Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1)

by Jackson, K. M.

  Ale took the basket from her hand, and they made their way silently down the beach. The setting sun made a glorious picture of reds and oranges. He set the basket down, and they both reached for their cameras at the same time.

  “Can’t pass this one up,” he said.

  “No way,” she agreed, feeling good and light once more. At least in this they could come together. It was nice, this moment of easiness, and she would relish it.

  Once back at the huts, they stood on the walkway adjoining the structures looking out at the ocean. Only the sound of crashing waves broke the silence. Ale spoke first. “You must be tired.”

  “A little.” She shrugged. “But now that I smell that stew, I am kind of hungry. Can you give me a quick minute though? I want to change out of these dirty clothes.”

  “No problem. How about we meet back here in a few minutes? I’m sure stew will keep warm in this pot.”

  “Thanks,” she said turning away.

  “And Mika—” his voice, stilled her, had her turning back—“I don’t want you sleeping on the couch or in your bed tonight. I want you with me.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but something in his eyes stopped her. There was no ego or arrogance in his tone or in the look he gave her. Just his want and his need. The same want and need she was feeling in her heart. So she nodded her reply, turned, and walked slowly to her hut to change.

  Chapter 9

  Mika showered quickly, her mind churning, twisting, turning and flipping over what Ale had just said to her. He wanted her in his bed. All night. She mulled over the implications and fought hard to square it as no big deal. When she thought she had a pretty solid defense, she got out and dried off, trying hard to ignore the way even the towel across her skin made her body tingle and recall his touch. She could do this. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and there was no way she was turning back.

  She would have Alejandro for now and let him go cleanly when the time came. She shook out her sundress and slipped it on, hoping he would like it. She owned nothing fancy or couture, like what he was used to his usual women wearing. But he knew her. There would be no silk negligees or designer labels coming out of her bag— she was strictly wash and wear. He’d have to take her as she was—and besides, it was only temporary.

  Mika walked out onto the balcony as Ale set the wine on the table. He looked effortlessly stunning in easy drawstring pants, a black linen tee, and his bare feet. His hair was wet from his own shower and his face was in deep concentration as he wiped a cloth over the dishes.

  He looked up and grinned, walking over and taking her hands to kiss her palms. She eased her hands away. “You don’t have to do all that Ale. I’m here.”

  “Yes, you are, and why not?” He frowned.

  She shook her head, twisting her hands then putting them behind her back. “It’s just not me. All the romantic gestures. They’re not necessary,” she said. She tried to make her voice light, but it was anything but. She came forward and kissed him on the cheek, then skirted around him toward the table. “Now come on. I’m starving. I’ll dish out the food, and you pour the wine.”

  Ale stared at her for a few beats. She knew it was starting to grate on him, the way she sidestepped him at nearly every turn. But she had to keep her distance, at least somewhat. He’d see later that it was all for the best.

  She ladled out bowls of stew as he poured two jelly glasses of wine. He was about to pull the chair out for her, a gesture he’d likely done countless times on countless dates, but he stopped, seeming to think better of it and just put out his hand letting her do it herself. She sat down and didn’t say a word, but the implication was there. His bed was all they would share. She’d made her point. “I think I may have found my favorite location,” he said as lightly as he could. “I wish our stay was longer. Though I’m excited about the shoot, I’m not looking forward to our privacy being disturbed. We’ll have to find a way around that to capture our own moments.”

  Mika’s head jerked up. “I’m not either, but you know once the crew arrives, it’ll have to be business as usual. There is no way I’ll have them talking about us behind our backs.” She took a long swallow of her wine then stared boldly at him.

  But he was unwavering, his gaze just as challenging as hers. She knew then there was no way she could work for him any longer—and besides, that was never her plan, so why was she even thinking of it? Her mother would be so ashamed of her. She would make it on her own. Not be beholden to a man...no matter how delicious he was.

  Not that Ale was asking. No, when the crew landed, he’d be back to Alejandro the Great, conquer of fashion, assistants and supermodels. Not her Alejandro the Great. Before the crew arrived, she would sit him down and tell him the truth about the job at Stylist. With any hope, he’d would wish her well, kiss her, and send her on her way with their relationship still relatively intact. He’d done it himself with enough women.

  She watched as he took a sip of his wine and subtly challenged her with a slow lick of his lips. His nostrils flared, and something flashed between them. Mika took another swallow of her own, damn it, getting no comfort or relief from the rich brew. No. She had to stop this right now while her heart was still in one piece.

  Ale, posturing like the big bad boss, hadn’t changed one bit. It just so happened she was the girl of the moment, and yes, she was enjoying it. Her heart had to realize it had nothing to do with it. This was all hormones on both their parts.

  She gave what she hoped was a seductive smile and walked over to Ale, sitting on his lap. “I believe you said something about me sleeping over tonight?”

  Ale looked down at her, then trailed his hand up her legs and slowly between her thighs. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched.

  “Don’t you want to have dessert first? Tai packed something.”

  She leaned in and licked his earlobe and was rewarded with a deep moan of approval. “Sure, but I think I’d like mine served in bed.”

