Picture Perfect (2 page)

“Get a little closer. Kiss her neck. One hand at her waist, maybe the other on her ass.” Andy moved in a semi-circle like a crab, still crouched down. “I’m trying to get the right angle here. Remember, you’re lovers and into it. Just do what comes naturally.”

Kiss her neck. That graceful, sexy neck. He shouldn’t.

Damn him straight to hell, he wanted to so fucking bad…

Wade obediently lowered his head and let his mouth drift across her temple first, just a brush of his lips as he lowered one hand to rest at the dip of her slender waist. The other slipped around the back and found all bare skin because what she wore covered about nothing.

Pretend for
a minute she isn’t dating Ross. Pretend she’s yours.

That was all too damn easy to do.

Wade nuzzled her neck right at the sensitive spot below her ear and felt the answering shiver of her body against him. Not good. He didn’t need encouragement. Victoria theatrically ran her fingers through his hair and quivered again.

Heaven. And hell. He made love to her neck, lightly kissing, nibbling, trying to ignore his now throbbing erection.

“Excellent,” Andy crooned. “Jesus, that’s
perfect
with the hay bales in the background…take off her top, Wade. Let’s hitch it up a notch.”

It was proof positive he wasn’t capable of rational thought that there was a part of him that was dying to see those gorgeous tits he’d dreamed of in secret. It was ironic he was also possessive enough to not want Andy Kendall to see them much, less have pictures of them handed over to some executive at a publishing company.

She claimed Ross was okay with this. The trouble was, as ludicrous as it might seem, Wade wasn’t at all sure
he
was okay with it. Like he had any right to say a thing about it.

He lifted his head. “Only if Tori is convinced she wants to do this.”

“I’m not sure at all,” she muttered, but then sighed. “They are only breasts, right? Perfectly natural. Every woman has them. For that matter, they aren’t particularly covered at the moment, anyway, so…fine, I guess. Take it off.”

Chapter Two

It was an unexpected bonus to get home so early, and Ross Preston pulled down the long drive and guided his car carefully over the familiar potholes. Dealing with lawyers always set his teeth on edge, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the outcome of the meeting he’d had that afternoon. Still, he had managed to get a firm maybe on the bid for the latest land acquisition, and around Santa Fe, where everyone in the world seemed to want to live now, that wasn’t a small conquest.

What he needed after hours in a stuffy boardroom was a cold one on the back patio, a leisurely horseback ride at sunset, and to see Victoria. He checked his watch. She’d be at her office until five, so he’d have time to put the steaks he’d picked up in some marinade and maybe make a salad.

Except, beyond a doubt, that was her SUV parked in the drive, and it looked like, from the battered sedan, maybe Andy Kendall was there, too.

A good time to arrive early, he decided with a lazy grin. Andy was intent on a book on the dynamics of human sexuality. So much so, the guy had lined up to collaborate with two psychologists and a sex therapist for the text while he took the pictures. Ross had no idea if it would sell or not, but he did fully understand why Andy had cashed in on a long-term friendship with Victoria and asked her to pose.

Quite frankly, Tori was beyond gorgeous in a girl-next-door way. Blond, slim, slinky but still built, with an engaging smile and captivating blue eyes. Brains came with the package, too, as she was a stockbroker for one of the local firms.

How the hell had Ross gotten so lucky?

He wasn’t sure.

To his surprise, the house was deserted. Ross strolled in, appreciative as always of the spectacular view out the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the vista of desert and mountains, and tugged off his tie. Suit coat went next, and then he stepped out of his shoes. The living room was still furnished on the sparse side, with a few bright Indian blankets on the walls, two leather couches, and a beehive fireplace in the corner. The tiled floor didn’t have a rug yet because he’d put off buying one, and he and Wade needed to invest in some artwork, but in his opinion the view was main focus anyway. When Victoria moved in permanently, she could take over adding those cozy touches.

If
she would agree to move in. He was debating on how to ask her. Over dinner at some expensive and hard-to-book restaurant? Maybe. He didn’t want it to look like bribery either.

Wade’s horse, he saw, arrested in the act of slipping off his leather belt, was in the corral. Where the heck was everyone?

