Page 89 of Triggered By Love
“You seem very sure of yourself,” Jason commented as if he still held on to the dream of being a supermodel.
“Do the research, buddy.” She poked his chest. “Novelty and diversity are what’s hot. It means a combination not seen before on bodies not done before. Agents present us a palette of body sizes, shapes, hair textures and colors, eye shapes and colors, hues and shades. My goal is contrast. I contrast the clothing and the makeup. The hair and the accessories, and the models with each other. I never use the same one twice, so what use would a supermodel be for my line?”
“I’m sure they still get top billing.”
“Only if they have a huge FacePlant following.” Avery felt like he was an elementary school pupil. “And they developed the following on their own time, not ours.”
“You sound so dismissive of my dream.” His tone was peevish and injured, or was it mocking? “And here I was, thinking the private showing with your world-famous professor would give me a big break.”
“Actually, no model who wants a future would do a showing for Professor Leach.” She regretted it as soon as she blurted this truth. Sure enough, he asked why.
“Why? Why?” She played for more time. “Because he has strange tastes in clothes, and no photos are allowed. So it’s a waste of time as far as developing your lookbook and getting FacePlant followers and creating buzz.”
“I’m wounded.” He clapped a hand over his heart. “You’re using me as disposable goods.”
“You volunteered without knowing what you’re getting into. Do you always leap before looking?”
“For a beautiful woman, all the time.” He mock-bowed. “I’ll be happy to model privately for you any time.”
A smile lurked from her heart. He could be charming in his rough and tumble way. “Then I just might keep you—for my eyes only.”
“Lips, tongue, all for you.” He wiggled his eyebrows and raked his gaze down her body.
She could picture him, scratchy and prickly, with a set of succulent lips and a velvety tongue. Goodness, what would he feel like wearing a crown of quills while going down on her?
Pain and pleasure between her thighs.
An open book.
Her gaze shifted languidly from his mouth to his eyes, and what she saw there shocked her with a feral urge. He was eating her alive and drilling right to her core. He knew.
The jiggling of a set of keys jolted both of them from their trance, and Avery quickly collected the half-finished work from Ivanna’s worktable.
“I have to hurry. Commercial break,” the supervisor said. “Did you find anything? Do you have a suspect?”
“We’re carefully collecting and cataloging the evidence,” Jason said. “I’m curious, though. How long has Miss Chu been using fur, feathers, and fins in her work?”
The paunchy man scratched his seven o’clock shadow. “I see her and her friends go out to parties wearing this weird stuff. You should see the Halloween parties they go to.”
“I’ll bet,” Jason said, nodding. “What do they go as?”
“Shapeshifters,” the man replied. “She told me she was designing costumes for shapeshifters. It’s all the rage in the art world, the blurring of a man and an animal.”
“Is she a fashion designer?” Jason asked, all innocently, as if he were shooting the breeze on a baseball player’s salary.
“Not yet. She works for one but says the woman’s too timid to do her best work. Like a mouse.” The super glanced at his watch. “Let me know when you leave. Gotta go.”
Avery could barely hold on to the fumes boiling over her. As soon as the man was out of earshot, she said, “Timid? Is that what she thinks of me? How about she try having the love of her life shot and killed? I can’t believe she thinks it’s okay to steal my designs and go partying with my creations.”
“Well, if you’re not showing them, then what’s the big deal?” Jason’s remarks had to be intended to earn her ire.
“The big deal. It’s my heart and my soul. It’s the emotions and everything I am.”
“That man is an animal?”
“Yes!” she screamed, her fists in a fury and steam spewing from her eyes. “It’s there in every person. Their animalistic nature is right below the surface. Their needs. Food, sex, territory. Some cover it up better than others. But every one of us craves creature comforts.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
