With that, he shuffled off to inspect the rest of the band. Kellan sighed.
By the time Bridgette and her merry maids were finished with the D-Bags, I had to admit that they looked good. Every single one of them was stunning, even Griffin. But Kellan . . . was drop-dead gorgeous. Smoldering. My jaw dropped when he stepped in front of the plain backdrop. He’d come into the studio wearing loose, faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt. They’d dressed him in slim jeans that were frayed in all the right places, and they’d layered his basic white shirt with a dark brown leather jacket. It was tight to his body, so it looked more like a fitted shirt, and it was zipped open to his mid-chest. It stopped right above his waist, so that his entire studded belt was visible; a trace amount of skin was visible too. It was . . . hot. His hair was usually a rumpled, sexy mess, but Bridgette had flawlessly styled it so that every strand was in the most appealing place possible. There was this one strand hanging down by his eye that just about did me in.
He looked the part of the sexy, bad boy rock star that worried my father on a daily basis, but he was frowning as he walked over to me.
“You look great. What’s wrong?”
“I’m wearing makeup. I feel like an idiot.”
I examined his skin, but I couldn’t really tell that he was wearing anything, maybe just some definition around his eyes; the blueness was popping out at me so much that my heart was beating a little faster. “I can’t even tell. You’re fine.”
He started to run a hand through his hair, then stopped himself. I couldn’t help but notice that his ring was gone. “I’m wearing eyeliner . . . and I’m pretty sure she put lipstick on me.”
My smile was impossible to hide. “You look incredible . . . darn near delectable.”
Cocking his head, Kellan wrapped his arms around me. “Yeah? Would you like a bite?” As I felt heat staining my cheeks, Kellan glanced around, then leaned down to my ear; the smell of the leather jacket mixing with his scent was intoxicating. “We could disappear for a few minutes.”
His grin was decidedly inappropriate when I pushed him away from me. “I think Bridgette would have my head if I messed up her handiwork.”
Probably ruining whatever Bridgette had done to his lips, Kellan sucked on his bottom one as his eyes roved over my body. “Yeah, but just think about it . . . every time you see the album cover, you would know, without a doubt, that you put that smile on my face.”
His hands ran over my backside, gently squeezing, and as my eyes rolled back into my head, I briefly considered ducking into a vacant room . . . somewhere . . . but I heard the photographer snap his fingers, and my eyes flashed open.
“Let’s do this, people!” he called out.
Kellan let out a low laugh as he separated from me. As he moved away, his hand trailed down my arm. I grabbed his fingers, leaned forward, and planted a kiss on his makeup-covered cheek. Feeling the absence of his wedding band, I asked him, “Where is your ring?”
He patted his pocket as he frowned. “Label doesn’t want us to advertise that we’re not single.” He rolled his eyes. “Apparently sales drop twenty percent if we’re off the market. Or so Frank says.” He pointed at the photographer, who was tinkering with something on his camera.
Kellan hesitated a minute, then looked around. Giving me a devilish grin, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ring. Glancing around like he was breaking the law, he quickly slipped it on his finger. “What the fuck do I care what people think, right?” His face sobered. “I do care about that photo with Sienna, though. I’ll take care of it, Kiera.”
I shook my head and was about to tell him that it didn’t matter, when he was suddenly pulled from behind by one of Frank’s “helpers.” Once Kellan was manhandled into position, Frank started snapping away. It made me smile that in every shot, Kellan’s ring glimmered just a little bit. It was his small display of rebellion against the system.
After about three dozen photos, the session was done. I was glad I didn’t have to pick which one was going to grace the final cover; I was sure they were all going to be breathtaking. Looking relieved that it was done, Kellan kissed my cheek and murmured, “I’m gonna go change and wash this shit off my face.”
As I was giggling at him, Griffin stepped into our circle. Smoothing down his leather jacket, he asked Kellan, “Hey, you think they’ll let us keep these clothes?” He smiled over at me; my skin crawled. “I am so getting laid tonight.”
The irritation inside me quickly boiled over into righteous indignation. Narrowing my eyes to pinpoints that would surely pierce his unfeeling heart, I bit out, “You make me sick!”