, he wondered about receiving the Netori effect.
Because, when Penny declared a relationship break to Leonard, it hadn’t triggered, yet Mia in a similar situation yet it triggered.
Maybe it was the woman’s attitude.
Penny was serious when she declared the break, while Mia knowingly used it as an excuse to punish her boyfriend.
Not that he was complaining, even as he picked Agility and Piano upgrades.
He didn’t necessarily expect piano to benefit him more than improving his charisma, but he found himself enjoying art more than expected.
[Rare Skill: You are skilled in handling the piano, enough to work in a major orchestra, or play solos in minor orchestras.]
The Agility boost hit as a welcome bonus, allowing him to control his body better, which included the way his tongue danced in Mia’s mouth.
Perception allowed him to catch her minor reactions better, and Agility allowed him to leverage them further.
That made her moan desperately, her hand finding the back of his neck, her fingers threading into his hair with a surprising lack of control.
It was sexy, though not as sexy as her other hand finding his pants, struggling with them almost desperately, excitement slowing her touch down.
He responded by caressing her sides; her reactions allowing him to zero in on the correct level of pressure.
She arched into him, her body pressing against his with a power that would have shocked him if he hadn’t watched her push herself to her limits during their shoot.
However, he didn’t let her climb on top.
The moment she managed to untie his pants, he lay on his back and pulled her on top of him.
On top of her, she danced … in a way that shocked him.
On top of him, she wasn’t a ballerina, but a filthy stripper who was determined to rob even the last bit of cash from her victim.
He had to admit, the skills of a professional ballerina combined with that mindset were devastatingly effective, breaking all his control.
He grabbed her hips, and pushed inside her mercilessly, destroying her short stint as a stripper.
“Yes,” she moaned as he grabbed her hips, drilling her mercilessly, not giving her even a second to process the shift.
She tightened her arms, vocal enough to force him to kiss her, though it was hardly a chore.
Even as he rammed inside her with explosive recklessness, she matched his movements, showing the benefits of her professional career.
But, his attention was on her suppressed moans.
They were not performative, but perfectly genuine, coming from somewhere deep.
He realized the source soon.
A part of it was the nature.
Ambitious people, especially ones with physical aspects like athletes and dancers, naturally had higher libidos.
Then, there was the fact that she had been forcing herself to abstain to prove some kind of point, turning her sexy body into a powder keg of suppressed desire.
Poor Charlie, he decided.
He waited all that time, only to fumble the ball at the last second, letting him scoop the reward.
Neither of them said anything, each moving with passionate desperation, their wild speed not matching anything else.
When he exploded inside her twenty minutes later, triggered by her desperate clamping, he was breathing hard, glad for the Endurance and Perception.
Even with both bonuses, it had been a close thing.
So much that, he realized that without Piano skill, he might have failed.
However, Adept Piano meant that he had much greater control over his fingers, which proved beneficial in bed as well.
Close call… Just as he guessed.
Mia was trouble in bed … the best kind.
[Achievement complete.
Seduce Mia into your bed and blow her mind by giving her the best orgasm she ever had, enough to make her question every relationship, past and current.
Challenge: Daring]
[+25 Agility
1 Random Platinum Skill
1 Random Platinum Reward]
[Bonus achievement complete.
Netori effect in play]
[+25 Charisma
Matching skill found.
Upgrade Adept Piano
1 Random Platinum Reward]
The text of his achievement surprised him.
He knew that the night had been good, both in terms of physical effort, and the whole setup.
Mia was an artist, and it meant that essentially, they started with a five-hour foreplay session, but even then … the best orgasm ever, enough for her to question every single relationship, had been a surprise.
He took a deep breath and picked stat rewards, not wanting to miss Agility.
He was also tempted to get Charisma as well, but he picked Piano.
He not only wanted to see the next stage of skill and explore its artistic joy…
But also wanted to enjoy its side benefits.
After all, finger flexibility had too many perks.
[Expert Piano Expertise]
[Epic Skill: You are a master of handling the piano, enough to play concertos for major orchestras.]
He hummed, waiting for Mia to return to the land of the living.
“M-my legs,” she whispered almost five minutes later.
“I … I don’t think they’ll ever work again.”
“Really,” he said playfully as he switched positions, suddenly grabbing her legs, putting them on his shoulders, and slipping her inside.
“Then I need to be more creative.”
Her eyes widened.
“You can’t be ready to go again?
Already?”
“I have a decent condition,” he teased.
That earned a desperate chuckle from her.
“No.
I have decent conditioning.
You’re a monster,” she said.
