Page 51 of Infinite

“Content?” Becca repeats. She nods quickly, appearing to regain her senses.

Good. I’m glad one of us has.

Tootles’ vision. My reputation and career on the line. Sure. It’s all coming back to me now.

Tootles arranges the sheet behind Becca. She hangs tight to the front, not willing to expose herself like she did for our kiss. I didn’t see anything. But I felt it all. How good she fit against me and how damn good she tastes.

Once she’s covered, Tootles drapes the white sheet I’m lying beneath over her. “All right,” he says. “Settle into his body.”

I gather her in my arms. At first, she tenses and so do I. But then slowly, very slowly, we relax into each other.

I’m not certain Becca knows that this is where she belongs, here with me. It doesn’t matter. Her body recognizes as much, molding into mine as her breathing returns to normal.

“That’s good, Hale. We’ll start with this position and end with your arms tucked behind your head again.”

“All right.” It’s what I say, but how on earth am I ever going to let Becca go?

“The sheet, the one beneath me is showing,” Becca stammers.

“That’s okay. The black sheet represents Hale’s dark past, how he faced it, and how he’s now able to leave it all behind. Now, close your eyes, Becca. No, too much. You’re scrunching. Better. Better. Nice!”

Click.

Click. Click.

The sounds of the camera continue.

Butall I know is Becca . . . How good she feels against me and how Ineverwant to let her go.

Chapter Twelve

Becca

My hands are shaking so badly, it takes me a while to get dressed. I’m hoping it’s adrenaline from the intensity of the shoot or what remains of my nervousness. I shake out my hands, pausing when I realize I’m still wearing the ring.

No, this quivering has nothing to do with adrenaline. It’s everything I felt during that shoot. And everything Hale made that moment become.

He was so fearless, abandoning doubt and hesitation as easily as he did that robe. He stripped himself bare to me, different from when we were at the penthouse. There, he’d tossed his clothes as if I didn’t matter. Today, he rid himself of what we were and embraced everything that’s coming. Goodness,everything.

I saw the muscles that stretched along his spine and arms. But I didn’t see much more, although I wanted to.

I should probably be ashamed of how badly I want to see him naked. It’s the right thing to do. Theproperthing. I drop my hand and sigh. I must be insane. Of course, I want to see him naked.

My only comfort is that if Nana June were still alive, she’d probably applaud me for showing what piddly restraint I managed. Except it wasn’t exactly for my sake or Hale’s. I just couldn’t move.

Awestruck is the best way I can describe myself then. Hale’s masculine persona robbed that room of time and space. It was only when Tootles instructed Hale to turn away that I could remove my robe and join him in bed.

Hale kissed me. To him, I wasn’t merely a prop and this was no longer about saving his reputation. He kissed me like the lover I was supposed to become all those years ago. Each pass of his lips and gentle nibbles were a reckoning I never saw coming.

My fingers leave my lips, remembering how it felt to have Hale claim them with sweet aggression. He was making me his. God help me, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more alive.

I’m barely able to snap my jeans closed. From the foyer, I hear Tootles’ light tenor voice, assuring Hale he took a wide array of shots and that he’ll select the best for the spread. If he doesn’t like what he sees when he and I work on the layout, he may schedule another session.

“I have the cover for certain,” Tootles says.

“Already?” Hale questions.

Tootles claps, excited. “Yes, I knew what it was the moment we snapped it. Should I tell you?”

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