Commanding Her Seal (Plus Bonus Novella)(49)

Except watching her eat a roasted wiener was worse than watching her drink beer from the bottle. He nearly let loose an audible groan as she sucked the rounded end between her lips.

And he was officially toast. Holding back was not going to work; otherwise it would be this time next year before she made a move. More beer. Then more kissing. The best way to get started on a passionate, epic adventure was to get naked.

He cleared his throat as he handed her a fresh bottle. “Talk to me about being a photographer. I want to hear about this rut you’re in.”

She took her time sipping the beer, and he took his time watching her because it was a huge turn-on. Awareness rolled through him, thick and heavy, like the tropical air around them.

“I love my camera,” she finally said. “I see a whole other world through the lens. But I like still things. Bridges. Trees. Things that have a story, history.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Sounded nice.

She made a face. “Anyone can take a picture of a bridge. Sure there’s a lot that goes into the lighting and composition. But this is the digital age. A hundred people can take a picture and post it online. Ten of them might get lucky and capture the perfect shot. My skills aren’t overly marketable, and my subjects are largely boring anyway. I need to up my game.”

Now they were getting somewhere. He nodded. “You’re in a professional rut because what you like taking pictures of isn’t cutting it. What do you need to do to get out of this rut?”

She shrugged and downed more beer, scarcely seeming to realize she’d almost finished it. No problem. He had another one for her and no place to be.

“I need to take pictures of people,” she announced wryly. “Probably you won’t be shocked to find out that people aren’t my forte. For the most part, I’m just really uncomfortable around anyone who can talk back. So yeah. I’m supposed to be on an adventure designed to help me open up and find a way to connect with my muse.”

Well. The solution was so blinking obvious, he was kind of shocked she hadn’t brought it up before now. “Take pictures of me.”





Fitz was reading her mind. Obviously. Which meant he could probably tell that she’d been trying to work her way up to asking him to let her photograph him. And that she was still thinking about how great of a kisser he was. Plus how scary this whole situation should be but wasn’t.

They were stranded with no way to reach civilization, and her only thought at the moment was, thank you God.

Lilah shut her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them, the man lounging by the fire watching her hadn’t disappeared. Neither had the riot of emotions bursting in her chest like fireworks that she couldn’t stop him from setting off.

“I’m serious,” he insisted. “I’ll pose for you. Where do you want me to be?”

“Um… there is fine.”

So they were going to do this. Apparently. A camera in her hands would be phenomenal right now and then maybe he wouldn’t realize her stupid hands were shaking. Where was her bag? There. She pulled the strap and hoisted it into her lap, yanking her camera case from the depths. The Canon DSLR was her second best, but it would do.

“Hey,” he said. She glanced up. “It’s not fine. Tell me what you want. I’m ready, willing, and able to fulfill all your photographic fantasies.”

Two beers sloshed through her blood, and they were seriously impairing her judgment because his deliberate choice of words loosened some ideas in her mind that were so very not safe.

They were dangerous, wicked, wild thoughts. Things she’d like to ask him to do, but if she did, he’d freak out. Wouldn’t he?

But this was Fitz. Who’d encouraged her to have experiences, who’d told her in no uncertain terms not to apologize for getting caught up in the moment. He was a spontaneous, easygoing, gorgeous man who had instructed her to say what she wanted.

She wanted it all.

Eyes narrowed, she evaluated him. By firelight, he was even more ethereal than he was by sunlight, even more beautiful, with an edge that she desperately wanted to capture. So she could understand it and thereby better understand what was going on behind his hazel eyes. For example, was he feeling this electricity between them too?

“I see what your problem is,” he declared with a nod. “You’re afraid. Stop. It’s just me. Same guy you’ve spent all day with. Tell me what you want, Lilah. Name it. Say the words. Your wish is my command.”

“Take off your shirt.” Her pulse zigzagged. She’d really said it. And the sand hadn’t opened up to swallow her.

He grinned. “Now you’re getting the idea.”