Photo Opportunity

by Jess Dee

  How wrong was she? She was way off the mark, mistaken, misguided. Her logic was flawed, faulty. How else could she put it? She fucked up.

  If anything, she was the one who was disloyal to Daniel. Her lack of trust and faith in him were the ultimate betrayal. She should have known better. He was the single most honest person she knew. If he said he loved her, he loved her. Period. She should have accepted that as fact.

  Instead she panicked. She was so threatened by the presence of another woman in Daniel’s life that she ran away. Ran away from the best thing that had ever happened to her. From her best friend and lover and from her future.

  All because she didn’t have enough faith in Daniel to trust he wouldn’t hurt her.

  For hours she sat, motionless. Darkness approached, the last remaining patch of sunlight ebbed, shadowed and vanished. A dim glow was cast over the walls and chairs from the few streetlights twinkling outside. The near-complete blackness surrounding her reflected the emotion churning inside.

  For hours she replayed the chain of events that brought her to her current situation until only two thoughts persistently echoed through her mind. All Daniel had ever given her was his love, and all she’d ever done in response was screw him.

  She failed him. Could he ever forgive her?

  Chapter Fourteen

  The thing about knowing someone loved you, Amy realized, was it was impossible to let go of the idea once it had taken root. He loved her. Daniel really loved her.

  He hadn’t planned on leaving her. He planned on marrying her. She’d put two and two together and got it wrong—horribly, hideously wrong. Before another minute of this god-awful misunderstanding passed she had to make it right.

  Regardless of the fact it was well into the wee hours of the morning, she doused herself in Daniel’s favorite perfume. The one that made him crazy, made him stand close and bury his nose in her neck. She searched for the black cocktail dress she wore the night of the exhibition, when things had taken such a steamy turn in their relationship. Impatience took hold of her when she couldn’t find it and she threw on jeans and a tight T-shirt, too hurried to bother with a bra.

  She grabbed her keys and ran. The desire to make things right with Daniel lent wings to her feet. Their relationship couldn’t remain the same for one more second.

  The ten minutes it took to drive to his unit and race to the front door seemed more like five hours. Amy pressed the buzzer, her heart pounding.

  Open the door.

  Blood roared in her ears as she buzzed again. Where the hell is he?

  She pressed a third time. Her hand shook. Her whole body shook.

  Hurry up! Didn’t he know they had to start the rest of their lives together? What was taking so long? She tapped her finger nervously against the doorpost. He was here. He had to be. According to Sarah, he’d returned home. Why wasn’t he opening the door?

  Finally, finally, came the sound of footsteps. She heard the metal creak of a lock turning and she wiped damp palms against her pants. Her breath came in short spurts and her cheeks burned.

  The moment of reckoning had arrived.

  The door opened and there he was. His face all warm and sleepy, his glorious curls, longer now and tousled. He wore a pair of boxers she guessed he must have pulled on in a hurry. They were inside out. She’d woken him. She didn’t care. All she wanted was to throw herself in his arms and drown in his love.

  “Amy?” He stared at her in disbelief. “What’s going on? Is everything all right? Did someone die?” His voice sounded panicky.

  “Everything’s fine. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “At three in the morning?” He rubbed his eyes, forcing the sleep away.

  “It couldn’t wait.” Her heart hammered.

  He yawned and stretched at the same time, the movement pulling Amy’s gaze down to the beautiful symmetry of his powerful chest.

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s late. I just didn’t want to waste another minute.” Adrenalin coursed through her veins. “Danny, I was wrong.”

  “You were?” He looked confused. Who could blame him? It was the middle of the night and he had no idea what she was doing here.

  “Yes, I was. I was a fool. A blind, pig-headed fool. I can’t believe it took me so—” Movement caught her eye.

  Behind him a woman stood in his lounge. She wore a skimpy white nightgown, and looked remarkably like Janine Stillman.

  “Daniel,” Janine asked in a sleepy voice. “Is everything okay?”

