Picture Perfect

by Maguire, L. E.

  He stopped speaking immediately, and his body tensed as he suddenly realized how intimately he was holding me. Pulling away, he made sure I was steady on my feet before he let go of me.

  Turning around, I was met with wide, green eyes. “It’s okay,” I whispered. He nodded imperceptibly. “Come on,” I said, walking further into the room.

  The Garden Room was aptly named. The room was filled with large potted trees, plants, and flowers that were strategically placed, giving you the feeling that you were walking through an outdoor garden. There was even a running waterfall. But what truly made the room spectacular were the five, huge palladium windows that lined one entire wall from floor-to-ceiling, offering excellent views of Seattle. Even though it was overcast, the windows were large enough that the huge room was flooded with natural light. Immediately I knew this wall of windows would make the perfect backdrop for our shoot.

  Jake was off to the side talking to a group of gray-haired, plump-looking, businessmen decked out in designer suits. As soon as we made eye contact, he waved me over.

  “Gentlemen, this is Ember Whitfield. Ember, this is Mr. Lance Banks, president and CEO of Soft Caress.” Jake pointed to the oldest looking man in the group.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, taking his hand in mine and shaking. He had a tight, firm grip for an older looking gentleman.

  “It’s such a pleasure, Ms. Whitfield.”

  With his hand on the small of my back, Jake introduced the next gentleman. “This is Mr. Ken Ross, Chief Marketing Officer.” He smiled kindly as he shook my hand. “And Mr. Greg Dunn, VP of marketing.”

  “Gentleman, it’s such a pleasure,” I said.

  “We’re very impressed with what we have seen of your work, Ms. Whitfield. We’re eager to see what we can accomplish here today,” Lance Banks said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Please call me Lance.”

  “Dad, aren’t you going to introduce me?”

  I turned at the sound of the smooth voice behind me only to see a very tall, thin, and attractive woman with long, golden-blonde hair, squeal and wrap her arms around Evan’s neck, and, much to my horror, planted a big, wet kiss right on his lips.

  I did not have time to stress over it, because a very attractive, young man with hair as black as coal was standing before me. Decked out in a black, pin-stripped suit, crisp, white button-down, and blood-red tie, his piercing, blue eyes smiled at me as he waited to be introduced.

  “There you are, Elijah. Ms. Whitfield, this is my son and Chief Creative Officer, Elijah Banks. Elijah, this is Ms. Ember Whitfield, our photographer.”

  I held my hand out to him. “Mr. Ban-”

  Grabbing my proffered hand in his firm grip, he wrapped his other hand on the outside of mine so my hand was encased in both of his. “Oh, no. Mr. Banks is my father. Please, call me Eli, and the pleasure is certainly all mine, Ms. Whitfield.” Giving me a sexy half-smile, he brought my hand to his mouth and firmly pressed his lips to the back of it.

  The guy was not sleazy, just very confident and sure of himself, whom I had to admit was sexy. Coupled with his good looks, it made him downright lethal.

  My cheeks heated and a small giggle escaped me. Looking away from his intense stare, my eyes immediately found Evan’s, and they were angry-looking, focused solely on me. My blood began to boil. He had some nerve shooting me dirty looks from across the room after he had Barbie climbing all over him.

  “Elijah, must you always be the charmer?” Lance said, teasingly.

  “But of course.” He smiled at his father before his penetrating gaze focused back on me. “Come, Ember. May I call you Ember?” I simply nodded. “I’d like to discuss my vision for this ad campaign, and we should get to work while the natural light is still available to us.”

  As it turned out, Eli was smart and creative, having a very specific vision for this campaign that he easily communicated with me. Gone was the sexy charmer. This man was all business, focused solely on the job at hand. He also had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very easy to talk to. Giving me his full attention when I spoke, he listened attentively to my input.

