Burning Desire

As he took it in his left hand, Sabrina surreptitiously checked out his ring finger. It was bare.

Nya continued to stare, and Mason gave her an odd look. “I—I’m sorry that I’m staring. It’s just that I don’t see men like you coming into the studio.”

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. “Forgive my assistant—”

“It’s just that you’re so tall.”

“Six foot six.”

“And you went into firefighting instead of basketball?” Nya shook her head, as though she couldn’t understand what he had been thinking.

“Nya,” Sabrina said. “Can you please call back the Johnsons to make sure they got my message about changing their appointment time?”

“Of course,” she said. Then, to Mason, “You’re sure I can’t get you anything else?”

“We’re fine,” Sabrina said, her tone firm.

“Okay. Well, you know where I am if you need me.” Nya’s smile was syrupy as she stepped backward out of the studio, before finally turning and heading toward the front office.

“All right.” She faced Mason again. “If you’d put on your entire outfit, helmet and all, that would be good.” She figured it would be best to start with him in his full uniform, and then he could take off the layers, as she deemed necessary.

“Sounds good. Where should I get changed?”

“When you go back out to the front, you’re going to see a door on your left. That’s the washroom. Feel free to get changed in there. Or, if you need more space, I can let you get changed in here and I can wait out front until you’re ready. Whichever works best for you.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

As Mason headed out of the studio, Sabrina couldn’t help eyeing his long, muscular frame.

She then mentally reprimanded herself for being so distracted by the man’s good looks and made her way over to her Canon 5D. She checked to make sure that the battery was full, which she knew it was. However, she had others in the room charged and ready to go if that one lost power. Then she went to her camera bag and verified that all of the accessories she would need for their trip to the beach were indeed there.

When Mason came back into the studio dressed in his fireman’s uniform, Sabrina felt the same bodily reaction toward him as she had earlier. Obviously, it had been way too long since she had been involved with anyone. But he was definitely not her type, so her pull of attraction toward him made no sense.

He took a step toward her, and her pulse sped up. Okay, so she was lying to herself. The man was definitely her type. In terms of the kind of man that turned her on, Mason may as well be pictured in the dictionary. But he was also the kind of man who turned on lots of women, and Sabrina was wise enough to know that that kind of guy was dangerous to a girl’s heart.

Her heart in particular.

She’d dated the kind of man that everyone liked back in college, and had ended up heartbroken because of it. She had long since vowed never to date someone that every woman had to stop and gawk at ever again.

“What do you think?” he asked.

That was a loaded question. She thought he was smoking hot. He would look—at least for the calendar—like the hero he was. A man in uniform here to rescue the damsel in distress.

“Looks great.” She averted her eyes. “Why don’t you come up in front of the canvas? I like this one, and I’ve got plenty more that we can try, as well. Let’s start with some shots of you in your full uniform like this, and then we can go to shots where you take off the upper portion. You know, give the ladies what they want.”

Mason’s smile was enigmatic. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was a smile just for her.

Again looking away from him, she first closed the door to the studio for privacy, and then headed toward her camera. He walked past her and stood in front of the wall where the canvas was set up. Sabrina looked through the lens of her Canon, getting a sense of how she wanted the photo to be framed. She manually zoomed the lens out to see his entire body, and then half pressed the shutter release button to focus the shot. Easing her head back, she eyed the lights that she had set up on either side of the room, satisfied that they needed no adjustments. She snapped off a test shot, and looked at the viewfinder to see how she liked it.

“I wasn’t ready,” Mason said playfully.

“That was just a test shot, but you look great. You’re a natural.”

Mason was definitely one of the most photogenic men she had ever come across.

“Okay, keep standing the way you are. But look at the camera. And don’t smile. Give me a serious face.” Mason did as she asked, and she snapped shot after shot. “Good, let’s do a couple more just like that. Turn your head slightly to the left. No, my left.” She grinned. Then she took a couple more pictures. From her viewfinder, she was very impressed with the results. “Excellent. Now, how about you give me a smile?”

Mason’s smile was instant, and it lit up the room. He looked good in his more serious shots, as well, but his smile was like a giant gold foil bow on a Christmas present—the perfect final touch on an extravagant package.

Sabrina took photo after photo of Mason in his full uniform. Then she had him hold his helmet against his chest for some of the pictures, and under his arm, as well. Almost all of the shots looked great. It was going to be hard to choose the right one, but that was a good dilemma.

Now it was time to get a little sexier.

“As we discussed, you can take off the upper portion of your uniform. I’m going to change the backdrop.” She had ordered a backdrop from a photo she had taken of flames, and she loved how it turned out. She went across the room to the far wall to get the stool so that she could use it to unhook the current backdrop. She looked in Mason’s direction, surprised that he had begun to disrobe right there, instead of heading to the bathroom. She caught a glimpse of his smooth dark skin, and quickly averted her gaze. Mostly. But she couldn’t quite help glancing in his direction.

“Do you want some help?” he asked.

“No,” Sabrina responded. She had pulled the lever to wind up the canvas, and it was ready to come down. “I generally don’t put the talent to work.”

“That’s not what I call work. I’ve got no problem helping you do this. What do you need to do? Unhook it?”

“It’s okay.” Sabrina stretched to reach the top portion of the heavy canvas, and when she looked down, Mason was at her side. “Certainly you’re not opposed to someone helping you? And for what it’s worth, I don’t consider myself the talent. We’re in this together, aren’t we? You’re helping the fire station create a great calendar that’s going to bring us lots of money, which, of course, is going to help out local charities. Let me help you do this, even if you are completely capable of doing it yourself.”

Sabrina looked down at him. The glimpse of his hard muscles and strong arms made her suck in a breath. He extended his hand to her, and she took it, feeling a zap of heat as he helped her down from the stool.

“Thank you,” she said. “And once that’s down, I’m going to put up the canvas that’s resting in the corner.” She pointed to it.

“No problem.”

Sabrina watched as he easily put up the next backdrop for her.

Finished, he said, “There you go.”

“Thank you,” she told him.

Mason gestured to his upper body with a hand as he walked toward her. “So, does my chest meet with your approval?”

Sabrina’s eyes bulged. She wasn’t even sure how to answer.

“Do I look good with my shirt off?” he added.

And then she remembered the comment she had made earlier, and understood. “Oh, of course. Yes—”

“You seemed to be concerned that I might not be up to snuff,” he said, his lips curling in a grin. “So that’s why I was wondering. I want to make sure that you think I’m up to standard for the calendar.”

Sabrina swallowed. Surely he was joking or perhaps searching for a compliment. But his body—with an eight-pack and hard planes and muscles in all the right places—was more than satisfactory for the calendar.

It was phenomenal.