  If Daniel responded, Amy wasn’t aware of it.

  A bucket of cold, wet cement had been thrown at her, cutting off her air, blocking her senses, squelching her dreams. She couldn’t breathe. Everything went dark.

  No! Oh God, no.

  Daniel was with another woman. Pain cut through her. Sensation drained from her body. She was rooted to the floor, paralyzed with shock. Time stood still.

  Then instinct took over and she fled, ran for the safety of her car, desperate to put some distance between herself and them.

  “You idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!” She cursed as she ran. How stupid was she? Why didn’t she consider the fact Daniel might have company? Her stomach felt queasy. How did she get her facts so mixed up? Daniel was not in love with her.

  “Idiot!” Hadn’t she learned anything about men? They always moved on. Daniel especially. He was the king of moving on. Why should it be different with her? Because a three-year-old told her so?

  The inky blackness of night obscured her vision and she stumbled over something on the footpath. Damn it, why weren’t there any streetlights on? Tears sprang to her eyes. Don’t cry. Not yet. Wait until you get home. Her hand shook violently as she tried to unlock her car but she couldn’t seem to get the key in.

  A hand clamped around her wrist from nowhere and she dropped her keys.

  “Amy, damn it, wait!”

  Daniel. He was behind her, trapping her between the car and himself. Oh God. Her defenses were down. She was vulnerable. She couldn’t face him like this.

  “Leave me alone.” She tried to pull her arm out of his grasp. Her efforts were futile.

  “Calm down,” he ordered.

  Calm down? He was ordering her to calm down? She found him with another woman and he was ordering her to calm down? Rage replaced her shock.

  “Let go!” She thrashed against him.

  “Not until you tell me what you’re doing here.” His grip was a steel vise.

  “I’m trying to go home!” she bellowed as she struggled to free herself. “But. You. Won’t. Let me.” With her free arm, she elbowed him in the ribs, hard.

  “Shit!” He winced but still held tight. “That…hurt.”

  “Good.” She lifted her arm to strike him again but before she could deliver another blow, he grabbed her other wrist and thrust himself forward, wedging her against the car. She couldn’t move.

  “Don’t scream again,” he warned. “You’ll wake the neighbors.”

  She tried to wriggle her way out of his grasp, grinding her butt against him. He didn’t budge, but his response was unmistakable. His erection grew and lodged between her buttocks. Hypocrite.

  “Let. Me. Go.”

  “Quit struggling, will you?” He released her wrists and grabbed her hips, stilling her efforts.

  Her body screamed in awareness. The last time they were this close they made love.

  “Quit holding me prisoner.”

  “Just as soon as you tell me what the hell is going on. Why did you come?”

  “It was a mistake,” she tossed over her shoulder. “I shouldn’t be here.” Her body was stiff, poised and ready to bolt at the slightest hint of him weakening.

  “Yeah, but you are and I want to know why. What were you trying to tell me?” His voice was low and his breath tickled her neck.

  Every nerve ending stood to attention. “It’s not important now.”

  “Five minutes ago it was important enough for you to wake me up in th
e middle of the night.”

  “Five minutes ago I didn’t know you were with her.” She immediately regretted her outburst. She’d let her guard down.

  He spun her around. “Her?”

  “Janine. Remember? The woman walking around half naked in your apartment?”

  He dropped his hands and took a step back, muttering a few choice expletives. “You must pride yourself on your low opinion of me.”

  “You don’t leave me much choice.” She was hurting and she wanted to hurt him back. Hell, she wanted to punch his lights out.

  “You see a woman in my apartment and automatically assume I’m sleeping with her?” He shook his head in disgust.

  “What else am I supposed to think?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “That you’re working on your article at three in the morning?”

  “Something like that.”

  “‘Something like that’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means she’s staying at my place until we finish the article.” He was shouting now. Well, not quite shouting, but his voice was much harsher than usual. “Is that such a crime?”

  “It is if you’re fucking her.”

