Sexy Wreck

Chapter 12

In that moment, she felt a sudden shift between them. Her pulse leaped, and she realized she didn't like being on the receiving end of such an analytic stare. For as much as she liked observing and scrutinizing a person's personality and actions from behind the camera, she'd also used that same camera as a shield to her own emotions and soul-deep pain.

She'd always felt safe behind her lens, always peeking in on other people's lives and feelings, but keeping her own hidden away. She'd never felt threatened that someone might realize her ploy, and that Zeke might have that ability made her feel too vulnerable. Because while his scars were on the outside in plain sight, hers were inside, buried deep, and she had no desire to allow anyone close enough to unearth them. As a result, her relationships had always been short-lived, with her ending things before they got too serious. Before she gave her heart and opened herself up to the possible loss and rejection she swore she's never again subject herself too.

She realized Zeke had that power, and it was a realization that shook her to the core of her being.

Finally, he spoke, and she was grateful for the reprieve from her unsettling thoughts. "I'm sorry for what happened in there." he said, his tone low and sincere, his gaze still watching her.

"I'm not sorry, so don't go and heap guilt on your conscience for my sake." Not quite ready to lower her camera, she took another picture of him, ten another. While she wasn't ready to let him look her in the eyes, she had no problem being honest on this particular issue. "I was a willing participant every step of the way, and that was the best sex I've had in a long time."

"Yeah, me too." The corner of his mouth quirked, the closest she'd gotten to a smile from him in months, and she caught it on film.

He tipped his head, and for as much as he'd previously protested her taking his picture, he didn't so much as object to her enthusiasm now. "Are you still planning on staying the entire weekend?" he asked directly.

He wasn't ordering her to leave, and she took that as a very positive sign. "Yup" she replied with absolute certainty, and took an upper body shot of him before finally lowering her camera.

Shivers of delight rippled through her at the thought of being Zeke's for the weekend, of letting him have his way with her and being able to fulfill a fantasy or two of her own. "I take it we have ourselves a deal?"

The wicked gleam in his blue eyes spoke volumes. "I believe we do."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and felt compelled to let him know she understood his reservations, that she wouldn't exploit him in a way that made him uncomfortable. "Zeke... while a great body is essential for this magazine to draw buyers, it isn't all just about hard bodies. It's also about a certain smoldering look, which you have, a come-hither glance, a tempting smile. Those are the things that cause a woman's stomach to flutter and make her weak in the knees when she look at a picture of you." He definitely had that seductive effect on her. "I also want you to know that I respect the way you feel about your scars, and I'll take the pictures in a way that won;t blatantly display them. I'll even let you have final approval of what shots go into the magazine.

He nodded, his expression one of gratitude. "Fair enough."

Luckily, he looked good fro m any angle. She nodded toward the pile of wood, and stove to lighten the last bit of tension between them. "So, are you done taking out your frustration on those logs?"

He actually laughed, the sound rich and warm, like a fine cognac. "Yeah, I'm done." he said, and buried the blade end of the ace into the tree stump.

Oh wow, an amused, agreeable Zeke was far more potent than the stubborn man she'd been pursuing for months now. Fiona had told her that under normal circumstances Zeke was charming, carefree, and flirtatious, and it pleased Axelle to see this side of him. To be the recipient of more than just his scowls and resistance.

"I was hoping we could go hiking through some of these trails and I could take more shots of you outdoors, while the sun is still high in the sky" she said.

Hands propped on his hips, he glanced up at the rugged hills surrounding the cabin, then back to her, a glimmer of doubt in his gaze. "You sure you can handle these mountains?"

It seemed he'd already learned how best to provoke her, and that she wasn't one to resist a challenge. "Of course, I can handle it!"

"Alright." he drawled lazily. "Then let's do it."

Two and a half hours later they returned from their jaunt through the hills behind the cabin. Zeke was running on pure physical adrenaline, the kind that rushed through his blood after a good, long, hard workout. And navigating the uneven terrain and steep slopes that made up the trails he liked to hike definitely qualified as strenuous exercise.

He cast an amused glance at the woman who'd accompanied him on the hike. While she was panting for breath, her skin flushed and glowing with perspiration, he felt invigorated and ready to do it all over again.

"Good Lord" Axelle said as she dragged herself up the front steps pf the cabin to the porch. "Why didn't you tell me we'd be climbing Mount Everest?"

He chuckled, glad to see she'd found some humor in the situation when most women would have whined and complained once they'd grown tired. Axelle had been a trooper, sucking it up even when he'd noticed how exhausted she was. And that's when he'd headed back home, knowing she's had enough.