"Wanna see it? That is, if you're not in any hurry to be anywhere else."
Mason smiled. "I don't have anywhere else to be."
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Chapter Six
"Great." I opened my door and instead of climbing down, I just hopped out. I'd had my fill of climbing down things for the day.
I put my hand above my eyes to shield them from the setting sun. This was my favorite part of the day. It had the best light for working in my studio. Mason walked up beside me and I led him to the door. I could hear my baby barking as I walked in. Hercules was jumping up and down on his little back legs when I opened the door. He sniffed the air then caught a glimpse of Mason. He did his usual growling at the male stranger.
"He won't hurt you; he's just protective and jealous whenever another male is around. The only man he likes is my dad." I picked Hercules up and he showered me with kisses, almost as if he wanted to make it perfectly clear to Mason that I was his.
He laughed a little. "Oh, okay, because I was just about to be afraid."
I gave him a sour look then smiled. "His name is Hercules."
His brow shot up and he laughed involuntarily. "I think he has the personality for the name, but I believe he's somewhat lacking in the body department."
I set Hercules down and he ran right for Mason's leg, tugging on the material if his scrubs with his little teeth. He was really self-conscience about his size. "Hercules, no!" I shouted, but Mason had already picked my miniature Chihuahua up in one hand and was eyeing the little dog.
Hercules growled at first then began to whine. Mason ran his hand over the little dog's gray fur, and Hercules licked his lips and quieted down. Mason nuzzled him at his shoulder and Hercules began giving Mason kisses on his chin and neck.
"Oh my God! He has never reacted like that to a man before. How did you do that?" I asked, bewildered.
Mason smiled and set Hercules gently down on his paws. The little dog looked up at him and whined, then sat back on his haunches and stared up at Mason. "I have an affinity for animals. You only have to prove which of you is the more dominant. Looks like I won this time, or I would be lying on the floor licking his face." He smiled and I smiled back. You had to love a person with a good sense of humor. Like! You had to like a person with a sense of humor.
I shook my head at the slip of my inner vocabulary and waved for him to follow me. I showed him every room except for one.
"You have an amazing home. I'm stuck in a small apartment; heavy metal music blaring through one wall, classical through another, and the man below me thinks that I'm the one making all the noise. This," he looked all around the room and nodded. "Is nice."
My face lit up. "Well thank you. I designed it. There's one more room I haven't shown you yet. I was saving it for last."
I walked to a set of French doors, looking back over my shoulder at his expectant expression, and opened them to reveal my favorite room. It was also where I made my living. There was nowhere else in the world I felt more comfortable.
Mason came up beside me and I watched him as he took it all in. Props, cameras, and backgrounds filled the large room. The windows were all different shapes and sizes; some of them were extremely unusual. I had this room built especially for my work needs. This was my photography studio, and I had been named the best in the city and one of the best in the state by a few magazines and newspapers. I enjoyed my work, and truly felt I had a gift for capturing an image at just the right moment.
I could tell by the look on his face that he was impressed with this room, and for some reason I was dying to take shots of him. "Would you mind if I took a few shots of you? It won't take long. You can see how I do, what I do." He smiled and I took that as a yes. I took his hand in mine and pulled him with me to one of my massive wooden cabinets. I opened it to show it was full of adult male clothing. I looked at him a moment and decided his shirt size would be a large because of the extra broadness of his shoulders and the bulk of his biceps. I looked back at the shirts and chose a bright royal blue cashmere sweater; I wanted to see just how blue I could make those eyes of his. It was summer, and very hot outside, but in the cozy coolness of my air-conditioned house, a photo could lie and get away with it.
"Here, put this on." I pointed to a large screen that he could change behind, but he either didn't see me point or he didn't care. He pulled his uniform shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor. My God, he was perfect. I almost changed my mind about the sweater to put him in something a little clingier, but he took the sweater out of my hand and pulled it over his head. Damn.
"I uh, um…yeah," I didn't have a single solid sentence in my head, and couldn't remember the last time a man had affected me this way. I closed my eyes and thought to myself; work, work, work. I even counted to ten before opening them again. I was focused now. I looked at that gorgeous smile, then up to his eyes. I was right; his eyes were almost as blue as the sky on a cloudless winters' morning.
I walked away from him to one of my more unique windows. It was large and the wood trim around the glass was unstained and all natural. "Sit here and I'll be right back." I glanced through my backdrops and found the one I wanted. It was mostly gray with a little green at the bottom and a few black lines in the middle. All together, the backdrop looked distorted, but for what I was going to use it for, I wouldn't need clarity. I went for the door in my studio room that would lead me outside and found the window I was working with. I had mounted bars above each window that I used to hang backdrops from. The sun was still fairly bright and that wasn't what I wanted for his background. I put the backdrop in place and put my side walls on each side so the sun wouldn't shine through and ruin the effect. The daylight coming in from the top and bottom would give just the right amount of natural light that I needed.
I turned a knob above the window, and water began to trickle and dance down the glass. If you want a rainy day on a sunny day, you need to have a little imagination.
