she wanted no movement and had to wait, judge the instants of stillness between gusts of wind. A broad depth of field, she thought, everything in sharp focus-the textures of the stone, the vines, the sand, all the varying shades of gray.
To accomplish it, she had to stop down, decreasing the aperture, slowing the shutter speed. Tilting her lens slightly more toward horizontal, she framed in, careful to block out the ruin of the remaining walls. she wanted it to look as though the building could be whole, yet was still empty and deserted.
Alone.
she took her shots, then carried tripod and camera to the east corner. The texture was excellent there, the pits and scars that wind and sand and time had dug into the stones. This time she used the tumbled walls, capturing desolation and loss.
When she heard a quiet click, she straightened. Nathan stood just to her left, lowering his camera.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking your picture." He'd managed three before she caught him at it. "You had a nice intense look about you."
Her stomach shuddered. Pictures of her, without her being aware. But she forced her lips to curve. "Here, let me have the camera. I'll take yours."
"Better-set the timer on yours and take both of us. In front of the ruins."
"This type of view camera, this light, they aren't made for portraits."
"So, we won't mat 't for your next show. It doesn't have to be perfect, Jo." He set his camera down. "It just has to be us."
"If I had a diffuser . Turning her head, she squinted into the sun, then, muttering, changed the camera's viewpoint to cut back on shadows, calculated the aperture, adjusted shutter speed. she shrugged her shoulders.
"Jo." It was a struggle not to laugh. "Think of it as a snapshot."
"I mill not. Go stand to the left of the opening in the front wall. About two feet over."
she waited until he'd walked to the spot she'd pointed out. Through the viewfinder she watched him grin at her. she could do so much better, she thought, if she had some control, had the necessary equipment to manipulate the light and shadows. she'd have been able to highlight his windblown hair, bring out all those different shades of light and dark.
The light was hard, she decided. It should have been softer, just a little romantic to show off those wonderful eyes, that strong bone structure. With a reflector, some backfill, a diffuser, she could have made this shot sing.
God, he was attractive. Standing against that worn and pitted stone, he looked so strong and alive. So male and capable. So sexy with that plain gray T-shirt over a broad chest, those faded and worn jeans snug over narrow hips.
"I see why you don't do portraits as a rule."
she blinked, straightened. "What?"
"Your model would lapse into a coma waiting for you to set the shot." Smiling, he stretched out his arm, giving her a come-ahead curl with his fingers. "It doesn't have to be art."
"It always has to be art," she corrected. she fussed for another moment, then set the timer and went to stand beside him. "Ten seconds. Hey!
He shifted, pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I like this pose. Relax and smile."
she did, leaning back against him as the shutter clicked. When she started to move, he nuzzled her hair.
"I still like this pose." He turned her around, arms sliding and continuing to circle as he lowered his mouth to hers. "And this one even more."
"I have to put my equipment away."
"Okay." He simply moved his mouth from hers and skimmed it down her throat.
Nerves and desire did a pitch and roll inside her. "I- the light's changed. It's not right anymore." Because her knees were going to shake, she drew back. "I didn't mean to take so long."
"It's all right. I liked watching you work. I'll help you stow your gear."
"No, I'll do it. I get edgy when anyone fools with my equipment."
"Then I'll open the wing."
"Yeah, that'd be nice." she walked back to her tripod, easing out a long, quiet breath. she was going to have to make up her mind, and very soon, she thought, as to whether she was going to advance or retreat.
she unhooked her camera, carefully packed it away. "Lexy said she'd been with you this morning."
"What?" He could only hope the pop of the cork masked part of the shock in his voice.
"she said she went by your cottage." Jo was already cursing herself for bringing it up, and kept her eyes firmly on her work.
Nathan cleared his throat and suddenly wanted a glass of wine very badly. "Ah, yeah, she did. For a minute. Why?"
"No reason." Jo collapsed the tripod. "she said you'd shown her some plans you were working on."