Relish: A Vicious Feast Book 2 (10 page)

A flush colored her pale pallor a pretty pink. For a girl with only two expressions, she sure knew how to work with what she had. Good thing the image of a heavy piece of metal covered in barnacles used to keep a ship from floating away didn’t reach her brain because she wouldn’t like being an anchor at all. 

“So, will you let me put you in the back and arrange the others around you?”

The question put greed in her eyes. Diana was right. Sometimes a photographer’s role was to manipulate the subject to gain the best shot. Maybe working with Vicious spoiled me some since they were the sweetest, kindest, albeit weirdest bunch of rock stars I’d ever met. Not a diva among them. Well, maybe except for Luka on occasion. But compared to what I had to work with today? Vicious was cake.

Without saying another word, Courtney strutted to the set up and placed herself behind the stands. Hands on her waist, she stood tall and proud. Grinning like a satisfied cat, I called for the rest of the actresses to take their places. I had to stroke a couple more egos after that, but the rest of the shoot went smoother than I expected. Diana nodded at me several times and even invited me to dinner to celebrate the end of my first freelance job.

I declined, citing working on the pictures before submitting them in the morning as a reason. She let me go without complaint, saying something about having my fee wired as soon as the pictures came in.

The word fee still made my head spin as I rode the tube back to the Charing Cross hotel near Trafalgar Square. When Diana asked me how much I wanted for the freelance job, I thought about what Yana paid me for the promo shots and cut that amount in half. Diana didn’t fight me on it, so I guessed right for a first time job. Not that I needed the funds. Yana paid for the pictures even after I told her not to. Having a cool mil in my account made me itch, but it didn’t hurt either. I didn’t have to think twice about staying at decent hotels instead of backpacking my way around the world. Nothing beat a good bed and room service. Staying with Vicious spoiled me rotten. I accepted this.

I stepped out of Waterloo Station into the brisk London night. I thanked the gods it didn’t rain. I made my way across Trafalgar Square in quick steps past Nelson’s Column with its four lions. I hadn’t lied when I told Diana about working on the pictures. Just because I’d worked with Vicious didn’t mean I would slack off. The job at Rebel would be in my portfolio. Messing it up could land my career in the toilet. I hadn’t studied this long and almost lost my mind being around Luka to throw everything away.

But before I made it to the hotel, I stopped at the Fourth Plinth to take another picture of
Hahn/Cock
by Katharina Fritsch. It was quite literally a four meter tall roaster in an intense ultramarine blue. I loved it! I also loved how the modern art juxtaposed with all the historical buildings surrounding it. London was such an interesting place to be, and even as I hurried to my hotel, I congratulated myself for finding the strength to say no to Yana. I might not have experienced the city at my leisure the way I had if I’d been with the band.

With my fifth chicken picture tucked away, I pushed through the revolving doors of Charing Cross and strode across the marble lobby with its glinting chandelier. Taking the elevator to my floor, I loosened my scarf and went through all the shots I’d taken, close to a hundred in all. I would have to surrender everything to Diana, but she’d asked me to pick the ones I believed should make it into the spread. Ultimately, the magazine would decide, but at least I got a chance to make suggestions.

The elevator doors opened with a ding. I chuckled. Was there some unwritten rule where all elevators should open with a distinctive ding that announced to the world it was opening?

Buoyant from completing my first job, I stepped into the hallway. The uniformity and length of it gave me pause. I lifted my camera and took a picture, unable to shake the
Shinning
reference popping into my head. Despite the renovations, which I’d read about after one of my stupid dreams had woken me, the hotel still maintained an old world, creepy feel to it.

Ignoring the shivers going through me, I fished my keycard from my bag. My room was located at the end of the hall, giving me a perfect view of The Strand. I must have sat by my window for hours watching red buses pass by while eating the fish and chips I’d ordered from room service.

At my door, I reminded myself to shower then order dinner before starting work or else I’d forget. Missing Deidra brought a pang to my stomach. To me she wasn’t just a maid at Lunar Manor. She’d kept me fed when often I would have forgotten to eat and she reminded me why I came to the manor when I lost my way. Her reaction to my scars was etched permanently in my memory. I missed her something fierce.

