by Laura Sutton
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales in entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Originally published under the author name, Kara Joy, in 2018. This novel has been extensively revised.
Copyright © 2019 by Laura Sutton
Cover By: Designrans
Image Credit: © Can Stock Photo / Peshkova
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
About the Author
Chapter One
Claire Henderson had been up since two a.m. preparing the photoshoot for this pompous, arrogant ass. Ok, truthfully, she had never met him, and probably should not judge him until she had. Yet, she felt like she could judge his character after he demanded that the shoot starts at four a.m. so it would not interfere with his schedule. “Heaven forbid he take a couple of hours out of his busy schedule during the day instead of interfering with everyone else's schedules,” Claire said under her breath as she rolled her eyes. Looking at her watch, she saw that she still had thirty minutes until he arrived. Thirty extra minutes that she could have been asleep. She was exhausted, but there was no way that she was going to pass up on an assignment for the hottest magazine around, The Elite. The pictures could help put her on the map and help her get one step closer to her dream of having her very own gallery.
She looked longingly at the chair, that sat next to the table with her computer hooked up. She knew if she sat down, she would be a goner. She shifted from foot to foot as she grabbed her long brown hair, still curly from the night before, and put it in a ponytail. She normally kept her hair down for her professional clients, but the studio lights were hot, and the air in the building was not turned on since it was snowing outside. She ran her sweaty palms down her slim black business slacks. She had lost her suit jacket twenty minutes ago as she rolled up the sleeves on her lilac button-down blouse. She went to the breakfast table that the magazine company had provided, though it was for this mystery guy she was supposed to photograph and his team. She grabbed a Diet Coke and took a swig, as she heard a gasp from behind her.
Claire turned towards the sound quickly. Before a word escaped her, she saw her make-up artist friend staring at the team walking through the doors of the ballroom. Claire felt her heart stop and quickly start thumping almost out of her chest as she saw the man before her. He walked through the door in a black pea coat with a red scarf on the outside of his coat. Sunglasses hid his eyes, his brown hair was styled perfectly, as you would expect a businessman’s hair to look; a little long and brushed to one side. His blue suit was tailored to hug every inch of his body. His blue business slacks tightly hugged his chiseled ass. She instantly knew who the man was, everyone knew who he was. The man who just walked in the door, she was supposed to photograph was none other than business tycoon, Aidan Ashby. One of the richest and most eligible men in the world. Claire took a deep breath as she stepped up. “Good morning Mr. Ashby. I'm...”
“Let's get started.” He said in a silky yet rough, commanding voice.
“Yes, sir.” He stepped up to the backdrop and turned like any normal photographer would ask. It took everything in her not to salute him in a mocking gesture. She picked up her camera from around her neck and grabbed a couple of shots, repositioning the lights to enhance the shots. The people who arrived with him made themselves comfortable as they spread out around the room. Claire seemed to lose herself within her work, paying little attention to her surroundings. During the clothing changes, she went through the images on her laptop, deleting the ones that she did not deem worthy of anyone seeing.
An hour passed as she snapped shot after shot, she had gotten all of the pictures she needed for the Magazine. She lowered the camera and set it on the table beside her. “I have all the pictures needed.”
“But.” He looked at her knowing that she was thinking about something. Aidan had seen the look many times in his business meetings when people were too terrified to tell their ideas. Usually, the newer workers feared to speak until they understood that he welcomed ideas as long as they were thought out.
“The original outfit you came in with, if you had just a couple more minutes, I would love to get some of you standing outside in the snow.”
“Do you think that the magazine would like it?”
“No.” Claire's heart sank a bit without showing her feelings externally. She knew that people only wanted pictures that someone would use. The snow idea was just a fun, creative idea. She could already picture his dark features against an abandoned street with the newly fallen white snow.
“I'll change and meet you outside in five minutes.” The moment he moved towards the door; his entourage followed. For the first time, she took a good look at the men as they left the room. The last man that exited looked like her friend, Topher, but she could only see the back of his head. They weren't colleagues of his like she thought, at least not all of them, two of them were security. She saw the earpieces in their ears as they went into the changing room area.
Claire grabbed her camera, sliding on her jacket and tucking her scarf securely inside. She stepped through the doors. No one was awake yet in this part of New York, she smiled seeing the street before them. There was only one vehicle, a posh SUV with blackout windows, sitting in front of the hotel. She knew it had to be Aidan’s car. The rest of the street was covered in several inches of snow already. She smiled as she framed a few shots. Walking backward she found the perfect shot as she tripped over the hidden curb. She tucked herself around the camera bracing to hit the ground hard, her eyes squinted shut. Arms eloped her, swinging her up. “You should watch where you are walking. You could hurt yourself.” She heard Mr. Ashby's sharp voice as she opened her eyes.
