“You certainly did. I want to make you feel this good.” I reached for him.
“Next time,” he said, stilling my hand. “It’s time for sleep now, princess.”
I knew I should argue, but the blissful feeling was lulling me into a trance. “Next time,” I murmured before I felt myself drift away.
19
Tonio
Emma was as excited as a little girl on the day of the photoshoot for the cover of her book. Austin and Denver had arranged for us to use the dance studio where they sometimes rehearsed their routine at the gym, but we had to do it on Sunday evening, since the strip club wasn’t open then.
We got there at nine, when the gym closed, and then spent nearly an hour carting up Knox’s camera equipment, some portable spotlights we’d borrowed from the club, and a few assorted props from Austin and Denver’s dressing room that we thought might come in handy.
Veronica showed up once we got everything set up—naturally—but I couldn’t fault her since she’d given up her evening to help out.
After an hour of trying and failing to get the perfect shot, everyone was a bit cranky—myself included.
Austin and Denver had taken turns trying every pose we could think of, but nothing looked right. The problem, as far as I could see, was that Denver looked too sensitive, and Austin looked too smug. Neither of those things was much of a surprise.
“Come on, Austin, you need to smolder,” Emma urged. It was his turn in the spotlight, so to speak.
Austin shook his arms out and then stretched, as if resetting himself. He looked down for a moment and then slowly brought his head up, staring at the camera with one eyebrow raised.
Knox took several pictures.
“How’s that for smoldering?” Austin asked.
“That’s not smoldering, that’s smirking,” I said.
“No, it wasn’t,” he protested.
“Yes, it was,” several voices said.
“Can I try again?” Denver’s voice was mild. I got the feeling he wanted to soothe his brother’s ego more than he wanted to be in front of the camera again. We were all getting tired.
Veronica took her turn at directing. Though Knox was willing to take the photos, he never made any suggestions for how the twins should pose. “How about you put your hands behind your back… yes, and angle your right shoulder forward, and look off in the distance.”
“Like this?”
“No, because you’re staring at Emma. Pretend you see mountains a long way away.”
Knox snorted. “Better move, Emma, he’s still looking at you.”
Emma walked to the other side of the studio, a faint blush and a small smile on her face. But in a room in which one wall was one long mirror, it didn’t really do much good.
Veronica kept trying. “Okay, keep looking at those distant mountains… now turn to the camera. Look into it. Try to look through it, if that makes any sense.”
Denver did his best, and Knox snapped picture after picture. But no one seemed very encouraged.
“Why don’t we take a break?” Emma said. That was fine by me.
Denver got us all some water, while Austin sat on a folding chair, looking disgruntled. He wasn’t used to people not liking something about his appearance.
Emma and Knox had their heads bent over a laptop, examining the pictures Knox had just taken on some kind of cloud server. Veronica stood behind them, a slight frown on her face. “Will any of them work?”
“Perhaps,” Emma said, but she didn’t sound like she really meant it. A moment later, she was showing Knox some covers of recent romance books that were selling well. “If we could just get one like that, then I think we could call it a day.”
Veronica leaned forward, pushing Knox out of the way, which likely no one had ever done before. “God, that cover is great. That guy is the personification of tall, dark, and handsome.”
“We’re tall,” Denver said.
“And dark and handsome,” Austin added.
“Yeah, I know,” Veronica said with a wink. Wait a minute, which one of them was she winking at and why? “But you’ve got those awesome tawny eyes. What we need is someone with dark eyes. Dark, soulful eyes that seem like they can look right through you. Someone like… oh God, I hate to say this…”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, she looked directly at me. Emma nudged Knox, and their heads swiveled my way.
“What?” I said uneasily. “Why is everybody looking at me?”
“Hell no.” Like an idiot, I’d followed the twins into a nearby locker room. Once I realized what they wanted me to do, I eyed the distance to the door and tried to figure out whether I could get there before they tackled me.
“Come on, it’s not that bad,” Austin said.
“Don’t come near me with that thing. Who knows where it’s been?”
Austin held up a disposable razor in his hand. “It’s brand new. We keep a stash of razors and shaving cream in case we have to go from here straight to the club.”