Thoughts of Deidra put me in a mood. I absentmindedly pushed into my room, my gaze on the cream-carpeted floor.

“Hi.”

I gasped and whipped my head up at the unmistakably smooth voice that greeted me. My legs refused to move from where I stood. By the desk in my room sat the one person I only dreamt about seeing again. And lately he hadn’t come.

“Fuck me,” I breathed out. 

C
HAPTER
E
LEVEN
P
ERSUASION

Luka lounged by the desk in a simple long-sleeved button down and jeans. His soft curls tumbled around his face. They seemed shorter now than the last time I’d seen him in person. His sexy half-smile drew my gaze to his prominent cheekbones and the sharp angle of his jaw. Mischief flickered in his cobalt eyes before he hid it behind a hooded stare. The bolt on his eyebrow twitched at my words. It hurt to look at him.

“I’m game if you are.” He gestured toward the bed where a black trench coat rested. The simple silver rings he wore transfixed me. It was as if he put them on to emphasize the length of his fingers. The same fingers my skin ached for a touch.

Too busy drinking him in, his words didn’t compute at first. I blinked slowly, making sure he really was in my hotel room. I’d imagined countless times how our first meeting would go. I’d buy a VIP ticket to a Vicious concert, the kind with a backstage pass. Then I’d run into him accidentally on purpose and we’d talk about stupid things like the weather. Never in a million years did the scenario I found myself in ever come up in my daydreams. I swallowed.
If I step a little closer I can inhale his scent.

My intent must have shown on my face because his eyebrow arched. I pushed down the powerful urge to run and curled my fingers into tight fists. When the pain of my fingernails digging into my palm cleared my head, I took advantage of the silence and spoke.

“What are you doing here?” Okay, lame. Of all the things I could have said, the words “get out” chief among them, I went with the obvious question? I might have had the strength to deny Yana, but nothing could prepare me for Luka. His presence alone filled the modest four walls I called home for the foreseeable future.

He sighed. “We’re performing at the O2 Arena tomorrow.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.” Who the hell was I kidding? Of course I knew Vicious was in town. I may not be working as their photographer, but I still had their tour schedule memorized. Sure I may have fantasized running into Luka at some random spot in London. Every fan had that same fantasy. It wasn’t like I was going to do anything about it. For me, it was more than enough just to be in the same city as him.

“But that doesn’t answer my question,” I pressed. Might as well continue the act that I had any control over this situation. I’d planned on traveling the world first, taking the time to detach myself from my feelings, to get over Luka “The Rock God” Visraya, before I attempted contact again. Yet here he sat in my room as if he belonged, and with a bed just a few feet away. Damn my dreams of him that felt oh so real.

“Why don’t you move away from the door and I’ll tell you.”

I actually took a step forward at the siren’s call. Catching myself in time, I raised both my hands. “No!” I inched back. “I’m not moving until you tell me what you’re doing here. And how the hell did you find out I was staying at this hotel anyway? And how the hell did you get in? And why isn’t there a group of screaming fans outside shouting your name?” Alright, pathetic, but once I’d started, all the inane questions kept coming like diarrhea of the mouth. I grimaced internally at the image. Luka unsettled me. His gaze alone felt like a caress as it traveled up and down my body.

His delicious lips twisted. “Five minutes in my company and you haven’t taken a single picture.”

I gasped at the truth in his observation. “Call it shock.”

“I have to say I’m disappointed.”

“Stop being an asshole and answer my questions already.”

That damn sexy smile returned. “There’s the fire I’ve been missing.”

The word “miss” sent quivers to every part of me below the navel. Stupid, stupid, stupid traitor of a body. I shouldn’t be reacting to him this way. He was in love with someone else. The reminder sobered me.

I reached up and touched my patch, the velvet hardness of the dome lending me strength. “I have pictures to touch up, so if you want to keep playing games then leave. I have work to do.”

He glanced away from me and ran his fingers through his hair. The curls bounced back into place, not a strand ruffled. “I want to know why you refused Yana’s offer.”

An ache grew in my chest at the sudden shift in his mood. “Didn’t she tell you?”