“As long as my camera is ok, I'll be fine.” Claire smiled as he held her like she weighed less than a feather.
“All you care about is your camera?”
“It's my life, my livelihood. If I didn’t have a camera, then I wouldn't have a job.” Claire looked into his deep sea-green eyes. “You can put me down now.”
Aidan lowered her gently to the ground, straightening his jacket once his hands were free as if he had never had a hundred and fifteen-pound girl in his arms.
“You ready?” Claire asked as she picked up her camera.
“Where do you want me?” For the first time that evening Aidan hadn't commanded where to be or posed himself. She loved her freedom to show her creativity from behind the lens.
“Over there in the middle of the street. The street is blocked off so no
one will come through.”
Aidan started to walk to where she asked, and she picked up her camera and snapped a few pictures of his back. The light glowed around his body. The snow lightly falling around him as he looked towards the sky, his eyes closed against the chilly wind that breezed between the buildings. He turned as Claire grabbed a few more quick shots. She put her camera down as she walked towards him.
“Thank you, Mr. Ashby. I appreciate your time. The Elite Magazine gave you the information for when your cover will be released?”
“They have. Thank you, Ms...”
“Claire. Claire Henderson.”
“Thank you, Ms. Henderson.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ashby.”
With that Aidan turned and got into his SUV with his guards. Claire stayed there watching as he drove away before she went back inside to tear down the set design for the shoot.
Claire walked through the front door of her apartment, deep in the nasty part of Midtown Manhattan. Her keychain mace firmly gripped in her hand. She wanted to save as much money as she could so that she could get her studio sooner. She could live in the filth as long as it took, so she could live her dreams. She walked through the door, her eyes beyond blurry in complete exhaustion. She knew she could only sleep a few hours so that she could edit the pictures and get them back to the magazine. She loved surprising people with her turnaround because it usually got her more jobs in the future. Her roommate and best friend, Alyssa, was passed out on the couch. Claire opened the throw blanket they kept over the back of the couch and covered her before going to her room.
After stripping off her jacket and shoes, Claire sat down on the bed. Jumping from the bed, she gasped as she saw a figure standing in the corner. “How did you get in here? You scared me.” Aidan just smiled as he walked out of the shadows that covered the corners of her room. His crisp, white shirt practically glowed in the blackness in the room. Walking close to her, he pressed himself into her as he kissed her.
Aidan's lips urgently pressed into Claire's, as if he could not get enough of her. His hands were firm and strong around her waist as he slowly raised her shirt, barely brushing his fingers over her skin, leaving goosebumps of pleasure up her sides as he tossed her shirt away. He kissed down her neck and between her breasts as he made his way down to her low riding black slacks. Unbuttoning the pants, he peeled them slowly down her legs. As he kissed her through the satin of her panties. A moan escaped her mouth as he slowly lowered them both to the bed. He moved aside the satin as he pushed in two of his fingers in a rhythm that started to pick up quickly as her breathing and moaning quickened.
Claire jolted as something smacked her on the head. Opening her eyes, all she could see was white. A little disoriented from the sudden changes between her dream and the world around her, she put her hand up to her face and removed the pillow. Looking around she saw Alyssa standing in the door with her arms crossed, worry etched into her face. “You were groaning. Figured you were having a bad dream and should wake you.”
“I'm good.” Claire slowly sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
“So, how did the shoot go this morning?”
Claire smiled as she thought about it.
“That good huh? Well, tell me about it over lunch. Got some on the 'table' for us.” Alyssa air quoted making Claire laugh. They both were trying to save as much money as they could. So, besides their beds, the only other furniture was the couch that was in the apartment when they moved in, a coffee table that someone had set out for the trash, and the easel and stool that Claire used when painting. Alyssa was getting married in just a couple of months, and they were not going to waste any money on furniture they didn't need.
Claire slipped from bed with a smile. “Thanks, Alyssa.”
“I knew you wouldn't eat if you had to make it.”
“You're right. I would have slept.” They both laughed as Claire grabbed one of the plates of food and sat down on the couch. Claire was still a little out of it, almost dumbfounded. She had never had a wet dream before and she was not sure she would like to have another one anytime soon. She did not know what it was, but there was something in Aidan's eyes that bewitched her soul. She barely knew him, yet he made her feel safe, and that was a terrifying thing. She had never felt safe in her life, and she would prefer it to stay that way. Feeling comfortable and safe would allow her to lower her guard, and she would be hurt yet again. Claire was pulled from her daydream when Alyssa plopped down on the couch beside her making her jump a little bit.