I walked back in and saw that my subject had an amazed look on his face. "That is freaking awesome, Kendra." I smiled but continued to set up equipment around him that I would need for this particular photograph. I lowered all the shades in the room, so it was dark, except for the dim lights that were spotlighting Mason. There was just enough light to make everything gray except for that bright royal blue sweater and those blue eyes of his.
I positioned him so that he was looking out the window. It looked as though he was looking out on a dark rainy day. The green portion at the bottom of the backdrop appeared to be green grass, and the black lines streaked horizontally here and there looked to be trees in the winter, leafless and dormant. But from my view behind the camera…I saw magic.
I took several shots then told him that he could change and leave the sweater on the table by the cabinet. Instead of going behind the screen he pulled the cashmere over his head and took slow special care in folding it perfectly, then picked his uniform shirt up off of the floor. He paused and looked at me before he put it back on.
I still had my camera in my hand and I was ogling at him. He smiled. "You want to take some shots of me like this?" he asked as he raised his brow at me.
I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. He had caught me fantasizing about him and I was at a loss for words. The truth was, I really did want to take a photo of him like that, but how do you tell someone "yes" to a question like that without getting embarrassed. My main focus in photography was landscapes, weddings and taking pictures of school kids. Nudes were not my forte'. Well, I actually didn't know if it was or not, I couldn't get past my discomfort to try it. I turned my eyes away from him and lied, "No…you can get dressed now. I apologize for staring."
I could feel him walking toward me, like a predator creeping toward you in the woods before it pounces. I closed my eyes. I knew they would betray me if I kept them open. I felt his fingers brush my cheek and stop at my chin. He turned my head back to face him but I stubbornly kept my eyelids firmly shut.
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"Look at me." he whispered.
I couldn't do this. I had just met him for Christ's sake. I couldn't let him kiss me. I just couldn't.
"Open your eyes, Kendra." He whispered again and I couldn't fight it any longer. I did as he requested. I opened my eyes.
The look on his face was so serious. He tilted my head up a little further and bent and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. That was all, just a light kiss with those amazing lips of his.
He moved back from me and smiled. Make sure you turn your phone on by nine a.m. Being your nurse, I feel obligated to call and check on you.
He pulled the shirt over his head, then turned and left my studio.
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Chapter Seven
I felt strangely alone, even with Hercules staring up at me. It was time for him to eat, and when that time of day came, he followed me around until I put food in his bowl.
I went to the pantry, filled his bowl and set it down for him. I leaned on the kitchen island and watched Mason drive away as the last rays of sunlight expired. I didn't have a clue what to do about Adam. Something would come to me. It had to; my life depended on it. On the other hand, I didn't have a clue what to do about Mason either. He was nice, very attractive, and he clearly affected me in ways that Aven never had.
I remembered the photos I had taken of Mason and quickly ran to my studio. I picked my camera up off the table and went into my darkroom. I flipped on the amber and red light. I couldn't wait to see the outcome of the photos. I knew I had caught the perfect angle on a couple of the shots. Some photographers used digital, and sometimes I did too, but it relaxed me to develop film the old fashioned way.
I filled three different trays with the chemicals I would need to develop the photos; developer in the first tray, acidic bath wash to stop the developing process in the second tray, and the last tray I filled with the fixer chemical, which would allow me to turn the lights back on and look at the finished masterpieces after I hung them up to dry. After filling the trays, I unloaded the film from my Canon and placed it in the enlarger. There were about fifteen other photos on the film that I hadn't gotten around to developing yet, but I decided to do them later. I had an itch to see the ones I'd taken of Mason.
I placed a 3x5 piece of photo paper on the easel and moved the film toward the end where his shots would be. I froze. I stared dumbfounded at the blank place where that amazing body should've been. I took the film out again and held it up to the red light. All of them were close-up and far-away shots of landscapes. I lowered the film and shook my head. I knew I had used that camera. It couldn't be a bad roll of film; there were other shots on it. I was going to be pissed if there was something wrong with my camera.
I left the darkroom and grabbed a new roll of film from my storage cabinet. I quickly loaded it, and then took a few pictures of the scene where Mason had been sitting. It didn't have to be perfect; I didn't really have a subject. I just wanted to know what the hell had happened to those shots.
I ran back through my darkroom door and secured myself inside. I unloaded the new film and held it up to the red light. The shots were there, all five of them.
What the hell? I shook my head in disgust. For some reason, I really wanted a picture of him. I wanted to look at his face. The mental picture I had of him was fading far too quickly.
Maybe, for the first time in my life, I was trying to get attached to someone. I wouldn't have the chance if I didn't make a believer out of Adam. I moaned, and turned the red and amber light off on the way out of the darkroom.
I got my pj's out that I would wear to bed and started my bath water. I had left the towel I had used at the hospital in Mason's truck. He promised he would return it for me. I hadn't even had a brush to de-tangle my hair, so I was having a bad hair day on top of everything else that had happened. That was the least of my worries, but I still didn't feel clean. I lit the candles around the big tub and turned the lights out.
I eased into the water to soak my sore muscles. It looked as though Coen had not cured everything that had been wrong with me. I would have paid him the same as I did my massage therapist, more even. I sipped my White Zen and relaxed.
