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“Okay,” she breathed. “Set up two reflectors and the tungsten. I’ll bring in the Hasselblad when I’m finished with Misty.”
“You got it, boss.”
She held his gaze for a second, turned away, then glanced back at him, biting her lip, as if she was in over her head. Pretty charming and he found himself smiling at her back as she walked away.
Maybe that was what had happened with Sylvestri. She just got in too deep. Wanted a studio and closed her eyes to the crimes that made it possible. It was a shame when bright people turned their talents to bad ends. Genetics, upbringing or something big went south in their lives. It wasn’t his job to feel sorry for the perps, though. It was his job to stop them.
“Grab that chaise, Rick, will you?” Bianca said, calling him back to the task at hand. Right now, he’d learn what he could from Sylvestri’s wife. He moved the chaise to where she wanted it, then two plaster columns, which were so heavy he felt like Samson in that old movie tearing down the pillars he was chained to.
Bianca tossed two velvet pillows at him. “Fluff those up and arrange them, please. See if you can wrap that red silk around the arch like a curtain, hanging down, but swept back.”
Good Lord. If Mark and his squad could see him now—fluffing pillows and draping curtains. He wanted to laugh.
When he’d finished, Bianca surveyed the results. “Not bad.” Then her gaze landed on him and stuck. “So, Rick, you’re a friend of Samantha’s?” She looked him up and down, like she was checking out a daughter’s prom date.
“Actually, I applied to be her assistant. This is kind of an audition, I guess.”
“So you need me to put in a good word.” She tapped her lip. “I’m glad she’s so busy she needs an employee. I’ve sent in all my friends and family to get their pictures taken.”
So the mobster’s wives and mistresses trotting in for photos over the last few weeks had been referrals from Bianca. The task force had assumed they were doing business for Darien out of the studio. Maybe not. Hmm.
“Samantha took a photo of me that saved my marriage.”
“A photo can do that?”
“When Sammi takes it, you bet. That woman knows how to yank out your beating heart and wave it under your nose.” She smiled. “That sounded positively Aztec, I know, but what she does is a pure miracle.” She sighed, adjusting a pillow.
“I can imagine,” he said, thinking she had to be exaggerating. It was just film, angle and light, after all.
“We still need something,” Bianca said, eyeing the set. “I know. Put the fat candles around that table, which should go there.” She pointed at each item in turn and Rick moved things as indicated.
As they worked, Rick asked questions and Bianca was happy to explain that she and Darien had come from Chicago to retire and that the “dear, darling man” was setting her up in the knit shop she’d always wanted.
Before long, Rick knew about the horse property they’d purchased and the electronics store Darien wanted to open on the second floor of this building. He memorized everything as best he could, wishing he’d requisitioned a mini recorder. First chance he got, he’d slip away to take some notes.
Mark ribbed him about how scrupulous he was about notes and reports, but being thorough and organized kept his head straight when he was undercover, helped him remember who he was, kept the lies in order.
Again, Bianca stepped back and examined the set, then beamed at him. “Nice work, Rick. I’ll definitely tell Samantha how helpful you were. And so easy to talk to. I’ve blabbed on and on….” She pondered him, speculating. Wondering why he asked so many questions? He braced himself to deflect her suspicion.
“Would you do me a favor, Rick?”
“Sure. Anything.”
“Convince our Sammi not to work so hard. She needs to get out more. My Darien has a nephew who would be perfect for her—handsome and successful…he’s in vending machines and concessions, I believe. There was a tiny misunderstanding with the authorities, but that’s been straightened out.”
“Sounds interesting.” And criminal, actually. The mob was all over the vending world. He wondered if Bianca even knew she was surrounded by wise guys. She seemed completely guileless. People were always harder to read close up, when you saw things from their side, heard their rationalizations, their hopes and dreams and plans to change, to go straight….
“So, with you taking over some of the work, maybe Sammi can go out with him. I’m not thinking marriage necessarily, but…you understand.”
“You bet. But first I have to get the job. If you could help her see I’m the guy she needs…” That hadn’t come out quite right.
“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” she said, another speculative look on her face, as if she’d read a little too much into what he’d said. “For now, we need to light the candles.”
He patted his pockets. Pointless, since smoking was a habit he’d quit along with so many others when his brother Brian had died.
