She surprised him by only taking a few pictures and then coming to sit by him. His look made her duck her chin bashfully and shrug. “I’ll get what I need.”
They sat without speaking for several minutes, and Hunter spent most of that time looking at Mal, who purposefully stared ahead at the view. She was stunning just like this. The golden glow of the fading sun on her skin, the warm evening breeze sending stray tendrils of hair dancing, the green in her eyes dancing with flecks of gold… He was transfixed by her, heart and soul.
“What are you looking at?" she finally asked, her face still forward, though the hitch in her voice told him she knew exactly where he was looking.
He smiled at her defensive tone and the very telling catch. “You,” he said simply. “In the evening light. It’s beautiful.”
She swallowed hard. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked as he reached out to replace a strand of hair the breeze had dislodged, keeping his fingers on her jaw.
“I can’t think,” she whispered.
“Then don’t.”
He turned her face toward him, steadied her eyes with his own, and felt his breathing match her own uneven pace. His hand moved, and he gently parted her full lower lip from her upper with his thumb. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers for a sweet, soft kiss.
Surprisingly, he was shaken by such a simple connection, and instantly wanted more, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her. He broke off gently, touching his forehead to hers, and felt satisfied at the small sigh she released. He started to pull away when her hands came to his face on either side of his stubbled jaw, and she pulled him back to her.
“You’re going to miss it,” he whispered, teasing her by staying just far enough away that their lips didn’t touch.
“Miss what?” she replied, her eyes still closed.
He smiled against her lips and then kissed her again, taking all the time in the world to do so properly.
ChapterNine
Hunter was exhausted, and the early and ungodly hour of this sunrise shoot was just brutal. Dreaming of Mal, reliving her kiss over and over, had made sleeping fairly impossible, and as much as he wanted to enjoy this quiet time with her, he also really wanted to sleep.
But he wasn’t going to. He would just deal with it and catch up when he had to drop her back off at her place. The group resort tour wasn’t until after lunch, so that was plenty of time.
Mal wasn’t chatty this morning, and he was grateful for that. She’d smiled shyly when he’d picked her up, but after that, nothing had been said. It was uncomfortable between them this morning, more than it had been last night, but it was the sort of ticklish uncomfortable that made him smile—or would have made him smile if he had energy to. Thankfully, the site for the sunrise shoot wasn’t far. All he had to do was get her there without crashing and then sit for a while until she was done.
They almost matched this morning with their hoodies and jeans, and she’d gone further by wearing a hat as well. For someone who had apparently just rolled out of bed, she looked far too attractive like this. Something about Mal always looked good, whether she was in sweats or flannel or dressed up. But she wasn’t stop-dead-in-your-tracks attractive. No one would ask to take pictures of her, she wouldn’t draw comment, and people probably forgot her face if they weren’t paying attention. Maybe that was why Hunter loved looking at her so much.
He could see her.
“Come on, sleepyhead,” Mal teased softly from beside him. “I’ll be quick, and then you can go back to bed.”
It took him a minute to realize they were stopped, and he’d been staring out of the windshield for a while. “Sorry,” he mumbled, clambering out of the truck and heading toward the site, holding his hand out for her.
Mal chuckled as she took his hand, squeezing it. “Go sit down. I’ll be right there.”
He gave her a tired smile and did so, leaning against a rock, his arms and head resting on his knees.
Either he fell asleep, or it was a matter of moments and not very many camera clicks before there was a hand on his knee. He looked up and saw Mal shaking her head at him, smiling. He started to scoot over for her, but she gently moved his knee aside instead.
“Let me in,” she murmured, avoiding his eyes.
His eyebrows shot up as he realized what she meant, but his legs moved of their own accord as Mal situated herself between them, leaning back against his chest.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” he whispered as he nudged her head, resting his chin on her shoulder.
She laughed low in her throat. “You think after yesterday I’m supposed to be shy, Mr. You’re Going to Miss It?”
He smiled and nuzzled her ear, just enough to make her squirm. “You didn’t seem to mind.”
“Mind?” She laughed again. “My brain was working backward with how you were staring at me, and then that kiss? You were right; you have got skills.”