Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1)

by Jackson, K. M.

  Stop! What was going on here? This was Mika. His Mika. His easy, staid, dependable, and off limits Mika.

  The same woman who’d been haunting his thoughts way too much for comfort lately.

  He shifted, turning a few degrees to adjust the sudden discomfort in his pants, bringing a tranquil scene of blue water and a large rock formation into his view. He thought for a moment about jumping into the ocean and cooling himself off. But the blasted water probably wasn’t cold enough to ease him like he really needed.

  “It’s just ahead,” Tong yelled over the wind, directing Alejandro’s thoughts back to reality.

  Perfect. As with most things, it turned out Mika was right. They should have stayed at the resort where they could focus on business. Suddenly, three days alone with his assistant did not sound like the best of ideas.

  *

  “Okay, now you have to admit it. This is worth the trip,” Alejandro said a little while later as the boat drew closer to the shore.

  Mika clamped down on a retort. He was right. The secluded island looked perfect. She’d never seen a place so uncharted, so untamed.

  She tried hard to squash her uneasiness about being on the island with Ale for the next three days and told herself it would be just fine. They had worked together long enough for her to get past these confusing feelings toward him. It was her problem and not a big deal.

  She looked toward the white sandy beach, taking in the lush surroundings and the line-up of beach huts that stood impossibly high on wooden stilts. To the right was a long dock and to the left, behind the huts, was nothing but mountains and rich greenery full of endless possibilities. Not a high-rise in sight. She looked at Alejandro and could see his eyes lighting with anticipation. There was even a waterfall trailing down the mountain. She bet if he could, he would grab his camera and go running for it now. His face held all the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning, and she loved that about him. No matter his gruff manner, he never failed to get excited about his work. Despite all the different beautiful women that graced his arms—and she suspected, his bed—the work was his first love, the way he truly expressed himself.

  But upon further study Mika couldn’t help the nervous flutter in the pit of her stomach. There was not a light pole in sight. No sign of electricity. And a quick scan of the foliage didn’t show any I’m-supposed-to-look-like-a-tree cell towers.

  She let out a long sigh. “What about electricity on this island? The concierge at the hotel assured me they had electricity out here.”

  Ale shook his head. “Stop worrying so much. I’m sure there are generators and whatever else we need. I wanted remote- this is remote. Besides, this look is exactly what we need for this shoot. It will be fine. You’ll make it work.”

  Mika blew out a breath, flaring her nostrils. Great. This was getting worse by the minute. Alejandro was taking things a bit far this time. How were they supposed to get in touch with the rest of the crew in case they needed more equipment than what was on the set list? And looking at this spot, they would need so much more than what was on the set list. Plus, what about details she still had to take care of back in New York? Mika’s mind was racing. She needed her cell and Internet service for that. And even more importantly, what was the plumbing situation, how would they shower and—she suddenly felt dread go through her body—where and how would they go to the bathroom? She may be a Gal Friday but never claimed to be a Girl Scout.

  As the boat edged close to the dock, Mika put her hand up to shutter her eyes and saw a woman coming toward them from the huts. Her short, squat legs made surprisingly quick work of the many steps from the elevated structures to the beach as she hurried toward them with a wide smile and a wave.

  “Tai, my wife,” Tong yelled with a gruffness that failed to hide the pride in his voice.

  Mika nodded and crossed her legs. She couldn’t wait to get off the boat. Suddenly the urge to figure out the bathroom situation was turning very real. Tong maneuvered the craft like the seasoned veteran he was, and Alejandro stood, taking a long and languid stretch, completely at one with the boat. Wonderful, suddenly he’s ready to play Robinson Crusoe. Mika cocked a brow.

  As Tong anchored the boat to the dock, Mika stood quickly and grabbed the nearest equipment bag, which sent the vessel rocking violently. In a flash she was flailing her arms, unsteady on her feet and leaning backward, pitched too far over the side of the boat.