  I was so absorbed in planning this shoot with Eli, that I had completely forgotten my irritation with Evan until I felt his eyes on me once again. It was right before we began to shoot, and he had just returned from wardrobe and make-up. He looked simply edible dressed in nothing but a snug-fitting pair of Soft Caress jeans that hung low on his hips with his perfectly cut torso on display. The muscles forming that perfect V dipped below the waistband of his jeans. My feelings of irritation were quickly replaced by desire as a warmth flooded my system. Good God. The way I reacted to him was unbelievable. It was as if all my lady bits were hardwired to react every time he entered a room or maybe it was just those damn arms.

  Evan had this thick, prominent vein that curved out onto his right shoulder, running the length of his bicep before disappearing into the crease of his elbow. I found it to be incredibly sexy. When the vein reappears on his forearm, it’s joined by two other thick, ropy veins that run down onto the back of his hand. The same is true for his left shoulder and bicep, though the vein there is not as prominent until it reappears on his forearm. It is a sign of his health and vitality. My fingers itched to run along them or better yet my tongue. I suppressed a moan just thinking about tasting his salty skin.

  When I brought my eyes up to his, they were smiling brightly at me. I was caught ogling him yet again. Quirking his brow at me was his way of subtly letting me know that I had not only been caught, but he liked it.

  Trying to fight the smile that tickled the corners of my lips had suddenly became very easy to do once I spotted the tall, attractive blonde headed right for Evan. She was also dressed in a pair of Soft Caress jeans, but unlike Evan, she also wore a fluffy-looking robe.

  Knowing how this photo shoot was going to go had a sick feeling taking root in the deepest pit of my stomach. Closing my eyes, I took several calming breaths before we got started.

  “You all right, Em?” Jake whispered in my ear. His hand was resting firmly on the small of my back, rubbing in slow circles, which I found comforting. “I know how this photo shoot is going to go.” I opened my eyes and looked into Jake’s deeply concerned face. “I’ve seen how the two of you have been over the last couple of days. You know he’s struggling with this as well. If I had to guess, I would say he’s going to be thinking about you to help himself get through this.”

  “Maybe,” I whispered.

  “No maybe,” he said adamantly.

  I shrugged. “Let’s go. The sooner we start this, the sooner I can be done.”

  Eli was talking with Evan and the blonde model as I checked my camera settings. Taking a few test shots, I watched as he started to position them how he wanted. When the blonde removed the robe, she made no attempt whatsoever to cover her naked chest. Much to my relief, Evan paid her very little attention. I had to hand it to him. He slipped right into professional model mode, which made concentrating on my job a little easier.

  The first pose had Evan standing with his back to me while the blonde smashed her front to his. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she hooked her thumbs into the belt loops while her palms spread out over his perfect, taut behind. A couple of times she jokingly grabbed his ass and squeezed. I tried to focus on Evan’s tattoo and not what her hands were doing.

  Next, Eli reversed the first pose. It was impossible to look Evan in the face. While Eli got them situated, I went over to the laptop Jake was currently sitting behind and hung over his shoulder as he went through the photos that had been taken so far until Eli was ready for me.

  “Breathe, Em. You’re doing a bang-up job, sweetheart. These shots are amazing. I’m so proud of you.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back to work.

  The blonde was now standing with her back to me while Evan pressed up against her front. I swore I saw him wince when Eli pushed against his back, telling him he needed t
o close the distance between them more. Maybe I should have felt bad for him, but it just wasn’t possible when I saw the two of them pressed together so intimately. The only thing I could feel was an ugly jealousy bubbling to the surface.

  Evan’s hands had to rest at the small of her naked back right above the Soft Caress logo. Focusing my lens on this location, a sudden image of Evan’s big, warm hands caressing my naked torso flashed before me, causing me to pause. Closing my eyes, images from the other night when Evan took my photo at his apartment, began to play on the back of my eyelids. Evan and I had just gone through those photos for the first time last night. I was surprised to find that the shots had been sexy and provocative.

  “Let’s take a little break,” Eli called out to everyone in the room, clapping his hands, making me jump. I had not realized he was standing right next to me. Placing his hand firmly on the small of my back, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Everything okay? We aren’t working you too hard, are we?”

  “Not at all,” I replied, refusing to turn my head in his direction. With how close he was leaning in towards me, my lips would have been a breath away from his. Instead, I saw Evan heading right for me as he threw a t-shirt over his head.

