Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1) (3 page)

His strong muscular arm wrapped around her hips and pulled her toward his solid form. Now they were body to body, breast to chest. She let out a moan as Ale shifted, and she felt his hardness press against her center. She was weightless, her legs seemingly wanting to float apart and wrap around his waist all on their own. And still he pulled her in more. His hands now supporting her behind, fused her to him, groin to groin, mouth to mouth. And thank goodness for his strength or surely she would happily go under, lost at sea forever. Suddenly a wave splashed against them, sending an unwelcome chill to the back of Mika’s neck.
 

Her eyes shot open. The ocean, the cold, Alejandro. Oh crap. What was she doing? This wouldn’t do. Not. At. All. She couldn’t be dominated by him. He dominated everyone he met. But not her. Never her. Mika’s heart squeezed tight as she let his tongue sweep across hers oh-so-silkily one more time, and then she bit down. Hard.

“Oww!” Alejandro pushed her away, his eyes springing open and burning with dark flames as she splashed him with water.

“This is not happening.” She pierced him with a challenging stare.

“Okay, fine, you’re right. I’m sorry. But did you have to make your point quite so sharply? A simple nudge would have sufficed.”

Yeah, well, maybe he was right, but Mika chose to ignore his words as her face heated with embarrassment. She turned away and swam as fast as she could toward the dock, not so elegantly climbing the rope ladder before stomping, soaking wet, toward the shore.

Chapter 2

“You and your husband have big love. Iz good.”

“Excuse me?” Mika had trouble making out Tai’s heavy accent that seemed to turn t’s to z’s.

“Very good, the love with your husband. But the fight, not so good. But you make up. No problem.” Tai rambled on happily as she met Mika in the sand and handed her a towel. “Yes, fight not so good, but men like a little spirit,” she continued with a twinkle in her eye. “A little keep them happy.” She looked over Mika’s shoulders toward the dock, where a dripping-wet Alejandro was now helping Tong unload the boat.

Mika turned toward the dock and couldn’t help but notice the way Ale’s wet clothes hung on his lithe, muscular body as he unloaded their bags—something she probably should be helping with, but right now, she just couldn’t be near him. She tore her gaze away, forcing her attention back on the talkative woman.
 

“Your husband, he looks mad now, but he be happy later, eh?” Tai gave Mika hard poke in the side with her elbow that practically sent Mika down on her butt in the sand. Then she laughed at her own good-natured jab, a rosy blush coming to her tanned skin. “Tong and me, we have six children, and so far, four grandchildren. All of them come from good fights.” Mika quirked a smile. She couldn’t help it. The woman was infectious. It was a shame she had to break her heart and tell her the truth about her and Ale, but better to pull the bandage off quick.

“Um, he’s not my husband. Not even my boyfriend. He’s my boss. I work for him so we’re not really together in any way,” she paused then quickly added, “and we won’t be.” She clamped her mouth shut and smoothed her hair, trying hard to bring some serenity to her demeanor. Better to show no emotion. And why should she? It was true. It’s not like she and Ale were a thing. Or ever would be a thing.

Tai looked at Mika, her eyes going wide then back over at Alejandro. She snorted to herself, a hard grunt that startled Mika into taking a small step back. “Oh sorry, Miss. I guess I will be fixing up the second room. I don’t know how Tong could have gotten it wrong when he called over.” She looked up at the sky, shrugged then looked back at Mika. “Are you sure? I usually have a sense of these things.”
 

Mika gave her a raised brow in answer, and Tai just shook her head. “Okay then. No problem, just a little more work to do.”
 

Yes, more work to do. Not to mention bridges to mend, Mika thought, her mind now going into hyper panic mode. She’d just kissed her boss. Then she bit her boss. Well technically, he’d kissed her. But she was indeed the biter in this situation. Crap. The biter! How did one go on congenially from there? Barker? Sure, that was practically part of her everyday job description as his assistant, but biter? No, it would never fly.

