When I’ve done shoots for magazines and shit before, I’ve never had a problem keeping my mind in the zone.

That goes out the window when Mickey walks in with a dark grey silk robe that stops mid-thigh. The Bold logo is on a little pocket on the left, and she’s wearing red strappy heels.

I don’t even want to think about what’s under the robe if those are the shoes she’s wearing.

Her hair is tousled in a mix of waves and curls, and her makeup is a lot less editorial than I was expecting.

She looks pretty natural, actually.

She’s not about things being perfect.

Huh. Maybe Riza was telling the truth.

To me, that just says maybe she’s less high maintenance than I thought.

I can definitely have a lot of fun with a woman who doesn’t need 3 hours to get ready before we can go to a restaurant and I can play with her under the table.

I’m wearing a pair of Klein jeans and sitting on the white sofa, with a stylist trying to comb my hair into some type of submission.

Mickey looks away from someone she’s talking to, and I catch that smoky green gaze, willing myself to not get visibly excited.

She starts to walk over to the sofa as the stylist moves away, and I stand to meet her. She’s almost the same height as me in heels, but not quite.

“Ready to behave yourself?” I tease, crossing my arms.

It looks like she’s consciously not dropping her eyes to my bare upper body, and I feel a little bit of triumph.

“I’m going to be just fine. Are you ready?”

“Let’s make a little wager.” I step slightly closer to make sure she’s the only one that hears me. “If you’re able to honestly do this entire spread with me and not be phased, you can have anything you want. No expiration date. Carte blanche.”

“And if I can’t?” Her eyes flash with challenge.

“I get carte blanche. Same terms.”

“And how will we determine whether we’re phased or not?”

“This challenge works on honesty. We pick one word to say when it’s too much, and if you say the word, you lose. Or win. Depends on how you want to look at it.”

I barely get the last word out before she accepts.

“Deal.” She steps back, turning on her heel and walking away without another word.

I do love fun games. Especially when I know I’m going to win. I never played to lose when I was on the field, and nothing’s changed.

“Alright, everybody ready?” Sienna, who I’ve learned is the co-owner of Bold claps her hands. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

I relax back onto the couch, having already been given my instructions. It’s not my first rodeo with Klein.

Mickey comes over in her robe again, and steps gingerly over me and onto the couch, perching on the back of it. She holds my gaze as she crosses one leg and settles the other heel lightly on my upper thigh.

She’s almost sitting on my shoulder.

I grip the back of her calf and stretch my other arm along the back of the couch.

“Love it.” Laurel, the photographer clicks away, and I alternate looking at Mickey and looking at the camera.

The smoldering face, you know the one.

Mickey switches to the arm of the couch and crosses both legs over my lap. I slide my hand up her legs leisurely, pretending like I’m just finding the best spot to rest them.

“Mickey, can you slide a hand into his hair?”

That’s when the feeling changes. Now it’s charged, because when I was just touching her - I could tell she kept her distance.

She slides a hand into my hair and I slide my hand higher onto her legs, watching her face. Her lids drop just slightly.

“Right there! Beautiful shot.” Tyler, Klein’s creative director calls out. “Your chemistry is electric.”

I don’t know what makes me look over to the side, but I do, and I see the man who was kissing her when I walked into the room.

Hawthorne.

I don’t know if it’s the reflection of light from the stands, or if I’m imagining things, but there’s an expression on his face that looks a lot like interest and less like jealousy.

“Sit on the end of the arm, Mick. Liam, you keep your eyes on her.” Mickey swings her legs to the end of the couch arm easily, sliding forward so that her heels are on the ground.

“Alright, I want to move to the pool, and let’s get them to the next sets,” Sienna says.

“Can we get them standing in front of the couch first? Just full on.” Tyler asks, and we move. It’s not like either of us has never done this before, and when Mickey positions herself off my right shoulder, I pull her to leans against me some.

As Laurel snaps pictures, I lean slightly to her ear like it’s just a part of the shoot.

“I think your man over there likes seeing us together.” I slide an arm around her waist, letting my hand rest on her hip as she turns her face up to mine.

“Good, hold that.” I hear from the front.

“What are you talking about?” She murmurs, dipping her head back slightly.

She’s good at this.

I turn her around to face his direction, wrapping my arms around her front as Laurel snaps the pictures.

There’s definitely interest on his face and when Mickey’s back tenses just slightly, I know she sees it too.

The question is, is it all for her?

Maybe Mr. James would be less upset about her being with another man than she thinks.