Burning Desire. Kayla Perrin

She grabbed the portable stand and umbrella setup for her Quantum Q flash, which she would need in order to erase any shadows as she took pictures of Mason facing the water. She also grabbed her tripod.

      “This is a heavy bag,” Mason commented. “What do you have in it?”

      “Two of everything,” she said. “A couple different types of flashes, extra batteries, different lenses, a variety of filters. Pretty much everything I need in order to shoot away from my studio.”

      “And where are we heading?”

      “Straight ahead. To those steps that lead down to the beach.”

      It was the first weekend in June, and the beach was sparsely populated, unlike the weekend before. For the Memorial Day weekend, Sabrina had headed to this beach with Nya, thinking it would be quiet, but it had been jam packed with people.

      Thankfully, today the closest people to where she planned to set up were a good fifty yards away, allowing for privacy.

      Forty-five minutes after arriving at the beach, Sabrina told Mason that they were done. She was beyond satisfied with the shots. With the rocks as a backdrop, the beach, and the stretch of Pacific, they all looked stunning. Mason would certainly be a top contender for the front cover, but she would finalize that once all the photos had been taken of the remaining firefighters. There were still five more to go. But with his status as captain at the station, it made sense that he be featured.

      She was elated that everything had gone so well, and hated for the shoot to be done because Mason had been incredibly easy to work with.

      “All right,” Sabrina announced. “I think I have everything I need. Thank you for a great shoot. I know the pictures are going to be amazing.”

      “I had fun,” Mason said.

      Sabrina disassembled her umbrella light, folded the tripod and light stand, and returned everything to her camera bag. Mason was stripping out of his fire pants and boots while she packed up. Once he had the pants off, Sabrina’s eyes ventured to his bare feet. Good grief, even his feet looked sexy. From her vantage point, they looked long and perfectly formed. Manly.

      While Sabrina figured out a way to juggle all of the items she’d brought, Mason came over to her and extended a hand. “Let me take your bag,” he offered.

      “I got it,” she told him, finally securing the light stand and tripod under each arm, the camera bag already slung over her shoulder.

      “I can see that. But I’m offering to help you.”

      “And I appreciate it, but I’ve carried my camera bag and gear around a gazillion times. I don’t need—”

      “Are you always this stubborn?” Mason asked.

      “Stubborn? I wouldn’t call it stubborn because I’m used to handling myself in all types of photo shoot situations. It comes with the territory.” Besides, for some reason, she was ready for Mason to be on his way. The sooner the better.

      “And I like being a gentleman. Come on, give me one of the bags.”

      Looking at him, Sabrina conceded. The car was parked a good ways down the street and the gear was heavy. She passed him the large bag.

      “I can take the tripod, as well,” Mason said.

      “I—” She stopped herself midprotest, and said, “All right.” She gave him a sidelong glance as she looked up at him. “I guess I am a bit stubborn. But I’ve always been used to taking care of myself.”

      “And why is that? No man to take care of you?”

      Sabrina stopped and looked up at him. “I don’t need a man to take care of me.”

      “So that’s it.”

      “You make it sound like a curse.”

      “It’s neither good nor bad. But perhaps you can tell me all about it over dinner.”

      Sabrina’s eyes widened. Had she just heard Mason correctly? She decided that even if she had, it had been a slip of the tongue on his part.

      She began to walk briskly, thanks to the fact that she was no longer weighed down by her heavy bag.

      “That was a question. Customarily, questions are followed by an answer.”

      Sabrina turned around to face Mason, who was looking at her with a disarming grin. “You were serious?”

      “Of course I was serious. I’d love to take you to dinner. I can’t do it tonight, but perhaps we can make arrangements for tomorrow. I’m back to work on Friday.”

      “No, thank you,” Sabrina said without preamble.

      “Just like that? You’re not even going to consider it?”

      Sabrina hesitated before speaking. She was trying to digest the fact that Mason had even asked her out when she was certain she wasn’t his type. “This isn’t uncommon,” she said after a moment. “Feeling close to someone after spending some time in a photo shoot.”

      Mason’s laughter was instant. “Are you saying that in the last two hours, you think I’ve developed some sort of savior complex where you’re concerned? Or do you call it a photographer’s complex? I’m not familiar with the term.”

      Sabrina inhaled a breath and continued. After hearing Mason’s response, she conceded that the idea sounded a little silly. But she persisted, nonetheless. “To a degree, yes. We connected well. We enjoyed some flirtatious banter. I’ve seen you with your shirt off. I even rubbed your body down with that solution. And now you think it would be a nice idea to take me on a date.”

      Mason looked amused. “So you’re telling me that hitting on the photographer who just took photos of me is typical?”

      Sabrina was flustered once again. She hadn’t exactly come off as eloquently as she’d hoped to. But he had to understand the idea that she was getting at. That simply because they had spent time together, he was feeling that they’d connected. That was what was making him think that going on a date would be a good idea. But whatever attraction he was feeling wasn’t really founded in reality.

      “It’s not an official complex or anything,” Sabrina said, not quite meeting his eyes. “Just...you know how people who work together often end up dating? Simply because they spend so much time together during the work week. That’s sort of what I’m getting at.”

      “Ahhh.”

      “And typically, they end up regretting it.”

      “Right.”

      Thank God, he understood.

      “Thanks for the warning,” Mason went on. “I appreciate your consideration for not wanting to blur the lines between business and pleasure, if that’s what this is. But all the same, my reason for asking you out has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve seen me with my shirt off. Plenty of people have seen me with my shirt off, and I didn’t ask them out on a date.”

      Sabrina’s face flamed. “Like I said, that came out the wrong way.”

      Then she started walking again, grateful that Mason did the same, in silence. At her SUV, Mason helped her get the bags into her trunk. Sabrina was ready to be on her way and forget about this strange interaction with Mason.

      Until he said, “Despite what you said, I actually would like to take you out to dinner. Would tomorrow work for you?”

      Sabrina looked up at him, shocked. So he was serious. This wasn’t going according to plan, not at all. She was truly hoping that they could simply part ways, so she could put the unprofessional parts of the day out of her mind.

      “Why?” she found herself asking.

      “Call me old school, but I’d like to take you to dinner because I find you incredibly attractive and I’d like to get to know you better.”