  *

  When Alejandro woke he reached out and felt for Mika, gripping at empty sheets. His eyes flew open. Disoriented, he sat up and looked around for her, instantly angry. If she left again—

  But he let out a thankful breath as he realized she was there, just sleeping on the edge of the bed. Out of his grasp.

  He eased up, leaning his pillow against the headboard, and looked down at her, lit by the moonlight. She looked peaceful and beautiful, her brow smooth as her lashes brushed against her cheeks. She was content right now, a rare moment for Mika and he wished he could somehow keep her this way. Hold on to this moment. He could look at her like this for hours. But then she stirred with a soft moan. It instantly brought him to full alert and sent blood rushing to his already pulsing erection. Shit, he had it bad. But at least admitting that came more easily now.

  He stared at her. She was now frowning in her sleep, the contentment of a moment ago gone. Yes, something was definitely off. Leave it to her to fight the few moments of peace she had even now. It was so like her to not rest even when she was resting.

  Alejandro sighed and laid back down, pulling her body close to his. Mika stirred again with a small whimper, but thankfully she didn’t wake. He knew if she did, she’d have that urge to flee like she did the night before. What was she so afraid of? She stirred, and he thought she would open her eyes, but instead she snuggled her backside against his groin, bringing him even more awake.

  Great, now he was fully up both above and below. But he wouldn’t wake her to make love. He wouldn’t ruin this moment. Instead, he reached out and stroked her hair, maybe more to soothe himself than her. His gut twisted as his mind swirled over these not-so-new feelings for Mika. Suddenly all his plans for the next year took on a new hue. With her not just his assistant, but as so much more. But what? His lover? His partner? Where would it lead? He frowned. Where would she let it lead?

  Ale shook his head and pulled her sweet form closer. He didn’t care as long as she was by his side. She shifted s
uddenly, and he grew harder. He groaned. She was making this difficult. They’d only fallen asleep a couple of hours before, and he knew she was tired. They’d made love twice but still he wanted her more. Would he ever get enough of her now that he’d tasted her? His lips quirked. He knew the answer to that question before the question was fully formed. Once again, he thought of waking her. He was just one moment away from kissing her, and he pulled back.

  No, they’d sleep for now. There was still tomorrow. And tomorrow after that.

  *

  Morning came and Ale tightened his eyes against the sun streaming across his face. Mika’s breathing slowed, and her body stiffened.

  “I know you’re up,” he grumbled.

  “As I know you are, too. Quite up and awake.”

  He smiled against her warm neck. In that moment there was no place else he’d rather be. He could happily lay here next to Mika on this slightly lumpy but perfectly sexable bed forever. Then she wiggled her hips and his choice narrowed to two things—the first pleasurable and the second functional, with all that wine he had the night before.

  But no, he didn’t want to ruin this moment, this perfect feeling. For all her toughness, she was as skittish as an alley cat. This whole mix-up with the crew ended up being a blessing in disguise. He couldn’t believe that without it, he and Mika could have gone on as they were indefinitely. Back in New York he was sure to have been his usual hard-ass self, forever going from model to model and Mika...well, she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. Why would she? They’d been fine in their familiar roles of boss and employee, and he’d never given her any sign of interest. Keeping a new girl on his arm every other week, how could she know how he felt when he didn’t even know what to do with the feelings? Had he screwed up by keeping his distance all these years?

  Ale raked his hands though his hair. With it being their last day alone, as much as he hated to admit it, he was on edge. He knew she’d want to cut things off with him tonight. There was no way she’d continue their relationship and risk being thought of as some sort of sex assistant. But he had to convince her it wasn’t like that. Not by a long shot.

  He twisted his lips and pulled her tighter toward him. Damn. His brother would laugh his ass off at that one. All his talk of never settling down and now look at him. He shook his head. It didn’t matter. This was Mika and, somehow, he had to get her to see that his feelings were not ending simply because the real world was coming ashore tomorrow. There was no way he was giving this up. Their passion was too powerful. He wouldn’t allow it.

  He reached out and stroked her uncovered leg. Just the touch had him jumping to attention. But then Mika pulled out of his grasp and swung over to the edge of the bed. “Nature calls,” she said easily.

  He laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  “Don’t you hate it when that happens? But we’d better start the day. It’s our last one to explore the island, boss.”

  He frowned at her use of the term “boss.” It didn’t hold her usual tone. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Put up a wall by calling me ‘boss.’ Not now,” he said softly.

  She bit her lip. He could see the glimmer coming to her eyes. “But you are my boss. We can’t sweep that truth under the rug. It’ll all come to light tomorrow.” She sat up and wrapped the sheet close around her breasts.

  Ale fought the sudden urge to rip it from her. She was hiding behind their boss-assistant relationship just as surely as she was that sheet. “Beauty, please. Don’t go putting up walls where they don’t need to be.”

  She sighed. “And you don’t have to do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Call me ‘beauty.’ You already know how I feel about it.”

  “Sorry, but I’ve already explained and you know how I feel about you.”

