“WHAT DO YOU think?” I opened one eye to look at Kelly in the mirror as the makeup artist swept richly pigmented navy eye shadow across the other and over the bridge of my nose in a line. “Totally me, right?”
Kelly grinned as he stood behind my chair watching me get ready among the dozens of other models crowded into the tent. “You look hot, but I don’t know. I’m thinking maybe someone should do this to East.”
“Ooh, you and your brain. I love it.” I’d have to remember to do that the next time we got East piss drunk. With the way he gave everyone so much shit, the guy was practically begging for all kinds of payback.
“Close for me,” the makeup artist said, and I shut both eyes, relaxed into the chair, and let him continue to paint my face the way the designer wanted.
The hustle and bustle of people in the tent was something that never failed to get me excited. Nothing ever went a hundred percent smoothly behind the scenes, and I could hear frantic voices every now and again, as well as the excited chatter of the other models. Somehow, it all came together on the runway, and having those eyes on me and getting to wear fabulous clothes was something I relished.
“You can open again.”
I looked up at the man staring down at me with intense concentration, and then he grabbed a tube of clear gloss and dabbed a bit on the center of my lips.
“All good.” He snapped his fingers at Kelly. “You. Sit.”
Kelly’s brows shot up when he realized the guy was talking to him. “Uh, no, I’m not in the show.”
“No?” The makeup artist’s gaze traveled over Kelly in a way I would’ve been jealous about if it wasn’t done with such an assessing eye. “Why are you here?”
“He’s with me,” I interjected. “Are we done here?”
“No. Marco will do hair.” Without another word, he moved down to the next model as another guy—apparently Marco—came to stand behind me. He didn’t waste time with pleasantries before getting started on my hair, but abruptness never bothered me. Everything needed to be done quickly, and I could still see a handful of models that needed to be made up.
“Is it always this rushed?” Kelly said, moving out of the way of those bustling around behind him. It was easy to understand why he’d been mistaken for a model—the guy was undeniably good looking. And tall. Built. Someone you couldn’t take your eyes off. I didn’t understand how it was possible he hadn’t made it in this industry when he was literal perfection, and that wasn’t me being biased.
“It is,” I told him as Marco ran a handful of mousse through my hair. “Wouldn’t be a show without the stress level up to a hundred. Fun, right?”
Kelly smirked as he met my eyes in the mirror. “I like watching you in your element.”
“Yeah? Well, I just like watching you.” My gaze traveled over the loose-fitting sienna button-up he’d paired with jeans that hugged him in all the right places, and even as hot as he looked, I couldn’t wait to strip him out of those clothes later. It didn’t matter that my ass could still feel the fullness of him from last night. He could stay inside me forever, break me in half, and I had a feeling I’d still be begging him for more.
I didn’t let the small pang of jealousy in the back of my mind, the knowledge that he wouldn’t be only mine for much longer, take root. I wasn’t thinking about that now. I was in full-on denial mode.
A tiny figure scurried into my line of vision, and it took me a second to realize it was my agent, Mira. I knew she’d be there today, since I wasn’t the only one of her clients walking the show, but I hadn’t seen her until now. “Donovan, daaahling,” she said before greeting me with a double air kiss.
I arched one of my heavily penciled brows. “Oh, I’m darling today? That’s suspicious.” I tapped my fingers along the armrest of the chair. “What do you want?”
“Just to make sure my favorite client is happy and healthy, of course.” Her voice was much higher than usual, and when she gave me a smile too big for her face, I snorted. Mira was a terrible liar, and she never buttered me up without a reason.
“All right, out with it, woman. What is it you need me to do?”
She shook her head, looking everywhere but at me. “Me? Need something? Absolutely not. I’m just here to check on— Oh, hello there. Who are you?” The surprise she faked at pretending to just notice Kelly behind me had me chuckling.
“You could just ask for an introduction, Mira,” I said. “Acting is not your forte.”
“Oh hush.” She waved me off as she moved over to Kelly, a mix of amusement and slight confusion marring his brow. “I’m Mira, this one’s agent.”
“Now I’m ‘this one.’ I can see myself dropping down the rungs of the ladder as we speak.” I let out an exaggerated sigh, not at all bothered that she’d taken notice of Kelly. Who wouldn’t? “Mira, this is my boyfriend, Kelly Sinclair. Kelly, meet ‘this one’s’ agent, Mira Coventry.”
“Boyfriend?” Surprise lit her features, but only for a moment. “Van neglected to mention he has a boyfriend. A very attractive one at that.”
