Picture Perfect

by Maguire, L. E.

  Our apartment had an awesome view of CenturyLink Field, which was located directly behind our apartment building. We were less than a block away, which was going to make attending the Seahawks games ideal once football season started, which reminded me.

  “Hey, did you get information on tickets for the Seahawks games yet?” I hollered out to Jake.

  “You don’t need to yell. I’m right here,” he said from behind me. “I haven’t yet, but I will.” He rested his arm across my shoulders. I smiled up at him as he frowned down at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I thought you were a Giants fan?”

  I laughed. “I grew up with the Giants, Jake. I’ll always be a Giants fan, but Seattle is home now so that makes me a twelfth man.”

  Chuckling, he bent down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll go fix us some dinner. How about some of my tortellini bolognese, Ms. Twelfth Man?”

  “That’s sounds delicious,” I said gratefully.

  He paused for a moment before placing his hands on my shoulders and turning me to face him. “I’m sorry, Em,” he said sincerely, bending down so his eyes were level with mine. “I just want to see you happy. You’re a great girl. I don’t want what that schmuck did to you to keep you from finding your true happiness.” He gave me a small smile. “I’ll try to stop meddling. Forgive me?” he asked, giving me his best sad puppy dog eyes.

  I sighed heavily. “Of course I forgive you,” I said, giving him a small smile. It was impossible to stay mad at Jake for any length of time.

  His smile in response was glorious before his face turned serious. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to my forehead. Pulling away, he then cupped my face in his big, strong hands and looked into my eyes intently. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep that bastard away from you tomorrow night, Em. I promise. You can count on me.” He turned and headed for the kitchen before I could respond.

  I turned and stared back out at Seattle. The sun was setting and the sky was a gorgeous mix of pinks, purples, and oranges. But I was really too busy lost in thought to truly appreciate the beautiful sunset. Thinking about what Jake just said, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I knew that Evan was no good for me, but I never felt so turned on and so alive around a man before. He brought forth reactions from my body no man has ever done before.

  Turning around, I stared at Jake standing at the stove browning some ground beef. His huge muscles flexed under his t-shirt and his tribal tattoo peeked out from under the collar every now and then with his movements. Guilt immediately washed over me. I put him through hell when I went through my break-up with David. It caused Jake to become over protective where I was concerned. I did not doubt for a minute that he would do everything he could to keep Evan away from me. Ignoring the pain that pierced my heart at the very thought of not being around Evan, I plastered a smile on my face and headed into the kitchen to help Jake with dinner.

  We arrived early at the gallery so I could meet with some of the local press that was attending before the doors opened to the general public. I hated talking about myself, but Jake never left my side and even answered several questions for me. He was, after all, the reason why I was having this show so I did not hesitate to let him speak for me. Besides, he really was a much better speaker than I was. I usually drew blanks when people asked me questions concerning myself or my work, fumbling over my words, easily looking and sounding like a complete moron, but not Jake. That is why it was best that I kept my mouth shut.

  Jake was the epitome of handsome in his white button-down shirt, and black, designer suit. I still had to smirk when I took in his thin, black leather tie. It was so eighties, but it suited him. I couldn’t really harass him over it either since he bought it to match the leather sleeves of my dress that he surprised me with this afternoon.

  Earlier in the day, Jake presented me with a beautiful black tweed dress that had short leather sleeves. It hugged every curve and had a narrow A-line skirt that rested just above my knees. I frowned at him when I saw the Michael Kors label, knowing that this set him back a pretty penny, but I couldn’t deny the fact that I felt confident and sexy in the dress. And that, after all, was his goal, making me feel confident. I finished off the dress with a black pair of high heels and a diamond anklet that my mother had given me years ago.

  As soon as we were finished with the press, Jake presented me with a glass of champagne. “To my beautiful girl who’s going to make it to the big leagues. I’m so proud of you, Em.” We clinked glasses together before we each took a sip. The champagne was cold and crisp and the bubbles tickled my nose.

