“I don’t know what to say.”
He shrugged. “You don’t have to say a thing. Just give me your opinion.”
Mika hesitated briefly, then leaned forward, letting the screen fill her view. She couldn’t let his declarations sway her in any way. She swallowed, and he leaned in close to point out what he thought was a flaw in a picture of Paloma sitting perched in a branch like a tropical bird. She gave it a critical eye and offered suggestions on how to correct the small imperfections.
“I knew you’d see what I saw.” He clicked to another photo—this time of only Karina. Mika impulsively stiffened and hoped Ale didn’t notice. But that tell-tale flare of his nostrils told her he did. She tried to recover. “What’s wrong? I thought this one was beautiful.”
Mika looked hard at the screen. Karina floated, a beautiful swan descending on her kingdom. She was all grace, innocence and peace. But Mika could see the glimmer of something more. The restraint of wildness lurking behind her eyes. It was a gorgeous picture, one that would help both Karina and Ale’s career. “This is beautiful. Karina looks amazing.” He’d captured a magical moment of Karina soaring to the heavens with the promise of much more to come.
“It’s all right,” he said harshly.
She was taken aback by his terse response, but that’s how he’d been all day with her. She missed their usual rapport. Mika looked at his strong profile as he studied the screen clicking rapidly from photo to photo. His nostrils flared and the muscle in his jaw ticked.
What a huge mistake she had made with Ale, but still, if she could go back, she knew she wouldn’t take away what she’d shared with him. Not the last three days and not the last three years.
She leaned in to look at the screen, her arm brushing his. They both flinched at the contact.
“I’ll go and see if everything is on course for the next shoot,” she said, moving away.
Ale opened his mouth as if to say something, but she saw the moment that he changed his mind and closed down. She turned and walked away. Yes, despite the pain of this moment, she would cherish it all one day.
*
The next shoot was a three-shot, and Ale wanted to put all three models partially hidden in the trees. Mika knew their tree would be the right spot. All those branches would fit the models perfectly.
As she mentally prepared herself to say so, Ale suddenly stalked over to Brian who was by the food table. What could have gotten him so riled up? The man was too damned unpredictable. If anyone should be upset, it was her. She hated the thought of rigging their tree for Karina to use, as if the model would somehow be looking down on Mika and laughing.
“You can’t be serious about us going up in that large tree,” Karina whined to Mika as she passed her in the makeup chair.
Mika turned. “Of course I’m serious. Well, at least Alejandro is. He never plays when it comes to a shoot.”
At the sound of his name, Karina softened. “Of course for him, I’d do anything. Isn’t that right, girls?” she asked, directing the question to Ula and Paloma.
Paloma nodded, but Ula’s eye roll was not lost on Mika.
Ava came up behind them and chimed in. “Who wouldn’t? Besides being an amazing artist, he’s also hot as all get out.”
Karina let out a throaty laugh. “Watch it, Ava. You have some competition over here.”
Ava gave the girl a look. “Humph. You may be competition, but back in my day, I’d have men like Ale eating out of my hand. You can take a lesson in subtlety.”
Karina nodded, duly chastised. “Then teach me, oh master, because you know I like to always win in the end.” Her eyes caught Mika’s and shined with a devilish gleam.
“Turn while I finish your lips. All this chatter is making it impossible to do my job,” Robin piped up.
Karina blinked. “Fine. Can we get on with it? I’m sure Alejandro is ready for me,” she said, trumped but not ready to back down.
“Yes, I’m sure he is,” Mika replied, “so how about we focus and get going.”
Karina pulled a face. “We know you’re all about the focus, Mika. You do run a tight ship. What would Ale do without you keeping guard like a good little dog? Ow!” She turned and glared at Robin who had accidentally—it couldn’t have been on purpose—gotten a lock of Karina’s hair caught in her bracelet.
“I’m sorry,” Robin said without sincerity as she pulled her arm back and came away with a hair extension. “It’s just that you keep moving.”
Robin and Mika looked at each other over Karina’s head. Mika bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. This had to stop. It was turning into seventh grade. She regained her composure, looking at her watch. “How about we continue this on set? There is only so much light left today.” She turned to Daniel. “And bring some extra hair please.”
“Will do, boss lady,” Daniel chimed in, a hint of laughter in his voice.
*
Mika was surprised to find that Ale had changed direction, and they were set up in front of another tree entirely. She gave him a confused look. “What’s this? I thought we were shooting over there,” she said, embarrassingly indicating the tree where they had made love.
Ale’s expression was stone. “I decided to move over here. I had my fill with that location the other day.”
Mika sucked in her breath. It was like a punch to the lower gut. Did he now regret their time at the tree so much that he didn’t even want to shoot there? Or could it be that he, like her, didn’t want to ruin the memory? She looked at him with total confusion.
“Don’t you two look cozy?” Karina said, prancing over on eight-inch stilts.
Ale gave her a look but said nothing.
She wasn’t deterred and looked up at the tree. “Care to tell me how you’ll get me up there without breaking my neck?”
