Rescuing Their Virgin Mate(33)
At some point, she’d have to find a job and start paying them back. It wasn’t their responsibility to support her—mate or no mate.
“Let’s go.”
She thought they’d take the car, but instead he led them down the drive and across the empty road to the beach.
“You know of a diner around here?”
“Yup.”
The seagulls squawked and the wind whipped so vigorously she had to hold her hair with one hand. But the fresh air invigorated her.
Clay clasped her free hand and the gesture thrilled her. In silence, they walked along the shore, dancing away from the water with each incoming wave.
“Not many people out today,” she said. The clouds had rolled in, but it was still nice.
“Orangeburg isn’t much of a tourist town.”
They’d walked no more than fifty feet when Clay stopped. He pulled her back to his chest and pointed out at the Gulf. “Look. Dolphins.”
As she searched the waves, two fins popped up next to each other. “Cool. I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture.”
“I have mine.” He stepped back, turned it on, and even pressed the camera display for her. “Give it a go.”
The few attempts caught the beautiful animals after they’d already disappeared. “It’s hard to capture them at the peak of the leap.”
“Let me. My reflexes are faster.” He slipped the camera from her fingers.
One more thing she didn’t know about his kind.
He snapped away and grinned. “Got it.”
After he swiped a finger over the screen to enlarge the photo he moved close to show her the shot. The tail of one was about eight inches above the water, but the other dolphin was half in the air.
“That’s fantastic.”
He rubbed the phone on his chest as if to brag. Without saying a word, he held up the camera and shot a picture of her. She immediately covered her face.
“I look terrible. I don’t have any makeup on.”
“I think you’re gorgeous.”
His words stunned her. She was too fat, too short, and a host of other toos, but gorgeous wasn’t one of them. He grabbed her hand and led her a few feet away from the water.
“Sit down and let me shoot you.”
She bit back her retort about not seeing any weapon. “I’m not photogenic.”
He waved a hand. “I wish I had a real camera. What I could do. Mmm.”
Images of her naked, spread out on a bed, slammed into her. Bad girl. Why did being around Clay bring out the worst in her? They were on a beach, and because no one was around, she thought it safe to pose.
She sat, leaned back on her hands and stretched out her legs. Sand would find its way into every crevice, but that would make the shower more divine.
“How’s this?” She dropped back her head and closed her eyes to shield them from the glare.
The digital camera on the phone clicked and clicked. “You’re amazing.”
Any good photographer would try to make her feel at ease and it was working. After twenty seconds, she decided to change poses. She sat up, grabbed her knees to her chest, and turned her face away toward the sea.
“That’s perfect.” Clay got in close, but his nearness didn’t make her tense. Quickly, she faced him and stuck out her tongue. He grinned. “You’ll pay for that.”
“At least you can’t put it up on Facebook for every Colter to see.”
“Damn. You’re right.”
She held out her hand as he pulled her to her feet.
“I want to take pictures of you.”
“Moi? I’m not photogenic.” He kept his voice mockingly high.
She punched him in the chest and took the phone from him. He’d never go for stretching out in the sand, so she shot him standing. When he didn’t object to her moving around, she decided to see if he would be amenable to posing a different way.
“I know it’s a little chilly, but would you mind taking off your shirt? You could hook one thumb in your waistband and hold the shirt over your shoulder like this.” She did the pose for him.
He cocked a brow, but he did as she asked. Once bare-chested, her breath caught. “Wow. You look hot.”
His abs tightened. “Really?”
He must know how good looking he was. “Well, now that you ask, I’m not sure.” She held the camera in front of her, zoomed in to frame him correctly and snapped away. She pictured them rolling in the sand and needing to wash together. If that happened, she’d make sure to explore him more thoroughly.
Last night after the party, she’d decided to give Clay a try. Ménages seemed to work for Liz and Chelsea. Why not her? She’d already sinned once. What was once more?