Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1) (9 page)

She started to sidestep him and paused. Did he say he had reached for her? She inwardly shook herself. No, today was a new day, and last night was last night. Fantasy over.
 

Ale looked at her long and hard, questions in his eyes. “So what was with the couch?” He ran his fingers gently up her arm.
 

Did she flinch? She hoped she didn’t, but the quick narrowing of his eyes told her she did. Crap. She had it all worked out last night, having told herself this morning would be easier, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Not with him so near, so big and so naked. And what was with that? In all their years together, he’d never struck her as the exhibitionist type.

She stepped back out of his embrace. “Would you mind putting on some pants? Then we can talk.”

Ale shrugged, moving toward his luggage. He pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and tugged them on. “Sorry if my nakedness is bothering you so much. It didn’t seem to last night.”
 

“Well, that was last night, and today the game is over. It’s time to get back to normal.” She tried hard to sound cool, but she knew she was missing the mark terribly. Her voice may have even squeaked a bit.
 

He turned toward her. His look seared with dark fire, and he opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, seeming to rethink himself. Finally he said, “I’ve got to use the bathroom, and then we need to talk.”
 

Mika watched him stalk off, standing as steady as she could, but once the bathroom door closed, she ran—not her proudest moment, no—to find some solace in her own hut. Her heart raced as she sat on her own bed, legs shaking. This was not the way she wanted this morning to go. They had two more days together before the crew arrived.
 

There were two options here. One: Spend the remaining days in heaven, enjoying Alejandro like she did last night, or Two: Tell Alejandro about the job at
Stylist
now and end everything. That’s it, close the door. See ya, mister. She rubbed at her tired eyes, willing the truth away. Who knows, maybe if she told him, she could still end up happily in his bed. Her mouth twisted. No way. She knew him better than anyone, knew that wasn’t true. He would be furious about the
Stylist
job. Her leaving would be an inconvenience and take away the security of his well-ordered life. This news would break the island spell, for sure.
 

But she was already ruining things by acting like a nervous child. Telling him to put on clothes and cover up! She was sure one of his more experienced leggy models would be telling him to take it all off, not cover up.

She groaned and fell back on the bed. His models. They would be here in two days. That was the real world.
His
real world. What was she to him, anyway? What could he possibly want from her? This thing was not just a seduction on her part. He was the one who kissed her first. The thought was crazy, and the more that she tried to wrap her mind around it, the more confused she got. Was this really just because it was the two of them alone? A strange hormonal thing and nothing more? It couldn’t be anything else. Plain Jane Mika Walters was not in his league.
 

She closed her eyes, letting her body sink further into the bed, now feeling all the aches of making love on the jungle floor. And sleeping on that couch was not her best idea. There were knots in her shoulders from lying in an uncomfortable position and aches in her thighs that weren’t entirely unwelcome. Yet another reminder again of the amazing afternoon and night with Alejandro. A night she couldn’t deny she wanted to repeat all over again. She knew that type of thinking was only making it that much harder to close herself off the way she would need to in two days when the crew arrived.
 

She turned to her side and curled into a small ball and tightly shut her eyes. Right now, this was what she wanted. This, and Ale wrapped around her. She sighed, surprised to feel wetness on the side of her cheek. Again. It was so much safer when this was all just a fantasy. Now it was a memory, something she’d never be able to forget. The feel of him against her skin. The taste of him on her lips. The way he looked at her, said her name. Called her beautiful.
 

“Are you all right?” She heard his voice and threw her arm over her face. Shit. She hadn’t heard him come in. And he was close. Too close.

“I’m fine. Are you done in the bathroom? Because I really need to go.” She fought to hold her voice steady.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, his voice full of uncertainly. “It’s just, um, I brought your dress.” She could feel him staring down at her, and her skin prickled under his gaze.
 

“Ale,” she started, “do you mind? I’m not the best morning person. I’d like a little privacy, please.”

She felt him hesitate then take a step back. “Sure, that’s fine. Take whatever time you need.”

Mika raised her head slightly and looked at his retreating back with confusion. Did his voice actually squeak? Nah, Ale didn’t squeak. Must have been the floorboards.
 

As she fell back, she reached for the wrinkled sundress that Ale had gently placed next to her head. She pulled it close to her and recalled how it felt when he slowly lifted it over her head the night before. She buried her face in the soft cotton fabric just as a loud sob escaped her throat.
Okay,
she told herself.
These are the only tears you will shed for Alejandro Vargas, you silly woman. You got what you wanted. Now suck it up and move on.

*

Alejandro stalked back and forth in his hut. Seeing Mika’s tears gutted him. No matter how she tried to hide it, he knew she’d been crying, and it made him both confused and angry. The anger he could deal with. It was the confusion he hated. What was with her sleeping on the couch last night? And the whole game over bit? What they shared was mind-blowing, freaking off-the-charts amazing. Not something to cry about but to rejoice over. Sure, he got that it changed their work dynamic, but they would figure that out. There was no way he would let passion like theirs slip away on a technicality.
 

He stopped pacing, forced his mind to relax. It would be fine. Mika was a smart woman. She’d wipe her tears and see that this was for the best. And he’d be sure she did.
 

Alejandro dressed quickly, pulling on some cargo shorts and a tank, and made coffee for the both of them. By the time it was ready, Mika was making her way toward him on the balcony. She looked her usual self, in a loose tank top, cargo shorts and her sneakers. She even sported an easy smile, but it wasn’t fooling him at all and he didn’t miss the slight dark circles that had formed under her eyes. Ale cursed himself for not holding onto her more tightly the night before, and making sure she stayed in bed with him and not gone to that stupid couch.
 