  Alejandro turned her way, his eyes locking on hers as her mouth opened but no sound came out. Her arms went wide as her body went backward. Ale’s hand sprung forward as she fell back, and the last thing Mika saw before she went over the edge was him holding the damned equipment bag. So freaking Alejandro.

  Damn.

  *

  Shit! The bag. Alejandro looked down at the bag left in his hand and cursed himself silently. How could he have the bag and not her hand? He threw the equipment bag down and dove over the side. Head shifting quickly, eyes darting under the water, he didn’t see her and began to panic. Where the hell was she? He came up to the surface, looked around for Mika, then went down again, his heart beating wildly, stomach clenching with fear. How good a swimmer was she? Did she get a cramp? Could she even really swim? In all the times they’d been to exotic locations on shoots, he’d never once actually seen her swimming in the water. Ale looked and looked, but all he saw was blue water, coral and sand. Where did she go? It wasn’t even all that deep here close to the dock. Fear twisted at him again, even tighter this time as he suddenly wondered if she could possibly be under the boat. He went back down under the water.

  It was then that small but capable and firm hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up to the surface.

  “The equipment bag! You let me go over, and you save the freaking equipment bag?”

  Alejandro suddenly was face to face with a wet and snarling Mika. He blinked as her words came at him like blows from a prizefighter. What did he do to deserve this? “Don’t you see I was trying to save you now? Of all the ungrateful—” Alejandro snarled back.

  “Now? Now is a little too late, if you hadn’t noticed. Besides, any longer down there, and it would be you who needed mouth-to-mouth,” Mika railed, cutting him off.

  It was too much. She had a lot nerve to be talking to him about mouth-to-mouth. All she’d done lately was taunt him with that luscious mouth and lashing tongue of hers.

  Ale watched as Mika took in a deep breath, about to give it to him good once again, and suddenly decided it was his turn to do the giving.

  *

  Wet and hard.

  Those were the only two words she could think of as Ale’s lips came down on hers, silencing her with his swift action. But no, there was more. Wet and hard, then cool and more wet, then hot and warm all at once. Or maybe that was her body that was so hot and warm, but how could that be when she was submerged in cool water? Whatever. One thing was sure: Ale was silencing her with his kiss. Reminding her who was boss.

  He dragged his tongue over the crease of her lips, and she whimpered—oh-god-was-she-really-the-whimpering-type-turns-out-oh-yes-she-was—before letting him in. And then to top the whimper she sighed as his tongue caressed hers, melting her like a snow cone in August. Then she knew. She’d be nothing in a moment. Dissolved. Gone. One with the water.

  His strong muscular arm wrapped around her hips and pulled her toward his solid form. Now they were body to body, breast to chest. She let out a moan as Ale shifted, and she felt his hardness press against her center. She was weightless, her legs seemingly wanting to float apart and wrap around his waist all on their own. And still he pulled her in more. His hands now supporting her behind, fused her to him, groin to groin, mouth to mouth. And thank goodness for his strength or surely she would happily go under, lost at sea forever. Suddenly a wave splashed against them, sending an unwelcome chill to the back of Mika’s neck.

  Her eyes shot open. The ocean, the cold, Alejandro. Oh crap. What was she doing? This wouldn’t do.
Not. At. All. She couldn’t be dominated by him. He dominated everyone he met. But not her. Never her. Mika’s heart squeezed tight as she let his tongue sweep across hers oh-so-silkily one more time, and then she bit down. Hard.

  “Oww!” Alejandro pushed her away, his eyes springing open and burning with dark flames as she splashed him with water.

  “This is not happening.” She pierced him with a challenging stare.

  “Okay, fine, you’re right. I’m sorry. But did you have to make your point quite so sharply? A simple nudge would have sufficed.”

  Yeah, well, maybe he was right, but Mika chose to ignore his words as her face heated with embarrassment. She turned away and swam as fast as she could toward the dock, not so elegantly climbing the rope ladder before stomping, soaking wet, toward the shore.

  Chapter 2

  “You and your husband have big love. Iz good.”

