appearance. “Why not travel in style with us?”
I scoffed, flicking my gaze at him. “Please. After Yana’s payment for the photos? I can travel in style if I wanted to.”
“Ah, but there’s style, then there’s the way we travel.”
His tease earned him a punch on the shoulder. “Obnoxious jerk.”
He took my hand again and flattened it over his heart. My palm felt its powerful, steady beats. I should really stop giving him reasons to touch me. But it was Luka. My Luka.
“The pictures were magnificent.”
Another thing I hated. All this time I pretended the dean’s, Larry’s, Silvia’s, the people who came to see the photo’s opinions mattered. In reality only one opinion mattered and I just got a dose of it. Fuck. I was so done for.
“You like them?” I asked because I was a compliment whore.
“Like them? I loved them.” He kept my hand on his chest by placing both of his over it. Heat started from my palm and climbed up my arm until it saturated my entire body. “That’s why you’re the only one who can do this book with us. I’m not using you. Don’t think of it that way because without you there wouldn’t be a book. I want to work with you. No one else will do.”
“Are you asking me to take your picture or writing a song?”
“Maybe both?”
His teasing got me every time. Shit. “On a couple of conditions.”
“Pack your bags. We’ll talk about them in the car.”
The triumph in his gaze scared the bejesus out of me. Here I stood, making deals with the devil as if I hadn’t learned my lesson the last time. I really must crave pain to let Luka convince me Vicious needed no other photographer but me.
Could anyone say “here we go again?”
C HAPTER T WELVE
C ONDITIONS
I packed my bags amidst Luka’s lingering sweet and spicy scent. Opening all the drawers and cabinets I used to store my clothes, I systematically folded everything. Away from Luka’s all-consuming presence and the spell he always seemed to cast on me, I could think clearer. How the hell did I allow myself to take the job? Of course, part of me jumped for joy. I loved the photo shoot today with the fashionable actresses, but there was something about watching Vicious behind the lens of a camera that brought me back to life. The other part of me remained terrified of getting hurt again. I really needed to get a handle on my emotions when Luka was around. Maybe there was a shot I could get? Some sort of vaccine? Or a Luka Visraya immunization. Did they give those out? I was so doomed.
Luka said he’d wait for me in the car across the street. He’d left behind his trench coat. I scoffed, looking at it. What did he think? That I wouldn’t return the thing to him? Or that I would run away?
As I packed, I knew running away wasn’t a possibility anymore. Yana I could refuse, but Luka? Way too many questions jumbled themselves up in my brain as I stuffed my new laptop on top of my clothes. I missed the old one no matter how much faster the new one processed. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, so I had it sent along with my other stuff to Mom’s farmhouse.
I’d called ahead for check out. Once I had everything tucked away, I reached for Luka’s trench coat and shrugged it on. The size overwhelmed my frame. It still held some of his warmth, cocooning me in cozy heat. I tugged the collar to my nose and inhaled deeply. I couldn’t get enough of his smell. Damn. I really had to do something about that. With trembling fingers, I picked up my camera and slung its strap over my head. The leather strap Demitri had given me for Christmas fit comfortably against the back of my neck. I let out a much needed sigh of relief. The weight of the camera gave me the courage to pick up my bags and leave the room.
At the marble lobby of the Charing Cross, I handed my credit card to the concierge and tapped my fingers on the counter. A smile of excitement tugged on my face. I’d be travelling the world with
I scoffed, flicking my gaze at him. “Please. After Yana’s payment for the photos? I can travel in style if I wanted to.”
“Ah, but there’s style, then there’s the way we travel.”
His tease earned him a punch on the shoulder. “Obnoxious jerk.”
He took my hand again and flattened it over his heart. My palm felt its powerful, steady beats. I should really stop giving him reasons to touch me. But it was Luka. My Luka.
“The pictures were magnificent.”
Another thing I hated. All this time I pretended the dean’s, Larry’s, Silvia’s, the people who came to see the photo’s opinions mattered. In reality only one opinion mattered and I just got a dose of it. Fuck. I was so done for.
“You like them?” I asked because I was a compliment whore.
“Like them? I loved them.” He kept my hand on his chest by placing both of his over it. Heat started from my palm and climbed up my arm until it saturated my entire body. “That’s why you’re the only one who can do this book with us. I’m not using you. Don’t think of it that way because without you there wouldn’t be a book. I want to work with you. No one else will do.”
“Are you asking me to take your picture or writing a song?”
“Maybe both?”
His teasing got me every time. Shit. “On a couple of conditions.”
“Pack your bags. We’ll talk about them in the car.”
The triumph in his gaze scared the bejesus out of me. Here I stood, making deals with the devil as if I hadn’t learned my lesson the last time. I really must crave pain to let Luka convince me Vicious needed no other photographer but me.
Could anyone say “here we go again?”
C HAPTER T WELVE
C ONDITIONS
I packed my bags amidst Luka’s lingering sweet and spicy scent. Opening all the drawers and cabinets I used to store my clothes, I systematically folded everything. Away from Luka’s all-consuming presence and the spell he always seemed to cast on me, I could think clearer. How the hell did I allow myself to take the job? Of course, part of me jumped for joy. I loved the photo shoot today with the fashionable actresses, but there was something about watching Vicious behind the lens of a camera that brought me back to life. The other part of me remained terrified of getting hurt again. I really needed to get a handle on my emotions when Luka was around. Maybe there was a shot I could get? Some sort of vaccine? Or a Luka Visraya immunization. Did they give those out? I was so doomed.
Luka said he’d wait for me in the car across the street. He’d left behind his trench coat. I scoffed, looking at it. What did he think? That I wouldn’t return the thing to him? Or that I would run away?
As I packed, I knew running away wasn’t a possibility anymore. Yana I could refuse, but Luka? Way too many questions jumbled themselves up in my brain as I stuffed my new laptop on top of my clothes. I missed the old one no matter how much faster the new one processed. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, so I had it sent along with my other stuff to Mom’s farmhouse.
I’d called ahead for check out. Once I had everything tucked away, I reached for Luka’s trench coat and shrugged it on. The size overwhelmed my frame. It still held some of his warmth, cocooning me in cozy heat. I tugged the collar to my nose and inhaled deeply. I couldn’t get enough of his smell. Damn. I really had to do something about that. With trembling fingers, I picked up my camera and slung its strap over my head. The leather strap Demitri had given me for Christmas fit comfortably against the back of my neck. I let out a much needed sigh of relief. The weight of the camera gave me the courage to pick up my bags and leave the room.
At the marble lobby of the Charing Cross, I handed my credit card to the concierge and tapped my fingers on the counter. A smile of excitement tugged on my face. I’d be travelling the world with
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