Chapter Two

He couldn’t go home. Home meant bed, and bed meant a long night trying not to violate Josie’s trust as badly as he had in the darkroom. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he’d make it. His cock was already aching again.

He had two options: coffee and work, or going out to get completely shit-faced. Only one of them promised to leave him any dignity. The thought of drunk-calling his assistant in the middle of the night to confess his lust for her was enough to drive him to the coffeemaker.

Several pots of black Colombian dark roast and a lot of pointless busy work later, Ian wasn’t any closer to being in control of himself.

He jumped when Josie popped her head into his office. “Did you get the prints out all right last night?”

“Hm?” He glanced at his watch in a panic. What was she doing here? “What was that?” How was it eight thirty already?

“There weren’t any problems last night, were there?”

“What? Problems?” He looked everywhere but at her. “Ah, no, no problems. Got the package out well ahead of schedule.”

“Well, good then.” She hesitated. “So…why are you here so early?”

“Early?” Rattled, he looked at his watch again. “Oh, I suppose it is. I…uh, didn’t sleep all that well, so I came in.”

Her eyes narrowed as she took in his rumpled shirt. The same exact shirt he had been wearing yesterday. Smooth. “Ian, you didn’t go home last night, did you?”

Slouching back in his chair, he ran his fingers absently through his hair. “I got distracted.”

“With what?”

He couldn’t admit the truth. If she didn’t laugh at him, she’d slap him. “The…thing. The shoot. The shoot next week in Chicago.”

Folding her arms below her breasts—God, did she have to do that?—she glared at him. “What are you worrying about that for? I’ve had everything set on that for two weeks.”

“I know. I…” His hand went through his hair again, the way it always did when he was thinking too fast. “I know it doesn’t make sense. I…couldn’t let it go, okay?”

“Ian.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him up out of the chair. “Go home. Get some rest. You aren’t making any sense.”

“No, I guess not.” He glanced at her, then quickly looked away. “You, um, you look, uh…” She wore a loose blouse that was buttoned surprisingly low for her, showing more than a hint of cleavage, a skirt that fell just below her knees and barely hid the top of her black leather knee boots that had a thin heel to give her leg a nice line.

God, she looked amazing.

“You…you look nice,” he said finally.

 “Sure took you long enough to compliment me,” she said lightly. “Not good for a girl’s ego.” Propelling him to the door, she asked, “How much coffee have you had since last night?”

“I, uh…four.”

“Cups?”

“Erm, pots. Possibly five. It’s sort of all blended together.”

“Christ, Ian, you’re lucky you’re not in the ER. Wait here.” Josie went to her desk and retrieved her purse.

“What are you doing?”

“Diving your over-caffeinated ass home, what does it look like?”

Even as hyped up on caffeine as he was, he knew this was a really bad idea. “I’ll be fine. Really, I can manage a ten minute drive.”

“No way, buster.” She shoved him into the bright daylight, giving a satisfied smirk when she saw him wince. “I like job security. You driving right now guarantees that I’m going to end up unemployed. So suck it up.”

*****

Christ, she had cleavage.

Ian didn’t look over at her. He didn’t want to see the bare skin showing between the top of her boot and the bottom of her skirt where it had hitched up in the driver’s seat, teasing him every time she stepped on the gas. He didn’t want to stare at her ruddy hair, loose and smooth and begging him to run his fingers through it. God, he didn’t want to be tempted to bury his face in the inviting cleft the neck of her blouse offered.

It was the caffeine. He wasn’t thinking straight. Josie was his friend and a great assistant. Giving in to any of the urges now hammering through his body would only ruin both those relationships, and those were more important to him, no matter what his hormones might be insisting.

Did she have to wear those boots?

“I knew you were going to nod off,” Josie said knowingly, snapping him out of his trance.

Ian focused on the dashboard for all he was worth. “I suppose the buzz was going to wear off at some point.”

“You know it wouldn’t kill you to admit I’m right every so often.”

“You’re always right, Josie. Why state the obvious?” He frowned, thinking it over. “Damn.”

He caught her smiling. “I think I need to keep you sleep deprived more often.”

She was more right than she knew.

“So did you hear anything back from Altair?”

He hadn’t expected the question. “About what?”

“About what?” She shook her head in bemusement. “About the current state of affairs in Djibouti. About the pictures, of course. What did they think? Did you hear anything?”

“Not yet. We might hear back this afternoon, but it isn’t likely. They said they’d have an answer by Friday.”

“Does everyone in the damned company need to review those shots?”

The bluster did nothing to disguise the blush tingeing her checks. Grinning, Ian shifted to lean against the door to better study her. His traitorous eyes naturally zeroed back in on her cleavage. He’d seen a hell of a lot more of Josie last night, but something about the carefully constructed display made her even sexier covered up than she had been unclothed.

