Picture Perfect (8 page)

“Man, are we lucky I happened to put a couple condoms in my wallet this morning. I figured we’d have a little fun at the resort after the shoot.”

She giggled like a nervous schoolgirl, but turned into a wanton woman when their lips met and he entered her without so much as a “hello”. She gasped at the intensity of his need blending with hers. The necessity for restraint and the risk of being found out only heightened her explosive response to his touch and to their joining. Climax hit them hard and fast like a bullet train. Jamie consumed her lips as she made an effort to squelch the cry bubbling up from the most primal depths of her. He pulled back and his eyes, a rich golden-amber, sought what?
What is he searching for?
He looked as though he would speak, but instead he fell to his side and groaned. Hope, replete and exhausted, fell asleep still wondering.

***

He couldn’t sleep a wink. After the nurse had come in to check Hope’s vitals, only to find him resting next to her, she booted him out. Wide awake from his drive home, he could now tell anyone who cared to know, how many wooden slats make up the blinds in his bedroom. Disgusted, he threw the covers aside and walked the entire house. The ferocious romp in her hospital bed had him twitching for more, much more. But he’d been waging a war in his head since finding Brittany in his hotel room with Hope lying unconscious.

He’d fallen hard and fast in love with her. But how could he stay with her? For sure there would be more “Brittany’s” in his life. How could he, in good conscience, continue to have a relationship with her knowing that it would put her at risk? How could he have a relationship with anyone? He couldn’t, but to leave the business, as much as he wanted to, was unrealistic. It had been his livelihood for so many years now, what the hell would he do instead?

I have to do what’s best for Hope. Even if it means the worst thing for me. Tomorrow, I have to end it.

***

“You’re awfully quiet over there.” They’d been in the car twenty minutes and the silence had become deafening. Hope reached over and ran her fingers through his hair, resting her hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us. Wanna talk about it?” He shrugged his shoulders and turned on the radio.
Guess not.
She took her hand back and returned it to her lap. Looking at the road ahead, she could see a newly paved surface, but it belied the rough patches they were truly driving over.

She dosed off and on throughout the rest of the car ride, intermittently singing softly along with the tunes on the radio, and every now and again asking him if he needed anything. When they finally reached her house, she couldn’t wait to get out of the car and away from Mr. Shoulder Shrug. She didn’t wait for him to open her car door or walk her to the front door. She feared at any moment she would explode from frustration. He dutifully followed her up the sidewalk.

“Okay then,” she started saying as she unlocked her door and turned an icy glare on him. “I guess I’ll talk to you whenever. I hope you’re able to go home, take a nap, or do something to shake whatever’s taken hold of you.” He began to object, but she interrupted him. “It’s obvious you don’t want to be around me right now, I can see you’re nearly crawling out of your skin, so don’t let me keep you from anything. Good bye, Jamie.” She opened the door and closed it quickly behind her, not interested in giving him a chance to respond. She waited and listened to his fading footsteps, the slam of the car door, and the angry screech of tires tearing up the road.

Son of a bitch, he’s dumped me. He can’t handle his job and a relationship with me at the same time. He’s scared and running away. But damn it, why does he have to run away from me?
She slid her body down the door and when she hit bottom, she leaned her head back and had a good cry.

Chapter Nine

Hope sat on her back porch, watching the sun peak out over the horizon. Her foot rested awkwardly on the porch railing. She wouldn’t go walking the beach again for a bit for fear of stepping on another ragged shell in the early morning dusk. One bandaged foot was quite sufficient, and one heartbreak more than enough for a lifetime. Three days had come and gone with no sign or hint of Jamie coming around. Her heart was empty and she fought a hard battle not to lay in bed all day, every day moping. Their meeting had been unusual, their desire for each other immediate, and the subsequent harrowing events brought out burgeoning feelings of love.
So why did he end it?
It made no sense to her.

She picked up her camera and started shooting. She enjoyed photography and zoomed in tight on a pelican diving into the ocean for its breakfast. She pulled back to get shots of the orange fireball’s ascent. Immediately a face came into focus, not the sun.
What the hell?
And the face got bigger even though she wasn’t zooming in. She put the camera down on the table beside her, crossed her arms, and waited for Jamie to speak.

“Would you mind picking up your camera again and taking one more picture?”

She arched a brow, but obliged him. “What would you like me to take a picture of?”

