Lovell, Cooper - Tessa's Highlander (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Finally pulling away, he looked intensely into her eyes and whispered, “Mine, Tessa Danvers. All mine. Nobody else kin have you. You belong tae me now.”

Tessa wrapped her arms as far around him as she could, buried her face into his broad chest, took a deep breath, and said, “Yes, I’m all yours.”

Chapter Eight

Gavan’s relief at the doctor’s diagnosis that Tessa’s ankle would heal without any complication was evident in his stride as he carried her, at his insistence, to his truck.

“Really, Gavan. I could have walked. The doctor said that it was only a very mild twist and I just need to take it easy, not stay off of it.”

He planted a quick kiss on her luscious lips as he gently placed her in the passenger seat.

“
Wha
? An’ have your pretty
lil
’ feet touching this dirty ground? Never!”

She giggled as he rounded the truck to climb in and drive them home. He knew she thought his exaggerated, overprotective act was a joke, but deep down he had every intention of keeping her safe from everything. Even dirt.

“The animal control officer called while you were getting your X-ray.”

Tessa turned to him with worry in her eyes. “What did he say?”

He gave her fingers, which were already in his grasp, a little squeeze and said, “They found all three dogs early this morning and were able tae catch them.”

“Oh, I don’t know if I want to hear this. It’s gonna break my heart.”

Gavan’s own heart tilted a bit to realize what an animal lover she was. Even after they’d nearly caused her serious harm, she was concerned for them.

“Nay. It’s not so bad. There were not only the three of them but a litter as well. It was the mother who’d come after you because you must have wandered tae close tae her pups. The other two dogs just joined in.”

Tessa sobbed quietly. “And that’s not so bad?”

A red light gave him the opportunity to pull her closer for a reassuring hug. “It’s not so bad, no. They weren’t feral, merely abandoned and
verra
hungry. All of them are being checked over by a vet and then being sent tae a no-kill shelter for adoption. The pups won’t be able tae leave their mother for at least another week, though.”

Tessa expelled a
hiccuppy
breath. “Oh. That’s good. That’s really good. I’ll call about sending a donation to them. Poor doggies.”

* * * *

It was only eleven thirty, and already Tessa’s home was a flurry of activity when they returned.

“Jesus, what’s going on here?” Gavan wondered aloud.

“Oh, this is all hubbub for the photo shoot today. Apparently,
Marlena
, she’s my publicist, has appointed a photographer with a
vision
, whatever that means. I find it all a little scary.”

He turned to her. “Have you done these before?”

She nodded. “I’ve had some publicity shots taken, but I don’t think any of them were as elaborate as this one’s going to be. I’ve never had a photographer with a concept, they’ve always just wanted to get a decent shot of me, but nothing truly artistic has ever been part of it. I think I might be in over my head today.”

He reached for her hand. “Should I leave and get out of the way?” he asked, hoping she wouldn’t say yes. He wasn’t ready to put as much distance between them as going home would require.

“Well, if you don’t mind waiting till we find out what kind of plans this guy has for the shoot, maybe you’ll be able to do your thing wherever they’re not, right?”

He didn’t bother to hide his relief. “Sounds good tae me. Ready?” He moved to extract Tessa from her seat.

Marlena
rushed to greet Tessa at the door and began to update Tessa in her usual high-energy, singsong manner. “Darling! Thank God you’re back. Henri has decided to completely scrap the plans to shoot indoors and move everything outside, given the unseasonable warmth of the day. The crew is ’round back, setting up in your yard. He has several scenarios in mind and now each one has to be reworked a bit to accommodate shooting
al fresco
.”

“Oh,” said Tessa, already feeling overwhelmed. She turned to Gavan and said, “I guess if we’re outside that means you have free rein in here.”

He bent and kissed her lips. “Aye. That’s good. Guess I’ll get tae work. Have fun, lass,” he said and disappeared out the door to get his equipment from his truck.

Grabbing Tessa by both arms,
Marlena
spun her around and demanded, “Who on earth is that? He is just
sex on a stick
!” After giving Tessa an “I want details when we have time” look, she changed gears and said, “Come, we have to get you ready.”

* * * *

In her room, Tessa was joined by Henri’s makeup artist, hairstylist, and costume designer. They primped, poked, painted, and pinned until they all stood back to look at Tessa with
scrutinous
eyes. When she saw her image in the mirror, she was more than a little concerned.

“Um…are we sure about this? I mean, this is
really
extreme.
Marlena
!”

* * * *

Upon hearing her name bellowed, she excused herself from the conversation she was having with a couple of the male models. “Time for me to smooth my client’s feathers.”

* * * *

“Hon, we discussed this,”
Marlena
said soothingly as she patted Tessa’s shoulder. “This is a
men’s
magazine. A men’s magazine that keeps its circulation by giving men what they want. The men told the magazine that they want you as their fantasy, and now the magazine is delivering. You are hugely popular in this demo, but this shoot could push you into one or two other demos. For instance, women in the eighteen-to-thirty-five demo who want to spice things up for their men. They see you in total fantasy mode, getting their guys all hot and bothered, and they’ll want to get to know who you are so they can do the same.”

Tessa groaned and shifted on her feet.