She shot him a disgusted look. “This is where you’re supposed to say, ‘The shots are gorgeous. They should be lucky for the privilege to see you in your spectacular beauty.’“

He gaped at her, earning a frown.

“Christ, it’s a good thing my self-esteem is so stable. I’d be in therapy if I relied on you to boost it.”

Except it wasn’t, was it? “My God.” The realization stunned him.

“What?”

“You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”

Her brow furrowed as her hands tightened on the wheel. “Like I care what a bunch of jewelers think of me.”

“Okay, first off, it’s not about you. They aren’t thinking about you, Josephine Guinness, fiery redhead and PA extraordinaire. They’re thinking about their product and if the pictures make them look good or not. And second, you were gorgeous, so stop worrying about it.”

“I think I liked it better when you weren’t patronizing me.”

“Is that what you think? Is that what you really think?”

She didn’t answer.

“That’s it. Turn the car around.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“Josie, take us back to the studio.”

“Ian, you need sleep.”

“Not until you take me back. Now do it.”

She glared at him, but turned off at the next light and looped the block, heading back to the studio.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Whatever you’re up to, no more coffee, got that?”

“Yes, Josie.”

“I’m not taking my clothes off again. Just so we’re clear. That was a one time deal.”

Not if he had anything to say about it. It was a mark of how tired he was that he didn’t feel even a twinge of guilt at the thought. Maybe… “I’m not asking you to take your clothes off,” he snapped, holding onto the anger her lack of confidence inspired. She was so damn sure of herself in everything else, it was infuriating that she lacked it in this. Humanizing, but infuriating.

“Fine,” she growled back.

Neither one of them spoke again until they reached the studio. Ian slammed the car door behind him, storming up to the building to yank open the door and head straight to Josie’s in bin. “There.” He pulled out the file copies of the pictures he’d sent off last night, slapping them down on her desk one by one in a collage of gemstones and skin. “That’s you. That’s all you. I couldn’t have done those pictures with anyone else.”

She was quiet for a moment, studying the photos. Finally she shook her head. “It’s bits and pieces, Ian. You take anything out of context and it can look as good or bad as you want to make it.”

He wanted to shake her. She needed to see the whole picture? Fine, he could do that.

“Come with me.” He hauled her out of her chair and led her to the display area still set up from last night. “Don’t move,” he said and went to retrieve a folding chair from against the wall. Plopping it down in the center of the field of velvet, he shoved Josie onto it none too gently.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” She started to get up.

“Don’t. Move.”

He must have startled her, because she sank back down.

He flew around the studio, snapping on lights and adjusting the incident lighting as she sat there, silent and bemused. Checking the load on his camera, he was finally ready to deal with his model.

She’d crossed her arms over her chest, her ankles mirroring them, closing her off as she leaned back in the chair. Frustration erased all of Ian’s careful politeness from the night before. “Not like that,” he insisted, kicking her ankles apart while he unfolded her arms. “Wider.” Crouching down, he shoved her knees into a loose straddle and pushed the bottom of her skirt up to reveal those boots and the velvety length of her thighs, letting the fabric pool in the middle to protect her modesty. “There. Now lean forward. Put your elbows on your knees.” Eyes wide, she followed his orders, her fingers brushing each other where they met in the middle, emphasizing the large turquoise ring she wore on her left hand. “Better.” He reached between her arms to release another button on her blouse.

“Ian!”

“You wanted the big picture, Josie. Well, those are definitely part of it.” Ignoring her angry glare, he tousled her hair, barely registering the silky strands as he mussed it into something that looked like she’d just dragged herself out of his bed. That was looking like less and less of a possibility, but he was determined to make her see herself the way he did.

“You’ve completely lost it,” she stated, but remained how he’d positioned her. “Isn’t it safer to humor a mad man than not?”

“I’m not crazy, Josie.” Grabbing up his camera, he began shooting her. “In a little while, you’re going to believe me.”

“Dream on, camera man.” After a moment of silence, she asked, “Should I be doing anything?”

“I wouldn’t mind a smile. But if it’s too much…”

She bared her teeth at him.

He zoomed in, softening the focus. “Okay, that’s frightening.” He snapped a picture. “Now give me something more natural.”

“I feel so unnatural right now, it’s not even funny.” She tried to bring her knees together.

“Stop that.” He spread them again and then backed off. “Remember the first time I took you to Paris? You were trying to act all sophisticated, but I could tell you wanted to run through the streets screaming ‘Oh my God, I’m in Paris!’”