  He watched her eyes cloud over and then change just as fast to something he didn’t quite recognize. Or maybe he did. Was that fear?

  “What is that, some island code name to separate me from the real me? Who is the person you’ve been having sex with here?”

  “Mika, stop. What are you trying to do?”

  “I’m not trying to do anything. Just be real with me. This is wonderful, but what we have is today, and tomorrow is the truth, Ale. We can’t pretend anymore. I know who I am, and I know who you are. I also know how this will end.”

  *

  Ale reached out and gripped her by her shoulders, pulling her close to his face. For a moment, she thought he would kiss her again to shut her up. Hoped so much that he would do so. But he didn’t. Instead, he sneered. “You’re wrong. So don’t you dare go saying you know so much about me because you don’t.” Then he let her go. Her body falling back on the soft down which gave no comfort as she watched him stalk away in anger.

  Mika wiped her eyes and fought to catch her breath. This was not what she wanted for their last day.

  She let out an anguished moan. Perfect. She owed him an apology. Yet, another one. There was no reason to pick such a fight this morning. So why did she do it? It seemed that mornings after and her just didn’t mix.

  But what else was she to do? It was time to harden her heart and his, too. Besides, the countdown clock to tomorrow was ticking like a time bomb in her chest and once tomorrow came, she would be a caterpillar to all the fluttering butterflies. It scared the hell out of her. She’d been hurt enough in her life. Hurt by Eric with his cheating, lies, and leading her on until someone better came along. Hurt as she watched Ale go from woman to woman. Hurt when her father left her and her mother for his other perfect family. She just couldn’t take it again.

  No. She’d known Ale long enough to know what he wanted, what he considered beautiful. He’d do the same to her. The next it-girl ready to be made a star, and Mika would just fade to the background, where she always was. It was better to leave Alejandro and move on to the job at Stylist. That was her best chance at a future. At least then she would still have her dream and her pride.

  She gnawed at her lip. Now that they’d slept together, she knew she’d made things worse and her fear had her knees knocking, screwing up and lashing out at him at every turn. Mika knew she should have told him about the job already. She was being a coward, but to tell him while he was so angry...no, she just couldn’t.

  She wiped a tear that had fallen. No tears. She’d said that from the beginning, too. But here they were again, nonetheless. She heard him coming back from the bathroom and quickly swiped them away. Crap. More were coming.

  “Come on, Mika. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” His voice was hoarse. Anguished.

  She looked at him. He was beautiful. So damned beautiful. Why couldn’t they just come to each other on level ground?

  “Listen, I’m sorry,” he said, and she felt ashamed. Alejandro the Great didn’t do sorrys.

  “You have no reason to be. I was awful. I shouldn’t have been that way. This is our last day together, and I shouldn’t have ruined it.”

  “No, I shouldn’t have made you cry. I never want to make you cry.”

  Mika smirked at that and bit back a retort.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Ale said.

  She arched a brow and looked up with glistening eyes. “Oh, really? What?”

  “You’re thinking I’ll definitely make you cry in the future. But I won’t.”

  She shook her head. “Ale, you can’t promise me that. It’s impossible.”

  He sat on the bed and took both her hands in his and brought them to his lips. The old-fashioned gesture wouldn’t fit anyone but him and anywhere but here. “I won’t,” he said earnestly, looking deep into her eyes, penetrating her with his stare.

  She looked away, her secret pounding in her chest. For the first time, Mika was afraid she may be the one to hurt Alejandro and not the other way around.

  Chapter 10

  She knew she had to tell him. Mika thought she could wait until right before t
he crew arrived, but each moment she didn’t tell him the truth, the omission ate away at her from the inside out. Now it was late afternoon, and still she was no closer to the words coming out of her mouth. On top of it all, the letter from Stylist lay tucked into the side of her camera bag just a few feet away, accusing her of cowardice.

  The sun was getting low in the sky but it still radiated enough heat to warm her back as she lay on the sand. It had been a good day. Tong and one of his sons, Lau, took her and Ale on a tour of the island in his small sport Jeep. They spotted another usable location that wouldn’t be too much of a trek, but would be gorgeous for some of the couture gowns. She should be content here sunning in this secluded paradise, but no. Inside she was twisted in knots, her mind still racing over the turmoil of having to tell Alejandro about the job.

  If only this day could just go on. She knew it was childish to even consider it. What was she doing thinking about going on? She was doing it again. Damn Ale for muddling her thinking. She had Stylist waiting. The once-in-a-lifetime job. She inwardly shook herself. Besides, she knew going on was not an option.

  She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees, her mother’s voice echoing in the back of her mind.

  Never lose yourself in any man, Mika. You do that, and you lose yourself for good.

  She remembered her mother’s face as she said those words repeatedly over the years after her father left them. Each time she tried to paint again and found she couldn’t. All the joy gone with her lost oh-so-perfect love. So many times Mika had found her mother in her little studio room brush in hand, staring at an empty canvas looking at nothing but the last finished portrait of her father that she kept hung there for inspiration. It was the last portrait she’d ever finished.