Sexy Wreck

Chapter 17

As he flexed his legs, the blanket around his hips slipped lower on his abdomen, revealing not only his scar, but the fascinating trail of hair that led more delightful treasures.

"You better put the camera down before you get some indecent shots" he warned, his tone low and wicked.

"Don't worry, you can get as indecent as you want. I develop all my own film." It was then that she noticed the impressive tent his erection had made beneath the covers, and she glanced at him from above her camera in mock approach.

"Why Zeke, is this photo session turning you on?"

He gazed at her through lashes that had fallen to half-mast.

"No, you turn me on. I can see your nipples through that shirt you're wearing, and I vividly remember what those panties are covering."

She shivered, but not from the cool morning air in the cabin. The mad had a way with words that made her melt, along with a natural ability to seduce the camera, and her.

"Ever thought of posing for playgirl?"

"Not on your life." He looked completely stricken by the very idea. "This magazine project is as far as I go."

She laughed, feeling carefree and flirtatious, and enjoying the private. intimate moment between them. One that would always be theirs alone. "You'd make a lot of women really happy."

"I'm not interested in making anyone happy but you."

Her heart stuttered, then rescued at a frantic pace. She told herself she was reading too much into his words, that she'd most definitely misinterpreted the deeper meaning she'd seen in his eyes. "Then you'll e satisfied to know that you made me deliriously happy last night."

"And I can do so again this morning" he  drawled, all arrogant, presumptuous male.

And because Axelle had firsthand knowledge that he was a man who more than lived up his provocative claims, she couldn't find fault with his very confident assumption.

An irresistible smile tipped up the corners of his mouth.

"Put down the camera, come here, and let me show you how happy I can make you."

Unable to refuse him anything - or herself, for that matter - she set her camera safely aside and crawled across the mattress to him. "Think you can top delirious, do you?" she taunted playfully.

"Sweetheart, I know I can."

He tumbled her onto her back, and before her peal of laughter could subside, he has her skirt skimmed over her head and tossed to the floor and her panties a distant memory, as well.

He pushed her legs apart, moved in between, and slowly stroked his warm, callused palm up her thighs until his thumbs caressed her intimately. "I think the real question here is, can you survive just how happy I'm going to make you?"

Already, she was trembling in anticipation, and the rogue knew it, too. "There's only one way to find out, now isn't there?"

"Oh, yes." he agreed huskily, and she caught a quick glimpse of his I'm-gonna-lap-you-up-until-you-scream from as he settled himself comfortably between her legs. He nuzzled her thigh and applied wet suction to a patch of flesh that made her gasp and would no doubt leave a hickey behind.

"Forget delirious" he rasped, once he was done branding her, his tongue now swirling a path to here she ached for his attention most. "We're going for blissful, ecstatic and rapturous."

The man was as good as his promise, and delivered on all three.

Zeke took Axelle on another long hike, through this own was not as strenuous as yesterday's trek. They followed a trail alongside the creek by the cabin that led upstream, which provided plenty of clearings and backdrops for her photos. Today he'd worn a white T-shit, jean shorts and hiking boots, while she'd gotten a couple of shots with his shirt on, it didn't take her long to ask him to strip it off for another round of photographs.

Once she was done with their two-hour sessions and declared herself starved for the lunch he'd packed, he didn't bother putting his shirt back on. The day was cool, but the sun on his skin felt warm, soothing even. And he was beginning to learn how impetuous Axelle could be when it came to taking pictures, and he figured he might as well be ready for her spontaneous snapshots.

She helped him spread a blanket in a clearing and out in the sun, and sure enough she insisted on getting a few pictures of him stretched out on the blanket, arms behind his head, and chewing on a long piece of grass. All he had to do was think about this morning's tryst with Axelle, the hickey he's put on her thigh, and how many times he made her come before he's taken his own pleasure and the sexy smile she asked for appeared on his lips.

She took shots from a dozen different angles, and he watched her while she worked, his eyes following the camera as she directed. The woman had so much passion and enthusiasm and applied it to everything she did - from standing up to him and following him to the cabin to get what she wanted, to taking her pictures and even making love. It amazed him that no other man had appreciated all her qualities and snatched her up for his own.

Then again, he guessed that just like himself, she'd kept the opposite sex at arm's length to protect her emotions, and he understood that safety net she was clinging to because he's been using one himself for the past four years. Everyone saw him as a carefree, footloose bachelor who loved adventure and thrills. But few knew the man beneath, the one who's grown cautious and guarded after being burned by another woman.

And now, he was prepared to share that private side with Axelle, because he wanted whatever was between them to last a helluva lot longer than just the weekend. Not just the hot chemistry and great sex, but the friendship and emotional connection he felt with her that he'd never, ever experienced with another woman before. She was his match in so many ways, and after months of denying his feelings for her, he wasn't about to let her go without giving them a chance. And that meant opening up and trusting her with his past.