He laughed and led me down a short hallway to a set of double doors. Once we were on the other side, I realized we were in the very large, very beautiful office of Mr. Myers. Art decorated every wall that wasn’t taken up by the view, and there was an impressively large workspace littered with camera equipment and brightly colored notes tacked over prints.
“I thought you were a teacher. What happened?”
I went straight to a print of a vintage car rusting in the middle of a field of cotton. The angle was so perfect, it made me want to be there, seeing it for myself. The composition of the shot was just right, too. It was shot by a true artist. “My boss cut the summer art program and threatened to cut the entire art program. I quit, partly because she was making me miserable and partly because I’m hoping she’ll bring in an art teacher she actually likes and the program will be safe.”
“You’re kidding.”
I looked at Beck over my shoulder and shrugged. “I wish. Why are we in here?”
He moved to stand next to me but he watched me instead of the art. “I thought that night at the church was it. The way you ran away made me doubt I’d ever see you again. We’re in my office because it’ll be harder for you to sprint away from me in here.”
I snapped my head in his direction and met his humor-filled eyes. “Your office?”
He nodded. “Beck Myers. Nice to meet you again, Win.”
Grasping my hands together, I inched backwards. “I think I left my truck running.”
Beck laughed easily and caught my hands. “Let me give you the tour before you run away? Maybe by the end of it, you’ll see that working here wouldn’t be the worst thing you could ever do.”
"I don't even know what I was thinking, Beck. I have Birdie. This seems like much more than I could sign on for, anyway."
"I'm a single parent, too, Win. I get that you might need to take off early or bring Birdie here. A kid around here would liven the place up. Lauren would love it. I've seen the way she shudders in joy when she has to talk to my kids." He grinned. "The few times I've brought the kids to office parties, I offer them money to just stand near her and stare."
"You're telling me that it would be a terrible idea to bring Birdie here! Lauren would be traumatized."
"Lauren could handle it. We need help, Win." He leveled me with a hard stare. "More importantly, you're here for a reason. You need a job. Now, let me show you around before you make any decisions. Please."
He was insane if he thought I was going to work for him, but I wasn’t willing to walk away from a tour of his art, and that was what it was, I’d already decided. Looking back at the shot of the car, I nodded. “Okay.”
He took my hand in his, and I was struck again by the tattoos that covered his skin. “Okay, first I want to show you the rest of the office. There are prints along the way that you can look at if you’d like. There are also a few different studios for when I shoot here. Then, we’ll finish back in here, and I’ll show you my favorite project.”
His eagerness to show off was contagious, and I felt a heady buzz as I followed him around. I saw the business he’d built, the staff he employed, and most impressively, the art he’d made. I wanted to spend more time at each framed piece, but Beck was impatient as he pulled me from room to room. He introduced me to everyone we ran into as his friend, Win, who might be helping out at the front desk for a while. I saw the looks people gave me and the looks they gave the spot where Beck still held my hand, but I tried to ignore it in favor of enjoying the art.
When we entered his office again, he pointed me to the table that held all the working clutter. “This is what I’m working on for myself.”
I moved to the table and my breath caught in my throat when I saw what he’d been working on. I knew it had nothing to do with me, but seeing that he’d been capturing images of the stained glass in the church made my heart race. He’d managed to catch the rays of light hitting the desk so perfectly that tears filled my eyes. It was so beautiful, and the fact that I felt connected to the space made it even more special.
My fingers hovered over the photo of the desk, and I blinked away my silly tears. The sound of a camera clicking drew my attention to Beck, and I saw him smiling at me over his camera. Feeling shy, I rolled my eyes and turned away. “Sorry, Beck, but I don’t think I’m on the same level as the art you normally make.”
He grunted. “Beg to differ.”
When I looked back at him over my shoulder, he captured another picture and moved closer. I turned to face him head-on and raised my eyebrows. “This might be considered weird in some circles, Beck.”
His camera clicked again, and then he dropped it on the table and moved closer. “Not this circle, though?”
I sank my teeth into my lip as he moved into my personal space. His warmth soaked into my body, and my breath was full of his scent. “Still a little weird, but only because you’re choosing to shootme. Have you seen the other women who work in this office? If you’re looking to make art, Beck, you’re pointing that thing at the wrong girl.”
His hands gripped my waist and he yanked me into his hard body. The soft material of his T-shirt brushed over my chest, and the hardness of his middle pressed firmly into my stomach. “I don’t think you understand how much I’ve been kicking myself for not getting a picture of you that night. You just disappeared, and I didn’t get enough. I’ve been stroking myself to your memory, but it’s not the same.”
My cheeks burned even as my panties dampened. “Are you going to… stroke yourself… to those pictures?”
He growled and slid his hands around to cup my butt. “If I say yes, are you going to run out of here screaming?”
I shook my head.
“Yes, Win. I’m going to look at those pictures when I jerk off from now until the moment you release my brain from whatever spell you cast over me with this sweet ass. I’d rather have the real thing, though.”
I searched his face for a sign that he was being dishonest. How could he find me that attractive? I didn’t understand it, but I felt it. It burned through my body like lava. “This is crazy. I didn’t come here for this.”