  “Excuse me?” Mika had trouble making out Tai’s heavy accent that seemed to turn t’s to z’s.

  “Very good, the love with your husband. But the fight, not so good. But you make up. No problem.” Tai rambled on happily as she met Mika in the sand and handed her a towel. “Yes, fight not so good, but men like a little spirit,” she continued with a twinkle in her eye. “A little keep them happy.” She looked over Mika’s shoulders toward the dock, where a dripping-wet Alejandro was now helping Tong unload the boat.

  Mika turned toward the dock and couldn’t help but notice the way Ale’s wet clothes hung on his lithe, muscular body as he unloaded their bags—something she probably should be helping with, but right now, she just couldn’t be near him. She tore her gaze away, forcing her attention back on the talkative woman.

  “Your husband, he looks mad now, but he be happy later, eh?” Tai gave Mika hard poke in the side with her elbow that practically sent Mika down on her butt in the sand. Then she laughed at her own good-natured jab, a rosy blush coming to her tanned skin. “Tong and me, we have six children, and so far, four grandchildren. All of them come from good fights.” Mika quirked a smile. She couldn’t help it. The woman was infectious. It was a shame she had to break her heart and tell her the truth about her and Ale, but better to pull the bandage off quick.

  “Um, he’s not my husband. Not even my boyfriend. He’s my boss. I work for him so we’re not really together in any way,” she paused then quickly added, “and we won’t be.” She clamped her mouth shut and smoothed her hair, trying hard to bring some serenity to her demeanor. Better to show no emotion. And why should she? It was true. It’s not like she and Ale were a thing. Or ever would be a thing.

  Tai looked at Mika, her eyes going wide then back over at Alejandro. She snorted to herself, a hard grunt that startled Mika into taking a small step back. “Oh sorry, Miss. I guess I will be fixing up the second room. I don’t know how Tong could have gotten it wrong when he called over.” She looked up at the sky, shrugged then looked back at Mika. “Are you sure? I usually have a sense of these things.”

  Mika gave her a raised brow in answer, and Tai just shook her head. “Okay then. No problem, just a little more work to do.”

  Yes, more work to do. Not to mention bridges to mend, Mika thought, her mind now going into hyper panic mode. She’d just kissed her boss. Then she bit her boss. Well technically, he’d kissed her. But she was indeed the biter in this situation. Crap. The biter! How did one go on congenially from there? Barker? Sure, that was practically part of her everyday job description as his assistant, but biter? No, it would never fly.

  A soft breeze fluttered by, but an ironic heat came over Mika in a rush. Alejandro had kissed her. He was the initiator in this thing. He did what she had wanted to do for so very long. Shut the bickering up and kiss already. Mika released a long breath. Suddenly cold, a shiver she couldn’t control ran through her body and she knew it had nothing to do with the wind that blew, chilling her right through her sodden clothes to her skin.

  The reality of his kiss was nothing like she had ever imagined. And yes, she’d imagined plenty— she could admit that now. It was so much more. She had known he took charge when it came to his work, and true, he sent most men, women and fashionistas jumping in their stilettos. But never her. Their relationship was based on more than the superficial. They were colleagues, master and apprentice, and sometimes vice versa when she had to put him in his place and keep him on track. It worked for them. They’d never once called each other “friend”—they were more like co-conspirators in the fashion world that surrounded them. The world of games and one-upmanship. But with that kiss Ale went and turned it into something else. That kiss was all command and demand with subtle hints of what he was willing to give if she would only relent.

  If only.

  And just when she thought she had it all figured out, too. Just when she was one foot out the door. She turned toward the dock and took another look at Ale unloading the boat with Tong. He was so damn beautiful, all tall, dark good looks and sinewy muscle. That combined with his undeniable talent was just too much. She turned away. No, he wasn’t for her.