“Spill! I've never seen that kind of smile before. So, who were you shooting for the magazine this time?” Alyssa asked before shoving a spoonful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.
“Aidan Ashby.”
“Wait! Like, The Aidan Ashby? Topher's boss?” Alyssa moved to the edge of her seat; mentioning her fiancé. Claire had forgotten that Topher worked for Ashby. “What was he like? Is he really that handsome or is it all photoshopped?”
“Breathe, woman.” Claire chuckled as her friend looked as if she was about to shoot off a billion more questions without allowing her to answer any of them. “Yes, the Aidan Ashby. He was... ok. He was rude and bossy. The whole morning, he made all these commands. He even sat down and did his poses; I wasn't allowed to correct him. I have cuts where I had to bite my lip to stay silent. Then... at the end of the shoot I asked him to do a creative shot out in the snow, and...”
“You asked him? Seriously? What did he say? Did you get into trouble, I know how strict the magazine is?”
“If you'd let me finish, you'd know what he said.”
“Sorry, my lips are sealed.” Alyssa said as she acted like she was zipping her lips closed and tossing away the key.
“He seemed amused at the idea, especially after he asked if the magazine would like it and I answered honestly. They will hate the shot but the moment that I saw his outfit and the fresh snow... I just had to take it.” Claire paused as she got lost in the moment. She bit her lip as memories of Aidan sitting for the photoshoot played in her mind. “He is more handsome than all the pictures show. No photoshop is involved except maybe a smile. I was tempted at one part to pull out my kid stuff to make him smile, but I figured that wouldn't be professional.”
“You like him?”
“He would never notice someone like me.”
“You're beautiful.”
“I'm broken, damaged goods, and in a completely different world.”
“You're just too independent. You need to let others help you. Show your girly side. I know you have one in there somewhere. If you don't, you are going to end up with one of three types of guys.”
“Which three types of guys? Wait, there are types?”
“No interrupting. Promise?”
“What?”
“Promise me, Claire Jordan Henderson, that you won't interrupt, and I will tell you which three types you will end up with and why.”
“Ok, Alyssa. I promise.”
“You will end up with a military man or a guy that travels a lot for his job. You would end up with one of these two types because you can't take living with a guy twenty-four hours, seven days a week if your life depended on it. And the third type is a gay guy.” Alyssa held up her finger as Claire was about to speak. “You would end up with a gay man because that is about the only type of man that you could live with all of the time, and not want to kill within a few weeks of seeing them every night.”
Claire shook her head. Her friend was probably right, except Claire did not think that she would ever marry or even find someone who liked her. Her fears and actions usually chased everyone away from her. It is why she normally buried herself in her work.
“Get out of there.” Alyssa nudged her.
“Out of where?”
“Your head. I can see your thoughts all over your face.” Alyssa got up taking her plate and Claire's plate to the kitchen. “May I see the pictures?”
“Sure. I need to start editing and get
them over to the magazine.”
Claire pulled out her laptop and brought up the folder. She had already transferred the pictures from her camera and onto her laptop, while she was tearing down her photography kit. Opening the folder, she enlarged all the pictures to see one at a time. Alyssa walked over and leaned against Claire's shoulder. “Hot Damn! He’s like a walking sex dream.”
“Don’t forget about Topher.”
“Yeah, he is a pretty good catch.” Alyssa's sappy grin covered her face.
“The best.” Claire smiled, but inside she was dying. She loved that her friend was happy, but in a lot of ways, she wished that she could have a man like Topher. He wasn't abusive. He was a total romantic, and the best thing was, he wholeheartedly loved Alyssa.
The pictures of Aidan were amazing. She remembered that rare smile that he gifted to her as they stood outside in the snow staring at one another, as he held onto her tight after he caught her from the fall. She wanted that memory all to herself, even though the man intimidated her, and she hated the commands he gave to her while she was working. He was so controlling, yet it thrilled her.
Chapter Two
Aidan was in the SUV going back to his high-rise building, deep in the heart of New York City. His thoughts were still on the girl in the snow. Her face was always hidden by her camera, except for when she was falling. 'Why did he catch the woman? What was it that kept her in his mind when he should be focusing on his work?' Aidan took out his phone and forced himself to focus on the work that he was already behind on. He never should have agreed to do the photos in the snow. The shoot had already taken longer than it should have.
He looked up from his phone to see his main bodyguard, Max Stovall, looking back at him in the rearview mirror. “Yes?”
“Nothing,” Max said quietly, as he looked back to the road and then back to Aidan, concerned.
The rest of the ride remained silent except for the sounds of Aidan typing on his phone and the alerts from incoming high-priority emails.
