Page 77 of Behind the Camera

“Nothing about you could ever be too much. You look beautiful.”

His compliment warms my skin. It lands in the center of my chest and stays there, making a home for itself next to all the other nice things Dallas tells me. All the words of affirmation he has been whispering in my ear when I need them most.

You can do it.

I’m so proud of you.

“Beautiful,” June agrees, and her eyes flutter closed. She puts her thumb in her mouth and drifts off to sleep, using Dallas as her pillow. He doesn’t seem to mind.

“See? Kids never lie,” he says. “Can I see the back of your outfit? Please?”

I do an exaggeratedly slow circle and take my time. I’m teasing him a little bit, but it’s only fair to make him suffer when he’s sitting there in gray sweatpants that have no right to look as good as they do.

“Like this?”

“That’s perfect, Maven.”

I blush at the praise and nearly trip over my feet. When I complete the spin, Dallas is sitting on the edge of the couch. His cheeks are pink, and the color reaches down his neck. He sets June on the cushions and stands, stalking toward me.

“Do you like what you see?” I ask, playing with fire.

“No.”

“Oh.”

I turn my cheek, embarrassed, only for him to curl his fingers around my chin. He tilts my head back until our gazes meet.

Dallas bends down, and his mouth brushes against my ear. “I love what I see,” he says, dark and low.

“Maybe I wore this outfit for you,” I find myself saying, and this isn’t part of our game. This is real, honest truth I want him to hear. “Maybe I wanted you to miss me while I’m gone.”

“You could wear a sack, Maven, and I’d still miss you.” His hand drops to my hip, and his fingers press into the small sliver of exposed skin at the hem of my shirt. “Will you let me know when you get there?”

“I will.”

We stand there and stare at each other. My phone vibrates, telling me my driver is close, but I’m reluctant to walk away. It feels like something important is happening between us. Like a declaration is on the tip of his tongue, and I desperately want to know what it is.

I could kiss him if I wanted to, andfuck, I want to.

I haven’t let myself imagine a life where Dallas and I could be together, not totally, but with the way he’s watching me, with the way his fingers press into my skin and refuse to let me go, I think he wants to kiss me too.

“Anything else?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He bends down and kisses my cheek. It’s a soft graze of his lips, the exact replica of what he did at the paint room, but it’s cataclysmic enough to spread through me like a wildfire. “We’ll be counting down the minutes until you’re home.”

I didn’t know how much I needed his touch again. Now that I have it, I’m addicted. My breath catches, and my hand wraps around his wrist. I drag my thumb down the line of his vein andlet myself have one more second of this little world we’ve carved out for ourselves.

My phone buzzes again, and a text tells me my driver is downstairs. “I should go. I can’t lose my five-star rating.”

“We certainly wouldn’t want that.” Dallas squeezes my hip once then takes a step back. “Have fun, Mae. Call if you need anything.”

“Are you going to stare at my ass again?”

His mouth twitches, and one dimple pops on his cheek. “It would be criminal not to.”

“I’m all for law abiding citizens.” I wiggle out of his hold and turn around, looking at him over my shoulder. His eyes are fixed on my hips, and there’s no shame in his appreciation of my body. “For the record, I’m going to miss you, too.”

“Thatta girl,” he says with a wicked grin, getting the last word, and I don’t stop blushing until I’m out on the street in the fresh air.

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