A soft breeze fluttered by, but an ironic heat came over Mika in a rush. Alejandro
had
kissed her. He was the initiator in this thing. He did what she had wanted to do for so very long. Shut the bickering up and kiss already. Mika released a long breath. Suddenly cold, a shiver she couldn’t control ran through her body and she knew it had nothing to do with the wind that blew, chilling her right through her sodden clothes to her skin.
 

The reality of his kiss was nothing like she had ever imagined. And yes, she’d imagined plenty— she could admit that now. It was so much more. She had known he took charge when it came to his work, and true, he sent most men, women and fashionistas jumping in their stilettos. But never her. Their relationship was based on more than the superficial. They were colleagues, master and apprentice, and sometimes vice versa when she had to put him in his place and keep him on track. It worked for them. They’d never once called each other “friend”—they were more like co-conspirators in the fashion world that surrounded them. The world of games and one-upmanship. But with that kiss Ale went and turned it into something else. That kiss was all command and demand with subtle hints of what he was willing to give if she would only relent.
 

If only.

And just when she thought she had it all figured out, too. Just when she was one foot out the door. She turned toward the dock and took another look at Ale unloading the boat with Tong. He was so damn beautiful, all tall, dark good looks and sinewy muscle. That combined with his undeniable talent was just too much. She turned away. No, he wasn’t for her.

A man like Ale had nothing to give her but pain at the end of a relationship. She knew it would end that way. A kiss from him meant nothing. Hell, sex with Alejandro meant nothing. He went through women like T-shirts. They were fashion to him, one gorgeous accessory after another. And with her, he’d be trading down. It would be like going from Saks to a cheap discount store knock off. Sure, you might be able to get the same designer label, but a keen eye could still tell where you shopped. If a top model couldn’t hold his interest for any length of time, there was no way she could compete.
 

She ran a finger across her top lip, feeling its flushed fullness. Still, that kiss… Mika let out a breath and shook her head. No, with Ale, heartache was guaranteed. At this moment, she was very glad to have the insurance of a new job waiting over the horizon. If she’d learned anything in this life, it was to not give up your dreams of a certain future for the passing love of any man.
 

*

Alejandro was fuming. Of all the stupid, asinine things to do. How could he lose his cool like that? And with Mika of all people. His assistant, the woman he was supposed to act professional with. Damn.
 

And since when did he start thinking of her as a woman anyway? Mika was supposed to be, well…Mika. His partner, his right-hand man…well, woman as it were. He’d told himself that three years ago, the instant she’d sailed into his office, took over, and quickly proved herself as a competent assistant. Hiring her took her out of the woman category and off the dateable list entirely, and he’d stuck to that. Always ignoring the sounds of her easy laughter, the quirk of her wry smile, the smell of her delicate lavender perfume that tantalized his senses as they sat side by side examining prints.
 

Alejandro let out a low growl. Hell, she was never off the list at all. She
was
the list.

Tong laughed. “Your woman, she’s a funny one, eh?”

“What?”

“Your woman. I said she’s funny. Falling in the water like that when she swim real good, then you go in after her, but she still so mad at you.” Tong laughed again, oblivious to Alejandro’s hard stare.
 

What was going on here? Usually that look sent men running.

“She’s not my woman,” Alejandro gritted out.

Tong stopped laughing, his face drawing into a frown of confusion. “Hmm. She sure mad at you like she’s your woman.”

Alejandro looked up the beach at Mika. As he figured, she was glaring at him. Even from this distance, her molten brown eyes could sizzle him on the spot if he weren’t careful. He snorted. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” He watched Mika give him one last haughty look fit for a queen then turn away to follow Tong’s wife up the beach toward the huts. It took all his will to tear his gaze away from her sleek brown legs and luscious behind as she walked away, but tear he did. It was then that he looked around at all that was left on the boat and shook his head. Nice. Shouldn’t she be helping him unload? That was it. He really was losing his edge.