The door buzzer sounded.
“That’ll be the happy couple,” Bianca said. “You get matches from Samantha and I’ll get them in here. Hurry back. I might need you to convince Joey to cooperate.”
God, would he have to hold the guy down and strip him? Samantha was right. This was nothing like snapping sunlit vistas. Wildlife didn’t primp and preen and prance around in costumes. Getting a load of Joey in his undies sounded like a bad breakfast.
He headed for the studio where Samantha was photographing Misty Simone. The woman’s breathy gasp made Rick wonder if they were shooting porn after all, but once he stepped inside, he saw that she was watching a slide show on a computer monitor.
Each image appeared, then faded, accompanied by music. In the shots, Misty lay on her side on satin sheets, her robe slightly open, looking remarkably hot. Not shy or silly or even overweight, and the goofy hat looked like it belonged on her head.
“How did you do that?” Misty asked Samantha, her voice faint with amazement. “I look sweet and sexy…not even fat.”
“Lights and angle and you. That’s all there is to it.”
“Tony won’t believe it’s me.”
“Sure he will. He’ll see you clearly again. He’ll remember why he fell in love with you.”
Sawyer was so damned earnest, Rick was ready to believe that Tony Simone, as sensitive as the longshoreman he’d been in Jersey, would drop to his knees at his wife’s feet and beg her forgiveness for being a neglectful prick.
The last photo faded, the music stopped and the screen went black.
“Bianca was right,” Misty said. “You do make miracles.”
“I just capture what’s there.” Samantha caught sight of him. “Yes, Rick?”
“Uh…oh, I—” He realized he was standing there like a dick-dragging idiot. Why had he come again? “Matches. We need some.”
“There’s a lighter on that shelf.” Sawyer nodded at the spot. “Everything ready in there?”
“Lights and set anyway. Bianca went after Angela and Joey.”
“They won’t know what hit them.”
“No kidding. She’s something else.” They shared a smile that felt comfortable, so he pushed a little. “She thinks you should hire me to give you more free time.”
“She does, does she?” She tilted her head at him.
“I think she’s right.”
“You do?”
“I’ll make your life easier, I swear.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said, searching him out, prying, asking him about the heat simmering between them. He knew what she meant, but he had a job to do. He had to keep her guessing for a while, at least.
“Hire me,” he said with a wink. “You know we both want it.”
He watched a tremor pass through her and felt an answering quiver in his own limbs. Get a grip. He felt so rusty at this flirting thing. He’d been kind of isolated lately. His wife hunt had been going way, way slow.
Or maybe it was something about Samantha.
Probably being undercover. He hated undercover.
Samantha watched Rick go back to Bianca, admiring his muscular behind in well-worn jeans. He’d flirted with her. At least that. But he also wanted the job. How about the job and dessert?
She could hardly date an employee. Assistant by day, fantasy man by night? Too weird, even for Samantha the Bold. Rick was either her assistant or her date, not both, and the next two hours would tell her which.
She said goodbye to Misty and sent her off to change, warmed by her parting words: This means more than you know, Samantha. Even if Tony doesn’t change, I’ll never see myself the same again. Mission accomplished. Samantha was thrilled.
In studio two, however, things weren’t going so well. The newlyweds, sitting on opposite ends of the chaise, looked miserable. Joey slumped, fully clothed, hanging his head like he awaited a prostate check. Angela sulked in a red lace teddy, arms folded, legs crossed, foot wagging angrily.
Bianca flung up her arms. “I give up, Sammi!”
“Joey’s ruining everything,” Angela cried.
“I’m not taking off my pants,” Joey said. “I am no fag.”
“Don’t say fag,” Angela said. “Being gay is perfectly okay. Have some respect.”
“You have some respect and don’t make me into a fool.”
Angela bickered back, but Rick cut through her words in a take-charge voice. “Just do it, man.”
Everyone stared.
“Look, if your lady wants a shot of you in a bird suit with feathers sticking out your ass, put on the damned suit. Hell, if it makes her happy, cluck a little.”
There was a pause, then Bianca spoke into the stunned silence. “Well said, Rick. Wasn’t that well said, Sammi?”
“I’ve seen her work,” Rick continued. “You’ll look good.”
