Vain - Part Two (The Vain Series Book 2) by Deborah Bladon Read Free Book Online

softness of my stomach that I often berate myself for only adds to the nuance of the poses. The sensuality each photograph exudes is subtle and understated. "These are so breathtaking, Noah."
    "These are beautiful," he says, his breath rushing over my cheek as he leans down to kiss me softly. "The breathtaking ones are over here."
    I turn abruptly and wrap my fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth into a lush, deep and heated kiss. "There are more?"
    "Come." He sweeps my hand into his. "I'll show you."
    I let him guide me to a large desk positioned near the doorway. Several computer monitors sit atop it, each displaying a different image.
    "Look at this one." He points to the first monitor and it's a close up image of me in his bed. I'm smiling directly at the camera. My hair is a jumbled mess. My eyes are dancing with joy. "I took that after you woke up. I was telling you about how I became a photographer and you fell asleep."
    I remember that moment. I look so peaceful in the picture. I look so completely different in it than when I look at myself in the mirror.
    "This one is gorgeous." He pushes his hand towards another monitor on the opposite edge of the desk. "I stare at this one for hours."
    I gaze at it and my breath stalls. I'm on my back, my hands lazily resting over my head, my lips slightly parted. "I look so different."
    "No," he whispers into my neck. "You look exactly like that."
    "That's not my favorite though." He touches a mouse sitting atop the desk and a monitor in the middle pops on. "This is the one I'll never get enough of."
    I lower myself into the chair as my eyes lock on the photograph. My chin is tilted slightly to the left. I'm gazing into the distance and my bottom lip is caught between my top teeth. It's obvious from the angle of the image that I had no idea it was being taken. "When did you take this?"
    "The first day." He falls to one knee next to the chair. "When I told you I was checking the lighting. I saw it that night when I was reviewing our work. That's when I knew you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

Chapter 12
     
    "There's going to be a huge surprise at your birthday party." Sadie lifts her head and offers an overly sweet smile.
    "Is it a male stripper?" I bounce my eyebrows up and down playfully. "Can you get him to dress up like a police officer? I have this fantasy about being pulled over by a cop and frisked."
    Her mouth literally falls open.
    "That's not the surprise?" I throw my hands in the air. "Dammit, Sadie. It's not that you baked cupcakes, is it?"
    "You're teasing me." She breathes an overly dramatic sigh. "I can't hire a male stripper. What would Hunter say?"
    "Hunter is coming to my birthday party?" I hope that there's no lingering tease in my tone. Sadie's husband has always been busy when we've hung out. I'm not on his list of best friends and he sure as hell isn't on mine. As much as I've tried to get over my initial misgivings about him, I'll always remember how hard their budding relationship was on my closest friend.
    "He wants to be there," she says it a little too nonchalantly.
    "That's because he thinks I'll trash the place if I get drunk."
    "It's because of the huge surprise we got you."
    I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to conjure up an image of what the two of them could have gotten for me that was so monumental that Hunter was going to forgo an evening with his son to hang out with me. "Give me a hint." I open my eyes.
    Her head shakes seamlessly back and forth. "No hints, Alexa. It's three days away. You can wait."
    I can wait. She's right about that. I don’t even want to go to the party knowing Noah likely won't show. I'd spoken to him on the phone earlier today and with my rushed schedule this week because of parent and teacher interviews in the evenings, we agreed that I'd visit him at his apartment on Saturday for our own personal birthday celebration. He hadn't mentioned my party and I knew that bringing it up would only make Noah