Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

J udd paced the sand, wondering how Abby would act after their cosy chat earlier.

When they'd parted company at the hotel she'd looked pale and it had taken all his willpower not to reach out and envelop her in his arms.

Apart from her pallor he also noted her fidgeting and the fake, bright smile she always used when she was nervous as hell. He'd seen that same smile before final exams at high school, before the inter-school netball championships, and the night of the graduation dance.

The first night you kissed her .

He'd made a mess of things that night too, acting like a jerk who didn't give a damn, teasing her about her dress that had secretly driven him mad with its hint of cleavage, and implying he wasn't interested in her as a woman.

If she only knew…

Ironic, as here he was all these years later, about to get it on with his best friend and still acting like he was ready to bolt.

"Chill out, dude. Looks like you're about to have a coronary." Tom finished his soda in three gulps and toasted him with the empty bottle.

"I'm fine," Judd muttered, wishing he could have a fortifying pint—or ten—to calm his nerves. He should be behind the camera where he belonged, not trussed up in some monkey suit playing at being a groom.

"Have you rechecked the equipment? The girls will be here any second."

"No worries," Tom said. "Relax, I'm a professional. Everything's under control."

"That's what you said a second before that elephant charged us in Thailand."

"Were you trampled to death?"

"No."

"Quit your whining then."

Judd shook his head and glanced at his watch for the hundredth time in the last few minutes, wishing he could get this over and done with. "Where's Abby? She's taking forever."

"She'll show, don't worry. Personally, I can't wait to see her all dressed up." Tom wiped his brow. "She's hot."

Tom watched him closely for a reaction and Judd deliberately kept his tone cool. "Too right."

Tom guffawed. "Quit acting like you don't care. You want her."

Was it that obvious? If Tom could see through him, little wonder Abby had picked up on his interest. What Judd still couldn't get his head around was the fact she returned it. What had happened to them? Was it the old ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder' adage?

How could two perfectly sane people who'd been friends for so long want to get down and dirty all of a sudden? It didn't make sense. Then again, nothing he'd been doing lately made much sense, hence his planned change of career, change of location, and change of lifestyle.

"We're good friends, which is why I'm helping her out of a tight spot and why you need to keep your mind focussed on the job and not talking drivel like you usually do."

Tom's raucous laugh bounced off the palm trees surrounding them. "Keep on kidding yourself, man. And when you have your first baby, don't forget to name old Tommy as the godfather."

"Get back to work." Judd pointed at the stack of cameras lined up on a nearby trestle and scanned the beach for Abby, wishing they could get this over and done with.

The sooner this shoot was complete and the photos emailed to Mark, the sooner they could continue their interesting discussion earlier, with less words—and less clothes.

"Wowee." Tom wolf-whistled. "Feast your eyes on that."

Judd turned and time stood still.

He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, as he watched Abby walk towards him, a simple strapless dress outlining every curve of her tempting body, her hair twisted into an elegant roll that drew attention to her high cheek bones and expressive eyes.

Those eyes… She fixed them on him, steady, unwavering, and for a long, loaded second he swore he could read raw, honest passion in their glittering depths.

I want you, too, he wanted to say, his churning gut making him shift his weight from foot to foot. She took his breath away and if he had any doubts about his intentions to keep his hands off her, the kick in the guts at the sight of her floating across the sand towards him with desire in her eyes dispelled them in a second.

He wanted her.

More than he'd wanted anything or anyone in his entire life.

Abby stopped in front of him and her coy smile clutched at his heart.

"Don't pass out on me now," she said, the slight tremor in her voice belying the twinkle in her eyes as she reached out and smoothed the lapels of his tux.

He took a deep breath, placed a hand over hers, and winked. "Not a chance. You're stuck with me for better or worse."

"In your dreams."

His smile widened as his gaze drifted slowly down her body before returning to focus on her face.

"Definitely in my dreams," he murmured, delighted when a faint pink matching her dress stained her cheeks as she rolled her eyes in familiar fashion and snatched her hand away.

"You're full of it," she muttered, her mock frown at total odds with the cheeky curve of her lips. "Less talk more work from you, please."

"As long as we get to play later."

A thrill of anticipation shot through Abby at Judd's whispered words and she determinedly ignored her pounding pulse as she turned to smile at Tom who she finally noticed.

The minute she laid eyes on Judd standing on the beach in his tux, everything and everyone had faded into the background, until all she could see was the guy about to turn her world upside down.

Because she had little doubt that once this shoot was over and a hard day's work done, they'd move onto the next step of their friendship, one from which there was no turning back.

"Hey, Tom. Judd assures me you're almost as good as he thinks he is, so I'm assuming you can do this?"

Tom gave her a thumbs up sign of encouragement. "All systems go. By the way, you look fantastic. If you ever tire of styling, you should consider modelling. You'd make a squillion."