I heard a loud pop and my eyes shot open to see a man I didn't know standing in my bathroom staring at me. I let out a scream that would wake the dead. He laughed and lowered the lid of the toilet seat to sit down.
"Who are you, and why the hell are you in my bathroom with me while I'm naked!?" I said as I quickly grabbed a towel to cover myself.
The man rolled his eyes and shook his head. He was attractive for an older guy. He wasn't old, but he was way older than me, mid forties maybe. What the hell was he doing here sitting on my toilet seat? Pervert maybe?
"Have you made any progress?" As soon as I heard his voice, I knew he had to be Coen.
"Coen?" he nodded once and I continued. "Well, no, not exactly. He thinks I'm a fruitcake." He turned his head to the side and gave me a puzzled look. I rolled my eyes. "He thinks I'm crazy. I mean, what would you think if I told you that I'd talked to your guardian angel and he sent me to give you a message? Wouldn't you think that would be a little strange?"
He shook his head, with the confused look still on his handsome face. "No, I wouldn't think that strange at all, Kendra. I talk to my guardian angel nearly every day. If she needed you to give me a message, I believe she would ask you to."
I sighed and then slumped down in the tub even further, getting my dry towel all wet. "Well, it's not as easy for me to explain to someone that I've never met, that if he doesn't start believing in God within the next week, that I am going to die. You have any suggestions?" I huffed.
He shrugged. "Maybe if you concentrated on Adam instead of letting the young Mason woo you, you might find the answers for yourself."
That pissed me off, but he was right. It still pissed me off though. Nobody wants their mistakes shoved back in their face. "Mason was nice to me, Adam wasn't, Coen."
"My child, I never said that it would be easy, only that it would be worth it." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think God said that at one time or another. Anyway, your life is at risk, my dear. Do you solve your problem now, and spend time with young Mason later, or be with him now for only six more days?"
Damn, I just realized I didn't even have an entire week; I only had six days left. It didn't matter anyway. Either I was going to figure it out, or I wasn't. End of story.
"I'm thinking that maybe Mason can help me with Adam. I mean, he believes me, and I think he and Adam are pretty close friends."
"The fewer people involved, the better off you will be, Kendra."
I frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
He didn't smile; he actually looked concerned. "You have your guardian demon that you struggle with everyday. Now you will have Adam's to deal with, and he's very strong. The more control you let them have over you, the stronger they will get, and the weaker you will become. Murry has almost total control over young Adam, and if you want young Mason in the game, his guardian demon will be added too. You want my advice? Worry about young Mason when you are sure that you will live."
He was right again, but I didn't like how he kept putting young before their names. They were older than me and I didn't consider myself young. That being said, if he'd of been my guardian angel, I would've listened to him.
He smiled, there was a loud pop again, and he was gone. Had he heard me thinking?
"Well…I don't guess angels think it rude to leave without saying goodbye." I said to Hercules, he only turned his head to the side as if he didn't have a clue what I'd said. He hadn't even barked at Coen. Had he even seen him, or was I really going crazy?
I really did need to stop talking to myself though. I talk to myself, sometimes I answer myself, and I see and talk to angels. Yep, I don't need a psychiatrist to tell me I'm crazy, I already know.
Somehow, the bath just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I rung the water out of the towel I was su
pposed to dry off with then laid it on the edge of the bathtub. I had to tiptoe, soaking wet, to the shelf that held the dry ones. Oh well. Why did I expect my luck to change?
I swiftly dried off and put on my pj's. I still had uber tangles in my hair, but I was too tired to care about it tonight. I had unplugged my house phone when I was showing Mason around, but had only put my cell phone on silent. I plugged it in to charge and saw that I had missed seventeen calls. I wasn't surprised, but had no urge to talk to anyone. I crawled beneath the covers of my queen size bed and took only a few breaths before sleep pulled me under.
Most of the dreams I had weren't clear or defined. I dream in color. Most people don't, but most of the time I can't see the faces of the people in my dreams, only a slideshow of different scenes. Those dreams have given me some great ideas for my career. My dream that night was different, but somehow the same. I could tell it was a dream, but it rode that fine line where it almost seemed real.
The reason I knew it was a dream was because I was watching myself. Not like watching myself in a mirror, but rather like I was looking at a home movie. The Kendra in the dream was angry and crying. The other reason I knew it was a dream was because I couldn't see the guy's face she was screaming at. His body was a little fuzzy, and I couldn't distinguish his body from any other well-built man.
The me in my dream was lying on a cot or a small bed, and he was towering over her while I watched from a corner of the small dark room. I could see and hear myself shouting and crying at the man, but he seemed just as angry and scared as she was. He was making jerky movements and shouting back at her, but I couldn't make out what either of them were fighting about. There was a few times when I thought he was going to hit her, but he refrained. He finally ended up sitting in a chair facing away from me with his head in his hands and his elbows propped on his knees. He looked upset, not angry, but sad or scared. I realized then that she was tied to the bed, and had blood all over her. I concentrated on the man in the chair. His head raised up like he'd just noticed me, the real me.
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