The blush was absolutely perfect. “I can’t believe you even remember that.”

“Of course I remember that. I remember a lot of things about you.”

“Bullshit. You don’t even notice me unless you’re out of coffee or can’t find your lenses.”

“I notice you, Josie. I just don’t always vocalize it.”

“Unless you want something.”

The corner of his mouth tugged with a smile. “You make me sound insufferable.”

“Only when you’re out of coffee.” Her wicked grin warmed his heart and went straight to his cock.

“We’re out of coffee now, but you don’t hear me complaining, do you?”

“Because you’re still flying high,” she chuckled. “I’m waiting until the crash.”

“Pictures first.” He held out his hand to her. “Come on.”

Her animated face became suspicious. “Where?”

“Darkroom. You’re going to see these before I pass out from caffeine toxicity.”

Her hand was warm when she slipped it into his, nearly making up for the loss of her lovely legs when she stood up, her skirt pooling back around her calves. “You really are certifiable, you know that?” But she followed him docilely nonetheless.

“I’m an artist. It comes with the territory.”

He closed the darkroom door behind them and turned off the light, switching on instead the faint amber light that allowed him enough light to see by, once his eyes had adjusted to it. He didn’t need the light, really. He had done this so many times by now, he could go through each step of the process blindfolded, rolling the film onto the reel, dropping it in the tank, adding the developer, all automatic. In the darkness, he could sense Josie behind him, uncharacteristically quiet, waiting and watching in that way she had, always aware of the world around her. She could be so abrasive, too many people didn’t know what a gentle heart she had. Hell, even he hadn’t known how vulnerable she really was, and he worked with her every day. His own desires aside, he wanted to give this to her, to let her know beyond a doubt that all the big talk had more than a hint of reality behind it.

Once the film was set, he fed it into the enlarger and exposed three of the frames, the best examples of the lot. These went into the developer and then the stop bath, into the fixer and finally into the wash as the exposures faded into brilliant reality. He didn’t wait for them to dry, snapping the main light back on as soon as the pictures were set and shoving them, still dripping, into Josie’s hands. “There. See?”

Her eyes squinted against the brilliance as she uncertainly took the pictures from him. “You could warn a girl.”

“Sorry,” he said and meant it. “Just look, please?”

Shaking her head with a faint smirk, she did. The smirk disappeared as her lips parted enticingly. “Oh,” she whispered. Flipping to the next one, her brows drew together. “This can’t be me. You did something to them, right?”

Ian moved over to her side, peering down at the pictures. “When could I have? You were there when I took the pictures and you stood here the whole time while I developed them. At no point did I have the opportunity to alter these.”

“Sleight of hand.”

“You’ve seen me shuffle cards, Josie.”

“You did something,” she insisted. “In the developing or the chemicals or that—” she gestured towards the enlarger, “thing. This isn’t—”

He kissed her.

Whether it was the caffeine or the exhaustion, the intensity of the creative process or maybe her proximity, he threw all caution to the wind and kissed her, hard enough to stop her protests but not so hard that she banged her head when he backed her up against the wall. She resisted only for a minute before her mouth opened beneath his, welcoming him in as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

Whatever he’d expected, it hadn’t been eager reciprocity. All his restraint shattered and he ground into her the way he’d been fantasizing about all night, aching for her soft curves gave against him.

So he was surprised when she suddenly pushed him away.

“Josie, wh—” Her eager lips recaptured his and silenced him as she shoved him back against the opposite wall.

“Now then.” She broke off the kiss but didn’t move away, her body still pressed enticingly close. “Much as I would really love for this to continue, you’ve had no sleep and are running on more chemicals than is probably safe. Which means that with my luck, you’ll conk out just as things get going.”

“Josie, I wouldn’t—”

She shut him up with another kiss. “If this is going to happen, I want you fully present and participating.”

There was so much promise in that simple statement. “Only if you promise it will. I’m not about to let you go if you’re going to change your mind in the meantime.” He emphasized it with a sharp nip at the base of her throat.

Gasping, she kissed him again. “Trust me. Now that I know you’re interested, you aren’t getting away.”

“But we work together.” Savoring her full lips, he took advantage of the opportunity to shamelessly indulge in playing with her thick hair. “Things might get awkward.”

“You think they won’t be awkward if we stop now?”

Her hands were all over his chest, tugging at his shirt. “This doesn’t feel much like stopping.”

“I know.” She sighed and pulled away, not giving him time to grab her before she opened the darkroom door and stepped back out into the studio.

Taking a moment, Ian finally pushed off the wall and followed after. Tomorrow. He could wait until tomorrow. Sleep really wouldn’t kill him right now. At least he knew he could look forward to good dreams.