Page 3 of Burn
She was in the process of saving a woman named Irena from her vicious ex and taking him for everything he had. Not all heroes wore capes…
“Grace, darling,” Jock called, snapping his fingers. “Come. Now.”
I shed the robe, letting Nancy catch it, as I strode forward. My nipples were hard as rocks before I even took three steps. The sun was climbing relentlessly higher. The rocky shore hurt the bottoms of my feet, the thin slippers proving to be little protection against the sharper stones.
“Beautiful,” Lloyd said as he caught my hand. “We’re going to have to move fast. We’ll be doing topless as well at least for the sunrise. One arm across your breasts…”
“I remember,” I assured him. Lloyd and Jock preferred to cover all their bases. They also loved the more artistic shots. Working with them was always a blessing and a challenge. They would push me, but it wasn’t about sex for them. Did sex sell? Absolutely. But making sensual poses look sensual in places like this was all about the angle of the camera, the eye of the photographer, and my ability to project the image they wanted.
The first few shots were static, then they waved me toward the water.
“Walk along the edge,” Jock said. “Let the water stroke your toes.”
I didn’t snort, though I was almost dead certain Eleanor had. Maybe I imagined it. She was a dozen feet away, sunglasses on and cigarette lit as Nancy spoke to her. They were probably handling emails and messages.
Barefoot, I padded down over the rocks and ignored where they stabbed at the soles of my feet. The first rush of water over my toes was brutally cold. The second helped to numb the ache.A breeze picked up and I raised my arms as if imagining I could fly with it.
It was cold as hell and it pressed the cotton shift so tightly against me, I didn’t have to imagine it highlighted my whole body.
“Perfect!” Lloyd called. “Keep moving. Just—play with the water. Kick it up…”
Every instruction added a fresh layer of hell to the morning, but I didn’t let it disturb my zen. When Lloyd called for a smile, I smiled. When he said glare, I glared. When he told me to play, I danced like it was raining. When it came time to let the shift go, I walked with my arms wrapped around my upper half, just enough to hide the curve of my breasts.
We’d gone almost a half-mile by the time the sun was up hovering above the horizon and the light stretched out with almost insubstantial fingers to stroke over me. The wind redoubled and tossed my hair.
“Spin!” Jock said. “Arms wide!”
A laugh escaped me. These images would be all whimsy and seduction. A temptress of purity on the warm shores as the summer waves came in.
The absolute absurdity of it all captured for the masses who couldn’t feel how frozen I was or how cuts on the bottoms of my feet stung. They wouldn’t know the frostbite I courted with my nipples or how today was anything but a warm sunny day.
That was fine, after all.
I traded in dreams and mystery. My job was to put on the show and make them believe in the magic.
And I wasdamngood at my job.
Chapter
Two
GRACE
The shoot went until past midnight, but Lloyd and Jock were enthusiastic about the number of photos they got. They’d brought out part of Jock’s crew to process the digital images, it let them review during outfit and location changes. In the end, it also made a long day even longer while also making sure we maximized our time on location.
It meant I received not only the bulk of my shooting fee, but it doubled when we went over eight hours, then tripled when we got close to midnight. Either way, it was a tidy sum and made me even happier I turned down the yachting offer. Eleanor and I parted ways as my driver returned me to the city. It was almost three am by the time I’d showered, moisturized, and fallen face first into bed.
I slept in until almost noon. Eleanor and Nancy had both left me messages, including Eleanor telling me that the offer had gone up to two million. She sounded almost mournful in her voicemail, but she was already turning it down. Good, I wasn’t going to have the debate again.
Nancy had sent over tickets for Paris, which I was due to be in a couple of weeks, as well as reservations at my favorite spa in the whole city. Making sure I updated my calendar withthe reservation numbers, I finished going through the messages. The only one who hadn’t responded yet was Amorette.
It was the middle of the day and she’d had court this week. When she was deep into a case, particularly one that meant as much to her as Irena—fuck I couldn’t remember her last name. The client was important. If I hadn’t heard from her before I left the next day, I’d send her a message to remind her about our girls weekend. The case was important, but so was time for us. It was why I rented us a place on the Outer Banks.
As much as I wanted to stay in bed, I needed to go to the gym, then shower, then get my nails done before I packed. Thankfully, my building had a gym and since the building was secure, only residents could use it. Helped me to avoid guys trying to hit on me or pick me up. It had become such a nuisance at my last gym that when I moved, I paid extra to make sure I could work out in the building.
Twenty minutes and a protein shake later, with my headphones in and workout mix chosen, I was running on the treadmill. It didn’t need to be a long run today, because I also had weight training. But there was something just mentally cleansing about the ritual. I’d only started running in high school because I’d been dating one of the guys on track. Kept running when I was dating a football player, then hockey, and eventually when I came to New York—running went everywhere.
I kept running cause I liked maintaining my physique. Thin was a requirement of the job, but I didn’t want to be so skinny, and lacking in muscle, because that would make me frail. I also liked food, so I split the difference. After my run, I switched to weights. The workout wasn’t pushing me. Today was about toning and burning some calories.