She could almost read Joey’s mind. If this guy thinks it’s not gay… “Okay…but just the shirt.”
“But I like those boxers,” Angela whined.
“The shirt’s enough,” Samantha said, deciding to go with a simple clinch and just two positions, not her usual six. She’d use the digital, which hung from her neck, and move the camera, not the couple, to maintain Joey’s tentative goodwill. “Angela and Joey, find a comfortable position lying down. Bianca, you’ve done all you can. How about you wait in the lobby for us?”
“Whatever you say, hon,” Bianca said. “Smile nice, you two.”
While Joey uneasily unbuttoned his shirt, Samantha hit the CD player’s remote, filling the room with soft music. “Grab that stepladder,” she said to Rick, winking at him as a thank-you for getting Joey’s cooperation.
“Whatever you need,” he said, winking back. There was that snap of heat between them again, that tug of man-woman connection and her embarrassment from earlier was completely erased.
Rick braced the ladder while she climbed. She felt his eyes on her body, was aware of the strength and warmth of his arms almost touching her thighs. It was a good thing he held the ladder or she’d have wobbled right off the rung.
To steady herself, she focused in on her subjects, lying hopelessly tense on the chaise beneath her.
“Look into Angela’s eyes, Joey, and forget we’re here,” she said in the low, even register that worked best with self-conscious clients. “Let Angela be all you see.”
“This is so lame,” Joey said.
Angela grabbed the back of his hair.
“Ouch. Okay, okay.”
“Won’t you miss me?” Angela asked in a little girl’s voice.
“Sure I’ll miss you, baby,” he said slowly.
“Like the moon?” she coaxed. “And all the stars?”
Sweetness softened Joey’s hard features. “Every friggin’ twinkle,” he said, sinking into the rhythm of what must be a lover’s ritual they shared. He leaned down and kissed her.
Samantha sighed. She loved when couples got tender with each other.
“This is all you’ll have of me while you’re gone,” Angela murmured, holding Joey’s gaze.
“Yeah,” he said, getting into it now. “So it has to be good. It has to last.”
Samantha took a shot. Perfect. When she shifted, she accidentally bumped Rick’s forearm, remembering he was there, which was strangely reassuring, even as it put her on sexual alert. After a few more snaps, she needed to get down the ladder to try for some shots from beside the couple.
She turned toward Rick, signaling her descent, and he moved slightly. Her butt brushed his chest as she lowered herself, and, once on the ground, she turned, hesitating in the cave of his arms.
He struggled, too, for a moment, and almost seemed to force himself to step away from her. Whatever was percolating here was definitely mutual. She took a shuddering breath and went to crouch beside the couple.
She looked up at them, framing their faces between their forearms. Nice shot.
Rick moved to the Hasselblad and in a few seconds, he snapped a picture, setting off the strobe. She smiled her approval. She’d have two camera perspectives after all. Twice the photos in the five minutes they had before Joey lost interest.
“Imagine you’re saying goodbye,” she said to pull a little more emotion from the couple.
Angela pulled Joey in for a kiss.
“Baby,” Joey murmured.
Click. Perfect. Samantha looked over at Rick, who’d fired off more frames, and they smiled at each other. They’d made the most of a delicate moment, working as a team, in wordless sync. Which was surprising considering they were virtual strangers. Rick had potential as an assistant.
But what about as a dinner partner?
She watched her couple, moved by the way Joey cupped Angela’s cheeks with his entire palms, as if he couldn’t touch enough of her, and how Angela pointed her toes between Joey’s feet, utterly thrilled to be in his arms.
Samantha wanted this intimacy, too. Eventually. After she’d been wild and free and wanton for a while. She would know when she was ready. In a couple of years. Maybe three. She had a lot of fantasies to live out.
She caught Rick looking at her. He seemed puzzled, as if she’d somehow surprised him. What was that about?
“Maybe we should go for a different position,” Joey said. “Move around, try some poses, mix it up?”
In the end, Samantha had to stop him before he asked for a wind machine and baby oil to make his muscles gleam.
She loaded the digitals on the computer, invoked the slide show and stepped back so the couple could admire themselves in peace. Rick stood beside her, looking on, too. She glanced at his profile, with its straight, masculine lines. He was deliciously male.
