“This must be big-city fashion or something,” Derrick teased, a low rumble of amusement in his tone.

Nathan grinned back. “You’re just jealous that you too don’t have a fine article of clothing such as this to wear.”

“Oh hell, yeah. I’m so envious I’m going to go get my feather boa out of storage.”

Nathan good-naturedly flipped him the finger. The easy banter between them smoothed the tension, and the next thing he knew Melanie had popped out from where she’d hidden behind Derrick, her bra now twisted in imitation of the one he wore.

“Like this?” She cleared her throat. “I don’t…” She blew out a slow breath. “This is tough, Nate. I never knew how tough it would be.”

He stepped forward. “If it’s too much, we can stop.”

She shook her head, but tucked in against Derrick’s side. “I’m okay, just, can I close my eyes or something?”

“Of course.”

Derrick kissed her temple. “Give me a second. I’ve got an idea.”

He snuck away, heading behind the front desk. As soon as he left, Melanie wrapped her arms around herself.

Nathan’s heart was breaking. He hadn’t expected her to be so fragile after all this time. He lowered his voice. “I mean it, monkey, if you want to stop, I have no objections. I’m not going to be pissed off or report you to Katy for banana stealing or anything.”

The pain in her shining eyes contrasted with the stiff determination of her mouth. “I said I’m fine. I want to try. I want to see what the pictures might look like, because I can’t honestly tell you yes or no otherwise.”

He nodded before turning away, removing the sports bra and replacing his T-shirt, trying to make the situation easier. He didn’t look at her until Derrick returned and held out a scarf to Mel.

She took it gingerly. “You’re going to blindfold me?”

Derrick glanced at Nathan. “It shouldn’t matter for these shots if there’s extra fabric in the way, right? They’re just samples for Mel to check out?”

It was brilliant. “I can work around that.”

Mel handed the scarf back to Derrick. “You better stick close, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Like glue, girl, like glue.”

Derrick wrapped the bright blue fabric around her eyes twice before tying it off, the short tails falling down the back of Mel’s head to land on her bare shoulders.

Now that he wasn’t worried about her catching him staring, Nathan allowed himself to finally look his fill. The skimpy line of fabric covering her breasts was no barrier to his appreciation of the firm swells. Her muscular arms and trim waist made him long to be able to smooth his hands over her body and enjoy her more intimately.

A soft cough brought him back to the sudden realization Derrick was probably at that moment planning his demise for openly lusting after Melanie. Only the expression on Derrick’s face was unreadable—his own interest in the woman standing at his side crystal clear in the ridge bulging the front of his pants.

Derrick was just as turned on as Nathan, and Nathan hadn’t a clue what to do.

So he did the only thing he could think of. Picked up his camera and directed Melanie and Derrick into the positions he wanted. He started slowly. After getting Derrick to place Melanie back in the corner, leaning on the wall, Nathan took the simple shots first.

“That’s right. Relax your neck, let your shoulders fall. I’m taking a picture from the neck up, arranging the shot frame with the top edge of your sports bra.”

“I still don’t understand how you think this will produce anything someone will buy for a coffee table. I’m rather ordinary to look at, Nathan, really I am.”

“Bull.” Derrick beat Nathan to the punch this time. “Don’t put yourself down or I’ll make sure you know exactly how attractive you are.”

Nathan’s fingers skittered on the shutter button as he compelled himself to hold the camera steady. Derrick had placed a single finger on Melanie’s throat, hovering over where her heart beat visibly. He dragged his hand downward, stroking softly. Nathan kept clicking, catching her shiver, the resulting line of goose bumps that rose over her arm.

“You don’t have to fit some textbook-model stats to be gorgeous, Melanie. You’ve got grit. You’ve got the most incredible smile. But your body? Hell of a package.” Derrick leaned in and dropped a kiss over her heart and Melanie instinctively arched her back, breasts reaching forward.

Nathan was going to fucking die. He had barely enough brainpower to somehow keep snapping shots.

Melanie cleared her throat. “Derrick—Nate’s watching.”

The words whispered out, chased by her tongue as she licked her lips. The blindfold remained in place. Nathan kept silent, waiting to see what Derrick’s response would be.