Mika was fine with breaking her neck but turned and looked up at the tall beauty, now even taller. “Karina, you’ll be perfectly safe in the hands of Brian’s crew.”
The model gave Ale a look that said she’d much rather be in his hands, and rested her manicured fingers softly on his arm. “Care to escort me over, Mr. Vargas?”
Ale looked down at Karina, his eyes and tone impassive. “No. I have a lot to prepare and want you up in the tree safely and quickly.” He called a crew guy over to walk Karina to the set, leaving her pouting her pretty lips.
The short exchange stunned Mika. Maybe Ale did want to spare her somewhat. “You don’t have to hide your feelings because of me,” she said softly once Karina was out of earshot. “I won’t make trouble for you. I’ll be out of your hair and off to my new job as soon as we’re back in New York.”
He looked down at her with a steely gaze. “What feelings?”
“For Karina. She never has to know about us.”
They both turned and saw that Karina and the other two models were being led carefully to ladders propped against the new tree he had chosen for the shoot.
“Don’t you dare go telling me about my feelings or think for a minute you know them,” Ale spat out. “You may have thought you had me pegged for the past few years, but you didn’t. You don’t know me half as well as you think.”
“What are you talking about? I’m trying to make things easier.”
He snorted. “Easier? You call this easier? Easier would’ve been if I never kissed you in the first place.” He walked away with a hard determination, leaving Mika to absorb the impact of his words.
Chapter 14
She was drained but thankful. Mika couldn’t believe she made it through all the shots and now all the pain, the tension and the heartache would soon be over. Finally she’d be able to get home to New York, put all this behind her for good and start on her new life come tomorrow. Tomorrow. It felt like she had said it so much on this trip that she was thinking of dying her hair red and changing her name to Annie.
She lay down, after what seemed like the longest day ever, and immediately heard a creaking outside of her hut door. M
ika bolted upright. Could it be him? She listened hard but all she heard was silence. She knew she was being silly. He was the past and her future started tomorrow. It would be fantastic. She was getting all she wanted, and it was time she got happy about it. She closed her eyes.
Then she heard it again. This time not even bothering to think, Mika rolled out of bed and swung her door open just as Ale was raising his hand to knock. She jumped back with a squeak at the sight of his stormy face and raised hand. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you,” he said, striding past her into the darkened room.
Mika crossed her arms over her chest. “If you haven’t noticed, it’s late. Can’t this wait until morning?”
Ale whirled on her. “No, it can’t. I want to talk now. Everything can’t be on your terms, you know.”
His gaze raked over her disheveled form in her short white tee with her legs peeking out.
She shifted on her bare feet and tugged down on the hem. “Well, would you mind if I put on some clothes?”
But he ignored her, taking a few quick steps forward, walking right up to her and running a hand up her thigh.
She shivered and pushed his hand away, giving him a glare. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
“I did, but now seeing you here looking so delicious, I’ve forgotten what I wanted to talk about.”
He reached for her again, and Mika moved nimbly away. “Why don’t you head on over to Karina’s hut? I’m sure she’d take you in happily if you don’t want to talk.”
Ale looked at her with burning eyes. “What, and you won’t?”
“No, I won’t. And I really think you should stick to one woman at a time. I won’t be your in-between girl for when you get bored and want to switch it up a night.”
Ale’s brows drew together. “What the hell are you talking about?”
She waved a hand at him. “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. I have no claim on you. You can sleep with whomever you want. Flaunt it all you want, just leave me alone.”
He stared at Mika long and hard, like he was trying to put together the puzzle that was her and coming up short a piece. Finally, he spoke. “Nothing is going on between me and Karina.”
Mika’s eye’s narrowed. She knew what she saw. Where else could Karina have been coming from early in the morning? “I know what I saw. And she’s clearly got her sights on you.”
He raked his hands through his hair. “Me and just about everyone else in the crew.”
Mika turned away, shaking. She wanted Ale gone, not standing in her hut trying to tempt her. Things were hard enough as it was. “Please. Just go.”
Ale stepped forward, turned her around. “You know nothing is going on with me and her. You can look at me and see that.”
Mika stared at him. She willed her lips to stop quivering. Her pulse to stop jumping. If it wasn’t Karina, so what? There had been so many in the past: Jolie, and Giselle, then Dillon, then Kimberly. They came and went with the seasons. She didn’t want to be one of them, just a forgettable girl for this season.
“I don’t know any such thing. I want you to leave.”
He licked his lips, staring at her mouth. “You protest a bit too much. I think the last thing you want is for me to leave you right now.” He stepped even closer into her space, his body right against hers, and she visibly shook.
“Why are you making this so hard for me?” Did she whimper? God, she hoped not. The whimper was the beginning of the end.
He leaned down to her ear, gave it a small kiss.
Mika almost buckled. The woozy feeling she got was positively swoon-like.
“You think this is easy for me? You have me practically at your feet. Do you know how much I hate it?”
Yes, she could imagine.
But then he shocked her, falling to his knees in front of her, kissing her abdomen through her shirt. Mika choked back a sob. Ale looked up at her, his eyes going dark. Embarrassed at herself for not being stronger, she ran her hands through his hair and threw her head back. Tears welled instantly.