“Me.” He positioned himself standing tall, hands holding something behind his back, smiling. “Okay, go ahead.”

“Arrogant jerk,” she mumbled to herself and raised the camera to her face. She looked in her view finder and her breath hitched. He stood by the dune holding a huge sign in front of his chest that said, “I’m sorry for being such an ass. I can’t stand one more minute without you. I need you. Please take me back.”

She lowered her camera and stared at him. His hair tossed about in the ocean breeze and he needed a shave, desperately. Even from the distance at which he stood, his eyes conveyed a sadness and yearning for something out of his reach.
Me, perhaps? Well, I didn’t put myself there. He did that on his own.

She walked down the short flight of stairs directly to him. “Why? Just tell me why you gave up on us.”

He bent his head down and took a deep breath, then looked at her with all due solemnity. “I thought that being so in love with you, I should give you up to keep you safe from the lunatics that hover about my life. I can’t give up my career, Hope. That’s just a pipe dream. So I gave you, us up instead, to protect you.”

“You’re in love with me?” He nodded and took a step toward her. Her heart fluttered and her stomach flip-flopped, but she kept the expression on her face reserved. “But you’d decided we couldn’t be together because your life is too dangerous?” He nodded again and raked his hands through his hair, looking thoroughly wretched.
Silly little boy.
She found it hard to keep from laughing aloud, but maintained her composure and took a step toward him. “You decided on your own, using some cock-eyed logic of yours, as if you could protect me from all the dangers of the world. You did it without even consulting the woman who fell in love with you, and left without any explanation.”

He tossed the sign aside and closed the distance between them. He raised his hands in defeat. “I’m a shmuck, Hope! I’m so sorry. At first, I thought it would be for the best, but I can’t take it anymore.” He reached out and grabbed her arms in appeal. “All I think about is you. Your laughter is stuck inside my soul. Your beauty has burned an image so deep, you’re all I see when I close my eyes. I’m miserable without you, Hope. I need you. Like that sun needs a horizon to rise and set. So, I’m just gonna have to be the biggest lout in history and put your life in danger so I can satisfy my selfish cravings. I’m sorry.” He stopped, took a breath and gave her a quizzical look. “Did you just say you fell in love with me, too?”

“Mmm hmm.” He grabbed her to him and held her so tightly, she thought she might faint. “Now hold it right there, Mister.” She pushed back against his chest so he could see her stern face clearly. “You think you can just waltz on over here after three days of putting me through hell, and with a sugary apology and puppy dog eyes win me back?”

“I’m kinda rooting for that end result, yeah.” He smiled down at her while still holding her body firmly against his.

“You look like crap, you know.” She mussed his hair with one of her hands and leaned her forehead against his. He chuckled. “That’s good. You should look that way, you big jerk. You done turned this here
cow
mad, you did.”

“Now what’s a cow doing at the beach?” He spun them and looked all around. “I don’t see any cow. I do however feel a luscious woman in my arms. And if that woman would let me, I’m gonna take her inside and ravish her….” He plundered her lips in a searing kiss. “… and feast on her…..” He suckled on her neck, sending shivers straight to her toes.

“Till the cows come home?” She sighed with her eyes closed and cupped the nape of his neck, encouraging him to linger.

He traced his way back to her lips, moaning all along his journey. A huskiness in his voice  caused her eyes to flutter open with curiosity, and he gazed at her with smoldering gray-green eyes. “Screw the cows, Hope. They can fend for themselves.”

She threw her head back and laughed. He laughed, too, while carrying her up the stairs of the porch, and turned them to face the sunrise.

“I love you, Hope.” A simple statement laced with such tenderness brought tears to her eyes. She caressed his cheek.

“I love you, too, Jamie.”

“You, me, and the sunrise. Now that’s what I call picture perfect.”

About the Author

It was the mystique of Arizona’s history and landscape that called to Deena and catapulted her career as an author. When she’s not writing novels and poetry in the wee, small hours of the morning or in the deep, dark of night, Deena teaches language arts to middle school students. She currently lives in Gilbert with her husband and two children, but New Jersey will always tug at her heartstrings.

Deena loves to hear from her fans. You may contact her at
[email protected]
or visit her website at
www.deenaremiel.com
.

On sale now at amazon.com:

Trinity, Brethren Series Book 1

Brethren Beginnings Volume 1

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