He reached out and stroked a finger softly across her cheek, and she lowered her lashes, not saying a word. Suddenly, it felt as if his heart would burst in his chest. This must be what the Grinch went through, he thought. It was painful as all hell. Ale shook his head. Well, she may want their time together to end but it wasn’t. He would convince Mika to give him the next forty-eight hours...and then, the next forty-eight after that and so on and so on. If she thought this was a game, well, he was ready to play.

“I’ve got coffee going.”
 

“Hey, that’s usually my job,” she said.

He shrugged. “No big deal. I was up and doing nothing. I’m not useless, you know.” It came out harsher than he wanted, and he instantly regretted it. He’d have to take it slow— he didn’t want to scare her off.

“I wasn’t saying you were,” she said softly, so softly it almost shamed him. This was unlike her. Where was the fire? He’d much rather have the fight than this placidity.

“Well, you sure made me feel like it.”
 

“That wasn’t my intention.” Her back straightened, and a glimmer came to her eyes.
 

Good. This he could deal with. This he knew. Maybe he’d stay on this course. He took a step closer to her, and she stepped back.
 

“Damn it, Mika. What the hell is going on with you?”

She looked down. He reached out for her chin, forcing her to look back up at him. She met his gaze with glistening eyes. “I want us to just leave yesterday where it was, okay? I’m not so sure I’m the woman I thought I was. One who can handle us, yesterday, spilling over into today. We’re not in the jungle anymore. You have to see it my way.” She gave him a determined look. The same one she gave when he was running behind schedule, or she was pushing an issue on a job. Her expression said she was right, but something deeper, a feeling pulling between the two of them told him different. He would not be deterred. Not that easily.

“And why do you get to call all the shots?”

Her eyes hardened, and she jerked away from him. “Excuse me? Because I said so, that’s why. I’m the girl, I get to throw a flag on the play whenever I like. It’s in the rules. Yesterday was great, but I know it’s not real. It can’t be. So why continue? You’re not my boss in this matter.” He saw her visibly steel herself. And with that, he wanted her. Badly.

She moved back, and he again stepped forward.
 

“Well, I’ve got news for you, little beauty,” he ground out. “You’re not in charge of this. Not like you think. You were just as up for it as I was, and now that it’s been unleashed, you can’t handle it.”
 

Her eyes widened then narrowed in anger. “Maybe it’s you who can’t handle being rejected,” she challenged.

Ale grinned at that. “Oh no, maybe it’s you who can’t handle a real man.”

She crossed her arms and planted her feet. “You want to go there? Spare me your ego. I’ve already had enough of it to last a lifetime.”

“Really?” he said, reaching out quickly and stroking her softly on the side of her neck with the pad of his thumb. For this, he was rewarded with a gorgeous little shiver that went from her body to his. He laughed. “Beauty, I don’t think you’ve had nearly enough of my ego.”

“You really are a pain in the ass, you know.” It came out low, with only half the fire he knew she intended.

“So are you, and I like it.”

“No, you don’t,” she said softly while he continued to rub at her neck. “I’m just convenient.”
 

Convenient? She was the most
in
convenient woman he’d ever known.
 

Then he watched as she licked her lips nervously and lowered those sooty lashes. “Just these two days, Ale. That’s all I can give you.” She looked back up at him.

He stared at her. Noticing the nervousness. The vulnerability she tried so hard to hide. She couldn’t really mean it.
 

But she nodded, punctuating her point. “No more than that. Then it’s over.”

He bit down on his ever-growing frustration. Two days? So she was playing tough. Fine. He could handle it. He didn’t get where he was by not dealing with tough competitors or women leaving. It was their family legacy to hear his father tell it. But that was neither here nor there. He wasn’t bringing his family into this. This was about him and Mika. So she said two days. Well, he could do a lot in two days. By the time he was finished with her, two days would be forever.

For conformation, he answered her with a long kiss. Finally he pulled back, satisfied with her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. “If you say so. We’ll play this your way for now.”

*

Mika was grateful for Tai, full of energy, coming up the walkway with a basket of fruit and breaking the spell of Alejandro. Another minute and he’d have had her sprawled out on the balcony in total sacrificial mode.
 

“So clean in your hut, Miss. I hardly have to clean up,” Tai announced a moment later.
 

Mika answered her declaration with an insolent glare but Tai only laughed as she left them on the balcony and went to straighten up in Alejandro’s hut.
 

Mika had to fight her sudden desire to kick Alejandro for not holding back his cocky grin. Lord, how would they ever go back to normal once the rest of the crew arrived?
 

“What was that all about?” Mika hissed low at Alejandro once Tai was out of earshot.

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“You know what. That damned smirk. You could have at least tried to be discreet.” She swiped at his arm.

“Oww!” he rubbed it. “Must you always wound me?”

“Hush, and lower your voice. Tai’s in the next room,” she whispered. “Please Ale. I won’t be your joke.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad. That wasn’t my intention.”

“Really? It seems to be your intention all the time,” she said.

“Stop. Now you’re not being fair.”

She frowned. Okay, maybe she wasn’t. She didn’t know anymore. Her mind was a mess. She shook her head. “Can we just eat and then get to work for the day? Try and at least pretend to be professional?”
 

He stared at her a moment.
 

“Please,” she said. “I don’t want to spend the day sparring with you. Besides, it’s a beautiful day, and I’m sure you can get some great shots.”