Uh oh, she wants something…
“He likes to keep me all to himself.” Kelly shot me a wink before shaking Mira’s hand. He wasn’t lying about that, not after what I’d confessed last night.
“Understandable.” Mira nodded, and in the mirror I could see the way her eyes narrowed as she looked Kelly over. “Tell me, do you model?”
That question seemed to throw Kelly off guard, because he looked at me with uncertainty before answering Mira, “I used to.”
“So you’re comfortable in front of a camera?”
Kelly bit back a smirk. “I think I can handle it.”
No shit he could handle it. He could also handle me in front of a camera. But I wasn’t about to offer that info up to Mira.
“So you don’t already have an agent?” she asked. “No fashion conflicts of interest I should know about?”
“Uh, no. And no.”
“Perfect. Let me see you walk.”
Again, Kelly looked at me, and this time I gave him an encouraging nod and mouthed, Do it.
There was an urgency to Mira’s line of questioning that made me think someone hadn’t shown up and there was an empty spot in the lineup that needed filling.
Holy shit, and that could be Kelly.
My heart began to hammer in my chest as something that felt a lot like hope began to stir, but I tamped it down as Kelly walked down the length of the crowded room for Mira. I didn’t get to watch, since Marco chose that exact moment to spritz my hair with what felt like an entire bottle of hairspray, but when I opened my eyes again, Mira was nodding in an approving way that made my stomach flip.
“Would you feel comfortable walking the show today?”
Kelly’s jaw fell to the floor. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, and I’ll need a decision quickly. One of my guys twisted his ankle coming down those blasted stairs, and he can’t walk the show.”
“Are you sure?” Kelly said, doubt creeping into his voice, flicking his eyes to mine. It was almost like he was asking for permission, like he didn’t want to encroach on “my” thing. But that couldn’t be further from what I wanted. As Marco finished up my hair, I twisted around in the chair to face Kelly.
“You should absolutely do it,” I said. “If you want to.”
Kelly stared at me, still obviously stunned at the turn of events. “Will I even fit the clothes?”
“It might be tight,” Mira admitted, tapping a finger against her chin. “You’re roughly the same size, but your chest is a bit more filled out. No worries—we can always lose a few buttons at the top. Is that a yes?”
“I—” He glanced at me again, and when I smiled, he blew out a breath. “Yes. Sure. What the hell, right?”
“Love to hear it,” Mira said, patting his arm. “Let me grab the designer and we’ll get you started.” She darted off through the tent, and her small frame was swallowed by the towering height of the models all around her.
“Holy shit, Kelly.” I was out of the chair and grabbing his arms before he could blink. I didn’t get close the way I wanted to, not with the amount of work that had gone into getting me ready, but I squeezed his biceps. “This is amazing.”
He looked a little dazed. “It is, but…”
“But what? There are no buts. I mean, I get being nervous, but you’re gonna kill it. I promise.”
“No, I mean, yes, it’s amazing, but did you put her up to this?”
I frowned. “Mira?”
“Yeah. Was this your idea?”
Shit, I wished it was. “No. I had nothing to do with this. I didn’t even know someone got injured.”
“You swear?”
“I swear.” Though now I was more than a little annoyed with myself that I hadn’t thought about introducing the two of them first. But knowing Kelly and the way he wanted to do things his way without my interference, it hadn’t crossed my mind.
“Fuck.” Kelly ran his hand through his hair, suddenly looking a little green. It was so opposite to the confidence he’d shown before his first Xes scene that I almost had to laugh.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Did I really just agree to do this?”
“Hey.” I reached up and cupped his jaw. An irrational thought hit me, that they better not fucking touch that scruff or I’d kill them. “You’re gonna do great. You’ve done a hell of a lot more than just walk down a catwalk in front of a bunch of cameras and people before. This is nothing.”
He covered the hand I had on his face and kissed my palm. “Is it weird that I’m less nervous when I’m naked?”
“By all means, strip on the catwalk. I won’t complain.”
“The designer might.” He grinned, and just like that, the teasing, self-assured man I’d fallen for was back. I hated I wasn’t going to get to watch that sexy swagger the way the rest of the lucky audience was.
Mira sprinted toward us, the designer hot on her heels, and behind her, a flurry of assistants carrying Kelly’s wardrobe.
“All right, we’re back,” she said, breathing like she’d run a marathon in her four-inch heels. She quickly made introductions, and then she gestured toward Kelly and said, “Now take off your clothes.”