*

Thankfully, the question of the bathroom situation had been solved. Each hut shared a single facility centered between them, blessedly run by a generator and was only slightly scarier than the ferry ride over to the island. Mika looked around, eager to find the right words to please Tai, who stared at her with wide-eyed anticipation.
 

“It’s beautiful,” she finally said, hoping her words came out with enough sincerity.
 

Tai’s smile became wide, and the woman let out a relieved breath of air. She clearly took great pride in her work. Mika could definitely understand that.
 

As Mika slowly walked around the elevated hut, she found it was surprisingly large, with simple bamboo furniture: a table, couch, a couple of chairs and a large welcoming bed in the center, covered with gauzy fabric that hung from the ceiling. The whole arrangement could be considered romantic, if you could get past the layer of sand and dirt that seemed to cling to everything. And if you pretended you didn’t see the little gecko-looking creatures crawling into and out of the corners of the room. There were arrangements of tropical flowers by the bed in empty soda bottle vases, and on the table in a bowl sat a lovely arrangement of fruit.

“My youngest daughter, she do the flowers,” Tai said with pride.

“They’re lovely.”

Just then, Alejandro and Tong ambled in, a bag under each arm, followed by what had to be Mai and Tong’s sons. The rosy-cheeked resemblance was uncanny. Ale and Mika’s eyes caught. For a moment, time stopped, and the silence seemed to go on far too long.

“There, there!” Tai started to shout orders, breaking the awkward moment. “Still more to do. We must get the other hut ready.” She and Tong locked eyes for a moment, exchanging the kind of silent communication that came naturally from a long relationship.
 

Mika let out a sigh, and Tai turned to her with a question in her eyes.

“Yes, quickly, please.” Mika said, her voice laced with exasperation. Could this day get any more mortifying?
 

Alejandro snorted, a twisted little grin played at the corners or his mouth.

Well, yes, it could
, Mika thought.

“Can I see you for a moment?” she said to Alejandro, daring him to do anything but agree.
 

The room fell silent as Tai, Tong and their two sons looked on with anticipation, as if waiting for an impromptu floor show.
 

Mika looked around at the audience. “Alone, please.”

Alejandro raised a dark brow, challenging her back. No one moved.

Mika turned to Tai giving her a woman-to-woman look. “My boss and I need a moment.”

Tong and his sons unceremoniously dropped the bags they were holding. Tai looked at Ale with a question in her eyes and then back at Mika as if waiting once again for her word. Mika gave a small nod. Tai shooed the men from the hut with brisk orders in her native language.

The hut was now too quiet. The only sounds were Tai’s distant voice giving orders to her small band of men, mingled with the surf lapping against the shore.
 

Suddenly Mika wanted to call them all back instead of just being stuck with Ale staring at her,—one beat, then two—as the air seemed to stand still around them. The sun streamed in through the cutout windows that wrapped around the entire structure, and Mika became acutely aware they were both still wet from their dip in the ocean. She fought the urge to cover her chest, and instead, she reached over to the chair and handed Ale a towel. “Here, dry yourself off. You’re dripping all over the place. No sense in getting sick before the shoot.” Good, she’d found herself. At least her voice was close to normal. She could do this.

Ale took the towel, placed it on the table next to him, and peeled off his wet shirt.
 

Her heart skittered as she took in the solid expanse of his wet and glistening chest. She swallowed. So much for normal.
 

He quickly started to towel off as Mika worked to keep her gaze level and even. It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t be this cool, not when she was busy fighting to keep her breathing from coming out in gasps and gulps.
 

But it was Ale. He was the king of cool. Theirs was probably just one in a long line of many unmemorable kisses on his part. She continued to look at him. His muscular torso was sprinkled with dark hair that trailed lazily down to his defined abs. Annoying man. He was always religious about his running and exercise. She knew because she worked his schedule around it. Well, it had sure paid off.