"You're a sweetie," she said, wiggling her fingers at Tom in a flirty wave, eliciting a low growl from Judd.

"Go easy on the big guy. You're breaking his heart."

She laughed, her nerves taking a back seat as Judd slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. "Yeah, that's me. A real heartbreaker."

She glanced at their clasped hands and quirked an eyebrow, grateful for the reassuring contact yet wishing her pulse wasn't slamming through her veins at breakneck speed.

"Just in case you feel like bolting." He smiled, holding on tighter, and her breath hitched as the full force of his smile hit her, packing a powerful punch that almost floored her in its intensity.

When he smiled like that, she felt like she was the only woman in the world and she was all his.

Considering what they were about to do tonight, it wasn't far off the mark. He'd always held a special place in her heart as her best friend and he'd soon be her lover. Would they be as good in the bedroom as they were out of it? If the way her body responded to his slightest touch the last few days, she'd shoot straight to the stars and back.

For now, she had to focus. This shoot had to be a success, the photos stunning, and only then could she unwind as she deserved. As they both deserved.

Despite her qualms, a small part of her had been looking forward to this shoot, curious as to how the ‘other half lived' so to speak. She already knew modelling was hard and what better way to make her work come alive than a bit of firsthand experience?

In reality, she should be nervous, but with Judd standing by her side, reassuring her with his familiar smile, she felt nothing but confident she could pull this off and look great in the process.

However, as she glanced at Tom standing poised with camera in hand and Tara holding up a huge light reflector, a zoo's worth of butterflies took flight in her belly and she pulled away from Judd, smoothing the front of her dress in a purely nervous reaction. It was one thing to feel confident, another to actually go through with this modelling gig when she'd never done anything remotely like it before.

"Go easy on the nerves. This'll be a cinch," Judd said, picking up on her mood in the same way he'd always done, a way too calm smile crinkling the laugh lines around his gold-flecked eyes.

"Uh-huh." She nodded mechanically, casting a frantic glance around for a last minute reprieve from prancing in front of the camera. However, the beach was deserted as she'd requested and logically, she knew there was no way out.

"Wish Tom would hurry up," she muttered, fiddling with a crystal on the bodice before stilling her fingers with effort. That's all she needed, for the expensive dress to fall apart before they'd done the required shots.

"Hey, consider this a game, a bit of a laugh."

She raised a cynical eyebrow. Considering her job could be on the line—or a promotion, at least—she didn't find this remotely funny. But Judd was right. She needed to lighten up, otherwise she'd look uptight and constipated in the shots rather than a blushing bride.

"Nice monkey suit," she said, making an effort to alleviate the tension as she pointed at the exquisitely tailored tux that looked like it had been made for him.

"Thanks," Judd said, teasing grin firmly back in place as he cast a pointed glance at her chest. "And nice to see you're still using tissues."

"I am not." She thrust out her breasts to make a point, unprepared for the swift rush of longing his triumphant gaze evoked and the accompanying heat that sizzled through her body.

"You're too easy, Weiss," he murmured, his eyes darkening with desire, intensifying the moment tenfold.

"I hope you mean that in the nicest possible way."

She crossed her arms over her chest, knowing it would push her breasts together and upward, hopefully driving him wild in the process, and as he tore his gaze away to shake his head, a dazed expression followed by a rueful smile, she had her revenge.

"Being friends with you is hard enough. I have a feeling whatever we get up to for the rest of the week is going to drive me over the edge."

"That's the whole point, isn't it?" She ran a finger down his chest, revelling in her newfound power to make him drool.

"Work first, remember?" He whispered in her ear before planting a featherlight kiss on the lobe, setting her nerve endings alight.

"Work? What work?" She swayed towards him, her legs turning to jelly at his barest touch, knowing she'd lose it completely when they finally got around to doing loads of touching on hot, bare skin.

Placing a finger under her chin, he tipped it up. "You know what work is. That thing that comes before play," he said, caressing her bottom lip with his thumb and short-circuiting her synapses in the process as they fired mixed messages between her brain and her body until she couldn't think straight let alone resist him.

"Save it for the honeymoon, you two. We've got a job to do." Tom cleared his throat and Abby leapt away like a teenager found necking the high school jock, and Tom and Tara laughed.

Since when did she get so caught up swapping quips with Judd she forgot the task at hand, let alone flirting with him in front of others?

She'd lost the plot, and if she wanted to keep her job beyond this fling, or whatever the two of them were crazy enough to embark on, she needed to stay focussed on something other than the sexy man grinning at her.

"Okay, folks. Enough of the funny stuff. Let's get to work," she said, brusque and businesslike.

Tom saluted and picked up his camera, Tara snapped her hands together in a producer's sign for action, and Judd switched into work mode, helping Tom sort out the best lighting spots.