  “Oh, and why is that? Because you’re jealous?” This time when he spoke, his voice was soft and much, much colder.

  She glared at him, unable to think of a snappy comeback. She was jealous. Christ, she was sick with jealousy.

  “You lost your right to that emotion four weeks ago.” His tone was icy.

  The fight drained out of her and her shoulders sagged. What could she say? She didn’t have the right to be jealous. “Look, I’m sorry I woke you. I shouldn’t have come. Go back to Janine. I’m going home.”

  He swore again. “God, you’re stubborn. You just don’t get it, do you?”

  She stared at him. “Get what?”

  “I’m not sleeping with her.”

  Somewhere, a flicker of hope began to burn. “You’re not?”

  “No!”

  “Why not?” She couldn’t let it go altogether.

  “Ungh! Why the hell do you think not?” He grabbed her shoulders and hauled her against him, forcing her face up to his. “Because I love you,” he bit out before crushing his lips to hers.

  Her world tipped off its axis and relief washed over her. He loved her. He held her so tight she couldn’t breathe, but it didn’t matter. He loved her. His mouth assaulted hers, bruising it, but she didn’t care. He loved her.

  He wrenched his lips from hers, his face inches from hers. “Wait…you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”

  Her voice was unsteady as she answered, breathless from the ferocity of his kiss. “I…came to…tell you I love you.” It felt good to be back in his arms again. She was content to stay there for, oh, the rest of her life. “And to say I’m sorry for being such a fool and for not trusting you.”

  He stared at her. “Do you trust me now?” Although his arms tightened around her, his tone was unforgiving.

  “With my life. And my heart.”

  “Why now? Why not weeks ago, when I told you how I felt?” The hurt she’d inflicted was evident in his voice. Her heart ached with remorse.

  “I learned a few facts this morning that I never knew before.” She took a deep breath. “They helped me understand our relationship a little better. All this time I’ve been scared to get involved with you. I was convinced you’d leave me and destroy our friendship in the process. I was so wrong. If anything, I hurt you. I didn’t trust you or have enough faith to believe you would never jeopardize us.”

  Tears filled her eyes and spilled over. “When I told you we were finished, I was sure it was the right thing to do. Sure we’d be able to go back to being just friends. We’d done it before, after you…after the exhibition. I was sure we could do it again. I never stopped to consider you might not want to end our relationship. It never occurred to me you might honestly love me.”

  “Even when I told you I did?” His voice was raw.

  “I didn’t believe you. I was too busy protecting myself.”

  She looked up into his eyes. It was too dark to see them clearly, but she could feel his gaze on her face. A huge lump formed in her throat and she swallowed. “Danny, I love you. Please forgive me for hurting you. For betraying us. I was such an idiot.”

  “That you were.”

  “I want to make it right. I want so much more with you. Can we take our friendship to a new level? Please tell me you’ll be my lover, my confidant, my partner. I want you. All of you.” She repeated the words he said to her just a few weeks ago.

  She raised her face to his and kissed him. A soft, gentle kiss, filled with the promise of everything she said. She loved him but still didn’t know if he would forgive her.

  He groaned against her lips and held her in an embrace so tender she almost wept again. “What took you so long, woman? I nearly gave up hope.”

  “Tell me you didn’t. Tell me there’s still hope for us.”

  “There’s still hope for us. I love you, Morgan. If you give me the chance, I will never leave you. Ever.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “It’s a vow.”

  “Oh God, Daniel, I’m so sorry I hurt you. Can you ever get past my appalling behavior?”

  He pulled away slightly, and the flash of white teeth told her he grinned his devilish grin. “I’ll consider it. If you accept you have to be punished for your actions.”

  A shiver of anticipation raced down her spine. “Punished?”

  “Yes, you’ll need to do penance.” He kissed her. “It won’t be easy.” He worked his chest back and forth against her breasts. “It will involve a lot of time.” Her nipples pebbled and she silently blessed her earlier haste that prevented her from putting on a bra.

