Page 68 of Deeper

“I want, like…a stroke of gold paint spelling out the title of the song.” Zander took a step back and examined me, his eyes envisioning my nudity under my robe. “I think I want you for my album cover, too. The title for Z3 popped into my head last night.”

“What?”

Zander flashed me that mischievous half grin of his. “Abstract.”

Abstract, I mumbled the name to myself. “I like it.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sam agreed. “Are we ready to—”

Knocking sounded in the background, loud and demanding as the doorknob jiggled rapidly.

Sam peered towards the door across the room as Natalie went and answered it. In seconds, a man breezed into the studio, sizing up the tiny assistant before coming our way.

“Why is the door locked?” he asked Natalie before facing us. “Why is the set locked?”

He was young, tall, blond, muscled, and dressed in a designer dress shirt that was tucked into equally expensive-looking dress pants, and on his feet were what was surely pricy loafers. On his face was a pair of dark tinted aviators he ripped off as he came to a stop a few feet away from where Zander, Sam, and I were standing.

“Greetings.” His teeth were perfect—and all his, not like those Chiclet-looking veneers most famous people were too quick to run out and buy. No, this man took care of his teeth and he deserved to show them off. Despite his rude arrival, he was handsome with a nice smile.

“Paul,” Zander said, sighing beside me. “We’re shooting the artwork for my single.”

Paul bobbed his head, gesturing around us. “I know that.”

“She’s going to be naked,” Zander went on.

Paul’s green eyes slid over to me, trailing down my body. “Aware.” Impressed, he simply shrugged and faced Zander. “I take it you want me out in the hall?”

“Would you, please?” Zander asked.

Paul sighed, and tucked his aviators into his shirt and went to leave, but not without taking one quick glance at me. A dark brow raised as he boldly checked me out again.

“We’ll do the introductions later,” Zander assured me. “For now, let’s get the show on the road, yeah?”

Natalie was kind enough to step out of the shoot as well, leaving me to my director and photographer. To set the mood, Zander put on some music.

“Any requests?” he prompted as he stood by the speakers.

“Teddy Sykes,” I teased.

He peered back at me, giving me a warning look, not a trace of humor on his face.Whoa.

“Surprise me,” I said with an innocent chuckle.

Soon, the sounds of Ro James filled the room as I went and stood in front of the backdrop. Zander came and helped me out of my robe. Goose bumps were quick to cover my skin as I stood naked in front of Sam and her camera, despite the heat from the lights shining directly on me. Zander went and stood back, getting out of the way.

“Okay, just relax, breathe, get used to the idea,” Sam instructed as she squatted down and brought her camera to her eye. “I’m just going to take a couple of test shots for us all to unwind. Zander’s going to step in and let you know how he wants you to pose.”

I did as told, practicing a few deep breaths before uncovering my breasts and bikini area and tentatively allowing my arms to fall to my sides. Closing my eyes, I took a final breath before channeling my inner model.

Focus, Bia.

Memories of the younger me watchingAmerica’s Next Top Modelwith my mother came to mind and I got in the zone as I imagined myself preparing for a high-profile fashion campaign.

Zander was strictly professional as he started instructing me on how to pose. He had me arch my back, turn around and look over my shoulder, get on the ground and prop one leg up as I lay back on my arms. He posed me a ton of different ways, and what I liked best was that none of my positions were sleazy or provocative—it was art. All of my essential parts were covered, with only a sense of under-boob or side-boob.

After an hour of shooting, and a full camera roll, we called it a day and I was all too happy to go and get dressed.

“She’s going to e-mail me, and our art director will take over from there. I can’t wait to see the final product,” Zander said to me after I finished getting dressed. He smiled at me, a softness to his eyes. “I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me.”

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