  “Excuse me, Eli?” Eli straightened, meeting Evan’s gaze head on. “Can I have a minute with Ember, please?” After several long, tense seconds of the two of them staring each other down, Eli frowned, nodded, and then walked off.

  Grabbing me by the elbow, Evan started hauling me towards the door leading out into the hall.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I hissed.

  Pausing out in the hall, Evan looked up and down the corridor like he was looking for something in particular. He completely ignored my question. “Ah,” he said, and started pulling me along with him. I could not help but snicker when I realized he was headed right for a restroom.

  Pushing the door open, he kicked it closed behind him, and quickly pushed me up against the door. Wrapping his right hand loosely around my throat, he planted his left hand on the door next to my head. With his thumb under my chin, he pushed my face up to him. I couldn’t help but notice how his hands smelled like that model’s expensive, flowery perfume.

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “What?” he demanded, sounding slightly annoyed.

  I wrinkled my nose at him. “Your hands smell like her.”

  Faster than I thought possible, he shoved his hands under my shirt, caressing my ribs and the underside of my breasts. My nipples puckered against the soft material of my bra as goose bumps raced down my arms.

  “There. Now they’ll smell of you,” he said, nuzzling my neck. After placing a few feather-soft kisses on my throat, he pulled back suddenly. “Are we okay, Gem?” The concern in his emerald eyes had me frowning at him.

  “Of course we are. Why wouldn’t we be?”

  “I saw the frustration on your face during the shoot. The feel of her hands on me, of her pressed up against me, it felt all wrong. She felt all wrong.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, attempting to sound nonchalant. “Evan, this is your job. I get that. It’s not the first time you’ll have a beautiful woman all over you. I’m a photographer. I know the scene playing out before me is anything but intimate.”

  He simply nodded at me. “Where did you go? Just now, before Eli called a break. You got that far-off look on your face like you did when we were at the park.”

  “It was the most bizarre thing,” I said, chuckling nervously. “Those pictures that you took of me at your apartment the other night?”

  “Yeah? What about them?”

  “It was all I could see. The beautiful images of your hands on my naked flesh, with you pressed up against me, pushing me into the window. It was all I could feel. Just remembering how your hands felt on me had my skin tingling in response.”

  Leaning down, he pressed his forehead against mine. Our quickened breaths mingled together. Pushing my hands up under his t-shirt, I lightly caressed the warm, toned flesh of his abs and chest as his thumbs continued to caress my cheeks. His eyes drifted closed as a purr rumbled in the back of his throat. When my fingers reached his shoulders, I raked my nails down his chest causing his eyes to pop open. Those beautiful emerald eyes glazed over with an intense sexual heat as his pupils dilated.

  “I need to kiss you now, baby,” he whisper-groaned to me.

  “Please,” I whispered in response. Getting up on my tiptoes, I tilted my head, offering up my eager mouth for him to take.

  He pressed his lips to mine without hesitation. The kiss was hard, demanding, and possessive, attacking my mouth with a brutal force that I swore was going to bruise my lips. The tips of his fingers dug into my ribs before snaking around to my back, pulling me up against him.

  When I felt his fingers brush the clasp of my bra, the reality of our situation suddenly hit. Breaking the kiss, my chest heaving, I pushed against his chest. Frowning down at me, anger flashed in his eyes as he took a step back.

  Running my tongue over my lips, they felt swollen. Bringing my hand up to my mouth, my lips tingled as I ran my fingers over them. Evan’s face suddenly softened, morphing into a look of shock and horror. Stepping back up to me, he pushed my hands away so he could gently run his thumb over my swollen lips before he cupped my face in his hands. The tingling sensation I felt on my lips turned into a burn at his touch.

  “Fuck. Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry, Em.”

  “No. You…” My voice trailed off into a soft moan as he leaned in and placed gentle kisses along my jaw. I was pleased with myself when I caught the smell of my perfume on his skin. “No. You didn’t hurt me,” I tried again.

  “Your lips are all red and swollen,” he murmured, kissing the corner of my mouth.

