A soft cough brought him back to the sudden realization Derrick was probably at that moment planning his demise for openly lusting after Melanie. Only the expression on Derrick’s face was unreadable—his own interest in the woman standing at his side crystal clear in the ridge bulging the front of his pants.

Derrick was just as turned on as Nathan, and Nathan hadn’t a clue what to do.

So he did the only thing he could think of. Picked up his camera and directed Melanie and Derrick into the positions he wanted. He started slowly. After getting Derrick to place Melanie back in the corner, leaning on the wall, Nathan took the simple shots first.

“That’s right. Relax your neck, let your shoulders fall. I’m taking a picture from the neck up, arranging the shot frame with the top edge of your sports bra.”

“I still don’t understand how you think this will produce anything someone will buy for a coffee table. I’m rather ordinary to look at, Nathan, really I am.”

“Bull.” Derrick beat Nathan to the punch this time. “Don’t put yourself down or I’ll make sure you know exactly how attractive you are.”

Nathan’s fingers skittered on the shutter button as he compelled himself to hold the camera steady. Derrick had placed a single finger on Melanie’s throat, hovering over where her heart beat visibly. He dragged his hand downward, stroking softly. Nathan kept clicking, catching her shiver, the resulting line of goose bumps that rose over her arm.

“You don’t have to fit some textbook-model stats to be gorgeous, Melanie. You’ve got grit. You’ve got the most incredible smile. But your body? Hell of a package.” Derrick leaned in and dropped a kiss over her heart and Melanie instinctively arched her back, breasts reaching forward.

Nathan was going to fucking die. He had barely enough brainpower to somehow keep snapping shots.

Melanie cleared her throat. “Derrick—Nate’s watching.”

The words whispered out, chased by her tongue as she licked her lips. The blindfold remained in place. Nathan kept silent, waiting to see what Derrick’s response would be.

“Of course he is, but he doesn’t matter, babe. I’m the one who’s telling you how beautiful you are. Don’t you believe me?”

“I do, but…he’s watching.”

“Doesn’t matter. Pretend he’s not. Pretend there’s no one here but us.”

Derrick stretched his arm across her body and took her lips like a starving man. Melanie snuck one hand up, fingers tangled in Derrick’s hair. Her other hand splayed against the wall as she got caught up in the kiss.

Maybe he was a bastard, but Nathan never stopped taking shots. He dipped to his knees, twisting to achieve the camera angles he needed. While Derrick and Melanie’s lips meshed, their panting breathes echoing off the two-story ceiling, Nathan focused less on big-picture shots and more on revealing a mosaic of flesh and need. The arch of Melanie’s shoulder, the smooth curve of the upper swell of her breast. Derrick’s hand hit the wall next to her torso, the line of his biceps perfectly covering the swatch of fabric over her breasts. The muscular arm appeared as the only thing keeping her upper torso from full exposure to the camera’s lens.

Gorgeous.

In his peripheral vision, Nathan spotted a beam of light inching closer as it fell through the skylight to hit the mat at their feet. Inspiration hit, and Nathan didn’t hesitate.

“Derrick, help Melanie to the floor. Place her in the sun.”

The other man dragged himself away, blinking hard as he fought his way back from the lust-filled creature Nathan had been capturing. Derrick nodded agreement, slipping his hands up Melanie’s torso until he could lift her, taking her to the off-kilter square of brightness marking the center of the gym.

“Nate?”

God, the lost-little-girl sound trembling on her voice was going to kill him. “Don’t worry, monkey, nothing scary is happening. It’s as if you’re back in drama class and you have to pretend to be a tiny little seed. I want you to curl up into as tight a ball as you can.”

She nodded slowly, her fingers still linked with Derrick’s as he stood to her side. “Do you…” She cleared her throat. “Do you want me to take off my top?”

Oh shit. That was so like the Melanie he remembered, attempting to push her own limits far sooner than she needed to. Nathan’s gaze shot to meet Derrick’s. The warning shake of Derrick’s head wasn’t needed. Nathan nodded silently, acknowledging his understanding. She wasn’t ready for more, not today. “Nahh, these are test shots, right? Just plop your butt down and let me take advantage of the light.”

The visible relaxing of her body showed they’d made the right decision. With incredible grace, Melanie sat, pulled her thighs to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shins.

“Do you need me to do anything?” Derrick asked.

Nathan stepped in circles around his subject, working as he spoke. “Not this time. Since it’s just the test shots. Wait—yes, in a second I’ll use your shadow. Okay, Mel, remember that drama-class thing? You’re a seed, and it’s springtime. Let’s see you grow.”

Melanie lifted her head from where she’d buried her face against her knees. Her eyes were still covered, but her smile shone out clear and bright. “Oh, come on, you’re not going to tell me what kind of flower I am? What’s my motivation? Am I a good seed? Or a bad one? I can’t possibly do this kind of improv without more direction.”

Nathan and Derrick both laughed.

“You’re nuts, that’s what you are,” Derrick teased.

“Ahhh, a peanut plant. See, that’s what I mean, Nate. Give me instructions, and I can do anything.”

As if by magic, the high sexual tension and lingering fear that had fogged the space around them for the past couple of hours faded away, and for the next thirty minutes there was nothing but easy camaraderie between them all.

