“This might just be the spot.”

Bex nodded at Gabe, and he dropped his bag of camera gear. They’d hiked out on the Calico Tanks trail at Red Rocks park before dawn, threading through the low scrub at the base of the mountains while the sun rose and painted the ground like watercolors. They’d passed hundreds of mesquite honey and yucca plants to arrive at this private sweep of canyon, where the park’s namesake red sandstone rocks were stacked high into the sky and whorled into shape by the wind.

“Looks good to me.” Bex peeled off her jacket to reveal her dress underneath, and tossed the outer layer onto the dirt.

Gabe’s heart shot into his mouth. She was wearing white like a bride, and he was filled with a crazy sense of fate that one day he was going to marry this woman. What the hell was happening to him?

“You look gorgeous, Bex.”

She gave him a shy smile. “I aim to please.”

Whatever this thing was between them, Bex wanted it, too. He could see it in the way her eyes lingered on his body before flicking to the corner of his mouth. When she dove back in, it was either going to break him apart or make him whole.

The kiss from last week kept replaying in Gabe’s mind. It was one thing to sleep with Bex when she was a stranger. But now that he knew her, when it happened again, it was going to mean so much more. This woman didn’t give up her heart easily, and yet she was opening up to him.

Gabe was an incurable romantic, but if he wasn’t careful he was going to become the hopeless kind. He couldn’t scare Bex away, not when she was letting him back in. She was worth waiting for. So instead of reaching for her like he wanted to, he sprang into action.

He positioned Bex against the rocks, and her hair near the earth became a gorgeous display of color on color. She wore almost no makeup—just a hint of blush and a pale copper wash of shadow on her eyelids. She looked like a desert creature—like she belonged here.

Gabe’s body felt lighter than it had in days. He hadn’t meant to get stuck in Las Vegas, but maybe this town was going to be able to surprise him.

“So, um.” Bex tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do I do?”

“Smile pretty.”

Bex frowned. “You realize you didn’t actually get a professional model here.” She knit her hands together, nervous.

Gabe smiled and held the camera to his face. “Just imagine you’re looking at glass dildos.”

Bex threw back her head and laughed, and he caught her there, the light in her eyes, her mouth wide and delighted. Joy on her face, his own heart thumping and happy.

“Just like that, honey.”

Bex looked at him again, tilting her head to the side with another small smile on her face.

Snap.

He realized she was better—looser—when they were talking, so he started again. “Tell me about the dildos you got so excited about. Did our visit help you out at work?”

She smiled and her shoulders relaxed, the long line of her neck graceful and delicate. “Actually, yes. I made a silicone version the other day. It’s not going to be the kind of product I need to win this contest, but it was still pretty fun.”

“Well, good. Told you I’d help you get inspired.” It wasn’t the only way he wanted to inspire her, but he’d take it for now.

“Mmmm,” she acknowledged. “By the way, you never told me how you got into photography. Were you one of those kids who grew up with a camera in your hand?”

Gabe drew a long breath. “Not exactly. No.” He adjusted his camera settings, then lifted the camera to his face. It was easier to talk behind the lens. “When I was well enough to get out of the hospital after my thyroid surgery, I wanted to do something different with my life. Focus on how beautiful it all is. Make art.”

“Oh.” Bex’s lower lip trembled, and she blinked back tears. “Well, I love the way you see the world. Your art is gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” He hadn’t meant to kill the vibe, and everything had somehow gotten so serious. He needed to fix this. “Turn your back to me and look over your shoulder,” he instructed. He lightened his voice as she complied. “The good news is there’s another perk to being a photographer, besides the pretty models.”

Bex rolled her eyes, and Gabe snapped the camera again. “What’s that?” she asked.

He lowered the camera just enough so he could smile at her. “I get to tell people what to do, and they invariably listen. Pick up a camera and people will do what you say. You’re like a director. You get to tell the story you want. Hell, you get to focus on what you want. So, for example, I can choose to shoot today’s images as a wide panorama, or I can focus in on only the edge of your eyelashes.”

Bex arched an eyebrow at him. “Oh? So you like control?”

“Not in everything. But with my camera, yes. Maybe in a few choice places, too.”

She smiled. “The bedroom?”

He remembered the way she’d given herself over to him—her body an offering, moving with him, rendered speechless at his touch. Who wouldn’t like that kind of power? The feeling that he could show her exactly what she deserved to feel?

“What do you think, Bex?”

She blushed and ran her fingers over the lacy edge of her top. “I think this dress is beautiful, but it might be time for an outfit change.”

He glanced skeptically at the backpack she’d carried with her. What could she have even fit in there? Small clothes, maybe.

On second thought, that was fine with him.

“Okay,” he said.

Bex stepped away from the wall of rock rising at her back and crossed the few steps in front of him. She waved her finger to indicate he should turn around, so he did.

Gabe heard the whisper of silk followed by the long zip of her dress. The sound of her getting undressed for him made him go hard.

Oh, Jesus. What was she doing to him?

“Tell me when you’re ready.” The words choked in his throat.

Her voice came out in a sing-song. “No peeking.” Her footsteps padded away, somehow quieter than before.

He waited an excruciating minute. Two. Then she called, “Okay,” and he turned, and the whole world stopped spinning.

Bex hadn’t just changed. She’d gotten completely naked.

She lay on her back on top of one of the stones, smooth where it was rough, pale where it was fire. She held her arms crossed over her chest, but she was there, naked and waiting for him.

Gabe’s cock throbbed. What had he done in life to get so lucky? And how the fuck was he going to finish this shoot?

“Is this okay?” Bex whispered, and for the first time, he realized how vulnerable she was there. Exposed. “I’d better not get sunburn in weird places.”

“This is more than okay, Bex. You are stunning.”

He stepped closer to line up the shot.

Snap, on the fine cage of her ribs, the sandstone pushing up underneath.

Snap on her lips, parted open like a sensual promise.

Snap on her eyes, slitted in arousal.

“Arch your back more,” he called, and she responded, her breasts pushing up into the sky, her bottom rounded against the earth.

Gabe crouched low and pressed his stomach to the ground so he could line up the shot.

Snap on the sunrise through the arch of her back. Biology and geology and astrology, and the whole world right here in the frame of his camera.

How had he lived before this woman?

His throat was dry, and his voice scraped as he laid his desire bare for her. “I think you’re looking at this sex thing the wrong way.”

“How’s that?” Bex tilted up on her elbow for him, her legs falling closed but just hinting at the promised land.

Snap on the rise of her hip, a hill he wanted to conquer.

“You know how you design your toys based on what people aren’t doing right for you? And how that’s the whole reason you told me we can’t be together?”

She nodded.

“Maybe you need to keep exploring what you do like and try to replicate it.”

She smiled at him. “What are you proposing, Gabe?”

“Spend time with me, in and out of bed. I promise that even if I’m too good at sex to help you, I’ll inspire you in some other way. Make you think outside the box.”

“Hmmm.” Her tongue darted out to trace the contour of her lips.

Gabe caught her eye. “And if you don’t want me to keep touching you the way we both know I can, I could try to be worse in bed for you.”

A blush rose on her pale skin. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

They both realized at the same time that he had stopped taking pictures and was just staring at her in awe. “Bex.” The warm morning air swirled around them, and his voice came out thick with desire. “I’m going to need to fuck you now.”

She nodded and looked at him through her lashes. “I’m going to need that, too.”