“Of course he is, but he doesn’t matter, babe. I’m the one who’s telling you how beautiful you are. Don’t you believe me?”

“I do, but…he’s watching.”

“Doesn’t matter. Pretend he’s not. Pretend there’s no one here but us.”

Derrick stretched his arm across her body and took her lips like a starving man. Melanie snuck one hand up, fingers tangled in Derrick’s hair. Her other hand splayed against the wall as she got caught up in the kiss.

Maybe he was a bastard, but Nathan never stopped taking shots. He dipped to his knees, twisting to achieve the camera angles he needed. While Derrick and Melanie’s lips meshed, their panting breathes echoing off the two-story ceiling, Nathan focused less on big-picture shots and more on revealing a mosaic of flesh and need. The arch of Melanie’s shoulder, the smooth curve of the upper swell of her breast. Derrick’s hand hit the wall next to her torso, the line of his biceps perfectly covering the swatch of fabric over her breasts. The muscular arm appeared as the only thing keeping her upper torso from full exposure to the camera’s lens.

Gorgeous.

In his peripheral vision, Nathan spotted a beam of light inching closer as it fell through the skylight to hit the mat at their feet. Inspiration hit, and Nathan didn’t hesitate.

“Derrick, help Melanie to the floor. Place her in the sun.”

The other man dragged himself away, blinking hard as he fought his way back from the lust-filled creature Nathan had been capturing. Derrick nodded agreement, slipping his hands up Melanie’s torso until he could lift her, taking her to the off-kilter square of brightness marking the center of the gym.

“Nate?”

God, the lost-little-girl sound trembling on her voice was going to kill him. “Don’t worry, monkey, nothing scary is happening. It’s as if you’re back in drama class and you have to pretend to be a tiny little seed. I want you to curl up into as tight a ball as you can.”

She nodded slowly, her fingers still linked with Derrick’s as he stood to her side. “Do you…” She cleared her throat. “Do you want me to take off my top?”

Oh shit. That was so like the Melanie he remembered, attempting to push her own limits far sooner than she needed to. Nathan’s gaze shot to meet Derrick’s. The warning shake of Derrick’s head wasn’t needed. Nathan nodded silently, acknowledging his understanding. She wasn’t ready for more, not today. “Nahh, these are test shots, right? Just plop your butt down and let me take advantage of the light.”

The visible relaxing of her body showed they’d made the right decision. With incredible grace, Melanie sat, pulled her thighs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Derrick asked.

Nathan stepped in circles around his subject, working as he spoke. “Not this time. Since it’s just the test shots. Wait—yes, in a second I’ll use your shadow. Okay, Mel, remember that drama-class thing? You’re a seed, and it’s springtime. Let’s see you grow.”

Melanie lifted her head from where she’d buried her face against her knees. Her eyes were still covered, but her smile shone out clear and bright. “Oh, come on, you’re not going to tell me what kind of flower I am? What’s my motivation? Am I a good seed? Or a bad one? I can’t possibly do this kind of improv without more direction.”

Nathan and Derrick both laughed.

“You’re nuts, that’s what you are,” Derrick teased.

“Ahhh, a peanut plant. See, that’s what I mean, Nate. Give me instructions, and I can do anything.”

As if by magic, the high sexual tension and lingering fear that had fogged the space around them for the past couple of hours faded away, and for the next thirty minutes there was nothing but easy camaraderie between them all.

Friends. Nathan finished his work even as he struggled through what was a massive mental change in game plan. It was becoming crystal clear that Derrick and Melanie were more than something casual, and although a part of him still wished he had been the one kissing Melanie senseless earlier, he wasn’t planning on sticking around after this assignment. Fucking up someone else’s life wasn’t something he wanted to take the credit for.

As hard as it was to accept, being friends with Mel was all he was going to get.


Derrick stirred his coffee slowly, the thoughts racing through his brain enough to madden him. The whole photo session had made him harder than a pipe, and there was no way he could simply let it lie. He wasn’t usually the type to get demonstrative in public, yet the rush he’d gotten taking charge of Melanie in front of Nathan had been undeniable.

And that was only the start of the issue.

His normal go-to guy in terms of talking about women and relationships was out of the question. He could just see it now, asking Kane for suggestions about dealing with his sister in regards to sex. Not happening.