Maverick cleared his throat. It wouldn’t do for Wade to realize the effect Adrian’s admission had on him. “How would she know about the assignment?”
“I don’t know, but we have to find out.”
Maverick shook his head. “She’d want to sort it out herself.”
Wade didn’t look convinced, but after a while he nodded. “I guess you’re right.” He walked to the bar. “It doesn’t mean I have to like it. I could have killed Marie for frightening Adrian.” He poured whiskey into a glass and held the bottle up. “You want something?”
Maverick nodded absently. “I still think I’ve seen Marie before. Every time I lay my eyes on her, my gut tells me something’s not right.” He took the drink from Wade. “Thanks. And I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with her ogling Adrian.”
Wade shrugged. “Until you remember, there’s nothing we can do but wait and see how her talk with Adrian pans out.”
They sipped their drinks in silence and besides the crackling of the fire, not a peep sounded from the rest of the house.
Adrian paused in front of the kitchen door, her hand on the knob. Her feet felt as if they were cast in cement. How could Marie be here? More importantly, what were the odds that the one woman Adrian had chosen to have a one-night stand with would turn up on this assignment, the one geared to set her career back on its path?
So she had sex with her models. It wasn’t as if she were the only photographer doing it. The others didn’t even hide the fact. The only difference was that she was female—and double standards applied. As long as her sexual preferences didn’t interfere with her work, her employers usually couldn’t care less. But that was before Rory chose to up and leave and saddle her with the consequences of his failure to act professionally.
A large chunk of her guilt disappeared and she breathed a little easier. For the first time in more than a year, she was able to lay the bulk of the blame for her disastrous career at the right door—Rory’s. If he hadn’t abandoned the photo-shoot, they would have carried on with both their careers and their marriage as before. He’d insisted they keep an open marriage where sex was concerned because they were away from home so often. The only condition had been that they didn’t have affairs. She wasn’t the one who had broken their agreement. Last she’d heard, he’d married a girl he’d started seeing mere weeks after he’d married Adrian. Satisfied that her conscience was clear, Adrian inhaled and opened the kitchen door.
Marie sat at the table with her chin resting in her hands. At Adrian’s entrance, she quickly looked away, but not before Adrian spotted the telltale streaks of tears on her face. She walked into the kitchen and sat in the chair across the table. “Marie, why are you crying?”
Marie shook her head but refused to look at Adrian.
Adrian folded her arms on the table in front of her. “What are you doing here?”
“Being stupid,” Marie mumbled, her voice thick with emotion.
“You’re anything but stupid and you know it. I just don’t believe in coincidences enough to think you being on this assignment is random.”
“I asked for this assignment to be close to you.” Marie turned her tear-streaked face toward Adrian and shrugged. “I thought we had something special that night.”
How could she answer Marie without adding to the woman’s distress? Their time together had been special, but there was no connection other than the physical. She’d told Marie before they’d done anything that it had to be a one-time deal with no strings attached. They hadn’t even exchanged names.
“How did you find me?”
A blush stole over Marie’s cheeks and Adrian had the feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer. What if the woman had been stalking her for months and she hadn’t realized it? A chill crawled down her spine.
“It was a small town and people talked when your husband walked out of the session because you had sex with someone else. I felt guilty and I finally knew who you were, so I kept my ears open for your next project.”
While it all sounded plausible, there was just one problem with Marie’s story. “This project was never advertised. How did you come to know about it?”
Marie toyed with a strand of her hair, twirling it round and round her finger. She lowered her head. “Word spreads quickly in the industry if there’s a big project coming up.” Adrian stood, filled the percolator and switched it on. This was why she didn’t do relationships. They get too complicated too quickly.
“What made you think we might have more than just one night together? You knew the score before you left the club with me.”
Marie joined Adrian at the percolator and leaned with her hip against the cupboard. “I thought I was fine with it, but after being with you once, it just wasn’t enough.” She shrugged and wiped away the tears streaking down her cheeks.
Adrian felt lousy, but there was no easy way to let Marie down. She just wasn’t into relationships, and even if she was, it couldn’t be with another woman. The testosterone of men acted like a magnet to her senses and she would never be able to do without it. She ran her hand through her hair. Damn, this is a mess.
“I like you, but we could never be more than just friends. At least I hope we can be friends. As the only two women here, it would suck if we didn’t get along.”
“You’re not really into women, are you?”
Adrian cringed inwardly but shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
Marie caught her bottom lip between her teeth and sighed. “I think I knew, but I was so afraid to let a chance of happiness pass me by, and I wanted so badly for you to be the one.” She offered Adrian a watery smile. “But it would be nice if we could be friends.”
Adrian wiped imaginary sweat from her brow and squeezed Marie’s arm. “Thank God for small miracles.”
Marie giggled and the tension slowly seeped out of the room. Adrian plucked a mug from the cupboard and held it toward Marie. “You want some?”
“No thanks, I won’t sleep a wink if I have coffee now.”
Sleep wouldn’t come easy tonight so she might as well indulge in a little caffeine to ease her rattled nerves. She still had to face the men in the lounge. “I better go to the men and explain why I left them so abruptly.” She gave Marie’s arm another squeeze. “Sorry for not being what you thought I’d be.”