How could she do it? She should make him stop. But as Ale gently lifted her tee shirt and his lips touched her quivering stomach, she let out a strangled sigh. He lazily ran his tongue over her navel.
“Ale, no,” she whispered as desire swelled, making her thighs tense.
Instead, his tongue went into action, causing her to tighten the hold on him. “Do you really mean no?” he asked in a low and husky voice.
Mika could hardly breathe and it was even harder to think. But in her heart she knew what she wanted, at least at this very moment, and that was for Ale to not stop that damned clever tongue.
“Mika, do you mean no?” he repeated again pulling away from her.
She stepped forward, inching closer to him and thinking of the goodbye that would happen all too soon. “No, I don’t,” she whispered.
It seemed to be all Alejandro needed to hear. He reached up, slowly lowering her panties. And with the first touch of his tongue at her center, Mika was gone. She was officially in the category of “too stupid for words.” But she shut off the small voice of reason in the back of her head and fell back on the bed, giving herself to him for one last time. Again.
*
They were both panting for breath when it was over, as Alejandro traced lazy circles on her hip. “Can I sleep here tonight? I really don’t have the strength to make it back to my hut. You’ve completely worn me out."
Mika just burrowed in closer to him. She was too exhausted to argue. He had worn her out too, and now she was limp with satisfaction. “Fine. But you have to be out before anyone is up.”
Ale kissed her shoulder. “I’m so glad you didn’t make me beg too much,” he said into her neck as he pulled her closer to his body. “We can make this work, you know. You and I, side by side. I know I’m not always the easiest to deal with, but I promise you I’ll try to give you room to grow. You are one of the most talented women I know, so if you want to take pictures of your own I’m fine with that. I’ll even let you take on some of your own clients part-time if you like.”
Mika stiffened, her emotions floating away like the tide out to sea. She turned around to look at him, hoping for a moment that maybe she’d see that he was just joking. He had to be joking.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice steady.
He smiled down and kissed her nose, then pulled back with a grin. “I’m talking about us, beauty.”
Mika spurted. “You must have lost your mind. I’m sorry if my saying yes to you tonight was misleading, but I’m not working with you. I’m taking the job at Stylist.”
Ale’s grip around her waist tightened. “You don’t mean that.”
Mika frowned. “Excuse me? How dare you tell me what I mean?”
Now it was Ale’s turn to groan. “Must we always be at odds? I’ve made the plan clear. You’ll have what you want.”
“How can you tell me what I want? Do you even know? Have you ever asked?” She pushed at him and sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her naked breasts. “You really are clueless, you know. Was sleeping with me just a ploy to get me to do what you wanted? Come on, Ale—you’re good but not that good. You won’t make me change my mind. I don’t know how clear I can make this. I’m taking this job, and you can’t stop me.”
Ale’s face simmered with rage, but still he reached out to touch her. “Fine. If you are so hell-bent on leaving, you have my permission.” Mika pushed his hand away.
“Excuse me. I didn’t know I needed it.”
His eyes narrowed further. “After all of this, I’m fine with it. But you are not leaving me with nothing. I still have a business to run, and you should have thought of that. Before you leave you’ll have to find me a suitable replacement. With or without you, there is still a job to do. I have a business to run.”
“That isn’t fair. I know how demanding you are. Find your own assistant. I have to be at Styl
ist in two weeks.”
He glared at her. “Yes, you do know how demanding I am, so maybe you should’ve been a little more honest with me and started your search earlier. Because, my dear assistant, if you leave without finding a replacement, believe me you won’t be happy. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to that reputation of yours by letting it be known that you left me in a lurch.”
“Are you threatening me?” Mika asked, not believing she had to utter the words.
“I’m just saying what you already know, that reputation is everything in this business. And you wouldn’t want to ruin yours by being the one who walked away without a word. You may be thought of as unreliable.”
Suddenly Mika found it hard to breathe. With that, Ale had sucked all the air out of the room and her future along with it. He was right. One word from him could break her in the business before she even got started. She lowered her eyes and covered her face with her hands. When she looked back up at Ale, it was with blazing hatred. “So you’d actually blackmail me?”
Ale seemed to flinch at the word but only for a moment. He continued to glare, challenging her to make the next move.
“Fine,” she surrendered in a clipped voice. “I’ll find your assistant. But don’t you dare ruin this opportunity for me. Don’t make me hate you any more than I do right now.” She lowered her gaze again.
Ale reached for her.
She recoiled from his touch. “Just leave now. I feel humiliated enough, and I don’t want you touching me. Ever again.”
He pulled himself off the bed. “I didn’t want things to end this way for us tonight.”
She looked at him, solemn. “But it was going to end either way, wasn’t it? Hey, you should be happy. You’re still in control, right where you always need to be.”
Chapter 15
With trepidation, Mika walked into the studio for the first time after a restless weekend at home. New York had greeted her with all the chill the island didn’t have, and she was now longing for a hint of the warmth she’d had there.
Through The Lens (Creative Hearts Book 1) Page 15
