Needing to divert his attention, I gestured toward his capturer of torment. “So what’s with the camera?”
He raised the equipment, angling it toward me. “I told you, this is what I love. I’m always looking for beauty in unlikely places. Once in a lifetime seconds that would be lost forever.” He shrugged and the corner of his mouth tipped up fondly. “You’d be amazed at all the things you walk past every day and take for granted. But there’s beauty in everything. Even pain and sorrow, or a child’s disappointed face. Everywhere. Like right there.” He brought the camera up swiftly and snapped another shot. Smiling, he turned the viewfinder in my direction to show me.
My face looked strained, my lip strangled by my teeth. The light from the window created blurred streaks across my face and through my hair. It actually was beautiful somehow. He was right.
I grabbed the camera from his hands, disgusted that my face was so telling. “Give me that thing. It’s my turn.” I fumbled with the heavy apparatus. There were a bunch of dials and buttons and moving parts. I had a better shot of assembling a Rubik’s Cube than knowing what to do with it.
“Would you like a lesson? First one’s free.” Blake’s voice in my ear startled me, and I jumped, almost dropping his most prized possession. I glanced over my shoulder, nearly brushing his lips with my own. Swallowing, I brought my gaze back to the contraption in my hands. “Yeah, sure.”
The hairs lining my body stood at attention, the awareness of his body moving closer to mine undeniable. Prickles raced up my back as the space between us disappeared and he settled himself in the seat behind me. His fingers lightly grazed my throat and then slid across my neck to sweep my hair over my shoulder, exposing my vulnerable flesh and causing a deep shudder to erupt. I sucked in a sharp breath as he placed his chin on the spot where my neck met my shoulder. Bringing his arms around either side of me, he grasped the shaky camera firmly between his hands, trapping mine beneath his. They felt so strong but soft at the same time. I imagined they would glide over my skin like silk, while being powerful enough to protect me from anything that might harm me.
“This is a heavy duty piece of equipment,” his voice rasped in my ear. “You have to stroke it just right, and it’ll do exactly what you want. It can bring you lots of pleasure and happiness when the moment’s right.” His breathing was calm as every syllable excited each nerve ending that lined my oversensitive skin, causing my own breath to be jagged and erratic.
I hated him for that.
His thumbs never stopped caressing the tops of my hands as he raised the camera at the flower I had picked during my run through the park.
“Let’s keep it simple for now and leave this baby on automatic. I wouldn’t want to scare you away during your first lesson.” Blake took my index finger and placed it over the button on top of the camera, keeping his own above it. Twisting and turning the lens with one hand, he thoughtlessly traced circles over my finger with the other. I could feel each swirl between my legs and squeezed my thighs shut, trying to alleviate the ache building there. It was as if he was actually stroking my most delicate parts. I thought I’d be frightened, but I wasn’t.
I wanted more.
Hard biceps curled around me, leaving little room to move as his front pressed against my back, essentially trapping me in. But I didn’t feel threatened.
I felt protected.
He pushed his nose into my hair as though he was learning my body. No longer paying attention to anything he was doing or saying about the camera, my face instinctively turned toward his and I licked my lips, breathing in his manly scent. God, I want this man.
“You paying attention?” His words hurled me back to reality.
I hadn’t noticed he’d finished adjusting the lens. I quickly straightened my head. “Uh-huh.” I cleared my throat and made my best attempt to look like I was concentrating.
His chin dipped deeper into my shoulder, and I knew he was grinning at my expense. “Okay, now that we’re zoomed in exactly where we want it, all you have to do is push down lightly on the shutter release button. Don’t click all the way. It’ll start to focus itself.”
His finger gave a slight nudge, and the screen blurred in and out as it adjusted.
“Just make sure once you have it where you want it, you don’t let it go. You wouldn’t want to lose your shot.” His words seemed to take on a double meaning. “There you go. Perfect. Now . . . push.” He added more pressure to my finger and the photo snapped.
So did my insides.
Squeezing my legs together, a gasp escaped my lips. My body ached with a need I’d never experienced before. His one swirling, pushing finger felt like it was probing the most sensitive parts of my anatomy.