Page 31 of The Model

Letting go of my hand, Ryder wrapped his arm around my waist. “I asked her to come. Do you have a problem with that?” That time I had to try extremely hard not to smile. Instead, to show him how much I liked what he’d said, I laid my head on his arm. His bicep flexed in response.

Lana’s dark eyes narrowed my way, but everyone else seemed happy to see me. In fact, a man with a camera around his neck scrambled over to us with a wide smile on his face. I assumed he was the photographer, but in all honesty, I didn’t recognize anyone except Parker and Lana, who was furiously whispering to him while giving us evil side-looks.

Whatever, the feeling was mutual. I was pretty sure she had tried to get her hands on Ryder, and in all likelihood, he’d shot her down.

The gangly photographer beamed as he held out his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Ms. Keene. I’m Rob Thurman. I’ve admired your work for years and to have you here…”

He bounced on his heels and seemed at a loss for words, so I decided to try and save him. I shook his hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you don’t mind if I hang out. I’ve never been to the waterfalls here and wanted to check them out with Ryder.”

“Of course. You’re welcome whenever you want.”

Lana scoffed behind him but didn’t say a word when Rob turned around with wide eyes.

“Good to see you again, Lexie,” Parker called from Lana’s side.

“Right, make yourself comfortable, and if there’s anything you need, Sheila will get it for you.” A willowy looking girl by a tree trunk waved. Turning to Ryder, he asked. “Are you ready to get to work?”

“Direct me to where you want me.” Handing over my bag, he squeezed my hip with his other hand. Dipping down, he brushed his lips against mine. When he stood tall again, Ryder had a slight blush to his cheeks.

Grabbing his arm as he moved away, he looked at me with confusion. “If it makes you uncomfortable to kiss me in public—”

My words were cut off with a blistering kiss. Ryder’s fingers threaded through my hair, breaking it from its messy bun as he dipped me back like an old Hollywood film. Just as quickly, we were upright, and his soft words were spoken for only me to hear. “Make no mistake, I have no problem kissing you in public. It takes all my restraint not to fuck you in front of others.”

With those words, he left me a tingling mess. My fingers traced my swollen lips as I watched him talk to Rob. He nodded once before he was handed a pair of navy swim trunks that would have all the ladies drooling and stepped behind a screen. I stood in my spot as I watched him change. Each muscle flexed as he stripped down, and when his bare ass came into view, he looked over his shoulder and winked. He knew I was watching.

Pulling my gaze away, I moved back out of the way so I could set up a place to watch. Laying a towel down on a rock that overlooked the pool of water, I slipped my shoes off, pulled my t-shirt over my head, and slid my shorts down my thighs. As I fixed my sunglasses back on my face, I noticed Ryder watching me with heated interest. He shook his head and turned back to Parker, who was talking a mile a minute.

Before sitting down to soak up the sun, I pulled my camera out of my bag and started shooting the beautiful scenery. I wasn’t sure if they’d be back, and I didn’t want to miss getting my shot. I was already trying to figure out a way to have my own shoot here in the future.

As they started to get into place, I put my camera away and sat down to watch the show. Rob had no idea what he wanted, it was obvious. The shoot started and stopped half a dozen times before they broke apart. I had no idea who the customer was or the vision for the shoot, but I wanted the best for Ryder, and if I could help him, I would.

Taking a sip of my water, I stood, taking my camera with me as I walked down to where Rob was looking back and forth from his camera to the water and back again.

Stopping a few inches from him, I looked over his shoulder and asked as politely as I could. “Trouble?” I didn’t want to bruise his ego or make him think he wasn’t doing a good job even though from what I saw, he was doing a terrible job.

His shoulders deflated. “Nothing is working out the way I envisioned.” He’d barely started, so I wasn’t sure what had gone wrong. The only thing I saw was it looked like an amateur taking photos. His camera wasn’t the best, but it was capable of doing the job.

“What’s your vision?”

I saw Ryder watching me out of the corner of my eye with a frown marring his usually warm features.

“A push and pull between lovers. Two men and a woman. I want to show the tension, the yearning.” He indicated Ryder, Parker, and Lana. “I can get the tension since no one likes Lana,” he chuckled as he looked over his shoulder at her. “It’s the yearning I’m having trouble with. I thought this location would bring it out.”

“What if you show the woman, Lana yearning for both men?” There was more of a possibility of that happening than the other.

Rob tilted his head as he took in what I’d said. He looked over at the threesome and nodded his head. “That could work.”

“Is the client here? Do you need approval first?” Some customers were very rigid about what they wanted. Hell, I didn’t even know what this shoot was for, but I didn’t see his original vision coming to life. They were models, not actors. Yes, you have to be able to take direction and be able to deliver a look, but you couldn’t hide the disdain Parker and Ryder had for Lana. It shined brighter than anything else when they looked at her.

“Over there.” He flapped a hand in the direction of a man standing by himself with his arms crossed over his chest. He was easily overlooked, wearing a non-descript t-shirt and shorts in a sea of barely dressed models. He could have been an assistant with a sweeping glance. “Let me go talk to him, but I don’t think it will be a problem since they wanted it with two guys and a girl.” He waved off my concern.

Moving in beside me, Ryder watched as I took a couple of pictures of the water for the new angle. “What’s going on?”

Tilting my head toward him, I spoke quietly. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing. From where I was sitting, I could tell.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand why people keep hiring Lana. She only makes shoots more difficult. He wants you to look at her with adoration and love, and I told him it wasn’t going to happen.”

Ryder moved until his back was to the crowd so they couldn’t hear. “She was horrible to Parker this morning, making him feel like a worthless piece of shit. He can barely stop glaring at her between shots, and I…” He clamped his mouth shut, and his eyes got wide.

I let out a breath of frustration. “Let me guess. She’s been relentlessly hitting on you.”

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