“Listen, hon. I know this isn’t exactly your comfort zone and you really don’t place much value in image, but the cold hard facts are that your publisher does. Not many authors have an image like yours to promote, so when one comes along they’re going to work it all they can. Try to relax today and have fun. I’m right here with you, and if this guy wants you to do anything more than some mildly sexy pictures, I’ll be all over him. I won’t even let shots like that exist. Okay?”

With a loud sigh, Tessa relented. “Okay, I’ll be a good girl and play dress up.”

* * * *

The steady parade of technicians, assistants, artists, and male models had him more than distracted, and he gave up trying to get any work done. How many men did it take to get a decent picture of a beautiful woman? When the animal handler showed up with an immense, full-blooded black wolf, he found an out-of-the-way vantage point to take in the activities.

He watched the backyard as a team constructed three different sets. One that looked like a dungeon, one that looked like a cemetery, and one that looked like a forest. That made him chuckle to himself. They were building a fake forest when there was a real forest only a few paces away. He could watch this all day and not understand it.

The brouhaha surrounding him had become quite entertaining when from the corner of his vision he noticed a group descending the stairs, his Tessa firmly ensconced in the middle. He turned, intending to cross the room to greet her, but was stopped in his tracks. He felt his eyes widen and his breath caught in his lungs.

The first thing he saw was that she had on that fucking button-down shirt again. Damn. Why would she keep wearing someone else’s shirt after last night? He’d have to take a pair of scissors to that rag later.

The thought of shredding the hated shirt having lifted his spirits, he looked up at her again. He knew she had been locked away with a team to do her makeup and hair but he didn’t anticipate this effect. Her blonde-brown mane, which she normally wore in a loose, natural style, allowing her waves to behave as they wished, was now done in a way that, while not really all that different, brought out a primitive, wild look. There was height added at the crown of her head, and her waves had been coaxed into loose curls. A massive, untamed tumble surrounded her small face. Atop her head was a scarlet-red tiara-like crown that gave her a regal appearance that lent just a hint of the diabolical.

Tessa’s face had also been transformed. She didn’t have on excessive makeup, but what had been applied made a huge difference. Gavan detested overly made-up women, but this was pure, wicked fantasy. The most dramatic effect was her eyes. Dark color had been applied above and below her eyes and looked kind of smudgy, giving her a smoky, sexy look that made his cock twitch. He’d brought that look out in her the night before, but that was in her bedroom with the lights low, for him alone. Now she stood in the light of day, people everywhere, and that same look had been nearly duplicated with some crayon for every man there to enjoy and draw upon for fantasy. The eye makeup also accentuated the silvery highlights in her eyes so they appeared icy and otherworldly.

Her lips, surprisingly, hadn’t been colored with red like he’d, for some reason, expected. Instead, they had a nearly natural, almost sweet, light pink color. Quickly, though, he realized that the absence of red paint on her lips was anything but innocent when the shimmery gloss was applied. The resulting sheen brought to mind the shine that coated her lips when they were slick with his cum after she finished sucking him off that morning in the shower. The overall effect made Gavan sure of the purpose of makeup.
Jesus, what the fuck is going on here?
he thought to himself, and he surreptitiously adjusted his stance to make room for his growing cock.
At least she’s not half naked
. But when he looked closer, he saw that what he originally thought were pants were actually shiny, thigh high, black stiletto boots.

On the surface, he hated seeing his sweet, beautiful little Tessa looking like she could rule the Underworld with a lift of her perfectly arched eyebrow, but his body was betraying him and reacting fiercely to her appearance. The whole effect made him realize he could make her look the same way without the use of makeup. He’d made her eyes shimmer, her cheeks flush with color, her lips plump and shine, and her soft skin glow by touching her, licking her, fucking her, and he wanted to take her right there and do it. The boots made her legs look impossibly long for such a tiny girl. He wanted her legs in those boots wrapped around his waist as he slammed his hard cock into her cunt, making her cry out his name and beg for more of him. The effort required to keep himself in check and not stride across the room, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her up the stairs to her room to fuck her brains out was making him sweat.

The photographer poked his head through the sliding door between the inside and outside flurries of activity and shouted to Tessa that set one was ready for her. Gavan watched Tessa, who hadn’t noticed him sitting across the room, give the photographer a nod, and one of the women who had been upstairs with her said something that compelled Tessa to unfasten the button-down shirt. When the woman next to her pulled it from her arms, Gavan nearly passed out.

She stood in a crimson velvet bustier with matching bottoms that were cut high up on her hips. The tight garment cinched her waist until it appeared to be so small that he believed he would be able to put a hand on each side and have his fingertips and thumbs overlap at her belly and her back. Her full, creamy breasts were pushed up so they looked like they might spill over the top if she took a deep breath. Gavan had to concentrate to keep from inadvertently stroking himself in the room full of people. Someone approaching her from behind called her name, and she turned to look for them and he saw that what he thought were panties was actually a thong. Her sweet, tight little ass was naked save the small slice of fabric that dove into her crack and emerged at the top to form a very small upside-down triangle of fabric. His mouth watered. All he could think about was dropping to his knees behind her to lick her whole ass before tonguing her little pink, puckered hole. He closed his eyes in an attempt to compose himself.