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depths. He could have stopped me at any point. He was strong enough to lift me off him. But

he didn’t. Instead he moved his hips in time with mine; eliciting moans I’d been keeping in

this whole time. I didn’t need any further encouragement.

Little by little the pressure in me mounted. I struggled for breath, each exhalation coming

out as sobs of ecstasy. I rode him with abandon, running my fingers up the corded muscle of

his arms until I reached his callused hands. I held on. Almost there. Just. A little. More.

Luka grunted, adding more pressure to where our bodies met. I felt the tip of him slide

against my center and I cried out. He soon followed, calling out my name.

Not once did we unlock our gaze from each other. We watched as we climaxed one after

the other. I slowed my rhythm, milking every last quivering warmth he sent up and down my

body. I wanted the moment to last forever.

But I knew it wouldn’t. From the second it began, I knew.

Once the last of the quakes eased and my muscles relaxed, I heaved a content sigh. Sweaty

and spent, I unlocked his hold on my hips and climbed out of bed. Luka sat up and stared.

Not paying attention to the question on his beautiful face, I picked up my clothes and put

them back on, leaving my camera for last. Once it was around my neck again, the gray of

dawn arrived.

“Dakota?” Luka finally said.

Wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, I leaned in and coaxed his lips apart with

mine. I touch my tongue against his, shivering at the feel of the metal stud there. Just as he reached out for me, I pulled back with a wide smile on my face.

“Thanks,” I said. “I needed that.”

I made an about face and padded out of his room, using the terrace again as my return

route to my room. Snow continued to fall, melting the second the flakes touched my super-

heated skin. I didn’t mind them.

Invigorated, I stepped into my room and took a deep breath, ready to face another day.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Confrontation

Guilt washed over me like the hot stream of water coming from the showerhead. It stirred

up acid in my grumbling stomach. As I leaned my forehead against the tile and let the water

just run, I mentally flogged myself. What had I done? Well, I knew what I did. I just couldn’t accept the fact that I actually did it.

Steam rose all around me, constricting every breath. No matter how hot the water got, I

shivered. I’d used Luka to run away from the demons in my head. Usually, I handled the

dreams by taking a walk around the block or just getting back to work. This morning

everything seemed different. I’d lost control of my senses and begged for some sort of

release. Now I may have destroyed any chances of a non-awkward photo shoot with Luka.

And I just left him there, without explanation.

I needed that?
What kind of jerk said something like that after using someone so

blatantly? I shouldn’t just mentally flog myself, they should drag me out and tie me to a pole and whip me.

Okay, a tad too overdramatic, but I was in that sort of mood.

Skin pruned and forehead aching from the cold tile, I pushed down the tap. Slowly, the

waterfall dried up. For a second, I stood in the shower, feeling the water beading my body roll down my skin. Luka’s fingers left their mark on my hips; he’d gripped me so hard.

“Ugh!” I pushed aside the fogged up glass door. “I’m the worst person in the world.”

I stepped onto the floor mat and grabbed a towel from the stack. Briskly drying myself

then wrapping the towel around me, I thought about how I could show my face to Luka ever

again. I’d never been shy when it came to sex. I took what I wanted, but never taking

advantage of my partner. I gave as good as I got—in some cases even better. I’d reached a new

low by running to Luka for comfort. What happened when my thirty days were up?

Pissed at my lack of self-control, I fastened my patch tightly before facing the mirror. I

frowned at my reflection. Confronting my dreams was furthest from my favorite things to do.

I usually ignored them and moved on with my life. Why I moved in the direction of Luka I

had no idea.

“I should just apologize,” I told my reflection. Oh, my ego didn’t like that. So what if I did what I did? Let’s be honest, he’d been sexually harassing me since I came here. Alright, it

hadn’t happened since the night I’d offered myself up to him, but still.

Squaring my shoulders, I picked up my toothbrush. With every stroke of the bristles

against my teeth, I crossed further and further into the dark side, considering what happened

this morning as payback.