"Listen up, buddy. You can't be model and photographer. Just relax and do as you're told," Tom said, positioning them beneath a towering palm for the first shot. "I'm a professional, remember?"

"Famous last words," Judd muttered, obeying, though Abby could see the strain on his face.

She laid a comforting hand on his sleeve. "It's hard not being in control, huh?"

"You said it."

Their gazes locked and for a brief second she wondered if he was looking forward to losing control as much as she was.

Thankfully, the moment passed and for the next two hours they posed, preened, and acted like the happiest couple on earth as Tom barked directions, ably supported by a smug Tara who took to her photographer's assistant role with glee.

Abby's cheeks ached from smiling, her neck ached from posing, and deep down she ached for Judd, who'd taken every chance he got over the last few hours to touch her.

"This should be the final few shots," Tom said, pointing towards the trunk of a bent palm tree. "Judd, why don't you take a seat and settle Abby on your lap? I'll do a few close ups with the two of your faces leaning towards each other to capture the detail on the dress's bodice."

"You heard what the man said." Judd sat and patted his lap, while Abby's heart stalled before kick-starting with a thump.

Brushing up against him, having his hand in the small of her back, and standing squashed to his side had been torment enough; sitting on his lap would notch up the sensual torture to unbearable.

"You're enjoying this way too much," she muttered, perching on his knees as if poised for flight, trying to ignore the way her pulse pounded and her skin prickled at the contact.

"What's not to enjoy?" He slid his hand up her back and she stiffened when his palm left the silk of the dress and skidded onto her bare skin.

Her stomach plummeted as he inched higher, caressing the nape of her neck, his fingers skimming her rigid muscles in the softest massage, his touch far from therapeutic.

"You're so tense," he murmured, sliding his free hand around her waist as if he sensed her instinct to bolt.

Not that she could've moved if she wanted to, considering her legs had turned to jelly the second he touched her.

"We're nearly done and the shoot's gone great. No need to worry."

"Do I look worried?" She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out as his fingers slid into the base of her hair, gently massaging her scalp in slow, erotic, circles.

"You look ravishing," he murmured, wriggling forward a fraction while strengthening the grip on her waist. "Relax into me. Tom won't call it quits until we nail these final shots and I know how much you want to get to the good part."

"The good part?" It came out a squeak as she wriggled back far enough to encounter evidence of a very good part indeed.

"The honeymoon," he murmured, his teasing laugh as soft and seductive as his touch. "Don't forget you're in my debt. You never know what I may ask you to do."

Her breath caught as he shifted beneath her while she struggled to concentrate on what he was saying, more turned on than she'd ever been in her life.

"Ask away, Calloway. Doesn't mean I'll do it."

"Oh, you'll do it."

As if to prove his point, his fingers disentangled from her hair, sliding down to join his other hand around her waist and not-so-accidentally brushing the sensitive underside of her breast on the way.

She gasped as shockwaves of pleasure flowed through her, the anticipation of the night ahead heightened by his innuendo and seductive touch.

"Okay, just a couple more shots folks and we're done."

Tom's voice wrenched Abby out of the sensual spell and she forced herself to concentrate for the next ten minutes, grateful Judd stopped teasing her with words, secretly elated he still touched her at every opportunity.

As the late afternoon sun dipped towards the horizon, sending a dazzling display of magenta, ochre, and deep purple shimmering across the endless blue ocean, Tom finally called it a day.

"Nice going, you two." Tom rummaged around the cooler that he'd thoughtfully stocked with water for the afternoon, and held aloft a bottle of champagne in triumph before popping it loudly, filling glasses, and handing around flutes filled with the welcome bubbly.

"Here's to a job well done. You two are naturals. Wait until you see the shots." Tom raised his glass in a toast, linking arms with Tara before guzzling the lot in one go.

Abby laughed, her breath catching as Judd placed a hand in the small of her back, a soft touch that burned through the silk all the same.

"Happy?"

"Relieved," she said, trapped by his potent stare, eager to gulp her champagne but knowing she was light-headed enough without it. "Thanks for doing this. You really helped me out of a tight spot."

He inclined his head, the casual smile playing about his mouth at odds with the intent in his eyes. "Anytime, though our working day isn't over yet. We've got to sort through the shots, choose the best ones, and email them to Mark."

"Uh-huh." Abby nodded mechanically, her mind already skipping to later, after they finished work and moved onto… Blinking, she erased the erotic images filtering across her imagination as to what would come later.

"Here's to finishing our work fast," Judd said, his hand sliding from the small of her back to her waist, drawing her closer, heat radiating off him like a smouldering blaze.

"I'll drink to that."

However, as Abby clinked glasses with Judd and gazed into his fathomless eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if their friendship had taken a turn for the better.

Or worse.