Friends. Nathan finished his work even as he struggled through what was a massive mental change in game plan. It was becoming crystal clear that Derrick and Melanie were more than something casual, and although a part of him still wished he had been the one kissing Melanie senseless earlier, he wasn’t planning on sticking around after this assignment. Fucking up someone else’s life wasn’t something he wanted to take the credit for.

As hard as it was to accept, being friends with Mel was all he was going to get.


Derrick stirred his coffee slowly, the thoughts racing through his brain enough to madden him. The whole photo session had made him harder than a pipe, and there was no way he could simply let it lie. He wasn’t usually the type to get demonstrative in public, yet the rush he’d gotten taking charge of Melanie in front of Nathan had been undeniable.

And that was only the start of the issue.

His normal go-to guy in terms of talking about women and relationships was out of the question. He could just see it now, asking Kane for suggestions about dealing with his sister in regards to sex. Not happening.

So instead, he was going with the back-up help. He made his way over to where Jack sat, his fingers flying over the surface of an iPad.

“Okay, geek boy, put the toys away.”

Jack grinned at him and clicked off a few final buttons. “Ass. Just because you hate technology doesn’t mean the rest of us need to ignore it.”

“Don’t hate it, but I can live without it most of the time. I do love my GPS.”

The sunny outdoor patio was filled with locals and tourists taking advantage of the gorgeous August day. “Jack, got a tough one, and I need some suggestions.”

Jack raised a brow. “Me? You’re talking about a woman situation here? Because you always go to Kane for that kind of thing. I thought I freaked you out.”

“Yeah, but since this involves Melanie, I can’t ask Kane.”

“Right, you two are going out. I hope it’s nothing bad, because while I’m not her brother, I’ll still beat your ass if you’ve done something to hurt her.”

Derrick shook his head. “Things are great, the woman is a goddess, and I have no intention of hurting her. It’s this old friend of the family, Nathan King. Did you hear about him being around?”

“Taking pictures of her for some news article. Kane wasn’t a hundred percent happy about it.”

Oh boy, this was not easy. “Look, I need your honest opinion. You’re involved in a relationship with a woman who is also involved with another guy. How does it work?”

Jack hesitated. “You’re not asking about the physical dynamics are you?”

Now there was a discussion he didn’t want to have with Jack. “Hell, no. I know you and Kane are both doing Dara, and I don’t care if it’s together, from the rafters or painted with whipped cream. It’s the emotional side I’m trying to figure out. I’m not stupid, it’s clear this is more than a fling for you three. It’s not as if you’ve been hiding it in public, especially not over the last few months.”

Resignation and amusement both flashed over Jack’s face. “I must have ‘let’s talk about our deepest feelings’ written on my forehead. Yes, Derrick, spill all your emo questions on me. I’m used to it now, after all this time with Kane.”

Kane? “Really?”

Jack laughed. “Just tell me what’s up.”

Derrick nodded, still slightly disturbed by the image of Kane and Jack having long, deep meaningful conversations, and yet—why was that strange? They would have to talk through some major shit if they were going to survive having three people involved in a relationship.

He pulled himself back to the present. “Here’s the deal—Melanie and I are solid as far as I can tell, but she’s still got issues in terms of body image because of her scars. And yet, up pops this dude from her past, and she’s not only interested, he is as well. And I’m fucking freaking out because instead of wanting to kill him, I’m thinking this is exactly what Melanie needs—to be admired by someone else, and not just me.”

Jack stared out the window at the street for a moment, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “You do this crap even better than Kane. That’s a tough one. I’m no shrink, but when someone’s been through an incident like Melanie, it makes sense that it’s a long road to full recovery. It’s probably a positive sign that she’s showing an interest in someone. I mean, not that it’s great for you or anything.”

Derrick waved a hand. “I mean it—things are good between us. She confessed to me she had a crush on him way back when. He obviously has an interest in her. He was taking pictures earlier, and the room just screamed with this fuck me tension. Only, I’m wigging out because I’m not…”

He trailed off, not sure how to explain it right.

“Feeling possessive?”

Derrick swore. “I’m fucked in the head, aren’t I?”

Jack laughed. “Well, that makes us even, because I get the same damn reaction every time I catch Kane and Dara getting naked together. I wait for the flare of anger to hit, and when it doesn’t arrive I wonder if my balls are going to shrivel up and fall off in punishment for denying my manhood.”

The picture of totally-in-charge Jack taking a backseat didn’t sit right, but the confession made Derrick’s hope rise. “Really? I’d always thought you meekly sharing a woman seemed crazy.”

“Trust me, there’s nothing meek about it. It pissed me off for the first couple months at times, but now that we’ve been together in a committed relationship for eight months, I’m not sure how we managed before.” Jack held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, we still have fights, but considering there are two of us to deal with Dara when she’s hormonal? Much easier than having to figure out a woman all by yourself.”

“I’m not talking about forever, Jack. It just struck me maybe Nathan would be good for Mel short term.”

“Help her know that someone else feels she’s attractive?”

“That kind of thing, yeah.” Derrick laughed at himself. “Insane, right?”

Jack leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Actually, no. I mean, it depends on the way you go about this. You’re not talking about taking off for a few weeks and letting the guy bonk her, are you?”

No freaking way. “Screw that. If she’s doing anything, it’s going to be with me there, making sure she’s okay all the time.”

“See, there’s where your situation and ours is different—although I guess our crazy situation began for a similar reason. You’re talking about something that helps you get to the end result that’s best for Melanie. Confidence in herself.”

“Right.”