  “But they don’t hurt. They burn. For you.”

  He pulled back and gave me a questioning look. “Then why did you stop me?”

  I smiled, shaking my head. “We have to get back to work. We’ve been gone too long.”

  He sighed. “You’re right.” Straightening back up to his full height, he tapped his index finger to the end of my nose. “Let’s go.” Reaching down, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out into the hall. “We need to get this over with so we can move on to the surprise I have planned for you,” he said over his shoulder, shooting me a devious, dimple-popping smirk.

  When Evan swung the door open to the Garden Room, everyone turned in our direction. By now, we were no longer holding hands, but I was suddenly very conscious of my red, swollen, kiss-ravished lips. I could feel the heat creep into my cheeks as I made eye contact with Jake, who had a knowing look on his face. Grabbing my camera from him, I wordlessly walked away and got back to work. His chuckle echoing behind me.

  Working diligently for the remainder of the afternoon, I was able to finish the shoot without any further issues. Evan disappeared to change while Jake and I stood with Eli and the other executives going over the shots, which they seemed to be absolutely thrilled with. Jake edited a few of the pictures where Evan had his back to the camera, magically making Evan’s tattoo disappear. It was not that the executives wanted the tattoo removed from the shots, it was more Evan’s choice given the personal meaning of the tattoo.

  Evan left a while ago as Jake and I worked with the executives, so I was not surprised when my phone buzzed with a text from him.

  Room 462. Knock twice.

  Frowning at the cryptic message, it suddenly dawned on me that he had a room at the Fairmont.

  Grabbing my bag, I headed for the door. Pausing with my hand on the door handle, I turned and looked back at Jake, but he spoke before I could.

  “No, baby girl. I’m not leaving with you.” He walked over to me, removing my camera bag from my shoulder. “Lucina is here. I’ll take this back to the apartment. You go have fun with your man,” he said, winking at me.

  “I’ll see you later then.” I kissed him on the cheek. Turning back to the door, I heard him whisper, “More like see you tomorrow.”r />
  Frowning, I turned back around to face him. “Did you know he had this planned?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, feigning innocence.

  Smiling, I shook my head at him and pulled open the door. I practically sprinted down the corridor to the elevators. Tapping my foot anxiously, the elevator seemed to crawl up the short distance. When the doors finally opened, I quickly found where to go and headed down the hall.

  Stopping before the door to room 462, I took a deep breath, reached up, and knocked twice as instructed. It was a moment before Evan answered, but when he finally did, holy hell, my jaw hit the floor.

  Wearing nothing but a white towel wrapped around his waist, his dark hair slicked back from a shower, he gave me a half smile and invited me in.

  Not two steps into the room, he grabbed my arm, spun me around, and shoved me face first into the door. My palms stung as I quickly slammed them against the door trying to keep my face from slamming into it instead.

  Evan’s warm body quickly pressed up against mine before I could move, pushing me harder into the door. His hands came up and rested next to mine, caging me in. Fresh from a shower, he smelled of his usual spicy cologne, which was intoxicating.

  “I’ve been thinking of nothing but being buried deep inside of you since you stopped me earlier.” Closing my eyes, remembering our encounter, my breathing spiked. “All afternoon, Ember, I’ve had to hold myself back. I felt like an alcoholic tied up with an open bottle of booze just out of my reach. I could see you, smell you, but I couldn’t reach out and touch you or taste you,” he growled in my ear.

  My heart was now slamming against my chest with such force I swore it was going to break free. His breaths, coming hard and fast, brushed across my neck, tickling my oversensitive skin.

  He eased up a little. Turning my head, I rested my forehead against the door, but I found no relief in the coolness of the wood against my feverish skin. His hands reached down to grip the bottom of my shirt. Keeping his hips pressed tightly up against my back, he lifted my shirt over my head. Before I could take my next breath, I felt his fingers working on the hooks of my bra. Dropping my arms from the door, I let them hang by my side as he yanked my bra down my arms. With my forehead still pressed to the door, I watched as he let my bra slip from his fingers and fall to the floor at our feet.