“Not in so many words, no.” He flicked his gaze at me before he dropped it again. He drew circular patterns on the desk. “I want you to tell me.”

I licked my suddenly dry lips, searching for the right words only to find out nothing would please him enough to leave me alone. If Luka came all this way then I might as well cut through the bullshit.

“You know why.” I lifted my chin, bracing myself for the punch.

He met my gaze with a curious stare. “I hurt you.”

His honesty gained him a nod.

“And you don’t want to work as our photographer because you’re afraid I’m going to hurt you again.”

“Give the mind reader a prize.” I meant to sound sarcastic, but my barb came out as a whisper instead. Luka was a smart, sensitive guy. Connecting the dots was an easy task for him.

“It’s not like that anymore.”

I shivered. His godforsaken accent slayed me every time. God, how much more could I take of him? He stood meters away yet his stare alone consumed me. I’d become weak against him and that pissed me off.

“You’re not in love with Phoenix anymore?”

His hesitation became my answer. “I’m working on it. Surely, Yana told you about my therapy sessions with Samrah.”

“Bully for you.”

“Please.” He leaned forward until his forearms rested on his knees. He weaved his fingers together as if in prayer. “I cannot say that I’m a hundred percent better, but I’m working on it. You have to believe that. I know I hurt you—”

“You
used
me.” It came out as a hiss between my clenched teeth. I could feel my neck muscles strain.

“Yes.”

I staggered at the simple admission. “I can’t do this right now.” Leaning my back against the wall, I slid down until my butt hit the floor. With my elbows propped on my knees, I raked my fingers through my hair and stopped, clutching my head between my hands.

“I know I’m asking for you to trust me when you have no reason to,” he said softly. Yet the deep timbre of his voice seemed to reverberate all around me. “But please think of the rest of the band. I’m not the only one who misses you.”

I barked a laugh. “Sure, use my guilt against me.”

“I will do what I have to.” He shifted in his seat. The chair springs creaked. “You’re the only one who understands the band enough to produce authentic photographs.”

“Let me get this straight,” I looked at him then, “you’re here because you want to use me again but this time it’s to take pictures for the stupid tour book you want to release?”

Luka leaned his elbow against the desk, his head supported by three fingers at his temple. The arm he draped over his crossed legs ended in a clenched fist. He seemed to be restraining himself. But from what, I had no idea. “I want you to work for us. That is all.”

“Well, at least you made
that
clear.” There was the sarcasm I was looking for. I picked myself up off the floor and shuffled to the bed. I dropped my bag beside the desk and Luka grabbed my wrist. My succeeding inhale washed my lungs with the scent I’d been craving since my brain processed his presence in my hotel room as the real deal. I didn’t feel shame in closing my eye and relishing each inhalation. The man’s delectable smell reminded me of cold winter nights by the fire with a cup of spiced hot chocolate.

“Luka,” I said when I opened my eye to look down at him. “Let me go before you and I do something we will both regret.” The goose bumps trailing up my arm warned me I was a thin line away from tearing off his clothes.

As if it pained him to do so, he released me one finger at a time, but not before he touched the pad of his thumb over the hammering pulse on my wrist. I reminded myself that despite my attraction to him, my overactive hormones changed nothing. He still thought of Phoenix when he laid his head down at night.

Letting the pain of the realization run its course, I looked down at his upturned face. Standing this close I noticed the dark splotches underneath his eyes. Without thinking, I traced the shadows with the tip of my index finger. He closed his clear blue eyes and sighed.

“You haven’t been sleeping much,” I said.

“Only because you won’t say yes, forcing me all the way here just to beg you.”

I laughed through the pinch of his careless words. So he really did come because he wanted me to work for Vicious, to take pictures. What did I really expect from the encounter? That he would come and profess his undying love for me? Yeah, that was going to happen. I snorted and moved to the window. The more space between us the better I could think.

“Why do I get the feeling you won’t leave until I agree to this?” I rested my shoulder against the windowpane. The Strand was surprisingly empty for this time of night. Maybe a jam somewhere blocked most of the vehicles that usually used the road. I noticed the black SUV parked across the street from my hotel. I imagined Eli waiting inside. He always drove for Luka whenever they were in a city.