She could picture him with her on the big bed in the fairy-tale studio. She would pretend to be asleep. He would wake her with a kiss. Or maybe they’d be on the tiger chaise in this studio…her hands tied with a red silk sash…no, the black velvet one. Please…don’t…stop…. More…more…
“And bigger. More and bigger, right?”
Samantha jerked back to the moment. “Bigger? Huh?”
“And matte, not glossy,” Angela said. She meant print size, quantity and finish, Samantha realized. Whew.
All three people were staring at her. Hell, she’d lapsed into a fantasy in the middle of a shoot. It was Rick’s fault. He was the living embodiment of her fantasy man standing right here beside her, so broad and tall and handsome.
And he wanted her to hire him.
This could be a problem. Or a gift. He could help her in the studio and the bedroom.
“Many clients prefer matte,” she said, but she had to clear her throat to get out the words. “Less glare, but it’s up to you.” She babbled on about the proof book and the order, but she was thinking about Rick.
Could he want more than the job? He seemed mysterious to her. Which was partly why he was so hot. He could be anyone she wanted him to be.
Bedroom Eyes was the most important thing to her, right, and he could be a good assistant. She hadn’t counted on photography experience in her employee, but it could only help. Maybe she should give him the job and forget dessert altogether.
She and Rick walked the couple out to Bianca. Joey and Angela strolled arm in arm, looking at each other every few seconds as if they couldn’t believe their luck. Like a bride and groom faltering in the middle of their vows, awed by the power of their symbolic act, appreciating each other anew.
Samantha was so glad she’d given them this reminder of their love. Maybe couple shots were the best of all.
The clients gone, Samantha turned to Rick. “So what do you think?” she asked, knowing his words would tell her what to do.
“I’m impressed. You got those two from divorce court to a Hallmark card in two minutes flat. The digitals were great.”
“The prints will be better. I combine flash with tungsten so the golden highlights are warm, not cloying.”
“It’s more than the lights, Samantha. You have a gift.”
He wasn’t about to let her hide behind her gear. She liked that.
“There’s a lot you can teach me.” He stood a little closer, drawing her out, stretching the tension between them like a fine, tight wire.
There was a lot he could teach her, she’d bet. Naked. “You did a good job of getting Joey to cooperate.”
“Probably would help you to have a man around for that,” he coaxed.
“We did have a nice rhythm going.”
“Yeah. A nice rhythm.” And heat. They had heat going. His irises flickered with gold—candles shining out of all that green moss—telling her he wanted her.
Her knees turned to flan.
“It’s mostly clerical, Rick. Really. You might have to clean out drains and change AC filters for my tenants.”
“I don’t mind. Like I said, anything you—”
“Need. Right. You said that.” She held his gaze, her knees of flan jiggling beneath her.
“And I meant it.”
Did he really? Could he possibly? Could they work together and sleep together? Insane idea or time-saver?
“Okay. We try it for a week,” she said, trying to be firmer than her custard knees. “But if it doesn’t work out—”
“It’ll work out.” His eyes burned through her. He looked dark and dangerous, with stubble just emerging from his firm jaw, and he was so big. He’d have to bend down to kiss her, even if she went on tiptoe, and when he wrapped her in his arms, she’d be overpowered, overwhelmed, swept away.
“How can you be so sure?” she breathed.
“I am. Trust me.”
“We give it a week,” she said firmly, showing him who was boss. But there was a flicker of something in his green eyes that made her think that maybe she wasn’t quite as in charge as she should be.
3
SCORE. HE WAS IN. He had the job.
Of course, he’d practically sworn to be Sawyer’s love slave with the looks and dripping hints he’d delivered. The worst part was that it had come out so easily. Like butter, like cream, like sliding into bed with a hot, hungry woman.
Something about her dug at him—the yes-no vibe she gave off. Flirting, then backing away, as if she’d stepped too far out on a tightrope on a dare.
He wanted to reassure her. Yeah, you’re hot. Yeah, I’d jump you if I could.
He liked her. She had this bizarre business, but she seemed sincere. Forget liking her. He had to keep personal reactions under control. Constant awareness, attention to detail and neutral detachment were the secrets to successful undercover work. The less personal he got, the better.
