those bad guys, the people that hurt you, they win.”
I nodded as he lifted my hand from his cheek and placed a warm kiss to the center of my palm. “I want to photograph you.”
“Okay… But can we let Brutus out now? He’s been locked up forever and I hate that my being here has messed up his ability to roam free in his home.”
Killian closed his eyes and let out a long chuckle. “Woman after my own heart.”
“More like woman after doggie snuggles.” I teased to lighten the heavy that we’d just shared. It was beautiful and I’d never forsake it or share it with others, but he was right. We both needed to move forward.
“Go fix up your face. Your makeup is smeared and I doubt you want that in your photos. I’ll get Brutus out and settled.”
“Deal.” I clapped and bounced on my feet a couple times before dashing to the bathroom to fix what I most certainly messed up with my moment and crying jag.
* * *
“Open the robe and let it fall off a shoulder, and then lean back over the block, one hand on the edge,” Killian instructed.
We’d gotten past the heavy moment and I’d fixed my hair and makeup and given Brutus some pets. Tossed his toy across the room a few times, allowed his good mood to change my previously sour one. It had worked like a charm.
“Like this?” I rested both of my elbows on the higher block, my butt on the lower one, and kicked one leg out.
The camera snapped quietly as Lenny Kravitz sang “American Woman” through the surround sound. I swung my foot playfully and smiled as though I were having a blast when in reality the position was super uncomfortable and one I wouldn’t be able to hold much longer.
“Relax… This isn’t working.” He sighed.
I frowned. Occasionally a photographer would claim a setup wasn’t working and change it up. Those days meant much longer sessions in much more difficult positions, and I was already exhausted from the lack of sleep last night and the emotional outpouring we had about an hour ago.
Killian brought the camera over to me and showed me the still frames. They were beautiful, but the more I stared the more blah I felt about them too.
“I mean, they’ll probably be great for a catalogue or a website purchase but something’s missing.” He tied his hair back away from his face in one of those artsy man buns I adored. The man was so naturally sexy. He worked barefoot, and climbed up and down a ladder, crawled on the floor, sat in a chair, basically everything that could give him the angles he wanted. I loved working with professional photographers who did that. They weren’t afraid to get dirty. They were solely focused on getting an incredible shot and that tended to make me more money. Win-win.
He sighed again and glared at the camera. “They’re too damn cold. I feel like the jewel tones in the teddy, the sheen on your skin…all of it is beautiful and warm, but the white background and the barren square blocks are doing nothing for me.” He pursed his lips and turned around and stared at the suede brown couch that was up against the brick wall across the other side of the room. “Feeling adventurous?”
I grinned. “Always.”
“Let’s try my couch.”
“Are you sure you want your home in pictures that could end up on billboards?” I reminded him of what was at stake.
“I want the perfect shot. One that will not only accentuate your beauty and down-to-earth appeal, but the lusciousness and warmth of the apparel. I know we were told to use the backgrounds that could be manipulated but I’m thinking we do both. Give them the online standard catalogue image and then something artful and more consistent with your fashion spreads in magazines.”
I made my way to the kitchen in the center where I’d left my drink and sucked down a few gulps of a bottled water before heading over the couch. “And what do you know of my fashion spreads?”
He grinned and manually rolled one of his giant lights on wheels over to the couch. He plugged it in and fired it up. The couch instantly had a spotlight on it that I had to admit, was pretty mesmerizing.
“I told you I looked you up. When I research something, I’m thorough. Please sit in the circle so I can gauge the lighting.” He pointed at