Cabin Fever. Jillian Burns

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ steeled herself to approach the couple. Piper must be handled with kid gloves. And Joe, well, Carly had to fight to keep her mind on business when she went near the guy.

      “Piper, you’re looking just gorgeous with the turquoise water behind you. Really brings out your eyes.” They’d positioned the deck chairs against the railing and the Caribbean Sea sparkled in the warm sun. There was a tang of salt in the humid air. Humph. Carly would take New York cab exhaust any day.

      Piper merely rolled said eyes. “You need to hurry this up. I’m tired and bored. And thirsty. Someone bring me a Bloody Mary.”

      Carly clenched her teeth and bit back what she wanted to say. “Yes, I’ll get that ordered right away, but if I could just ask you to try to look more interested in Joe, for just a few moments?”

      Piper raised a delicate brow that got lost in the fringe of her bangs. “I am.”

      “Yes, well, maybe a little more, please? And Joe.” Carly focused her attention on his right shoulder. “When you’re turned facing Piper in the deck chair, just turn from your waist, not your legs. Leave your legs facing forward please.”

      “Like this?” The man spread his knees and, whether intentionally or not, he seemed to flex his thigh muscles.

      Now she was staring and Carly felt her face heat. She spun away, pretending to check the position of the sun.

      When she could face him once more, she studied his shoulder again. “Yes, but you have to be turned toward Piper from the waist up.” She cupped his shoulders to swivel his upper body. Her hands met rigid muscle beneath the starched cotton dress shirt. Heat radiated from him, scorching her palms. And there was that scent again. His cologne or shampoo, whatever it was made her knees weak. Or maybe that was just part of the seasickness.

      “Not that I care, but you’re wrinkling the Armani here,” Joe said in a low tone.

      Carly blinked, saw that her hands were gripping his arms, lifted them off and stepped away. “It’s Hilfiger,” she mumbled.

      One side of his mouth crooked up in a smirk. But he laid his arm along the back of Piper’s deck chair and turned from the waist exactly as Carly had asked.

      Impressed, she headed for the camera to check the frame and, as she looked through the lens, Joe lifted his other hand to cup Piper’s cheek and turn her to face him. He said something and flashed that dazzling smile and Piper actually smiled back.

      Carly straightened and motioned for the photographer to step in and snap the picture. What had Joe said to Piper? As the camera snapped away, he spoke to the model again and her expression turned sultry, her eyes half-lidded. She stared at Joe as if she were about to rip his clothes off. Unbelievable.

      Carly gaped as the two models spoke in whispered tones, their heads moving toward each other, their lips almost touching. The cameraman clicked pictures from every angle, encouraging them. Piper unbuttoned Joe’s shirt and slipped a hand inside, rubbing her fingers over his chest. Then her hand dropped to his thigh, over his denim shorts, but inching her way to—

      “That’s great!” Carly yelled. “Thank you, everyone.” She moved forward to stand before Piper, who’d, thankfully, removed her hand from Joe’s thigh, even if she did radiate annoyance.

      Too bad. Carly’s headache had worsened and she wasn’t in the mood to indulge the diva. She bent from the waist to scrutinize Piper’s face. “We’re done for today, but be sure to get a good night’s sleep. We have an early morning shoot and there’s only so much makeup can do for dark circles.”

      Piper gasped, and then narrowed those light green eyes to glare at Carly. “If I have dark circles it’s because the cabin you put me in is deplorable! I can’t sleep there. You’ll have to find me something larger. On a higher deck. And while you’re at it—”

      “I’m afraid there are no other rooms larger than what you have.” Carly clenched her fists around her clipboard. “I can look into seeing if there are any cabins available on a higher deck, but—”

      “Then do it!” The prima donna pushed up out of the deck chair and stomped off in a high-heeled huff.

      Joe got to his feet. A smitten half grin quirked his lips as he watched Piper walk away, her pert little butt perfectly displayed in the white designer short-shorts. Of course Joe would be attracted to Ms. Exotic.

      Carly spun to face her lighting and camera crew. “Tomorrow we dock in Grand Turk at 7:00 a.m. Be ready to disembark at 6:45. I’ve reserved a chartered plane and want to head to the Caicos Islands. Take whatever special equipment you might need for shooting outdoors, and inside a cave. We have to be back on the ship by 7:00 p.m., and Thursday we disembark at Half Moon Cay. I want shots on the white sandy beaches there, Friday we’ll only shoot for a few hours in Nassau. It’s all on your itinerary I handed out yesterday after the safety drill. Any questions?”

      In the silence of shaking heads she turned back around and saw Joe was fingering a tiny slip of paper. Was that Piper’s room number? Was he going to meet her there tonight? Or...had they slept together already?

      Ignoring the sharp pinch in her stomach, she gave her attention to the crew disassembling the photo equipment. But she felt Joe’s presence behind her. She turned to face him. “My recommendation pertains to you, too, Mr. Tedesco.”

      “Recommendation?” His grin had disappeared and his brows rose. His chest exposed by the unbuttoned shirt was taut and tanned with a light dusting of hair.

      Carly diverted her gaze to his face. “Yes. To get a good night’s sleep. I can’t have my Sexiest Average Joe showing up tomorrow looking haggard and unkempt.”

      He scowled and took a step closer to her. “Unkempt?”

      His bronze skin gleamed in the sunlight that also played in his breeze-ruffled black hair. She remembered he was a fireman and probably worked out to maintain his muscular physique. His shoulders blocked her view of anything but him, and her knees wanted to buckle. Her knees? Weak? Over a man she barely knew? What was she, some pathetic romance-novel heroine? It was just that she hadn’t eaten today yet. She probably had low blood sugar. And with her height, she was unaccustomed to men looming over her. He was invading her personal space. So, naturally his overwhelming frame felt...well, overwhelming.

      “Unkempt. It means disheveled, messy, slovenly.”

      He folded his arms and his biceps bulged. “I know what it means.” His mouth was a grim line. He looked irritated.

      “Good. Then perhaps whatever you’re planning for tonight can be postponed until I’ve finished my photo shoot.”

      His face crinkled up in a confused expression. “What do you think I have planned for tonight?”

      “You don’t have to pretend with me. I realize she’s beautiful and glamorous. What guy could resist that? But until—”

      “Look, lady.” He dropped his arms to place his hands low on his hips and half turned away. Then he leaned toward her. “First of all, if I wanted her, I wouldn’t be deterred by an uptight, bossy, arrogant—” he clamped his mouth shut “—woman,” he finished between his teeth.

      Carly’s temper flared. “Uptight? Just because I don’t lose control and crawl all over you like Ms. Supermodel?”

      He СКАЧАТЬ