What To Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection Part Two (159 page)

A flash of washed-out gold caught Mina’s eye and she turned to see Ashley leaning over her salad and craning her neck. Mina hid the screen and slipped her phone into her purse. Hopefully Ashley hadn’t seen anything. Mina’s tattoo would be just one more thing for Ashley to dislike about her. As Ashley sank slowly back into her seat, trying to look casual, Mina’s gaze was drawn to a bright spot on Ashley’s top – she’d leaned too low and a smudge of French dressing had stained her white sweater. The red-orange blotch was positioned directly over one nipple. Mina suppressed a smirk, saying nothing. Ashley would blame her whether or not she said anything, and speaking to her when it wasn’t strictly necessary was generally something she tried to avoid.

“What’s this?” Mina eyed the length of scarlet silk curiously as it slid through her hands like water.

“It’s for modesty,” Karen explained, turning and striding across the small studio to her beloved camera, leaving Mina perched on the stool.

A knock came at the door and Mina jumped, nearly slipping off the edge of her seat. Hastily, she clutched the material to her bare chest, covering herself. “Is someone else going to be here?” She tried to keep the edge of alarm out of her voice as Karen approached the door and laid a hand on the knob.

“I didn’t mention it to you?” She managed to sound amazingly casual.

“No,” Mina said through clenched teeth. Posing for the pictures was one thing. Having a stranger gawk at her while she sat half-naked and chilled on the stool was another.

Karen opened the door and the stranger walked in, only…he wasn’t a stranger.

He was Eric.

E
ric’s sky-blue eyes flickered immediately toward Mina and traveled over her exposed back and side for the briefest of moments before he averted them politely. “I’m not late, am I?”

“No, you’re on time,” Karen assured him. “We’re just about to get started.”

Mina’s throat tightened, choking the words of shock that were whirling through her mind. What was
Eric
doing at the shoot, and how the hell had Karen forgotten to tell her that he was coming? She cleared her throat and tried to sound casual. She might as well try to put a brave face on and get the shoot over with as soon as possible. Jess was waiting at home and Mina had promised to help her with a research paper she was doing for her English class. “I didn’t realize that anyone from Hot Ink would be coming to…uh, oversee the shoot.”

Eric looked up, his gaze settling on her face this time, his eyes locking with hers. For some reason, it made her feel as if they were the only two people in the world. Everything else faded away for a moment: Karen, her studio and the elaborate light set-up…everything. “Am I making you uncomfortable? I could—”

Karen interrupted, shattering Mina’s illusion of being alone with Eric. “He’s here to make sure I capture images that will really showcase his work.”

Mina nodded, hoping she didn’t look as if that idea had never occurred to her.

“But that’s not all,” Karen continued, sounding like a game show host announcing prizes. “He’s also here to model.”

Fantasy visions flashed through Mina’s mind unbidden, showing her an up-close view of his eye-catching biceps. If he was here to model, then his shirt must be hiding some incredible tattoos – just as Mina had suspected. Secret excitement mixed with her unease, causing her stomach to tie itself in anxious knots. “Really?”

Karen nodded. “One of the other artists at Hot Ink did some work for him and the owner wants those photos for advertisements.”

The stool wobbled a little as Mina shifted her weight, still holding the silk close. She was going to see Eric’s tattoos after all. She glanced down at the length of material. It was only fair, if he was going to see her like this. Not that he was seeing anything he hadn’t touched when he’d actually done the tattoo, but this felt different.

“I can wait out in the hall if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

A hint of heat crept into Mina’s cheeks. Eric watched her with sincere, blue eyes, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, Karen stood behind him, silently mouthing the words ‘I need him’. “It’s all right. I don’t mind if you stay.”

He nodded. “Thanks. Jed – that’s the owner – couldn’t be here, so he wanted me to come and give input, but I’m sure Karen doesn’t need my help.”

Karen beamed. “Don’t be afraid to chime in if you have any suggestions. I want you to be happy with these photos.”

He shrugged. “I was happy with the originals.”

A warm glow of satisfaction enveloped Mina. Today her makeup was professionally done and Karen had put her hair up in an elegant knot and inserted some glittering diamond studs into her earlobes. But Eric liked the originals – the photos where she’d looked the same as she had in his tattoo chair and during their brief almost-date. Maybe it shouldn’t have pleased her to know that – after all, it wasn’t like they’d be going out again – but it did.

“Eric, can you stand beside Mina and hold this?” Karen handed him a grey card and stood ready with her camera.

“Sure.” He stepped carefully onto the paper background, holding the grey card in front of himself like a shield. “This good?”

Karen nodded. “Perfect.” A few test shots later, she was ready.

Eric retreated to a corner of the studio and Mina glanced after him, watching his shoulder muscles shift subtly beneath his shirt. A wave of combined longing and curiosity heated her cheeks. Hopefully the natural blush that accompanied it would be invisible beneath her heavy makeup.

“All right Mina, let’s start with some poses like the ones we used the other day.”

That was easy enough. All she had to do was sit on the stool, arching her back, setting her shoulders and dropping her chin at the prescribed angles, holding her silk for modesty all the while. Somehow, knowing that Eric was in the room made her exposure seem more daring than the technically topless session she’d posed for the other day.