Marie shook her head. “In a way, you are better than I had imagined.” This time the sunshine was back in her smile and a little bit of the bubbly personality resurfaced. “Yes, I do believe I’d very much like you as a friend.”
“Great.” Adrian headed toward the door. “See you in the morning.”
Once the kitchen door banged shut behind her, Adrian leaned against the wall. In the space of a couple of days, her life had once again gone to hell in a hand-basket. Despite Marie’s insistence that she was fine with just being friends, Adrian couldn’t shake the feeling that Marie was still hiding something. She inhaled deeply and forced the tension in her shoulders to relax. Maybe she was becoming paranoid—imagining things just because Maverick had planted the seed of doubt. Whatever the case, if she continued enjoying the men, they’d have to be very careful to avoid situations like tonight where Marie could walk in on them at any moment. She moved away from the wall and walked to the lounge.
The men relaxed in front of the fire, each clutching a glass in their hands. Over the music system, Sade accused her lover of being a smooth operator while the crackling logs chimed in to add to the beat. They hadn’t turned on any lights and Adrian chose the chair closest to the fire.
“Sorted?” Wade asked as she sat and pulled her feet under her.
“I hope so.”
They sat in silence for a while—Adrian sipping her coffee and the men their drinks. The tension slowly seeped out of her body in the companionable silence, and Adrian relaxed. Returning her empty mug to the side table, she snuggled deeper into the folds of the chair and stared into the flames.
Chapter Eight
Adri
an directed the beam of the flashlight into the trunk of the car. Satisfied she hadn’t left behind a vital piece of equipment, she quietly shut the door and tiptoed to the driver’s side. The men would be along shortly, but she didn’t want to wake them yet.
Her last recollection of the previous night was the sensation of being carried to her room and tucked in like she was a child. When her alarm had sounded this morning, she was fully dressed in her bed with a tender pussy and aching breasts as evidence of her indulgence.
She smiled. It had been far too long since she’d woken with this cat-stole-the-cream feeling. This morning she was invigorated and full of energy. The photos she’d taken so far were fantastic and her models the epitome of professional in front of the camera. What more could a photographer ask? Not even her insecurity about Marie being able to keep an open mind could put a damper on her enthusiasm.
Turning the headlights of the car on, she backed out of the carport and headed up the road. The track she’d explored the previous day proved much harder to find in the dark, and she spent precious time searching for the turnoff. Once she started on the track, she was committed to it until she’d reached the plateau where she planned to take the photos.
It took longer than she anticipated to reach her destination and the sun lightened the sky by the time she’d finished setting up the tripods and cameras. Minutes later, riders appeared on the horizon and she set to work. With the photos in silhouette taken, she moved to close-ups of the men.
When Wade’s serious face filled the viewfinder, Adrian appreciated the steady stance of the tripod. Her hands trembled as memories of the same face in the throes of passion kept intruding on her thoughts. He dismounted and tipped his hat at her. Damn, he was sex on legs and turned her insides to a puddle of want. She wanted to run her palm over the smoothness of his cheek and bury her face in the warm, musky smell against his chest. Her legs turned to jelly at the thought and she straightened her spine. Today they’d work—tonight they’d play. And in two days they were out of her life.
The thought of not hearing their witty exchanges and not being able to touch them at her fancy, grated her nerves. What was wrong with her? The situation with the men was no different from any of the others before them. Usually she had sex, to both party’s mutual satisfaction, then they went on with their lives. Those were the rules of the game. So why did she feel like she wanted to change the rules this time?
Maverick planted a kiss on her cheek and shook her out of her thoughts.
“Morning. Sleep well?” His eyes sparkled with mischief and Adrian giggled at his exaggerated smirk.
“Morning yourself. You know I did.” She hugged him to her but didn’t linger close to him. “Thanks for babying me last night.”
Wade led his horse closer. “Come on, guys, let’s get to work.”
Maverick glared at his friend. “What’s up with you all of a sudden?”
Wade’s gaze swept over Adrian’s body, the intensity setting her skin on fire. “I’d much rather have my cock buried in Adrian’s pussy than prance around in the mountains, and if we can’t get a move on soon, that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Her nipples puckered at the visual Wade’s words evoked and Adrian gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the clench in her pussy. Damn the man for mirroring and voicing the thoughts she’d tried to avoid since she woke. She unclasped the camera from the tripod and folded the stand.
“Wade’s right. We only have a couple of hours of good light.” She hurried to her car before the men could see the effect Wade’s words had on her treacherous body.
* * * *
Three hours and two locations later, Adrian had to admit she was impressed. Maverick and Wade behaved better than most of the professional models she’d worked with over the years. In spite of the rigorous poses she demanded, they obeyed without hesitation and remained courteous and spontaneous until the light became too harsh to work with.
“Thank you, you were brilliant,” she said when the last photo previewed on her camera. “I’ll see you at the house.”
They helped her stow her equipment and Adrian descended from the mountain. At the house, she unloaded one tripod and a camera with a wide-angle lens and hurried to the stable.
