Page 38 of Make Me Yours

“Good,” Cam calls out. “Steele, rest your hands lightly on her arms, like you’re about to pull her in.”

My belly clenches as Steele’s large hands trail up my bare skin, fingertips brushing over me like a whisper. Even though I try to suppress a shiver, it’s no use. There’s no way he doesn’t realize exactly how he’s affecting me.

“Perfect,” Cam murmurs. “Lilah, tilt your chin up slightly.”

I obey, but the movement brings my profile directly into Steele’s line of sight, and something flashes across his face.

Or is that my imagination?

“Now,” Cam instructs, “Steele, I want you to pull her closer. Like you’re about to whisper something in her ear.”

Steele’s hands slide down to my waist, gripping just enough to send a ripple of heat through my entire body. He leans in, his lips grazing the shell of my ear.

And then, in a voice so low I barely catch it, he murmurs, “You’re killing me, lucky charm.”

I close my eyes for half a second and swallow hard.

What the hell is happening?

The camera flashes.

“Beautiful,” Cam says. “Now, I want you to turn toward him, Lilah. And Steele—this time, I want you to hold her like she belongs to you.”

Everything inside me flips.

I turn, and the second my hands press against Steele’s chest, his grip tightens around my waist. It’s both firm and possessive.Something stutters inside me as I glance up, only to find him already watching me.

Gone is the teasing smirk he wears like armor. There’s no trace of mischief in his expression, no hint of the charming playboy everyone thinks they know.

What’s left is raw.

Focused.

Hungry.

That look alone nearly buckles my knees.

The heat rolling off his body seeps into mine, searing through the flimsy material of my dress. His hands are steady, but there’s power simmering beneath the surface, as if he’s barely holding himself back.

He shifts beneath my palms, every movement precise and deliberate.

But his heartbeat is hammering just like mine.

I should say something.

Move.

Blink.

But I’m frozen in place by the invisible electric pull that’s always been there between us.

Everything else falls away.

The lights.

The studio.

The noise.