Skin (5 page)

Her shoulders and chest collapsed, completely empty. There, she’d done it, and he hadn’t laughed yet. She peeked at him from under her lashes to see him still staring at her. Shock turned to consideration, then to contemplation. She watched him throw down the napkin clenched in his fists. “Sure. Whatever.”

Whatever? Did that mean he didn’t mind? Or he was okay with her off-the-wall request? Or that he’d do anything to get through this assignment so he could go home? And did any of his reasons matter?

He did need to be comfortable with her doing this, or else it wouldn’t work. The camera would pick up every nuance of his moods, his emotions. That was the thing about the images. They didn’t lie.

Raw footage caught the truth. Sometimes more truth than anyone cared to have revealed. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so if it’s not okay, I’d rather hear the truth now.”

He was watching the coffee swirl in his mug. After a moment, he raised his gaze to hers. There was a blind over his feelings, a sense of detached mockery coming through. She winced. “Okay, so it’s not a good idea. Forget I mentioned it.”

“No.” He reached out to stop her as she’d instinctively pushed her chair back. “Wait.”

She stilled as the heat of his hand soaked into her chilled skin, and she slowly sat back down. “I’m not trying to push your boundaries. I just thought this would be something I could do that would be within the parameters of the assignment and be something I would like to do. But I don’t want to make you do something you don’t want to do.”

“And you can’t.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “But isn’t doing what we’re uncomfortable doing part of why we’re here?”

“True.”

“Are you taking an easy way out by doing something like this?” he asked. “Where’s the uncomfortable part in all this for you if you want to do it?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t actually realized I’d enjoy documenting the process until I recognized how much my eye was caught by your muscles.” She reached out and laid her finger on the cord, tightening and relaxing on the back of his hand as he tapped the top of the table. “You’re very mobile. I mean muscles shift, skin moves, light plays over all of you in different ways.” She gave herself a mental nudge to pull back.

She was fascinated by what she was seeing, and she desperately wanted to do this project now she had a topic she could hold on to. She hated to admit it, but there was a solid chance she needed to do this. Maybe Jenna was right. “But it’s your body, and it’s your personal space. I didn’t mean to intrude.” That she had was already incredible. She was normally the mouse at the door waiting to run at the first hint of discord. Instead, here she was actually asking this super-male physique to do something he didn’t likely want to do.

“It’s a stupid idea,” she said suddenly. “Forget it.”

“No, I won’t forget it.” He motioned to her tea. “Settle down and drink your tea while I mull it over.”

She picked up her cup and waited impatiently.

*

Kane studied the
disgruntled look on Tania’s face. Tinkerbelle had a temper. Well, so did he. She’d seen him blow at Jenna earlier, but that had merely been a trickle of what it could be. Still, she hadn’t seemed phased by it. He’d half-expected her to have run from the room screaming, but instead, she’d sat there with a grin on her face.

Someone around her had a temper for her to be so blasé. Interesting.

Now, did he have a problem with her taking pictures while he lifted weights? He couldn’t think of a decent reason to stop her, especially when she’d lit up at the idea like she’d been covered in fairy dust. He hadn’t ever been photographed working out. It was hot, hard, and sweaty work. He didn’t go to the gym to look for girls. He went with a trainer for some serious, anger-releasing work until he was dead-tired from the workouts, and there was nothing pretty about that.

He stared morosely into his empty mug. There was nothing pretty about any of this bullshit. As much as he couldn’t say he was comfortable with the concept, he’d had a few friends who had participated in similar photo shoots, so it was more his comfort level at question here.

“As long as you don’t post these pictures online and they are only for the project, then I am good with it.” He looked up to stare into her eyes. “That goes for all the pictures you’re taking. I’m the model, but I’m not giving you the rights to the images beyond the scope of this class.”

She smiled, and the relief in her eyes was obvious.

She said, “I won’t. These pictures are just for the project, and if there are one or two I really like, I’ll ask you for permission if there is anything I want to use them for.” She laughed. “What am I talking about? I don’t do anything with my photography. I don’t post them online at all.” She pursed her lips. “Maybe it’s something I should consider.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t. You appear to be serious about it.”

Her hand instinctively went to the camera around her neck. “It’s just a hobby, something to keep my mind and hands active.”

He stood up. “Kind of like my workouts. Come on, let’s hit the gym at the hotel. You can take pictures, and I can work on some of this restlessness.”

She bounced to her feet and dashed ahead of him.

Eager much? Still, there were worse things in life than having a beautiful woman sit there and watch him lift weights.

I
nside the hotel
lobby, Tania stopped her headlong rush. Belatedly, she realized how it must have looked. She’d raced back to the hotel as he’d strolled behind her. She turned her head to see him just now approaching the front doors. How idiotic.

On the other hand, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited. And it was photography related the last time, too. Too bad she couldn’t make a living that way.

Working part time with preschool children had brought her from the dark ages into the light. The laughter and light of the little children reminded her of the good things in life, the joys in the mundane, the reason for living.

