squatted down and carefully unzipped her camera case. Lifting the camera from the protective padding, she hit the power button and disabled the flash. As quickly and quietly as she could, she snapped several shots of Eli sleeping, looking gorgeous and sated.
Slinging her camera over her shoulder, she darted closer to the bed and grabbed her shoes. Her underwear were nowhere in sight. She supposed she could waste more time searching for them or she could leave him with a reminder, too. After scooping up the camera bag, she carefully opened the door then shut it just as carefully behind her. She didn’t stop to put on her shoes until she was in the elevator, heading to the ground floor.
The parking lot was as deserted as the lobby had been when she hurried to her sister’s car. As she pulled out onto the street, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making a huge mistake by running out on Eli. He was sexy, funny, amazing in bed and she actually really liked him. He’d turned out to be far more than a warm body to release her sexual frustrations. And he’d seemed to like her, too.
Sighing, she turned the car toward home and headed out of town.
No, this was the right choice. There was no way someone like Eli would understand the spells and magic portion of her life. There was part of her that wanted to give him a chance, but there was a bigger part that didn’t want to see the look of distrust in his eyes when she told him. It would hurt way worse if they got to know each other better. She was wiser to cut her losses and walk away now.
Chapter Eight
Bright sunlight and insistent meowing woke Meaghan far earlier than she cared to be conscious. Cracking open her eyes against the glare of the sun, she quickly shut them again. Rolling over, she squinted at the clock. It was already four-thirty in the afternoon—way later than she’d thought. It still felt too early to wake up after getting in at six o’clock in the morning. She rubbed her hand over her face and groaned. The warm scent of Eli’s skin still clung to her fingers.
Forcing herself to sit up, she noticed every ache in her body—reminders of everything she and Eli had done last night. Warmth spread through her middle as she remembered how he’d held her down and fucked her, staring into her eyes until she’d had to look away, sure she would drown. Absently petting the kitten that had climbed into her lap, she told herself for what had to be the thousandth time that taking the coward’s way out with Eli was the smartest thing she could have done. Just because they’d had amazing sex didn’t mean they were meant to have anything more than that.
After a quick shower, she fed the kitten, made herself a bowl of mac and cheese and booted up her laptop. She needed to stop thinking about Eli and get those pictures uploaded so she could sort through them and start the editing process. This wedding would be a special kind of hell. The bride had made it clear that even the candid shots needed to edited so not only the bridal party looked good, but so did all of the guests. And between Meaghan and Toby’s memory cards, there were well over eight hundred pictures to sift through. This would be a long day.
Four hours later, she’d made it though the ceremony pictures and had started on the post-service portraits. She squinted at the shot of the bride and groom with their master and mistress of ceremonies—the bride’s aunt and uncle. There was a weird, almost smoky-looking smudge next to the uncle’s pant leg.
Meaghan zoomed in on the anomaly. Every once in a while, she’d see orbs in photographs. Sometimes, they were obviously dust mites, and sometimes, they were spirit orbs, but this was something she’d never seen. Leaning closer, she squinted at it. She supposed it could just be a trick of the light. Whatever it was, she was pretty sure she could edit it out. She clicked to the next picture—a shot of the bride’s entire family.
Slinging her camera over her shoulder, she darted closer to the bed and grabbed her shoes. Her underwear were nowhere in sight. She supposed she could waste more time searching for them or she could leave him with a reminder, too. After scooping up the camera bag, she carefully opened the door then shut it just as carefully behind her. She didn’t stop to put on her shoes until she was in the elevator, heading to the ground floor.
The parking lot was as deserted as the lobby had been when she hurried to her sister’s car. As she pulled out onto the street, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making a huge mistake by running out on Eli. He was sexy, funny, amazing in bed and she actually really liked him. He’d turned out to be far more than a warm body to release her sexual frustrations. And he’d seemed to like her, too.
Sighing, she turned the car toward home and headed out of town.
No, this was the right choice. There was no way someone like Eli would understand the spells and magic portion of her life. There was part of her that wanted to give him a chance, but there was a bigger part that didn’t want to see the look of distrust in his eyes when she told him. It would hurt way worse if they got to know each other better. She was wiser to cut her losses and walk away now.
Chapter Eight
Bright sunlight and insistent meowing woke Meaghan far earlier than she cared to be conscious. Cracking open her eyes against the glare of the sun, she quickly shut them again. Rolling over, she squinted at the clock. It was already four-thirty in the afternoon—way later than she’d thought. It still felt too early to wake up after getting in at six o’clock in the morning. She rubbed her hand over her face and groaned. The warm scent of Eli’s skin still clung to her fingers.
Forcing herself to sit up, she noticed every ache in her body—reminders of everything she and Eli had done last night. Warmth spread through her middle as she remembered how he’d held her down and fucked her, staring into her eyes until she’d had to look away, sure she would drown. Absently petting the kitten that had climbed into her lap, she told herself for what had to be the thousandth time that taking the coward’s way out with Eli was the smartest thing she could have done. Just because they’d had amazing sex didn’t mean they were meant to have anything more than that.
After a quick shower, she fed the kitten, made herself a bowl of mac and cheese and booted up her laptop. She needed to stop thinking about Eli and get those pictures uploaded so she could sort through them and start the editing process. This wedding would be a special kind of hell. The bride had made it clear that even the candid shots needed to edited so not only the bridal party looked good, but so did all of the guests. And between Meaghan and Toby’s memory cards, there were well over eight hundred pictures to sift through. This would be a long day.
Four hours later, she’d made it though the ceremony pictures and had started on the post-service portraits. She squinted at the shot of the bride and groom with their master and mistress of ceremonies—the bride’s aunt and uncle. There was a weird, almost smoky-looking smudge next to the uncle’s pant leg.
Meaghan zoomed in on the anomaly. Every once in a while, she’d see orbs in photographs. Sometimes, they were obviously dust mites, and sometimes, they were spirit orbs, but this was something she’d never seen. Leaning closer, she squinted at it. She supposed it could just be a trick of the light. Whatever it was, she was pretty sure she could edit it out. She clicked to the next picture—a shot of the bride’s entire family.
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