Oh hell, that’s right. Tori
had
told him Andy wanted to take a few shots of her today
a
la natural.
Ross had agreed for several reasons, not the least of which was it wasn’t decision to make. Her body, her choice, but it was a promising sign in their relationship that she’d bothered to ask him if he cared. Andy Kendall was a longtime friend of hers, he was hardly a threat, and quite frankly, Ross was proud of how gorgeous she was anyway.

Quickly he changed into a T-shirt and worn jeans, slipped on his boots, and walked out toward the barn, enjoying the warm June sunshine. The scent of sage was heavy in the crystal pure air, and he whistled under his breath.

Despite his current state of good humor, he wasn’t quite ready for what he saw when he walked through the door. He went stock still just a step or two inside, registering that his younger brother, half-naked himself, had his arms around Victoria, who wore a thong bikini bottom and absolutely noting else except a pair of crimson cowboy boots. Wade was behind her and had one hand on the flat plane of her stomach, the other cupping one beautifully shaped breast. The contrast of Wade’s defined, tanned musculature and Victoria’s soft, feminine body was stark, striking, and Kendall appeared to be taking pictures like mad, scooting around and barking out instructions.

“I see the party started without me,” Ross said in an even tone, announcing his presence. “Am I interrupting?”

Victoria looked up, losing the sultry pose, her eyes lighting in a special way that humbled him every single damn time. At the same instant, his brother’s dark head jerked up, and Wade let go of her so abruptly she almost lost her balance.

That was a bit telling, but not exactly a surprise. Ross wasn’t blind. He’d noticed that even though Wade deliberately kept as much distance between them as possible, he wasn’t indifferent to Tori. Quite the opposite. He was attracted to her—maybe a bit more than that—and quite frankly, Ross could hardly blame him since he agreed wholeheartedly.

“Not my idea,” Wade said, eyeing him warily, his hands now hanging at his sides but his shoulders tense.

“But a great one just the same.” Andy Kendall straightened and pointed. “Could you two go back to it, please? I’m getting some terrific pics here. You have great camera chemistry. Come on, just a few more.”

“Ross is here now. He can step in.” Wade shook his head, just the faintest hint of a flush on his face.

“If you all have is just a few more shots, I’ll just watch,” Ross said in a neutral tone, backing up to lean against the wall of the barn in a casual pose, arms crossed over his chest. “Don’t mind me.”

“Are you sure?” Victoria asked, her brows slightly lifted. “We agreed to pose together, but you’re never home at the right time. When Wade finished early and Andy was already set up, we figured we’d just go ahead with it. If we’d known you would—”

“I’m sure.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Why make Andy start over with a different couple? Wrap it up and maybe we can go for a late afternoon ride before dinner.”

Wade muttered something under his breath and reluctantly stepped back toward Victoria’s basically nude body, standing behind her and touching her waist with one hand, the other sliding back up her torso to once again cradle her breast as he nuzzled her neck. She closed her eyes in a pretty good imitation of enjoying the embrace, and Andy murmured encouragement. This went on for about fifteen more minutes, and Ross had to admit they did look good together, Victoria’s blond beauty setting off his brother’s dark good looks. Ross hadn’t been all that anxious to pose for the pictures, anyway, so this was fine with him.

Actually, to his surprise, it really
was
fine with him.

Go figure on that one. He would have thought seeing another man touch his girlfriend’s breasts and rest his hand on her inner thigh would bother the shit out of him, but because it was Wade, it didn’t. His younger brother was more than just a good guy. He was Ross’s best friend and business partner. They’d bought the ranch together, and Wade did all the work around the place while Ross kept his job as a corporate accountant until they could start breeding and selling horses as a full-time venture.

“Okay, I think I have enough.” Andy checked his camera, obviously scanning through the pictures, his expression elated. “These are really good, if I do say so myself, kids. I can’t wait to get to touching them up and printing. I’ll come back tomorrow for the lights.”

He left with almost comical haste, the rumble of the engine on his old car coming clearly even as Victoria grabbed a T-shirt and shorts that were sitting on one the hay bales and slipped into both. With the camera gone, she now seemed embarrassed, and Wade maybe even looked more uncomfortable than she did.