“Don’t smirk.
It wasn’t a compliment,” she said.
He slipped inside her, and she moaned.
“Really?
It wasn’t a compliment?” he teased.
She moaned again.
“Well.
Maybe a small compliment,” she said.
“You were … decent.”
“Decent?” he said as he slowed his movements, going in and out with a slow pace.
“I should stop if I’m merely decent.
I don’t want to insult your artistic sensibilities.”
She shivered.
“Well, maybe a touch more than decent,” she whispered.
He quirked his eyebrow.
She blushed.
“It was the best I ever had.
Happy now?” she asked, her anger dying to a chuckle, followed by a moan.
“Very happy,” he replied shamelessly.
He continued pushing, though he felt curious.
“At the risk of ruining the moment, I would have expected dancers to be … well, better in bed, flexible and with endurance.”
“You are missing one point.
Most of the male dancers are either gay, and the ones that aren’t usually come with an oversized ego.
I stopped dating other dancers long ago.
It’s not fun to be in bed with someone, and catch them admiring themselves in the mirror.”
“That was deeper than I expected,” he said, then smirked.
“Speaking of deeper…” he added, then pushed deep into her core, her legs still on his shoulders.
Her flexibility meant that even as he folded her in two, she was enjoying the moment.
“You’re a bastard,” she moaned once he let her legs go, but considering she responded by flipping him down and climbing onto his lap to ride him, the insult didn’t exactly have a bite.
Soon, it turned into a fun, charged challenge.
They departed the bed, and instead started using the various surfaces in the house, almost as a challenge.
A challenge that quickly tested his newfound Agility as well as she led them to some positions trickier than he expected.
Not that he was complaining.
It was almost dawn when they stopped, once again in his bed.
“I really like your sheets,” she whispered, caressing their perfect texture.
He couldn’t blame her.
They were good.
“Well, you’re free to enjoy them anytime.
Just give me a call,” he whispered, then kissed her.
That made her pause.
“That might not be possible,” she whispered, suddenly tensing.
“I…”
He kissed her again.
“You don’t have to explain anything if you don’t want to,” he said.
She nodded.
“Will you still invite me to museums even if we never sleep together?” she asked, suddenly vulnerable.
“Of course,” he replied without even pausing, his hand gently on her waist.
“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I see sex as a…”
“Exercise,” she completed, but her tone was sharp.
“No, not exercise,” he corrected.
“Exercise means something emotionless, only physical.
What we did was something different.
Something emotional as well.
I see it as an extension of friendship,” he said.
“I select my partners carefully.”
That made her giggle.
“We just met a few days ago,” she said.
“That’s hardly careful, is it?”
He hugged her tighter.
“In my opinion, time is an exaggerated about connections.
There are couples married for twenty years that are less connected than two of us,” he said.
“I might not know your favorite color or flower, but I understand the intensity of your passions and fears.
It has to count for something, right?” he asked.
Mia said nothing.
She just reached forward and started kissing him.
He felt a little mean.
Just a little.
What he told wasn’t a lie; or even about knowing her from the screen.
Working with her as a photographer for hours while she revealed her soul bare had been an interesting experience.
However, he also knew that a talk that laid emotions bare was not something that Charlie could ever replicate.
Their relationship had always been doomed, but he had a feeling that he had just changed the clock.
[Achievement complete.
Make Mia develop a deep crush on you.
Challenge: Daring]
[+25 Agility
1 Random Platinum Skill
1 Random Platinum Reward]
[Bonus achievement complete.
Netori effect in play]
Challenge: Daring]
[+25 Charisma
1 Random Platinum Skill
1 Random Platinum Reward]
He hummed as he received the rewards, and picked stats for both cases, surprised by her reaction … but maybe he shouldn’t have been.
Not when her boyfriend had dropped the ball monumentally, only for him to join with a rather strong showing.
He enjoyed the kiss, happy with the situation.
He didn’t know if Mia would still leave Los Angeles for New York, but it didn’t matter.
He never promised her exclusivity, and other than that, if she wanted to interject herself into his life, he would be happy with it.
If she moved to New York … well, it wasn’t like flying was such a big chore.
Not to mention, he always wanted to visit New York…
At the same time, he reached his stats, checking the final results.
[Intelligence: 93]
[Attractiveness: 65]
[Charisma: 60]
[Perception: 60]
[Endurance: 60]
[Agility: 65]
[Expert Piano Expertise
Intermediate Cello Expertise
Adept Photography
Intermediate Fashion
Intermediate Acting
Novice Social Management
Adept Programming]
His development was coming along nicely…