Half crazy, I dropped the towel around my body into the hamper and quickly pulled on my

clothes. No use running around in circles in my head searching for reasons. The worst that

could happen when I faced him again would be rejection. I’d been through it before and

survived. If I acted like nothing happened then maybe we could move on.

In the living room, while tying my boots, I felt a fraction better. I just had to survive a

couple more weeks. Two weeks that would go by in a flash if I focused on my work. And

speaking of work, my next subject traipsed into my room without knocking.

“Oh, good,” Phoenix said, a bright smile on her makeup free face. “You’re awake.”

“You’re in a good mood today,” I replied, pulling the knot of my laces tight.

“Grab your camera.”

“I haven’t thought of the right shoot for you yet.”

She tsked. “No, silly. We’re all heading for the lake this morning.”

“The lake?” I’d wanted to head out that way since seeing it from the air.

“After yesterday’s unpleasantness,” Phoenix rolled her eyes, “we’ve decided to take a break

and have a picnic.”

I looked over my shoulder about to mention the snow but not a flake remained.

Apparently, the sun decided to shine brightly while I chastised myself in the bathroom.

Getting up from the couch, I grabbed my camera. A blush crept up my cheeks. The pictures

I’d taken of Luka asleep were still inside. Might as well stamp creep across my forehead. Who

knew I had weirdo genes in me?

“We?” I turned toward the lead singer of Vicious standing in the middle of my living room

in sweats. She totally looked the opposite of the persona she carried with her on stage. Just to keep evidence of the difference, I snapped a picture.

“No!” She squealed, covering her face. “I’m not photo ready.”

I checked said photo on my digi screen. “You’re crazy. You actually look so much better

without the makeup on.” I went to her side and tilted the LCD her way. “Not that you aren’t

gorgeous all made up either.”

Phoenix peered at her picture and touched her face. “You think so?”

“I know so.” I powered down my camera to save the battery. “So, who is this ‘we’ that

decided on a picnic today?”

The smile on her face should have made me nervous.

***

moved when a cool breeze glided over it. I shielded my eye from the glare. The weather didn’t

feel like December in Crescent City. I breathed in the freshness of pine and all my muscles

relaxed. A stand of trees surrounded the lake with a patch of grass and wildflowers separating the water from the mainland. Oh, the things you could have if you had enough money. A

private lake wasn’t too shabby at all.

Phoenix and Yana spread out a blanket below the shade provided by a bur oak. Demitri

trotted to the small dock to check on the dinghy turned over at the end of it. The oars right

underneath.

Dray, in waders and a straw hat, cast a line into the water while the one person I’d been

succeeding at avoiding hefted a fairly large picnic basket onto the blanket. Even on a picnic, Yana still wore her Lolita outfit, this time completing the ensemble with a parasol. The guys, aside from Dray, preferred jeans.

I chuckled. No matter how casual the members of Vicious dressed, I could still take

pictures of them for a catalogue and it would sell well. Sometimes I wished I’d catch them

during an un-pretty moment. What I would give for a bad hair day or a giant zit.

Unfortunately, something told me that was never gonna happen.

“Don’t you have servants for that?” I teased as Phoenix and Yana dug into the basket.

“When we’re at the lake we like doing things ourselves,” Luka answered for the girls, his

penetrating gaze on me. I had to stop myself from running back to the house. I said I would

face him and that was what I was doing. I was woman enough to deal with the consequences

of what I’d done.

“The boat’s looking good,” Demitri said from behind me.

“Let’s have lunch first then you can take me out,” Phoenix answered. Her eyes only on

Demitri, she smiled.

“I’ll call in Dray,” Luka said. When he walked passed me, he whispered, “This isn’t over,

you and me.”

A powerful shiver rolled through me at his words. I closed my eye and forced myself not to

pant in anticipation. It didn’t help that his scent swirled in the air after him.

