felt faint. Did he have any idea of its impact? He could have any woman as his sex slave with just the white flash of his teeth.
"Benjamin just asked if you'd mind standing in for the female model for a few minutes so he can set his light meter and try out various poses."
Melissa scanned the room. "She was here a minute ago. What happened to her?"
Dominic leaned in close, his breath on her ear sending goose bumps all over her arms. "Her boyfriend just called and broke up with her. It's going to take a while to fix her makeup." He pulled back and stared into her eyes. "I completely understand if you don't want to do it. Someone else could step in instead."
The makeup artist was practically waving her hand in the air at the thought of getting to rub herself like a cat in heat against Dominic under the lights. Melissa couldn't let that happen to him. Besides, she'd have to be crazy not to jump at five minutes of blissful nearness.
She manufactured a wide smile. "No problem. I'd be happy to help."
He took her hand and squeezed it as he led her over to the lights. She'd never thought the day would come when Dominic DiMarco would be holding her hand. His palms were calloused from years of catching footballs, and she couldn't help imagining his hands sliding down her naked body, over her br**sts. Her breath caught at the potent image, then from the incredible real-life sensation of Dominic wrapping a possessive arm around her waist.
"How do you want us to stand, Benjamin?" Dominic asked, the consummate pro after hundreds of photo shoots.
She gave silent thanks that no one expected her to speak. She was too aroused, too amazed that this moment had come to pass. Dominic didn't seem the least bit perturbed about holding her, and she tried not to let his obvious disinterest get her down. Why should he treat her any differently than any other stranger he had to take a photo with?
Benjamin looked through his viewfinder. "Closer. Sexier."
Dominic pulled her closer to him, and she felt the length of his rock-hard quadriceps pressing into her thighs. She'd never been this intimate with a man with such a spectacular body, and it made her a little bit faint. And ridiculously horny.
The photographer grunted, obviously displeased with something. "Melissa, would you mind taking off your sweater? I can't get a handle on anything with all your clothes in the way."
She blinked at him. It was one thing to be held by Dominic with a cashmere barrier between them. It was another entirely to strip down to a silk tank top. Especially when her ni**les were this hard.
Sensing her confusion, Dominic whispered, "I think he needs to see how the light bounces off of skin."
Nodding, she reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head. The photographer's assistant took it from her trembling hands.
The photographer grunted again. "Much better. Now we need to figure a way to make the two of you look like one."
Blood rushed to Melissa's ears and for a moment all she heard was the drumbeat of her pounding heart. How was she going to make it through the next few minutes in one piece?
Following the photographer's suggestions, Dominic pulled her tightly against him, her br**sts pressed against the hard wall of his chest, his groin into her lower belly. Butterflies flew madly around in her stomach. Her fantasies of being in his arms hadn't even been close to the reality of him—his heat, his strength, and even his innate gentleness.
"Much better," the photographer said. "Now tilt your head back."
She lifted her chin a couple of inches and Benjamin made a sound of displeasure. "More."
She felt Dominic's steady heartbeat against her chest. "Don't be shy," he said softly. "It's just me. Arch your back and lean into the weight of my arm. I'll hold you steady."
Forcing herself to concentrate on his words, she remembered that he did this sort of thing all the time. They were each just playing a part for an ad shoot. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she allowed herself to relax against him, to relish her role as the woman he desired above all others.
"That's it," the photographer said as he clicked a series of test shots on his digital camera. "Press your lips against her pulse point, Dominic."
Melissa nearly died as his lips made contact with her skin; for a split