  “Thanks, Jake. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, several flashes of light and clicking sounds from cameras had me jumping away from him. Several members of the press, who abandoned their focus on the others attending the showing to concentrate on our tender moment, surrounded us. I flushed and broke away from Jake, staring dumbfounded into the cameras. Then the questions started. They were getting thrown at me so quickly I didn’t even have time to respond.

  “Ms. Whitfield, how close would you say you are to Jake?”

  “Ms. Whitfield, are you and Jake an item?”

  “Jake, how long have you been romantically involved with Ms. Whitfield?”

  I could feel my cheeks heat at the attention as the fight or flight instinct kicked in. All I wanted to do was turn and run away when I suddenly felt a strong hand on my lower back. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to speak with Ms. Whitfield for a moment,” Daniel said, guiding me away from the persistent press.

  I heard Jake begin to answer the reporters as Daniel dragged me away. “Ms. Whitfield and I are not involved nor have we ever been romantically involved,” Jake said adamantly, making me smile.

  Daniel did not stop until we were across the room from the swarm of reporters. “You looked like you could use some help,” he said. His plump lips curled into a friendly smile revealing his perfectly white teeth.

  Momentarily stunned by his attractiveness, I paused. Unlike yesterday, he was clean-shaven and smelled simply divine. The fragrance he was wearing definitely had patchouli in it along with cedar and citrus. It smelled fantastic coming off his warm skin. His pale blue eyes twinkled under the overhead lights. He looked edible in his expensive-looking designer suit.

  “Yes, thank you for coming to my rescue,” I said gratefully. Raising my glass to him, I polished off the rest of the champagne.

  He took the now empty flute from my hand and placed it on the tray of a waiter as he walked by. “Jake told me earlier about how much you dislike dealing with the press. I told him I would keep an eye on you,” he said, winking at me.

  “Thanks again.”

  “Your show is doing really well.” He paused and I glanced up at him. “Only an hour into it and already you’ve sold more than half of your prints,” he said as we continued to walk the room.

  Pausing for a moment, I worriedly chewed my bottom lip wondering if the two personal photos of me had been sold yet, but was too afraid to ask. Once he realized I was no longer walking with him, Daniel stopped and turned around. He instantly knew what the panicked look on my face was for.

  Smiling sweetly, he walked up to me. Rubbing my arm in a reassuring way, he said, “You’re worrying about your personal photos being sold.” It wasn’t a question. Unable to speak, I simply nodded at him. “They were the first two to go,” he said softly, giving me a small smile.

  My eyes grew wide in surprise. “Really?”

  He chuckled. “Why does that surprise you? I told you they were incredible.” Glancing over my shoulder, he frowned for a moment. Just as I was about to turn around, he placed his hand at the small of my back and encouraged me to continue walking. “So I never did get a definitive answer from you concerning your plans for tomorrow night.” He stopped walking so he could look me directly in the eye.

  Looking up into his beautiful pale blue eyes, I thought about what Jake had said yesterda
y about how he did not want what David had done to keep me from finding my true happiness. Even though Daniel was not the kind of guy I was normally attracted to, he was very sweet. Perhaps I should give him a chance.

  He gave me a hopeful look and an encouraging nod. “Come to dinner with me,” he whispered.

  Glancing around at the people pushing past us, my eyes landed on a familiar face across the room. It was Evan. My breath hitched as he stood there staring at me, looking outrageously handsome in a three-piece suit. The material was a shiny black and his emerald green tie stood out against his crisp white dress shirt highlighting the color of his eyes even from a distance.

  With his hands deep in his pants pockets, it pushed his jacket away just enough to showcase his lean waist. The way his jacket bunched around his upper arms made them look impossibly thick and well defined. Now clean-shaven, his face was no longer sporting the designer stubble from yesterday, which brought out a small indent in the middle of his chin. His dark wavy hair was cut shorter than it had been, and it was artfully spiked and shiny from some styling gel. The frown that was marring his perfect face, morphed into a sexy half smile as I continued to stare at him unabashed. Once again I was completely enraptured by this handsome man.