By the time the men returned for lunch, she’d taken most of the required close-up shots of the saddles and equipment. After a quick lunch, Wade helped her move the huge lights from her car to the stable while Maverick hunted for a power cable.
An hour later, she straightened behind the tripod. “I have to check tonight, but I suspect I have enough photos to finish the presentation.”
Maverick wiggled his eyebrows. “Not tonight, honey. You have other commitments once Marie takes her leave.”
Heat suffused Adrian’s face and she checked for an imaginary speck of dust on the lens of her camera. Her pulse raced and her mouth dried at the thought of what her cowboys had planned. She took a steadying breath.
“I have to check the images tonight. If we need more photos, we have to repeat this exercise tomorrow.”
Wade frowned. “How long will the sorting take?”
She shrugged. “Three to four hours—at least.” She raised a trembling hand to her forehead. “I still need some photos at the creek tomorrow morning and I can’t have a late night.”
Maverick glanced at his watch. “What time do you want to start the afternoon shoot?”
“If we start at four, it gives us an hour and a half of usable light. It should be enough.” She disengaged the camera from the tripod and glanced at the men. “Why?”
Maverick shook his head. “Just asking.”
Adrian packed her equipment and with the help of the men, she loaded it into her car, ready for use later. In her mind’s eye, the dust swirled under the hooves of the horses and the men both displayed their cocky grins that would coerce any female into buying the saddles. They managed to convince her into doing much more. Oh boy, maybe she enjoyed their activities involving her a little too much.
“Adrian, doesn’t this belong to you?” Wade called from inside the stable, shaking her out of her reverie.
“I don’t think I forgot anything.” She entered the stable and stopped inside the door.
The men had strewn a blanket over the square Teff-grass bales stacked along the wall and stood hands on their hips on either side of the cloth. Their eyes twinkled and Adrian’s pulse kicked up a notch. Their intentions were clear and if she took one more step into the dusty room, she consented to the entertainment they had planned.
She walked to Wade, pulled his head closer and planted a kiss on his lips. He gathered her to him and plastered her body against his frame. Her feet dangled a foot off the floor and she clamped her legs around his hips while exploring his mouth.
When he lifted his head, both of them gulped in lungsful of air. Adrian’s body was on fire. She had to see them, taste them. After dropping her feet to the floor, she stepped away.
“Take off your clothes,” she ordered.
Both men shrugged out of their jackets and reached for their hats.
Adrian held up her hand. “You can leave your hats on.”
Wade met her gaze and smiled. “Why do I suspect we’re in the middle of playing out one of your fantasies to the tune of Joe Cocker singing?”
If he only knew how many times she’d fantasized about ordering a man to keep his hat on while she ravished his body, he’d run a mile. Now she got to double her fantasy. She salivated at the thought but kept her face stern. “Get to it, cowboy.”
Next to him, Maverick plucked the hem of his shirt from his jeans and reached for the collar to pull it over his head. Adrian wagged her finger at them before folding her arms.
“Slowly. One button at a time.”
Wade unbuttoned his shirt and Adrian’s pupils dilated. Her cheeks flamed and she rubbed her palms on her jeans as he shrugged the garment off his shoulders. Wade swallowed audibly. Damn, she was beautiful. When he popped the button on his jea
ns and her breath hitched, his cock hardened painfully against the constraints of his pants.
“And here we thought we were in charge.” His attempt at humor might have worked if his voice didn’t sound like a frog with a cold.
“Oh, you’ll get what you want, but on my terms. You had your chance to undress me and now I want to savor unwrapping the presents.”
Hearing her voice laden with lust increased the pressure in his pants. How could she reduce him to a hormonal teenager with one sentence? Next to him, Maverick slid his shirt off his shoulders and caught it on his elbows. He struck a bodybuilder’s pose with a silly grin on his face. His asinine friend never lost an opportunity to display his body and women usually loved it.
Adrian’s chest heaved and she ran her tongue over her lips. Nope, Maverick hadn’t lost his touch. Her lips parted slightly and she closed her eyes for a second as if in silent prayer. He wanted to ravish her mouth so bad he had to force his hands into the pockets of his pants. What made her so special that he couldn’t stop thinking about her? She was smart, sexy, funny and confident, but so were many of the women he’d had sex with before. None of them left him with an urge to explore the rest of their lives, to get to know the heart and soul of the woman he was with. He wanted to know everything about Adrian, wanted to know what angered her, what saddened her and what made her leap with joy.
“Stop, don’t move.” Her command plucked him out of his thoughts and back to the woman holding her hand out in front of her.
“Why would you want to stop now?” Maverick voiced Wade’s thoughts.
She shook her head and pointed a finger at them. “Don’t move.” With three strides, she was out of the door. Wade looked at Maverick.
He drew his shoulders up. “I have no idea.” He flipped his shirt over his shoulders and started to button it again—an uncharacteristic frown creasing his forehead.
A door banged outside. Adrian was leaving? She had them all worked up and now she was leaving? Wade picked up his own shirt from the floor and pushed his arms through the sleeves. Something must have happened for Adrian to turn tail. But what? One moment they were having fun and the next she lit out.
Her Bareback Cowboys Page 8
