Behind His Lens (19 page)

“Do you have a preference of rooms?”

I slide my eyes over to him, and with a smile, I ask, “Am I allowed to pick
after we see the views?”

“What!” His eyes dance with humor and he narrows them as a grin spreads across his lips. Suddenly the air between us sparks and the game is on.

In a flash, he drops my bags and takes off down the hallway with me at his heels. Sliding the key into the lock on room 12, he pushes the door open and I duck under his arm and inspect the room. It’s completely breathtaking and without a doubt it has the same exact view as room 11, but it doesn’t matter. We have to look at them both. I reach up and tug room 11’s key out his hand and dart out into the hall to unlock the next door. He’s yelling behind me, but I heave the door open and smile when I see that there’s no palm tree obstructing the view of the ocean from this room.

“Mine!” I yell, right as Jude screams, “This one’s mine!”

We erupt in laughter, but I can’t let him win. I run over and jump up onto the bed like a ten-year-old. “Sorry, Jude, but the room has been claimed!”

He waggles his eyebrows seductively and throws his leather jacket onto one of the
nearby desk chairs. “Oh, really? Cause it looks like I’ve already put my jacket down.” He shrugs his arms and cocks his brow, as if to say ‘tough luck, kid’.

My arms cross over my chest and I stand a little taller. “Don’t worry, I’ll call room service and explain the situation. I’m sure they can hang up your jacket in room 1
2 because that’s
your
room.”

“Is that so, Whitlock?” His sharp blue eyes dare me to keep playing the game
, and it’s an offer I can’t refuse.

My hip juts out to the side. “Looks like it, Anderson,” I spit with all of the sass I wish I actually possessed.

He takes a predatory step forward and my body starts to tremble. All at once the memories from the dance floor flood my brain and I know I’m in over my head. This is Jude’s game and his rules. He takes another step and then another, and already my heart is beating a wild rhythm.

“Sir. Sir?”
A voice calls from the hallway. A moment later, a young bellboy arrives outside of the door holding our bags and eyeing us suspiciously. Our race down the hallway surely caused a commotion.

Jude
turns around with a frustrated sigh, not happy about being interrupted, but when he sees the bell boy holding our bags, his demeanor relaxes. He walks with confident strides to retrieve our luggage and tip the boy.

As he slips his wallet out of his back pocket, he shakes his head regretfully, but I can tell he’s still being playful.

“Sorry about that.” He angles his head back to me, “my friend and I were racing to see who could get to our rooms first. She’s a bad influence on me.” A loud chuckle escapes me and I clap my hands over my mouth. As Jude hands over some cash, the bellboy glances fleetingly up at me standing on the bed and his face reddens. Jude follows his glance with a wicked grin.

He tisks, shaking his head admonishingly
. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll punish her for hopping up on the bed like that.” I think the bell boy’s eyes almost bulge out of his head at Jude’s joke, but then he turns on his heels and hurries down the hall before Jude can assure him that he’s kidding. Poor kid.

A soft chuckle sounds from Jude as he closes the door and turns back to me with a hungry gaze.

“You can
punish
me all you want, but the rooms mine,” I smirk.

Quicker than I could have imagined
, Jude’s across the room and pulling my feet out from under me so that I fall back onto the bed with a loud thud. I gasp in surprise as the pillows catch my head, but before I can even think to react, he drags me down by my boots so that my legs hang off the bed.

My heart
is practically in my throat as he bends down to hover over me, placing each of his hands on either side of my head. I have no clue what we’re doing, but I don’t want him to stop. I feel like I’ll spontaneously combust if he walks away now.

He holds his gaze steady with mine as I watch him bend down to
tug the bottom of my sweater up. He gently nips my stomach with his teeth.

“Jude,” I moan, scared of the power he has over me.

His teeth keep gently nipping higher and higher until he reaches my neck and then he nips my earlobe. The sensation of his lips against that skin is so erotic that my eyes roll back into my head and my back arches.

His husky words break through my cloud of pleasure, “I think I should get some kind of
compensation
if you’re getting the room with the better view.”

My chest quivers as my lungs try desperately to
expand fully. I have two options, I can give in and offer something or I can keep playing his game. I choose option two.

“Should I arrange for a model to come by your room? They’ve been ey
eing you this whole trip. Who do you want? That pretty brunette? I’ll have her come
compensate
you after our fitting.” I thrust my hips up so that they meet his groin in a seductive wave as I drawl out the word compensate. I know I’m playing with fire.

He growls and cups my chin so that I can’t tilt my head away. The move should scare me
, but instead, it turns me on, morphing me into a puddle of desire. I like this side of him. The side that won’t let me get away with my snarky games. I want him to force me to open up to him. Physically and emotionally.

With his hand on my chin, he grinds himself against
me
there
, once, twice, over and over again until I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. “Are you listening to me, Charley?”

I gulp, “Yes…” His pants and my jeans are the only barriers between us, but they feel transparent when he grinds hard like that.

“I. Don’t. Want. Them,” he bites out.

We stare into each other’s eyes with a fierce intensity.

“Then take what you want, Jude,” I whisper demandingly. His eyes glow with unspoken desire when those words slip out of my mouth. Did I really just say that?

His brow cocks and he sweeps his lips down over mine, so gently that I’m not sure if they’re actually on me or not. “I plan on it, Charley. But it’s almost four and you have fittings.” And with that, he grabs my arms and hauls me up off the bed.

He’s gone from the room before I even fully catch my breath. How does he do that? How does he turn my world completely upside-down?