  Daniel clearing his throat snapped my attention back to him. Blinking several times, I looked up at him only to find him scowling in Evan’s direction. When I glanced back to Evan, he started heading in our direction. Jake came out of nowhere. Placing a palm in the center of Evan’s chest, stopping him dead in his tracks. Evan’s eyes snapped to Jake’s angrily.

  Lacing my arm through Daniel’s, he looked down at me in surprise. Walking away from what I hoped was not going to be a scene between Evan and Jake, I gently pulled Daniel with me.

  “I’d love to,” I said, smiling up at him. He stopped walking to face me, raising his brows in question. “I’d love to go to dinner with you,” I said to clarify.

  A gorgeous smile spread across his face. His eyes twinkled with happiness. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I said, chuckling.

  “Tomorrow night isn’t too soon for you?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven at your place since you’re conveniently located just down the street,” he said, smirking at me.

  “Great. I look forward to it.” I smiled at him. “If you’ll excuse me. I need the ladies room.”

  “Allow me to escort you,” he said, taking me by the elbow.

  “Daniel?” Patricia called from behind us. “I need you for a moment, please.”

  Daniel sighed and gave me an apologetic look.

  “It’s all right. I’ll catch up with you,” I said smiling.

  Waiting until the crowd swallowed up Daniel before making my way to the ladies room, I quickly glanced over to where Evan and Jake had been. Not sure what I was expecting to find, I exhaled noisily to see that they were both gone.

  Looking among the crowd, I didn’t see either one of them. For all I knew, Jake had Evan escorted from the building. Frowning at the possibility, my heart constricted painfully at the thought of Evan no longer being here.

  Resting my hand on the doorknob of the ladies room, I cursed myself for feeling like I did about that man whore. I needed to just forget about him. Flush him from my system. I smiled at myself over my own bad joke as I started turning the knob of the ladies room door.

  Several things suddenly happened within a matter of seconds, taking me completely by surprise. A big, warm hand wrapped around mine on the door handle easily turning it and pushing it open. A hard body pressed up against me from behind, forcing me into the ladies room. The door quickly closed behind us and I heard the lock being clicked into place. A strong hand gripped my elbow and pushed me up against the now locked door.

  As I sucked in a quick breath to scream, my nose was filled with the scent of an exotic spicy cologne. A familiar dark head full of spiky hair buried itself in my neck. I heard the shaky intake of breath as a nose slowly ran up the side of my neck before stopping at the sensitive flesh behind my ear. His hands gripped my upper arms and held me tight up against the door. A body that was hard in every sense of the word pressed into me. Evan.

  My fear quickly morphed into desire as his hard, heated body pressed into mine. My heart was pounding frantically in my chest with such force that it echoed in my ears. My breathing became rough and erratic, which was amplified in the small and quiet ladies room.

  Standing on shaky legs, I gripped his waist tightly. Feeling my temperature rise as the blood pumping through my veins suddenly felt like hot lava, a heat that I had not felt for far too long flooded my core. I wanted this man like no other and my body was already prepared to accept him. If he tried to take me here and now there was no way I was going to be able to stop him.

  His soft lips pressed light kisses along my neck as his hot breath brushed along my shoulder. I stopped breathing and tilted my head to the side to give him better access. He let out a soft moan and dragged his hot, wet tongue up the side of my neck causing me to gasp. I shivered with pleasure when his tongue then ran around the edge of my ear. When his teeth nipped my earlobe it sent a jolt of desire right to my core. My fingers dug into his waist.