  “How much time?” Breath left her body as Daniel’s hands crept under her shirt and cupped her bare flesh.

  “Oh, a life sentence might cover it.” He pushed her shirt up, leaned over and drew a nipple into his mouth.

  “Hmm…that is a long time.” Her back arched, allowing him easier access. She moaned as he sucked and sensation shot from her chest to between her legs, accentuating the urgent tug of arousal. “What do I have to do?”

  He released her nipple and kissed her mouth again. “Marry me.”

  “You want me to marry you?” Her laugh was exultant.

  “Yes.”

  “So Ben was right.” She shook her head in amusement.

  “Pardon?”

  He must think her mad. He just asked her to marry him and she was talking about his nephew. “I saw Ben today.”

  Daniel looked baffled. “He told you I wanted to marry you?”

  “Yes. And that you think I’m pig-headed.”

  “He said that?”

  She waited as comprehension dawned on him. “Yeah, just before Sarah hightailed it out of the shop in embarrassment.”

  Daniel threw his head back and laughed. “Kids! I should haven known better than to say anything in front of him.” He looked at her sheepishly. “I have a confession to make.”

  She would hear anything he had to say as long as he kissed her first. Damn, she didn’t want him to just kiss her, she wanted him to make love to her. Right here, right now. It had been a long, torturous four weeks. She needed to feel him inside her, to reinforce he really was hers, once and for all.

  Need took precedence over everything right then and she leaned into him, hungrily taking his mouth in a very long kiss. “You’ve done something you shouldn’t have?” Slightly breathless, she ran her hand over his boxers and cupped his stiff penis. God, she’d forgotten how amazing it felt to touch him.

  “Morgan, oh, Christ…wait…” he said in a strangled whisper and stepped backwards, pulling out of her grasp. Amy almost cried out in frustration, but Daniel’s fingers closed around her wrist. “C’mon,” he growled and was already moving, tugging her along with him.

  She stumbled after him as he half ran, half marched
her around the side of the building. The thirty seconds it took to lead her to an isolated nook, hidden from possible car headlights, stretched out like an eternity. But then he was pushing her against the wall, kissing her again, and her hand was inside his boxers, palming his erection and everything was right with the world. Everything was more than right. It was un-bloody-believable. She was back in Daniel’s arms, where she belonged.

  The moan that followed could have come from either of them, she wasn’t sure.

  She drew her mouth away from his. “Your confession?” she prompted, and would have said more but was incapable of coherent speech.

  He nodded, breathed and nodded again. “I, um…kind of made something up.”

  “You did?” She pumped his shaft, then bit her cheek as a wave of desire crashed over her.

  He struggled to speak. “Know how, um…Leona was…interested in me?” His breathing shallowed. “Well…that might have been a…bit of an…exaggeration.”

  “How so?” She enjoyed letting him suffer a little, knowing she was ethically bound by her profession and could never tell Daniel she already knew all this. The rough skin of his unshaven jaw prickled her lips as she trailed kisses along it.

  “She’s not interested in me.” It was his turn to torment her and he did so ever so effectively, running a hand over her pants and pressing gently against her clit.

  “She’s not?” She sucked her lip and tightened her grip, her urgency for him increasing a hundredfold.

  “No. She’s gay. She has a girlfriend.”

  “You lied?” She pretended to be horrified, but all she could really think about was his hand. She rotated her pelvis as his fingers massaged her through her jeans.

  “I may have stretched the truth a little.”

  It was difficult to concentrate. His tongue did crazy things to her neck. She pumped his dick a little faster and was rewarded with a low groan in her ear.

  “Cricket-bat incident?” she asked. Again, full sentences were beyond her.

  “Uh, I may have stretched the truth on that one too,” he rasped.

  “I figured.” She smiled and squirmed as he nibbled her jaw.

  “It was all justified,” he assured her. “I had to present you with motivating grounds to kiss me. To touch me.” He caught her lips with his and her mouth parted instantly. He needed no motivating grounds now.