It also reminded her why she was here. So she could heal to the point of having a relationship and having children of her own. Just the thought of those tiny chubby arms wrapped around her neck and snuggling close brought tears to her eyes.

Kane moved past her toward the elevator. When she didn’t fall into step behind him, he turned and asked, “Have you changed your mind?”

“No.”

“Then come on. I have to get changed, and the gym is on a different floor.”

She ran into the elevator behind him, hating how stupid she must have looked. Of course, the fitness room was on a different floor, as were the other amenities. She stayed quiet until the door opened, then followed him into the hallway. He unlocked his room and pushed it open. She leaned back against the hallway and said, “I’ll wait for you here.”

“You can come in. I won’t be a moment.” He motioned for her to enter.

It felt stupid, but for some reason, her feet were obeying her mind and not her heart. She entered a man’s bedroom for the first time in her life. Sure, it was a hotel bedroom, but it still counted…

“I’ll get a few things.”

And he disappeared from view, which gave her a chance to look around. Essentially, it was the same as her room, but slightly larger. There was a similar layout and look to the two rooms, but that was where the differences lay. His room had a suitcase and a large gym bag open on the bed, a few casual pieces of clothing lying around. He rummaged in the gym bag and pulled out a few things, including what looked like a pair of gloves that startled her, then an outfit. “Back in a moment.” And he disappeared into the bathroom. She sat down on the edge of the single spare seat and lifted her camera to look through the lens.

Immediately, she felt better. The slight distance eased the discomfort of a new and uncomfortable situation. Inside, she was exultant. If only her friend, Jillian, could see her now. In fact, she’d take a few photos as proof. Quickly, she snapped a couple of shots of the male domain before he returned.

When the door opened, she’d retaken her seat and was making adjustments to the zoom. Looking around, she caught sight of him.

Her breath caught in her throat. Muscle shirts had been designed for men like him. Holy Hannah.

And she might be afraid of having sex, but apparently there was nothing wrong with her libido. His pants clung to his massive thighs and as he walked past her, she barely restrained her hand from reaching out and grabbing his ass to see if it was as rock-hard as it appeared. She shuddered.

He was to die for.

He pulled open the door, sighed, turned back her way, and said, “Are you coming?”

Heat swept through her. Her mind screamed,
I wish!
Her mouth mumbled, “Sorry. Lost in my thoughts.”

“Whatever.”

She scooted past him, careful not to touch him.

He shook his head slightly and locked the door behind her. “This way.”

She followed along, lost in the rosy haze of lust, and wondered how people survived days of this. She’d never been one to moan over men in any size or shape, and now all she wanted to do was crawl up his frame.

Except, as soon as she touched him or he touched her, the situation would all change. There was no way it wouldn’t.

And that was a sobering thought.

Cooler and more composed, she walked beside him, happy when he chose to take the stairs. He ran down lightly and she followed. She was in good shape, but she wasn’t fit as in
fit
fit. She didn’t work out, and she didn’t do any crazy spin classes. She walked a lot and did yoga for stress relief. For some reason, twisting her body into crazy-ass positions always loosened her muscles. Probably because she stretched them past the point they’d normally go, so when she finally released them, they were like rubber and sagged in relief.

He pushed open the door to a lower level and led the way inside. It was a small but perfectly acceptable space as far as she was concerned. From the disgusted look on his, she figured the amenities were not up to his standards. Then again, a heavy fitness enthusiast probably needed more than the bits and pieces of equipment here. For her, it was fine. There were a few decent-sized mats leaning on one corner. She wouldn’t mind doing a few yoga poses while she was here. She glanced down at her sandals and Capri pants. Not good. She wouldn’t be able to maneuver in these clothes. Why hadn’t she thought to get changed herself?

Stepping back to give him room, she watched him open the bag he’d brought down with him. There was a tub of chalk in the bag, and with a cloud of dust in the air, he pulled on his gloves.

He started with a few simple stretches to loosen up. She used the time to walk the room and change her settings for the interior light. There were no natural windows, and from the number of stairs they’d walked down, she had to assume they were below ground level. In spite of its location, the room was bright and open and boasted a full wall of mirrors. She took several pictures and adjusted the settings again. She shifted to a different lens, was unhappy with the results, and switched to another one. Finally satisfied, she turned back to Kane, watching as he performed a series of sit-ups, followed by pushups before locking into a nice, steady plank.

She might not work out, but she could certainly appreciate the ease and smoothness by which he switched from exercise to exercise. By the time she walked back over, she could see a thin shimmer of sweat on his skin. She immediately lifted her camera and clicked – then again and again. She was lost as she tried to zoom in and capture that sheen to his skin, the effervescent glow that made his muscles shine. She shifted around him, moving carefully as he worked just as hard at what he was doing.

She hoped she wasn’t disturbing him. He was a serious machine in motion. His gaze was inward, as if working on controlling his breathing and counting his movements. His muscles shifted and rippled as they answered his demands.

And boy, was he demanding.

He was doing different reps of different intensities in the floor-exercise portion. She almost laughed. She was good at sitting down and doing reps of eating cupcakes just as seriously. This man was definitely working out!