  He pulled back and held my face in his big, warm hands. There was a wild look of desire in his eyes and his lips were parted to accommodate his ragged breath. His green eyes grew dark, morphing from an emerald green to a forest green as they darted between my eyes and mouth. The soft pad of his thumb ran along my bottom lip and I closed my eyes imagining the feel of his soft-looking lips pressed against mine. As if he could read my thoughts, he pressed his mouth to mine roughly. He forcefully parted my lips and I moaned as his tongue darted into my mouth. He controlled every aspect of this wild kiss and I willingly submitted to his dominance.

  As his hands left my face, I felt them glide down my ribs then over my waist and hips until they rested on the top of my thighs. Hitching my dress up several inches, he placed his knee between my legs forcing them apart so his hips could align with mine perfectly. Thrusting his lower body into mine, he pushed his growing hardness into my softness. I moaned in response.

  I broke the kiss, gasping for breath. He moved his mouth to my ear and spoke in a sexy, husky tone. “You feel it, Ember. You can’t deny that there’s something between us. I can see and feel how your body reacts to me.” As if he felt the need to prove his point, he kissed me softly behind my ear causing a tremor to run through me. “You want me as much as I want you.” I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. His hand came up and roughly grabbed my chin, firmly holding me in place. He pulled back to look me in the eyes. “Stop fighting it,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “No. I can’t give in to it,” I said, sounding weak even to my own ears.

  His eyes narrowed at me before he glanced down at my mouth again. Oh, fuck. I silently begged him not to kiss me again. He was weakening my resolve with every touch, every look, and every kiss.

  Releasing my chin, his hand quickly dove under my dress. Before I could stop him, his hand was in my panties. I moaned loudly as his fingers ran over my slick, sensitive flesh.

  Leaning in, he brought his mouth back to my ear. “You’re soaked, Ember, fucking soaked and it’s all for me.”

  Removing his hand from between my legs, he pulled back and ran a wet finger along my bottom lip so I could feel the proof of my arousal. His eyes bore into mine. Holy shit! This was beyond erotic. “I’m doing this to you. Only me,” he growled.

  Darting his tongue out, he ran it along my bottom lip before he slammed his lips to mine, driving his tongue into my mouth forcefully.

  I started to get lost in the kiss and his touch. Running my hands up his hard chest, they found their way to the back of his neck where my fingers ran through the silky strands of his dark hair. Holding him tightly to me while our tongues tangled together, a deep groan rumbled in his chest.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  We both jumped
apart when the powerful knocks vibrated the door behind me. Staring at each other, our chests were heaving and our faces were equally flushed. A powerful knock rumbled the door once again.

  “Ember?”

  Shit. Jake. I should have known he would come looking for me. Oh my god. What the hell am I doing and during my show no less? Feeling my face flame with embarrassment, I dropped my head into my hands. Jake would throttle me if he knew who I was in here with and what I had been about to do.

  “Ember? Are you in there?”

  I visibly shook my head. “Yeah. Geez, can’t a girl have some privacy?” I hollered back in response, sounding angrier than I meant to.

  The ladies room had a small area off to the right with a vanity, bench and a large, gilded mirror hanging on the wall. I pushed a shocked-looking Evan into this area. “Stay here for a few minutes after I leave before you come out.” I hissed at him. Running over to the double sinks, I dampened a paper towel with some cold water and patted my flushed, overheated face.

  Examining myself in the mirror for a minute to make sure I did not look like I had just been ravished in the ladies room, I headed over to the door. Turning the lock, I opened it cautiously only to find Jake standing just on the other side of it. His thick arms were crossed over his chest and a concerned look was on his face. He frowned as he took me in.

  “Are you all right?” He ran a hand over my forehead and down my cheek. “You look flushed.”

  I blushed furiously at his comment, knowing exactly why I appeared flushed and flustered. He narrowed his eyes at me before they darted to the ladies room door behind me and then back to my face. He was suspicious, and I could not lie to him. He not only knew me too well, but he was entirely too important to me.

  “Who were you in there with, Em?” he asked, struggling to keep his voice even. “I know it wasn’t Daniel, because he’s been looking for you too.”