Hell, he probably
was
uncomfortable as hell in a literal physical sense because if Ross had to guess, his younger brother had a raging hard-on from his deliberately averted posture.

To his surprise, he was a little aroused himself. He liked a good soft porn flick now and then as much as the next man, but he’d never considered that it would be a turn-on to see his girlfriend with someone else. Their sex life was the best he’d ever had with anyone he was involved with, mostly because of how he felt about her, but also due to the fact she was equally as into it. With her wholesome girl-next-door looks, he expected somehow for her to be shy when they’d finally slept together, and she had been, but was really warming up in bed. She liked sex, and her uninhibited response definitely enhanced the experience.

“You want to saddle the horses while I run up to the house and change?” she asked. “It’s a gorgeous afternoon and a ride sounds perfect.”

“Will do.” He caught her hand and tugged her toward him before she could leave, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. “It was nice of you to do that for Andy.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think nude modeling is going to be my new career, but I hope it helps him. I’ll be right back.”

He watched her hurry out of the barn, then turned to Wade, who had picked up some of the hay bales and started to stack them back the way they should be.

“Good of you to help out, too,” Ross commented.

“They didn’t give me much of a choice.”

He lifted his brows sardonically at the curt response. “I know firsthand fondling those pretty tits isn’t a hardship, so don’t sound too put out, little brother.”

“I was specifically
told
to touch her that way.” Wade didn’t quite meet his eye and reached for his shirt.

“I’m just saying I can’t blame you much for enjoying it.”

Ross waited for him to finish, more than a little amused at his brother’s discomfort.

“I’m dusty, tired, and need a beer plus a shower,” Wade muttered finally. “You two have a nice ride.”

He left, his stride long, dust puffing up from under his boots when he hit the path up to the house. Ross moved toward the tack room to get the bridles and saddles, wondering if it was a good thing, or a bad one, that the afternoon had turned out like it did. So far Wade had handled his attraction to Victoria by keeping his distance, often only offering the minimum courtesy of a polite hello or good-bye and getting the hell out of the vicinity the minute she was around.

If they were all going to live together, that needed to be addressed in some way. He hadn’t told his brother yet he was going to ask her to move in, and it was only fair to Wade to give him a vote. The house was half his, after all, but the more Ross thought about it, the more he wanted Victoria there all the time.

As things stood, he was pretty sure his brother would say no to the idea. How to fix the problem was the real question.

* * * *

A lovely long trail ride, a spiky brilliant sunset that turned the mountains from pink to crimson to a deep gold, and an intimate dinner on the flagstone porch behind the house, complete with crusty, medium rare steaks and a nice bottle of merlot, all made for a very romantic evening.

Except that Ross was preoccupied. Not too visibly so, but enough that Victoria noticed the distraction. As she sipped her glass of wine, she regarded him over the rim. In profile, his handsome face wore a faint frown.

“You aren’t bothered by this afternoon, are you?” she finally asked bluntly. “You seem pretty quiet.”

“About the photo shoot.” She would always rather talk things out right away if possible. Maybe she shouldn’t have posed with Wade.
He
certainly hadn’t acted all that enthusiastic about it.

But he had warmed up to the idea in one really obvious way, and Victoria didn’t know what to think. With her nearly bare bottom nestled against his groin, she’d felt his erection. In the past six months, she’d worried about how to get Ross’s younger brother to warm up to her. Naked apparently worked, she thought wryly, but was it just a physical reaction to a nude woman, or was it her?

To her chagrin, it hadn’t been all one-sided, either. The gentle, sensuous feel of his warm mouth on her neck and the touch of his hand had caused a few traitorous thoughts to her cross her mind, and she now had an uncomfortable sense of guilt about the whole episode.

“Bothered a little, but not how you mean.” Sprawled in a deck chair, his long legs extended, Ross lifted his brows.

“And what do I mean?” she asked cautiously.

“Was I jealous? No.”

Yes, that was exactly what she meant. She relaxed, not realizing how tightly she was holding the fragile stem of the wine glass. “I have a small problem, and I’m trying to figure out how to solve it, that’s all.”