Page 26 of Bear In A Boutique
She laughed so hard that it took a second before she could speak again. “You’re… never going to live it down! Trust me.”
He changed his mind. He was going to make another bet with her, one she couldn’t possibly win, and then it was gloves off. Payback would be so much fun.
“Can we get this over with?”
“Yes.” She wiped beneath her eyes and composed herself. “Let me see which bracelet will look the best on you so we can start with that.”
“I’m not posing again.”
She tried to hide a snicker and failed. Olive placed his palm in hers and put the bracelet next to his wrist, then chose another and did the same. Her fingers lightly curled around his hand andRyker’s entire body came alive. Suddenly hyper-aware of her, his veins flooded with molten desire. Mirroring her, he embraced her hand and both of them tightened their grip. Their palms melded together so tightly that Ryker could feel the soft kiss of the pulse at her wrist. Maybe it was his…theirs.
This. This right here is what confused him so much.Thisis why he couldn’t decide to leave Estes Park or take the job offer. If he chose to stay, he’d never know what it was like to live somewhere shitty memories didn’t whisper all around him. If he left, he’d never know what might have been with Olive. She awakened something inside him he didn’t know existed. They’d caught themselves before things went too far yesterday, and yet he was ready to push the boundaries again.
Her hand relaxed and he forced himself to let her go. “We should get started.”
“I—I’ll get set up.”
Ryker jammed his hands in his jeans pockets and turned away, so he didn’t watch the sway of her ass as she left the room. She came back with props and arranged them on a table near the far windows. When she was done, a length of red and black wool flannel was draped over a foam pad with pinecones artfully scattered about, and a trio of beeswax candles flickering in the background.
“I’ll need you to get on your knees so you’re at the right height and place your arm on the flannel like this. There’s a foam wedge underneath to prop your wrist up a bit. I’ll take a few shots; it shouldn’t take long so you can get on with your day.”
His mouth was too dry for him to respond.
Olive turned to him with a bracelet. Instead of taking his hand again, she gestured for him to place his palm beside the set.
“Is it okay if I put this on you?”
Touch me, anytime, every time. Every minute of every damn day.
“Yes.”
She made quick work of fastening the bracelet, then stepped back and gestured to the floor.
“On your knees.”
He liked the sound of that. Dropping to one knee, he waited for her next instruction and realized her chest was in perfect alignment with his face. The little pearl buttons on the front of her white linen blouse shone in the light, and the fabric molded to her breasts, showing off the hint of a pink bra beneath.
“Okay, let’s get you arranged.”
She carefully rolled his sleeve back and fiddled with his arm placement and the props until she was satisfied. Theclick, click, clickof her camera fired rapidly as she moved here and there, trying different angles, working with an efficiency that suggested she’d done this before.
"You're a natural.” She lowered the camera and flipped through some of the images on the digital screen. “Wow, you look really good in these.”
He hitched a brow. “All you can see is half of my arm.”
"We might get more women buying these than men, honestly.”
“Why?”
“Women love men with strong, capable hands.”
Ryker stood. She looked up from the camera, watching him with big eyes as he turned the screen for a better look.
“I have other capable body parts, besides my hands.”
Her voice went breathy. “I’m very aware.”
“You are, huh?”
