Perfect Picture [The ShadowDance Club 7] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

When he stopped speaking, she slowly opened her eyes and spoke quietly. “I’m glad you showed it to me…for many reasons. But most of all I’m grateful because it allows me to see how you saw me that night. And that is one of the most meaningful and sincere compliments I’ve ever received. It also highlights how much I long to be able to trust someone that much again. Because in that picture I see a young woman who trusted and loved…and I lost that somewhere along the way, but I’d like very much to find my way back there again.” She hadn’t realized how much she missed the woman she had been until confronted with her image. When had she become so jaded? Had it started that night and then just continued to unfurl like a rose in full bloom? It was an apt analogy because even though she knew she was beautiful on the outside, Lainy also knew she wasn’t as pretty on the inside and that the thorns surrounding her heart were all too real.

She finally realized she had been lost in thought for several long seconds and that Noah was just waiting quietly and looking at her thoughtfully. She knew he’d been waiting for her to
come back
and focus once again on their conversation before he’d started speaking to her in a soothing voice. “
Cara
, that woman is still very much alive and well. She is just waiting to be set free once again. Come.” He’d taken her small hand in his much larger, calloused one and led her from his office and up the most incredible stairway she’d ever seen. Wide slabs of black gleaming granite that were polished smooth on the top but left rough cut on the bottoms and sides were suspended by cables so the entire staircase seemed to be suspended in the air. Its gentle spiral design accented the stone work and the open feeling of the entire structure. She wanted to ask him about it, but she didn’t want to break the sudden sexual tension she felt between them either because quite frankly, her soul ached with her need to feel that connection again.

Noah kept her hand clasped in his as they walked down the hallway and she smiled at all the pictures hanging on the walls. These were the type of pictures you might find in anyone’s home, because these were shots of his family and friends. Lainy knew that he’d lost both of his parents a couple of years earlier. His mom had died after a short but intense battle with breast cancer and his father had died of a heart attack just a few months later. She remembered her mom telling her that everyone who knew them swore the elder Drummond had actually died of a broken heart.

Lainy hadn’t known his parents well but she recognized them easily in the photos. There were pictures of the three of them taken all over the world. His father had been a very wealthy entrepreneur and she had always figured those trips had been the catalyst for Noah becoming an international sensation as a photographer. When she pulled him to a stop so she could look at the pictures he smiled and nodded. Tracing over the edges of several of the frames showing his family at the Eiffel Tower and The Great Wall of China, she asked, “Did you become a photographer so you could continue traveling the world?”

He was leaning against a door frame smiling when she finally looked up at him waiting for his answer. His smile had always been devastating and she’d always thought he belonged in front of the camera as much as behind it. “Yes and no. My parents always made sure I saw both sides of the cities we visited. We may have seen all the beautiful landmarks but they also made sure I understood that there was a lot of poverty and pain on the backsides of those beautiful structures. I wanted to be able to document the starkness of those inequities. Then I very quickly discovered that I was in a unique position to help in some rather significant ways. But right now, my sweet, I have other plans for you.”

She watched as he stepped forward and when he used his fingers to trace her bottom lip she felt her breath catch and moisture flood her pussy. “
Cara,
I am going to tell you exactly what I want. I want you. I want to feel your bare skin against mine as I map every inch of you with my lips. I ache to watch as the chill bumps of arousal race over your smooth, tanned skin. I want to feel how your body responds to mine as I slide my throbbing cock inside your pulsing heat. I want to hold you in my arms as you come apart when we both find the release we are craving.”

Oh boy.
He certainly hadn’t been kidding about telling her exactly what he wanted. He’d painted a pretty amazing picture in her mind and she could hardly wait to feel his velvet covered steel pushing inside her. There was a small part of her brain that considered she might be giving in too easily, but just the glimmer of that thought brought a riot of protests from her other body parts. She opened her mouth and tried to find her voice so she could reply, but it had deserted her. Finally, she just slowly closed her mouth once again and nodded. He’d laced his fingers with hers and raised her hand so that he could kiss her palm. “Come on sweetheart, let me love you.” His voice was soft and his words a benediction. In that moment, Lainy knew her heart was in big trouble once again.

