Try as he might, Lucas simply could not get his hands to stop shaking. The past few weeks had seen the photography student push boundaries in ways that he never dreamed possible, or even thought he should. Get a grip, he urged himself silently, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself. This should be no problem for you. You’ve taken pin-up photos of Kara before, right?

Not like this, though. Never like this. This was the first time he’d ever been in her room, or any woman’s room for that matter, and that alone was enough to inflame his anxieties and undermine whatever shred of confidence he’d managed to hold on to. Then there was the exact nature of the day’s shoot, of what kind of pin-ups she’d wanted him to take of her, and he’d complied only with the greatest trepidation, forever afraid he might accidently make her uncomfortable or otherwise screw up. He’d managed a dozen good pics before the shaking in his hands became too much to bear, and now his precious camera sat on the nearby desk, abandoned while he vainly tried to get some measure of control. “Sorry… just need a minute here.”

“Mmmmppgghh…” came a woman’s muffled groan, and despite himself, Lucas felt his gaze drifting to the various movie posters plastered about Kara’s room, the computer desk that dominated the far wall, the titles of the various books scattered like fallen leaves about the space, anything to keep from gawking at the beautiful young woman kneeling on the bed. “Mmmmpppggghh!” There was a note of impatience now, and swallowing nervously, Lucas steeled himself and turned back towards the bed.

Where Kara Eriksson sat waiting for him, bound and gagged and eager to continue, dark eyes fixed on him like a hawk’s and turning his blood to smoke. It had been merest chance that brought the two college freshmen together, his excursion into the nearby woods to do some nature photography interrupted by the arrival of the beautiful nineteen-year-old jogging, an irritation she’d felt falling off her pace quickly forgotten when she learned he was an aspiring photographer. In the space of minutes, she’d wrangled him into taking some glamour shots of her, the first time he’d ever used another person as a subject. In the following weeks, she’d become his partner, model and muse, whatever hesitations he might have had about doing pin-up art routinely deflected by some honeyed words and hooded glances from Kara.

It certainly didn’t hurt matters that she was very photogenic. Lithe and fair and vivacious, Kara was the sort of woman who’d stand out in a crowd of thousands, and trying not to stare at her was a real challenge, no matter how much time they spent together. Short dark hair framed a face blessed with high cheekbones and pouty red lips, not to mention those arresting dark eyes that never failed to stop him dead in his tracks with every stray glance. Meanwhile, her taut, athletic body moved with a catlike grace, stirring thoughts in Lucas he was certain she’d find offensive, especially in the form-fitting white t-shirt and red bloomer shorts she wore for the photoshoot.

And a bondage photoshoot, no less. Somehow, she’d managed to convince the timid photographer to take pin-up shots of her while she was tied up and gagged, and thus there she was, kneeling demurely on crisp white sheets, wrists and ankles shackled in front of her with leather cuffs and a black ball gag filling her mouth. “Mmmppgghh!” she cried out again past the rubber, bound hands coming up to tap the right side of her jaw three times.

It took Lucas’ anxious mind a few moments to recognize their agreed-upon signal to free her. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” he blurted out, immediately darting to her side to unbuckle the gag. The ball slid free from out between pouty lips, and Lucas gave her an opportunity to catch her breath before continuing. “God, I’m such an idiot. I should have paid more attention, I--”

“Why do you do that?”

It was a simple question, calmly asked, but enough to halt the flow of the photographer’s ramblings mid-stream. “What… what do you mean? Why do I do what?”

“Belittle yourself,” Kara insisted, dark eyes never leaving him for a second. “You’re a great photographer, Lucas, and I always enjoy working with you. I’ve had so much fun today! So why do you keep acting like you’ve done something wrong?”

“You have?”

“Of course, silly. I’m the star of some super-sexy pin-ups, I’m all tied up, and I’m hanging out with a very cute guy. Why wouldn’t I be having fun?” On bound hands and knees, she crawled towards him, lips curving up into a mischievous smile. “Tell me, do you like seeing me this way, Lucas? Not just artistically, I mean.”

“I…” It would have been a simple thing to lie to her, to tell her that she meant nothing to him. But he’d always striven to be honest, and for all his nerves, he still enjoyed their photo sessions, so that alone demanded the truth. “I do. Like you, I mean. Not that I expect any--”

A passionate kiss cut off his next self-effacing statement. Grinning, Kara lay back down onto the bed, hand flopped over her brow in a suitably melodramatic pose. “Oh, no, I’m a cute schoolgirl who’s been captured after gym class and taken prisoner by a pervert! What is going to happen to me?”

The camera returned to its rightful place in his hands. “He’ll take more kinky pin-ups of you?” Lucas asked innocently, unable to keep from smiling.

“For starters. After that, well, who knows what he might do?”