His face froze. “Yeah, fine. I understand.”
I reached for his hips and pulled him closer. “That’s not what I meant. Will you fucking stop? I’m not leaving. I told you.”
Even if I should.
“And I toldyou—” he said hotly.
Instead of repeating the same conversation yet again, I leaned forward and took his mouth in a hard kiss. The slick flesh of his hips and ass fit my hands perfectly, and I slid a knee between his to widen his stance so I could reach down and fondle him while we kissed.
By the time we finished washing and dried off, we were both starving.
Adrian tossed me a pair of lounge pants and a hoodie while hepulled on a similar combo. “There are some prepared meals in the fridge. Can’t promise they’re any good, but let’s see what we have.”
We found a baked pasta dish and a bag of salad to go with it. As soon as Adrian slid the pasta into the oven, I realized I needed to at least edit enough of our day’s shoot to get him something to post.
“Shit, let me get my laptop,” I said. “I forgot you’d need to make a post tonight.”
He watched me as I retrieved my gear bag and set up my laptop on the kitchen island. “I still have several of the other videos you’ve sent that I could post instead.”
I shook my head and focused on the screen. “No, it’s fine. I’ll edit while we wait for the food.”
Adrian moved around behind me to peer over my shoulder. “How’s it looking?”
I caught the scent of his face lotion and realized that the only reason I could identify it was because I’d been with him when he’d stepped out of the shower. The memory of him with a towel wrapped around his waist, emphasizing his rounded ass, flooded my veins with heat. It annoyed me how distracting he was.
“Good,” I grunted, not looking away from the screen. “Should edit together nicely.”
Adrian leaned closer, ostensibly to get a better view of the laptop. His shoulder bumped mine as he pointed at the screen. “Can you rewind that part? I want to see how the lighting turned out at that overlook.”
I clicked back, watching the footage of him and Nate standing by the overlook. In the frame, they looked good together—two attractive men against a winter wonderland backdrop. Exactly what we’d planned.
“Huh,” Adrian murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” He shifted closer, studying the screen. I stopped breathing, if only to keep the scent of him from filling my nostrils. “Keep going. Let me see the rest.”
I scrolled through more clips, growing increasingly unnerved as a pattern became obvious. Every shot of Adrian was perfectly framed, catching him in the best light, highlighting the way the winter air had flushed his cheeks. The shots of Nate, on the other hand, were… functional. Adequate. Like an afterthought.
Shit.
“Interesting,” Adrian said, his voice carefully neutral.
“What’s interesting?” I asked, though I already knew I was fucked.
“Well, either Nate’s camera-shy, or…” He paused, letting the implication hang in the air. Then his voice turned teasing. “You seem to have a very specific idea of who the star of this date should be.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “Of course I do. The point of the project is the sponsored content. You’re the one wearing the Nordique pieces.”
“Uh-huh.” Adrian’s mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile. “And in this shot here, where Nate’s adjusting my scarf? You cut off his head entirely.”
“Camera malfunction.”
“Right. And this one where we’re both supposed to be admiring the view? Somehow, the frame managed to capture me in perfect profile while Nate’s mostly just… a flannel-covered shoulder.”
I slammed the laptop shut harder than necessary. “You’ll have what you need for the content. That’s what matters.”
“Maddox.” Adrian’s voice was soft, almost gentle. “Why didn’t you get more footage of Nate?”