* * * *

Sitting in his rental car reviewing the pictures he’d taken of Ilaina inside while she had been dancing with the other women Maxwell Bradford wondered how surprised she was going to be when he started sharing them with her over the next few weeks. Thinking back on the evening he met Ilaina, he was still torn between who he should be the angriest at—her or himself.

Granted, he’d had too much to drink and shouldn’t have tried to initiate a conversation with her but she hadn’t exactly been unhappy with his company until he’d tried to kiss her. They’d been getting along great until then and then she had suddenly turned into an ice princess. Hell, he’d sent flowers the next day along with a note of apology and offered to take her to a great place for dinner but she hadn’t even bothered to return his call. And by the time he’d gotten back to the hotel after his presentation, she’d already checked out.

It hadn’t taken him long at all to find Ilaina again after all, finding lost people was a large part of his business. He had been tracking her for months and her steadfast refusal to re-engage him was beginning to really annoy him. He didn’t want to hurt her, he just wanted her. And he’d decided if it took scaring her a bit to get her into his bed, then that was what he’d do. Once he’d finally managed to corner her here in her hometown he’d found out she was going to be in that big house all alone for the next several weeks. He’d gotten some great shots tonight that he’d planned to send her while she, her brothers, and new sister-in-law were on their honeymoon. After he’d laid that groundwork, he’d angle an introduction through their mutual friends and be her white knight.

His plan had been coming together nicely until some other man had suddenly entered the picture. Max had watched as the man one of the waitresses identified as Noah Drummond had wrapped his arms around Ilaina as if he had every right to and then practically seduced her on the dance floor in full view of her family and friends.
Christ, she has a conniption fit when I try to kiss her and this guy comes in from nowhere and she melts into his arms? Who the fuck is Noah Drummond and why did my woman leave with him?
It was time to get the hell out of Dodge before he attracted any unwanted attention.

He’d gotten his pictures and also gotten his “chance” meeting with Alex Lamont. Max had greeted one of the men he knew called the shots for Lamont Holdings and had given him a business card, after all, they were in businesses that would work well together. One of the things Max did best was laying his groundwork in meticulous detail. Better the Lamont’s security team was working with him than against him.

As he pulled out onto the highway leading out of the small mountain town he couldn’t help smiling about how close he’d been to his sweet angel again. She’d walked right by him on her way down the narrow hallway leading to the ladies’ room. Her beautiful hair had brushed over his arm in a silky wave when she’d turned suddenly to answer her friend’s call. He’d nearly come from the smell of her perfume alone.

He’d never had trouble getting women into his bed, so why was he so obsessed with Ilaina? Was it because she’d run? Or that every straight man on the planet had seen her face and lusted for her? Or was there really something that special about the woman? Max honestly didn’t know the answer to the question and feared the answer was some mixture of all of those reasons. But the one thing he did know was that the game would need to be stepped up now that Noah Drummond had entered the picture. Max wouldn’t tip his hand just yet, but soon—very soon, she would be his.

Noah should have been exhausted. He’d traveled straight through for so many hours that time zones had started to blur together. He’d been determined to get back in time for the Red Clouds’ wedding and had hated missing the actual ceremony. Alex had been keeping him posted and had smoothed his trip back at every stop. But the minute he’d seen Ilaina dancing his fatigue had evaporated like a summer rain on the sunbaked earth of the hell-hole he’d left almost forty hours ago. Seeing her eyes go wide as he led her into the master suite’s spa bath made every cent of his guilty indulgence money well spent.