Except she wouldn’t trust him if he didn’t connect with her, so he had to engage in some repartee. Within reason. Work it for the case. He’d given her mixed messages, too, which wasn’t fair and hadn’t helped.
God he hated being undercover.
It made him feel out of control. He hated checking the rearview, doubling back over every story for consistency and cracks. Hated pretending to be someone he wasn’t, hated living with his lies. For now, he contented himself with his success.
Telling Sawyer he needed a bite, he headed out to his Jeep to phone his partner, grab a burger, then return so she could go over his duties.
He crossed the lot, liking when the mild October breeze kicked up, promising change, just like the case. Adrenaline rushed his pulse and he felt primed for action. Easier to ignore that lust-pumped charge he’d gotten over the fact he’d be hanging around Sawyer for a while.
Lot of good that did him when he had to avoid dessert at all cost.
He climbed into his Jeep and took off for Jade’s, the squad’s favorite bar and grill just down the street.
“Got the job,” he said when Mark picked up his call. “Tell the lieutenant.”
“You lucky dog.”
“What are you talking about, Trudeau? You’d hate this assignment. Gloria’d hassle you about the overtime and you’d miss your kids.”
“But Sawyer’s hot,” Trudeau said.
“So?”
“I’m just saying, if the case calls for you to get sweaty with her…”
“Are you nuts?” The idea sounded so damned good he had to sit down. He could picture those muscular legs wrapped around his ass, that curly hair falling over his face, that snapdragon mouth against his, that pink tongue doing things…
“I’m trying to live through you,” Mark said. “Except you don’t do jack shit worth hearing about, letting alone tracking with binoculars.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve got a great life. And a wife you don’t deserve.” Mark was deeply devoted to Gloria, despite the studly bullshit he trotted out for the squad. No one bought it, but it made Trudeau feel invincible, when, in fact, he could be felled by a mere blink of his wife’s lashes.
“I’m saying, make an effort, West. Quit hanging with us so much. Or at least bring over a woman when you do.”
“I will, don’t worry.” He’d dated two women since he’d decided to look for a wife. Laura, then Theresa. Both nice enough, but the minute he’d dropped them off after a date, he’d felt the relief of a duty done, and they’d slid from his mind like minnows down a creek.
Lately, he’d spent his free time throwing back brews with squad mates at Jade’s or over at Mark’s. Gloria made the best rib sauce and a terrific pecan pie. Their place was homey and Rick loved their kids. He should get back to the wife search, though. He’d do that. Sure. One of these days soon.
“Alex wanted me to tell you he beat the top boss on Dragon of Doom 3.”
“He didn’t download the cheats, did he?”
“Nope. Worked it out on his own. Couldn’t disappoint Uncle Rick with his rules for every flippin’ thing, including video games.”
“Good for him. I’ll check it out when I’m over next. This weekend, maybe?”
“What are you, thirty? You act like an old married drone. When I was your age, it was a different woman every weekend. If Gloria hadn’t gotten pregnant, I’d have—”
“You’d have begged her to marry you. She’s the best thing that ever happened to your sorry ass.”
Maybe that was what was missing in Rick’s search for a wife—a woman who made him feel the way Trudeau felt. The man nearly glowed when Gloria came into a room, even if it was just to rip him a new one, which she had to do from time to time. The man was in sore need of female guidance.
Truth was that Rick wanted what Trudeau had—a settled place in the world, a wife and kids to work for, someone to help him sort out what mattered from what didn’t. Something Brian had never had the chance to have.
“So now that I’m in,” he said, getting back to work, “I’ll be checking out all the shops, verifying IDs, seeing who’s connected. Looks like some of the photography customers came from the wife, not Darien, and are straight photo shoots, nothing crime related.”
“Interesting. It’s good you’re inside. We can figure this out a hell of a lot faster.”
“That’s the idea.”
“And on that other thing, you’ll be surrounded by naked women, West, so drool a little. Pretend you got a pair.”
“The equipment’s intact, not to worry,” he said. His reaction to Sawyer was proof. He grimaced, especially because he got a rush when he thought about getting back to her now.
He hung up with Mark and headed into Jade’s, determined to keep his mind on the job and forget how hot Sawyer was, no matter how many ways she reminded him with her twisty hip-walk and her teasing smile and flirty remarks and her tight backside, and that great set of—