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“What is this?”
“The photoshoot portion of our evening.” I grip the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head. Balling up the fabric, I toss it at him. He bends forward to snatch it out of the air and continues strolling toward me until he’s right in front of me. I crane my neck up. A smile flirts on his lips.
“You want to do this?”
My teeth sink into my bottom lip. “I do.”
“Because we don’t have to do it. I don’t need pictures when I have the real thing.” He raises his hand to cup my cheek. His calloused thumb is rough against my skin.
“It’ll be for those nights we can’t be together. Now, get out your phone.” I playfully shove at his chest and he chuckles but does what I say.
He back pedals, digging in his pocket to pull out his phone. With my legs spread shoulder width apart, I place my palms on the gas tank and peer over my shoulder at the camera. Ledger takes picture after picture as I test out different poses. The way his gaze trails over my body makes me feel sexy and empowered. Normally, I would have never thought to take boudoir style photos, but Ledger brings out my wild side. He makes me feel alive. I’m doing this as much for him as I am for myself. Reaching behind me, I unhook my bra and dangle the strap on my finger. With my other arm, I wrap it around my chest, barely covering myself, and twist half around for a pose.
The first and only time I’ve been topless outdoors was when we were vacationing in the south of France. Tatum and I were in our early twenties. Being the only ones fully clothed, we felt out of place, so we took off our tops. It lasted a whole ten minutes before our mom approached us, basically called us whores, and told us to put our clothes back on. This time is much different.
“Fuck. I won’t need these pictures. This vision of you will be permanently etched into my memory.” He reaches down and adjusts himself in his jeans.
A smile spreads across my lips as I continue to pose for the camera. I do some serious ones, others to show my sexy side, and fun and playful ones. This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Ledger is getting into it too, playing photographer. He’s directing me how to stand. Where to place my arm. Over a hundred photos later, I get dressed again and exchange my heels for the boots. As the sun draws closer to the horizon, we lock the gate behind us and ride back to Harbor Highlands.
By the time we arrive at the garage, oranges and purples paint the horizon as the brightest stars shine through the darkening sky. He parks his bike outside the garage door and we both hop off. I collect my things from the saddlebags and replace them with my helmet. I won’t need that unless I’m with Ledger. He moves his bike inside and closes and locks the garage when he’s finished. I prop myself against the door of his truck, not ready for the night to be over.
He strolls over to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me to him. “I enjoyed spending the day with you.”
“Your company wasn’t so bad,” I tease.
“Oh, is that so?” He drops his arms to under my butt and lifts me. Using his truck for leverage, he nestles his hips between my legs as I wrap them around his waist.
“So, what now?” Before he can respond, an inhuman sound rumbles from my stomach. Heat creeps up my neck as I silently pray the noise wasn’t as loud as I thought it was.
“It sounds like I better feed the angry beast that lives inside you.” He chuckles. I drop my forehead to his shoulder, mortification taking over. “It’s okay to have a gremlin living inside you. Doesn’t make you any less beautiful.”
I jokingly slap at his chest. “You’re such a jerk. Just for that, I get to pick what we have. Should we get takeout and eat it at your place?”
He lowers me to the ground. “Takeout sounds great. But how about we go to your place instead?”
TWENTY-THREE
JACK AND ROSE MOMENT
Ledger
My heart stopped when she said she wanted to go to my place. Thankfully, she agreed to go to hers instead. Stevie needs to leave, and quick. I hate having to lie to Olivia. And it’s best if they don’t know any more about each other than they already do. While I picked up the takeout food, I used that alone time to call Archie to see where the hell he is. When he didn’t answer the first time, I tried again. Luckily, he answered the second time. When I asked him where he was he said he got delayed with car troubles but he should be back in a couple of days. All I saw was red. I told him to hurry his ass up then hung up. I didn’t want to deal with this shit to being with and now it’s for a few more days. I’m about ready to send a search party for him. After I left the restaurant, I took the long way around to Olivia’s to give myself a few extra minutes to cool off.
Bags overflowing with Chinese food containers fill both my hands as I let myself into Olivia’s house, stroll past the living room, and into the kitchen. Placing the food down on the white granite countertop island, my gaze wanders around the open kitchen. Olivia’s nowhere in sight. I unload all the containers from the bags and set them on the counter when she comes strutting down the stairs, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, wearing a worn shirt and short cotton shorts.
“Oh my god. That smells delicious.” She wraps her arms around my waist.
I glance down at her, recognizing the faded black shirt she’s wearing. “Did you steal my shirt?” I love seeing her wear my clothes. Hell, she can have my entire wardrobe as long as I get to admire her in every threadbare t-shirt and color faded hoodie.
She looks down, then meets my gaze. “Yes.” She lifts the collar up to her nose and inhales. “I like that it smells like you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” Actually, I know exactly what I want to do with her, but food first.
“You can figure that out later. I’m starving.” She pulls out plates and silverware while I get us a couple glasses of water. We sit at the island, passing containers of food between us until our plates are overflowing.
Olivia props her elbow on the table while stabbing a piece of broccoli. “What made you want to become a mechanic?” She pops the sauce-covered vegetable into her mouth and chews.
“As a teenager, it kept me out of trouble. The more I did it, I found I enjoyed the challenge of taking engines apart and putting them back together. And it turns out I was good at it.” I shrug and take a bite of my kung pao chicken.” What about you? Do you like working as a receptionist?”