…

You can hardly even call them fittings. After all, we’re only modeling string bikinis and simple cover ups. But they wanted to be sure that they had everything in the correct size, so we’re set up in a conference room inside the resort. Models fling clothes everywhere as they change into their swimsuits, and the stylists flit around taking measurements and adjusting straps and ties.

They have a few styles picked out for me, but for tomorrow, I’ll be in a white bikini that has a twisted
bandeau top and a strappy Brazilian bottom. It’s more revealing than any of the suits I packed for the trip, but it fits like a glove and it looks amazing paired with the delicate gold chain the stylists tie from my neck down to my waist. It looks like something a celebrity would wear as they’re tromping around on their honeymoon. I tug gently on the thin chain as the stylists swarm around me.

“How the hell are your boobs that big when you’re this size?” The small raven
-haired girl asks as she adjusts my swimsuit bottom. I blush peaking down at the top of the bathing suit. My breasts are spilling out of the tight top, and I have to fight the urge to adjust the material to cover them more.

“They aren’t
that
big…” I try to assure myself, and anyone else in earshot, but the stylist huffs and steps back to inspect her work.

“Ugh, you lucky bitch.” She laughs and whips around to go grab another suit. I use the opportunity to go
and stand in front of one of the numerous full length mirrors positioned throughout the room. I gasp when I see my reflection. My tanned skin looks like it’s glowing beneath the gold body-necklace even in the harsh resort lighting. I’m sure it’ll be even better when we’re out on the beach. I twist on the balls of my feet to check out the back and almost faint when I see how much of my ass is exposed from the Brazilian style bottom. It’s not a thong, thank God, but it cuts sharply, revealing quite a handful. Jude is going to freak and I can’t help but smile at the thought.

“What a great suit,” a sweet voice sounds behind me. I turn to see the brunette
model that only an hour ago I was mentioning to Jude for
compensation
.

“Oh thanks
.” I smile. “I’m Charley by the way.”

“Bella,” she coos, taking my hand. She’s absolutely beautiful with deeply tanned skin and long silky brown hair. Not to mention I’ve seen her in dozens of magazines over the past year. Why didn’t they choose her for the cover?

“So I saw you sitting with Jude on the plane.” Her head tilts to the side gently and she rests her hand against her elbow. Wow, she really cuts to the chase. Her sentence wasn’t posed as a question, but her tone insinuates that I should answer as though it was.

“Yeah, he’s a friend,” I answer curtly, unsure of where she’s leading the conversation.

I guess my tone was overtly defensive because she holds her left hand up so that her beautiful ring glistens in the light. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about me. But you should know that I’ve worked with him on a few other shoots. He’s never dated any models that I know of, but let’s just say that some of these girls wouldn’t mind being his first.”

My eyes scan through the crowd as she speaks. It’s not like I couldn’t already see that, but I wonder why she wants to point it out to me.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask with a slight smile so she doesn’t think I’m angry with her.

“I saw you guys cuddling when I used the plane’s bathroom. It was incredibly sweet and I don’t presume to know what’s going on, but if you
are
more than just friends, I wouldn’t let these girls get to you.”

I’m about to explain to her that we aren’t more than friends, but I bite my lip. She’s trying to help me out and I appreciate it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly intimidated by the thought of all these beautiful
women pining for Jude. Damn him. If he weren’t full of such dark sexiness, this wouldn’t be a problem.

“I appreciate it, Bella.” I smile before swapping the subject
. “Where are you from?”

…

By the time the fittings are done and I’m back in my room, exhaustion has set in and nothing sounds better than a relaxing bubble bath before I crawl into my king-sized bed. The bath is practically overflowing, music streams from my phone, and I’ve dimmed the lights so that shadows cast across the gleaming marble floor. The bathroom angles toward the ocean, so that if I leave the door open I can see the rolling waves fading into the black night as I recline into the Jacuzzi style tub. It’s perfect and I let my mind wander as I soak myself into a pruned raisin.

The water turned lukewarm a while ago, but I
haven’t been able to force myself to get out. The only reason I stir at all is because the last song on my play-list cut off, silencing the room and awaking reality. The peace and quiet was just what I needed after the hectic day, even if a certain pair of dark eyes still wove their way into my thoughts the entire time.

Suddenly, a loud clap sounds at my door and I jump, sloshing
water over the side of the tub. Who would be coming by? I didn’t order room service, even though I should probably eat soon. I haven’t thought to have dinner yet. I step out, grabbing my towel to dry off, before quickly wrapping my body in one of the resort’s plush robes. They’re fluffy, white, and reach the tips of my feet. I’m completely cocooned in its warmth as I trek to the door. I lean in to look through the peep hole. My heart races when I see Jude’s confident smile on the other side.

With my hand clutching the top of my robe closed, I unlock the door and slide it open.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, even though I can see the bags of food in his hand. Maybe he’s just stopping by on the way to his room.

“You have to eat something,” he answers
, as if the situation between us is completely black and white.

I clutch the robe tighter. “How
do you know I haven’t eaten already?”

His eyes scan down my robe before landing back on my face with an easy smirk. “Charley, have you eaten yet?”

I suck in my bottom lip trying to stall for time, but it doesn’t work. “No,” I answer simply.

He holds up the bags, “Don’t worry, I won’t keep you up late, I swear.” He crosses his hand over his heart and my resolve melts ever so slightly.

I want him to come in. I do. I want him to so badly. But what happened earlier is still fresh in mind, and if he comes in now I’m scared of where it might lead. Or do I want it to lead there? I certainly did earlier…

“Okay, but only because I’m starving,” I huff, as if I’m even slightly annoyed with his presence.