She was about to say all this when she caught a waft of spice and citrus, and when she opened her eyes, Nick was a foot away from her, his stupidly handsome face creased in a frown.
“Like this,” he said, tilting his own chin up and to the side. Carly held her breath and did her best to imitate him, then raised one eyebrow impatiently. He merely frowned down at her, as if nothing about her pleased him. Well, the feeling was mutual. And she was losing patience.
“Just show me, then,” she snapped, gesturing to one of his hands.
“Fine,” he replied shortly, and before she could think better of her suggestion, his hands were on her jaw, guiding her into place. His fingertips were cool and his touch light, but Carly’s skin was suddenly burning in every place he touched her. Out of irritation, she thought. Because he was pedantic and fussy and refused to be satisfied. She swiveled her eyes up to his face, careful not to move her head at all, and saw him looking at her with intense focus, a shallow frown between his eyebrows. Up this close, she could practically count each of his unfairly long eyelashes.
“Am I perfect yet?” she asked sarcastically.
Nick’s fingers froze on her face, and he pulled them away. It didn’t stop her skin from buzzing. “That’ll do,” he replied tersely, taking a step away from her, and she gritted her teeth.
“Get the shot, then.”
“One second, I just want—” Just then, a huge gust of wind swept over the cliff and slammed into Carly’s back. She let out a little shriek as she toppled over, grabbing Nick by the shoulders and sending him stumbling backward. For a moment she thought they were both going to tumble onto the hard, rocky ground, but Nick regained his footing and righted himself, and she was able to stop herself from falling.
“You’re a menace,” he muttered
“That wasn’t me, that was the wind,” she objected. “And I’m not the one who wanted to take photos in the eye of a hurricane.”
“The eye is the calm part. It’s the rest of the hurricane that’s dangerous,” he shot back, and as she let out a frustrated growl, he turned away and she heard him mutter something that sounded a lot likehuman hurricane.
“Can we please go somewhere less windy? I don’t want to die today.”But I might commit murder.
“Sure,” he said shortly, sounding defeated, and then he was stalking away from her back toward the car.
“God, that was a nightmare. Why did you want to trek all the way out there?” she asked, joining him in the front seat a few minutes later.
He stopped and looked over at her, his eyes a dark inky blue now that they were out of the sun.
“I thought the shots would look good,” he said simply, putting the keys in the ignition. As if the discomfort and danger were irrelevant as long as the photos came out well.
“That’s the most ballet dancer thing I’ve ever heard,” Carly said. “Who cares what it feels like, as long as it looks good?”
He gave a grim laugh, and Carly idly wondered if he ever laughed for real. Like a good, from-your-gut, throw-your-head-back-and-cackle kind of laugh. Or was it all sharp, humorless laughs like that one?
“Anyway, do they?” she asked.
“Do they what?” he said, as they rolled down the hill and back, she assumed, toward Freshwater.
“Look good? The photos?”
“God, you’re not impatient at all, are you?” he shook his head. “You can’t wait until we get back?”
“Only if you drive faster,” she said. In response, he pumped the brakes, and they both lurched forward in their seats. He winced, and she had a feeling the sudden stop had pressed on his bruises.
“Serves you right,” she said tartly, and his silence suggested he agreed with her. “Can I please just see what you got?”
“Fine,” he sighed, and he pulled the car to the side of the road and threw it into park. He reached behind him and pulled his camera case off the back seat, and she reached for it.
“Absolutely not,” he said sternly. “I’m not letting you hold it.”
“Why, you think I’m going to try tostealit?” she shot back sarcastically, her eyebrows raised and her eyes wide. “I already tried that, remember, and you caught me, Interpol.”
“No, but I’m sure you’ll find some other way to wreak havoc,” he replied, “and I can’t have that. None of this works if my camera doesn’t work. So just let me hold it, okay?”
Carly looked at him, torn between irritation and impatience. This close to him, she could see a few fine creases around his eyes and smell the spicy cologne she was coming to associate with him. And with this very particular blend of frustration. He was watching her, waiting to see if she was going to accept his terms.
She gave a small eye roll of assent, and he gave a reluctant little nod, then opened the bag and switched the camera on.
