Behind His Lens(54)

“Okay, but only because I’m starving,” I huff, as if I’m even slightly annoyed with his presence.

He winks as I hold the door open a little wider and let him pass by, “Oh, of course.” His presumptuous tone makes me want to kick him out, just barely. Unfortunately, it also makes me want to jump his bones.

It’s quite the predicament.

“You can set out the food while I change.” I point over to the small dining room table in the corner of the room facing the large floor-to-ceiling windows.

He sets the bag down and glances at me over his shoulder with smoldering eyes. “I think I like what you have on just fine.”

“I’m sure you do,” I retort with a scolding head shake. He chuckles as he starts to open the bags, and I quickly grab my yoga pants and a loose night shirt.

“You should see what I’m wearing tomorrow. It’s a really modest one piece,” I joke as I walk back out from the bathroom, having changed and brushed out my long hair so that it falls straight down my back. It’ll only last for a few minutes though; the moment it starts to air dry it’ll turn into loose waves.

“Somehow I doubt that.” He quirks his brow skeptically as he starts to scoop salad and chicken onto one of the plates. I smile, accepting the plate as I take one of the seats at the table. I wrap my legs up under me and as soon as my eyes take in the feast before me, my stomach grumbles loudly. It’s a strange sensation after having lost my hunger so long ago.

“I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” I blush, unwrapping one of the plastic forks.

“You seem to be forgetful when it comes to food,” Jude remarks, but I just shrug doubting he’d be able to understand.

Once he’s sitting across from me and we’ve eaten a few bites, he pauses and glances up. “So tell me more about this suit?”

“Well, it’s covered by a really long skirt, so you can’t see anything.”

“Mhm,” he mumbles, not believing me for a second.

“Don’t believe me?” I cock my brow challengingly.

“Not in the slightest,” he says, licking his lips between bites. My eyes follow its trail as I try to recall what he tastes like. Minty spice instantly comes to mind.

“Well, I guess you’ll just see tomorrow,” I shrug, knowing he’ll freak even more now.

He nods, looking me straight in the eye as he murmurs, “I can’t wait.”

My cheeks flush as I quickly look down at my plate. “What did you do while I was in the fitting?”

“I had a meeting with the crew, but then I had a little bit of time to go explore the beach outside of our hotel.”

“Oh, I’m so jealous!”

He furrows his brows in concern. “We’ll have time to go after the shoot tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure how tired we’ll be, but maybe after a nap we can go swim or walk down the beach.”

I chew the rest of my bite slowly before nodding. “That would be really fun.”

After a few bites in silence he asks, “Did you get to meet any of the other models?”

“I met a girl named Bella. She was really nice and she admitted to seeing us sleeping on the plane, so I’m sure she wasn’t the only one.”

“We weren’t doing anything wrong,” he answers with a sternness behind his blue gaze.

“Oh, no. I know,” I clarify, “Well actually I wasn’t certain, but it didn’t feel wrong to me.”

“Good,” he nods his head, and I can tell he likes my answer. “Was she nice to you?”

The way he asks makes it clear that if she weren’t, he’d be all too willing to rectify the situation. Suddenly, I’m glad she was sweet...I can’t blame him for wanting to be protective of me; I’m just not sure why he feels the need to be. Maybe because he orchestrated this whole job he doesn’t want me to have a horrible time?

“Oh, yeah. We chatted for a while actually,” I pause, wondering if I want to tell him the next part. Will it boost his ego even more and remind him of all the other options he has available to him? “I’ll be honest, she warned me about the other girls having crushes on you.”


“Charley, we talked about that earlier.”

“I know. I trust you, and jeez, it’s not like I have some kind of deed on you. I just wanted you to know what she said.”