  A man like Ale had nothing to give her but pain at the end of a relationship. She knew it would end that way. A kiss from him meant nothing. Hell, sex with Alejandro meant nothing. He went through women like T-shirts. They were fashion to him, one gorgeous accessory after another. And with her, he’d be trading down. It would be like going from Saks to a cheap discount store knock off. Sure, you might be able to get the same designer label, but a keen eye could still tell where you shopped. If a top model couldn’t hold his interest for any length of time, there was no way she could compete.

  She ran a finger across her top lip, feeling its flushed fullness. Still, that kiss… Mika let out a breath and shook her head. No, with Ale, heartache was guaranteed. At this moment, she was very glad to have the insurance of a new job waiting over the horizon. If she’d learned anything in this life, it was to not give up your dreams of a certain future for the passing love of any man.

  *

  Alejandro was fuming. Of all the stupid, asinine things to do. How could he lose his cool like that? And with Mika of all people. His assistant, the woman he was supposed to act professional with. Damn.

  And since when did he start thinking of her as a woman anyway? Mika was supposed to be, well…Mika. His partner, his right-hand man…well, woman as it were. He’d told himself that three years ago, the instant she’d sailed into his office, took over, and quickly proved herself as a competent assistant. Hiring her took her out of the woman category and off the dateable list entirely, and he’d stuck to that. Always ignoring the sounds of her easy laughter, the quirk of her wry smile, the smell of her delicate lavender perfume that tantalized his senses as they sat side by side examining prints.

  Alejandro let out a low growl. Hell, she was never off the list at all. She was the list.

  Tong laughed. “Your woman, she’s a funny one, eh?”

  “What?”

  “Your woman. I said she’s funny. Falling in the water like that when she swim real good, then you go in after her, but she still so mad at you.” Tong laughed again, oblivious to Alejandro’s hard stare.

  What was going on here? Usually that look sent men running.

  “She’s not my woman,” Alejandro gritted out.

  Tong stopped laughing, his face drawing into a frown of confusion. “Hmm. She sure mad at you like she’s your woman.”

  Alejandro looked up the beach at Mika. As he figured, she was glaring at him. Even from this distance, her molten brown eyes could sizzle him on the spot if he weren’t careful. He snorted. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” He watched Mika give him one last haughty look fit for a queen then turn away to follow Tong’s wife up the beach toward the huts. It took all his will to tear his gaze away from her sleek brown legs and luscious behind as she walked away, but tear he did. It was then that he looked around at all that was left on the boat and shook his head. Nice. Shouldn’t she be helping him unload? That was it. He really w
as losing his edge.

  *

  Thankfully, the question of the bathroom situation had been solved. Each hut shared a single facility centered between them, blessedly run by a generator and was only slightly scarier than the ferry ride over to the island. Mika looked around, eager to find the right words to please Tai, who stared at her with wide-eyed anticipation.

  “It’s beautiful,” she finally said, hoping her words came out with enough sincerity.

  Tai’s smile became wide, and the woman let out a relieved breath of air. She clearly took great pride in her work. Mika could definitely understand that.

  As Mika slowly walked around the elevated hut, she found it was surprisingly large, with simple bamboo furniture: a table, couch, a couple of chairs and a large welcoming bed in the center, covered with gauzy fabric that hung from the ceiling. The whole arrangement could be considered romantic, if you could get past the layer of sand and dirt that seemed to cling to everything. And if you pretended you didn’t see the little gecko-looking creatures crawling into and out of the corners of the room. There were arrangements of tropical flowers by the bed in empty soda bottle vases, and on the table in a bowl sat a lovely arrangement of fruit.

  “My youngest daughter, she do the flowers,” Tai said with pride.

  “They’re lovely.”

  Just then, Alejandro and Tong ambled in, a bag under each arm, followed by what had to be Mai and Tong’s sons. The rosy-cheeked resemblance was uncanny. Ale and Mika’s eyes caught. For a moment, time stopped, and the silence seemed to go on far too long.

  “There, there!” Tai started to shout orders, breaking the awkward moment. “Still more to do. We must get the other hut ready.” She and Tong locked eyes for a moment, exchanging the kind of silent communication that came naturally from a long relationship.