The black and gray color scheme had been a nod to his love of the shadows and highlights created by black and white erotic photos. He couldn’t wait to get back in to the studio and start creating once again. Alex and Zach had already asked him to spend time photographing their wife Katarina and they’d actually had some great ideas for intimate shots they wanted taken. Their only request was that one of them was present during her sessions. He’d agreed and laughed when they’d told him they had attended every doctor’s appointment she’d had until Bree Hart had joined the staff at the local hospital. Alex had chuckled and said that every Dom at The ShadowDance Club had breathed a sigh of relief when Bree had married Jamie Creed and Ethan Jantz deciding to make Climax her new home.

Standing under the rain soaking shower heads moving his soap covered hands over Ilaina’s toned body was the very definition of a sensual experience if you asked Noah. He had already shampooed her beautiful hair and knew his Bulgari Aqua shower gel was going to smell a lot better on her than it did on him. She’d leaned forward and brushed her peaked nipples against his chest as she whispered, “Now I know why you always smell like a warm ocean breeze racing over a field of freshly cut grass and sage. Every time I caught a whiff of this scent I looked for you. I followed a man for two blocks one evening in Buenos Aires just so I could lose myself in the memories of this scent.”

When Noah looked up at her he noticed she’d closed her eyes, but he wasn’t going to let her hide her passion from him so he quietly commanded, “Open your eyes,
cara
.” When she did he smiled. “Sweetheart, you never have to hide your emotions from me. I want to know exactly where your heart is every moment. I’ve lost too much time with you, and I refuse to miss another second.”

He quickly scrubbed the travel grime off of himself and then handed her one of the large, thick towels he’d laid aside. While she’d dried her long hair he’d gone into the bedroom to turn down the bed and light enough candles to bathe the entire room in a soft golden glow. Remembering that she had always loved piano music, he’d started the stereo and made sure the tracks he’d chosen for her were playing by the time she walked tentatively into the room. Moving to stand in front of her he let his fingers draw an invisible line down the side of her face just letting her settle for a moment. He could see the pulse at the base of her neck speed up and while he wanted her excited, he wanted her arousal not her nervousness.

“
Cara,
I’ve been waiting for this moment for so very long. I know you don’t understand yet why I kept my distance, but know this—it was never because I didn’t want you.” He felt his cock pressing against the towel he’d wrapped around his waist and he let his fingers slide down to where she’d tucked in the towel she’d wrapped around herself. “Before we get you out of this wet towel and into bed I want to remind you that I’m still a Dominant. It’s a part of who I am and while I can do sweet and tender it won’t always be like this. The one thing you can always trust is that I’ll have your best interests at heart. I will take that responsibility seriously. You have grown up with strong male role models and I’ll do my best to live up to the high standards they have set.” He knew he was probably saying more than was needed since she hadn’t agreed to anything beyond this moment, but he wanted her to know how committed he was to making this work.

Noah didn’t want to scare her off, but his father’s words echoed through his mind. His dad had always said, “Begin as you intend to go—in all things.” Most people hadn’t realized that his mother had actually been his father’s slave. Theirs had been a committed, twenty-four-seven, D/s relationship. And while Noah had never desired that type of relationship he also understood the importance of laying out at least some of his expectations from the beginning.

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her face even after he’d finished speaking and he was starting to worry just before he saw a flash of relief move through her dark eyes. “You’re right I was raised in an environment where the men dominated, but that being said, they always did it with love. My mom and I were protected…sometimes more that we wanted to be. But I always knew I was loved and that sort of confidence is a pretty great gift.” He could tell by her eyes that she wasn’t finished speaking, so he just waited. “I have a basic understanding of the lifestyle my family lives, but I don’t have any practical knowledge…well aside from the one time you took me to The Club. And I think we both know that didn’t end all that well.” He’d taken a young woman who hadn’t been ready for the experience into a BDSM club and she’d seen a lot of things that had frightened her. He’d never forgotten how traumatized Ilaina had been that night and the terror he’d seen in her eyes had haunted him for years.