picture in here to
distract his mind from sex and then walk around him.
I raise my camera to
my face, but as soon as I do, I feel his hands on my arms, pulling
them behind me. A tiny gasp escapes my throat as he holds me in place
for a moment before taking the camera, letting me go, and stepping
back several feet. I barely have time to protest as he lifts the
camera and snaps a quick picture of me.
“ Cute.”
I stick my hand out toward him, placing the other one on my hip as I
tap my foot, giving him a distinct I'm-not-messing-around look.
Instead of handing
me the camera though, he takes another picture of me, an ear to ear
grin plastered across his face. “Less scowling, more sultry
Goddess.”
“ What?”
My hard exterior cracks, and I laugh.
He clicks another
picture. “You're gorgeous. You should smile more.”
My cheeks heat up
from the compliment. At best, I'm pretty. Nice face. Less than
perfect body with a bit too much baggage. Gorgeous is never an
adjective I could honestly imagine being used to describe me.
“ As
I said, you're a flirt. You've had your fun, now give me back my
camera.” I make a grabbing gesture at the camera, though I
don't move forward to retrieve it.
He lowers the camera
for a moment, looking contemplative. “How about you take off
that blouse and let me take more pictures of you?”
My mouth falls agape
at his indecent suggestion. “That's my work camera.”
“ You
can always delete the pictures later.”
“ Out
of the question. Now, give it back.” I reclaim the serious
stance I held before he made the sultry Goddess joke.
“ Come
and get it.” He nods towards the camera with a mischievous
gleam in his eyes.
“ Are
you serious?” My shoulders slump.
“ Dead
serious. If you want it, you're going to have to come get it.”
“ If
I come get it, you're just going to hold it up where I can't reach.”
I glare at him.
“ Maybe
I will. Maybe I won't.” He tosses the camera from one hand to
the other, making my nerves go on edge. If he drops the camera and
breaks it, I'll be in so much trouble.
“ If
I play along with your little game, you'll give me back the camera,
right?” I cock an eyebrow at him, showing him that I don't
think this is funny at all.
“ Oh,
don't act like you don't want to. Live a little.”
“ Fine,”
I sigh, stomping forward to try to get the camera from him. As
expected, he holds it up above his head where there's no possible
chance that I'll be able to reach it.
I try not to look at
him as I stand on tiptoe, wiggling my fingers as if it will help me
grow an inch or two. Our bodies are pressed together, but there's
nothing sexual about it. Not for me, at least. This is all business.
All playful business.
He's not giving up,
getting some sick enjoyment out of watching me struggle. In a
last-ditch attempt to get the camera, I jump for it.
Wrong move.
Not only do I miss
the camera, but one of my pencil-thin heels snaps beneath my weight
when I land on it, my ankle rolls, and I end up falling. Thankfully,
Lucian is quick. Somehow, he manages to catch me before I hit the
floor. The damage is already done though. Pain shoots up my leg as I
try to put weight on my injured ankle, and I cry out.
“ Are
you alright?” He slowly lowers me onto the floor.
All I see is red, as
I lean over to clutch at my ankle. So not sexy, but in the moment, it
doesn't matter.
“ Here,
let me see.” In an instant, Lucian's in doctor mode. He crawls
down to my feet and gently takes off the shoe with the broken heel.
“Can you move it?” I bend my ankle and pain follows,
though it's not unbearable. “Good.” His hands move over
my ankle, applying gentle pressure. “I don't feel anything
abnormal. I think you just sprained it.”
“ I
certainly hope so,” I mumble.
“ Let's
get you up off of the floor.” Lucian stands. I expect him to
give me his hand and help me up, but instead, he slides one hand
under my arms and the other under my legs to
Michael Perry
Mj Summers
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Zoe Chant
Molly McAdams
Anna Katmore
Molly Dox
Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney
Mark Robson
Walter Dean Myers