Page 27 of Enchanted

Sam grinned, pausing with his hand on a door handle. “I suspect he’ll find room if you’re the photographer. Besides, hot men aren’t something we’re running short of in these parts.”

My heart beat faster at the prospect of what Sam was suggesting. “Wait, are you saying you’re going to need more photos in future?”

“The one thing you can guarantee about indie authors is that they will always need more cover photos. Let’s see how you get on today, then we can talk.”

I nodded firmly. Message received. If I knocked Sam’s socks off, he’d consider tossing more work my way in future. It wouldn’t be enough to survive on, but it was a start. A foot in the door. It was all I needed.

My palms were sweaty as the pressure settled on my shoulders. Fuck, I hoped the model would be easy to work with. They could make or break a shoot.

I straightened my spine. This was going to be fine. I was a professional, and I was going to provide Sam with the best damned cover shots possible.

He opened the door. “Rami, the photographer’s here.”

I stepped over the threshold and immediately stumbled. Silhouetted against a floor-to-ceiling sashed window was a man. Was that even the right word? Calling him a god would be more appropriate. Easily several inches taller than my own six foot, every inch of his dark skin on display was muscled. And with his lack of shirt, there was a lot of him on display.

A whole damned lot.

I swallowed, trying to force some saliva into my mouth.

Even facing away from me, I could tell he was one of the most stunning men I’d ever seen in real life, all interesting lines that would be beautiful on film. I couldn’t wait to start snapping shots. My mind was racing with all the different poses I wanted to put him in.

Then he turned to face me.

And I somehow forgot to breathe.

A broad smile stretched across the model’s beautiful face. His brown eyes seemed alight with joy as they swept over me. He extended a massive hand as he glided across the room, stopping a single foot away. “Hi. It’s lovely to meet you.”

Even his voice was stunning. Deep, rumbling notes that had the hairs on my arms standing on end.

You’re a professional, I reminded myself sternly. I’d been around beautiful people before. Had photographed them many times. Never once had I felt like my tongue was too big for my mouth at the mere sight of them. Stop ogling him.

“Ethan,” I said belatedly, sliding my hand into his. I waited for the crawling sensation that had struck every time I’d touched someone recently. Well, touched Dave. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d come into skin-to-skin contact with someone who wasn’t him, but I’d assumed it was a universal thing.

But nothing happened. If anything, touching this man felt startlingly…right.

I cleared my throat to try and cover the fact that I was now blushing. Pulling my hand out of Rami’s grip, I gave him a tight smile. “Shall we get started?”

Chapter 8

Ethan

I’d hoped that as I spent longer in this beautiful man’s presence, I’d locate my ability to converse normally.

Thirty minutes later, it was further away than ever.

Sam had left us to it, which was a relief. I didn’t mind input into my shoots, welcomed it even, but I hated when it evolved into micromanaging. What was the point of hiring someone who knew what they were doing then not allowing them to get on with it?

Fortunately, Sam didn’t fit into that mould. It put even more pressure on me to not fuck this up as I already knew I wanted to work with him again.

“Lift your left arm slightly higher,” I murmured, peering at Rami through the lens. “That’s great.”

For his part, Rami was the perfect model. He didn’t huff when I adjusted his position or complain if he was holding a pose for too long. Honestly, if every model Sam hired me to work with was like this, I was in for my dream job.

I clicked the shutter over and over again, marvelling at how the light caught on the contours of Rami’s abs. I defied anyone to see this man on a book cover and not pick it up. Rami was built for this. It wasn’t even just his looks—plenty of people had those. What made a model captivating, what made Rami captivating, was the emotion. He stared down the barrel of my lens like I was the love of his life. There was an intensity there that wasn’t easy to fake. The desire and need in his gaze would translate directly to the image. Everyone who saw it would feel like they were the one Rami wanted.

It was a difficult thing to get right. Rami had to have a lot of experience. Maybe even a background in acting. It’d explain how naturally he was able to convey such emotions without saying a word.

I snapped a few more shots before lowering my camera. My gaze swept around the room. “Mind if we shift to a different position?”