By the time Karen finally called for a break, Mina had tilted her chin and positioned her shoulders in more ways than she’d thought possible. Eric had offered the odd suggestion here and there, but had mostly remained silent. At times, Mina had thought she’d felt his gaze on her – focused and intense. He was looking away now, but her nipples had pricked against the thin silk, banishing most of the modesty it had lent her. Her cheeks burnt as she eyed her sweater – it was draped across Karen’s computer chair, which seemed a million miles away. If she’d known anyone else was coming, she would have changed in the closet of a dressing room and left her clothes there. Damn Karen.

“I’ll step out of the room for a few minutes,” Eric said.

His thoughtful concession eased Mina’s nerves a little, and as the door closed behind him she hurried for the office chair, pulling on her cami and sweater. “So how do the photos look?”

Karen was lost in study, her head bent over her camera. “I’m not sure, but I think they came out…amazing.” She looked up slowly, and her tone was almost reverent, as if she hadn’t been the one who’d aimed the camera and captured the images. Her green eyes sparkled like polished jade, alight with apparent excitement.

Mina breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.” Hopefully that meant Karen wouldn’t try to wrangle her back in front of the lens again for any re-dos.

Eric knocked before reentering.

“Come on in,” Karen called, her gaze still locked on her camera screen. “Would you like to see these?” She motioned toward Eric with her camera.

“I’m sure they’re great.” Instead of diverting his gaze to the screen, his eyes locked on Mina.

A thousand butterflies she hadn’t realized were there erupted into flight somewhere in her middle.

“Okay then. You’re up next.”

Eric nodded stoically. What did he think of putting his body on display and posing? Mina wondered as he strode onto the paper, stopping in front of the background.

“Should I stand or sit?”

“Standing should be fine.”

He set the stool aside.

Karen stepped up and readied her camera.

Mina’s heart was stuck somewhere in her throat. The moment of truth had arrived. She couldn’t help but stare as Eric gripped the bottom of his long sleeved cotton shirt, preparing to pull it over his head.

He whisked it away without hesitation, revealing a perfectly toned torso and plenty of ink. An intricate design spiraled down his upper right arm, the rich black ink swirling in a graceful pattern.

“Mina, do me a favor and hand him the grey card.”

Mina moved mechanically, picking up the grey card with suddenly hot hands and striding toward Eric. A jolt of electricity seemed to shoot through her when he met her eyes. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” She handed off her flimsy burden and backed away, out of Karen’s line of fire. She nearly tripped over the edge of the background when something – a hint of more dark ink – caught her eye, causing her to pause. Eric turned a little at Karen’s bequest, revealing more of what had captured Mina’s attention.

The design on his biceps wasn’t his only tattoo. In fact, it looked small and simple in comparison to the masterpiece inked across his back. She sidled to the right a little, taking it all in. A huge dragon wound its way across his back, its open mouth gaping on one shoulder while its tail tapered off and then flared to an end just above his hips. It was beautifully done in black and grey, every scale painstakingly detailed.

“You like it?”

Mina snapped her gaze from Eric’s skin, surprised by his question. He was peering at her over his shoulder, his eyes as warm and arresting as ever.

“Yeah. It’s amazing.”

He gave her a hint of a smile.

“Eric, face me then turn your chin an inch or so to the left.”

The spell of their locked gazes was broken by Karen’s instructions. Mina did her best to fade into the background, sinking down onto Karen’s computer chair. She would have preferred to stare at Eric as Karen directed him, carefully capturing every inch of his body art with her camera. She was too embarrassed to be so obvious though, so she turned her attention to Karen’s desktop instead.

A magazine caught her eye, its corner protruding from beneath an empty takeout container. Mina picked it up and stared down at the glossy cover in bemusement. A woman posed flamboyantly, her rear to the camera, clad only in a pair of mesh panties. Double dragons had been inked across her ass cheeks. They were nowhere near as well-done as Eric’s dragon, but they were eye-catching, if nothing else. Mina scanned the title. It was a tattoo art and culture magazine, like something one might find on a table in a tattoo studio waiting room. When had Karen picked it up?

Apparently she was really getting into the idea of photographing tattoos. Not that that was surprising – she threw herself one hundred and ten percent into every photography project that she did. If work ethic alone were enough to make it in the business, she’d be at the top already.

“That’s perfect.”

Mina glanced up, letting her eyes flicker toward Eric. He stood with his shoulder at an angle to the camera, showing off the artwork that scrolled down his arm and hinting at the masterpiece on his back at the same time. He had to be flexing a little bit – his arm was sleek and defined beneath the ink. How did he manage to stay so fit when he spent his days in a chair, carefully focusing on work that required an expert, steady hand, but not so much in the way of biceps? Maybe he worked out. She let her gaze sweep over his toned body again. Yes, he definitely worked out.

“Okay, let’s give that dragon some face time.”

Eric turned his back to the camera.

Karen clicked away.

Mina died a little inside. Why had Eric had to ask her to the coffee shop on
that
day – the one where she’d had to run out on him after five minutes? Would there have been a second date if things had gone differently? She chewed the inside of her lip, casting a cursory glance at the tattoo magazine because she was afraid Eric would feel her hungry stare on his back. It had probably been for the best that she’d had to leave. How could she possibly keep a guy – especially a hot one like Eric – interested when she devoted ninety-five percent of her time to caring for Jess and working at the bank? She spent what little free time she had tending the dozens of potted plants she’d cultivated in her apartment. Not exactly man-catching material. She might as well face it – she was boring.