Deadly Obsession by Kristine Cayne Read Free Book Online Page B

up, Lauren would be angry. But he didn’t want to leave before they had a chance to discuss the photo shoot. Could he risk staying a while longer?
    Lauren’s brows furrowed. “Do we need to leave?”
    “It’s nothing.” He’d keep an eye out for the paparazzi and sneak her out through the kitchen if they showed up.
    “I have an idea for a photo shoot,” she began as he picked up his fork and took another bite of chicken. “I read somewhere that you like hockey.”
    He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I have season tickets for the Los Angeles Kings, and I catch as many Montréal Canadiens games on TV as I can.” He’d also been on the high-school hockey team back in Chicago. Even though he’d only been a junior at the time, the college scouts had already started showing an interest in him. And the school newspaper often printed funny action shots of him—preparing a slap shot, celebrating a goal, taking a tumble.
    He’d had such a crush on the cute photographer from the school paper. Chuckling ruefully, he remembered how many times he’d purposely taken a fall so she’d take a picture of him. He seemed to have a thing for cute photographers named Lauren.
    Just as he was about to ask Lauren where she’d gone to high school, a glint in the parking lot caught his attention. He leaned sideways to get a better view. Only a few people remained in the restaurant and the parking lot stood nearly empty. Shaking his head at his overactive imagination, he returned his attention to Lauren.
    She turned to look over her shoulder. “Is something wrong?”
    “I thought I saw something outside.” He slumped back against his chair. At this point, he couldn’t decide what would be worse—a single stalker showing up or an entire army of paparazzi. Both had the potential to ruin his night. “So, what’s your idea?”
    “I want do the next part of the shoot at an arena.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “We’d do a few outfit changes and get some shots of you in and out of the goal. Yesterday’s shoot was posed and serious. With the arena shots, I want to capture your joy and spontaneity.”
    She picked up the paper napkin beside her plate and proceeded to shred it into tiny pieces. He reached forward and clasped her wrist. “ Chérie , don’t be nervous. I trust your instincts. The results will be perfect.”
    “I’m worried Vivian will reject hockey photos because they aren’t sexy.”
    Captivated, Nic watched her nibble her lower lip and had to stifle a groan as heat arrowed straight to his groin.
    Lauren looked up. “She said the shots had to be sexy, not artistic. Magazines want photos that will get women to pick up their latest issue at the checkout counter in local grocery stores. I think the hockey photos could be both artistic and sexy, and women would want to buy the magazines so they could take the photos home and enjoy them in privacy.”
    Hundreds, perhaps thousands of women lovingly gazing at his photos, tracing their fingers over his jaw, his neck, his chest, his stomach, his… The image of Lauren doing just that flashed through his mind, arousing him further. Nic shifted uncomfortably. Next time he saw Lauren, he’d have to wear looser pants.
    “Why does that make you smile?” she asked as she took a sip of her wine.
    “You have passion and talent.” A frown continued to mar her otherwise smooth forehead, so he tried another angle. “Yesterday, during the photo shoot, could you envision how the photos would turn out?” She nodded. “And they turned out great, didn’t they?”
    She acknowledged his words with a quick jerk of her head. “I need to trust myself.” Lauren cleared her throat and ducked her head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to have a meltdown.”
    Was she embarrassed to share her concerns because of who he was? Celebrities were no one special. He should know. “You should have seen me the first time I went on stage. I had the role of Joseph in