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He stepped behind the lounge chair, cupped her chin, tipped her head back and leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead.
“Mornin’,” rumbled out of him from deep within his chest.
With her face still tipped toward the sky, she blinked up at him upside down. “That’s all I get?”
Well, he could whip out his dick… “Good mornin’?”
“Uh uh.” She tapped her finger to her lips.
“Drinkin’ coffee,” he murmured. He also hadn’t brushed his teeth yet.
She flipped a hand toward her mug. “So am I.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” He leaned over and took her mouth. With their heads being in opposite directions, it was awkward and way too short, but still worth it. He released her chin and straightened. “Snuck outta bed.”
“I wanted to go through all the photos I’ve taken so far and get them organized before I add more to the folders. Look at this one.” After a couple of clicks she pointed to her screen.
He had a hard time pulling his eyes from her beautiful makeup-free face surrounded by messy bed-head hair, but forced himself to focus on what she was pointing at. On her screen was what looked like a professional shot of the motel’s office with Josie behind the desk.
What he first noticed was that Josie appeared to be wearing makeup and… that she was professionally dressed.
Like a real front desk clerk at a real hotel. With a smile, a name tag and every-damn-thing. “What the fuck?”
“It looks so great, doesn’t it? She’s so sweet and such a doll to work with, too. It doesn’t hurt that she’s also gorgeous and photogenic. Her smile and expression are open and friendly. That makes this a perfect picture to be front and center on the website. Along with the one of the front of the motel I took from the road. What do you think?”
“Don’t gotta ask me, just do what you do best.” And do me, too, while you’re at it.
“Well, you are the manager.”
“And you’re the website expert. You’re also a fuckin’ crazy good photographer.” Her skills with a camera were damn impressive.
Now she just needed to take some sexy naked selfies of herself with that same camera and send them to him—and only him—so he can stare at them all day, every day when she wasn’t within his eyesight.
“When I went to college, I took some photography classes as electives. I caught the bug but knew it would be hard to make a living by only taking photos. Now I do it for the websites I design and also incorporate them into some logos. But it’s also a fun hobby.”
Probably a great hobby for an introvert, something Ozzy had suspected she was from the beginning but absolutely confirmed it in the past week.
She was so opposite of the women he was normally around. Women who weren’t afraid to tell you what they wanted, when they wanted it and how they wanted it. And even how often.
Fuck no, they didn’t hesitate to make their wishes or wants known loudly and often.
He snorted.
“Is something funny?”
“Nope.” One lesson he had learned the hard way: never compare women out loud. Always keep that shit locked deep inside your head.
No matter fucking what.
The deeper you stuff that shit, the less likely it would slip out.
He moved around to the side of the lounger and sat on the edge, knowing already it would hold both of their weight. He’d fucked Liz on it more times than he could count.
Something else he should keep to himself.
Shay was wearing threadbare cotton shorts that looked like she’d been wearing them since she was a teen. She also wore a loose tank top that had a design on the front claiming she was a “Superstar!” and had a picture of the Saturday Night Live chick on the front. He remembered the movie and also the skits from SNL about a clumsy and socially awkward girl.
He pointed to her tank. “Think you’re like her?”
Shay plucked at the cotton and glanced down. “Mary Katherine Gallagher?” She lifted her face and shrugged. “Kind of. But I can safely say when I’m nervous I don’t stuff my hands into my pits and then sniff my fingers.”
He barked out a laugh and shook his head. “Thank fuck for that.” How could he forget that part? But that character was fiction, Shay was not. “You’ve been okay with meetin’ everyone so far.”
“Because I know I can’t roll myself into a ball and hide in the corner.”
“That’s what you wanna do?” That was news to him.
She sighed. “It’s my first instinct, especially when I overthink things. Then I stop, force myself to look at those things logically and make an effort to be more sociable.”
“All ‘cause you were bullied as a kid?”
She shook her head. “No, but I do think it’s one reason I was bullied. However, being bullied made my geeky-girl shyness worse. Then it became even more profound after my dad went missing. He was always encouraging me to try new things, to speak to new people. To try new foods. He did his best to open up my world.”
