Craving My Ruthless Ceo novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172

Anna’s POV

I wrapped the robe tight around myself and stepped back into the studio.

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“There she is!” Laurent walked over, his eyes sweeping over me even though the robe covered everything. “Anna, you look incredible. Even I can tell through that robe.”

Everyone turned to look at me, the assistants, the lighting crew, Tamika, Javier. All eyes on me.

Javier nodded from behind his camera. “Let’s get you in position and we’ll do some test shots.”

“Actually.” I pulled the robe tighter. “Laurent, I think the lingerie is more revealing than what you described. I’m not sure about this.”

Laurent’s expression didn’t change. He stepped closer, lowering his voice like we were sharing a secret. “Anna, you look beautiful. I promise, we’ll edit anything you’re not comfortable with. We can soften shadows, adjust angles. You won’t even recognize yourself, in a good way.”

“I don’t know.”

“Just try a few shots.” He reached for the robe. “If you hate it, we stop. But I have a feeling you’re going to love how these

turn out.”

I hesitated, my fingers clutching the silk.

He’s manipulating you. You know he is.

But I also knew if I walked out now, I’d go back to being the same Anna who played it safe. Who let men make decisions for her.

I loosened my grip on the robe and let it fall.

Laurent’s smile widened. “Perfect. Javier, how does she look?”

“Stunning.” Javier adjusted his lens. “Anna, stand right there for me. Shoulders back, chin up slightly.”

I moved to the white backdrop, every muscle in my body tense. Someone had oiled my skin earlier, and now it caught the lights, making me glow in a way that felt foreign.

“Good, good.” Javier circled me with the camera. “Now turn to the side. Hand on your hip. Other hand, touch your hair

I tried to follow his directions, but my movements felt stiff. Awkward.

“Relax,” Laurent called out. “You’re gorgeous. Own it.”

I took a breath and adjusted my stance. The camera clicked rapid-fire, the sound filling the studio.

“Beautiful!” Javier lowered the camera. “Let’s try some sitting poses. There’s a chair behind you

I sat, crossing my legs, then uncrossing them when Javier shook his head. My hands didn’t know where to go. On my thighs? Behind me? In my hair?

“Perfect, stay like that.” Click, click, click. “Turn your head to the left. Good. Now look at me over your shoulder

Minutes blurred together. Pose after pose, angle after angle. I stated to find a rhythm, my body moving on instinct rather than thought.

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Laurent stood off to the side, watching with his arms crossed. “See? You’re a natural.”

Maybe I could do this after all.

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“I love it.” Laurent stepped closer to Javier, looking at the camera screen. “But let’s push it a little. Anna, how about we lose the top? You can cover yourself with your hands.”

My stomach dropped. “What?”

“It’ll be artistic.” He waved his hand like it was nothing. “Very tasteful. Just try it.”

“I don’t think so.”

Javier lowered his camera. “It could look really beautiful. Very editorial.”

Before I could say anything, Laurent jogged over to me, his expression bright with excitement.

“Anna, listen to me,” he said gently. “This would look incredible. Very high fashion. It’s not vulgar, I promise you. Your chest won’t actually show. The pose creates an illusion. Your arms will cover everything.”

I looked between the two men, feeling pressured.

“I don’t know,” I muttered, shifting my weight. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to say no. To walk out, get dressed, and never come back.

Laurent softened his voice. “Trust me. Models do this all the time. It will look elegant, not exposed. You’ll look powerful and confident.”

I hesitated.

“But if you’re uncomfortable, we don’t have to,” he added quickly, though the hopeful look in his eyes didn’t fade. “I just think it would elevate the entire shoot.”

That voice in the back of my head started whispering again. The one that sounded like Roman rejecting me. The one that kept saying I wasn’t enough.

Fine.

I reached behind my back and unclasped the bra. It slipped from my shoulders and before it fell, I crossed my arms over my chest, covering my breasts.

“Like this?”

“Exactly like that,” his voice almost breathless as he stepped back toward the camera. “Javier, get this.”

The camera clicked.

Heat rushed to my face as I stared at the wall, trying not to think about the fact that I was standing half naked in front of them.

“Beautiful,” Laurent praised. “Now, Anna, try cupping one breast slightly with your hand. Just gently. It will shape the line

better,”

Shame washed over me. That felt like too much.

But both men were watching me, waiting.

Slowly, reluctantly, I shifted my arm and did as he asked, my hand cupping my breast while my other arm stayed across my body.

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The camera clicked again.

“Gorgeous,” Laurent encouraged. “Now drop one hand to your side. Keep covering with the other.”

I swallowed hard and followed the instruction, hating every second of it while the camera kept snapping.

The seconds stretched so long they felt like minutes.

Finally, Javier lowered the camera. “I think we got it.”

“Fantastic.” Laurent clapped his hands together, beaming. “Anna you were incredible. Truly.”

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I grabbed the robe and wrapped it around myself, my hands shaking. Cara appeared with my clothes and I practically ran to the dressing room.

Once I was alone, I pressed my back against the door and let out a breath I’d been holding for the past hour.

What did I just do?

I got dressed quickly, pulling on my jeans and sweater like a shield.

When I came back out, Laurent was waiting with his laptop open

“Come look at these.” He patted the chair beside him. “You’re going to love them.”

I sat, and he scrolled through the images. My face stared back at me from the screen, but it didn’t look like me. This version was confident, sultry, fearless. The lingerie left little to the imagination. Some of the topless shots made my stomach turn.

“These are going in the campaign.” Laurent pointed to a few. “And these will be in the catalog.”

“They’re really revealing.” My voice came out flat.

“They’re beautiful.” He turned to me. “Anna, you’re beautiful. Don’t you see that?”

I stared at the screen. Part of me wanted to delete every single photo. But another part of me, the part that was still angry at Roman, that wanted to prove I didn’t need his permission for anything, thought maybe this was exactly what I needed.

Screw the old Anna. She got me nowhere.

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “I guess they’re okay.”

“More than okay,” Laurent closed the laptop.

“But you have to promise to show me the final pictures first. Before anything gets published. I need to be sure I’m okay with it.”

Laurent placed a hand on his chest. “On my honor.” Then he moved closer. “Listen, my friend Pierre is throwing a party tonight. At the same club I took you to last time.”

The sex club?

Images flashed through my mind before I could stop them. The lim lights. The heavy music. Bodies pressed together everywhere. The way everything in that place felt charged and gloomy.

“I don’t know.”

Laurent tilted his head, reading my hesitation. “I promise this time there will be no exhibitions,” he said quickly. “It’s just Pierre’s private party. Mostly talking, drinking, a little dancing.”

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I was reluctant.

The truth was, I hadn’t liked the club. Not really. It had been overwhelming, too intimate and intense.

And it reminded me too much of Roman.

Of the way he still had this hold over me.

But staying home would only mean thinking about him again. Replaying every moment between us until I drove myself

crazy.

Maybe going out was better.

Maybe being somewhere loud and crowded would finally get him out of my head.

“No, I’ll come,” I said before I could change my mind.

Laurent’s face lit up with a wide smile. “Perfect. I’ll send my driver to pick you up tomorrow evening.”

He stepped forward and pulled me into a quick hug.

“You’ll have fun, I promise,” he said warmly. “My driver will take you home now, and in the evening he’ll bring you straight to the club.”

“Thank you,” I murmured.

I grabbed my purse and headed for the door without looking back.

The entire ride home, I kept seeing those photos in my head. Seeing myself half-naked, exposed, on display.

Roman was going to lose his mind when he found out.

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