“Dakota, egg salad or macaroni?”

Yana’s question pulled me out of a potentially embarrassing moment. Way too many eyes

here. I prayed Luka wouldn’t do anything stupid in front of his bandmates. At least not while

they were looking.

“Egg,” I said.

Demitri took a seat beside Phoenix. Yana, setting her parasol aside, scoped egg salad into a

plate for me. An actual plate. No paper for these folks. The three of them on the blanket

represented such a peaceful scene that I would be a fool not to capture it. I waited until Luka and Dray, who’d left his fishing pool on the shore, joined them.

Vicious, a vastly popular rock band, had a picnic on a sunny day like regular people. I

shook my head. I wouldn’t have believed it if I wasn’t witness to the event. Sometimes we

placed celebrities on a pedestal so high we often forgot they were people too. Dray must have

mentioned one of his facts again because everyone laughed. Yana slapped him on the arm

before handing him a bottle of iced tea. Luka, stretched out on his side, took a bite of an

apple. I swallowed when the fruit’s juices ran down his chin. He took a swipe at it with his

thumb and brought the digit into his mouth. The resulting sucking sound sent quivers in

places I had no right to think about in such a wholesome setting. I suspected he did it on

purpose just to mess with me.

Phoenix fed a spoonful of macaroni salad to Demitri. The scene looked so natural. The

bright sunlight streamed down on them and before I knew it I had five pictures ready to

touch up when I got back to my room and uploaded them on my laptop.

“Put that camera down and eat,” Yana said. “Your salad’s getting cold.”

A grin pulled on my lips. “Egg salad is cold, mother.”

“Don’t sass me, girl.” The Gothic Lolita raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Luka chuckled. “Our egg salad is warm, not cold.”

“Oh.” I dropped my gaze, hoping my blush wasn’t too obvious.

Leaving my camera to dangle from my neck, I trotted to join the scene and occupied my

own corner of the blanket, right by Luka’s legs. I would have chosen a different location if

there was one. Oh, who was I kidding? I still would have sat close to Luka. I took the plate

Yana handed me and shoved egg salad into my mouth. The combination of mayonnaise,

mustard, and honey coated my tongue with every bite. Maybe if my mouth and hands were

occupied I wouldn’t say or do anything I’d regret later. Of course, it didn’t help that Luka

watched me the whole time. Yup, the bastard was making uncomfortable me on purpose.

Two gooey ham and cheese sandwiches, a second helping of egg salad, and a bottle of iced

tea later, I found myself wandering away from the group into the woods. Dray had returned

to his fishing. Phoenix and Demitri paddled out to the middle of the lake. Luka dozed off on a bench in the nearby gazebo. And Yana spoke on her phone—something about the Christmas

party the band was set to make an appearance in.

In any of my photography classes, I never chose nature as my subject unless I really had

to. Totally not my forte, but one could never have enough practice. If I wanted to be one of

the best at my chosen profession, I needed flexibility.

The vibrant orange of a snapdragon caught my attention. I dropped to my knees in front of

it and searched for the best angle before taking the shot. Unbeknownst to most amateur

photographers—basically anyone with a camera—taking a picture didn’t mean just releasing

the shutter. Those who loved the art found the best picture from something as mundane as a

snapdragon. I lost myself in the beauty around me and the art I created from it with my

camera. For the first time since my taking advantage of Luka—yes, I stumbled back into that

mindset—I didn’t think of anything but being one with my surroundings.

I should have known my relaxation wouldn’t last when a twig snapped behind me followed

by words that sent a chill up my spine.

“Care to explain to me what the hell happened in my room this morning?”

I let the chills subside before I pushed up to my feet and faced the consequences of my

actions. Luka leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. The seriousness in his blue eyes

unnerved me.

“I was just looking to scratch an itch?” I joked.

He shook his head so slowly that I didn’t know if he was admonishing me with the action