shocked. Heâd taken boudoir photos of a hermaphrodite, for pityâs sake. Pictures of women that were pierced in areas that went well beyond his scope of comprehension. He inwardly shuddered. In this business, heâd pretty much seen it all and heâd neverâ never âonce dropped his camera.
And yet, all this woman had to do was utter a few choice words about possibly changing her sexual preferenceâ¦and heâd fumbled a thirty-five-hundred-dollar camera like a freshman rookie a yard from the end zone.
He couldnât believe it. He simply couldnât believe it. A litany of inventive curses streamed through his overwrought mind as he bent over and snagged his camera from the floor.
From the very first moment heâd laid eyes on Delaney Walker heâd known sheâd be trouble with a capital T. For reasons which escaped him now, heâd thought heâd be safe once heâd gotten her behind the lensâthought heâd be able to treat her just like any other beautiful woman who came into his studio. And thereâd been plenty.
In this line of business, any photographer worth his salt, in a sense, had to become desensitized to the female form. Battling a hard-on throughout a session was inconvenient and not conducive to a good shoot. One simply learned how to detach and focus on what lay inside the lens. Sam had mastered the trick years ago, and yet from the very second Delaney stepped out of that dressing room, his loins had been locked in a fiery state of perpetual hell. His blood had been humming with an intense awareness akin to radio static, and his scalp had tingled until he wondered if he might be having some sort of allergic reaction to his shampoo.
He was a wreck.
He didnât just want herâthe driving need gnashing around inside him couldnât be reduced to any such simple termâ he had to have her. Felt like heâd explode, or worse, if he didnât.
One look at her in that virginal peasant gownâhell, she might as well be in a nunâs habit for all the skin revealedâand something deep, dark and primal had taken over. The hint of curves beneath all those yards of fabric, combined with that sexy mouth andlong moonbeam hair and⦠Sam pulled in a tight breath. She was gorgeous, utterly gorgeous, and the fact that she didnât realize it made her all the more appealing.
Heâd wanted to tell her many times during the first few frames just how incredible she looked, how phenomenally hot, but given her almost phobic modesty, he didnât think it wise. For his peace of mind, or hers. Heâd tried to loosen her up with conversation and the ploy had worked right up until sheâd dropped her little I-might-take-a-lesbian-lover bomb.
She had to be one of the most sexually innate creatures heâd ever encountered. Sheâd let that bright green gaze leisurely roam from one end of this body to the other, had all but measured him for a wet suit, yet sheâd suddenly decided to bat for the other team? he thought skeptically. Not likely. He smothered a snort. If she was a lesbian, then he was the damned Easter Bunny.
Delaneyâs soft chuckle drew him from his chaotic musings. âIâve shocked you.â
âNot shocked,â Sam said simply for the sake of argument. âJust surprised. I had no idea that you were a lesbian.â He smiled up at her and tried to project a calmness he didnât feel. âIâd understood that your fiancé was a man.â
He checked his camera over once more, deemed it unharmed, and once again tried to put things back on an even keel. Maybe if he concentrated really hard, heâd be able to think about something besidesthe way her gown had slipped down on her arm, baring one delectable shoulder. Besides tunneling underneath acres of white cotton and exploring every inch of her gorgeous body.
With his mouth.
âMy fiancé was a man,â Delaney told